I almost fell over after reading NDP-MLA Vicki Conrad's recent letter, "Stood together."

 Does she really believe the fiction that she writes? Perhaps Ms Conrad should consider changing her name to Alice as it is obvious she lives in Wonderland. I'm sure Yarmouth residents would agree. I will give you an assessment of the Bowater Mersey situation from the perspective of an employee as I have worked there for almost 16 years.

 Ms Conrad and the NDP say they saved 2,000 jobs attached to the Bowater paper mill. I doubt that this is true and I do know not one of these "saved jobs" should be attributed to the mill itself. All the NDP did was help turn Bowater Mersey into a perverse form of its former self, a Frankenstein, if you will.

 Dick Garneau and other top Abitibi-Resolute management are very thankful to Premier Dexter, Vicki Conrad and all the other NDP cronies who provided them with an early Christmas gift of 50 to 90 million Nova Scotia taxpayer dollars. I'm very sure the millionaires at the top are very happy about this but to those who work at Mersey, we're happy about none of this.

 Half of the Mersey workforce is to be eliminated, of which, thankfully, I am one. The half who will remain will be working on their knees because 51.7 per cent of our union voted in favour of the demands of a corporate bully.

 "Take this, or we're shutting you down," we were told. This is why I say the NDP saved zero jobs at the Bowater mill, because this is the truth. After January 1, 2012, every good-paying union job that existed prior to January 1 will be gone. The 50 per cent leaving are the lucky ones and the 50 per cent who remain will have nothing compared to before January 1. Everything they had will be gone. This is not saving jobs.

 Another point to think of is how many low-paying, no benefit scab jobs will be created. I imagine the number of scab workers hired will be in direct relation to the number of good-paying, good benefit union jobs that will be lost forever. So tell me why we should thank the NDP? Thank the NDP for what?

 Come the next provincial election I hope the people of Nova Scotia will wise up like the people of Ontario once did and make this NDP government a one-time experiment that's better left forgotten. NDP, "For today's families"? We Nova Scotians know better.

 PHILIP GIFFIN
 Bridgewater

posted on 01/04/12