Notably, in 2024 the provincial Liberals received corporate donations from Fortis Inc. ($18,650), Pennecon ($40,300), Coastal Shipping Ltd. ($35,000), and World Energy GH2 ($6,750). Meanwhile, the merchant class of St. John’s and other jurisdictions reaped most of the economic benefits of fish harvesters’ hard labour. They would not be pursuing new oil projects, something that is also driven by the St. John’s merchant class. But if we build our economy by elevating our own people, as many countries have done, who would the province’s merchant class extract from? Poor conflict-of-interest laws, lack of accountability, endless political donations from corporations, and a revolving door between politics and business.