Williams can't wait for Harper to fall

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams said Tuesday he can't waitfor the prime minister to be booted out of office after learning the federal Tory government will launch a counter-ad campaign against him.

Newspaper ads and radio commercials this week will challenge Williams'sassertionthat Stephen Harper broke written promises he made during the 2006 federal election campaign.

"I think the running of those ads just insults the intelligence and the integrity of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador," Williams said at a news conference.

"The quicker this government could be out of office would make me very happy, so if that's the case, this afternoon. I don't like what Mr. Harper represents, I don't like what Conservatives are representing right now in this country."

Williams said the federal budget last month breaks Harper's pledge to not include non-renewable resources— which would include offshore oil revenues— in its new equalization formula.

Williams authorized a $250,000 campaign that placed full-page and half-page advertisements in newspapers across the country, including the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star.

Thefederal counter-ads will run only in Newfoundland and Labrador, where Williams— a Progressive Conservative— has encouraged voters to not support Conservative candidates in the next federal election.

'Malicious' campaign

When asked Tuesday by a Radio-Canada journalist whether using taxpayers' money for the campaign is justified, Harper said: "Yes, absolutely. We are facing a government campaign on the part of the government of Newfoundland and Labrador. This is not an ad campaign paid by the party.

"It's a campaign paid by the taxpayers and we think it's absolutely essential that the taxpayers in Newfoundland get the facts, and it's only an information campaign."

Federal Conservative sources say the ads are necessary because they believe Williams is misleading voters in what they describe as a "malicious" campaign.

The print ads say "Premier, the facts do matter," and that Newfoundland and Labrador "has not lost a penny" through the new formula.

As well, the ads contain the claim that the province has "been blessed and stayed blessed in this budget."

Since the budget was released, the Conservatives have insisted that the new formula does not include a cap on the Atlantic Accord and does not cut payments or the equalization payment itself.

Williams said the new formula spells long-term trouble for Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly once the terms of the 2005 Atlantic Accord expire.

Federal Conservative sources describe their advertising as an information campaign and not an attack ad.

'PremierWilliams is wrong'

Meanwhile, an internal federal government memo obtained by the Canadian Press gives talking points to Tory MPs about how to handle criticism from Williams and others.

"Premier Williams is wrong when he says that there is a cap on the Atlantic Accord," CP quoted the memo as saying.

"Danny Williams is misleading the people of his province in his malicious ad campaign."

The memo, CP reported, emphasizes that Tory MPs should stress that Williams wants another special deal, and that the federal government must protect the interests of all Canadians instead.

Other provinces, particularly Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, have been critical of the new equalization formula.

The memo underscores how dramatically the Conservative party has shifted its policy on non-renewable resources.

During the 2004 federal campaign, Harper and the Conservatives agreed to Williams's request to revise the Atlantic Accord on offshore royalties.

Once Harper had given that commitment, then prime minister Paul Martin made a verbal agreement. Williams launched a heated— but ultimately successful— campaign against Martin when he would not provide a written agreement. Ultimately, Ottawa signed a new Atlantic Accord in February 2005 with both Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

In the subsequent federal election, Harper and federal Conservatives emphasized the Liberal flip-flop while courting voters in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Williams quoted from federal Tory campaign literature— including the tag line "there is no greater fraud than a promise not kept"— in the ads placed last week.