CHOOSING TRUE CHANGE

AND GREAT GOVERNMENT FOR NEWFOUNDLAND

AND LABRADOR

CHES CROSBIE
CANDIDATE FOR LEADER
PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE PARTY
OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

WARNING: Some politicians won’t like this report.

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Why Did I Write this Report?

My father Hon. John C. Crosbie likes to tell a story about our love of place. “How can you tell
the Newfoundlanders and Labradorians at the Pearly Gates?” Because when St. Peter
answers and invites them in, “they’re the ones who want to go home.”

This report is not about me. It is about the dreams and aspirations of people who live in
Newfoundland and Labrador and want a prosperous future. It is about finding true change
and great government for this place we all love.

Like all who meet the challenges of life in this place, I have a love of Newfoundland and
Labrador. My aspiration for our province is that it be the place to which each
Newfoundlander and Labradorian at the Pearly Gates wants to go home. Good government
can make the difference in helping the residents of this province make ours a home to envy.
Good government can partner with us to realize our potential as a self-reliant, proud and
prosperous province. Good government requires great democratic leadership, with a grip
on the crises that assault us, and a plan to win through to prosperity. Great leadership,
because you as a resident of a great province in a great country should not settle for less.
Good government creates the best conditions for all of us to reach our potential, but great
government inspires us to achieve our potential. You should aim high, and you should hold
your political leaders to the highest standards of true change.

Our politicians strongly influence our destiny, either toward opportunity and prosperity,
strength and independence -- or toward weakness, dependence and despair. And you the
voter determines who the politicians are, and toward which destiny they may lead us. If
you’re like me, the destiny you want for this province is one of opportunity, prosperity and
independence. And to achieve that vision, you need great leadership and great government.
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One reason only half of us vote is that we see little difference between the parties. They all
play political games to keep their jobs and get in power. They make promises they either
don’t intend to keep, or back away from when they meet resistance that they expected or
should have expected. Unfortunately, the political system encourages this kind of behaviour.

Our challenge is to find a leader to vote for who doesn’t make whatever promises he or she
thinks will win election without serious intention to implement those promises, and when
in office play whatever political games seem likely to win re-election. Our challenge is to find
a leader who means to deliver on promises made and if elected, sets about implementing
those promises.

Our challenge is to find candidates who want more than to keep their jobs. Our challenge is
to find candidates who want to make a difference. Candidates who have respect for the truth.
Candidates who stand for true change and reject the status quo.

I’ve written this report to give you the tests to judge for yourself which candidates might
deserve your support and why. I have written this guide to empower you, the voter – to give
you the tools to decide for yourself how to attain true change and great government.

I care so much about Newfoundland and Labrador that I wrote this report to help you in your
quest for better politicians, better government and a better life. I hope you find it useful in
choosing a representative and Premier, one who will speak up with an authentic voice for
you and for this place we love, whether that person is me or not.

The Rules of the Game

There are many elephants in the political room which politicians do not want to
acknowledge. The bigger these elephants get, the more dangerous they become. And if they
are getting bigger, it’s because the politicians won’t acknowledge they are in the room.
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The root cause of political delusion is that the highest priority of many of our politicians in
the party in government is not to make a difference, but to preserve their jobs. If politicians
acknowledge a problem, like the ballooning provincial debt, the public might want to know
how the politicians plan to tackle the problem. And that would require more truth-telling,
which might upset voters, and run the risk of losing votes. And getting re-elected is the prime
directive for politicians.

Why Should Anyone Vote?

If you – or more precisely your demographic group – don’t vote, politicians will ignore
your interests and concerns. The 18-35 age group historically tends not to vote and
therefore tends to be ignored by government. If younger voters get politically active,
then government will pay attention to their needs too. Unless this province is successful
in attracting and retaining young people, our long term future is bleak. Do get active and
assert your vision of the future.

My friend Graham Steele wrote a revealing book about his time in politics. What I Learned
About Politics: Inside the Rise – and Collapse – of Nova Scotia’s NDP Government, In it Steele
described the Rules of the Game, and in introducing them, wrote that: “Being in politics
makes you dumb, and the longer you’re in politics, the dumber you get.” Politicians follow
the Rules of the Game because they work. And they work because voters don’t insist on
something better. Voters don’t insist on truth-telling.

The primary Rule of the Game – the prime directive – is:

• to get elected, and then re-elected.

Other Rules of the Game are:

• Perception is reality. It doesn’t matter what is true, because people vote according
to perception, not truth.
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• The electorate is busy and distracted, so find something simple to say and reduce
it to slogans, scandals, personalities and images, and stay away from policy and
hard choices. Policy is too complicated, and talking about it might cost you votes.

• Get yourself in the news. It doesn’t matter what for. People are more likely to
vote for someone whose name they recognize.

• Politics is a team sport. Be loyal and stick with your team. And always take the
game to the other side. If you’re defending and not attacking, you’re losing. The
other side wants to take your job – you must destroy them.

• Take credit for everything and blame for nothing.

• Deny that these Rules exist.

The problem with the Rules of the Game is they produce avoidance of unpleasant truths and
short term decision-making, which fails to address solutions for the long term. The elephant
in the room gets bigger and bigger and meaner and meaner, and the job of taming that
elephant gets left to our children and our grandchildren. They won’t thank us.

Change the Rules of the Game

The great British wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill said that “Democracy is the worst
of all possible systems of government – except for all the others”. Democracy is messy
and imperfect, but we paid in blood for the right to govern ourselves democratically, and
we owe it to those who have sacrificed to preserve our rights to make it work.

The answer to the destructive effects of “politics as usual”, is for us – political office seekers
and voters alike – to stop accepting that the Rules of the Game are the way politics should be
and must be done. Political candidates and political office holders have a role in bringing
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about this change, but the voters who reward political game playing, who enable success by
the Rules of the Game, have the determining role. That voter is you. Only you can change
the Rules of the Game.

Money and resources are limited, and politics is about making hard choices for the public
good. For the long term public good. For the good of our children and grandchildren. The
answer to the destruction of good government caused by the Rules of the Game is for you the
voter to demand the truth, and stop rewarding politicians for political game-playing. Find
politicians who don’t play by the Rules of the Game and vote for them. The politicians who
don’t play by the Rules of the Game are the politicians who will give great representation of
your interests, true change and great government.

The great irony is that while some politicians are busy preserving their jobs and playing
politics by the Rules of the Game, our most admired political leaders are people who took
stands, risked defeat and sometimes suffered defeat, and showed the resolve to lead through
short term pain to long term gain. Leaders of resolve like Sir Winston Churchill and Franklin
Roosevelt. More recently, perhaps like my own father John Crosbie.

The 25th anniversary media coverage of the Cod Moratorium brought in by my father as
federal Fisheries Minister featured well-known video of angry fishermen pounding on the
doors at a news conference in 1992 – and interviews with some of these gentlemen 25 years
later, in which they said John Crosbie did the right thing! But in 1992, the right decision was
not the popular decision, and required resolve.

Tests to Consider

I’ll put my cards on the table. Character is the primary quality you should look for in a
political leader. It is character that delivers true change, tackles crises, and leads a course to
a prosperous future.
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Character is defined by core values, and one of those core values is respect for the truth. Core
values establish how a person acts. Core values are shown in what a person actually does,
just as a government’s real policies are shown not in what they say but in what they actually
spend money on. Character is built around core values. Character is what enables us to deal
with the adversities of life and the unexpected. It gives resilience, enables us to resist
demands and pressure, and helps us to make good life-affirming choices for ourselves and
others. It enables us to succeed, to inspire, and to leave a legacy. It is founded in the courage
to face down adversity, and enables us to live a life of significance, with no regrets.

Character enables us to provide for the financial and emotional wellbeing of our families.
Character also enables us to be heroes to our communities, to be people who contribute more
than they take. We see many examples of ordinary people who are heroes in their
communities because they give without expecting anything back. From a political leader,
should you accept anything else?

After character, there are some aspects to look for in a candidate that involve knowledge and
skill. Good government is, after all, a tricky ideal and requires dedication to professionalism
from politicians to attain it. Here is my list of tests for you to consider in choosing a political
leader. I don’t say that this is an exclusive list or that any political candidate must or even
can meet all of them, but these are tests to think about in deciding who to vote for. You may
have some of your own to add.

• Character - as above. ʼNuff said. And passionate vision.

• A commitment to community and to giving without expectation of getting back is a

requirement for a good society. Look for this in a candidate for political office.

• An ability to relate to people with diverse backgrounds, understand their concerns,

and speak truth to power on their behalf.
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• A track record of success in the private sector brings a valuable perspective. After all,
it is private enterprise that creates wealth, not government, although it is the job of
government to establish an environment conducive to wealth creation.

• Member of the House of Assembly is one of those jobs where attitude is more
important than previous experience. There is no job description for MHA, and the
successful candidate is left a wide field over which to apply his or her talents and life
experience on behalf of constituents. Look for a willing and can-do attitude. That said,
there are some aspects of candidate skill and experience to consider.

• A history of success in tackling entrenched interests on behalf of vulnerable people

tells you that a political candidate may be willing to use the powers of government to
do the same in office.

• Good government requires some knowledge of law and finance. While attitude may
be the most important job qualification for a would-be political leader, educational
and career accomplishments that create knowledge and skill relevant to the business
of government are assets in a candidate.

• Good government at the political level requires a diverse skill set which a political
representative develops on the job, so willingness to learn and master new skills is
important.

• A big part of a legislator’s engagement is constituency work to help individuals and

areas within the district to resolve problems with government. A desire to help
people resolve their problems is an important quality in a legislator.
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• The ability to get publicity and focus public attention on constituency problems and
the problems of individual constituents is an important skill which can be very
effective.

• A talent for mediation. Politics has been called the art of compromise for good reason.
Many people think that Newfoundland and Labrador has a great need for mediation
and compromise, with the government in Quebec and Quebec Hydro, and with
indigenous people.

• A willingness to prepare and know the brief in favour of the constituency. It is said
that location, location and location are the three things that define value in real estate.
If so, then preparation, preparation and preparation are the three things that define
success in representing a political constituency.

• The ability to navigate complex decision-making processes at the political and civil
service levels and to identify and persuade the real decision-makers, is essential to
effectively make the case for a political constituency.

• Trustworthiness is essential in a political candidate, and if you are satisfied the

candidate is a person of integrity who is dedicated to good government and effective
representation, then you can make the necessary leap of faith and entrust him or her
with political office. All political leadership requires this leap of faith.

• A willingness to defy the Rules of the Game, including a willingness to speak the truth
and be unpopular in order to do the right thing and make a difference. This is what
my father Hon. John C. Crosbie meant when he told me the most important
characteristic of a good politician is the ability to resist pressure. This is an all-too-rare
quality in a politician. Support ability to resist pressure and the desire to make a
difference when you find it.
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What Is Good Government?

Good government is easier to recognize when contrasted with bad government. Bad
government results when those who hold power are unaccountable and use power to
pursue their own interests, rather than the public good.

The United Nations sees bad government as a root cause of evil in society. It often leads
to failed states in which anarchy reigns and personal security evaporates. Good
government, by contrast, is a work-in-progress never fully achieved, founded in
practices like the rule of law, respect for minorities, and the democratic accountability
of those who govern. And respect for truth is a root cause of good government!

Are you ready for the truth? Will you accept it? Will you reward it by voting for a politician
who tells the truth, or will you vote for a politician who prefers not to deal in truth and plays
by the Rules of the Game? Will you vote for a political candidate who has the character, skill
and knowledge to give you great leadership and true change?

Will you vote for good government, great representation, and a true change to set us on the
track to prosperity?

Finding a Great Leader for Newfoundland Labrador

How do you find a great leader for Newfoundland and Labrador? You can study the news, of
course. You can discuss current events with friends. You can also look for information direct
from political candidates and ask them questions. Going online makes it easy to do your
research. You can engage with me by going to www.ChesCrosbie.ca and telling me what you
think are our issues with government.

And one of the ways you can find a great leader for this province is by looking for candidates
who provide free resources that help voters to decide for themselves what is important in a
political leader – like this report. Admittedly, this report is outside-the-box in terms of the
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way politics is normally done, and some politicians won’t like it. If you decide to trust me
and vote for me, then I am honoured and will not let you down.

The Issues and You

I am running for election as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland

and Labrador to give us true change and the future prosperity that we deserve. I know that
this province can be a better place in which to live, with a brighter future; a place where
willing men and women can get meaningful, well-paying jobs; a place where families and
vulnerable people have access to quality government services; a place where government
respects the dignity of indigenous people; a place that unleashes the power of innovation to
build a thriving rural and urban economy; a place where entrepreneurship is encouraged
and promoted; and a place where young people have the confidence to claim fulfilling
futures.

But I also need to know more about your priorities and goals and how you think we can
achieve them.

Issues that I have heard people in this province talk about include:

• The need to act on our spending problem – our government spends too much
and seems incapable of cutting back. Not only will our over-spending
eventually end in a loss of independence for this province, it is an injustice to
our children and grand children who will have to pay the debt incurred from
the borrowing to finance our spending.

• The need for tax relief – especially disliked are the gas tax and the 15% tax on
insurance. And we need tax incentives to encourage our educated young
people to stay here and build careers and have families.
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• The impact of rate increases to pay for expensive Muskrat Falls power when it
comes to the island in 2020, and how to mitigate the blow. We can’t allow
electrical rates to double – but how to prevent this?

• Potholes. Yes potholes, and general road maintenance, including measures to

control highway moose. The Auditor General has criticized the government’s
irrational system for prioritizing roadwork, out-of-control contracting, and
poor road materials. This has to stop!

• The need to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our expensive health
care system and ensure its future as a quality system. The physicians and
surgeons association has offered to do a Task Force to help with this, but the
Liberal government has chosen to ignore the offer and muddle through.

• The health benefits of creating recreational health plexes like the impressive
facility in Marystown to service other regions, such as the Bonavista Peninsula.

• The need to create confidence that together we can find a way through our
immediate fiscal challenges and achieve a prosperous future.

• The need to inspire our young people and newcomers that this place is an
attractive option for their future careers and families.

• The need to restore confidence in our institutions of political governance.

The need to restore confidence in our democratic institutions is the reason I propose an
Honesty in Politics Act, which would hold politicians legally accountable for promises made
which voters reasonably take as solemn and intended to be relied on. One way of removing
doubt from whether a promise is subject to accountability under the Honesty in Politics Act,
is to provide for politicians to expressly opt their promises into the Act. If a politician fails
to opt an important promise into the Act, then voters can draw a negative conclusion as to
whether the politician has a serious intent to implement the promise.
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In order to give your issues and priorities a strong voice in government, I need to hear from
you. Tell me what your issues and priorities are for Newfoundland and Labrador by going
to www.ChesCrosbie.ca and filling in the form. You can also email contact@chescrosbie.ca or
call (709) 700-9971.

I believe that we have difficult challenges to tackle over the next 5 years or so, but with
decisive action we can master those challenges and establish the basis for the prosperity
which lies ahead.

My Connect with Crosbie tour around the province has convinced me that at this stage of our
journey as a province, teetering on the financial brink, voters are not just ready but longing
for mature political leaders who treat voters as adults, and give us straight talk about our
challenges and a credible plan to meet them.

Without decisive leadership, this province will reach a point of no return, during the term of
government which will start after the general election in fall 2019.

If you want political leadership in a time of crisis – if you want to rebuild the economy,
restore confidence in our political institutions and revive the PC Party under my leadership
as a force for democracy – go to www.chescrosbie.ca to become a member or supporter of
the PC Party.

Registering to vote for real leadership is free. It takes 4 minutes to fill in the form to become
a PC Party member or supporter, and qualify to vote for me as Leader of the PC Party, and
Leader of the Opposition.
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If you don’t think of yourself as a party member, but you support honesty in politics, then as
a “supporter” you have the right to discharge your civic duty and cast a postal ballot for me
as Leader.

For your convenience, maps and descriptions of the boundaries of the 40 electoral districts
are available at http://www.elections.gov.nl.ca/elections/Voters/districtmaps.html

If you still have questions about which district you reside in, call Elections NL at 1-877-729-
7987 or email enl@gov.nl.ca.

Together, we PC Party members and supporters can defeat apathy and inspire voters at the
next general election in 2019, with a new, honesty-in-politics approach to providing true
change and great government for Newfoundland and Labrador!
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Some Political Leaders Who Inspire Me

Sir Winston Churchill: it was said of him that as wartime Prime Minister of Great Britain, he
mobilized the English language and sent it into battle. Just as well, because he didn't have a
lot to work with other than defiance, after the Nazi juggernaut had rolled over Europe and
massed howling at the gates just across the English Channel. A master parliamentarian,
Churchill probably gave the best defence of democracy – it is the worst possible system of
government, except for all the others. Churchill and Roosevelt met in Placentia Bay in August
1941 and agreed on the Atlantic Charter, which some have described as the greatest
statement in favour of liberty since the Magna Carta. This is a big claim, but whether you
agree with that appraisal or not, the Atlantic Charter was a statement of the war aims of the
democratic powers and the foundation for the peace which followed, which peace we still
enjoy.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Conrad Black, who wrote a lengthy biography of Franklin
Roosevelt, argues that FDR was the greatest man of the 20th century. Roosevelt was
president of the United States of America from nearly the beginning of the Great Depression
in the early 1930s to nearly the end of the second world War. He was a transformational
leader who changed the American system of government when he originated the New Deal,
and he skillfully supported the United Kingdom in fighting Hitler's siege and brought the
United States into the Second World War against profound isolationist forces in Congress.
The Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor helped defeat the isolationists, as did Hitler's
reckless declaration of war against the United States immediately thereafter.

Brian Mulrooney: this Canadian prime minister was not afraid to tackle the big issues, with
free trade with the United States being his major legacy piece. His constitutional initiatives
almost succeeded, and most believe they would have altered the Canadian Federation for the
better. Although few people might admire a taxation scheme as a political achievement, the
goods and services tax is universally applauded by economists as sound economic policy.
Mulrooney was a great friend of Newfoundland and Labrador, as shown by his support,
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against much opposition, for the Canadian equity investment in the Hibernia oilfield, which
still pays huge dividends to the federal government today. This investment became
necessary when Gulf Oil pulled out of the venture as a partner, and forms the foundation for
the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore industry today.

John C. Crosbie: see Mulrooney above! My father was instrumental in ending the despotic
Smallwood regime with its irrational and expensive economic development policies, and in
assisting the Moores government to provide good government in the 1970s. Dad’s tenure as
a member of Parliament in Ottawa from 1976 to 1993 saw him take a leading role in the
national issues of the period, while being perhaps the strongest representative we have had
since Confederation, of the interests of Newfoundland and Labrador in the federal cabinet.
Dad championed the successful backstopping of the Hibernia project by the federal
government, and obtained the support of Prime Minister Mulrooney to do it. Dad is
remembered in 2017 for the closure of the cod fishery 25 years ago, the largest industrial
closure in the country's history. Fishermen were understandably furious and upset, but all
now agree that the closure was necessary to save the codfish for the future – and my father
handled this challenging task with courage and aplomb.

Sir Robert Bond: Ted Rowe’s biography “The greatest Newfoundlander” states his estimation
of Sir Robert in the title. Independently wealthy, Bond was a lawyer who devoted his career
to elected public service. During the 1890s bank crash, he put together a financing package
that saved the day, famously giving a personal guarantee in the process. He was prime
minister of the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1900 to 1909, and after his administration,
propelled by the financing of the heroic Newfoundland Regiment during WWI and the
financing of the railway, public life went on a downward slide into the increasingly
unsupportable debt load that pushed Newfoundland into effective bankruptcy and loss of
democracy, under a commission of government in 1933. Bond gets high marks for
disinterested dedication to the public good and to good government.
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The common theme in my choice of favorite politicians is courage, resilience and dedication
to good government – and the delivery of good government! As you can probably guess, one
of these political leaders had more influence over me than the others!