2004-10-31

VOL. 2 ISSUE 44

COST/ BENEFIT SUMMARY SEGMENT Oil & Gas

As of Mar/10 As of Mar/10

$6.1B

$1.12B

Transportation

($7.7B)

$0

Fisheries

$15.2B

$3.3B

Running Total $13.6B

$4.42B

Please see detailed breakdown, page 2 Next week’s topic: finances.

ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

Noreen Golfman wades into festival ‘controversy’ Page 23

Page 20

Resources Minister John Efford tells The Independent. “We had one of the largest codfish biomasses in the world on the Grand Banks, today we’re worrying if it’s going to be placed etween 1992 and 2010, the collapse of the Newfound- on the endangered species list. That should never be. That’s land and Labrador groundfish fishery will have an nothing, only total mismanagement in the past.” overall $76 billion negative economic The managers of the fish?

FINDING THE impact on the global fishing industry.

The Government of Canada.

The estimate is based on research conducted by When Newfoundland joined Confederation in The Independent as part of its six-part series 1949, the new province turned total control of its Cost benefit analysis investigating the costs and benefits of Confederafisheries over to Ottawa, one of the conditions of of Confederation tion. the Terms of Union. Quotas, science budgets, Third in a six-part series Had the groundfish stocks off the East Coast of regulations and surveillance have all been deterCanada been properly managed, the waters off this province mined by the feds for 55 years. could be providing a healthy, sustainable annual catch — and Jim Morgan, provincial Fisheries minister for six years durrevenue — today. ing the 1980s, says “fisheries was the most frustrating thing I But, as the people of this province are all too aware, that did- ever did in my political life. Not that I didn’t enjoy it — I came n’t happen, and the industry will be worth an estimated $62.5 from a fishing community in Bonavista Bay, I fished with my billion less (cumulative, between 1992 and 2010). The bene- father — but it was frustrating because you got no say whatfits of additional employment would have soever. No consultation whatsoever.” been worth another $13.5 billion over that Morgan remembers getting reports from same time frame. that time of fishermen “using big brooms” to In 2003, the East Coast fishery — crab and sweep cod roe off the decks before their ship shrimp mainly — was worth about $1 billion, came into port. No regard was given for how according to numbers provided by the provinthat might affect the reproduction of the cial Fisheries Department, a quarter of what it species. could have been.

Even when he was first elected to the Cod, once considered Newfoundland curHouse of Assembly, in the early 1970s, he rency, had a landed value of just $16 million already heard rumblings about the depletion last year. of the cod stocks. It was years before they The people of this province won’t see anywere addressed. where near $76 billion from the resource that was the foundaIn spite of regular calls for provincial-federal joint managetion of the culture, history and economy; that was the ment, for Canada to take custodial management of the nose and “lifeblood.” That level of return from the fishery won’t come tail of the Grand Banks as a way to halt foreign overfishing, for years, if ever.

“There’s a lot of problems in the fishery,” federal Natural Continued on page 2

BALANCE

‘Cultural genocide’ Efforts ongoing for 30 years to halt overfishing; little headway: Etchegary

G

Corner Brook native Jason King a Moose on skates Page 25

Quote Week OF THE

“We became able to kill too easily. We became able to kill everything” — Leslie Harris, 1991 report on northern cod stocks

Harbour haunt

By Stephanie Porter The Independent

By Jeff Ducharme The Independent

SPORTS

$1.00 (INCLUDING HST)

The Independent puts a dollar figure on impact of collapsed groundfish stocks such as cod

INTERNATIONAL

Stephen Reddin recalls his trip Down Under

WWW.THEINDEPENDENT.CA

$76B LOSS B

LIFE & TIMES

SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 6, 2004

us Etchegary points at an oversized graph that charts the decline of the northern cod fishery — it’s all right there, the loss of a livelihood and a culture’s slow march towards obscurity.

One 20-year spike on a coloured graph and 500 years of fishing history hangs in the balance.

Using the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ own numbers, Etchegary, an outspoken fishery advocate and former executive with Fishery Products International, plotted cod catches by Canadian and foreign fleets.

Between 1875 and 1960, catches by foreign and Canadian fleets stayed within 50,000 tonnes of each other — with the Canadian fleet taking no more than 300,000 tonnes a year, and foreign ships peaking at 400,000 tonnes.

The Canadian and foreign catches of northern cod began showing signs of steep decline in the late 1960s, when catch rates dropped by almost half.

Foreign catches peaked in 1971 at 900,000 tonnes. By 1975 the world’s most prolific fishing grounds, the Grand Banks, and the cod that once thrived there, were teetering on the edge.

“There’s the overfishing. There’s the impact,” says Etchegary, pointing at a graph resting on a couch in the basement of his home in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s.

Etchegary says former prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s policy of doubling cod quotas to foreign fleets was what eventually led to the collapse.

“This is the same evidence that we gave to the Trudeau government,”

Etchegary tells The Independent. “This kind of thing is really what brought the death knell to that major industry.”

Trudeau’s turning a blind eye to the impending crisis and federal Fisheries mismanagement of the stocks inside Canada’s 200-mile limit eventually led to the largest layoff in Canadian history — 40,000, including those in Quebec and the Maritimes — with the 1992 northern cod moratorium.

As the quotas handed to foreign fleets

went up, cod of spawning age — seven years and older — began to decline.

The biomass sat at 1.6 million tonnes in 1962 and began a steady dive to around 150,000 tonnes by 1977. As the fishing effort went up, the spawning stock went down.

“That’s the story, it’s as simple as that,” says Etchegary. “The mismanagement I keep talking about, ad nauseam, has been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt.”

Etchegary says after the Second World War a proteinhungry world descended on the Grand Banks in the form of foreign fleets.

But Etchegary doesn’t train his guns solely on the feds and the usually vilified Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

“You don’t have the leadership in the industry and I don’t mind saying that — and loud. There isn’t leadership in any part of the federal Fisheries into doing the right thing.”

Fish coming into FPI plants became smaller and smaller. While Etchegary was concerned for the health of the resource, he also knew the company and its 7,500 employees were facing an uncertain future as the province crept through the 1970s.

Continued on page 6

Edward Rowe photo

The northern cod fishery, shut down in 1992, was once the lifeblood of the island’s northeast coast and Labrador. Today, it may be declared endangered. The province’s fishery was worth more than $1 billion last year, mainly from shrimp and crab.

Inshore fishermen from St. John’s (circa yesteryear) bring in a load of fish to the Battery, St. John’s harbour.

‘There was always plenty of fish’ Not so since the 1980s when waters off the Labrador coast were ‘vacuumed out’

Happy Valley-Goose Bay

By Bert Pomeroy The Independent

W

hen Uncle Jim Andersen boarded a plane last summer and travelled along the coast to attend the Charlottetown Shrimp Festival, his mind wandered back to the year Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada.

“I went to St. John’s in 1949 aboard the (steamship) Kyle, and there were thousands of people fishing all along the coast — every cove and harbour was full,” he recalls for The Independent.

“When I went down last year I felt lonely and sad, because I didn’t see any boats or people.”

The 86-year-old native of Makkovik on the remote Labrador coast says 1949 was a good year for the fishery, “There was lots of fish that year, and for many years after that,” he says. “I can remember when you would be on the deck up to your knees in cod. There was always lots of fish.”

The cod was so plentiful, says Uncle Jim (as he’s affectionately known), they could be seen chasing the caplin that would come to spawn on the beach. And the masts from the fishing schooners that came faithfully year after year looked like a forest of “dry wood.”

Today, caplin no longer come ashore and cod have all but vanished.

“I believe it was the draggers that did it,” Uncle Jim says. “I think we’d still have lots of fish if the draggers weren’t allowed to come and take it in the ’70s and the ’80s.”

On Labrador’s south coast, the tiny island community of Black Tickle was once recognized as the province’s fishing capital.

“I can remember when people would go in the fall and put down great sums of money to buy the biggest snowmobiles,” says Brenda Roberts, who moved to the community in the early 1980s to pursue a teaching career. “There was ample employment then, and people paid cash for just about everything — they didn’t need to put things on credit.”

The community’s population at the time, recalls Roberts, was about 350.

That would swell to well over 3,000 during the summer and fall, when families from Newfoundland migrated north to fish the lucrative cod.

“There were that many boats here you could walk across the harbour without touching water,” she says. “It wasn’t uncommon to see a man and his wife and three or four children living in sheds, or what was called Aspenite Village, for three or four months at a time.”

The children would attend school for the first couple of months of the year, Roberts says, and would then move back to the island. The cycle would begin again the following summer.

“There was always plenty of fish,” she says, particularly in 1988 and 1989.

“That was when we had a massive glut.

There was that much fish they would rot on the boats before they could be sold.

The fish plant couldn’t keep up with all the work, and the Portuguese collector Continued on page 10

Page 2

NEWS

Fishery ‘has to be the future’ From page 1 for more science, more communication, for more heed to be paid to the early signs of stocks in trouble … nothing has been done.

“Our fishery was literally squandered,” says former federal Fisheries minister James McGrath.

FINDING THE “It was an absolutely remarkable environmenbenefit analysis tal resource. It was the Cost of Confederation greatest fishery in the world and we destroyed it,” echoes Memorial University historian Robert Sweeny.

In the years after Confederation, the focus switched from the community-based inshore fishery rural Newfoundland was built on, to a larger-scale offshore industry. Salt cod fell out of fashion, fresh and frozen seafood drove the market.

Technology changed rapidly, allowing larger boats to fish relentlessly, offshore, cleaning and freezing their catch as they went. Regulations did not keep pace with the rapidly expanding capacity, draggers scraped over spawning grounds year-round.

“It was an enormous resource that we probably weren’t catching at a sustainable rate … but it wasn’t until the technology to catch the fish all the time, wherever they were, came along, that the effects were felt quickly,” Sweeny says.

In other words, the fish didn’t stand a chance.

There are currently 10 groundfish stocks under moratoria in the waters off Newfoundland and Labrador, including three cod stocks, American plaice, redfish and witch flounder. The crab fishery, which has proven lucrative in recent years, is showing signs of trouble. As are caplin stocks.

“It’s a terrible thing that we’re doing in the fishery now because we’re fishing everything right down to extinction and we’re not going to stop till it’s done,” says Wilfred Bartlett, a retired fisherman from Triton, Notre Dame Bay. While the feds, in their capacity as guardians of the fisheries, may be responsible for great losses to the province, they have also invested here.

Ottawa has spent billions in fisheries research, science and surveillance since the 1950s. DFO budget numbers for this province, before last year (the 2003 budget was $148 million) weren’t available by press deadline. The feds have paid billions more in subsidies, compensation and training programs to men and women involved in fish harvesting and processing, particularly postmoratorium.

The Independent calculates the total to be about $5.5 billion.

Although the Canadian government bears the weight of responsibility for the fate of the fishery, it doesn’t shoulder all the blame.

There is some talk environmental conditions — changes in climate, water temperature or current — or oil exploration efforts may have some effect.

Foreign trawlers have long fished, over-

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Law of the Sea could halt dragging; Baker

By Jeff Ducharme The Independent

W

BALANCE

THIS WEEK

The Independent, October 31, 2004

fished, off the Grand Banks, ignoring suggested quotas.

“Those people, the people who overfished, those people at DFO who allowed it to happen, and those of us, including you and I, who stood back and never done anything to stop it, we all have to wear it,” says Efford.

“I’m not blaming the minister of the day.

I’m telling you John Efford watched the draggers out on the Grand Banks. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians looked out the window and … looked at the boats out there overfishing and we did not stop it. We didn’t do anything to stop it.”

Maddox Cove fisherman Sam Lee says fishermen were part of the destruction. He openly talks of tossing away smaller fish in favour of big ones, of the practice of targeting specific “bycatch” stocks, of pulling in hundreds of pounds of cod while engaged in a blackback fishery — with the blessing of DFO. Says Bartlett, “the cod is never coming back and it’s never going to come back in my day ’cause we won’t let it come back.

Every time there’s a few fish out there everybody’s crying and want to get it open and go out fishing.”

Though it’s not what it was, or what it could be, there is still a fishing industry in this province: there are still boats, fishermen and women, and functional fish plants. New markets for new species, whether they be sea cucumber or lumpfish, are still being found. The crab fishery provides a good standard of life for thousands in the

province.

Provincial Fisheries Minister Trevor Taylor says some stocks, including cod in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, herring and mackerel, are showing “some evidence of recovery, not to the extent that we want to see it …

“Nobody can really put their finger on it and nobody can say for sure if what we think is happening is happening but there is evidence of it and … it’s cause for some level of optimism.”

As provincial Liberal leader Roger Grimes says, the fishery “has to” be the future of this province.

“Ore comes and goes, oil comes and goes, but the fishery is the renewable, sustainable backbone of the province,” the former premier says.

He, and “every premier, certainly back to Joey’s days” maintains joint federal-provincial management is key to the future health of the stocks.

“It’s an issue that makes total sense to us, a common sense issue, but we can’t get it done until the Government of Canada decides to do it for us,” he says.

Changes to the Terms of Union to award joint management, like custodial management of the nose and tail of the Grand Banks, been asked for, voted on — and never received.

Back in Petty Harbour, when asked if he sees a future for the fishery, inshore fisherman Sam Lee falls silent, shrugs, and holds up both hands, fingers crossed.

“You don’t know with the fishery. You never know. You just go day for day.”

hile the federal government bandies about the idea of extending custodial management over the entire Grand Banks, the United Nations has already given them the tool to halt foreign overfishing.

Senator George Baker maintains that Canada could take ownership to the edge of the continental shelf — it currently has jurisdiction to the 200-mile limit — by applying to the UN under the Law of the Sea. Once approved, Canada would own the ocean floor. Ottawa ratified the Law of the Sea in 2003, but they’ve been hesitant to apply for ownership of the Grand Banks.

“All foreign fishing off Newfoundland’s coast is done by dragging the ocean floor, every single bit of it,” Baker tells The Independent.

“We can’t stop fishing, but we can stop dragging.”

Currently 21 coastal states have applied under article 76 to take ownership of their continental shelf.

“The position of the Conservative party and the Liberal party and the NDP party in the House of Commons is for custodial management, but custodial management carries with it the connotation that you are the custodian for somebody else,” says Baker. “In other words, somebody else has the right to fish.”

Before Ottawa can even make the application, a hydrologic survey of the Grand Banks must be completed. Baker says the $70 million required to carry out the survey has been allotted, but the government ship and expertise needed to do the survey is in Uruguay as part of Ottawa’s international aid commitments.

Ironically, says Baker, the Canadian Hydrographic Survey vessel is doing the survey for the Uruguay government so it can apply to take ownership of its continental shelf.

The province’s only cabinet member and Natural Resource Minister John Efford, who’s department is responsible for the survey, says he personally supports the move to take ownership and says the survey will be done. But he offered no guarantees that the federal government would support the move.

“Fisheries issues need to be addressed, the hydrographic surveys on the Grand Bank needs to be done … there’s a lot of files besides this one.”

Baker, however, doubts that Ottawa will take the risk.

“What Canada is held up on is this Canada nice guy thing and all these trade arrangements with all these foreign nations and the cocktail parties and the embassy parties — that’s how the ship is run.”

The Independent, October 31, 2004

NEWS

Page 3

Paul Daly/The Independent

‘Life’s blood of Newfoundland’ Former federal Fisheries minister James McGrath says inshore fishery only thing that can save outports

By Stephanie Porter The Independent

W

hen James McGrath first became Fisheries minister for Canada in 1979, one of his middle managers — who happened to be a Newfoundlander — paid him a visit, with one piece of advice to offer.

“He said, ‘When you receive recommendations for total allowable catches, you should shave them by 25 per cent.’” McGrath says. “That’s how inexact the science is.”

One of the first decisions McGrath had to make as minister was whether to reopen the Gulf fishery to trawlers.

Although it was unpopular at the time, he took the 25-per-cent-less advice he was given. Later, he maintains, it was recognized he did the right thing.

“Who’s right?” he asks. “Is it the fishermen or the scientists? Somewhere in between, I figure, you have the truth.”

McGrath paints an uncomfortable picture of fisheries management: “inexact” or incomplete science people don’t trust; fishermen and women who aren’t always listened too; political pressure from many levels; and, at the head of it all, “the draconian power of the minister.”

“Within the Fisheries Act, one of (Canada’s) oldest acts … lies absolute power with one person,” McGrath says. “So that when we became a province of Canada, total say over our fisheries were vested in the hands of the Government of Canada. As a result of that, our fisheries were destroyed.

“Our fishery was literally squandered. We had no say in the management of it and we don’t to this day.”

McGrath says Newfoundland and Labrador’s greatest, original renewable resource became the victim of competing interests — treated not as a Newfoundland and Labrador fishery

“Fish was not the lucrative com— but as a common property resource modity then that it is now. But it was open to all Canadians.

McGrath was politically active at important enough I think we could an early age, a teenager when he was have said to Canada, look, we want to a member of the Responsible Gov- negotiate, we don’t want to hand our ernment League during the Confeder- fisheries over willy-nilly without ceration campaign. He and two partners tain conditions attached.

“That we want to be consulted on began a newspaper, The Newfoundland Weekly, in the ’50s. It lasted a the awarding of quotas and using our precious fishery resources as barteryear. ing tools for the fisheries McGrath first ran for poliFINDING THE trade.” tics in 1956 and lost. But he But nobody questioned at tried again, this time successbenefit analysis the time what would happen fully, one year later, and won Cost of Confederation to Newfoundland’s fisheries, the St. John’s East seat for the Progressive Conservatives in 1957. once brought under the Canadian flag.

He held the seat until 1963, then And so decisions relating to offshore regained it in 1968 — keeping it, this fisheries were made in Ottawa, thousands of kilometers away from the time, until the mid-1980s.

Through those years of politics, people — and fish — they impacted.

McGrath says the next big chance through his five-year stint as lieutenant governor of the province, and for Canada to manage the fish propin the years since, McGrath has erly was in the late-1970s, when the stayed informed, opinionated, and, country implemented the 200-mile limit. from time to time, incensed.

What should have been an opporAs a Yo Yo Ma CD plays in the background, McGrath relaxes at the tunity for careful thought, McGrath dining room table in his St. John’s says, Canada looked at as a “bonanza, apartment. The pink, white and green as a gold strike.” More fish plants Newfoundland flag were built, an aggressits as a centrepiece. sive Canadian off“You don’t have to shore fleet was develAlthough McGrath favoured responsible be a marine biologist oped (in part, to feed plants), and the government over Conto know if you don’t the foreign freezer federation back in 1949, he’s not certain give the animal time trawlers were out in force. Cod were Newfoundland and to reproduce it’s Labrador should not going to disappear.” fished 12 months a year. be part of Canada.

“But, if we’d had “You don’t have to — James McGrath our own parliament be a marine biologist restored to us, as was to know if you don’t promised, it would have negotiated give the animal time to reproduce it’s with Canada, not a panel appointed going to disappear.” And disappear it by an English governor. We may did. Even now, McGrath says, he have ended up in Canada … but if we doesn’t think DFO should “even conhad ended up part of Canada, we template sustaining an offshore would have done so under better trawler fishery.” terms.”

But he does think there’s room — That could have been the key to even a necessity — for an inshore, still having a cod fishery. But hind- hook-and-line fishery. sight, as they say, is perfect.

In 1979, when McGrath was Fish-

BALANCE

eries minister, he was quoted as saying this about rural Newfoundlanders: “for these people, for the people working in processing plants, for their families and the communities in which they live, the right and the ability to reap the (inshore) harvest is indispensable, because they have a special, a very special relationship to these stocks.”

It’s a belief he holds today — strongly.

“I think there’s enough fish in our bays to sustain a hook and line fishery … however, the mindset in Ottawa is that the inshore is a ‘social fishery,’ people fishing for stamps.

“Not the life’s blood of Newfoundland, which it is, and has been for hundreds of years. They would like to see this social fishery, the inshore, disappear. And this is where we should be digging in our heels. Because the inshore fishery is the only thing that can save rural Newfoundland.”

Without federal-provincial joint management, McGrath says there’s little hope for the fishery of the future.

Admittedly pessimistic, he wonders aloud whether the current media excitement surrounding Danny Williams’ stand on the Atlantic Accord could, in the end, give Newfoundland and Labrador a leg up on other negotiations.

“We don’t have much clout in the federation and that’s a real problem,” he says. “We have to get their attention.

“I think out of this oil thing, perhaps we have their attention. Openline shows are now talking about separation and it doesn’t surprise me.

“Maybe the offshore oil situation has shown us the way … we have an offshore management board which has federal appointees, provincial appointees, and industrial appointees.

“The same could work for our fishery. But it would mean opening up and amending the draconian Fisheries Act.”

Page 4

NEWS

The Independent, October 31, 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 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

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Reporter Alisha Morrissey Reporter Clare-Marie Gosse Production Manager John Andrews OPERATIONS General Manager John Moores john.moores@theindependent.ca Consultant Wilson Hiscock Operations Andrew Best Account Executives Nancy Burt nancy.burt@theindependent.ca Jackie Sparkes-Arnold jackie.arnold@theindependent.ca Circulation Representative Brian Elliott Office Manager Rose Genge Graphic Designer Steffanie Keating Reception/Circulation Assistant Stephanie Martin E-MAIL Advertising: sales@theindependent.ca Production: production@theindependent.ca Circulation: circulation@theindependent.ca Newsroom: editorial@theindependent.ca All material in The Independent is copyrighted and the property of The 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 Independent

LETTERS POLICY The 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 Independent, P.O. Box 5891, Station C, St. John’s, NL, A1C 5X4 or e-mail us at editorial@theindependent.ca

C

onfederation is not working for Newfoundland and Labrador, not when it comes to the fishery.

The marriage is a disaster in that regard, destined for the courts. To the criminal division first, for the federal government to face a charge of failing to act as the Grand Banks are raped, mercilessly — decade in, decade out — with the end of the rake that is a bottom-trawl.

The end result is outport genocide, not loud like a bullet, but quiet, like a screaming cod. There’s blood on Ottawa’s hands, blood of fishermen and fish; who we are and what made us.

To the West, the prairies; to the far East, the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Quintals of fish to go with the breadbasket. In 1968, records show that up to 1.2 million tonnes of northern cod were hauled from the continental shelf. What a massive stock it must have been to give up that much fish in a year. A new species of surface shark, the draggers, were said to be equally as impressive, in factory size and appetite.

From shore, the fleets were described as a city of lights. A city that never slept — not with fish to be killed.

Today, 55 years after Newfoundland joined Canada — handing

over, five years later, complete control of the fishery, a priceless gift — and not a single groundfish stock remains standing.

The health of northern cod, the same fish John Cabot caught in a bucket over the side of The Matthew, is so perilous that the death of a single one may jeopardize the survival of the species.

It’s illegal for an outport boy to jig a cod; the birthright ended with his father.

And the federal government is to blame.

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians did their share of the killing. Gus Etchegary, one of the greatest fish killers of them all, will tell you that. Newfoundland fishermen caught fish and dumped fish and caught even more fish — knowing full well the sea was running out.

The offshore fleet willingly fished on the spawning grounds off Labrador during spawning season.

They did it because the federal government allowed them to (no excuse, however). Ottawa was oblivious to the red flags being waved from boats and boardrooms.

Most every stock managed by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is in serious or critical condition.

Even those mistakes are forgivable; fish managers are as human as fishermen. (Fish don’t need to be

RYAN CLEARY

managed, a scientist once said, they’ll get by on their own. “It’s the people who need to be managed.”)

What’s not forgivable is that the carnage continues. What’s the good of shutting down a fishery on one side of an imaginary line, the 200mile limit, and allowing fishing to continue on the other side?

Has Ottawa not heard yet that fish swim? In the 13 years the commercial groundfish fishery has been closed in domestic waters, the health of the stocks has actually deteriorated. Offshore surveillance and policing has been beefed up, but — without the power of arrest and prosecution — what’s the point?

What’s not forgivable is that the federal government hasn’t moved to end foreign fishing, despite the fact it’s slowly killing rural Newfoundland and Labrador. More than 30 years of rhetoric is criminal, the loss of more than 60,000 people over the past decade, a tragedy of monumental proportions.

What’s not forgivable is that at the same time the stocks collapsed, DFO cut its science budget. Scientists know little more today about the offshore ecosystem than they did in the early 1990s. The latest word is that the federal government may cut science by another 19 per cent to pay for increased funding for health care.

What’s not forgivable is DFO’s selective release of information.

Data on foreign fishing — from

the number of citations issued, to whether charges were eventually laid, to correspondence between the federal government and countries like Spain and Portugal — takes months to pull together. Much of it is never released because it may damage international relations.

The department issues press releases for every salmon poacher nabbed; not so with foreign trawlers.

The one piece of information The Independent was able to pull from DFO this week is the size of last year’s budget. Not much more than that.

The province is in a tooth-andnail fight with Ottawa over the Atlantic Accord and offshore resources. That fight should pale in comparison to the storm rising over the fishery.

If this province can take any consolation, it’s in the fact that the average Canadian doesn’t understand how continued foreign fishing impacts outport Newfoundland and Labrador. Canadians generally aren’t aware how less money for science, fewer dollars to fuel Coast Guard ships, and an unregulated foreign fishery are sucking the life from this special place.

If average Canadians did know that, and pray they don’t, the marriage would be beyond salvation.

Ryan Cleary is managing editor of The Independent. ryan.cleary@theindependent.ca

Letters to the Editor

Education cuts: ‘a tragedy for the people’ Dear editor, An interview with the new Minister of Education, Tom Hedderson, about the ongoing white paper consultations on public, post-secondary education in this province was recently reported in The Independent (Oct. 17-23 edition).

The minister is quoted as saying “we have to be open” to the possible closure of campuses of the College of the North Atlantic. It is nothing short of astounding that the new minister could anticipate possible campus closures as a result of a white paper process announced by his predecessor, John Ottenheimer, as intended to ensure that the province’ s public post-secondary system “is strong, vibrant and well positioned to contribute to the economic growth of

our province and the employment prospects of our graduates, while preserving quality, accessibility and affordability.”

How could the loss of public educational and training opportunities in any community or region possibly contribute to accessibility or affordability? We know well enough from the massive funding cuts to the public college system in the 1990s — which saw five college campuses close, more than half of the teaching jobs eliminated, and almost 300 programs axed — that the loss of public training opportunities is nothing but a tragedy for the people of this province.

If a repeat of that is what we can expect the white paper process to result in, then we have been seri-

ously misled by Ottenheimer’s announcement.

Hedderson was also quoted as saying, “There’s no one area the government intends to focus on, but one factor is the collaboration between Memorial University and College of the North Atlantic, as well as Marine Institute and private colleges.” The public has been told unequivocally that this is a white paper on public post-secondary education. Both the ministerial announcement and the terms of reference are very clear on this point. Where does the private sector come into a review of the public post-secondary system? One thing is certain: the private sector is not being scrutinized in any way in this white-paper process.

Hedderson says “We’re looking

for quality, we’re looking for accessibility, and we’re looking for affordability.” A plan for post-secondary education which includes private colleges cannot possibly achieve such goals.

The question that Hedderson’s statements raises is, is there a hidden agenda in the review of our public post-secondary systems? Is the public college going to be further marginalized in order to create more opportunities for private colleges? This was the clear intention and the outcome of the 1990s cuts to the public system and, as we all know, it was a strategy with disastrous consequences for this province.

Dr. Jim Overton, Professor of Sociology, Memorial University

The Independent, October 31, 2004

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Page 5

Everywhere, the smell of fish

llow me to share with you something a little personal.

Many, many years ago, when I was a university student, I briefly thought it would be a good idea to study the bureaucracy that administered the fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador. The decision required I first get my head around several intellectual leaps of faith: that the main industry of the province was under federal jurisdiction, with many decisions made in Ottawa (Leap No. 1), and that the province had a Department of Fisheries that was next to powerless to actually do anything (Leap No. 2).

NO SENSE I resolved to study this. I read a great deal, and I met and spoke with folks in their really nice offices. The more I read and the more I met with folks the more confused I got. The industry made no sense.

What did I know about the fishery at the time? Like a lot of townie kids, I had spent a lot of my boyhood summers around the bay. I had jigged a few cod. I had caught mackerel, squid, haddock and flounder. I had spent a considerable

Rant & Reason IVAN MORGAN amount of time hanging off wharves catching tommy cod and connors. And I had watched as tractor-trailers hauled tonnes of unprocessed frozen cod blocks to the States.

Sitting in the library at Memorial University, I had trouble reconciling a lot of what I read with what I knew. I also had a lot of trouble concentrating. It’s hard to read endless memos on quota controls, dire predictions on industry practices, and impenetrable applications for loans for fish plants, trawlers and fishing gear that made no economic sense. It tends to make your mind wander.

Mine would wander to those exciting times of my youth. The buzz of the fish plant in Brigus as boat load after boat load of fish was landed at the government wharf.

Fishermen (as they were called then) just off their boats grabbing a quick smoke and laughing amongst

themselves, caps tilted at saucy angles — happy to be making a buck. Forklifts racing in and out of the loading bay, water running off the sides and bottom of the great grey buckets brimming with fish as they whizzed past. Women lined up at the conveyers, nattering among themselves as they picked through the fish, flashes of silver as razor sharp knives filleted and sliced.

When there was fish, the work was non-stop. Everywhere, the smell of fish.

Someone in the library would cough and I would be back, the room silent save for the rustling of paper and the overhead buzz of the fluorescent lights. “Pay attention,” I’d say to myself.

Loan Applications for Fisheries Loan Board – A Statistical Review.

Good.

Page One: The criteria used for assessing the statistical implications of provincial government policy …

The skipper of the Margaret R. used to come at the wharf full steam. She was a steel trawler maybe 100-feet long. Just yards from the wharf he’d whack her into reverse and gun her diesels, causing a huge eruption of foam

from the stern, and the bow would rise and swing around, the big boat cozying roughly up against the dock, her holds full of herring. I never tired of watching the skipper do that. I don’t think he even noticed. He was a hard man in a hurry and drove his boat and crew accordingly. To him, time was money. Get the fish in and then get more fish. Stop when they’re gone. … assessing the empirical data necessitates an appreciation of the jurisdictional conundrum facing the industry …

Gone again, day dreaming about the time we found a shark in a cod trap leader.

IMPERFECT VISION That was the fishery back then, in my imperfect vision. Looking back now I realize there were two industries. One was bent on making as much money as possible as fast as possible. They did that by working themselves and their politicians and the resource as hard as they could. The other seemed to sustain itself by generating paper that no one could read.

That was 1980. There were fish plants everywhere, and everywhere fish was being frozen in blocks

and shipped south to be processed.

Did that ever make sense? When there was money, people spent it as fast as they could make it. Has that changed? My imperfect reading of the subject at the time led me to believe that smart politicians ensured that the industry kept the plants open, the product moving and voters employed. And the academic advice — whether profound or drivel (and I read plenty of both) — appears to have been generated only for the benefit of a few poor souls like myself, trapped in the library on a cold rainy November afternoon.

I wonder if anything has changed. I wonder this because, truth be told, I don’t really know.

On that cold afternoon I had one of those moments that later you recognize as an epiphany. I realized I couldn’t read another word — not one more. I closed what I was reading, put all my notes in a briefcase and walked out of the library. Forever, as it turned out. The whole thing looked like chaos to me, and I did something else with my life.

It’s a decision I’m still happy with.

Ivan Morgan can be reached at imorgan@nl.rogers.com

Letters to the Editor

Pink, white and green protest Dear editor, I’d like to express the fact that I agree with the protesters who demonstrated and expressed their frustration recently on Confederation Hill in St. John’s. They were protesting not being allowed to catch fish free of charge during a food fishery. Nova Scotians and other Canadians can catch fish free of charge in season. Newfoundlanders have to buy tags.

Why? I need an awfully good explanation to except this. Of course I don’t. This is discrimination against us Newfoundlanders.

Canada’s fishery would only be about one third the size it is today if Newfoundland hadn’t joined in 1949. Yes, that’s right, one third.

Canada cannot repay Newfoundland for the resources taken out of here and power from the mighty Churchill Falls power is only just one.

So I say to you, fellow readers, let’s join these people in an islandwide protest on Canada Day. Fly the Canadian flag upside down.

Sing the Ode to Newfoundland, and fly the pink, white and green.

Ron Durnford Stephenville Crossing

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Page 6

Burn it, pave it, kill it, bomb it

T

he American people will elect a president Tuesday, Nov. 2.

And we should care, but it’s hard to give a damn about a country that doesn’t really seem to care about anything but itself.

Living next door to “the world’s greatest democracy” has always been unsettling, but it’s become downright scary since our neighbour to the south started believing its own press. The world’s greatest democracy — are the parameters used to define that rather audacious statement geographic size, population, age or the size of its nuclear arsenal? A matter, perhaps, of whomever has the most nukes before they die, wins.

STRANGE COUNTRY It’s a strange country. The good ol’ USA has to be the biggest and best. The championship for American baseball is the World Series and football’s Superbowl is regularly referred to as the world championship — though no other teams (except for the hapless Blue Jays) from anywhere else in the world compete for either title.

A good motto for the U.S. would be: burn it, pave it, kill it and bomb it.

The American government put that motto to the test in Vietnam and after failing miserably there, decided to try it again and again in Iraq — second time’s a charm. It has been anything but charming for the Iraqi people and the U.S. soldiers and their families.

President George W. Bush lied to the American people about Iraq and the capabilities of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The man the world’s greatest democracy put into power in the first place never had weapons of mass destruction — certainly not enough evidence of such weapons to warrant being bombed back into the stone age by American armed forces.

The Americans, they’re a strange lot.

The American government held a presidential impeachment hearing because the commander and chief, Bill Clinton, lied about playing hide-the-cigar with a young female intern, but the electorate seem perfectly fine with the fact that the president who replaced him fabricated a bold-faced lie so he could bomb the hell out of Iraq and its people.

It’s a strange country, that US of A. All Clinton wanted was a little after-hours nookie in the Oval Office (something that every president must fantasize about), an

NEWS

The Independent, October 31, 2004

Federal-provincial relations

Opinions Are Like...

JEFF DUCHARME executive tryst in the Lincoln bedroom perhaps. Trust me, Hillary made him pay for it and is likely still making him pay dearly for it.

The basis to impeach Clinton was that he lied to government investigators, but Bush did more than just lie — he fabricated a cause to kill thousands and to gain support to finish what his papa began.

What Clinton did was wrong, but what Bush did was, and is, far more morally (and every other kind of) repugnant. If there ever was a poster boy for impeachment, Bush is it.

Bush’s election motto is “Building a safer world and a more hopeful America.” He is, because of the Republican’s foreign policy in the Middle East, campaigning on the backs of the very people who paid the ultimate price for years of meddling by his administration and his father’s.

It truly is a funny place south of the border.

Democratic challenger John Kerry has a very slim hope of beating Bush and the Republicans.

Kerry just doesn’t seem to be capturing voters’ attention. The polls may be neck-and-neck, but it’s more a reflection of what Bush isn’t than what Kerry is — intelligent. But Kerry doesn’t seem to have enough personality to combat Bush’s good ol’ boy act. Every once and a while you can see Kennedy-like moments in Kerry’s rather pronounced features and clam-chowder accent, but it likely won’t be enough to buck the Texas drawl from the White House saddle.

HOT-BUTTON ISSUE Abortion has always been a hotbutton issue. Obviously, Bush has always taken the Christian, pro-life stance. Kerry supports the U.S. Supreme Court decision and women’s right to choose. As an American woman pointed out on a TV news show recently, you never hear female politicians speaking about abortion. What is a woman’s issue has been the political football of male presidential candidates for decades. One has to wonder how Bush would feel about female politicians trying to legislate his prostate.

Bush has always tried to align himself with the religious right.

Yet the American constitution guarantees freedom of religion and freedom from prosecution because of one’s beliefs. Yet the American’s motto, embossed on every coin says “In God we Trust.” The question that screams to be answered is, which god and just whose god are they placing their trust in?

America truly is the land of the free, the brave and the bizarre.

Jeff Ducharme is The Independent’s senior writer. jeff.ducharme@theindependent.ca

Paul Daly/The Independent

Federal Natural Resources Minister John Efford listens to Premier Danny Williams during a spring press conference about a better provincial/federal relationship. The relationship between the two politicians soured this week after Williams accused the federal Liberals of backing down from their promise to amend the Atlantic Accord.

Declared dead and gone From page 1 “We can’t go on like this, we’re losing money,” Etchegary recalls thinking, as the average size of a codfish decreased. The marketable size of four pounds fell to just over two pounds and the hours of labour needed to catch the smaller fish increased.

“I was living with this day in and day out. I saw our company heading for bankruptcy. I knew it was coming because of mismanagement of the resource.”

In 1971, William Templeman, a renowned cod scientist, gave an ominous speech to the St. John’s Rotary Club.

Templeman warned that cod landings in the Labrador inshore area had fallen to 4,000 pounds in 1970 from 170,000 pounds in 1933.

During the same year, Etchegary gave a speech at Hotel Newfoundland, warning that the fishery was on the verge of collapse. Etchegary called for federal officials, who would be attending the 1973 Law of the Sea conference, to accept nothing less than “full management control over the entire continental shelf.”

Etchegary also called for the federal government to make surveillance and enforcement of the Grand Banks a priority and increase the research into cod, flounder, redfish, and haddock stocks.

“This knowledge will bring stability to the fishing industry by determining the fishing effort which should be applied and the number inshore jobs which should result,” Etchegary said at the time.

For Etchegary, it’s a familiar refrain. Before the bureaucratic mess of the Northwest Atlantic

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Fisheries Organization (NAFO), which regulates fishing outside the 200-mile limit, there was the International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (ICNAF). Both organizations were paper tigers that oversaw the allocation of quotas but had no teeth when it came to protecting the stocks.

PREDETERMINED OUTCOME Etchegary, who spent his fair share of time as a commissioner at NAFO meetings, says the outcome was determined before the meetings even began. As a commissioner, Etchegary could only watch and fume at the rhetoric — commissioners were only observers and had no input at the meetings. But Etchegary did watch as the Canadian NAFO delegation would often do a premeeting tour and make deals before the gavel even dropped on the first official meeting.

“You know how the vote is

going to turn out and we’re only going to go in there and listen to the same crap over and over.”

At 80 years of age, Etchegary should be retired and living the life of Riley, but he spends almost every waking hour fighting the same battle he’s been fighting most of his life — trying to save a fishery that some have already declared dead and gone.

“I think the Government of Canada would like us to take that attitude,” says Etchegary.

It takes money, he says, but more importantly it takes political will at home and on the international stage. Something he doesn’t think exists on Parliament Hill.

“Nevertheless, having said that, the alternative to that is the completion of the cultural genocide in this province.”

But some people in the rest of Canada are listening. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association has invited Etchegary to speak at meetings in Winnipeg and Calgary in mid-February.

The Independent, October 31, 2004

NEWS

Page 7

Fish for favours

Few details available on possible international trade-offs for East Coast fish

By Jeff Ducharme The Independent

vice-president, Gus Etchegary, says while he has no documentation proving that fish were used as he dots are hard to connect, international bargaining chips, he but there are shadowy links was privy to meetings and discusthat suggest Canada has sions that have left little doubt in been trading fish quotas for his mind.AFP PHOTO favourable trade relations with “I don’t have the documentation, other countries for decades. but I do know that the Koreans In the late 1980s, the built a plant — a Hyundai FINDING THE Korea auto giant Hyundai plant in the province of was looking for a North Quebec — in exchange for benefit analysis American site to build a Cost Canada’s support for Koreof Confederation car plant. The federal an quotas on the Grand government, as do all govern- Banks and the Koreans are still out ments, courted the Koreans — here 15 years later,” says reportedly with East Coast fish.

Etchegary.

St. John’s South Tory MP LoyThe nation’s major airlines are ola Hearn says there’s no concrete also said to have benefited from proof of such backroom deals, but such tradeoffs. he says it’s accepted knowledge “Canada’s main airlines gained that such deals happen on a regular access to landing rights in certain basis using the country’s vast European cities for support in fishresources as bargaining chips. eries quotas,” says Etchegary.

“Maybe what we could do is “There’s no way you can get docinstead of giving somebody fish for umentation.”

The most infamous tradeoff may a car factory, or somebody fish to sell some wheat, maybe we could have been fish quotas to Russia for say to the Americans ‘We’ll give that country’s purchase of you some extra fish, you give us Saskatchewan wheat — a market some extra gunboats,” says Hearn, that was struggling in the 1970s laughing, in response to a sugges- and ’80s.

In 1980, then-provincial Fishtion the Americans could be given fish in exchange for policing the eries minister Jim Morgan expressed concern over a federal Grand Banks.

Fishery advocate and former government deal with the EuroFishery Products International pean Economic Community over a

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Paul Daly/The Independent

Shoshin Maru

six-year agreement. The deal traded northern cod in return for lower tariffs on specified amounts of Canadian frozen round cod and redfish, cod fillets and blocks, salt cod and herring.

“The federal government, by relegating fish export negotiations to this limited and misguided form of barter is treating fish products as a second-class export,” Morgan said at the time.

“In return for modest market access — and I repeat, modest market access — Canada is being

asked to allocate to the EEC fleet, a total of 94,500 tonnes of cod from our northern cod stocks and 42,000 tonnes of squid over the next six years.”

The trade numbers don’t drag any deals out of the shadows either.

According to Statistics Canada, six of the largest foreign fishing nations on the Grand Banks have maintained a historic trading surplus with Canada. In 2002, Canada bought far more products from Japan ($4.8 billion), Denmark ($390 million), Portugal ($60 million), Russia ($64 million) and Spain ($162 million) than those countries bought from Canada.

Only Spain and Portugal have seen the gap narrow since 2002, yet both countries still export approximately $50 million more in goods than consumers here buy.

The fishery is a high stakes game in countries such as Spain. A report by a Spanish university concluded that close to 6,000 jobs are at risk in Galician, a fishing region of Spain, if the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, which reg-

ulates fishing outside the 200-mile limit, follows through with a plan to cutAFP PHOTO turbot quotas over the next three years.

The cut could mean a loss of $750 million Cdn to the Galician economy.

TURBOT VITAL The study concludes the turbot fishery is a vital part of the economy with 22 companies operating 44 vessels — 31 of which target turbot.

Senator George Baker, former federal minister of Fisheries and longtime Newfoundland and Labrador MP, says Canada is fully aware of the value of this province and its fishery, though bureaucrats and politicians may not admit it.

“The bottom line is, as I say, the Canadian Export Development Corporation has recognized the value of our province, simply because we contribute more to the (Canadian) economy than anybody else,” says Baker. “And only a Newfoundlander knows what we’ve had taken away from us.”

Page 8

NEWS

The Independent, October 31, 2004

‘Barely adequate’ As fish stocks dwindle, so does scientific research that could potentially save them, experts say

By Clare-Marie Gosse The Independent

funding, rather a re-allocation of the existing budget from low priority areas to higher priority areas. retired scientist with the There have been no final decifederal Department of sions made in relation to this Fisheries and Oceans review.”

(DFO) in St. John’s says basic Another former DFO scientist, funding for fisheries Ransom Myers, who now FINDING THE research in this province works as a biologist at dropped by almost 50 per Dalhousie University in benefit analysis cent between 1981 and Cost Halifax, calls current fish of Confederation 2000. science research “barely In a report exploring DFO’s adequate. resource distributions, Ed Sande“If you look at the science of the man says the federal government Department of Fisheries and continues to view Newfoundland Oceans or any of the oceanograand Labrador as “an awkward phy, it’s not really viewed as firstappendage to its Atlantic strong- rate anymore.” hold, the Maritimes.”

In the mid-1990s while still with DFO’s Newfoundland and DFO, Myers went public with his Labrador region is responsible for opinion that despite DFO blaming research spanning 70 per cent of environmental changes on the colthe total Atlantic shelf area, but it lapse of the northern cod stocks, receives only 36 per cent of the the real cause was overfishing. He workforce and 43 per cent of the says too often government scienfunding allocated within the tists are being corrupted by special Atlantic provinces and Quebec. interests to produce certain results.

“They have never put adequate funding into research in our area,” Sandeman tells The Independent.

“There’s no work being “Since Confederation we’ve done on caplin to speak always been the low guy on the totem pole.” of. There’s a very small DFO has been criticized for caplin group now and yet reportedly cutting back on science it is probably the most in the years after the commercial groundfish fisheries were closed. fundamental species, the The Independent has repeatedly most important species, asked DFO for figures on its sciin all our shores because ence budgets, requests the department has never fully provided. In it’s the big food fishery.

September, the federal governIt’s what cod relied on ment announced a plan to potenfor years and I’m sure tially cut an extra 19 per cent from one of the reasons cod is DFO’s budget to help fund increases to health care. down is because of the Susan Keough, spokeswoman lack of food fishes.” for DFO in St. John’s, says the department is currently undertak— Ed Sandeman ing a national review of its science programs, “which may result in the re-allocation of existing funding into project areas that are the Decisions such as the current highest priorities in each region. proposal by the Committee on the “This is not an arbitrary, across- Status of Endangered Wildlife in the-board reduction in science Canada (COSEWIC) to declare

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Ed Sandeman, a retired DFO scientist.

cod endangered, are made based on DFO scientific research, and although many scientists agree the species fits the at-risk criteria, they still have no solid conclusions as to why.

“The worst thing is we’ve lost some of the sub-populations of cod over time from over exploitation, so I think the situation is probably worse than people imagine,” says Myers.

Sandeman says scientists still have virtually no understanding of the relationships between different species and how they affect recovery and the ecosystem. The trend has always been to focus on one species at a time. He says assessments are being carried out on cod populations with very little work being done on feeding and reproductive potential.

“There’s no work being done on caplin to speak of,” he says.

“There’s a very small caplin group now and yet it is probably the most fundamental species, the most important species, in all our shores because it’s the big food fishery. It’s what cod relied on for years and I’m sure one of the reasons cod is down is because of the lack of food fishes.”

Another species baffling scientists with their low numbers is wild Atlantic salmon. In June, The

Paul Daly/The Independent

Independent ran a story about the high mortality rate. Salmon numbers haven’t increased since 1992 when the fishery was closed to save the species from extinction.

At the time, the head of DFO’s salmonid section, Rex Porter, said researchers were at a loss to explain why the health of the stocks hasn’t improved, a mystery fueled by a lack of science.

Current acting head of the salmonid section, Chuck Bourgeois, says the low numbers are a result of high mortality rates occurring after fish travel from freshwater rivers to the ocean.

“BLACK BOX” “I have to be honest and tell you that’s a black box. We all have our ideas on it but we have no ability truly to follow salmon at sea.”

He says the logistics of following a four- or five-inch salmon — a species that travels alone — would be virtually impossible, as much as it would be expensive.

“The best chance right now we have to conduct research to lead us where we’d like to go is the study, say, in the near shore environment because you can control that better,” he says, “and with sufficient funds we may be able to answer the question: is the problem in the inshore or the offshore?

And knowing that the problem is not inshore is important as well.”

Bourgeois says small-scale studies have begun and applications for funding larger scale studies have been made, but so far without success.

For his part, Sandeman blames the frustrations faced by scientists as much upon the province as the federal government, saying when he read the terms of Confederation four years ago, he was “absolutely flabbergasted” by what Newfoundland accepted, when “what they gave was incredible.”

Sandeman concluded some of his thoughts about the position of fish science in Newfoundland and Labrador in his report exploring DFO’s resource distributions.

“It is very difficult to escape the conclusion that, apart from a brief period shortly after Confederation, the political process has discriminated against Newfoundland with respect to building a strong fisheries research capability to support its primary industry — the commercial fisheries. In recent years the drastically reduced funding has exacerbated the situation to a degree that makes one wonder if the government of this nation of Canada really knows that its coastlines exist at all.”

Surveillance funding up, but offshore police still can’t arrest

By Alisha Morrissey The Independent

M

ore than $17 million in new funding has been dedicated to offshore fishery surveillance this year, but critics question the value when Canada lacks the authority to arrest on the high seas.

Retired turbot fisherman Wilfred Bartlett says regulations put in place by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), which regulates fishing outside the 200-mile limit, aren’t enforced and hold no weight.

“The problem is all we ever do is go out, board them (foreign fleets), find infractions and send them home, they go home, they unload their fish and they come back and do the same thing again.”

Bartlett urges Canada to take control — though custodial management or any other means — over the Grand Banks.

“Canada don’t got the guts, or I don’t know if it’s the guts or if they just don’t care, Newfoundland is not very high on the priority list of Canada,” he tells The Independent.

“Until Canada gets the guts to send the warships out there, ‘Now you’re going to stop fishing or we’re going to blow you out of the water’ — now that’s the only solution as far as I’m concerned, I mean what have we got to lose?”

Since 1992, Canadian enforcement officers have issued more than 280 citations to foreign vessels for alleged illegal fishing on the Grand Banks. The federal government has never released any evidence to suggest those citations led to charges.

It’s up to the home country of a foreign vessel to prosecute citations. Ottawa has also refused to release correspondence with foreign countries such as Spain and Portugal — said to be the biggest illegal fishing offenders — regard-

ing citations, saying the information could damage international relations.

NAFO executive secretary, Johanna Fischer, says Canada doesn’t have any more rights to the fish outside the 200-mile limit than any other country.

“We are not talking Canadian water here, we’re talking international water … and NAFO is an organization to ensure that, even if you wanted to call it like that, there are certain rules that are maintained and NAFO has been very efficient in doing that,” Fischer says from Nova Scotia.

She uses the example of a Canadian boat caught overfishing off Portugal.

“How would you feel, if … the Portuguese would then say, ‘No way, we’ll escort it to Portugal and this Canadian vessel, with a Canadian captain, who was fishing in international waters, not in Portuguese waters, and now prosecute

it by Portuguese law. Under which authority would the Portuguese do that?”

Earle McCurdy, president of the Fish, Food and Allies Workers’ union, says he supports Canada taking control of the continental shelf.

He adds increased surveillance seems to be a deterrent to violators of NAFO regulations, but it’s too

“ ... Newfoundland is not very high on the priority list of Canada.”

— Wilfred Bartlett, fisherman early to tell how effective it will be.

Fisheries Minister Trevor Taylor says there is evidence to show that increased surveillance has changed fishing patterns of boats known for overfishing.

“There’s been certainly a decline as we understand it. The information that we’ve been getting (shows) that the level of compliance has improved significantly over the 2003 fishery but you know there has to be a regime change so to speak outside the 200-mile limit.”

Supporters of custodial management argue there are fewer foreign vessels on the Grand Banks because there’s less fish to catch.

Canada conducts approximately 165 at-sea inspections a year. As of October, the federal government had issued seven citations to foreign vessels accused of overfishing.

Only three of the citations were held up by European Union inspectors. The others were disputed and dropped.

As of early October, 22 foreign trawlers were fishing groundfish, redfish mainly, just outside Canada’s 200-mile limit. Another 14 vessels were fishing shrimp.

The Independent, October 31, 2004

NEWS

Page 9

‘Let’s do something’

Thirty years after lobbying first began, province has made little headway on extending custodial management over entire Grand Banks

By Stephanie Porter The Independent

fisheries jurisdiction to the edge of the continental shelf from our shoreline. We strongly believe this policy is necessary if the east ven Tory MP Loyola Hearn himself coast Canadian fishing industry is to reach was surprised when his private its full potential.” members’ bill to extend custodial In 1977, Canada created the 200-mile management to the nose and tail of the limit, extending Canada’s control over its Grand Banks passed in the House of Com- offshore considerable, but leaving three mons last March. areas of the continental shelf outside of the Hearn claimed it as a “symbolic country’s control — nose, tail and FINDING THE victory” at the time, drawing attenFlemish Cap. There have been tion to an issue that’s long been on repeated calls for an extension of the minds of politicians from New- Cost benefit analysis the limit, to no avail. of Confederation foundland and Labrador.

Advocates maintain it’s the best But in the seven months since the vote, way to stop foreign overfishing of the there’s been no further action. stocks that straddle the 200-mile limit; The only movement since, Hearn says, is detractors — including many member states that Prime Minister Paul Martin has raised of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organithe issue during recent international trips. zation, which oversees fishing outside the “Now that in itself means 200-mile limit — say the nothing,” he tells The Indemove is without precedent, pendent. “That’s just playing interferes with the histor“I’ve said many, and to the audience. However, he ical rights of other fishing has suggested the establish- many, many times nations. ment of an international meetNatural Resources Minister over my political ing or forum to deal with John Efford, Newfoundland life that unless a overfishing.” and Labrador’s representative The idea of Canada taking prime minister of in the federal cabinet, made jurisdiction over the entire headlines last March by being a country got Grand Banks — nose and tail conspicuously absent during involved in this included — has been disHearn’s motion in Parliament. cussed at top political levels file nothing is ever “I’ve said many, many, at least since 1971, when going to change.” many times over my political then-premier Joey Smallwood life that unless a prime minis— John Efford circulated a memo to his felter of (this) country got low premiers. It was then involved in this file nothing is passed on to Ottawa. ever going to change,” he tells The memo mentioned the “serious The Independent. decline” of some species, stating: “The gov“I don’t care who goes into the minister’s ernment of Newfoundland and Labrador office, I don’t care who changes jobs. One urge the Government of Canada to give of my obligations was to work on this file every possible consideration to extension of with the minister of Fisheries to get the

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John Efford

prime minister involved. The prime minister is personally involved in this one… every single time that he went overseas, he talked about foreign overfishing and he vowed to get it stopped.”

Efford also brings up the upcoming international conference on foreign overfishing, hosted by Martin — proof, he says, the “prime minister is getting involved.”

Jim Morgan has heard it all before. He was an MP when Smallwood made his resolution regarding jurisdiction of the continental shelf, a provincial Fisheries minister for six years in the 1980s, and is currently involved with the Newfoundland and Labrador Rural Rights and Boat Owners’ Association.”

“During the election the prime minister talked about taking custodial management

Paul Daly/The Independent

… now since the election, no way, not ever brought forward, wasn’t even mentioned.

No action is going to be taken … down the road, another 15 years maybe of people talking about it, maybe …

“To add insult to injury, the prime minister is talking about convening another socalled international conference of overfishing. To me, that’s an insult to us Newfoundlanders. There’s been two ore three of these over the past number of years and they’ve achieved nothing. Let’s do something.”

Current provincial Fisheries Minister Trevor Taylor doesn’t sound very optimistic either. When asked when we might see custodial management become a reality, he replies, “you know, that’s more than my life is worth to try and predict that.“

Page 10

NEWS

The Independent, October 31, 2004

Locals felt “pushed aside” From page 1

Chris Helgren/REUTERS

A lifeguard watches over bathers at the Blue Lagoon hot springs, as a thermal electricity plant looms in the background. Iceland has taken advantage of its natural hot mineral-rich water caused by volcanic activity to provide electricity to most homes around the capital, Reykjavik, and power its aluminum smelter.

Iceland better off as independent nation: professor

By Sue Dyer For The Independent

N

ewfoundland and Labrador may have a lot in common with Iceland in terms of natural resources, geography and population — but the economies are far different.

Iceland is one of the richest nations in the world. It’s also independent.

An island nation of 290,000 people with one of the highest standards of living in the world, Iceland spends the same amount of money a year as this province — $3.5 billion — with half the debt.

With an unemployment rate of three per cent, many Icelanders believe that proper management of the fishery and sovereignty from Denmark are the main reasons for their economic success.

Iceland was a jurisdiction of Denmark until 1918 when it gained sovereignty. In 1944, Iceland became a republic, cutting all ties with the Danish Crown.

Gudmundur Jonsson, associate professor of history at the University of Iceland, tells The Independent that independence has made the difference.

“I strongly believe that independence, where we have a government that looks especially to the interests of our nation, had a very beneficial effect on the economy.

Iceland has fared better under independent rule than Danish rule.”

As a province of Canada, Newfoundland handed over responsibility of its fishery to the federal government under the Terms of Union in 1949. Since then, the groundfish fishery has collapsed, with much of the blame directed at the Government of Canada for mismanagement.

POST-SOVEREIGNTY POLICIES In the early 1920s just after attaining sovereignty, Iceland adopted significant policy changes respecting their fishery.

“When we had sovereignty in 1918 and full independence in 1944 the interests of the fisheries became the national interests, and the concerns and the problems of the industry, which is paramount in the Icelandic economy, became the priority engagement of the government,” says Jonsson.

“There is a law passed in 1922, for example, which bans foreign investment in the Icelandic fisheries and from that date onwards foreigners are virtually unable to participate in the Icelandic fisheries.”

Jonsson says legislation was also passed in the 1920s that strengthens the economy by stating only Icelanders can operate fish processing companies in the country.

And what of the health of rural areas of Iceland?

In the past few decades the fish-

ery in Iceland has moved away from the capital of Reykjavik to coastal areas. Although Jonsson says some rural communities have faired better than others, from a management perspective it has been a positive move.

“It has certainly improved the macro-management of fishing and has stopped the overfishing at least.”

Since the collapse of cod stocks in the early 1990s, there have been questions about the commitment of the federal government to science in this province.

Science budgets here have been steadily reduced. In Iceland the opposite has taken place.

“Science, it rates very highly … scientific knowledge of the seas and of the fish stocks has gradually improved and as a percentage of GDP (gross domestic product) it has been growing fast in the last years.”

If it were part of Denmark today, Iceland would represent 4.5 per cent of the Danish population.

Newfoundland and Labrador represents two per cent of Canada.

Says Jonnson, “The Danish look at the overall economy and Iceland as just a small part of it, a small fish in a big pond. So we get a … difference (of) importance of priorities in national economy policy with the Danish state than with an independent Icelandic state.

“Iceland is now a big fish in a small pond.”

The Shipping News Keeping an eye on the comings and goings of the ships in St. John’s harbour. Information provided by the coast guard traffic centre.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 25 Vessels arrived: Maersk Chancellor, Canada, from Marystown; ASL Sanderling, Canada, from Halifax.

Vessels departed: Cabot, Canada, to Montreal; Atlantic Kingfisher, Canada, to Hibernia; Cape For-

tune, Canada, to Arnold’s Cove.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26 Vessels arrived: Maersk Challenger, Canada, from White Rose Field; Maersk Placentia, Canada, from Hibernia.

Vessels departed: Sonar, Estonia, to Bay Roberts; ASL Sanderling, Canada, to Corner Brook; Maria Galanta, Canada, to St. Pierre WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27 No report

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28 Vessels arrived: Planeta, Russia, from SEA; Sir Wilfred Grenfell, Canada, from SEA; Cicero, Canada, from Montreal; Maersk Chignecto, Canada.

Vessels departed: Planeta, Russia, to Flemish Cap; Burin Sea, Canada, to Terra Nova Oil Field; Maersk Placentia, Canada, to Hibernia.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29 Vessels arrived: no report Vessels departed: no report

boats and other collector boats from the island were constantly on the move — there was just too much fish.”

The glut, she adds, pitted local residents against “outsiders” from the Labrador Straits, Newfoundland and Quebec.

“The local people were getting very angry because they felt they were being pushed aside.”

The fishery remained vibrant until 1991, Roberts says. That’s when the unimaginable happened.

“It was as if though the ocean was vacuumed out — the fish just disappeared.”

MORE TOUGH TIMES AHEAD Today, the people of Black Tickle struggle to make ends meet. After years of being left idle, the fish plant now processes crab. If this summer is any indication, Roberts says, the community is in for more tough times ahead.

“It was a very dismal summer,” she says. “There wasn’t much crab, with the average number of hours for the people working in the plant being around 120 — they’d work one day and have six off.”

In a community where running water and proper sewerage disposal is a luxury, and the cost of gasoline is nearing the $1.30 per litre mark, Roberts says she often wonders why people continue to stay.

“Less than 10 per cent of homes have running water — the bulk of it is lugged from nearby ponds and from brooks,” she says. “And then there’s perhaps the most primitive disposal system — the so-called honey bucket.

“I guess, people don’t want to leave because it’s their home.”

While the Labrador coast was hit hard as a result of the collapse of the groundfishery in the early 1990s, it has, for the most part, managed to find a way to survive. And unlike other areas of the province, it didn’t rely too heavily on handouts from the federal government. In fact, communities on the north coast of Labrador didn’t receive any compensation at all from fish aid programs like the Northern Cod Adjustment and Recovery Program (NCARP) or its successor, The Atlantic Groundfish Strategy (TAGS).

Former provincial Fisheries minister Yvonne Jones, who represents the district of Cartwright-L’Anse au Clair, says fishermen in Labrador learned to adapt quickly after Ottawa imposed a moratorium on northern cod in 1992.

“We had no choice but to diversify or move on,” she says.

“The fishery is still the largest employer in the entire district, still the greatest economic contributor for the region, and still holds the most promising prospects for the future.”

There are 12 fish plants currently operating along the Labrador coast, from L’Anse au Loup to Nain, employing about 950 people, according to figures obtained from the provincial Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. The plants each process separate species — including crab, scallops, shrimp and whelk and a variety of groundfish.

While the region’s fishery has been able to diversify, all is not well, as was evidenced by the Black Tickle plant this year. The crab fishery appears to be in trouble, although Jones says she’s confident stocks will rebound.

“We’ve seen about a 70 per cent decline in the crab resource since 1997, and only about 30 per cent of this year’s quota was caught,” she says. “And we probably got 40 per cent less plant workers now than we did in 1997.

CRAB “WILL RECOVER” “However, I think the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is moving in the right direction by not allowing shrimp draggers in the same areas where the crab stocks are,” Jones says. “With good management and patience

by DFO, I think the crab stocks will recover.”

The federal government has been accused of mismanaging fish stocks off Newfoundland and Labrador since it took control of the resource in 1949.

Others say it was brought about by greed, with fishing enterprises exploiting the industry to make a fast buck. Whatever the reason, Uncle Jim Andersen says Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are much better off today than they were before Confederation.

“Newfoundlanders hate the words ‘Joey Smallwood,’ and they think we’d be better off if we never joined Canada,” he says. “If we never joined, I think we’d all be starved today.”

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October 31, 2004

Page 11

Fish facts

A mish-mash of figures and quotes about the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery

T

he math is fascinating. Cabot Martin, a learned and respected bayman from Channel-Port aux Basques, once wrote that a rebuilt northern cod fishery could produce annual harvests of at least 400,000 tonnes.

At a yield of 27 per cent, that means 237 million pounds of skin-off, boneout fillets.

Given an average export price of $4 per pound (keep in mind that much fish on the world market would impact price), the loss works out to roughly $948 million a year — multiplied by the 13 years since the moratorium was handed down — equals $12.3 billion.

That’s the value of the product alone; not including the jolt to the outport economy — the thousands of fishermen and plant workers it would take to carry out the harvesting and processing; the spin off effects or taxes.

That’s simply the market value of the fillet from a sustainable fishery.

And that’s just one stock. Ten groundfish stocks — including cod, witch flounder and American plaice — are currently under moratoria inside Canadian waters.

Wrote Martin, “So if proper fisheries management does not represent a vital

development opportunity, what does? desert in their wake.

••• Seaweed, starfish, shellfish, sea In his 1992 book, No fish and our worms, sea cucumbers, small fish, big lives: Some survival notes for New- fish, good fish, trash fish, anything that foundland, Martin described the impact creeps or crawls, all of them, are of a trawl on the floor of the Grand uprooted or driven back into the giant Banks: vacuum cleaner of the “cod end” as this “Along the bottom of the ocean, monstrous device tears its way along, home to so much sea life which tilling the fields of the sea.

FINDING THE cannot move or can move only This is a method akin to that slowly, comes the trawl net, ‘cause celebre’ of the environbenefit analysis some 90 feet in width and 150 Cost mentalist; the clear-cutting of of Confederation feet in length. forests.”

The head ropes move like a ghost, ••• suspended some 15 feet off the bottom In 1991, the year before the northern by a necklace of large floats; the foot- cod moratorium was handed down, the rope of cable, chain and heavy rubber northern cod catch was 123,000 tonnes. rollers grinds along the sea floor like The northern cod fishery that year some giant reaping machine. was worth an estimated $700 million, Off to each side come the trawl doors representing six per cent of the some six feet in width and 10 feet in province’s GDP or gross domestic length, gouging the seabed like two product, the value of all goods and D9 tractor blades. Between them and services produced. It supported 31,000 the trawl mouth are two heavy steel bri- jobs both directly and indirectly, 90 per dles, each 300 feet long, which sweep cent of them in Newfoundland. across the seabed setting up a hell-raisIn 2003, Canadian fisheries officials ing cloud of mud, forcing all that can estimate 15,000 tonnes of species under move to flee back into the path of the moratoria were harvested by foreign oncoming trawl net. fleets on the Grand Banks outside the Back and forth; back and forth; back 200-mile limit. and forth the fleets of trawlers go, until ••• it is time to move on, leaving a watery Insults shouted at former federal

BALANCE

Fisheries Minister John Crosbie on the evening of July 2, 1992, at the Radisson Plaza Hotel (now called the Delta) in downtown St. John’s when he shut down the 500-year-old northern cod fishery included: “Hitler wouldn’t do this,” and “there’s no home for you in Newfoundland.”

Fishermen were initially paid $225 a week and the moratorium was supposed to last two years. “Newfoundland will never be the same again,” said the late Walter Carter, the province’s then-minister of Fisheries. “Labrador will become a barren wilderness.”

University of Toronto economist John Crispo said it would be fair to compare the two-year moratorium on fishing northern cod to the Dust Bowl that swept thousands of prairie farmers from the land in the 1930s.

“It would be like destroying the auto industry in Ontario, or the agriculture industry out west or the forestry industry in B.C.” Between 1991 and 2001, Newfoundland and Labrador has lost more than 70,000 people (12 per cent of its population), and has recorded double-digit unemployment for the last 30 years.

Continued on page 12

PHOTOS BY EDWARD ROWE AND GORD KING / STORY BY RYAN CLEARY

Page 12

IN CAMERA

Iceland bans fishing on spawning grounds; Canada doesn’t From page 11 ••• A nation totally dependent on fishing, Iceland prohibits the fishing of cod on spawning grounds. Canada has never implemented such a rule on a healthy fishery.

••• Spain and Portugal — countries widely seen as the biggest offenders of fishing violations on the Grand Banks — are member states of the European Union.

The EU is Canada’s second most important trade and investment partner after the United States.

In 2002, two-way merchandise trade between Canada and the EU totalled nearly $56 billion. Canadian export of goods to the EU amounted to $17 billion, and imports were $39 billion.

For the same year, Canada exported $9.9 billion worth of services to the EU, and imported $10.6 billion.

Both Spain and Portugal were excluded from fishing in European waters for 10 years as a condition of joining the EU in 1996.

••• In the lead up to the June 28 election, Prime Minister Paul Martin said his party might extend custodial management over the entire continental shelf, a pledge he has since backed away from in favour of continued diplomacy.

In an address earlier this fall to the annual meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, which monitors fishing outside the 200-mile limit, the opening statement by the EU expressed confusion over the custodial management, “a concept which remains mysteriously ill-defined and unexplained to us.

“We believe if such action is undertaken, it would run counter to international law and seriously undermine NAFO … we therefore wish to express our strongest political and legal reservations about such a line of action, and wish to sensitize all NAFO members in this respect.”

The EU delegate said NAFO isn’t a “toothless tiger” because member countries have agreed to cut their turbot quota over the next few years as part of a stock-rebuilding plan. Such a move “eloquently demonstrates that NAFO can and does take decisive action and is not a toothless tiger.”

• In his 1991 report into the state of the northern cod stock, Leslie Harris recommended Ottawa stop giving quotas to foreign vessels inside the 200-mile zone for “foreign affairs” reasons.

• Commenting on the collapse of the cod, Harris once said, “If I were to look for a single villain, I would look to our known inability to match social

policy with technological capacity. We have never in the history of the world been able to amend our social policies quickly enough to keep pace with the speed at which technology grows.

And I think that is what happened here. We just became too technology competent. We became able to kill too easily. We became able to kill everything.”

• John Crosbie once blamed domestic fishermen as much as foreign fleets for the state of the commercial stocks.

“We’re no angels here. The fishermen that you hear complaining all over Eastern Canada — many, many of them are guilty of overfishing, discarding, throwing away smaller fish. The fishery in the Gulf (is) almost ruined.

The foreigners didn’t ruin the fishery in the Gulf. We ruined the fishery in the Gulf.”

• Wilfred Bartlett, a retired fisherman from Triton, Notre Dame Bay, questioned recently who exactly the cod are being saved for.

“The foreigners? As long as it’s there … and it seems like it swims and you can sell it then I’m going to catch it.”

• Chapter 20 (Who hears the fishes when they cry?) of John Crosbie’s book, No Holds Barred, included this statistic: “By 1986, the average fishing family’s income in Newfoundland was $19,850, of which 41 per cent came from unemployment insurance, 24 per cent from fishing, 30 per cent from other employment, and five per cent from other sources. In Nova Scotia, the average fishing family’s income was $35,100 — 53 per cent from fishing, 25 per cent from other employment, 16 per cent from UI and six per cent from other sources. By comparison, in Saskatchewan, the average farm family had an income of $32,000 — 34 per cent from farming, 40 per cent from other employment earnings, 26 per cent from other sources and nothing from UI.” • In the May 1997 issue of the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, three university scientists — Jeffrey Hutchings, Carl Walters and Richard Haedrich — published a paper called “Is scientific inquiry incompatible with government information control?” The thesis of the paper was that bureaucratic and political considerations interfered with the ability of scientists to contribute effectively to fisheries management.

Included in the paper was the quote, “Scientists were also explicitly ordered then, as they are today, not to discuss ‘politically sensitive’ matters (e.g., the status of fish stocks currently under moratoria) with the public, irrespective of the scientific basis, and population status, of the scientists’ concerns.”

The late Edward (Ned) Rowe was a photographer for the Fisheries Research Board (FRB) and later the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) from the 1940s to 1970s. Gord King replaced Rowe as DFO’s photographer in the 1970s. The men were the only two staff photographers ever employed at DFO, Newfoundland region. The department’s photographic lab and X-ray department shut down in the 1990s.

The Independent, October 31, 2004

The Independent, October 31, 2004

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Page 13

Page 14

IN CAMERA

The Independent, October 31, 2004

Gallery Phonse King Photographer

P

honse King gets to play “radio guy” with Steele Communication’s HITS FM six days a week, but on his precious day off he’s a photographer.

Equipped with an old film camera, King takes snaps of his friends, their weddings, his three dogs and anything that catches his eye.

“I’d been taking poor pictures my whole life,” he tells The Independent. That was until his wife bought him photography lessons with St. John’s photographer Shane Kelly for Christmas one year.

“Every time I go out, I end up downtown or at Cape Spear — somewhere near the water,” says King of his landscape work.

His portraits are a study of light, but almost always end up revolving around a friend.

King says he enjoys photographing weddings and taking portraits of couples.

He recently took a group of his friends, including a newly married couple, to Bowring Park and took some photos. The newlyweds, who hated their wedding pictures, loved King’s photos so much, they blew them up and hung them on the walls of their home.

He also did portfolio pictures of a dancer friend, who needed a little help.

“A lot of the stuff I do is for other people,” he says. “People always say, ‘e-mail that to me’ and it usually ends up on their (computer) desktop.”

King says his hobby is an expensive one and though he sometimes charges a fee for

shooting a wedding or portraits, the extra cash goes to buying more camera equipment.

“I buy all my gear on eBay,” he says, adding he’s always looking for lighting and drop cloths, equipment he can’t afford to buy in a store.

Another aspect of photography King likes is covering the walls of his home.

“I used to paint — I’d spend four or five months on a painting and then I didn’t hang them.”

But with photography King can change the pictures in his home on a daily basis, which he says “drives my wife nuts.

“Every time my friends come over they run around the house to see what pictures I have up.”

He says he rarely gets negative feedback, but he’s still learning. He hopes to learn how to process his own film and says one day his basement will become a darkroom. For now, his photos are printed commercially.

How does he get people to feel comfortable when pointing a camera at their face?

“I talk a lot and eventually I catch them off guard.” But don’t go looking for photos of King himself. “The only pictures I have of myself are of us on vacation.”

— Alisha Morrissey

The Gallery is a regular feature in The Independent. For further information, or to submit proposals, please call (709) 726-4639, or e-mail editorial@theindependent.ca

BUSINESS & COMMERCE

October 31, 2004

Page 15

Paul Daly/The Independent

Icewater Seafoods, a fish plant in Arnold’s Cove, employs 400 people.

‘Nobody owns the fish’ Province’s decision to buy quota for Arnold’s Cove plant highly controversial

By Jeff Ducharme The Independent

T

he provincial government’s decision in June to pay $3.5 million to buy back groundfish quotas from a Nova Scotia company is still sinking in: how can a common-property resource, owned by everyone, be priced and sold?

High Liner Foods Inc. sold the quotas — 3,676 tonnes of codfish, haddock, perch, plaice, yellowtail founder, witch flounder, turbot and Atlantic halibut — to the province for continued processing at the Arnold’s Cove plant. The deal also included seven vessel licences.

The plant — which employs 400 workers — was taken over by Icewater Seafoods, a local company headed by Bruce Wareham, who had managed the plant for 35 years.

Earle McCurdy, president of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers’ union, says government made the right move.

“If that can get fish, secure fish for Newfoundlanders to benefit from, to provide meaningful jobs in the outports, then I don’t think that’s dangerous at all.”

OWNED BY ALL CANADIANS But a fish quota is considered a common property resource — owned by all Canadians.

“Paying a Nova Scotian company for a common property resource, whose board just decided to abandon harvesting as a corporate decision, is simply unacceptable,” says Gus Etchegary, the province’s most outspoken fisheries advocate.

Etchegary, who retired as executive vice-president of Fishery Products International in 1990 after a 30-year career,

has expressed the same concerns in a bought quota.” letter to provincial Fisheries Minister St. John’s lawyer John Joy, who holds Trevor Taylor. a master’s degree in marine law and pol“The licence should have reverted icy from the University of Wales, says back to the Crown and then reassigned wild animals can’t be anything other to Arnold’s Cove by DFO at no cost.” than a common property resource until Wareham was unavailable for com- caught. Once caught, they become the ment. property of whoever holds that FINDING THE The plant workers accepted particular licence. a 35 cent per hour wage cut to “In law, nobody owns fish — Cost benefit analysis ensure the future viability of fish are free,” says Joy, who of Confederation the plant. The Arnold’s Cove declined comment on the speplant is a state-of-the art facility. High cific Arnold’s Cove situation.

Liner said it received “nominal cash Governments, federal or provincial, consideration” for the plant, but Icewa- don’t even own the fish, says Joy. He ter will continue supplying High Liner says government’s responsibility is with fish products. jurisdiction over the stock — regulaTaylor dismisses charges that the tions, and the issuing of licences and province has set a dangerous precedent quotas. in buying the quota from High Liner McCurdy says if the management of and leasing it back to Wareham and Ice- quotas was starting off with a “clean water. slate” before the current system became “Fish quotas have been bought and the accepted practice, the union might sold for at least 20 take a different stance years in this country towards a commonand in this province,” property resource.

“You’ve got to keep says Taylor.

“We could get on the cooking pots away He contends that if our high horse and the province hadn’t from the chamber pots.” say we don’t agree stepped in the plant with that, therefore would have closed we’re not going to — Lawyer John Joy and the quotas would participate, leave the have been lost to a (quota) up in Nova company outside the Scotia or we could province. He says the lease is good for say it’s really valuable for us to have 20 years, as long as Icewater “lives up that work here,” says McCurdy. to the terms.” He says if the Icewater “It (transferable quotas) wouldn’t be operation falters, the quotas remain the our first choice, but that’s the world property of the provincial government. we’re now operating in.”

“This deal gives us complete control Joy says the danger becomes evident over a huge amount of groundfish when harvesting of the resource (that’s) associated with it in the waters becomes too closely tied to the processaround our province,” says Taylor. ing operation, something the feds have “The only precedent we have set is always maintained was not in the best that government, for the first time, has interest of the fishery.

BALANCE

“I’m not sure that DFO is to blame,” says Joy. “It’s the shenanigans of the industry.”

Processors often control fishermen’s quotas through the backdoor by financing boats and equipment for fishermen.

“There are a significant number of fishermen that are beholden to fish plant owners. The division between harvesting and processing is eroding.”

BLIND EYE Joy says the federal government has turned a blind eye to the “black market” trading of licences and quotas. It’s something that Joy says the feds should re-examine.

“All it does is throw the fishermen into the arms of the processors,” says Joy. “You’ve got to keep the cooking pots away from the chamber pots.”

Fishermen, says Joy, also do well when they sell licences that can be worth $500,000 or more. He says fishermen who own licences and sell them receive an “utter windfall” and it’s viewed as a “retirement fund.”

McCurdy says each case must be judged on its own merits.

“It’s an opportunity to provide greater stability to what really has been our flagship plant (Arnold’s Cove) in the last 10 years in the province.”

Taylor says government is damned if it does and damned if it doesn’t.

“Now we can have a philosophical debate about whether it is right or wrong and that’s fine, but it is happening,” says Taylor. “It has happened for 20 years and all of a sudden because the province bought something that we had lost — the people would have condemned us for allowing it to be gone — now they are criticizing us for doing it.”

Page 16

BUSINESS

The Independent, October 31, 2004

‘Dead as a nit’

Fisherman says rural towns will die if cod declared endangered; scientist contends an inshore fishery may only be few years away Clare-Marie Gosse The Independent

be listed by Jan. 20, although a final decision won’t be made until the following October. ack Marsh, an inshore fisherJeffrey Hutchings, a biologist at man from Random Island, Dalhousie University in Halifax, Trinity Bay, says as well as a former DFO FINDING THE judging by the amount of researcher, says as a result cod he sees from his boat of poor communication, benefit analysis in Smith Sound, “outport Cost the general public — and of Confederation Newfoundland should be possibly some DFO offibooming. cials — are unaware of the poten“I’ve been fishing now 50-odd tial flexibility available under the years and I’m telling you there’s Species At Risk Act (SARA). absolutely nothing close to the fish “The recovery plan could that’s in this area now and all over include a directed harvest of cod … other bays — lots.” the minister would have to take He tells The Independent that the perspective that a directed take older fish are feeding on their own would not seriously jeopardize the young to sustain themselves, and survival or recovery of the species, would be better off caught. As for but it certainly is permissible under declaring the species endangered, a the act.” move the federal government is Hutchings says the listing of cod currently considering, Marsh says would be a form of planning ahead, it would be the end of communi- encouraging timelines, recovery ties. targets and openness without the “The day that happens, then the bias of politics, but still allowing fishery and the whole outport of for controlled fishing and incidenNewfoundland is as dead as a nit.” tal catches or bycatches.

While offshore stocks of north“We hear a lot about overfishing ern cod are still virtually non-exis- on the nose and tail of the Grand tent, fishermen say populations in Banks,” says Hutchings. the bays, so-called bay stocks, are “If we don’t list cod, what mesflourishing. Fishermen want to har- sage does that send to foreign vest the cod, but scientists say the fleets? Whereas, if we do list cod it high levels may be misleading. strengthens our hand immeasurably in dealing with the foreign PUBLIC CONSULTED overfishing.”

The Committee on the Status of He says an allowed inshore fishEndangered Wildlife in Canada ery for northern cod is probably (COSEWIC) is holding public con- inevitable over the next few years sultations province-wide to discuss anyway, and that it would be better a proposed “endangered” listing carried out as part of a carefully and the impact on rural communi- planned recovery strategy. ties.

George Lilly, a scientist with Federal Fisheries and Oceans DFO, says although fishermen are (DFO) Minister Geoff Regan is reporting more signs of cod than in scheduled to give his recommen- previous years, it doesn’t mean it’s dation on how the species should safe to start fishing.

J

BALANCE

Paul Daly/The Independent

David Boyd, a fisherman from Twillingate, explains the decline of the inshore fishery to tourists. These three cod were all he had to show for a morning of fishing in 2002.

RESEARCH SHOWS DECLINE Independent research into the largest congregation of cod in Smith Sound has reported a decline in the population since 2001, but test-fishing surveys are showing a slight increase, particularly among young fish, creating hopes of a continued rise in levels.

“The fishermen, if you go back to 1998 and 1999 before the fishery opened, they were adamant that there were huge quantities of fish in the inshore,” says Lilly. “… and immediately the stock came down very rapidly.

“I’m not saying that would hap-

pen again but the caution is there that yes, the fishermen may see a lot of fish but it doesn’t mean there’s a lot relative to what there was in the past.”

As for why the cod are flourishing in the bays as opposed to offshore, he says DFO doesn’t know the answer. The stocks were probably always there, impossible to separate from the previous, huge waves of offshore fish that would come in the spring to feed on caplin.

Lilly says there are currently some fish in the bay population that are 12 to 14 years old and upwards of 100 centimetres long.

Northern cod, particularly offshore, has depleted 99 per cent since the early 1960s and Hutchings says the benefits of listing the species as endangered now would far outweigh any costs, something a lot of people including fishermen might not realize.

“I think we have to remind ourselves of what happened 12 years ago. That was bad. That was horrendous … what I find interesting is that people are somehow drawing parallels today with what happened 12 years ago; there is no comparison to what that did to communities, to people, to their livelihoods.”

Transfer of effort

Fishery leapfrogs from one species to the next, but is that healthy?

By Alisha Morrissey The Independent

W

hen the cod fisheries closed in the early 1990s, industry officials warned the resulting transfer of effort to other species would knock them down one at a time.

First cod, then flounder, then turbot, then crab …

Earle McCurdy, president of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers’ union, the province’s largest fishermen’s union, says no one knows the ecological repercussions of a single-species fishery.

What’s a fisherman to do, he asks?

“Any species that we go to should clearly be managed on a sustainable basis. I don’t think there’s any argument with that,” McCurdy tells The Independent, adding he sees nothing wrong with catching one species at a time.

“We exploited … the crab and some of these species back in the ’80s in conjunction with the cod fishery — some of them are new and some of that new effort was driven by the loss of the cod and people looked for other alternatives.”

Fisheries Minister Trevor Taylor says one of the biggest prob-

Paul Daly/The Independent

lems with the province’s fishing industry has been too much focus on a particular species for too long.

“Prior to the moratorium, cod was the fishing industry and since cod has collapsed, crab has essentially been the fishing industry and, you know, that heavy reliance on one species is always a challenge.”

He says that’s why the province has created the Fishery Diversification Program — to increase viability and stability.

“To take some of the pressure off the crab, for example, allows us to be able to have an industry

that is a little more economically sound and diverse in that’s it’s not solely dependent on one species.”

Wilfred Bartlett, a retired inshore fishermen from Triton, Notre Dame Bay, says diversification doesn’t always work.

“We’ve tried everything right now, this last summer they were giving out grants to do a study on jellyfish, you know, which is bloody crazy. A jellyfish might be useful to, you know, one or two in a community, but our biggest employer to the people was the cod fishery and the turbot industry,” Bartlett says.

Under the Fishery Diversifica-

tion Program, fishermen hunt species such as sea cucumbers, sea urchins and eels.

McCurdy and Taylor say different species are viable at different times, depending on environmental and consumer factors.

Jeffery Hutchings, a biology professor with Dalhousie University, says studies relating to underwater ecosystems have never focused on the relationships between predator and prey, nor environmental factors that balance populations.

“We have always managed almost exclusively, not entirely, but almost exclusively, focused research at single-species level,” Hutchings says. “There have been a number of efforts to look at

things in a multi-species context, but it’s either not seen as a priority or it’s very directed, in other words, seals — cod. That’s our multi-species, or we might throw in caplin as well. But is that sufficient from a multi-species perspective? No it’s not.”

Whether or not the fishing industry depends solely on the sea cucumber in years to come is yet to be seen, but McCurdy says there will always be some kind of fish to catch and process.

“The fish that will supply our crab boats and crab plants is already determined, there’s nothing to do to enhance it — it’s already there, it’s at the bottom of the ocean — we just don’t know what it is.”

The Independent, October 31, 2004

BUSINESS

Page 17

Fishery by the numbers More fishermen today than before cod fisheries closed; far fewer plant workers

By Alisha Morrissey The Independent

T

welve years after the first of the commercial cod fisheries were closed, and billions of dollars spent on fish aid and retraining, there are more fishermen now than ever before.

In 1991, the year before a moratorium was slapped on northern cod, the number of fishermen registering for Employment Insurance (EI) in NewfoundFINDING THE land and Labrador, stood at 12,200, according to benefit analysis figures provided by Cost of Confederation Human Resources Development Canada in St. John’s.

In 2003, that number was pegged at 16,900 — an increase of 4,600 or 38 per cent.

As of Oct. 7 this year, the number of fishermen filing for EI stood at roughly 6,900, although more claims are expected to be registered by year’s end.

Since so-called fisherman’s EI is based on the landed value of a fisherman’s catch — as opposed to the hours they work — fish plant workers are not included in those figures. A fisherman must catch between $2,500 and $4,500 worth of fish to qualify for EI — depending on the economic zone in which they live.

The apparent increase in the number of fishermen is surprising, given that the commercial fisheries for groundfish species such as cod have been closed (with the exception of several limited reopenings) since the early 1990s.

BALANCE

FAILING INDUSTRY In an attempt to move fishermen out of the failing industry, the federal government spent $4 billion on early retirement packages, retraining programs and licence buyouts.

But while the groundfish fishery crashed, the shellfish industry took off.

In 2003, the fishing industry in the province was worth approximately $1 billion — 75 per cent of which was derived from the shrimp and crab fisheries — seven per cent more than the top three species (cod, crab and caplin) did before the 1990s.

Fisheries Minister Trevor Taylor has been quoted as saying the fishing industry can’t support the number of people currently employed.

“We have about the same number of fisherman that we had before the moratorium but

Year

Number of EI fishing claims

1992

6,916

1993

7,459

1994

6,595

1995

8,216

1996

8,044

1997

9,950

1998

11,279

1999

11,562

2000

13,611

2001

13,772

2002

14,982

2003

16,935

2004 – Oct. 7

6,869

we have less plant workers than we had before the moratorium,” he tells The Independent. “It’s really important to have an industry that has its investment levels and its people levels, its capacity in line with the amount of resource that’s out there and when you don’t, you inevitably knock resources down.”

Taylor says a reduction in employment levels could help the industry survive.

“Fisheries management is very much tied to the amount of capacity that’s in the industry … whenever you have an industry that is over capitalized, or has excessive amounts of capacity, it makes it very difficult to keep, to have good fisheries management.”

The federal government is responsible for fish harvesting; the province is responsible for processing. According to the provincial government, there are 113 plants currently operating in Newfoundland and Labrador — 118 less than in 1990.

The number of plant workers has declined to 6,500 from an estimated 27,500.

The number of fish plant jobs has declined because crab and shrimp aren’t as labour intensive as groundfish, says Earle McCurdy, president of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers’ union.

“Groundfish is much more labour inten-

An abandoned stage on the west coast of Newfoundland.

sive than shell fish and, of course, there’s the impact of modernization and the technology in the plants is more high-tech, which means less labour content,” McCurdy says. “The plant workers have been very hard hit by that combination of factors.”

Taylor says it’s difficult to “adjust” to different jobs outside the fishing industry in rural areas because there aren’t any other jobs available.

McCurdy agrees.

Jeff Ducharme/The Independent

“There’s no real quick fix for that other than to tell people to walk off the end of the wharf or to go to the mainland,” says McCurdy. “It’s unfortunate there isn’t sufficient resource to provide the level of employment that we once had.”

According to an official with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans in St. John’s, the number of licenced fishing boats in the province as of 2003 stood at 8,677 — compared to 13,915 in 1993.

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Page 18

BUSINESS

The Independent, October 31, 2004

‘An incredible resource’ Unlike rest of Canada, province’s aquaculture industry has room to grow

By Clare-Marie Gosse The Independent

Columbia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The ecosystem of the province’s south coast, however, is spacious and environmentally he aquaculture industry in Newfoundland ideal. and Labrador might be a delicate one from Cabot Martin, a St. John’s lawyer and former cod a business perspective, but facts and figures farmer, agrees there’s enormous potential. suggest a promising future — if only the province “I was involved with the cod farming start-up rises to the challenge. and very intimately involved in surveying various Despite financial trouble faced by fish farms in parts of our coast for good sites and it’s an incredBay d’Espoir — and North Atlantic Sea ible resource,” he says. “Our sites are FINDING THE Farms of St. Alban’s, which recently went sheltered, deep, and have good tidal flows. into receivership — production numbers In the medium and longer term there is a Cost benefit analysis and profits are up. big future.” of Confederation Michael Rose, executive director of the Martin expresses concern over the busiNewfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association, ness problems within the industry, however, saying calls the problems faced by the St. Alban’s salmon if researchers and government lose faith and issues producers “a twisted story,” considering the com- are not resolved, the province could see a 10- or 15pany had been growing steadily over the last few year setback in aquaculture development. years, producing healthy, well-priced fish within a Rose says strong support and endorsements from competitive market. the provincial government are already apparent and “When you begin to think about the fact that are adding to the industry’s growth. you’re paying over 25 per cent interest on credit Despite now resolved marketing setbacks withowed (for feed) and you’re still making money, in the mussel sector last year, numbers are rising well that’s fairly impressive,” he tells The Inde- steadily. Rose expects production to increase to pendent.

2,500 tonnes over the next two or three years from Rose says many Canadian and international 1,000 tonnes in 2000. salmon companies have been losing money “ … we are perhaps the last great place in because of a range of market issues, particularly Atlantic Canada for sure where mussel farming can financing and competition. truly expand significantly,” he says. “For example, “In an odd way (North Atlantic Sea Farms) have P.E.I. is maxed, they may be able to bump up their really proven the value of doing aquaculture on that production somewhat, but realistically they’re coast and that’s going to pay off very well for this probably going sideways in the long-term.” province because in the long run (we’re) the only As for salmon, Rose says the province produced viable alternative in fish aquaculture left in Cana- 7,000 tonnes in 2003, up from 5,000 tonnes in da right now.”

2000, and a large, established company called Rose says there’s no longer room for further Cooke Aquaculture from New Brunswick currentaquaculture expansion in places such as British ly plans to begin farming in Fortune Bay.

T

BALANCE

North Atlantic Sea Farms (left), the largest salmon farmer on the province’s south coast, went into receivership recently after the feed supplier, Shur-Gain, withdrew its line of credit. Banks and other traditional lending institutions won’t touch the aquaculture industry.

‘Danger zone’ Time will tell whether south coast salmon farm makes it through receivership in one piece

By Clare-Marie Gosse The Independent

A

lmost a month after the province’s largest salmon farming company went into receivership, the owner is still hoping North Atlantic Sea Farms can be saved.

The receiver has said it will keep the salmon operation up and running until Nov. 26. Brian Dobbin, the major shareholder, has until then to submit a proposal to buy back the company. At the same time, another firm could submit a bid and walk away with the business.

“We’re in a danger zone right now,” Dobbin tells The Independent.

North Atlantic Sea Farms was forced to issue 140 layoff notices to its workforce in early October after its feed supplier, Shur-Gain, a division of Maple Leaf Foods, cancelled its line of credit.

Since 2001, Shur-Gain has forwarded feed from its Truro, N.S., plant to the south coast aquaculture operation using that credit.

Payments were consistently made once the fish were sold to market,

a relationship that reportedly worked well until last December when Shur-Gain unexpectedly cancelled its $6-million line of credit to North Atlantic Sea Farms.

Shur-Gain officials said their decision was a corporate one; they no longer wanted to bankroll the industry.

“I’m not optimistic, but we’re trying hard.”

— Brian Dobbin The move was a devastating blow to North Atlantic Sea Farms, considering traditional financiers such as banks won’t lend money to the province’s aquaculture industry.

Dobbin calls the feed prices his company was paying “enormous,” and dubs Shur-Gain “an extortion racquet” for charging 28 per cent above the going market price for the use of the credit line.

“What they (the receiver) are doing right now is they’re continuing to feed the fish to keep them

alive, to keep the growth up,” he says. “They put out packages to pretty much the whole world saying come down and pick up the pieces if you want to.”

Dobbin says the best-case scenario for his company at this point in time would be if the provincial government steps up with a loan program for the purchase of feed, the industry’s biggest expense, and the Taiwanese investors retire from the project, making way for new investment.

“We’re struggling to try and bring the players back together again, receivers aren’t giving us a lot of time — the company will be sold piece meal, and the fish will be harvested to pay the debt.

“I’m not optimistic, but we’re trying hard.”

North Atlantic Sea Farms employed 60 workers at its plant in St. Alban’s, and another 80 at its hatchery and two marine farms.

Last year the company produced four million pounds of salmon, worth an estimated $7.2 million. This year’s product level of 5.8 million pounds was expected to fetch more than $11 million.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

October 31, 2004

Victor Drachev/AFP Photos

Belarusan riot police arrest an opposition protester in the center of Minsk during an opposition rally. Some 3,000 demonstrators gathered to demand democratic changes during festivities marking Belarusan independence.

‘There is no dictatorship here’ Maybe not, but Belarus is a police state, with political killings, disappearances and arrests a regular part of life

T

he man they call the last dic- Turkmenistan don’t exist. tator in Europe wants his critBelarus, with a Soviet-style econics to get a life. omy and political system, exists in a “Try to calm down,” President time warp — which makes the Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus demonstrators in Minsk among the told the world the other day. “Look most courageous people in Europe. at your own problems.”

Freedom House, a WashingtonBelarus today is a mostbased think tank that monly ignored, pleasant nation itors the 27 post-commuof 10 million people who nist states in Central live in the fertile plain Europe and Eurasia, says between Poland and RusBelarus has experienced a sia. When it was part of “systematic violation of the Soviet Union, Belarus basic political rights and was an island of industricivil liberties” for the past ous tranquility.

10 years.

It still is, for the most The story got worse this STEPHEN month. On Oct. 17, Belarupart. Belarus’ GDP is increasing by about five HANDELMAN sans were asked to vote in per cent a year, and there a referendum that would are few of the social problems change the country’s constitution to caused by the disparities in wealth allow President Lukashenko to seek and poverty that riddle its neigh- a third six-year term. bours’ economies.

According to Belarus officials, the But nearly every day for the past referendum passed by 77 per cent. In two weeks, hundreds of Belarusans parliamentary elections held at the have gathered in the capital city of same time, not a single opposition Minsk, at October Square, a gray deputy was elected to the 110-seat windy expanse of concrete sur- assembly. rounded by block-long public buildIt was, said Belarus election comings that is one of the ugliest squares mission czar Lidia Yermoshina with in Europe, to demonstrate for free- no apparent trace of irony, “an eledom. gant victory.”

It’s a sad, lonely crusade. No one According to European and U.S. much notices Belarus, and few care. election observers, however, both The violence that twists the Cau- votes were charades. Monitors, for casus into bloody knots is absent example, reported seeing referendum here, and the abject poverty and reli- ballots marked “Yes” handed to votgious tensions contorting other for- ers before they stepped into the polls. mer Soviet colonies like Tajikistan or But in Belarus, black masquerades

as white. “There is no dictatorship here,” says Lukashenko.

Maybe not yet, anyway.

It is certainly a police state. Since Lukashenko was elected in 1994 on a populist platform against corruption and disorder, political killings, arrests and “disappearances” are a regular part of Belarus life.

IRON CONTROL The state’s iron control of the economy and the political process has given Belarus the kind of order that would be envied in other postSoviet nations coping with the chaos of democratic capitalism.

Belarus has the outward calm and predictability of a prison. Under Lukashenko, who is barred from visiting Europe and the U.S., it has become as isolated and almost as impenetrable as North Korea.

Yet the president still seems bothered by Belarusans who disagree with him. Opposition leader Anatoly Lebedko was arrested after one of this month’s demonstrations. Police followed him to a local pizza parlour and beat him within an inch of his life.

A leading journalist for an opposition paper was stabbed to death in her home a few days later.

This week Lukashenko ominously suggested his domestic opponents were tied to “international terrorism,” and might have to be dealt with accordingly.

Lukashenko would probably not

last a day longer in power without the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Belarus depends on the Russian economy for two-thirds of its exports and imports.

Russia doesn’t like Lukashenko, who negotiated an “economic union” with Moscow several years ago, and once offered to run for office in Moscow. But he serves a purpose.

The Kremlin, perhaps thinking of Russia’s own slow descent into authoritarianism, warns the West against interfering in Belarus’ “internal affairs.” Russian observers said there was nothing wrong with the Belarus vote.

That’s a worrying sign of Putin’s own priorities. But what about the rest of the world’s? There may be more “exotic” causes elsewhere, but little Belarus is an ugly reminder of how tempting it can be to let democracy slide in the name of order.

This month, Prime Minister Paul Martin stopped off in Moscow for dinner with Putin. Neither man publicly mentioned Belarus.

But if the prime minister is looking for a project where he can deploy his foreign-policy vision of spreading democracy and good governance, Belarus isn’t a bad place to begin.

Stephen Handelman is a columnist for TIME Canada based in New York. He can be reached at shandel@ix.netcom.com. His next column for The Independent will appear Nov. 14.

Page 19

Page 20

INTERNATIONAL

The Independent, October 31, 2004

‘It does change you’ Tired of university, stressed out, not sure what to study, Stephen Reddin of St. John’s took a trip Down Under Voice from Away Stephen Reddin A year in Australia

By Stephanie Porter The Independent

F

or Stephen Reddin, a year away was exactly what he needed.

Straight after graduating from high school in St. John’s, Reddin began classes at Memorial University. Unsure of a career path, his course list was varied: math, physics, political science, English.

“About halfway through my second semester at MUN, I realized I wasn’t doing anything that I really enjoyed … mostly I think it was math; I was doing really poorly in math, it was causing a lot of stress for me, I wasn’t able to sleep at night,” he says.

“I wasn’t at university because I wanted to be, I was just there because that’s what was expected.”

Having always wanted to visit Australia, he figured this was a good time. He applied for the Student Work Abroad Program (SWAP), which arranged his work visa and orientation on arriving in Sydney.

Reddin says his family and friends were generally supportive — though a few worried he wouldn’t return to Newfoundland after the year, let alone get back into university.

“Nervous? I wasn’t too worried,” Reddin says. “I didn’t know what to expect so I didn’t know what to be afraid of … The biggest worry was getting down there and not liking it. I didn’t want to come home in like two weeks.”

Once in Sydney, he didn’t waste time. Within a week he had signed on with a hospitality company as a casual bartender, and had found a place to stay: a house shared with five other travellers.

It was an “international experience,” he says. Three of his housemates were from Germany, one from the Netherlands, and one was from Japan.

Although living with that many people took time getting used to, the situation had more than its share of advantages. Not only was there always someone to talk to, one of the roommates worked for a used-car dealership and generally had access to a car, sometimes a camper. In between work shifts, the new friends made more than a few trips to the nearby beaches.

While bartending was fun — Reddin worked during all of the World Cup rugby games at the Olympic stadium (“there was lots of drunk Englishmen around”) — the work was sporadic, so Reddin applied to work with a construction company. He took a one-day safety course, bought a pair of steel-toed boots, and in short order was working weekdays doing office demolition.

“It was a lot of breaking down walls, taking down windows, carting stuff down elevators and tossing it in bins,” he says. “There wasn’t much strain on your mind — but it did pay $17.50 an hour.”

Sydney was easy to get used to.

“The personalities are a lot like Canadians,” he says. “You can be

Torsten Blackwood/AFP PHOTO

Sydney Harbour

in Sydney and strike up a conversation with people on the street corner. People are great. There was no culture shock, just some interesting sayings and more McDonald’s than I’d ever seen.”

In January, after three months of considerable work, Reddin decided to see some more of the country. He flew to Tazmania first, which he says has “beautiful beaches, sand dunes, plains, rainforests all on one island — it’s so diverse for a small place.”

Then he went to Melbourne, into the mountains, to Canberra (Australia’s capital), back to Sydney, and into the outback (where he took a weeklong “how to be a cowboy” course on a ranch — he spent a lot of time riding horses, shearing sheep, cracking whips and swinging lassos).

Reddin went on to Brisbane, another city, where he decided to look for another job. After one day mowing lawns, and a twohour experience working demolition with a cranky Australian boss, he accepted a job selling children’s educational material door to door.

“Although it’s a job I’d never go back to, I enjoyed it at the time,” Reddin says. “If you’re travelling around Australia you get caught up in travellers circles, you can go months and never really meet an Australian.”

So for the duration of his threemonth contract he met native Australians in Melbourne and a host of small towns.

Then it was back to Sydney to meet his brother, who flew in from Newfoundland for two months of travelling and adventures. The pair travelled by bus, camped most nights, did some sailing, hiking, and a lot of walking around. During this time, Reddin accomplished two of the things he most wanted to in Australia: give surfing an honest try (they spent a week at the beach trying their best) and dive at the Great Barrier Reef (“absolutely amazing”).

After his brother left, Reddin set out to find another job, this time in the southern part of the country, where he heard many travellers spend time picking fruit. He found a position in a dried fruit factory.

The time to return home was drawing closer, so Reddin

returned to Sydney, said some goodbyes, and made the long trek home. It was a year of hard work and vacation; adventure and sightseeing — and he accomplished exactly what he’d hoped.

“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, I picked Australia because I liked the idea of Australia, and always wanted to go,” he says. “Everyone has an idea they’ll go away and come

back with a better idea of what they want to do. I really didn’t have a better idea of that, just knew that I didn’t want to work any of the jobs I did while I was in Australia for the rest of my life.”

“People said once you leave university you’ll never come back — but I’m back, back in MUN and I’m enjoying it a lot more.”

Reddin is in his first year of engineering now, and even the math doesn’t seem so bad anymore. He recommends time away to anyone who can be flexible and independent.

“You have to be willing to make friends along the way.

You’re constantly surrounded by so many interesting people to talk to that I didn’t really get homesick.

“You come back, you notice you have a better idea of yourself.

I was a bit of a mope before I left, I get along better with people, now I don’t get caught up in the little things in the same way. It does change you.”

Do you know a Newfoundlander or Labradorian living away?

E-mail editorial@theindependent.ca

LIFE &TIMES

October 31, 2004

Page 21

Paul Daly/The Independent

Sam Lee

‘We added to the destruction’ Long-time fisherman Sam Lee tried to kick in the door when John Crosbie closed the cod fishery; now, 12 years later, he hopes the crab stocks hold out until he retires

By Stephanie Porter The Independent

S

am Lee remembers the day — July 2, 1992 — the northern cod moratorium was announced.

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who watched the television news that evening might remember Lee just as well.

Lee was one of a number of fishermen and women who went to the Radisson Plaza Hotel to hear, for themselves, the announcement then-federal Fisheries Minister John Crosbie was expected to make. The press conference wasn’t entirely smooth.

“Was that me kicking in the door?

Yes, it was — and I’d do it again,” Lee tells The Independent. It had nothing to do with the moratorium itself— which Lee had lobbied for. And it wasn’t a reaction to the compensation numbers bandied about. It was all about the way it was done.

“Crosbie was in one room at the hotel, talking to a bunch of reporters, it didn’t mean nothing to them what he was saying,” he says.

“And I was in the next room, and my livelihood was being stopped, and here he was in the next damn room and I

couldn’t ask a question to him. He “What was it like? There was just fish. should have had the guts and the courage Nothing, only fish,” he says, slowly. to stand in front of me to tell me, just to “The boats were smaller then … but say ‘Boys, we’ve got to close her down.’ you’d go get 10 or 20 boatloads out of “We went out to go into that room. the cod trap. Everybody was out doing Myself and my brother each took one the same thing. door handle … and the handles came “You couldn’t see for fish.” right off in our hands. We couldn’t get At first, the market was for salt cod. the doors to come out so we But then the demand for fresh FINDING THE started pushing it in.” fish grew, and buyers were Lee tells the story with a rueunwilling to purchase fish under benefit analysis ful smile. As far as he’s con- Cost 18 inches long. Cod smaller of Confederation cerned, the event was just one than that, says Lee, were tossed more slap in the face from the govern- over, left to float around. ment. “Government don’t want us “We added to the destruction of it,” he inshore fishermen,” he says. says with a shrug. The discards from the Later, after Crosbie said his piece, inshore were nothing like those from the after the media hoopla, Lee went home offshore fishery, he maintains, but they and hauled in his cod traps for the last were still significant. time.

“Human nature being what it is, you take the biggest ones. You’re not going LEARNED ‘ON THE JOB’ to stand around all day and take the ones Lee has been fishing since he was a you’re going to get two cents a pound 10-year-old out on the sea, watching his for, not if there’s a fish you can get 20 father, learning on the job. When his cents for. So you get rid of them … father had a stroke about 30 years ago, That’s the way it is today. Nothing’s Lee bought his gear. changed.”

He pauses when asked about the fishLee says he and his colleagues noticed ery back during his first years at it. He a change in the fish stocks a full decade gazes out the large front window of his before the moratorium was called — the home, taking in the wind, rain and waves cod were noticeably smaller. “But people whipping the Maddox Cove shore. were still getting their fish. So nobody

BALANCE

was really paying attention.”

As the years rolled on, though, Lee decided to take action. He took part in the Newfoundland Inshore Fisheries Association’s attempt to take the government to court to stop offshore fishing on the spawning grounds. “We weren’t listened to,” he says. “Again.”

There hasn’t been a legitimate cod fishery off Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove since the moratorium. (Lee says 2003’s black back fishery was a barely-veiled attempt to allow inshore fishermen to catch some cod, so called “by-catch.”)

In the first years after 1992, Lee, like so many other fishermen, availed of the government’s compensation and training program, and completed high school equivalency courses.

Eventually, the crab fishery came along. Although Lee says he’ll “always be a cod trap fisherman at heart,” he’s done well by crab.

This year, Lee says it took him twice as many traps as usual to catch the same amount of crab. He isn’t asking for the quota to be cut — “it would be like going to your boss and saying you want to make less money” — but he advocates against any increases until science can Continued on page 22

Page 22

LIFE & TIMES

The Independent, October 31, 2004

‘Figure of speech’ Corner Brook’s small black community subject to racial slurs

By Connie Boland For The Independent

F

or a moment, Heather Wise didn’t understand what her son was trying to tell her.

“He said some older kids at school had called him a niger (pronounced like tiger).”

“Niger,” I asked.

“What’s a niger?”

And then it hit her. Five-yearold Tyler had been targeted for the colour of his skin.

Wise was shocked.

“Before I got pregnant I knew I might have to deal with issues around that,” says the Corner Brook resident, a caucasian once married to a black man.

“I explained to Tyler exactly what the other kids had been calling him, and I told him that if anyone ever said that to him again he was to tell me. He asked if it was a bad word. I said it is when white

people say it to you.”

Racial slurs weren’t something Wise thought she would have to deal with. Not here at home anyway. When she and former husband Allan Wise lived in Houston, Texas, it was almost expected.

“There’s a lot of racial tension in Houston,” Heather says.

“Blacks are prejudice towards blacks. Whites are prejudice towards blacks. Blacks are prejudice against whites. It’s a vicious circle. We lived in a primarily black neighborhood and there were all kinds of comments made about me being white and him being black.”

TEXAS TO CORNER BROOK Wise moved to the States in 1995 to work as a nurse. Raising children in Texas, near areas where the Klu Klux Klan ran wild wasn’t an option. Tyler was three months old when the family

‘Too old to be frustrated’ From page 21 figure out the status of the stocks.

He has other ideas on management, many espoused by the Petty Harbour Fisheries Co-op as a whole: any by-catch should be given to the Crown; any proceeds from it should go towards fisheries science. There should be stricter punishments for those who violate regulations — you break the law, you’re out of the fishery. And foreign ships caught over fishing should be sunk (“get all the people off, bail out the fuel, and sink ‘em to the bottom”).

Although Lee says he’s “given up caring,” his frustrations, tinged with sadness, come through in every sentence.

“My son wants to go fishing,” Lee says, pointing out there may be only two fishermen under age 40 in Petty Harbour now.

“He can’t do what I did, get in the boat, get the first-hand knowledge, so it can continue on. When my generation starts to go … it’ll die. There’ll be no fishing commu-

nity in Petty Harbour because my 27-year-old son has to go through too much rigmarole to use my gear.”

The industry’s changed, the fishery has changed, governments change — and communities do too.

“People are not close knit anymore. When there was a fishery, everyone was out there supporting one another. Now it’s divided like you wouldn’t believe.”

Saying again that he’s getting “too old to be frustrated,” Lee just hopes the crab population holds on for another 10 years. Then it’ll be time to retire.

“After that, I don’t give a God damn what happens to it, because I’m out of it. I’ve worked at this too long and too hard trying to get people, fighting and growling and volunteering for this and that …

“I wish I could put my cod trap back out. I’ve got them up there in my shed, I know they’re no good, I know they’re worth nothing …

But I can’t throw it away, I just can’t. I worked my whole life to get that.”

moved to Newfoundland’s west coast. Daughter Kira was born here one year later.

In Corner Brook, with its tiny black community, Tyler was noticed. “When we first moved back I would go to the mall and people would want to touch him,” Heather says. “People were fascinated. One day, a woman grabbed him out of my arms and said ‘I always wanted a black baby.’”

More than five years later, the children are still looked upon with interest. “I can almost see the wheels turning in people’s heads,” Heather chuckles. “They look at the kids and then they look at me and they try to figure out if we go together.

“People ask strange questions but they make stranger statements,” she says. “A lady once said ‘My God, your little boy has some nice tan.’”

Reactions to Freudian slips like

“saucy as the black” or “Listen to the pot calling the kettle black” also make Heather grin.

“I don’t take offense because it’s just a figure of speech,” she says. “It’s something we said as kids and it didn’t mean anything.

Still, people catch themselves and apologize. I tell them to relax.”

Schoolyard incidents like the one Tyler experienced, though far from the norm, aren’t as easy to ignore. Neither was the day Heather and Kira were insulted by two young children.

“We were on our way into mom’s house. Kira was just a baby and two children who were playing outside started yelling ‘niggers, niggers, niggers.’ For kids to get on like that … I couldn’t believe it,” says Heather. “When I was young my aunt gave me a wall hanging that said ‘Children live what they learn.’ I never understood that until then.

“You can’t get mad because it has to be stuff these children hear at home,” she says. “I don’t think kids always realize that what they say hurts another person.”

OK TO BE DIFFERENT When asked, the Wise siblings explain patiently that they are black because their father is black.

They say not all people are the same and it’s more than OK to be different. “My kids will grow up knowing how to deal with those situations but I can’t believe that in this day and age people still make racial comments. You would hope that even if people do think that way they have the common sense to keep their mouths shut,” says Heather.

“I teach my children that they are special because they don’t look like everybody else. They also know to accept people as they are.”

3 Artists, 3 Visions

Paul Daly/The Independent

Artists Scott Goudie, Grant Boland and Boyd Chubbs chat during the opening of their joint exhibit 3 Visions 3 Cities, showing at Christina Parker Gallery in St. John’s until Nov. 19. Chubbs is telling a tale about a pebble he’s brought from his native Labrador.

The Independent, October 31, 2004

LIFE & TIMES

Page 23

Manufacturing controversy THE BACK STORY ere’s how it started.

Sometime last spring the 15th annual St John’s International Film and Video Festival organizers hired local artist Andrea Cooper to do its promotional material. (Disclosure: the writer of this article is Chair of the festival board.) Anyone who pays attention to the visual arts in this town knows Cooper’s work. The artist favours the representation of larger than life women, gorgeously seductive creatures who stride like a colossus over the familiar landmarks of St. John’s. Her women are not only supersized but they are amusing clichés, femme fatales in garters and leopard skin slips, aided by the femme fatale props of cigarette holders, stilettos, and arched eyebrows.

Cooper makes her images iconic and fun, women who take control over their environment, but must do so by being overtly sexy.

That’s how you get attention. You do what it takes. Mae West knew it, Lauren Bacall knew it, any self-respecting lover of ’40s films knew it. The cheeky festival tag line, ‘films with broad appeal,’ openly appropriated that early detective story lingo and refashioned it for contemporary feminism.

The festival crew knew what it was doing. If you hired Modigliani to do your poster you’d get nude female figures with vacant eyes and elongated bodies; if you hired Georgia O’Keefe you’d get oversized flowers with bursting stamens; if you hired Picasso, you’d get oneeyed women with bulbous lower bodies; if you hired Cooper you’d get a femme fatale daring the camera to come on over and see her sometime.

And so it was that Cooper employed local filmmaker Mary Lewis to be her model. Lewis is a working artist whose work has been showcased several times in the festival. Several years ago her debut short, When Ponds Freeze Over, swept the Canadian awards circuit. Lewis’s gorgeous short film, part live action, part animation, took home just about every

H

Find it

Standing Room Only NOREEN GOLFMAN Because it’s far more titillating to show women fighting with women than it is to do a story or two on the films women are actually creating and struggling to show to the world. major award at every festival this country has to offer. Featuring an acclaimed female filmmaker as the poster subject seemed not only appropriate but necessary.

The added virtue of the choice is that the camera loves Lewis.

There’s something about Mary’s face that no lens can resist. Put her in a vibrant red spaghetti strap dress when she is four months pregnant and juxtapose her against the welcoming open mouth of the harbour of St. John’s and, well, you have an image made in heaven.

Typical of Cooper’s work, the Women’s Film Festival poster screamed Women’s Power. Lewis posed in a number of inviting ways which made the several versions of the poster all the more playful. Whatever the gesture, you can’t help but notice it. It’s bold, beautiful, and arresting.

Sexy? Yes and no. Lewis is sexy, sure, but the intelligence of the image is that it is so obviously more about the whole cinematic sexualizing of women than it is merely sexy. This is the art of a thoughtful young feminist like Andrea Cooper, not a porn producer.

THE INVENTED STORY Q: How many feminists does it take to change a light bulb?

A: That’s not funny.

Apparently art really is in the eyes of the beholder because as

all

in

This newspaper has something for everyone Local news. Human interest stories.

Bold opinions. Great photos. Sports and much more.

Available at the following fine locations:

Merrymeeting Road Old Placentia Road Ropewalk Lane Long Pond, Manuels

Topsail Road Torbay Road Avalon Mall Howley Estates

Or get your copy at any location on the Northeast Avalon

soon as the poster material started going up around town it came down. Someone was ripping the stuff right off the poles. The festival organizers soon learned that someone was tearing up the postcards distributed throughout various venues where the festival films would be screened.

This was curious and not a little disturbing. The first thought was that the poster was so juicy it just begged to be taken home.

But ripped postcards suggested something more sinister – a nun gone off her head? One of Lewis’s scorned lovers?

In a village like St. John’s it doesn’t take long to figure out how the wind blows. The festival

crowd quickly learned that there really wasn’t a mass movement gathering ammunition and determined to destroy the entire film community, after all. Moreover, the few culprits tearing up the publicity material possessed two x chromosomes and identified their gender clearly as F on Canada Census forms. But for every ripped postcard there were scores of compliments about this year’s image — from men and women and some body types one just can’t be sure about. Everyone — well, almost everyone — loved it.

Enter the Media — CBC, that is, our public broadcaster, with too much time on its hands last week and nothing to do but make a little mischief. This is how it works. You get a call and are

asked to report on the “controversy” about your poster. You know there is no controversy but that there will be one, once the media gets its bored little imagination all over it.

You can’t call a couple of women tearing up some postcards a guerrilla act, but that word is now out there, hovering like a threat, right up there with the Atlantic Accord and school closings: controversy. You agree to go on air and counter both the socalled protest and the media’s claim that it is even worth the attention in the first place. It’s not as if you have a choice; you have to enter the fray of the invented story.

Why should anyone really care about such a tiny little issue?

Because it’s far more titillating to show women fighting with women than it is to do a story or two on the films women are actually creating and struggling to show to the world. It is far more tempting to undermine feminist work altogether by inventing a story that pits women against each other than it is to investigate how women managed to make films about Africa, Kosovo, George W’s USA, rural Newfoundland, or the Middle East.

Consider the dozens of stories that might have been followed at this year’s festival about the women who took their cameras someplace new. Radio always does a better job of this; television almost always favours the cheap shot and the snappy, saucy potentially degrading story. And if the story involves a good cat fight, all the better.

Sure, even unwarranted attention is better than none and there’s no business without show business. The CBC web site link to this small-town “controversy” generated a flood of attention and solidarity, as emails have poured in to the festival office from all over the world, praising the poster while chastising the detractors.

The festival is now considering the possibilities for next year’s poster: a woman in a red burka?

Noreen Golfman is a professor of literature and women’s studies at Memorial University. Her next column appears Nov. 14.

Page 24

LIFE & TIMES

The Independent, October 31, 2004

A Bible from the Andes Earththings

By Sandy Chilcote The Ashuanipi Press, 1996

On The Shelf

N

ot having previously heard of Sandy Chilcote or encountered his work, I was curious to read his first collection of poems (Inkseeds, his most recent, was published in 2000), when I came across it recently in a local bookshop.

Earththings is an odd sort of beast. At 137 pages, it’s rather large for a poetry collection. No poem exceeds a page in length (most are under half a page) and not a single poem is named — the one flows into the next without the contextualisation imposed by a title. Pages are unnumbered.

It is Chilcote’s style, however, that is of the greatest interest.

Poems such as Dusk make use of compacted, imagistic lines combined with the sudden metaphorical leap that is common in the haiku form: Under cutting edge of night Young frogs singing Like sharpening knives There are other, equally short poems in Chilcote’s collection, all using that same spare, telegraphic language (haikuistic, to make a rotten attempt at coining a term) to introduce an image and then jump to a higher aesthetic understanding of the images’ constituent parts: Snowy darkness Little plots of white Like the eyes of the forest A second undercurrent, the apparent influence of Taoist writings, runs throughout the book. In the cherry tree (in the absence of

MARK CALLANAN title I have employed the convention of using the poem’s first line as reference) asserts that “Always the clay bells / Are the clay bells”.

Similarly, in Sounds to images, “The meaning of things is / Things” — both are a sort of inverted echo of the Tao Te Ching’s “Names can name no lasting name” (translated by Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo).

According to Lao Tzu’s first lesson in the Tao, the essence of things is impenetrable; language does not even scratch its surface.

Earththings is an odd sort of beast. At 137 pages, it’s rather large for a poetry collection.

No poem exceeds a page in length (most are under half a page) and not a single poem is named — the one flows into the next without the contextualisation imposed by a title.

Pages are unnumbered.

But for Chilcote, the opposite is true: language can arrest the very spirit of the thing and render it on a page in the fullness of its life — a sensibility more in keeping with

INDEPENDENT CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Mongol 6 Cross 10 Greek mountain 14 N. Zealand parrot 17 Die down 18 Possess 19 Pricey 20 Swiss mountain 21 Flirt with (3 wds.)

23 Stew 24 French wheat 25 The Song Beneath the ___ (Joe Fiorito, 2003) 26 Hawaiian garlands 27 Prepares slaw 29 Latin law 30 Serengeti sprinter 32 Grand ___ (bridge) 34 German article 35 Green indicator, for short 37 Dry ___ 39 Undergoes mental anguish 42 Throws 45 Transmits (from a ship) 48 Escape from 49 The Avro Arrow and others 51 Church figures 53 Pod prefix 54 Kielbasa or chorizo 55 Last winter mo.

56 Workshop machines 58 Subject of Ottawa/Hull spring festival 59 Attention getter 61 Décolleté (2 wds.)

63 Stable parent 67 Leaden

haiku than with Taoist philosophy.

Still, features of the latter are present.

Earththings’ greatest enemy is its sheer length. To sustain one tone throughout a collection, one voice holding a single note, is nearly impossible without either becoming tedious by virtue of uniformity or wavering in what must necessarily be an unbroken delivery. Everywhere there are pieces that, for various reasons, do disservice to the more accomplished of Chilcote’s poems. The two-line “Wet simple snows tuck under supple pines/And wrap up in a tight ball warm summer sense” seems more a juvenile exercise in alliteration and assonance than a serious attempt to capture nature in image. Here, the sounds of language become unintentionally comical, and in so doing, thwart the underlying sense of the poem.

A further obstruction to the enjoyment of Chilcote’s verse is the unpleasant gate-crashing of environmentalist editorializing throughout. Birds “… build/In the face of human jealousy/And destruction”. The poet asks, in reference to a moose, “did she know/She had wandered towards guns,” and in the midst of reflection on a winter’s scene, “Why do they cut down/My forest/While the snow/Is gentle”. The moral imposition of these sorts of statements devours the very energy that feeds Chilcote’s poetry — which is not to say that a social conscience has no place in poetry.

There is a difference, subtle as it may sometimes be, between a poet raging against injustice and a poem that — more desirably — is or embodies rage against the unjust.

All questions of semantics aside, there are some very nice

poems in Chilcote’s collection; certainly more than enough to make wading through the less desirable pieces a necessary trial.

There is a great beauty to the simple but profound philosophical inquiry: “Where can the eagle go beyond its wings/and eyrie”. For Chilcote, the world is united in spirit. “A bible from the Andes” is no different from “a seed catalogue of/vegetables.”

Everything pours into every-

thing else. It is perhaps fitting, then, that these poems should escape title and move as one being, undivided by the sometimes-feeble efforts of categorization. The meaning of things may be things, but all things remain part of a whole greater than themselves.

Mark Callanan is a poet and writer living in Rocky Harbour.

His next column appears Nov. 14.

Solutions on page 26

69 She wrote about life in early Ontario 71 Hip hop music 72 Intimidate 75 Road surfacing 76 Make bigger 78 Sucking fish 79 Get into the ___ of things 81 Type of sale 82 Rider’s strap 83 Be creative (2 wds.)

86 Rent in Reading 87 Solidify 89 ___ de mer 90 Member of the choir 92 Verdi opera 95 Round Table address 97 Greek god 100 The In-Between World of Vikram ___ (M.G. Vassanji) 102 Sphere 103 Brief alias 104 Mark a ballot 105 Popular white wine 108 Small carpet 109 Pub rounds 110 Fork prong 111 Chews 112 Mineral: suffix 113 For fear that 114 Makes a pick 115 Shouts DOWN 1 Sri Lankan language 2 Early adders 3 What waiters do (2 wds.)

4 Got something down 5 Go for a spin?

6 Author Watson (The

Double Hook) 7 The Northwest ___ 8 Gardner of The Barefoot Contessa 9 Trawlers’ equipment 10 Aromatize 11 Greek moon goddess 12 Stated 13 Left bed 14 Inuit word for “white man” 15 French glamour magazine 16 Peak 22 Positive answer 28 Swiss girl of children’s book 31 Black in Bourgogne 33 Liquefied by heat 36 Holds tight 38 Labour 40 Domestic who cares for children 41 Author of A Dark Place in the Jungle (1999) 43 Ask for alms 44 Compass reading 45 National force 46 Bummer!, in days of yore 47 Rascal 50 Him in Hauterive 52 Kitchen appliance 54 Napped leather 57 Rte. 58 Boxing defeat, for short 60 Sovereign’s seat 62 Eye’s outer layer 64 Not making sense 65 Sturdy wool fibre 66 Piece of fencing

68 Van Gogh lost one 70 Israeli airline 72 Hockey star from Parry Sound 73 Notch 74 Move to another country 75 Weave with diagonal ridges 77 Neighbourhood

79 Least fresh 80 Canadian, Parisbased writer 84 Acts badly 85 Gazes fixedly 88 Quebec City university 91 ___ Man Winter 93 Speak with drawn-out vowel sounds

94 Bottomless chasm 95 Finland’s Lapps, collectively 96 Asian textile style 98 Gondolier’s need 99 Eight: comb. form 101 Lethargic 106 Start of a cheer 107 Wind dir.

SPORTS

October 31, 2004

Page 25

Paul Daly/The Independent

Jason King, No. 32, was back in his home province when the Manitoba Moose took on the St. John’s Leafs Oct. 26

King, of the Moose Corner Brook native Jason King drops by St. John’s to visit family and friends … and score some goals

By Darcy MacRae The Independent

A

funny thing happened at Mile One Stadium on Oct. 26.

During the first period of the St. John’s Maple Leafs/Manitoba Moose American Hockey League contest, the sparse crowd on hand actually stood and cheered when the visiting team opened the scoring. One had to wonder if the fans had turned on the home team, perhaps upset about the club’s upcoming move to Toronto.

But one look at the Moose goal scorer explained the situation: Corner Brook’s Jason King was the marksman, much to the delight of the proNewfoundland hockey lovers in the stands.

FAN APPRECIATION “Any time I come home, it’s always fun to play in front of the Newfoundland fans,” King tells The Independent. “I take a lot of pride in what I do on the ice when I come here and it’s nice to see the fans appreciate that.”

The respect and admiration for one of their own did not stop once the game came to a close (The Leafs won 4-2), as a crowd of more than 25 people waited for King in Mile One’s front lobby well after the final buzzer sounded.

When the 23-year-old made his way out front, he was greeted with hugs, handshakes and words of encouragement from family, friends and fans, many of whom made the trip from the

west coast to take in the game. Given He also has a great ability to get into the hectic schedule AHL teams endure the shooting area. It’s as if the puck folover the fall and winter months, King lows him around.” says it was a breath of fresh air, literalCarlyle loves King’s nose for the net, ly and figuratively, to return to his as well as his strong, smooth skating home province. ability. While the pride of Corner “To be able to see my family and Brook has always been known as an friends is always a great little break offensive talent, Carlyle hasn’t hesitatfrom the season,” King says. “To be ed to include King on the team’s first able to chat and relax with them for a penalty killing unit. little bit is a lot nicer “When players do than most road trips.” what he’s done and lead King came into St. by example like Jason “Any time I come John’s as the leading does, you have to give scorer in the AHL, home, it’s always fun them the prime minand certainly didn’t he says. “Penalty to play in front of the utes,” disappoint fans wishkill and power play are Newfoundland fans. specialty teams, and he ing to see what has made him perhaps the gets those. He plays all I take a lot of pride top prospect in the kinds of roles for us.” in what I do on the Vancouver Canucks’ Carlyle also marvels organization. His first- ice when I come here at King’s willingness to period goal on Oct. 26 and it’s nice to see the go hard to the net and was vintage King. He fans appreciate that.” get in the corners to dig took a pass from for the puck. This type teammate Jeff Heereof intensity was evident — Jason King ma in the slot and several times during the without hesitation match-up in St. John’s, rifled a wrist shot past as King drilled rugged St. John’s goalie Mikael Tellqvist. Maple Leafs defenceman Marc Moro King’s remarkably quick release into the boards before skating out of allowed him to get his shot off before the corner and getting a shot on goal Tellqvist had time to adjust to the play, early in the second period. He also got a quality that has made King a goal into a spirited shoving match with scorer at every level he’s played.

Leafs’ agitator Ben Ondrus in the third, “He does have the ability to get rid as King refused to back down from an of the puck in a hurry,” says Randy opponent known for his fondness for Carlyle, head coach of the Manitoba fisticuffs.

Moose. “It doesn’t take him very long, The well-rounded game King played and he’s got a very accurate wrist shot. is a testament to his desire to be a com-

plete player, and according to his coach, it’s possible because of how hard the 6’1”, 200-pound forward works on and off the ice.

“His conditioning level has gone way up,” Carlyle says. “He’s really made an effort there. He’s at an elite level in regards to conditioning, and it shows in his game.”

PLANS DISRUPTED Performances like the one on the 26th have become the norm for King, and are a big reason why he spent much of last season in Vancouver with the Canucks. After picking up 21 points in 47 NHL games, King seemed poised to earn a permanent spot on Vancouver’s roster this year, but the on-going lockout disrupted any such plans.

Although he is earning less money in the AHL than he would in the big league, and is once again forced to travel the continent on a bus instead of by private plane, you won’t hear so much as one complaint from King about his lot in life. He sees this season as another year of learning and developing in what he hopes is just the beginning of a very successful hockey career.

“I’m still learning all the little details of the game,” King says. “You have to do a lot of work mentally to excel as a professional. You have to learn what it takes to get to the next level, and the AHL is a great place to do that.”

Darcy_8888@hotmail.com

Page 26

SPORTS

The Independent, October 31, 2004

What it takes to hang a Herder

NO TIME FOR TRIANO Can’t quite figure out why

Bob the Bayman BOB WHITE Canada Basketball decided to give Jay Triano the pink slip as national coach.

Here’s a guy who’s been involved with the national program for the past 25 years and has done more for hoops in this country than any other Canadian-born coach, including that guy Naismith when he invented the game back in 1891.

Triano played college ball in Canada, played more than a decade for the national team and coached one of the most successful college programs in the country at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.

In 1995, he was hired by the now-defunct Vancouver Grizzlies in community and media relations.

In 1999 he took over the senior men’s national team, and right away led them to a 5-2 record and seventh-place finish at the 2000 Olympic summer games in Sydney. For Canada, in today’s basketball world, that amounts to a job welldone. The national team failed to qualify for the 2004 Games in Athens, but that was more a matter of not having the country’s top players on the team.

In 2002, he became the first Canadian-born head coach in the NBA when he was hired as an assistant for the Toronto Raptors.

He still holds this position, which is remarkable considering he has endured the firing of coaches and general managers.

Some might think his job with Canada’s only NBA team is more for community relations, but considering some of the past moves the Raptors have made, worrying about public perception does not

Chris Lee/St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Boston catcher Jason Varitek, left, hugs pitcher Keith Foulke as they celebrate the Red Sox 3-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in game four of the World Series last Wednesday in St. Louis, Missouri.

seem to be a huge priority for the team.

But now, Triano is gone and Basketball Canada is seeking a replacement. As far as profile goes, I can’t think of a qualified coach who matches Triano’s visibility level — domestically or internationally. That’s not to infer there are no worthy coaches working at the moment in Canada.

Triano had to split his time between the Raptors and the national team, which seems to be one of the reasons Basketball Canada let him go. The head hoop minds want someone who will invest more time into the program.

But will that translate into more wins? Only time will tell.

THE BEANTOWN DOUBLE Boston has finally won the World Series. The Red Sox nation is at peace, and many may still be drunk.

What could possibly top this for sports fans in the Boston states? If the New England Patriots keep up this win streak (at 21 games heading into action today, Oct. 31), the Pats might end up eclipsing what it took the Sox 86 years to complete.

Well, that may be stretching it.

The Patriots seem to be en route to a second straight Super Bowl title and they have a chance to go undefeated while doing so.

I’ve always been, and always will be, a Denver Broncos fan, but John Elway might have to un-

retire to get them past the Pats this year. Other AFC teams that could provide a challenge to Tom Brady and company include Pittsburgh and Jacksonville, as well as Philadelphia, Minnesota and Atlanta in the NFC. But no team has the offensive and defensive prowess of New England. They can win by outscoring you and stopping you. In the big games, those abilities are invaluable.

Just imagine if the Celtics again became a contender for the NBA title? What if the Bruins could actually play and build on a solid regular season from last season?

Boston fans would be even harder to stomach. whitebobby@yahoo.com

Solutions from page 24

A

few years back, when I was last living out here in Conception Bay North, the place to be on Saturday nights was S.W. Moores Memorial Stadium in Harbour Grace.

The Cee Bees were a hot ticket and rightly so. They had a talented group of players who were contenders for the Herder championship as provincial senior hockey’s top team.

That was the goal then, but they never got to that stage. For various reasons, the team went downhill and eventually dropped the Cee Bees moniker.

This year, the Cee Bees Stars have their sights set squarely on the Herder, but there are steps to take before they hang another banner. In the past, it seemed the Cee Bees wanted to get as much talent on the roster as possible, figuring it would automatically translate into a title. When each year a championship didn’t materialize, new players were added.

The result was, in my mind, a lack of chemistry. Perhaps they all got along well off the ice, but on the ice they were not yet a team. In addition, they were not given enough time to come together.

And in games against the Southern Shore Breakers or Flatrock Flyers, the “team” concept was even more pronounced as the Breakers and the Flyers — while well-stocked with talent — knew how to play together as a team.

Little wonder they have been so dominant.

This year, the Cee Bees have several ex-Flyers on their roster, as well as some young, home-grown talent. If given enough time, another Herder banner could be raised to the rafters in Harbour Grace.

I wonder how long the current Cee Bees management is prepared to wait for that to happen?

A LITTLE OF YOUR TIME IS ALL WE ASK. CONQUERING THE UNIVERSE IS OPTIONAL. Think it requires heroic efforts to be a Big Brother or Big Sister?

Think again. It simply means sharing a few moments with a child. Play catch.

Build a doghouse. Or help take on mutant invaders from the planet Krang.

That’s all it takes to transform a mere mortal like yourself into a super hero who can make a world of difference in a child’s life. For more information...

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Newfoundland 1-877-513KIDS (5437) www.helpingkids.ca

The Independent, October 31, 2004

SPORTS

Page 27

Events OCTOBER 31

Harbour Haunt 7 p.m., Water Street, St. John’s, $6, 754-1399.

St. John’s Haunted Hike, 7 p.m., Anglican Cathedral, St. John’s, $5.

Roxxy’ s George Street, Dog Meat BBQ perform, 10:30 p.m. $5.

NOVEMBER 1

Meetings in Kaija Saariaho’s Music a lecture by Dr. Prikko Moisala (distinguished ethnomusicologist) 4:30 p.m., room 2025, school of music, Memorial University, St. John’s.

NOVEMBER 3

The Irish Newfoundland Association presented speaker Don Tarrant on The Conquest of the Atlantic by Cable and Wireless at Hampton Hall, Marine Insti-

tute, St. John’s, 8 p.m.

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare, with guest actors Paddy Monaghan and David Freeman. Runs until Nov. 6, 8 p.m. Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, Corner Brook.

NOVEMBER 4

The Independent Living Resource Centre Dinner Club, Emerald Palace Restaurant, St. John’s, 6:30-8:30 p.m., 7224031.

Canadian Music Mini-Festival/MUN School of Music D. F. Cook Recital Hall, St. John’s.

Showtime 8 p.m. Tickets $10/$5. Continues nightly until Nov. 6.

Dzolali Drum & Dance Ensemble, a night of traditional African music and dance, 8 p.m., $10

advance, $12 at the door, 7534531/579-1527.

Storytelling Festival: an evening of stories from Placentia Bay featuring Anita Best, Alice Lannon and Agnes Walsh, with host Ford Elms, 8 p.m., $5, Masonic Temple, Cathedral Street, St. John’s.

Public lecture on health and safety management in the workplace by Dr. Scott MacKinnon room A-1043, Arts and Administration building, MUN, St. John’s.

NOVEMBER 5

Paddy Mcguinty’s Wake... dinner and show, $25/$45. Doors open 6:30 p.m., 390 Duckworth Street (Majestic Theatre), St. John’s, 579-3023.

For the Love of Song Rick

Lamb, Colin Harris, Trevor Davis and Matthew Carpenter, tickets $10 available at Musicstop, $14 at the door, 753-4531.

Storytelling Festival: A Telling Mix featuring Elinor Benjamin, (Corner Brook) Mary Fearon, Karen Gummo (of Alberta) and Andy Jones, with host Dale Jarvis. Anna Templeton Centre, 8 p.m. $5.

NOVEMBER 6

Beatles Review – Back In NFLD dinner and show $25/$45. Doors open 6:30 p.m.

390 Duckworth Street (Majestic Theatre), St. John’s, 579-3023.

Cooking Classes and Fine Dining $50 deposit required to hold a seat in all courses. Chef To Go, 2 Barnes Road, St. John’s, 7542491.

Monte Carlo Charity Gala live local entertainment 8 Track Favourites, Holiday Inn Ballroom, 7 p.m., 777-6690. Hosted

by Memorial University medical school students.

Storytelling Festival at Granny Bates Children’s Books, featuring Rita Cox and Elinor Benjamin. Free admission. 2 p.m.

Storytelling Festival: The Spirit of Story, featuring Rita Cox (of Toronto), Dale Jarvis and Louise Moyes, with host Jean Hewson. Anna Templeton Centre 8 p.m. $5.

IN THE GALLERIES

Segments, a solo exhibition by Anita Singh. Nov. 6 – Nov. 27, 2004, Leyton Gallery of Fine Art, St. John’s. Opening reception Nov. 6, 3-5 p.m. 722-7177.