A newspaper owned and operated in Newfoundland & Labrador
Vol. 2 Issue 36
St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
Sunday, September 5-11, 2004
www.theindependent.ca
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‘Work is work’ Prostitutes should be unionized, with health benefits, pensions and shift differentials: CUPE president
Life & Times Jenny Gear Page 20
By Alisha Morrissey The Sunday Independent
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International Voice From Away Page 18
Photo Illustration by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent
Union proposition Wayne Lucas, head of the Newfoundland and Labrador branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), says prostitution in this province should be decriminalized and unionized. Those involved in the world’s oldest profession should have the same rights and benefits of other “public service employees.”
Business Mom & pop shops Page 15
Riche culture
Sports Harold Druken Page 25 Quote of the Week “If it’s not one thing, it’s another, if it’s not politics, it’s prices or their children or wives. It’s almost a play in motion.” — Janice Brown on overthe-counter conversations at Brown’s Store, a St. John’s corner store
Time for action to combat foreign fishing: Williams By Ryan Cleary The Sunday Independent
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d Riche is coming down from a busy summer of work, and gearing up for the launch of his justreleased second novel, The Nine Planets. He seems to have a million things on his mind, impatiently walking around his home in search of lost book-launch invitations, making coffee and conversation about reviews, his daughter, his taxes. But touch on the subject of provincial funding for the arts, and his tone changes: he’s instantly focused and fired up. “Obviously, the literary community here is incredibly healthy, one person after another, there’s an endless depth to the pool, which is a miracle given the funding situation,” says the writer behind Rare Birds — the book and the film. His voice strengthens as his agitation rises. “The city spent, what was it, subsidizing the baby Leafs to the tune of a million dollars a year? For an activity where all the talent is imported. Meanwhile, we export all the artistic talent,” he says. “Do you know the economic impact of a million dollars on culture in St. John’s? If they spent a million dollars a year in culture in St. John’s we would suddenly be a world destination for the arts, instead of a regional, meaningless backwater in a second-rate hockey league … can you
Photo by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent
Playwright and author Ed Riche.
imagine?” Riche’s frustration comes from his own experience, making a living by multi-tasking in the arts, often looking to grants to fund projects. One of the province’s most prolific writers — he’s also written for television shows like Made in Canada, radio, stage and screen — money matters have kept him from doing some of the things he loves. Although he says he enjoys the variety
of his work, radio and theatre have proven to be his favourite media to work with. The Great Eastern, a CBC radio series — which Riche wrote for — that ran for five years in the mid-’90s came to a halt over a money dispute. And while CBC Radio struggles to hold on to federal funding and public support, Riche figures theatre is even more difficult to eek out a living with. Continued on page 23
Continued on page 2
‘Put up or shut up’
Author of Rare Birds on his second novel, the arts and his favourite place — right here
By Stephanie Porter The Sunday Independent
rostitution should be decriminalized and unionized, says a provincial union leader who’s pushing for change. Wayne Lucas, president of the provincial branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), says prostitutes are average people trying to make a living like everyone else and deserve the same benefits as unionized employees. “The whole idea about legalizing prostitution is work is work, first and foremost, and it’s a dangerous field out there,” Lucas tells The Sunday Independent. “I understand they need protection, as well, they need benefits.” “If there’s anyone who works in the public interest, we’d be there to organize them.” Lucas says prostitution is a risky business. “Prostitution, as they say, is the oldest profession on earth and it has been
around for a long time and it looks like it’s going to be around for a long time to stay so the people that work in the field need protection.” Lucas says he’s concerned about pimps, “not the person who goes out and turns the trick. “It’s the organized crime that puts pressure on these women,” he says. “They’ll go out and work a night and maybe make $200, $300 or $1,000, whatever the case may be, only to find out that they got to go back and give it to some drug dealer or they got to give it to some sort of kingpin in the mafia or something like that.” He says in more “socially advanced” countries such as Holland, prostitution is legal and safe. A union that protects prostitutes in the province, he says, would work with some sort of agency to provide health care and testing for sexually-transmitted diseases. “That benefits both the clientele and it benefits the individuals themselves.”
escribing Ottawa’s inaction on the foreign-fishing file as a “slap in the face,” Premier Danny Williams is giving Ottawa until the end of the year to start making headway. “They can’t, on the one hand, say they’re going to solve the problem and on the other hand do nothing about it and come out with bafflegab and nonsense that just basically talks about foreign relations and everything else,” Williams tells The Sunday Independent. “We’re not concerned about foreign relations; we’re concerned about domestic relations. And this is a relationship between Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada. And we can’t continue to get slapped in the face and we’re not going to put up with it,” he says. “We’ve tried here a very co-operative, collaborative approach with Ottawa. It’s borne fruits from the perspective that they’ve agreed with us and they’re going to do something about it. Well now it’s time to put up or shut up and get on with it.” The province has argued for years that Canada should extend custodial management over fish stocks on the entire continental shelf — including
international waters outside the 200- which are up to a vessel’s home country mile limit — as a way to control foreign to file with the courts. fishing. In fact, well over 300 illegal fishing The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries citations have been issued by Canada Organization (NAFO), which oversees since 1992, when the commercial cod fishing on the high seas, is regarded by fishery was first closed. Federal Fishcritics as toothless, unable eries officials say charges to enforce the quotas it have been laid in less than a sets. quarter of those cases. Last Continued foreign fishyear alone, 15,000 tonnes of ing in international waters species such as cod that are is seen as the primary reaunder moratoria were caught son the health of fish by foreign fleets, although stocks such as cod and that figure is just a best flounder has deteriorated guess. in domestic waters despite NAFO’s annual general a 12-year commercial meeting is slated for Sept. fishing ban. Species such 13-17 in Dartmouth, N.S. as northern cod have been Danny Williams Custodial management is declared endangered. not on the agenda. Prior to the June 28 federal election, “That’s a Canadian issue,” says BarPrime Minister Paul Martin and John bara Marshall, information manager Efford, the province’s representative in with the NAFO secretariat, when conthe federal cabinet, said they were pre- tacted by The Independent. pared to move ahead with custodial Williams says he plans to meet with management. federal Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan That hasn’t happened. While offshore and Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Petsurveillance has stepped up, the same tigrew in the near future on the issue of problems with NAFO remain: member foreign fishing. countries can still use the so-called “Ottawa has to show some action objection procedure to opt out of quotas here,” the premier says. “There’s been and unilaterally set their own; Canada enough rhetoric; we need action here in has no power to charge a foreign vessel Newfoundland and Labrador.” with illegal fishing; citations that are issued most often don’t lead to charges, Continued on page 2
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NEWS
Low expectations
Unions reach tentative deal with Aliant after months on picket line
From page 1 As for Efford, who supported custodial management prior to being invited into the federal cabinet, Williams says he’s prepared to give him the “benefit of the doubt” as to whether he’s pushing the foreign-fishing file. “From my perspective, I’m dealing with the prime minister,” says Williams. “… that’s ultimately where the decision gets made.” Efford couldn’t be reached for comment. Recent reports out of Ottawa indicated the prime minister’s office had received expert advice that warned of political, legal and possibly military repercussions if Canada follows through with custodial management. Gus Etchegary, the province’s most outspoken fisheries advocate, doesn’t expect Canada to follow through with custodial management. The same senior bureaucrats who opposed custodial management years ago are still there today, he says.
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
HALIFAX The Canadian Press
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fter more than four months on the picket lines, two striking unions reached a tentative deal Sept. 3 with Aliant Inc., Atlantic Canada’s largest telecommunications company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed pending ratification by 4,300 members of the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union and the Atlantic Communications and Technical Workers Union. “It’s been a tough job, it’s
been a difficult job,” union negotiator Ervan Cronk told reporters moments after the deal was hammered out after five consecutive days of negotiations. “We had some good people here this week helping us,” he says, referring to federal officials who helped mediate the agreement. The workers will begin voting on the contract on Sept. 8. It wasn’t immediately clear if they will return to work before then. “Today’s result reflects the spirit of co-operation that all parties brought to the table
during these mediation talks,” said Sharon Duggan, Aliant’s chief negotiator. About two million homes and 80,000 businesses in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island use Aliant’s telephone and Internet services. The strike began April 23 when technical, clerical and field workers walked off the job to back demands for greater job security and enhanced pensions and benefits. Service has been disrupted several times during the
strike. In June, police confirmed that wires were cut by vandals, knocking out phone services for 250,000 people on the Avalon Peninsula. Wires were also cut the same night in Nova Scotia, disrupting service for about 5,000 residents. The Atlantic Communications and Technical Workers Union represents 1,800 Aliant employees in Nova Scotia, while the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers covers staff in Newfoundland and the two other Atlantic provinces.
Not getting involved with the family values: Lucas From page 1 He says people may not understand the union’s stance on prostitution. He also expects to get calls from members when they see a new CUPE ad campaign that promotes same-sex rights, trans-gendered rights and the decriminalization of prostitution. “Our union is on the cutting edge of all those issues,” says Lucas, adding CUPE is home to an organization called the Pink Triangle Committee, a group of union members in each province who fight for such rights. “You look at it from the perspective of the gay and lesbian and tri-gendered community it makes a whole lot of sense.” There is no Pink Triangle Committee for gay and lesbian union members in this province. Lucas says he expects the union will lobby government to change legislation on prostitution and solicitation. “I’m fairly confident that, that resolution will be lobbied on behalf of the Pink Triangle Committee through our national office through levels of government throughout the country.” The Independent asked Inspector Sean Ryan of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary for statistics relating to prostitution in St. John’s, but Ryan failed to return messages. Previous inquires revealed that prostitution charges were, in fact, rare. Prostitution isn’t as blatant in the province’s capital as in other East Coast provinces like Nova Scotia, where hookers are known to walk downtown streets. Much of the province’s sex trade is thought to be carried out through massage parlors and escort services. There are eight escort services listed in the 2004/2005 telephone book — compared to 25 the year previous. If the law was changed tomorrow, Lucas says he’d be out walking the streets too — to create the union. “I’d be the first one out there with cards saying ‘B’y look, you need benefits’ and to me it’s just a job like any other job.” He says benefits available to prostitutes should be like those of any other collective agreement, covering health and safety, pension plans, standard rates of pay, hours of work and shift differentials. “It’s not that far fetched really. Some people are going to say ‘Geez, this guy must be smoking
dope or something.’” When it comes to the morality of the sex trade, Lucas says he knows some people will be offended. “I wouldn’t say this on Open-
Line either because people just wouldn’t understand,” he says. “Prostitutes are working moms, prostitutes are somebody’s wife, they’re somebody’s daughter and they’re somebody’s mother.
People look down on prostitution as being unethical.” However, Lucas says the people who most get up in arms when he explains how he feels are “the Johns forking out the $200 or
$300 to spend the night with a prostitute. “I’m not going to get involved with the family values of it and that’s not what CUPE is talking about either.”
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
NEWS
Page 3
Rules of fortune
Sorting out premier’s finances convinces commissioner new timeframes are in order By Jeff Ducharme The Sunday Independent
Mail-in ballot abuse must stop: Green
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remier Danny Williams’ financial team hasn’t yet satisfied the commissioner of members’ interests, but the experience has apparently taught Wayne Green a lesson. Williams, a millionaire businessman and lawyer, met the April 1 deadline for disclosing his financial holdings, but he has yet to satisfy conflict of interest guidelines. Trouble is, the legislation governing an MHA’s personal finances doesn’t include time lines. “One of the areas that I’ve been focusing on, even before the arrival of this current premier, was the fact that there were no sort of parameters placed on the time frame — from the time I forward to them the public disclosure statement for signature and the time that’s allowed for them to return it,” Green tells The Sunday Independent. While Green has issued loose deadlines as to when he expected the premier’s management firms to finish putting the financial house in order, he says the issue becomes complicated when brokerage houses, banks and other investors are involved. “Although they seem to have taken a long period of time, I can appreciate, when other groups are involved, that you’re sort of at their mercy, I guess, in terms of them having to satisfy themselves that they’re not going to be overexposed as a result of any changes that might take place.” Green’s most recent deadline was set for July’s end, a time line that wasn’t met. Williams later called him to discuss the setback. Green has repeatedly denied that the premier tried to influence the process, stressing the process is proceeding — just not at the pace he’d like. He expects to receive more pieces to the premier’s complicated financial puzzle within
By Jeff Ducharme The Sunday Independent
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Photo by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent
Wayne Green
weeks. Green says he’s spent his three years in the commissioner’s office looking at ways to tighten up the province’s conflict of interest legislation. “You can’t sort of make things so tight that you try and have one-size-fits-all. Obviously everybody is different and what they have is different,” says Green. Williams and even Prime Minister Paul Martin — who was stung by the $100-million sponsorship scandal — campaigned on making government more accountable and transparent. The words were music to Green’s ears. “It suggests that they are recognizing that the public expects transparency,” says Green. “They expect that the people they elect not to further their own private interests because of the public office they hold and they want to hold them accountable.” Currently, those wishing to view an
MHA’s financial disclosure documents have to trek to Green’s St. John’s office. Green wants the province to make the documents available online. “It’s a public document and people in one part of the province shouldn’t be disadvantaged.” Williams has an investment portfolio of numerous companies, including wellknown firms such as BCE Inc., Torstar Corp., Gillette Co., and Canadian Imperial Venture. Williams also owns companies involved in the offshore oil and gas industry, including Spectrol Energy, Atlantic XL and OIS Fisher. The province has hired a consultant to examine the Atlantic Canada underwater route for the transmission of power from the Lower Churchill in Labrador. The Tory administration won’t name the consultant, although Williams has denied that his companies are involved.
ewfoundland politics has often been called a bloodsport, but even down and dirty politics needs rules, says Wayne Green, the province’s chief electoral officer. Green says campaign workers have to be taken out of the loop if the integrity of the mailin ballot system is to be maintained. After last October’s provincial election that saw the Tories sweep to power, accusations that campaign workers influenced mail-in ballots resulted in charges being laid against a Stephenville Crossing man. Oliver Sommerton, 46, was a campaign worker for Liberal candidate Ron Dawe in the district of St. George’s-Stephenville East. (Dawe was defeated by Human Resources Minister Joan Burke.) Sommerton pleaded not guilty and the trial is currently underway in Stephenville. “Those types of allegations, some of which may have been founded, some may be unfounded, but the fact that there was so much talk about it suggests that things were going on,” Green tells The Sunday Independent. “That has to stop.” Green is recommending that the province hire more poll clerks to distribute mail-in ballots to “vulnerable” voters such as those in nursing homes. He wants the province to put a stop to party workers having direct contact with ballots. “… to have someone put their foot in your door if you try to close it … it goes beyond the bounds of what they should be doing,” says Green. He says democracy doesn’t come cheap. “All the parties are fully aware of the problems that were out there last October,” he says. “They know to what extent it was going on and they’re anxious as everybody else to fix it, but sometimes the fix has a cost with it. “How bad do we want to fix it?”
Back to school (on Ottawa’s tab) Human Resources expects to spend $77 million on training programs this year for 7,500 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians — EI benefits extra By Ryan Cleary The Sunday Independent
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one are the days when the federal government purchased blocks of “seats” in post-secondary training programs and sought out UI-eligible students to fill them up. Unemployment Insurance is now known as EI (Employment Insurance) and prepaid seats have gone the way of the one-room schoolhouse. That’s not to say that Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (once known as Human Resources Canada) doesn’t still “sponsor” EI-eligible students looking to return to the workforce via the return-to-school route. In fact, the Newfoundland and Labrador office expects to sponsor
an estimated 7,500 students this fall in training courses offered at most post-secondary institutions — from the College of the North Atlantic and Marine Institute, to private schools like CompuCollege and Lawrence College. (Outside of exceptional circumstances, the department doesn’t sponsor university students.) The technical phrase these days for the sponsoring of an unemployed individual in a training course is “skills development intervention.” Over the course of the year, the number of sponsored students in this province is expected to swell to 11,000 — the average in each of the past three years. All told, Human Resources is expected to spend an estimated $77 million this year on training
programs, a huge boost for the education industry. Not to mention the benefit to students, who avoid racking up huge debts through student loans. The $77 million includes the cost of training programs, transportation to and from school, daycare and training materials such as books. EI benefits — which a student also continues to receive while in school — are on top of the $77 million. Students are expected to pay for 20 per cent of their education, with the other 80 per cent picked up by Human Resources. The amount paid by the federal department per training course tops out at about $15,000. In the case of a more expensive program (helicopter training, for example) students are expected to contribute
more. “At least 50 per cent of our clients are people who need basic skills and trade experience in order to enter the labour marker,” says Bob Picco, a department spokesman in St. John’s. “They’re in low-paying jobs and they’re in and out of EI, and what we try to do is help them achieve their potential — whether that’s going into construction or IT (information technology). That’s part of the whole counselling process to identify their aptitudes and what their interests are.” Years ago, Human Resources bought blocks of seats in training programs. These days, the department takes a “client-centred approach” and insists on the completion of return-to-work action plans. Such plans include an
assessment of job prospects once a course is completed. EI eligible claimants are obviously eligible for retraining, but then so is anyone who’s filed a claim within the last three years. “We would give them the equivalent of an EI benefit in the way of a grant,” says Picco. Education funding through Human Resources in this province is directed by way of a federal/provincial funding agreement. “Our agreement is somewhat unique in the country because it’s called a co-managed agreement. In some parts of the country there are no agreements,” says Picco. The $77 million that’s expected to be spent in the province this year, he says, is on par with funding levels in other provinces.
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NEWS
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
An independent voice for Newfoundland & Labrador
P.O. Box 5891, Stn.C St. John’s, Newfoundland A1C 5X4 Tel: 709-726-4639 Fax: 709-726-8499 www.theindependent.ca The Sunday Independent is published by The Sunday Independent, Inc. in St. John’s. It is an independent newspaper covering the news, issues and current affairs that affect the people of Newfoundland & Labrador.
PUBLISHER Brian Dobbin NEWSROOM Managing Editor Ryan Cleary Senior Editor Stephanie Porter Picture Editor Paul Daly Senior Writer Jeff Ducharme Reporter Alisha Morrissey Layout John Andrews OPERATIONS Operations Andrew Best Consultant Wilson Hiscock Account Executive Nancy Burt nancy.burt@theindependent.ca Circulation Representative Brian Elliott Office Manager Rose Genge E-MAIL Advertising: sales@theindependent.ca Production: production@theindependent.ca Circulation: circulation@theindependent.ca Newsroom: editorial@theindependent.ca All material in The Sunday Independent is copyrighted and the property of The Sunday Independent or the writers and photographers who produced the material. Any use or reproduction of this material without permission is prohibited under the Canadian Copyright Act. © 2004 The Sunday Independent
LETTERS POLICY The Sunday Independent welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be 300 words in length or less and include full name, mailing address and daytime contact numbers. Letters may be edited for length, content and legal considerations. Send your letters in care of The Sunday Independent, P.O. Box 5891, Station C, St. John’s, NL, A1C 5X4 or e-mail us at editorial@theindependent.ca
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Rowe of beans
uch like a death, the relocation of Bill Rowe to that far lesser bay will take a few years yet to sink in. The grief only recently began, weeks after the voice had faded, when the fog lifted from VOCM Valley and it became clear Randy Simms is not Rowe incarnate. If Rowe were to come back as anyone it would most likely be the Moon Man, someone who lets loose once in a while — although Rowe would certainly be less a fan of the yabba-dabba-do juice. Eventually, Rowe, stuffed in the Moon Man’s body, would yearn to end up in a cavity like Jack Harris, an upper middle-class role model to the poor and punched. Rowe would be more comfortable there, at least once he dumped the spare tire that is the NDP. Like a heart attack, Rowe’s death was sudden and shocking. There was no advance notice. One day, after 20 years of waking up together, he failed to show up before the mike. And there was Simms. The jury is still out on the new host, which is understandable. It takes awhile after a loss to warm up to the thought of another marriage. It’s the same story as when a stepmother first appears on the scene — the children don’t exactly run to the front door with arms wide and
lips puckered. The carrot that lured Rowe away from Open Line was the job of the province’s representative in the Newfoundland and Labrador office of federal/provincial relations in Ottawa. He was given four files to work on for starters — 5 Wing Goose Bay, custodial management, the 20 per cent tariff on shrimp into Europe, and increased enforcement of our salmon rivers. Essentially, Rowe has the job of an MP, although he reports directly — not to the voters; he didn’t have to go through the nasty business of getting elected — to Danny Williams himself. Rowe has to try and steer the federal bureaucratic machine on a different course when it comes to Newfoundland and Labrador, which fell over the side of Confederation years ago and clings to a lifesaver in the North Atlantic. Good luck with that — our seven MPs have been trying for years. To change the course of the ship of state Rowe has to court and cajole the federal bureaucracy, which runs the place. Trouble is, once he’s welcomed in, he becomes part of the bureaucracy and the exercise is doomed. Assimilation is another word for it. Government bureaucracy, as with its political masters, responds
primarily to one stimuli only — public opinion. Williams would be better off sending Rowe, in ascot and accent, on a cross-country tour to inform Canadians directly as to the numerous ways this place is getting screwed. Town hall meetings in Victoria and Windsor, Saskatoon and Charlottetown have a much better chance of producing results than backroom whisper sessions with assistant deputy ministers. Winnipegers don’t have a clue why foreign fishing should be stopped on the Grand Banks. It hasn’t been explained to them how fish taken outside the 200-mile limit has a direct impact on the amount of fish rural Newfoundland has to survive on. Nor do they care. Its sounds wonderful that the federal government has increased offshore surveillance but what good is that when there’s no court to prosecute the pirates. No doubt custodial management would have political, legal and possibly military repercussions, but Canada would have something more important on its side, the fact that it’s right — the certainty that it’s the good guy. Most Albertans and Ontarians think their Newfoundland cousins would rather live on welfare than
an oil rig. They can’t be blamed for their ignorance; they just don’t know us. Rowe, or someone like him, could finally introduce us. Then they’d care. In the days leading up to the federal election Prime Minster Paul Martin and his local guy, John Efford, promised us a better deal on the Atlantic Accord and custodial management of what fish are left off our shores. Two months later and custodial management is off the table in favour of continued diplomacy — there’s already been 30-plus years of that — and changes to the Atlantic Accord or equalization that would allow us to keep more royalties and revenue may be linked to a potential agreement on health-care funding. Bill Rowe was right to pack his suitcase. He just shouldn’t be unpacking in Ottawa. Ryan Cleary is managing editor of The Sunday Independent. ryan.cleary@theindependent.ca
Letters to the Editor
Prosperity hinges on education Dear editor, Statistics demonstrate vividly that the demand for a university education in this country is high but space and faculty are limited. Are we heading for trouble in these institutions of higher learning? During the last few years, increased droves of young people have being heading for university. These young people apparently so desire to experience the academic lifestyle of richness, opportunity and promise. The fall of 2003 saw an increase of 50,000-plus undergraduate students alone at Canadian universities. As a consequence, classrooms were overcrowded, hallways clogged, and lineups galore. Faculty were overworked and over-
stretched. Library resources were far from adequate. University residences were experiencing trouble finding space. Now, in the fall of 2004, have conditions improved? Due to a lack of funds, university administrators were unable to act. Some responded by placing a deliberate cap on entrants. Others boosted entry grades for general arts and science programs. Building new universities, expanding present infrastructures, constructing new resource centers, university residences, and hiring new competent faculty must immediately become top priority for all levels of government. As it stands, there are no long-term national plans to deal with the demand for present enrollment
growth at our universities. The status quo reigns supreme and goes unchecked. Raising student tuition to deal with this dilemma would be wrong. By not acting, aren’t we putting this nation’s prosperity in jeopardy and limiting government’s intake of tax revenues? There are those in our midst, the social intellectuals, academics, and other forward-thinking individuals, who are calling for a new transfer payment, called the Higher Education Renewal Fund. A huge infusion of cash to reinvest in new buildings, competent faculty, and cutting-edge technology for our universities is a must. It’s common knowledge that out prime minister, Paul Martin, had, before the federal election, a
planned education agenda for the country. Also, public opinion polls vividly pronounced education at the time to be the No. 2 issue in this country. Apparently, the prime minister’s heartbeat and the nation’s pulse were somewhat one and the same. Why the tight lip and muscle rigidity on this whole issue since the election? Then again, why wasn’t postsecondary education seriously discussed by the minority chief, Martin, the ten provincial warriors, and the three territorial leaders during their last powwow? Pray to Yahweh that it will be the No. 1 priority on the agenda come the next meeting of the Council of the Federation. Harold Hayward Musgrave Harbour
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
Guest Column
NEWS
Page 5
by Trevor Taylor
Like rainforests, fish stocks need protection: Taylor
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he problem of foreign overfishing has a long history in Newfoundland and Labrador that continues to be an emotional topic. Even before the moratorium on key groundfish stocks was announced in 1992, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians expressed outrage at the fishing activities of non-Canadian vessels outside the 200-mile regulatory limit. Because most moratoria stocks have not rebounded, in recent years the matter has become more sensitive and urgent, since some foreign vessels have continued to purposely catch these species. Obviously, conservation efforts are ineffective unless applied on both sides of the 200mile limit. It’s alarming that the estimated quantity of moratoria fish taken by foreign vessels outside this area is estimated to have tripled in one year to the 15,000 tonnes caught in 2003. The Canadian government made some positive steps earlier this year by investing in additional enforcement, such as increased patrols, and the boarding of vessels suspected of fishing banned species. But this matter is hardly top-of-mind outside of Eastern Canada, let alone on the world stage. Canada is one of the contracting parties to the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO). NAFO is the international body that supervises voluntary fishing conservation and management regulations outside the 200-mile limit. It is holding its 26th annual meeting in Halifax from Sept. 13-17. It has become clear that a strong Canadian position at the NAFO meetings will only occur at the express direction of the prime minister’s office. The conservation of struggling fish stocks has become, foremost, an issue of international scope. Federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Geoff Regan and Pierre Pettigrew, minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, need to know that they have the full and determined support of Prime Minister Paul Martin. The long-term benefits of the 1995 incident are debatable, but in the period after warning shots were fired over the bow of a Spanish vessel, foreign compliance with NAFO regulations improved significantly. Should Canada go down that road again? A Montreal Gazette editorial that was recently reprinted in The Sunday Independent argued that ignoring international law is not the answer. We agree that Canada must respect the historic rights of other nations to fish in international waters. However, we can only respect these rights when these nations respect basic principles of conservation and sustainable management. It seems that the only way to reduce the number of banned species caught is for Canada to send a stern high-profile message that commands international attention. This economic problem is equally an environmental issue. Northern cod, southern Grand Banks cod, and several species of flatfish are an important part of the ocean’s
ecosystem. To protect the survival of these species, we need politicians at all levels in Canada, regardless of their political stripe, to send a determined, sustained message to the world that these species are off limits. The destruction of the world’s fish stocks should be looked on as no less an issue than the destruction of the world’s rainforests. Excessive harvesting is just as destructive out of sight under the sea as it is out in the open on land. Indeed, we have been seeing support from MPs in Ottawa. Earlier this year, MP Loyola Hearn achieved success when his private member’s motion (M-136) was passed in the House of Commons. A majority of voting MPs agreed the Government of Canada should immediately extend custodial management over the nose and tail of the Grand Banks and Flemish Cap. Two years ago, the issue of Canada becoming the primary fishmanagement authority was also endorsed by the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. But it’s not just up to the politicians. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians can’t expect things at NAFO or out on the high seas to change unless we present a unified voice. When we argue the need for sound conservation and management practices, and at the same time publicly threaten to engage in protest fisheries, we are ultimately weakening our ability to effect change beyond the 200-mile limit. Recent calls for a limited food fishery, while understandable and perhaps plausible, conflict with bigger picture messages about the need for conservation. I believe that it’s in our collective interest as Canadians to present a unified voice at the NAFO and international table. It seems clear that the people who are most concerned about foreign overfishing in the NAFO regulatory area are average Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. It is up to all of us to make our united concern known. We must ensure the prime minister of Canada demonstrates conservation leadership by making foreign overfishing of moratoria species a primary issue in the upcoming NAFO meetings and beyond. As with all international organizations, change in NAFO takes a long time. Alternatives should be considered, such as the concept of custodial management. Perhaps our concerns need to be brought to the further attention of members of the European Union, such as Germany, France, and Belgium, who can also put pressure on offending countries. Whatever action Canada takes, it must be clear to the world that these fish stocks are still in trouble, and that Canada is taking a firm position against those who do not play by the rules. But it must also be clear to Ottawa, and to our Members of Parliament, that Newfoundland and Labrador will stand behind efforts that will immediately reduce foreign overfishing and allow these stocks to recover. Trevor Tayor, MHA Minister of Fisheries
Photo by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent
Night cruise Tony Fitzpatrick drives his 1925 Ford along the St. John’s waterfront. Vintage hot rods often prowl Harbour Drive on summer nights.
Rant and Reason
by Ivan Morgan
America’s darkest hour
T
o turn one of his own quotes back on himself: rarely in the field of human endeavour have so many owed so much to one person. I refer, of course, to Winston Churchill, and while I am aware of his many flaws, I am a huge admirer of the man. So when I read in the papers that former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani — someone for whom I usually have a grudging admiration — compared George W. Bush to Churchill in his speech before the Republican National Convention, I felt like I had been slapped in the face. Of all the insulting, wrongheaded, ridiculous and inaccurate comparisons I have ever had the misfortune to encounter, this has to rank in the top five. I was outraged. I have to have my say on this. To be honest I don’t even know where to begin. I ask you, gentle reader, to indulge me in a short rant. In his youth, Churchill actively sought out war and conflict. Say what you will about how this reflected on his psyche, it nonetheless also showed he had great personal courage. During the Boer War, Churchill was taken prisoner, escaped his captors and wrote an exciting (if somewhat embroidered) account of his endeavours. In his youth during the Vietnam War, George W. Bush bravely defended the shores of Texas from the Viet Cong. He did it because it was the very least his dad’s friends could wrangle for him to do. It kept him safely out of harm’s way. The Republicans can cast all the aspersions on John Kerry’s war record they want, but at least he served on the same continent as the war in which he fought. Churchill’s political career was a long and tumultuous one. At no point in his early career was his fate certain. For a while in the 1930s even he thought he was washed up politically. He had been a capable minister of the Crown. He had also been a vociferous member of an opposition that had many critics, all of whom he faced down with a
rhetorical style that many thought effortless and natural, but was, in fact, the product of decades of preparation and practice. He went on to lead his nation in their darkest hour. Bush’s electoral victories were, for all intents and purposes, purchased for him. His career before becoming president was less than stellar and is remarkable mainly in light of the ease with which he achieved both a personal fortune and then public office. At a time when civilization as he knew it faced a clear and present danger — from inside as well as out — Churchill was resolute in his defiance of his opponents. He promised his people nothing more than “blood, toil, tears and sweat” in their fight against fascism. He personified his nation’s best myths of themselves, almost single-handedly inspiring people to persevere against the Nazi onslaught. He never doubted the Allied victory.
The terrorists have never been a real threat like the Nazis. ACOA has spent more money on failed fish farms in Newfoundland than bin Laden did organizing the 9/11 attacks. Bush faces a much smaller danger, from a tiny band of malcontents, yet seems to be incapable of dealing with them. The terrorists have never been a real threat like the Nazis. ACOA has spent more money on failed fish farms in Newfoundland than bin Laden did organizing the 9/11 attacks. Al-Qaeda is a lot of things, but they are not the German army or the Luftwaffe. Rather than inspire his people, Bush and his administration have based their re-election campaign on feeding America’s irrational and unwarranted fear and paranoia. His public strategy in
the face of a threat is almost the philosophical opposite of Churchill’s during the Second World War. For many years Churchill stood alone in warning the British public of the grave dangers posed by the fascists and communists. Many thought him a crackpot. There are not a lot of Muslims preaching the defeat of America in American mosques today, but in the 1930s many of the British ruling class (the abdicated Edward VIII was a shining example) were great admirers of Hitler and his fascists. Churchill stood alone against them. In addition to his monumental history of the Second World War, Churchill wrote on numerous other topics, including a biography of his father, and a history of the English speaking peoples. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. He was also an accomplished landscape painter and a good bricklayer. I honestly wonder if George W. Bush has even the slightest idea of what constitutes literature — American, English or whatever. I doubt he is even capable of writing competent inhouse memos. I have no idea if he is good at anything — privately or publicly. No, really. I could go on for pages. If the invasion of Iraq, the rolling back of the rights of women, workers and the poor, and their adherence to a fundamentalist Christian agenda didn’t convince you, then this shameless comparison of their “spokesleader” to Churchill should clearly indicate that the Bush administration is morally and intellectually bankrupt. Ivan Moran can be reached at imorgan@nl.rogers.com
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NEWS
Opinions Are Like...
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
by Jeff Ducharme
Freedom fries and libertarian back bacon F reedom fries my ass. When the French government thumbed its nose at the George W. Bush and the American government’s warring ways against Iraq, some back-alley diplomat decided to change the name of French fries to freedom fries. Clever, he thought. Yeah, had I been in the same Grade 2 class, we’d of all had a right fine old chuckle before the teacher told us to put our heads down on our desks for nap time. Not to mention that of all the French peoples’ culinary achievements, fried spud sticks are likely the one they are least proud of having their moniker attached to. Just weeks after the terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon, I found myself in the West Edmonton Mall having dinner with some good friends. A mixed marriage — she’s Canadian and he’s an American — I made the mistake of criticizing Americans. Dennis, the American, quickly corrected me, explaining it wasn’t the Americans but the American government that was to blame. It was the American government’s foreign policy that brought this tragedy to their shores, and not the American peoples’ fault. No question. Point conceded. True, we Canadians are just too damn smug. We think we’re so damn great because our teenage hitchhikers are adored in Europe and because we spend billions of dollars trying to get grandpa to tell government where he’s hiding the elephant gun. Not to mention that in 2003 the Great White North only had a murder rate of 548. Canadians leave all their violence on the ice. There’s nothing like whacking your buddy in the head with a curved stick or watching the boys drop the gloves to relieve those nagging murderous tendencies. A statician in the U.S. recently broke down 24 years of that country’s murder stats. From 1976 to 2000, there were 507,681 murders within the borders of the world’s greatest democracy.
If you venture south of the border, don’t stand near any windows (193 people were killed that way) during August — the most murderous month. And if you’re not pushed out the window or leap to your death trying to avoid a killer that’s pursuing you, you may become a target for a sniper (483 were picked off that way). Forty-five per cent of all murderers are males between 14 to 24 years of age, and a further 29 per cent of that age group end up on the wrong end of a gun And if you’re black, staying indoors is likely the best bet for longevity. Blacks are six times more likely to be killed in the land of the free and the brave, yet they only make up 12 per cent of the population. Oh yeah, black people are also seven times more likely to murder. But considering the statistics, one has to wonder if this is more a matter of self-defense than one of cold-blooded killing. Whites in America seem to have more of a wholesale view of murder and dominate the numbers of those executed by the state — they are far more likely to commit mass murder or serial killings. And when in America, a good piece of advice would be to not stick your neck out since 7,760 people were killed by strangulation. Murderers were also better off doing their dastardly deeds in California as only 16 were put to
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death since 1977, as opposed to 301 in Texas during the same time period. It’s no surprise that George W. Bush was once the governor of Texas. Arguments accounted for almost 40 per cent of the murders studied. Experts offer this little pearl of advice: avoid arguments. It’s a piece of advice that maybe the American government should take to heart. Maybe, just maybe, if they were a little less argumentative on the world stage Americans would find themselves less of a target at home and abroad. Granted, that solution is far too simplistic and ridiculous. But so is renaming a fast food because its namesake country refused to fall in line and bomb the bejesus out of a country just because. What’s next? Libertarian back bacon? Jeff Ducharme is The Sunday Independent’s senior writer. He can be reached at jeff.ducharme@theindependent.ca
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The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
NEWS
Page 7
Mussel strengthening Shellfish industry ‘limping along,’ government must encourage investment, improve shipping
By Jeff Ducharme The Sunday Independent
trail. The province has a “mish-mash” of investor programs, he says, he province’s mussel indus- adding what’s needed is an try is healthy enough, but investor-incentive program that’s future growth hinges on its simpler to navigate and take ability to attract new investors and advantage of. strengthen the existing shipping Subsidies, he says, aren’t what network, industry the industry is representatives after. say. “(Government) “If this breaks Mike Rose of gets it back in the loose and we’re the Newfoundform of direct taxable to pioneer land Aquaculture ation,” says Rose. Industry Associa“They get it back the way and tion says governin the form of show that there is ment has done direct and indirect a profit potential well promoting employment. They the fact the get it coming back over there, province is “open Newfoundland could in retail and for business” employment go from three to when it comes to taxes.” aquaculture, but it In 2003, aquafour million pounds needs to do more culture in the proa year to around to attract new vince was worth 30 to 40 million money. $16 million, down pounds a year.” He says incenfrom $20.5 miltives are critical lion in 2002. Mus— Karl Kenny in ensuring the sels account for industry’s surapproximately 33 vival and growth. per cent of the “It might not be able to get over industry; the remainder is corthat hurdle, no question about it,” nered by salmon (38 per cent), Rose tells The Sunday Indepen- along with steelhead trout and dent. codfish. He calls the aquaculture industry There are 62 shellfish sites and “tough and global. 24 finfish farms in the province, “I actually think that, in spite of employing approximately 500 that, the aquaculture industry in people. this province will still move forRose predicts the industry could ward. It will limp along simply be worth as much as $290 million because the world-wide growing by 2010 with mussels accounting demand for seafood is so signifi- for $20 million of that amount. cant.” Of course, that kind of growth But Rose doesn’t want to see an will hinge on getting the product to industry limp its way forward — market fast — and fresh, says Karl not when it could be blazing a Kenny, president of Icewater
T
Aqualture in the province was worth $16 million last year.
Shellfish, the province’s largest mussel company, capable of producing over 2,500 tonnes of blue mussels a year. “… logistics are important especially when you’re dealing with a commodity-based product where the difference between profit and loss is pennies,” says Kenny. “One penny is a percentage point when you’re selling something for a buck a pound.” An unreliable ferry service and an air-cargo network that doesn’t always have enough capacity complicates things, says Kenny, but
it’s not a matter of life and death. Antiquated attitudes are another matter. “It’s the age-old problem of Newfoundland, I mean the sooner we get our heads wrapped around (it and) stop shipping out cod block and start to add some value to the product, there’s going to benefits to everybody, the growers, the fishermen, the processors, everybody,” says Kenny. His company is awaiting federal government approval of a new vacuum packaging system that will extend the shelf life of mus-
Photo by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent
sels to a couple of weeks from a few days. If companies such as Kenny’s can lead the way and crack the $300-million European mussel market (the province currently sells a tenth of its production in Europe), the potential for Newfoundland is huge. “If this breaks loose and we’re able to pioneer the way and show that there is a profit potential over there, Newfoundland could go from three to four million pounds a year to around 30 to 40 million pounds a year.”
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Page 8
NEWS
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
‘Nothing new here’ MHA questions why fellow farmers raising concerns over contaminated site Happy Valley-Goose Bay By Bert Pomeroy The Sunday Independent
J
ohn Hickey is wondering what all the fuss is about. The Tory MHA for Lake Melville owns farmland along the Trans-Labrador Highway near a huge contaminated site on the south escarpment of 5 Wing Goose Bay. Concerns expressed recently by local farmers that the Department of National Defence (DND) may not be able to contain the contamination are premature, Hickey tells The Sunday Independent. “I believe the (contaminated) site needs to be monitored, but from my perspective I have not had any problems,” he says. “I have raised horses and goats, I’ve had my water and soil tested … and there has not been any contamination.”
Hickey has lived in the area for the past six years, during which time he’s seen the environment improve. “Years ago you couldn’t find a frog in the area — it’s full of them now,” he says. “There are ducks and geese nesting near my farm, and there is other wildlife in the area. I’ve seen a lot of positive changes since when I first moved there.” The contaminated site is an abandoned dump, which was used primarily by the United States Air Force during the 1960s. A cleanup effort, which began more than 10 years ago, has seen the removal of hundreds of drums — some of which contained fuel oil and chemicals such as DDT and dry-cleaning solvents — and other debris. “The clean up, in my opinion, has had a positive impact,” Hickey says. “That’s not to say, how-
ever, that there won’t be problems down the road. But from what I can see, there have been many improvements.” Following a request from DND this past May, the provincial Environment Department implemented a moratorium on the leasing of any new agricultural land along the Trans-Labrador Highway near the contaminated site. The move, says 5 Wing’s public affairs officer, Alison Berega, is strictly precautionary. “The contamination has not spread. There is nothing new here, except that we want to keep monitoring it as a precautionary measure,” she says, adding that the area is less contaminated now than when the clean up began. But that’s not the way farmer Tom Angiers sees it. The request by DND for a moratorium, he says, is an admission that the contamination is much bigger than
first believed. “What DND is basically telling us is that they are never going to be able to clean it up; that it is too big for them to handle,” he says, adding that he’s concerned he may have to either leave his farm or look at changing his farming practices. “We can’t grow root crops anymore because people are just not going to buy them for fear of contamination, and we can’t sell our farm because no bank will lend anybody the money to buy it — it went to zero value.” Angiers purchased his farmland five years ago after moving to Labrador from Ontario. He claims he wasn’t aware of any contamination in the area at the time. “I didn’t know anything about the base being contaminated when we purchased our farm. I bought my lot and built my house … and
because DND is located where it is my property isn’t worth anything now.” The provincial government granted agricultural leases in the area, adds Angiers, and did not raise any concerns about possible contamination. “The only way you could get land there is if you intended to use it for agricultural purposes.” Angiers says he’s considering a class-action suit against DND and the provincial government. “I’m in debt about $200,000,” he says. “We can’t sell and we can’t grow crops because people won’t buy. We need to look for compensation for our losses.” Meanwhile, Hickey says has no plans to give up his farmland. “I’m keeping my farm and my lease and I am going to continue to do what I have always done,” he says. “I still plan on eating my potatoes taken from my land.”
‘Recommendation is to leave’ Province facing another nursing shortage: union president
By Darcy MacRae For The Sunday Independent
U
niversity graduation is supposed to be a time of celebration in a student’s life. But for Nicole Clark of St. John’s, celebrating is the last thing on her mind. Clark, like many other nursing graduates in the province, faces grim job prospects. She says she’d gladly take any job she could find in St. John’s, but so far hasn’t even come across a position to apply for. “I want a job, I don’t care how much it pays,” she tells The Sunday Independent. “It’s frustrating, especially for someone like me who wants to stay in Newfoundland and has no intention of leaving.” Clark has lived her entire life in St. John’s and she and her boyfriend recently purchased a home in the city. Packing up and leaving the province in search of a nursing position isn’t an option for her, but she expects many of her fellow graduates will soon say goodbye to Newfoundland and Labrador. “I’d say between now and Christmas 12 to 14 of the 19 people in my class will leave the province,” predicts Clark, who is slated to graduate from Memorial University’s nursing program at month’s end. “They have to live. They have bills and student loans to pay.” Many nursing students who can’t find work here leave for greener pastures in other provinces or the United States. While some eventually find their way back to the province, many never again call this place home.
Photo by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent
A medical team performs an operation at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s.
“When they get to other parts of Canada or the United States, things keep them there,” says Debbie Forward, president of the province’s nurses union. “The type of work they’re doing, the opportunities provided by their employer, the benefits and the salary keep them from coming back. They also make friends and meet future partners, which keeps them away from the province.” Forward says she wishes the majority of graduating students could find full-time work here, but she also understands why they have to go. “It’s very difficult for them to find employment. Most employers in the province are not offering permanent, full-time positions. Many of them have reverted back to offer-
ing casual work for new graduates,” Forward says. “Most of the students say they want and need permanent, full-time work because of the amount of student loans that they have. They need to pay those off quickly, so they need guaranteed employment and salary.” Attractive salary packages and reasonable hours are benefits offered by many mainland health care recruiters who often travel here for job fairs. Recruiters in this province often don’t offer the same incentives — at least they didn’t during last year’s job fair. “Recruiters from Canada and the United States were offering nice salaries, big bonuses and good jobs. But the Health Care Corporation
(of St. John’s) didn’t have any jobs to offer,” Clark says. “In a lot of places throughout Canada and the United States you can choose what area of nursing you want to go into. But here, you have to take whatever is available if you want a job.” According to Forward, close to 40 per cent of graduating nursing students in this province leave every year to find work. She says that’s unnecessary considering the
state of nursing in the province. “People talk about what could happen if there’s a nursing shortage, but I have constantly said that we’re in the midst of a nursing shortage,” says Forward. She adds that while federal and provincial politicians like to sing the praises of nurses — promising better heath care for Canadians — such statements should be taken with a grain of salt. To deliver her point, she points to Prime Minister Paul Martin’s promise during the recent federal election campaign to shorten wait lists and add more hospital beds. “It’s fine to say that you’re going to open up more beds and have more patients admitted, but unless you’ve got nurses to care for people in those beds, you can’t open those beds,” she says. “That’s a simple fact for us as nurses. We need the bodies.” Forward says nurses already working in the system don’t wish the same working conditions on new graduates coming after them. “Everybody’s recommendation is to leave,” says Clark. “The nurses here are overworked and underpaid and they think we should try to get established somewhere else and come back when jobs become available.” Darcy_8888@hotmail.com
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The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
NEWS
Page 9
Support for annual Terry Fox run lags
T
erry Ryan remembers the annual Terry Fox Run of the early 1990s: the event was hosted by City Hall, with a wonderful reception for the hundreds of participants in the main lobby. He says the reception last year consisted of a “few fold-up chairs by Quidi Vidi Lake. “I remember driving by the lake last year and thinking ‘My God, is that all that’s turned out.’ The legacy of Terry Fox and what he did should not be diminished, should not be lost.” Figures on the number of participants and money raised at the annual Terry Fox Run in recent years weren’t available by The Sunday Independent’s deadline, but they’re generally thought to be down provincewide. The 24th annual Terry Fox Run is slated for Sunday, Sept. 19, at Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John’s. Ryan and volunteers like him are out to “reenergize” the run, and increase awareness of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope. “We want people to be aware that the Terry Fox Run isn’t as strong in St. John’s as it used to be,” says Ryan. “The respect is still there for Terry Fox, but over time it has begun to fade. If we get our message out
people will come.” The Terry Fox Foundation has contributed $340 million to Canadian cancer research projects since 1980, with over $18 million in 2003/2004.
“I remember driving by the lake last year and thinking ‘My God, is that all that’s turned out.’ The legacy of Terry Fox and what he did should not be diminished, should not be lost.” — Terry Ryan
According to the official website, there’s no entry fee and no prizes are awarded, although a certificate of appreciation is given when participants complete their journey. The emphasis of the event isn’t on how much you raise, but that you participate in Terry’s memory and help him finish his Marathon of Hope. As Terry said in 1980: “If you’ve given a dollar, you are part of the Marathon of Hope.” — Ryan Cleary
Photo by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent
The Terry Fox memorial at the St. John’s waterfront.
Open lines Jason Greeley may be out of Canadian Idol, but phone lines should finally be free By Stephanie Porter The Sunday Independent
“Jason phoned me right after the show (when he was eliminated). I asked him if he was happy, and he said he was the happiest man around. If he’s happy, I’m happy. He got the exposure he wanted, and it’s been worth it for that.” — Patsy Greeley
E
ven the carefully orchestrated voting network of hundreds — if not thousands — of Newfoundlanders across the country wasn’t enough to keep Jason Greeley in the Canadian Idol race. There are even rumours that some of the people involved in John Efford’s reelection campaign helped out the Greeley camp. The 27-year-old rocker from Upper Island Cove made it to the top four in CTV’s popstar search. Jason was eliminated in the Sept. 2 show — narrowing the field to three. On the up side, says Patsy Greeley, Jason’s aunt, the next day was her first day “off” in weeks. “Yes, I was outside and about all afternoon,” Patsy told The Sunday Independent early Friday evening. “Caught up on a few things … It’s been a bit of a crazy summer.” Patsy was one of the heads of an impressive organized effort to get out the Greeley vote, assigning pay phones to dedicated dialers, send-
Jason Greeley on George St.
ing posters and flyers across the country, keeping in touch with the impromptu Jason Greeley fan clubs she says can be found in Yellowknife, Nunavut, Alberta, Ontario and elsewhere. One of Patsy’s first tasks was arranging for access to every pay phone in the Bay Roberts-Carbonear area for the two hours of voting every Wednesday night. Fans could apparently record votes much faster on pay telephones — up to 700 in a two-hour period — than regular phones
“I got a list of the pay phones in the area, contacted the people who owned them to see if it was OK if we could go in and use them,” she says. The 80-plus pay phones were located on the streets, in malls and in schools. “We haven’t had any problems, or very few, most people just pay extra security, or have the workers there longer, or, if it’s possible, they’ll just let us go in.” Gladys Mercer, property manager for TC Square Mall in Carbonear, says she wanted to do every-
thing she could to support Jason. Mall maintenance staff usually leave for home at 11 p.m. — on voting nights, they’d stick around until 12:30 a.m. or longer. The mall picked up the tab for the extra hours. “It’s a young man from the local area, in our market, and he was doing well,” Mercer says. “The community wanted to stand behind him and it’s a communitybased mall and we try to do everything we can to support the community. “They had a real network, a real team,” Mercer says of Patsy and her colleagues. “We’d set up the tables and chairs and they’d take turns on the phones.” Patsy says the people she was in touch with didn’t mind standing at an outdoor phone, dialing for two hours, if that’s what it would take to help Jason’s career. “I’ve been so busy setting up the phones and getting people to go on them, and then of course I have to go back to everyone who owns the establishments, and the people who were on the phones, and then on Thursdays they all call me with
their results so we can get a quick tally. “So that’s been taking up a lot of my time.” Three weeks ago, Patsy says, the pay-phone plan accounted for about 50,000 votes. Two weeks ago, that was down slightly to 41,000. Last week — as it turned out, the last week for Greeley — the numbers were way, way down as phone lines apparently jammed due to the large volume of calls. “It’d boggle your mind, blow your mind, the support,” she says, pointing out there were about 150 people working the pay phones. She also praises those who offered to baby-sit for a couple of hours, and the cooperative business owners. “Wednesday nights, people would kill for a phone.” Although Jason didn’t make top Idol, Patsy says it’s been a “wonderful summer. “Jason phoned me right after the show (when he was eliminated). I asked him if he was happy, and he said he was the happiest man around. If he’s happy, I’m happy. “He got the exposure he wanted, and it’s been worth it for that.”
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Page 10
NEWS
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
West Words
I
by Frank Carroll
Of hacks and hairdressers
n the midst of Disorientation Week, they wander in a daze into the registration room. Some have an odd mixture of dread and eagerness in their eyes. These students, I’ve learned, probably hold great promise. It’s the confident ones I worry about Do they know what they’re getting themselves into? Probably not. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If they knew just how hard they will have to work in order to succeed in journalism, most of them wouldn’t choose this path. Then they would miss out on the fun. Some of them may have imagined that a career in journalism will bring them fame. Some have a vague feeling that they would like to write. Others genuinely care about the society in which they live and would like to make a difference. Few of them, however, have a clear picture of where a career in journalism can lead them. Fewer still are aware of just how high a calling they have answered.
I once stood where they stand, some 17 years ago in this very school. It was Western Community College back then; today it is the College of the North Atlantic. More than the name has changed since then. Whereas we hacked out our stories on typewriters and manually pasted our articles on pages, these students are fully immersed in the computer era. They have word processing and graphic design software to make their lives easier. They will never know the frustrations we experienced with primitive typesetting machines and border tape. While journalism education has undergone technological changes and several fads, its core principles remain: curiosity, honesty, accuracy, compassion, doggedness, thoroughness, courage, a sense of duty to your audience. After a decade-long career as a journalist, I began teaching journalism here in Stephenville four years ago. One of the joys of this job comes from revisiting the core principles of journalism with a
new crop of students every fall. Many craftspeople and professionals, not just journalists, lose track of the basics. They need to dust off their old textbooks and remind themselves of the ideals and principles they embraced (or should have embraced) when they first pursued their vocation. Some people challenge the idea of offering a journalism program at a community college, of putting scribes in the same school as mechanics and hairdressers. Yet, I wish I had approached my journalism education with more of the mindset of someone learning a trade. There is a pride of workmanship that the best journalists share with the best carpenters. Intelligence alone does not guarantee success. It must be combined with a solid work ethic and a big heart. I mentioned before that journalism students are not always aware of how high a calling they have answered. When I started out, I was barely aware that people read my work, let alone took it serious-
ly. How wrong I was. People do take the work of journalists seriously. They believe what we say, most of the time. Scarier than that, they make decisions based upon what we tell them. They decide who to vote for, what products are safe for their kids, whether their country should go to war. The next two years will be full of potential for these new journalism students. If they approach this craft correctly, they will know how to report and write the news, produce radio shows, shoot video, take pictures, design newspaper pages and websites, and much more when they graduate. These years are also fraught with danger. If these students do not soon absorb the basic moral and work principles of journalism, they might not make it to graduation day. Worse, they might scrape through and unleash yet another irresponsible reporter on the world. If they learn their lessons well, however, a world of possibilities
open to them. This program has brought graduates to many disparate and interesting places — Africa and Rigolet, international political summits and inshore fishing boats, CBC and The Sunday Independent. But no matter how far they travel or how high they climb, I hope our students never lose sight of the basic principles that are key to their success, the essence of which can be boiled down to one word: honour. Frank Carroll is a journalism instructor at the Stephenville campus of the College of the North Atlantic. frank_carroll_nf@yahoo.ca
Shipping News Keeping an eye on the comings and goings of the ships in St. John’s harbour. Information provided by the Canadian Coast Guard Traffic Centre. MONDAY, AUGUST 30 Vessels arrived: Atlantic Kingfisher, Canada, from Terra Nova; Razna, Liberia, from Riga Latvia; ASL Sanderling, Canada, from Halifax; Atlantic Eagle, Canada, from Terra Nova; Maersk Nascopie, Canada, from Hibernia. Vessels departed: Cabot, Canada, to Montreal; Atlantic Osprey, Canada, to White Rose; CSO Marinas, Bahamas, to White Rose.
Photo by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent
September is one of the busiest times of year for cruise ships making stops in St. John’s harbour. Nine ships are expected to dock in the capital city by month’s end.The Clipper Adventurer, a home-porting vessel, sailed in on Sept. 2 to pick up passengers for a 10-day cruise around Atlantic Canada.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 31 Vessels departed: Maersk Placentia, Canada, to Hibernia; ASL Sanderling, Canada, to Corner Brook; Atlantic Eagle, Canada, to Terra Nova; Razna, Liberia, Flemish Cap.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 No Report THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 Vessels arrived: Maersk Placentia, Canada, from Hibernia; Clipper Adventurer, Bahamas, from Ramea; Cicero, Canada, from Montreal; Burin Sea, Canada, from Terra Nova; Anticosta, Canada, from Sable Island. Vessels departed: Maersk Chignecto, Canada, to White Rose; Maersk Nascopie, Canada, to Hibernia; Atlantic Kingfisher, Canada, Terra Nova; Bin Hai 512, Panama, to Panama; Cicero, Canada, to Montreal. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 Vessels arrived: Sauniere, Canada, from Magdelain Islands. Vessels departed: Maersk Chancellor, Canada, to Terra Nova; Maersk Placentia, Canada, to Hibernia; Clipper Adventurer, Bahamas, to Trinity.
September 5, 2004
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Lakeview Hotel Behind the walls of Her Majesty’s Penitentiary
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arbed-wire coils line the top of the brick wall that surrounds the Lakeview Hotel, or at least that’s what those who spend time inside call it. Her Majesty’s Penitentiary sits on the banks of Quidi Vidi Lake in east end St. John’s. Inmates wander through the various cell blocks of the medium-security prison. The faces are young; the average age is 18 to 29. Life seems simple enough — inmates get up, wait for freedom, go back to bed, and do it all
again the next day. The prisoners work in the kitchen, laundry and carpentry shop; others attend school. Lieut. Dave Hickey, a correctional officer with the “pen” for some 30 years, says inmates who work are better off. “They’re doing something productive and the time passes quickly,” he says. As of Sept. 1, the prison had 144 inmates. The majority are sentenced there because of theft, violent behaviour and drugs. Criminals sentenced to
two years less a day are sentenced to provincial incarceration. Longer sentences, for the most part, are served at federal institutions on the mainland. Hickey says an average of three or four prisoners are released on any given day, but cells don’t stay empty for more than 24 hours. The centre block, the original prison dating back to 1859, has had two extensions (west wing and east wing) tacked on in an effort to house
Photos by Paul Daly / Story by Alisha Morrissey
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‘We fell off the track somewhere’ From page 11 more inmates. Hickey says the prison used to be four floors of open space with cells stacked up to the roof. Now the cell blocks are separated by doors that slam and lock automatically as people pass through. The corridors are narrow and the stairwells wind through the building like passageways of a ship. Hickey says the recent introduction of a smoking ban led officers to prepare for problems that never came. Quitting cold turkey wasn’t an issue for the residents and staff of the Lakeview Hotel. Tobacco products are now thrown over the wall the way drugs used to be. Families sometimes try to pass inmates all sorts of contraband over the fiberglass partition separating the visiting room table, Hickey says. Pills, narcotics and tobacco are the most common items to be smuggled in. The visiting room is cold and the rules are clearly displayed — no food or drink, no physical contact of any kind, two visits a week, 30 minutes each, and no more than three visitors per inmate at a time. A correctional officer sits at the head table where he can see both sides of a centre partition. Video cameras hang from the ceilings, pointing towards either end of the room. “We’ve had times when even mothers and fathers have passed drugs over on visiting time,” says Hickey. Mothers have even hid narcotics and tobacco in their baby’s diaper. Outside, the recreation field is torn up. There are horseshoe pits and a volleyball net hangs across the field. Both are rarely used. “Mostly they (inmates) just stand around and talk,” says Hickey. Inside the prison, a woman’s crackling voice can be heard over a loudspeaker directing guards and inmates. The female correctional officer sits in front of a bank of monitors and a panel of blinking lights. She’s locked behind bars and peers through a bank teller-like window. Responsible for security, she and others in the room keep a diary of movements throughout the prison. Just down the hall is the kitchen. A cook and several inmates prepare meals in gigantic stainless steel vats. Prior to visiting the prison, The Sunday Independent obtained a copy of kitchen inspection reports from the Justice Department through the Freedom of Information Act. On the inspection worksheets (March 31 to April 22, 2003), the prison’s kitchen was placed in the “moderate-risk” category — scoring poor numbers when it came to “extensive handling or preparation of high to medium-risk foods” and for having “two critical hazards identified during most recent inspections.” The licensing inspection forms had much better grades but contained detailed complaints: mold in the walkin coolers; poor temperature control in the coolers; paint peeling off walls; a broken window by the dishwashing sink. Marvin McNutt, the province’s director of adult corrections, couldn’t comment on the actual reports. They were missing from both his files and those of the prison. “I review those reports whenever I
get them and from time to time there are situations that are identified as high risk and we’re not complying with the standard and I always follow up in written form to make sure,” says McNutt. He says he’s not aware of any problems in the kitchen. McNutt says if the inmates who work in the kitchen knew guards ate there, they might try to contaminate the food. “They can spit in it while preparing it, or they can do even worse things — they can urinate in it.” The protective custody unit — where informants and sex-offenders are housed — can also be a target of contaminated food, says McNutt. Most of the inmates wear their own clothes to save the province money. A multi-purpose room doubles as a chapel, the barbershop is open every few weeks and the library has a staff of four. The smell of antiseptic sprays and cleaners is strong in the hallways, but not overpowering enough to wipe out the hint of decades of stale smoke. The cells are tiny; most walls are covered with pictures of children, side by side with magazine cutouts of attractive female celebrities in various stages of undress. The cells hold only a narrow bed, toilet, sink and desk — with about a half-foot of space around each fixture. Nearly all the cells have a five-inch television set — a privilege all inmates are offered. An inmate in his 40s enters the multi-purpose room. He asks his name not be used and sits on a wooden chair with his legs crossed. He says he’s in for break and enter — this time. He’s been in and out of Her Majesty’s many times and says he’s probably banked about 15 years altogether. His body language is calm, but he has nervous eyes. “It gets a lot harder as you get older,” he says. “When you’re looking out the window … you’re thinking about how (you’d) like to take a walk around the lake and you take it for granted when you’re out.” A certified welder, he says it’s tough to find work when you’re fresh out of prison. He doesn’t want to leave St. John’s. “Why should I leave this city,” he says to friends and family who tell him he’d be better off elsewhere. “It’s my decisions that put me in here.” He says the younger crowd in the prison, guards and inmates, act like they have something to prove — a chip on their shoulders. He’s told his kids — two boys — about jail and how they never want to end up there. After years in prison, the inmate says he’s become more accountable for what he’s done. He says his parents were officers in the Salvation Army and he can’t blame his upbringing for his behaviour. “We fell off the track somewhere,” he says of himself and his brother. “You refer back to when you were younger and I don’t believe in that — you’re a grown adult and you make your own decisions.” The inmate with the jet-black hair says this will be his last time inside. He confesses he’s said the same thing before.
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
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The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
Gallery Cathy Driedzic Visual Artist
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athy Driedzic’s first solo exhibition combines her love of landscape with her love for botanical work. It also combines skills learned from her first jobs in graphic design and scientific drawing, and a newly discovered flair for more representational images. The pieces in the exhibition hang in pairs. The first watercolour provides a panoramic view of a Newfoundland landscape. The accompanying painting is a close-up on a detail of the first piece. “I invite the viewer to walk around in the landscape and explore,” she says. “The second painting is something they might find along the way. “The work I did for so many years had to be precise and perfect, which I loved … however, I would really like to develop the exploration of colours, forms and abstract.” Driedzic, born in Ontario, is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art. She spent 21 years in New Brunswick, leading up to 1999, when she and her husband moved to St. John’s. They now live in a beautifully restored downtown home, walls adorned with art, plants
and flowers in every corner and on both balconies. While in New Brunswick, Driedzic was heavily involved in the art community, but more as an organizer and advocate. It wasn’t until 1995 — and both her sons had grown up — that she delved into her own art, primarily using watercolours. As she walks around her third-floor studio, she talks about some of the pieces she’ll be hanging in the gallery in Gander next month. She focuses on nuances of light, colour and shape, delighting in the details. Although Driedzic has only been in the province five years, she’s managed to explore much of the island — her pieces are from Tors Cove, Topsail Beach, Bonavista, Champney’s West, Gros Morne, and other places around Newfoundland. “I love exploring the coast,” she says. “Everything is so beautiful.”
Driedzic loves to paint outdoors and has spent much time on beaches, on hillsides, and in Memorial University’s botanical gardens doing just that. But she’s also learned to take photographs to work from too. In Newfoundland, she says, “the landscape is never the same. You can never twice get the same
picture with the same light.” Driedzic’s exhibition officially opens Oct. 3, 6-8 p.m. at the Gander Arts and Culture Centre Gallery. To see more of her work please log onto www.cathydriedzic.ca Stephanie.porter@theindependent.ca
The Gallery is a regular feature in The Sunday Independent. For further information, or to submit proposals, please call (709) 726-4639, or e-mail editorial@theindependent.ca
September 5, 2004
Page 15
The Sunday Independent
BUSINESS & COMMERCE
Photo by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent
Janice Brown at the counter of the family-owned Brown’s Store on Portugal Cove Road in St. John’s.
Where everyone knows your name The family-run convenience store is still alive in Newfoundland — but for how long? By Stephanie Porter The Sunday Independent
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he Brown family has run Brown’s Store on Portugal Cove Road, St. John’s, for over 30 years. Janice Brown, and her brother Dwight, run the convenience store now, though their parents are still the owners — and still live in the attached house. It’s the kind of business there are fewer and fewer of these days, particularly in larger centres: the socalled “mom and pop” store, a family-run operation where the people behind the counter know virtually everyone who walks through the door, ready with a smile and an open ear. “You’re almost like a bartender,” says Brown, leaning on the cash register. “You listen to people’s woes, you listen to people’s joys, and you listen to people just generally being crooked. “We get a lot of regular customers who have been coming in for years, and now their children are coming in.” The same people may be coming through the door — and Brown may work the same 72-hour-plus week her mother did — but business has changed. The store used to be a stop for bread, eggs, cookies, ice cream, and other grocery items. Now the moneymakers are beer, cigarettes and lottery tickets. Customers also drop by for the day’s
paper, gum or a bag of chips. The cult but you wouldn’t be doing it if shelves are still stocked with a wide you didn’t love it,” she says, greeting variety of tinned goods, household a customer by name. “I enjoy people, cleaners and necessities — just in and in this business you meet all case. kinds.” “I have had people come in here As a line of work, though, it’s getfrom Ontario, tourists and that, the ting tougher and tougher, as the small convenience store has gone by supermarkets and department stores the wayside in their grow larger and communities and more accessible. they don’t know “Years and anybody on a first“Newfoundlanders will years ago, when name basis any more always support big busi- we first started, and they come in times were really here and they look ness, rarely will they sup- good. But now port local industries, around and they’re times are really fascinated.” whether it be selling gro- …,” she pauses. Brown is all too “Newfoundlanceries or furniture or aware that businessders are their own es like this one are whatever. They’d rather worst enemies. being bought out by “Newfoundlango somewhere bigger or chains, many of ders will always better … they have little support big busiwhich are open 24 small minds when it hours a day, seven ness, rarely will days a week. She they support local comes to shopping.” says Brown’s Store industries, — Janice Brown has been approached whether it be sellmore than once to ing groceries or sell. furniture or what“There are days ever. They’d when I’m tired, and the long hours, rather go somewhere bigger or better and listening to everyone bitching … they have little small minds when and complaining is getting on my it comes to shopping.” nerves. If it’s not one thing, it’s anothIt’s competitive, a hard racket to be er, if it’s not politics it’s prices or their in. But for Brown, an out-going, children or wives. It’s almost a play easy-going people-lover, it’s the job in motion.” for her. On those days, Brown says, she “And I love kids … and I knew briefly thinks about throwing in the most of these kids when they were in towel. But the majority of the time, their mothers’ wombs. And the she wouldn’t dream of it. “It’s diffi- majority of them are not loud, they’re
not saucy. I teach them their manners.” Harry Power is at work in Power’s Store in Branch, a small community on the northwest tip of the Avalon Peninsula. He and his wife have split duties at the store since the early 1980s — when he retired from “working on the highways” — but the business has been in the family much longer. “There’s a plaque on the wall that says we’ve been here since the early 1900s,” he says. “Business here is good, yes … but it’s changed.” Obviously, the products are different: gone are the 100-pound sacks of flour and sugar and the barrels of molasses. Now there are tins of food, blocks of cheese and pressed meats, a few fresh vegetables, beer and cigarettes. “People used to have to come buy clothes here,” says Power. “Now a lot of stores, the Sobey’s, are just 50minutes away, in Placentia. Naturally, there’s a better variety there than there is here … Even the old-age pensioners, my mother-in-law, when the cheque comes in, she’d buy groceries at Sobey’s” Power admits he makes the shopping trip to Placentia too. But Power’s Store does have its regulars, regulars Power will sell to on credit for a couple of weeks, who come in for a chat. Power doesn’t open until 11 a.m. or so. He adds, “I can stay here as long as Continued on page 16
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BUSINESS
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
Switching stations
Mink money
Changes in the radio industry are not uncommon, sources say
Furry little weasel is big business in province this year
By Alisha Morrissey The Sunday Independent
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ecent changes to the airwaves in St. John’s have left some listeners confused as to what radio station they’re listening to. First, several months ago, came the well-documented departure of Randy Snow from OZ FM’s Dawn Patrol, only to see him turn up at Hits FM. In a more recent move, Maurice Fitzgerald has quit his job as music director for OZ FM. The station moved quickly to replace him with Toby “Da Brit.” Music insiders say such moves aren’t uncommon. Ken Ash, station manager at Steele Communications, home to VOCM, K-ROCK and Hits FM, says changes to format, on-air personalities, morning shows and even station names can occur at the drop of a hat.
“It happens in every market that I’ve known. People change jobs and they don’t leave the industry,” Ash tells The Sunday Independent. “The radio industry is really no different than most others in that respect.” He says Hits FM, which went on air in 2003, has been a huge success, due primarily to radio personalities. “With the addition of Randy Snow to our morning show and the more recent addition of Bill Gregory joining Leanne (Sharpe) there, it was a real home run,” says Ash. Another recent addition to the world of radio in St. John’s was the creation of an adult contemporary station — Coast 101.1. The station, a partnership of Andy Newman and Andrew Bell, opened on June 3, 2003 and continues to hold its own in the ratings. “Sometimes change doesn’t
come from above it comes from within,” says Newman of the career changes in the radio biz. “This is the kind of industry where you get burned out … you run out of steam.” Toby “Da Brit” writes freely on his web page about changing careers after a short trip back to England. “This opportunity (working at OZ FM) allows me more “live” time on-air, as opposed to being voice-tracked and certain projects are made my responsibility, which I find to be a refreshing change. I whole-heartedly welcome the challenges now being presented to me,” his site reads. Ash says people notice changes to their favourite radio programming more than lawyers or doctors changing firms because the person is in a public position. “People like the industry and they tend to stick with it and they go from one place to another.”
‘It is on the way out, and that’s too bad’ From page 15 I want a night.” It’s not unusual for the doors to be open until midnight, chatter or music filling the crowded room. When Power and his wife decide to give up their business, he’s not sure there will be someone waiting to fill his shoes — or if the store would even make enough to be the sole source of revenue for today’s family. “It’s OK for me, I’m retired,” he says. “I wouldn’t say anyone else would do this, but I’ll be here as long as I can. “I wouldn’t like to see it go. Maybe, one of the crowd might come on, we’ve got nine youngsters.
“They ask me sometimes, ‘How can you stay here? It’s so boring, but there is people coming and going out of it.” Power lists the other small stores in the area; many are fading or already gone. The future of the family store? “It is on the way out,” he says. “And that’s too bad.” Brown says there may not be anyone in her family to take over Brown’s Store either. She doesn’t have any children, and while her brother has two, he’s not encouraging them to get involved. “If they really wanted to come into it themselves, maybe we would let them work,” she says. “But they see what their father goes through, how long he works,
that he sometimes can’t go here or there, that we can’t ever sit down as a whole family for a meal.” Brown also thinks the work ethic of the younger generation is different. They’re just not willing to put in the “hours, time and energy to serve the customer.” A well-run community convenience store fulfills a different role than it once did, Brown reiterates, but she maintains it is still a viable business — for now. “When the owners get older, this kind of store will fall by the wayside,” she says. “It’s hard to say when that’ll happen … who knows, then again, maybe the younger generation will pick it up yet.”
By Alisha Morrissey The Sunday Independent
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he mink industry saw a 600 per cent increase in herd size in 2004, numbers that are expected to rise significantly next year. Merv Wiseman, spokesman for the Newfoundland and Labrador Fur Breeders Association, says the association is “aggressively pursuing a fur industry” in the province. Mink skins are worth, on average, $45 each, which is big money considering there were 25,000 pelts produced in 2003. Prior to last year the number of pelts averaged about 3,000 a year. New investments and “strategic advantages” have made the province a player in the mink industry. By 2005, three Danish mink farmers are expected to join the province’s industry. “With these farmers … we should be producing, in two years from now, about 150,000 skins and we expect the industry to grow at that rate maybe for the next decade,” Wiseman says. One of the farmers has already arrived from Denmark — with 5,000 pregnant mink in the cargo hold of a 747 jet. “So the population doubled almost overnight,” says Wiseman of the birth of hundreds of kits (baby mink) over just a few days. The mink is not native to the province. It was brought here specifically to farm in the 1930s. By the 1940s, escaped mink and a government introduction of the species allowed the animals to spread around the province. Newfoundland and Labrador has some unique advantages to
offer the mink business — climate, culture, history, and inexpensive labour. “Some of it’s probably got to do with our culture and our heritage and the way that, the fact that, this is what you do best and it speaks to rural Newfoundland in particular,” says Wiseman, referring to the province’s history of trapping and hunting. The most important advantage, however, is a disease-free island. Alutian disease is rampant among mink in other provinces and around the world, but because the majority of the province’s industry is on the island, it’s free and clear of the disease. “It’s a disease really that can wipeout the entire population if you’re not careful … and that’s devastating — a farm that acquires Alutian disease would basically be required to wipe out their whole farm.” Wiseman says Nova Scotia currently has a 75 to 80 per cent contamination rate. That means if there were only 100 farmers, 75 of them would be dealing with the disease. A positive side-effect to the island’s status is the production of “clean mink,” which means the province could potentially sell the animals to farmers from all over the world who have been wiped out by the disease and need to restock. “We’ve got a good strategy designed around that,” Wiseman says. Mink breeders from all over Canada will be converging on St. John’s this week as the annual general meeting for the Canadian Mink Breeders Association is slated to get underway at the Holiday Inn.
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
BUSINESS
Page 17
‘We deserve better’
New St. John’s restaurant to combine history, art and culture while you dine By Alisha Morrissey The Sunday Independent
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he culture, art, history and cuisine of pre-Confederation times will soon be available under the pink, white and green banner of the Patriot. The restaurant, expected to open in mid-October on the west end of Water Street in St. John’s, will provide education about Newfoundland’s early days — free with the meal. Owner Alfred Hynes says he’s a proud separatist who will focus on preserving the culture of a province that’s quickly fading. “I felt the need to create a space that truly celebrates Newfoundland,” Hynes tells The Sunday Independent. “We’re slowly losing contact with our cultural identity.” Hynes says the province is in an uncomfortable place within Confederation. “The time has come that we start believing in ourselves.” Hynes, who also owns Aqua, another Water Street restaurant, says even the décor of Patriot will be educational. “We will celebrate the 19 prime ministers we had before Confederation, we will celebrate mummery.” The fireplace mantles will be life-sized Inukshuks “to bring Labrador into the fold.” Resettlement will be represented somehow, says Hynes, and all seven languages of the province, includ-
Photo by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent
Patriot owner Alfred Hynes.
ing Gaelic, Innu and Mi’kmaq, will be displayed as well. “We’ll identify all the outports that were resettled,” says Hynes. “These places are often forgotten
… these places were the heart and soul of Newfoundland and Labrador.” Hynes, originally from Lourdes on the Port au Port peninsula, says
he knows a little something about dead communities. Patriot may make its debut in St. John’s in October. Shortly after opening, the restaurant will
make national news. The Life Network, a cable channel based on cooking and good living, is profiling the restaurant on a show called Opening Soon. Hynes says he couldn’t be happier with the exposure — not only for his new restaurant — but for the city as well. The restaurant, a three-floored building, will have a private dining room on the third floor seating 14 people. The second floor will have a dining room able to seat 25, with a lounge on the first floor. He says the emphasis will be on the quality of service and food. “We’re going to take Newfoundland cuisine to another level that has not been seen in the city,” he says. “It’s something the locals will love and the tourists will go gaga over.” Hynes won’t compare Patriot to any other restaurant in town, saying only “it will be unique.” On opening night he says he sees artists, close friends and “people who have a place in their heart for Newfoundland.” When asked if there will be any politicians invited, Hynes thinks a minute and leaves it at “hmmm …” Hynes proudly flies the old Newfoundland flag as a political statement. It’s not to make people mad, he says, just to get them thinking, talking and perhaps taking action. “This is a statement to say we deserve better.”
IOC strikers reject offer LABRADOR CITY The Canadian Press
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triking steelworkers at the Iron Ore Company of Canada, the country’s largest iron ore producer, voted Sept. 3 to reject a contract offer that would have ended a seven-
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week strike. The offer, rejected by 53 per cent of those who voted, received tentative approval earlier this week after company and union officials returned to the table with a federally appointed mediator. Some 1,400 members of the
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United Steelworkers of America have been on strike at the company’s facilities in Labrador City and Sept Iles, Que., since July 19. Pat McCue, vice-president of Local 5795, says the contract contained none of the concessions originally sought by the company. There were “modest” increases in the pension plan and varying wage increases, he says. “I met with a lot of people Thursday,” McCue said after the votes were tallied. “I knew it was going to be close.” The wage offer and pensions were the main complaints of members, he says. Approximately 300 union members in Sept Iles were expected to vote on the deal Sept. 4. The Labrador City mine and the nearby Wabush Mines in western Labrador account for 60 per cent of Canada’s iron ore exports. More than 300 steelworkers have been on strike since July 5 at the Wabush Mines and the Wabush pelletizing and shipping facilities in Pointe Noire, Que. No talks are planned in the Wabush strike. The strikes have made life difficult for many in Labrador City and nearby Wabush, both of which are one-industry towns in western Labrador that depend almost entirely on the iron ore industry. The impacts of the strike were felt by most every business.
September 5, 2004
Page 18
The Sunday Independent
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
REUTERS/Jonathan Drake
Singapore's skyline rises over a statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, the 19th century founder of modern Singapore.
St. John’s to Singapore Chris Myrick says his five years in Asia have been easy and comfortable — despite some censorship “quirks” Voice from Away Chris Myrick In Singapore By Stephanie Porter The Sunday Independent
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hris Myrick says life in Singapore is as much like life in a large western city as you’re going to find in Asia — with a few notable exceptions: it’s cleaner, the food is better, and you can only buy chewing gum with a prescription. “(Singapore) is essentially English speaking, all the shops are the same … There’s not too much difference on the surface, say, between Singapore and Vancouver or any other relatively green belt western city,” Myrick says from his apartment a dozen time zones away. “There are a couple of quirks that are frustrating, mostly to do with censorship, but even that’s improving.” He mentions some “strange laws and regulations,” like the one that was only recently lifted: technically, you could see an R-rated movie in a Singapore theatre, but you would not be able to rent it on DVD or buy a copy of the same film. “That kind of small trivial thing kind of bothers me. But there’s not a lot of aggravation here, it’s pretty comfortable.” Myrick left Canada for a job in South Korea after receiving his
master’s degree. He landed in Seoul only to discover his job offer “fell apart” due to the 1997 financial crisis. He cast about for other employment, and was offered two positions: one, by the communistrun China Daily, and the other, by an oil company in Kuwait. “At the time I thought the Kuwaitis would be better to work for,” he says. “I’ve since rethought that. I think the communists might have been better to work for, at least they would have been more market-minded and efficient.” Myrick doesn’t give much detail about his experience in Kuwait, only “to say something about it in the nicest way possible — it was weird.” It was also very socially conservative. After two years there, he started to look for work in Asia again. This time, the choice was between Singapore and Hong Kong. “Singapore was it, largely because there was a better wage offer. The warmer temperatures didn’t hurt.” The new home town was a “refreshing” change. Myrick’s first job in Singapore was for Dow newswire, on the bonds and equities side. Now he’s working for an online news wire service dedicated to covering the chemical market — he still deals with money and markets, he says, it’s still essentially business reporting. “I have a background in journalism, I still don’t understand the
chemical engineering side of what I’m doing,” he says with a laugh. “I’ve picked a fair bit up, but only enough to fake it I guess. When it comes to the heavier engineering or the product development part, I get lost — just like everyone else would.”
“If you go anywhere else after you’ve been here, it kind of seems filthy. Obviously, there’s no gum stuck on the sidewalks, there’s not much litter to speak of — part of that is just reasonable planning, there are garbage bins everywhere … in Canada you don’t see that.” — Chris Myrick Singapore is known for its strict regulations against things like littering, spitting, and chewing gum. “It’s very clean here,” he says. “If you go anywhere else after you’ve been here, it kind of seems filthy. Obviously, there’s no gum stuck on the sidewalks, there’s not much litter to speak of — part of that is just reasonable planning, there are garbage bins everywhere … in Canada you don’t see that.
“A lot of it is good civic planning, but there’s also been just really strict authoritarian fines for littering which got the population out of the habit of doing it.” As for the chewing gum regulations, the one-time ban has recently been softened. These days, you can go to a pharmacy and purchase a package — if you have a prescription from a dentist. “If you want sugar-free gum to chew after lunch, you can pretty much get it.” The city-state is also planned and constructed such that one can get around portions of town without ever having to go outdoors. “I do try to avoid that, I do try to get outside,” says Myrick. “I try to go rowing on the weekend and I cycle to work whenever possible. Every chance I get I go to Malaysia to go hiking in the jungle or walking up a small mountain.” He’s also done travelling in Indonesia, Australia and Africa. Coming back to his native St. John’s is much more time and money consuming — Myrick only returns to Canada every two to three years. Singapore’s population stands at over three million, but it’s an aging population, and the government recently announced cash bonuses for families who have more than two children. There are the same concerns about pensions and workforce as there are in other developed nations, says Myrick, and immigration to Singapore is restric-
tive. “I don’t think the solution is going to be found by tinkering with the population — but by actually straightening out the pension system, not by offering people money to have babies.” Nearly five years into his stay in the city-state, Myrick says it’s been easy to get comfortable. He’s still on a green card; he hasn’t yet taken the plunge to become a permanent resident, and probably won’t. “I just never thought of settling here. I’m thinking it’s roughly the time I should be moving on to something else, somewhere else … but I’ve been saying that for a couple of years. I might still be here four years from now. It’s just a fairly easy place to live, it’s tropical.” As for a return to Canada, he considers it, but isn’t convinced it’s in the near future. “I would like to live in Canada. I don’t know if there’s a lot of interesting things to write about, or report on, and the wages tend to be a little depressed for what I do. I don’t think there are enough openings for what I do that pay enough. “I also think it’s more interesting to work overseas, I think that things are more interesting overseas as a foreigner.” Do you know a Newfoundlander of Labradorian living abroad? Please e-mail editorial@theindependent.ca
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
INTERNATIONAL
Page 19
‘All of Russia grieves’ Putin visits site of hostage crisis as death toll soars into hundreds BESLAN, Russia The Associated Press
W
ith smoke still rising from the burned-out school and the echoes of gunshots barely hours old, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a pre-dawn visit Sept. 3 to examine the devastation and begin the hunt for answers. Militants had been holding hundreds of hostages until troops stormed the building Friday leaving at least 322 people dead — 155 are said to be children. “All Russia grieves with you,” Putin says. Putin was meeting with local officials in Beslan in the North Ossetia region. The meeting was carried on government television. Putin says targeting children made the hostage crisis worse than other acts of terrorism. “Even alongside the most cruel attacks of the past, this terrorist act occupies a special place because it was aimed at children.” He says he has ordered the region’s borders closed while officials search for those connected with the attack. On Sept. 3, commandos stormed the building and battled militants as crying children, some naked and covered with blood, managed to flee through explosions and gunfire after more than two days during which the hostage takers herded them into the school gym, denied them food and water and threatened to kill them. Other children lay dead on stretchers lined up outside. Emergency workers recovered 150 bodies from the school on Saturday and bodies remained on the site, North Ossetian Health Minister Boris Dzgoyev says. More than 500 were wounded, including 283 children, according to Russian television reports. The majority of the dead who were found in the gym were killed by explosions, which caused part of the roof to collapse, Interfax and the Itar-Tass news agency reported, citing North Ossetian police. The attack followed a suicide bomb attack outside a Moscow subway station last week that killed eight people, and a nearsimultaneous crash of two Russian jetliners after what officials believe were explosions on
AFP PHOTO / YURI TUTOV
Ossetian policemen and volunteers carry a stretcher with an injured school girl during the rescue operation in the town of Beslan, North Ossetia. One hundred and fifty-eight children were taken to hospital after special forces stormed a Russian school where militants were holding hundreds of hostages. The death toll has risen past the 300 mark.
board. Putin is warning against letting the latest attack in North Ossetia stir up tensions in the multi-ethnic North Caucasus region. “One of the goals of the terrorists was to sow ethnic enmity and blow up the North Caucasus,” Putin says. “Anyone who gives in to such a provocation will be viewed by us as abetting terrorism.” A somber Putin saw several of the hospitalized victims, stopping to stroke the head of one injured child and the arm of the school principal. Russian authorities say the bloody end to the standoff came after explosions apparently set off by the militants — possibly by accident — as emergency workers were entering the school to collect the bodies of slain hostages. As hostages took their chance
to flee, the militants opened fire on them, and security forces — along with town residents who had brought their own weapons — opened covering fire to help the hostages escape. Commandos stormed into the building and secured it, then chased fleeing militants in the town, with shooting lasting for 10 hours. An explosives expert told one news agency that the hostage-takers, themselves strapped with explosives, hung bombs from basketball hoops in the gym and set other explosive devices in the building. The Federal Security Service chief in North Ossetia, Valery Andreyev, says in the evening that 10 militants killed in gunfights with security forces were from Arab countries, and Putin’s adviser on Chechnya, Aslanbek Aslakhanov, says nine were “Arab mercenaries.”
An Arab presence among the attackers would help Putin argue that the Russian campaign in neighbouring Chechnya, where mostly Muslim separatists have been fighting Russian forces in a brutal war for most of the past decade, is part of the war on international terrorism — seen by Putin’s critics as an attempt to deflect human rights criticism. The hostage crisis ended in chaos as fleeing hostages, many of them wounded, streamed from the building into the surrounding area and parents searched frantically for their children. Ambulances couldn’t carry all the injured and private cars were pressed into service. Alla Gadieyeva, a 24-year-old hostage who was seized with her son and mother — all three were among the survivors — says the captors laughed when she asked them for water for her mother.
“When children began to faint, they laughed,” Gadieyeva says. “They were totally indifferent.’’ Two major hostage-taking raids by Chechen rebels outside the war-torn region in the past decade provoked Russian rescue operations each leaving behind heavy death tolls. The seizure of a Moscow theatre in 2002 ended after a knockout gas was pumped into the building, debilitating the captors but causing almost all of the 129 hostage deaths. In 1995 — during the first of two wars in Chechnya in the past decade — rebels led by guerrilla commander Shamil Basayev seized a hospital in the southern Russian city of Budyonnovsk, taking some 2,000 people hostage. The six-day standoff ended with a fierce Russian assault, and some 100 people died.
September 5, 2004
Page 20
The Sunday Independent
LIFE & TIMES
Photo by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent
Singer Jenny Gear
Definitely not factory standard On the verge of releasing her debut album, Jenny Gear reflects on her music, the industry — and her own Canadian Idol experience By Jonathan Hale For the Sunday Independent
T
elevision shows such as American and Canadian Idol have been criticized as “celebrity factories” — perpetual auditions that drain pop music of its true purpose as an agent of change and “missionary of sensation.” So what happens when a contestant is far too talented to ignore, but whose output does not conform to factory standards? In 2003, Canadians met such a performer, one who challenged Idol standards by being herself. Since then, Jenny Gear has had a busy year, signing with — and leaving — a high-profile manager, touring, playing, acting, and putting the final touches on her often-delayed debut album, set for release later this month. But the story of Jenny Gear does not begin with Canadian Idol. Music has surrounded Gear from birth. Her parents are musical people, helping to create the annual Conception Bay Folk Festival. Gear’s passion for music was immediate. “As I learned to talk, I learned to sing pretty much,” she said in late 2003. At the age of one, Gear was serenading her parents with Belly Bells, her rendition of Jingle Bells. By the time she reached Catholic school, she was periodically asked to sing at funerals. “It was old school, ya know,” she says, joking. Growing up in Carbonear, Gear’s home was regularly filled with travelling singers. Her parents
encouraged their daughter to sing for guests, and she recalls being pulled out of bed at night to entertain. The proud parents first showcased Gear’s talents at their folk festival when she was 10 years old. Gear’s vocal talents also helped her make the top 10 at YTV’s Achievement Awards in 1993 and she was Newfoundland’s first entrant in the National Youth Talent competition. “I knew when I was very young that I wanted to sing because it’s always been something that I do,” she says. “I used to spend a lot of time in my room, and I would just sing to myself. That’s when I’m most relaxed.” Almost four years ago, Gear — along with Duane Andrews, and Colin Carrigan — formed the Whiskey Kittens. Over time the band expanded to include Curtis Andrews on drums and Kris Mulally on percussion. “It’s just whoever’s around and whoever wants to jam with us, but Duane and I are the core of the Whiskey Kittens,” Gear says. When the Kittens were ready to record an album, the group appealed to Newfoundland’s pool of song-writing talent to supply the songs. Many songwriters responded to the call — including Ron Hynes, Pamela Morgan, Jody Richardson, Sean Panting, Mark Bragg and Sherry White. Recording began in 2002 in Carbonear at a location close to Gear’s heart. “We recorded it at my nanny Gear’s house,” she says. “The very
first folk festival meeting was held at her house. I thought it was very appropriate because a lot of music has been made there and that’s where I learned how to sing, basically. It was a great vibe. Everyone was really comfortable, so the music was really relaxing.” Most of the album was recorded
“I knew when I was very young that I wanted to sing because it’s always been something that I do.” — Jenny Gear by the spring of 2003. Then Gear’s father decided his daughter should try out for yet another singing competition. “My dad heard about Canadian Idol, and he was like, ‘Jenny, this is a great opportunity for you and you have the experience for this.’ And he wrote it on the calendar,” says Gear, who was less than impressed with the prospect. “And I said ‘It’s a pop-singing competition. It’s not for me dad, leave me alone.’” To appease her father, Gear travelled to St. John’s to try out for the show. During her televised audition, she moved the judges to tears with a rendition of Billie Holliday’s God Bless the Child. Two things became clear from the performance: Gear is a talented singer, and she’s not Canadian Idol mate-
rial. For those who didn’t tune in to Canadian Idol or who have not seen Gear’s live performances, her voice blends the soft beauty of Norah Jones with the strength and range of Nina Simone (and yes, Gear can hit bass notes with ease). Gear does not have the voice for pop radio, but she’s blessed with a vocal style that turns every song into a Gear original. Despite her continued success on Canadian Idol week after week (she made it to the top five), Gear never considered becoming a pop star and leaving the Whiskey Kittens. “It was never a question for me,” she says. “I do what I do and it is with Duane. I do enjoy singing a cappella, but Duane is what makes it what it is.” She adds, “I just thought it was a great way to spend the summer, really. I thought it would be totally ridiculous if I had won.” The great summer experience also gave her exposure across Canada. The week Gear was voted off the show, Andrews joined her in Toronto for their first show ever in the city. The show sold out. One fan has also created an unofficial website that chronicles Gear’s music before and during Canadian Idol. The site is regularly updated with information about the forthcoming album and her live shows. Canadian Idol judge Jake Gold, who, until recently, managed the Tragically Hip, believed in Gear enough to act as her manager in
2004. Gold helped the singer deal with offers that came in from a few major labels. Unfortunately, Gear wasn’t satisfied with the suggestions from the various labels. “There were certain things they would have changed with the album or music, but I would have no part of it,” she says. “People have always told me stories of how difficult the industry can be and I thought I had a handle on it through Idol. I learned that Idol was the easy part. Dealing with your own music is much more difficult.” Not only did Gear decide against signing with a major label, she also terminated her business relationship with Gold. Though it has been almost two years since work on the album began, Jenny Gear and the Whiskey Kittens will finally be released on Sept. 19. Over the past year, the singer has garnered considerable exposure across the country and received an intense education on the music industry. Instead of being attracted to the promises of stardom or conforming to factory standards, Gear admits her greatest lesson is to trust her own instincts. Endowed with this experience and a musical gift, expect Gear to be greeted with success — on her own terms. Jenny Gear and the Whiskey Kittens will be performing live at Club One, St. John’s, on Sept. 19 to celebrate the release of their selftitled CD.
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
LIFE & TIMES
Standing Room Only
Page 21
by Noreen Golfman
Newfoundland art: provincial or progressive?
N
ewfoundland performers, writers, and artists are on such a roll these days that you can’t order a latte around here without having a conversation about why this is so. Usually people start talking about which Globe and Mail-reviewed author they prefer to read, or which canvas they’d hang in their living room. But regardless of how hierarchies of taste get developed in conversation, a more interesting question is whether or not these artistic achievements look inward at ourselves or outward at the world. No one wants to be called parochial or provincial. We like our art to be broadminded, open, forward looking, and tolerant. Most of us would probably agree that the best works have these traits, whether they are paintings, novels, movies, plays and so on. The parochial is insular, narrow, restricted in scope and attitude. The parochial is also suspicious of foreignness. It is conformist and implicitly judgmental. It is the opposite of broad-minded. Stephen Leacock probably captured the distinction best in his savagely funny novels, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town and Arcadian Adventures of the Idle Rich. Still hilarious after almost 100 years, these novels are well worth returning to for their incisive satire of human failings, especially the tendency to focus inward on a teeny tiny part of the big picture. For Leacock, early 20th-century Canada was one big small town populated by ridiculously selfimportant men and their little dreams. It takes a broad-minded thinker like Leacock to see the parochial in all of us. But sometimes the distinctions between the inward looking and the outward looking become blurred. Are Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers affectionately parochial or sharply satirical? Hugely popular from here to Fort McMurray, they are also shunned by some who think their shed-touring shtick smacks too much of provincial stereotyping. If you are uncomfortable with exaggerated provincial stupidity then you are bound to loathe the group as an embarrassing Newfie joke. Many sell-out concerts suggest that lots of us do not. Do Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers reproduce stereotypes of Newfoundlanders or do they help to deflate them? It is worth asking if there is anything wrong with taking comfort in stereotypes, in the first place, as many obviously do? The almost always-vulgar humour of the annual Newfoundland Revue has the same effect. Many of us just can’t figure out what all the yuks are about. That said, I can’t help but admire the ability of Kevin Blackmore and Rising Tide Theatre to create large communities of appreciation. It forces you to think that an inward looking gaze has its place. Well, at least it’s popular and there is something to be said for that. An interesting way to think about parochialism is by considering Codco, arguably the illuminating source of much local humour today. As Codco evolved from a local collective theatre troupe to a nationally televised institution in the 1980s, many Newfoundlanders became
Mary Walsh and Leo Fury.
Photos by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent
If you are uncomfortable with exaggerated provincial stupidity then you are bound to loathe (Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers) as an embarrassing Newfie joke. Many sell-out concerts suggest that lots of us do not. agitated over their popularity. I vividly recall a prominent public figure remarking how much he hated their brand of humour. I was stunned. This was my first, albeit naïve, encounter with the complexity of local audience responses. Clearly the Codco sketches were hitting nerves from here to Stephenville, aiming as they were at a dark and self-critical examination of local culture and politics. If you didn’t like the mirror they were holding up, then you turned away. That response, and not the Codco material itself, is what one could safely label parochial. In Codco’s case, the distinction was clear. Take this newspaper. Is it parochial or progressive? At the risk of being exiled to another weekly (which would in itself be a sign of someone else’s parochialism), I would argue its appeal lies in being a bit of both. A rich mixture of chest-beating bravado (parochialism) and astute social analysis (broad-mindedness) produces a full profile of our culturally complex selves. Most of us understand this. It is often difficult to separate our inward looking provincialism from our more confident worldliness. We seem to need it both ways. I think that same doubleness of attitude holds true for many recent
cultural achievements. Leo Furey’s runaway fiction hit, The Long Run, comes immediately to mind. This is a novel suspiciously about a St. John’s orphanage run by the Christian Brothers. You would think that such a work, embedded in a particular place and time and essentially optimistic in spirit, would invite charges of parochialism. Critics near and far, not to mention readers, have been ecstatic in their praise. I’d wager right here and now that The Long Run is going to find its way to at least one prestigious literary awards list before the year is over. Furey’s material wisely makes a hard credible texture of its own soft parochialism. Ultimately the novel has what one would cautiously describe as universal appeal, reaching broadly through its vivid characterizations of a band of well meaning boys and their masters. It’s a good example of how a measure of parochialism and a generous tolerance work together to create art. Ed Riche’s madly terrific second novel, The Nine Planets, is moving in another direction entirely, one closer to Leacock at his scathingly critical best. Indeed, as the Globe and Mail reviewer delighted in observing, every page “spits bile.” You can be sure there is no parochialism here. Indeed, there is
an aggressive disavowal of any inward-looking and self-indulgent tendency. The main character is so miserably conscious of his own inadequacy you can’t help but feel better about yourself. Riche’s terrific novel will also find its way onto more than one awards list, I am sure, and yet his novel could not be further from Furey’s, or more suspicious of any art that relies on a warm fuzzy handshake with the local. What is fascinating is that such different types of expression are building similarly large interested audiences. What is really encouraging is that art produced in this province will likely never get tagged as being just one thing. No chance of a ‘prairie art’ label here. It might be parochial of me but I am constantly amazed at the growing spectrum of local artistic expression. Noreen Golfman is a professor of literature and women’s studies at Memorial University. Her next column appears Sept. 19.
Events SEPTEMBER 5 • Final night for Neddy Norris, a performance by Theatre Newfoundland during the Gros Morne Theatre Festival, Shallow Bay Motel, 8:30 p.m., 1877-243-2899. • Final performance of Magic Jack and the Jellybean Stalk at the ampitheatre in Cow Head, 2:30 p.m., Gros Morne Theatre Festival. 1-877-243-2899. SEPTEMBER 7 • Terra Nova Toastmasters meets every second Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., for information please call Ralph Winsor 5791612. • What Cods! A comedy dinner theatre involving ‘cods’ and cod liver oil, written by Annette Mooney and directed by Darrel Brenton, 7 p.m., Arts Centre/Kavanagh Premises, 1-888-3322052. Plays Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. SEPTEMBER 8 • Folk night at the Ship Pub, St. John’s. • Scott Goudie plays The Basement, Baird’s Cove, St. John’s. • Cathedral organist David Drinkell recital, 1:15-1:45 p.m., Anglican Cathedral, St. John’s. SEPTEMBER 9 • Wessex Society’s welcome program and mug-up for Wessex visitors from England, 8 p.m., Marine Institute, Ridge Road, St. John’s. • Sound Symposium presents the Harbour Symphony, BlueContinued on page 24
Page 22
LIFE & TIMES
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
On The Shelf
by Mark Callanan
Gros indecency: good books made elsewhere Gros Morne By Dale Wilson Gros Morne Co-operating Association, 2004.
I
n the last days of summer, in the midst of a strike on the part of Canada’s national park workers, from my current residence in Rocky Harbour (epicentre of local park activity), I thought I’d write about a book recently sent to me by the Gros Morne Co-operating Association — you know, for a little political relevance. The simply titled Gros Morne is a collection of photographs of our 1,805-square kilometre national park taken by Dale Wilson, self-professed owner of “a long-in-the-tooth fish and a hamster with attitude” (you’ve gotta love an unpretentious biographical note). It’s a very pretty book, I have to say, and definitely striking with its vibrant, full-colour photos arranged opposite thin columns of text (two or three words per line, in both official languages) that look like wellmannered stacks of imagist poetry. Indeed, some of the entries could almost be imagist poems: “Early morning/sunlight rakes/ across tufts/of deer grass/near Lomond” or “Exposed/ trailingjuniper/stems twist (…) wherever there/is shelter from/the constant/winds.” Maybe. Whatever his poetic inclination, Wilson has a great eye for the monumental image — the titanic churning of a water fall, the impenetrable casing of hoarfrost on branches, the boiling sunset of a mountain face — as well as for the small universe of plants and animals. His pictures are vivid, bright … pretty things. It is a beautiful book, after all, and one worthy of the shelf of any traveller who has passed through this area. I can’t help but wonder, though, when tourists peruse its pages back in Springfield or Dresden, Twickenham or Victoria, how many of its photos will actually ring true with personal experience. I don’t mean to be down on the whole photo-souvenir industry, but after all, it’s been absolutely pissing rain here for the last week straight and I don’t see anyone taking pictures of that. There doesn’t seem to be any-
Pretty pictures are fine by me. I like sunshine and I like nature. Put them together and I’m as happy as a pig in … a desirable environment. What galls me is the fact that the book, though produced by a Newfoundland entity, was designed in Nova Scotia and printed in Manitoba.
thing but sunny days in Wilson’s book, everything bronzed and basted like a Christmas turkey. It puts me in mind of a photo book (Newfoundland: Journey into a Lost Nation by Michael Crummey and Greg Locke) I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. Its introduction’s assertion is that the photographs within, for the most part, resist the common urge to portray everything Newfoundland as mystical and beauteous. Maybe I’m a tourist of a different kind, but a little hard-edged realism can send shivers of joy down my spine as well as any sun-lit pastoral setting. But that’s fine. Pretty pictures are fine by me. I like sunshine and I like nature. Put them together and I’m as happy as a pig in … a desirable environment. What galls me is the fact that the book, though produced by a Newfoundland entity, was designed in Nova Scotia and printed in Manitoba. It seems to me the most memorable photographic studies of Newfoundland of the past few years (here I’m
thinking of Places Lost, Tilting, Lives and Landscapes, This Marvellous Terrible Place and the aforementioned Newfoundland: Journey into a Lost Nation) have all been produced outside the province. Even Ben Hansen’s and (similarly) Brian C. Bursey’s legions of souvenir books are printed by Nimbus Publishing in Halifax. The question, of course, is why? Do we not have the facilities to render high-quality images? If not, why not (asks the bloody little meat-hook of a question mark)? If we do, then where are the books to prove it? I’m the sort of person, as you might have guessed, who is easily prodded into apoplectic fits when he sees Made Elsewhere stamped on the underside of whatever fare is offered in local souvenir shops. And it strikes me as the worst kind of irony that the aforementioned volumes should all be made off the island and shipped back here for sale. On the whole, Gros Morne is a wonderful book, one that the
On behalf of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, I am pleased to extend Labour Day greetings to all workers in our province. The working people of our province make many valuable contributions to the development of a strong and vibrant economy. Government acknowledges that the labour force is a cornerstone of our efforts to generate economic growth and put Newfoundland and Labrador on the path to self-reliance and prosperity.
A Message from
Joan Burke, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment
To assist in achieving these important goals, Government created the Labour Relations Agency in February, 2004. The Agency’s staff are committed to their mandate to promote a positive labour relations climate that is conducive to economic growth, competitiveness and prosperity, while ensuring regulations to protect the rights of workers are upheld and enforced.
people of this area should be rightfully proud of. And the more good books about our province the better. Yet it’s those niggling questions about the publishing industry in Newfoundland and
Labrador that poke at my mind — even as I’m enjoying a rare shot of a pine marten or a closeup of the veined surface of our pitcher plant — and will not allow my appreciation to be complete. Mark Callanan is a writer and reviewer living in Rocky Harbour. His next column appears Sept. 19. He can be reached at callanan_ _@hotmail.com
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The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
LIFE & TIMES
Page 23
Photo by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent
Ed Riche
An overwhelming landscape From page 1 “Theatre is terribly under-funded so that’s prohibitive. You can’t spend as much time as you’d like doing that,” he says. “It’s appalling the degree of funding the province gives the arts in general in this province. The LSPU Hall down there is one of the great artistic institutions in Canada. The volume of talent it’s produced and nurtured over the years is the envy of the world … It is starved; it exists on crumbs.” While Riche complains about the state of arts funding in the province, he’s just as quick to praise the talents and efforts of those involved in the arts community. From this year’s successful, inaugural Woody Point Writer’s Festival to the strength of the writers he works with, it’s obvious he takes pride in those around him. Born in Newfoundland, Riche attended film school in Montreal. He’s travelled, worked on projects elsewhere in Canada, but says he’s never really felt any desire to live anywhere but St. John’s. It’s a place that keeps pulling him back, in person and in his writing. Both The Nine Planets and 1997’s Rare Birds are set in the province. While Rare Birds’ mostly rural Newfoundland setting is tightly woven into its storyline and characters, Riche figured his second book on being more contemporary urban/suburban; less tied to this province. “It only occurred to me in retrospect how much … the whole central part of the book is about developing this stretch of rural land,” he says. “So the preoccu-
pation with the landscape of Newfoundland, which I was trying to get away from, became the central theme of the book. “You’re always going to come back, I guess. It’s such an overwhelming landscape.” The Nine Planets, a more ambitious and satirical book than his first, has already been met with positive reviews from The Globe and Mail, The Vancouver Sun and Macleans. “I knew it was going to be different, perhaps a more substantial book,” he says. “This one is taken more seriously.” The book has two protagonists: Marty Devereaux, an unhappy 40something bachelor and cofounder of a St. John’s private school, looking for … something new; and Cathy Ford-Devereaux, his troubled 16-year-old niece. Cathy’s character evolved, in part, from Riche’s musings on parenthood. His own daughter is now seven, and still a long way from the tortures of the teenaged years. “But I had a kid, and I
started thinking about kids, about education … and she’s a girl, I started thinking about some old feminist politics, started worrying about her as a woman, and some of the difficulties females
“People talk about Newfoundland culture, but if they believed in it, they would pay for it … I don’t think Danny Williams or Paul Shelley are stupid or uncultured, but I think they should act.” — Ed Riche face.” Marty, who Riche rightly describes as “nasty” and very unlike himself, does share certain views with the author. Exploring this, Riche again draws the con-
versation to thoughts on this province’s culture. “It was neglected for so long,” Riche says. “Then it started to get a proper amount of attention, and now we’ve just had this period of blind boosterism without being self-critical. “All the hoary clichés of Newfoundland were being celebrated a little too much. We just seemed to be looking backwards a little too much. No one imagined Newfoundland’s future, we just seemed to be rolling around in the past, in terms of identity. “Culture should be more dynamic than that.” Riche says, before Rare Birds, he never imagined he’d be a novelist. He always figured on working in film — in fact, he won a national radio award for a piece called The Book I Never Wrote. And, often caught up in a number of deadline-driven projects, he’s surprised he has had the discipline to focus, “fight the despondency and despair when it’s not working” and finish the book.
But now that he has, he admits there’s nothing quite like the feeling of seeing his name on the spine of a hardcover — books may not be especially lucrative in the Canadian marketplace, but publishing is satisfying and he’s already working on his third. This one, he says, may actually be set somewhere other than Newfoundland, just “to get away from the obsession with here for a while.” That remains to be seen. Meantime, there’s this week’s launch for The Nine Planets to look forward to. And always something more to say about the state of financial support for the industry he’s living in. “On a national standard, we are among the lowest on a per capita basis, and it’s one of the things we’re known for,” Riche says. “People talk about Newfoundland culture, but if they believed in it, they would pay for it … I don’t think Danny Williams or Paul Shelley are stupid or uncultured, but I think they should act.”
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LIFE & TIMES
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
Events From page 21 berries, Crackerberries, Raspberries, by Delf Maria Hohmann, 7 p.m., St. John’s harbour. SEPTEMBER 10 • Wayne Hynes plays The Basement, Baird’s Cove, St. John’s. • Historic Sites Association’s fourth annual Bartlett lecture by St. John’s filmmaker Victoria King, director of documentary White Thunder, St. George’s Church, Brigus, 753-5528. • Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life gets underway 7 p.m., until 7 a.m. Sept. 11, 1-888-753-6520. • Community of Hearts Fellowship’s anniversary potluck and gospel music evening, 6:30 p.m., Long Pond Lions Club, 781-0371. SEPTEMBER 11 • Doors Open St. John’s, an opportunity to celebrate our heritage
through the exploration of buildings that are normally closed to the public — or that usually charge an entrance fee. Over 20 locations around St. John’s will participate, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., 739-1892, www.doorsopendays.com, continues Sept. 12. • City of St. John’s household hazardous collection day, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., public works depot parking lots, Blackmarsh Road, 576-2489. • Friends of the Garden fall plant sale, MUN Botanical Garden, Mount Scio Road, St. John’s, 10 a.m. • Labrador Friendship Centre’s aboriginal fashion show, during the Big Land Fair, College of the North Atlantic, Happy ValleyGoose Bay. 896-8302. • Central Labrador Economic Development Board presents The Big Land Fair, College of the North Atlantic, Happy ValleyGoose Bay. 896-8302.
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Spanish wool 5 Canada’s first space telescope (2003) 9 Dracula’s wrap 13 Impressed 17 Help a hood 18 Sketch 19 Stratford’s river 20 Mini’s opposite 21 Immense 22 ___ meemies 24 Runs in the red 25 Played a role 27 Dolt 28 Arrive at 29 Group of Seven artist 31 Saucy 32 Burnish 33 Story lines 36 Me (Fr.) 37 Not ready to throw out 41 Waves on windy days 45 ___ Hatley, Que. 47 Lily (Fr.) 48 Boat propeller 49 Needle and ___ 51 Court divider 52 Retained 53 Giraffe’s cousin 55 National Park on L. Erie: Point ___ 57 Groove cut into a board 59 Elder 61 Joltless (java) 63 Protagonist of first documentary film 67 Toddler’s “horsie” 69 Theme 71 Door-slamming comedy 72 Singer from Cape Breton 75 Kind of bun (Scot.)
77 Heave a sigh of ___ 79 Mineral: suffix 80 System start? 81 Quilico of opera 83 Harmonium cousin 85 Toothed fastener 87 Caress 89 Part of NAFTA 90 Computer network 91 Imitate 93 ___ Archipelago National Park Reserve, Que. 97 Stollen or rye 100 Family of long-running Quebec TV series 103 By and ___ 104 Merit 105 It measures precipitation 107 Siamese sound 108 Agitated state 109 Bandage 110 Equipment 111 Peer 112 Prong 113 “Et tu, Brute” day 114 Lui’s opposite 115 Remain DOWN 1 Quebec City university 2 Early adders 3 Prepares to lay eggs 4 Try 5 Rx writers 6 Puget Sound whale 7 Wraparound silk 8 Foolish, pathetic one 9 Director of “Titanic” 10 Flying industry 11 Where Rita McNeil has a Tea House: Big ___, Cape Breton 12 Univ. major
• AIDS committee of Newfoundland and Labrador annual general meeting, Sobey’s community room, Merrymeeting Road, St. John’s, 4:30 p.m., 579-8656. • John and Wilf Curran of the Masterless Men in concert, St. George’s Church, Brigus, 7 p.m., 528-4713. • The Singing Cobbler, Bill Luffman’s annual music festival in aid of the Trinity Conception Placentia health Foundation telethon, Daltonian Club, Harbour Grace, 945-5289. OTHER: • St. John’s Haunted Hike, 9:30 p.m., Sundays to Thursdays, stone steps of Anglican Cathedral, Church Hill, www.hauntedhike.com or 685-3444. • Rum, Romance and Rebellion, cultural and literary walking tour of St John’s, Tuesday to Thursday, 6:45 p.m., LSPU Hall, Victoria Street, 364-6845.
• Where once they stood, O’Boyle’s historic walking tours, daily 10 a.m. at the Fairmont Newfoundland Hotel, St. John’s. Reservations required, (709) 364-6845. • Basilica Cathedral museum open, Roman Catholic Basilica, corner of Bonaventure Avenue and Military Road, St. John’s, 10 a.m.4 p.m., 726-3660. • Kevin Major’s As Near to Heaven onstage at Trinity presented by Rising Tide theatre company, 1-800-464-3377. • The Gros Morne Theatre Festival productions of Salt Water in My Socks by Paul Ledoux and Al Macdonald; and Isle Des Demons by Robert Chafe will continue playing alternate nights from Sept. 7 to 18 at the Warehouse Theatre in Cow Head, 1-877-243-2899 or www.theatrenewfoundland.com IN THE GALLERIES: • The Wonder of it All by Bernice
Blake at MUN Botanical Garden, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., 737-8590. Until Sept. 12 • Artist Statement by Stephan Kurr and Bad Ideas for Paradise by Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby, Eastern Edge Gallery, St. John’s. • Dusk, new paintings by David Marshak, at James Baird Gallery, Duckworth St., St. John’s. • The Land of Cod: Newfoundland, at the Provincial Museum, Duchworth Street, St. John’s, until Sept. 12. • Present Miss, a look at education in the province, Cupids Museum, Cupids, Oct. 15. • Parked, solo exhibition by Undrea Norris, opens, Leyton Gallery of Fine Art, 6-8 p.m. Please e-mail your events to editorial@theindependent.ca or fax 726-8499.
Solutions on page 26 13 Simple life form 14 Ont. town on Lake Superior 15 CEO, for one 16 Bowl 23 Throat-clearing 26 Something taken out 28 Hurry up 30 Quebec author Carrier (The Hockey Sweater) 32 Canadian who devised heating and ventilation systems 34 Campers’ cover 35 Exceed the limit 38 French wheat 39 Rim of a cup 40 Ouest’s opposite 41 Goes after 42 Cod cousin 43 Persia, today 44 City of witchcraft trials (1692) 46 ___ Deer, Alta. 50 Furnishings 52 Hawaiian coffee 54 Rodent of the Rockies 56 Diner 58 Spring flower with a cup 60 Having experienced a complete spiritual change 62 ___ mignon 64 First ed. 65 Eight: comb. form 66 Avid 68 Evian export 70 Proud in Paris 72 The ___ Sisters (Tomson Highway) 73 French here 74 Summit 76 Major Canadian debate of 1956
78 Dutch cheese 81 Heavy metal 82 Minute parts 84 Gives a new title 86 Goalie who popularized the mask 88 Vicious ruffian
92 Old enough 94 No ___ Mischief (Alistair MacLeod) 95 Greek marketplace 96 Freshly 97 Banting and ___ 98 Indian royal
99 Poet Mouré (Search Procedures) 100 Discharged a debt 101 Combustible matter 102 Equal (Fr.) 105 Baseball stat. 106 Before, of yore
September 5, 2004
Page 25
The Sunday Independent
SPORTS
Photo by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent
St. John’s Maple Leaf Harold Druken
‘I’m a hockey player’ Harold Druken loves the game as much today as when he was 13, which — until this past season — was the last year he spent home in St. John’s By Darcy MacRae For The Sunday Independent
H
ockey is still just a game for Harold Druken. The St. John’s Maple Leafs’ forward has seen a lot both on and off the ice during his fiveyear pro career. When it comes to trades, demotions to the minors or getting put on waivers, Druken has been there and done that in the hockey world. But just because he has been exposed to the tougher elements of professional sports doesn’t mean that the native Newfoundlander doesn’t enjoy the game. In fact, he says lacing up his skates, gliding down the ice and ripping a few shots into the net still brings him the same enjoyment today as it did when he was just a boy. “It’s the same game I’ve been playing since I was three years old,” says Druken. “I love the game and if I didn’t love it I wouldn’t be playing. It’s what I
do. I’m a hockey player.” Last season was special for Druken, as he spent the majority of the 2003-04 campaign playing in his home town as a member of the Leafs. Although he had a cup of coffee in Toronto (hockey talk for a brief stopover), he was able to call St. John’s home for a full year for the first time since he was 13 years old. “It’s fun to be able to leave the game and go to sleep in your own house,” he says. “But sometimes it can be a distraction. When I’m playing well, everything is good. Then when I have a couple of bad games, I put more pressure on myself.” Members of the St. John’s Maple Leafs will most certainly have to deal with distractions this year. The 2004-05 season will be the last for the club in Newfoundland, and players will have to face the fact that they will not return to St. John’s to play hockey once the campaign ends. Throw in the upcoming NHL
labour dispute, a situation that could see several baby Leaf players lose out on an opportunity to make the jump to the big league, and you could have an entire team that has a lot more to think about than just hockey. Druken says he and his teammates will have to take things one day at a time. “We really have no control over that stuff. All we can control is what we do on the ice,” he says. What Druken does on the ice is score. In hockey terms, he is a sniper. Players like him are often few and far between in today’s defence-minded pro game, making Druken all the more valuable. “He’s an extremely skilled guy,” says Leafs’ head coach Doug Shedden. “He’s also been around a little bit, which makes him good for the team. He’s a good guy and a great player.” Druken’s speed, soft hands, quick release and accurate shot have always made him a formi-
dable goal scorer. He bulged the twine 58 times while playing with the Ontario Hockey League’s Plymouth Whalers in 1999, the same year he was named to Canada’s National Junior Team. He has also found success at the AHL level — Druken picked up 51 points in 57 games with St. John’s last year. There’s been success, too, in the NHL, where he has 63 points in 146 career games played with Vancouver, Carolina and Toronto. Considering his talents and accomplishments, more than one hockey fan has questioned why Druken isn’t an NHL regular. “At this point in his career, I think he should have played more games in the NHL,” Shedden says without hesitation. “But the skill is still there and he’s not an old guy. He still has a chance.” At 25, Druken is not yet a grizzled veteran, but is also not a newcomer to the pro game. He has already had several shots at landing full-time employment in
the NHL, and realizes what he must do to get back on a permanent basis. “I have to be more consistent,” he says. “I have to play as well as I can to get up there. If that happens, I have to continue playing well and just take it from there.” Quite often in professional hockey a player with Druken’s abilities will take his game to Europe in search of a bigger paycheque if his NHL dream doesn’t come true. While fellow AHL snipers such as Brandon Reid and Josh Holden have decided to take that route, Druken says that for now, playing at home is just fine with him. “My mind was pretty well set on staying with this organization. I was happy here last year and really didn’t want to live anywhere else,” he says. “Maybe toward the end of my career I’ll want to experience life overseas. But for the next little bit, I’m not interested.” Darcy_8888@hotmail.com
Page 26
SPORTS
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
The Sporting Life
by Shaun Drover
Lightning line — St. Louis, Lecavalier, and O’Brien
I
tem: The Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning have signed prospect Doug O’Brien. Comment: Another Newfoundland native is officially a pro after O’Brien signed a three-year deal with the Lightning. O’Brien was a 6th round selection (192nd overall) at the 2003 NHL entry draft. The signing is great news for the 20-year-old from St. John’s, but don’t expect him to be feathering passes anytime soon to Martin St. Louis or Vincent Lecavalier. Lightning executive vice-president and GM, Jay Feaster, says O’Brien signed a standard rookie contract. Details weren’t disclosed. Feaster is excited about O’Brien’s ability and proven track record at the junior level. The plan is for O’Brien to play with the Springfield Falcons, Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate, to see if he’s ready for the pros. He played his junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Gatineau Olympiques, where he helped the team reach two consecutive Memorial Cup finals. O’Brien was named to the Memorial Cup allstar team two consecutive seasons and ranked third in the QMJHL in goals (17) and points (63). Let’s hope that the NHL strike doesn’t affect O’Brien’s jump to the pros. His signing is bad timing with the future of hockey up in the air. Who knows, with the NHL in turmoil, maybe O’Brien will get a chance in an alternate league that’s hungry for big names and big prospects. Odds are the World Hockey Association would love a
particular young Canadian defenceman from the city of legends. Item: Kobe Bryant is a free man after sexual assault charges against him were dropped. Comment: The rape cry heard around the world is over as Bryant’s life-altering court case has been closed. The prosecution’s decision to pull out surprised people close to the case, but I can’t see why anyone would be so shocked. Bryant’s case is yet another example of a U.S. judicial system that’s tailor-made to keep the rich and famous out of jail. I feel for the emotional roller coaster the accused experienced. The sexual encounter — Bryant admits the two had sex; he maintains it was consensual — had an impact on the personal lives of both parties. Whether this women was raped or is simply digging for gold, she showed North Americans what happens when you start a courtroom brawl with a millionaire. Bryant’s lawyers opened up the woman’s life for everyone to see. They picked every little detail from her personal life and turned it into a negative character trait. She never had a chance. The prosecution decided to drop the charges after the alleged victim decided not to testify against Bryant. The woman has taught everyone a valuable lesson: do not press charges against someone of Bryant’s status unless you have rock solid evidence. Simply crying rape will not suffice. Then again, hard evidence apparently won’t always do the
trick either. The decision in the Bryant case comes just months after a former NBA player was proven to have handled a shotgun that killed a limo driver. The basketball player was quoted as saying “my life is over” — only to be found not guilty of manslaughter. Kobe can now return to Lakerland. He has to fix his personal life and rekindle his marketability with fans and endorsers. As for the young woman, I hope she recovers from the embarrassment and allegations the defence made about her and her personal life. She’s been a victim of death threats, relentless media coverage, and a series of courthouse mishaps that included her name and medical history being reported in the media. Item: Deion Sanders has made his comeback complete by signing with the Baltimore Ravens. Comment: “Prime Time” is back! The seven-time Pro Bowl player signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens. We often question player motives for making comebacks, but with Sanders it doesn’t matter. His off-field charisma and cockiness will be just as entertaining as ever, especially with Ray Lewis at his side. When asked about his return, Sanders made it perfectly clear that money wasn’t a factor in his decision. He simply wants to win a third Super Bowl ring with a team he feels may have a chance. Saunders retired in 2001 when he left the Washington Redskins
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training camp. His reason for leaving that year was not his ability to play the game — but his belief that the team couldn’t win. Sanders is best remembered as a multi-sport player, playing two professional sports in a 24-hour period. As for football, he’s remembered as the best corner to ever play the game. In his 12-year career, Sanders became one of the most dangerous weapons in the game. Opponents quickly realized his talent and refused to throw the ball to his side of the field, eliminating his opponent’s top receivers. Sanders has two Super Bowl
rings with the 49ers and Cowboys, and hopes to make it a third with the Ravens. They may make it, and they may not. Regardless, Sanders will be an exciting player to watch. sdrover@hotmail.com
Answers to puzzle on page 24
The Sunday Independent, September 5, 2004
Page 27
ADVERTORIAL
National event booked for St. John’s SINCE ITS INCEPTION 15 years ago, the cross-Canada “Word on the Street” festival has been drawing entertainers, publishers, printers and some of the biggest names in Canadian literature together to celebrate the importance of literacy in all its forms. Recently, the Newfoundland and Labrador Publishers Marketing Association (NLPMA) decided to personalize the event for Newfoundland, creating Word on the Rock. A not-for-profit organization sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts, the NLPMA welcomes membership from writers, publishers, and anyone interested in the fate of literature in Newfoundland. The mandate of the NLPMA is a simple one: to make Newfoundlanders, Canadians and the entire world aware of the unbelievable talent possessed here in Newfoundland. NLPMA President Debbie Hanlon has taken a pro-active approach to this year’s festival, donating huge amounts of time and resources to promoting the event. “We can no longer consider literacy a luxury, it is an absolutely essential right and as part of the publishing world, the NLPMA considers it our responsibility to promote literacy in all its forms, to the fullest extent of our abilities,” says Hanlon. Response to the festival’s announcement has been swift, and the support offered enormous. The Johnson Family Foundation immediately donated the grounds of the Johnson Geo Centre to host the event and Spirit of Newfoundland Productions will be sponsoring the main stage. “The culture of Newfoundland is so unique, and one of its most important aspects is storytelling. Whether in the pages of a book, sung in a song, or told though dance, it is vital that this art is kept alive in Newfoundland. To us at Spirit of Newfoundland, the chance to sponsor the main stage at an event that celebrates both story telling and literacy is just fantastic.” says Kathie Hicks, CEO, Spirit of Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador Publishers Marketing Association President Debbie Hanlon at the Geo Centre, site of this year’s Word On The Rock. Word on the Rock 2004 promises to be its largest and most exciting yet. It will host a variety of attractions, running the gamut from exhibits by local publishers, booksellers and magazines to the unbelievable live talent on The Spirit of Newfoundland Main Stage. Salty the Dog of the Downhomer will be on hand to make the little ones smile and there will be face painting and games to keep them entertained. Local celebrity chefs will host a cooking demonstration, showcasing tantalizing recipes from Newfoundland’s finest cookbooks.
Of course, much of the Word on the Rock festival will focus on the authors. Local publishers will host book launches to release works “hot off the press” to the public. Authors will read from their work, be available to sign copies, and talk with the public. For emerging authors there will be an opportunity to “Pitch the Publisher” have your questions about publishing answered, and possibly even interest a publisher in your work! Story by Karla Hayward
If you would like to volunteer your time, purchase exhibition space, or just learn more about the Word on the Rock festival, contact Debbie Hanlon at wordontherock@yahoo.ca, or by phone at 728-9465.
WORD ON THE ROCK — SUNDAY SEPT 26, 10AM-5PM