St. John's East a key battleground in last campaign stretch

Candidates in the federal riding of St. John's East hit the streets over the holiday weekend for some last-minute campaigning.

For the first time in many years, most candidates appeared to be trying to catch up to the New Democrats.

NDP contender Jack Harris has been deemed the front-runner by many Newfoundland political observers.

His opponents say he's benefited from the very public disagreement between Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams, who is a Progressive Conservative, and Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.

"Danny Williams has thrown his party workers and their organization and their PC money into this," Conservative candidate Craig Westcott said.

"People who would support the PC party ordinarily [are] into Jack's campaign, so he's got it all in his favour," he said this weekend.

"It's his to lose, really. But still, you got people like me and [Liberal candidate Walter Noel] and the other three guys.... You still gotta work your butt off and do what you think is right."

Harris's campaign hasn't had to do as much work, Noel said.

"He made his decision [to run] at the last minute, whereas I've been working on this for the past several years, and I was nominated back last February," he said.

Voters simply want change, Harris said — even former Liberals and Conservatives want it.

Talk around his candidacy has more to do with that than with Williams's crusade to persuade voters to turn their backs on the federal Tories through his "Anything but the Conservatives," or ABC, campaign, he said.

"It's not really part of the ABC campaign at all."

Westcott plays up pension issue

Westcott said he wants to know what Harris will do with his provincial pension if elected to federal office.

Norm Doyle, who is retiring as MP in St. John's East, has been donating his provincial pension to charity.

Harris should tell voters what his plans are, Wescott said.

"I just put it to Jack, you know you're getting 60, 70 grand a year now, and you're going to be getting a big salary as a [member of Parliament]. All the time he was an MHA, he also practised law, so what's he going to do with all the money," Westcott asked.

"Will he at least take the provincial MHA's pension and donate it to charity, instead of double dipping … and follow Norm Doyle's example?" he said.

"It's a significant amount of money, and I think taxpayers have a right to know what he's going to do with it, because if he doesn't, we're going to be paying him twice for one job."

Harris said this is a last-ditch attempt by Wescott to distract voters from the real issues because it's the first time the issue has been raised in the campaign. "I'm surprised that at the eleventh hour, Mr. Westcott is looking, desperately seeking to make an issue of something that isn't an issue at all."

St. John's East Liberal candidate Walter Noel also receives a pension from his time as an MHA.

He said it's fair to keep the pension money.

"We've all done things in our past that may have developed some assets and some sources of income, but people in public life shouldn't be penalized anymore than people in private life," Noel said.

He said there are lots of MPs in Ottawa who have served in provincial legislatures and who continue to receive their pensions.