2004-11-07

VOL. 2 ISSUE 45

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

Fiscal Transfers

$3.4B

($3.4B)

Running Total

$17B

$1B

Please see detailed breakdown, page 2 Next week’s topic: natural resources

ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7-13, 2004

WWW.THEINDEPENDENT.CA

‘To be tolerated’

$1.00 (INCLUDING HST)

Money matters

Newfoundland and Labrador pays more to Ottawa in taxes than feds give back; mainland attitude towards province unfounded

has always been marked by frustration. Whenever this province saw opportunity, some feel it was resisted, or ignored, by Ottawa.

“What I’m absolutely certain of is that we’re treated like an

By Stephanie Porter annoyance by the federal government,” says Conservative MP The Independent Norm Doyle.

“We’re treated like a pain to be tolerated. The federal govince Confederation, Newfoundland and Labrador has ernment and the prime minister seem to have no respect or sympaid $3.4 billion more to Ottawa in taxes than Ottawa pathy for the difficulties that we have to deal with in Newfoundhas sent to this province in transfer payments and per- land and Labrador.” sonal benefits, according to research conducted by The IndeJohn Collins, who was provincial Finance minister under pendent.

Brian Peckford in the 1980s, had similar experiences.

Far from being an economic basket case, Cana“We never did get the support that we should FINDING THE da’s so-called “poorest province” has contributed have for our case,” Collins tells The Independent. an estimated $67.1 billion to federal coffers since “The upper Churchill was a real blow to us. We did1949 by way of personal income, corporate, retail n’t get any help. We should have developed the Cost benefit analysis and excise taxes. lower Churchill by this time, but there’s been very of Confederation The Canadian government has, in those same little attention paid to that. Out in Manitoba, they’ve Forth in a six-part series years, allotted $63.9 billion to Newfoundland and had a lot of help in developing their hydro potenLabrador in equalization, health and social transfers, cost-shared tial … we’re not getting the same type of assistance. programs, pensions, family allowance and other transfers.

“And fish, we could see they were under too much stress — The Independent’s research was completed as part of its six- we struggled heavily with the federal government, who conpart series investigating the costs and benefits of Confederation, trolled the thing, but we never got to first base with it. using information from research papers, newspapers, provincial “We have very little clout upalong … it’s not that they’re budgets, Statistics Canada and other government sources. Where malicious or anything. But we’re a small province, we have information was not available, conservative estimates were small representation up there, and we just don’t weigh in the made. balance very much in Ottawa.”

In the decade before joining Canada, Newfoundland enjoyed Premier Danny Williams and the current provincial governrecord prosperity, marking a surplus, year over year, throughout ment may be discovering this all over again, as the debate over the 1940s. That all changed in 1949, with new taxes, benefits, changes to the Atlantic Accord continues to rage. The province and expenditures. In 1957, when the equalization program offi- wants 100 per cent of offshore oil revenues, no conditions cially began, Newfoundland was declared a recipient — a attached; the federal government’s proposal includes a cap and have-not province. a time limit.

There it has remained since — though, according to the numWhat Williams sees as a chance for Newfoundland and bers above — the disparities are not what many have been led Labrador to finally vault into have status is, he charges, being to believe. subjected to conditions that will, once again, cool off the Along with the figures came observations that the relation- province’s economic engines. ship between the governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly when it comes to issues of economy, Continued on page 2

Disparities between province and feds not what many believe

S

BALANCE

BUSINESS

Stephen Harper would go to the polls over Accord Page 15

NEWS

Former premier Frank Moores opens up

‘Who is subsidizing who?’

Economist estimates province gives Canada much more than it receives

Page 7

By Jeff Ducharme The Independent

Paul Daly/The Independent

A SPORTS

The bidding war over the QMJHL franchise Page 26

Quote Week OF THE

“There was never enough money to do what had to be done, and never anything on the horizon that would show us the way.”

— Frank Moores on his time as premier

Toronto economist with the Canadian Auto Workers’ union says Newfoundland and Labrador subsidizes the rest of the country to the tune of billions of dollars a year through out-migration and imports.

A 1998 report by economist Jim Stanford found that without Newfoundland and Labrador, the rest of the country would suffer a trade loss of more than $3 billion. Those calculations are based on 1996 statistics.

“So who is subsidizing who?” Stanford asks in the report.

The report found the province contributes $2 billion per year in total federal tax revenues. On the world stage, the province imports $1 billion more in goods than it exports, further contributing to the national economic picture.

Stanford calls the loss of skilled, healthy workers to the rest of the country the “most valuable,” but also the most “tragic” contribution to the rest of Canada. He estimates the yearly subsidy in workers relocating to the mainland stands at $11 billion, almost four times higher than annual transfer payments from the federal government. Stanford based his findings on an average salary of $31,000.

“Outmigration has been a boon and a subsidy for the mainland economy, but there’s no doubt it’s made things more

The above bank notes are from pre-Confederation Newfoundland. The bills, especially the $10 note, are extremely rare and valuable. The notes are kept at the Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador in St. John’s.

Banking on it Newfoundlanders had $500 million in Canadian banks in 1949, money they may have lost if Newfoundland didn’t join Canada

By Stephanie Porter The Independent

Paul Daly/The Independent

Newfoundland and Labrador has lost an estimated 60,000 people over the past 10 years.

The impact on equalization and transfer payments has been pegged at $1 billion.

difficult for Newfoundlanders that are left behind,” Stanford tells The Independent.

“The economic relationship between Newfoundland and the rest of the country is not a one-way street,” says Stanford. “Newfoundland contributes a great deal to the national economy and it benefits a great deal by being part of the national economy, but there are two sides in that relationship and that runs against the stereotype that is often

described in the national media.”

According to Stanford, between 1994 and 1996, federal transfers fell by more than $725 million. A similar cut to Ontario would have equaled more than $23 billion.

“I know in some parts of the mainland there’s kind of a sense of superiority and maybe a sense that they’re subsidizing other poorer provinces too Continued on page 6

I

t may have been “galling” at the time, but in the years leading up to Confederation, Newfoundlanders deposited hundreds of millions of dollars in Canadian-owned banks.

Those bank branches, though located on Newfoundland soil, had Canadian employees, and — of bigger impact to the economy — sent most of their profits and investments straight back to Canada.

Canadian banks were first given the right to set up in Newfoundland after the local bank failure of the 1890s. At least four major Canadian banks moved into St. John’s, including the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Bank of Montreal.

They were, in short order, in charge of

most savings accounts held by Newfoundlanders, to the tune of an estimated $500 million.

Newfoundlanders of the time did notice — but had little alternative.

G.S. Watts, an employee of the Bank of Canada in Ottawa, travelled to Newfoundland in 1943 to investigate “exchange control.”

“The whole system of having their finances under Canadian control must be, and is, galling to (Newfoundlanders), yet the banks have been there so long that they have come to be accepted without much question,” Watts wrote in his final report. “… every Newfoundlander who retains hope of a political future should self-government be restored, seems to feel obliged to harangue against the Canadian banks periodically … that

only a fraction of the Newfoundlanders’ deposits are invested at home and that their assets have been drained off for investment elsewhere.”

But, he continues, those who complain are “the first to admit privately that they could not get along without the Canadian banks.”

With such profits coming in, the Bank of Canada would have been reluctant to get along without Newfoundland.

“Particularly,” writes Watts, “after such heavy sales of U.S. exchange to us” — the American money Newfoundlanders earned, deposited, and exchanged, was quite profitable for the Canadian Banks, given the federal government had loans from the U.S. to be paid down.

Continued on page 21

Page 2

NEWS

The Independent, November 7, 2004

‘The more we make, the more we pay out’ From page 1

getting less equalization than we were 10 years ago, and equalizaFrustrating the situation even tion payments are a smaller permore, this particular debate centage (of revenue) than they comes at a time when the were.” province may be on the verge of Equalization, Harris continues, exceeding its own fiscal projec- is just one of many federal protions. grams through which funds are Finance Minister Loyola Sulli- allocated to provinces — though van’s first budget this past March one Newfoundland benefits subbrought discouraging news with stantially from. the province’s sixth consecutive “There are lots of other federdeficit. al programs that Newfoundland At the time, he said this year’s gets very little benefit from — fiscal outlook improved only those that support the auto indusslightly over last year with a try in Ontario, for example.” small cut in the deficit to $361.6 He points out that while the million — still the largest pro- public and politicians in Ontario jected shortfall in the province’s may have little interest in dishistory. The reported red ink on cussing equalization reforms, the accrual basis remained large they would be most excited at $839.6 million. about other funding programs — Things have improved over the a mass transportation initiative, eight months since then. A new for example. deal with Ottawa on health-care “Most money is spent in a cenfunding will mean an extra $30 tralized fashion,” he says. “For million. The price of oil is example, we have the lowest through the roof, which will number of federal government translate into more revenue for employees per capita.” the province — particularly if According to numbers comthe provincial government nego- piled by The Independent, there tiates the changes to the Atlantic are 268,000 federal government Accord it’s fighting for. employees in the country today.

Sullivan won’t give any hard About 4,400, or 1.5 per cent, of numbers, but he says the them are located in this province province is doing better, finan- (146,142, or 55 per cent work in cially, than expected. “There are Ontario and the nearby Gatineau some positive bumps everyone region of Quebec). was aware of,” Sullivan tells The Of 50 Crown corporations Independent. “We’re not just operating in Canada today, none going to meet our target — we’ll are located in Newfoundland and exceed it.”

Labrador (33 are in He expects to release a revised Ontario/Gatineau). financial statement by month’s Neil Windsor, who held severend. An improved deficit posi- al cabinet positions through the tion won’t mean a break when it ’80s, including Finance, says one comes to the 4,000 job cuts of his biggest frustrations of his expected over the next four time in provincial politics was years. “so many programs are designed “If every time you had a sav- as national programs, and the ings you said ‘We’ll keep anoth- feds try to deliver those programs er job’ … you’ll never change. in a comparable way.

There has to be systemic changes “They have to realize that made.”

Canada is not the Provincial NDP same. What works leader Jack Harris in downtown “What works in says, in terms of the downtown Toronto Toronto does not province’s fiscal work in Baie does not work position, “we’re not Verte.” as desperate as the He says the in Baie Verte.”

Tories make us out province was havto be, but we have a ing a “very difficult significant structural deficit that time financially. We faced a huge we do have to address.” debt, which we still have; it was Speaking from the experience getting worse and worse. We had of more than a decade in federal gone through a number of years and provincial politics, Harris of cutbacks … we made tough says the province has seen a “sig- decisions.” nificant (fiscal) improvement Windsor now lives and works over the past 10 years … we’re in Alberta (“a very positive envi-

THIS WEEK In Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Business & Commerce . . . 15 International News . . . . . 20 Life & Times . . . . . . . . . . 21 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Sue Dyer is a researcher and analyst collaborating with The Independent on Finding The Balance, the paper’s six-part series.

John Collins, former provincial finance minister.

Paul Daly/The Independent

Chart by Sue Dyer for The Independent

ronment to work and live in”) and sees, daily, what a healthy oil economy can mean.

“Canadians are not going to be all equal; it’s not going to happen. If you have more riches in the province, there will be more riches to pass around … the problem in Newfoundland is the more we make, the more we pay out.”

BETTER DEAL Windsor says it is not just Premier Williams’ right, but his responsibility, to do everything he can to get a better deal for the province.

Fellow former minister of finance John Collins agrees. “I

hope the federal government will take a more enlightened view than they have in the past.” But while he admits “Newfoundland has great needs,” it also has much strength. “…I think many times the Newfoundland people themselves forget that.”

On June 11, 1981, then-premier Peckford stated, in a public speech: “Newfoundland makes a significant contribution to the rest of the country … and there is absolutely no reason for us to feel we are living off the rest of Canada and hence, that we cannot assert our views on major issues.

“There is no doubt we receive

significant benefits from being a province of Canada — in 1979 we received about $1.6 billion from the federal government.

But we did not receive it free.

“We paid about $600 million directly back to the federal government in taxes and the like. We paid another $800 million to the residents of Quebec in economic rent through the upper Churchill contract. We paid another $200 million-plus to Canadian manufacturers producing behind the tariff wall, few, if any, of which are located in Newfoundland. “… overall, we contributed just as much, if not more, to the rest of Canada as we received.”

The Independent, November 7, 2004

NEWS

Premier Danny Williams

Page 3

Paul Daly/The Independent

‘What’s the plan, Dan?’ “G

o right ahead,” said Pierre Elliot Trudeau. “Run along. And the best of British luck to you.”

PET was here on an election swing.

His visit coincided with one of those regular 10-year skin rashes about Newfoundland separatism. Some local reporter had asked what he thought of it.

His Eminence made a Newfie joke of the idea that this province should presume to practice Quebec-style extortion on Ottawa.

Yet each decade or so the notion of Newfoundland “independence” continues to erupt.

Maybe “erupts” is much too strong a term. It drones from barstools, natters over university coffee cups and, if the moon is in the right quarter, it may even get quasi-official blessing from Confederation Building.

SILLY MOUSE It’s hard to know whether to pity or laugh at Trudeau’s silly mouse that occasionally roars.

Especially if you’re in that mouse’s skin.

Suicide is generally considered to be immoral. Newfoundland’s situation in the Canadian federation sometimes seems like a form of self-destruction. If something is destroying you, your friends, family, community … should you do less than squeak?

Here we are again in one of those 10-year navel-gazing circles.

Danny Williams “storms out” of an Ottawa meeting. Paul Martin sputters and stutters. John Efford huffs and puffs and pricks his finger for the CBC cameras.

Hey, Danny! Hi, Danny! Ho, Danny!

voted for George W. Bush.

Bushism snuck into Canada up through the fundament of Alberta where it has fomented and festered for lo these many years.

RAY But it was confined to folk who deserved it until Brian Mulroney GUY destroyed the Progressive Conservaroars all the mob in glee. tive Party.

But let us not be too hasty.

Yes, it was only a few short years Surely we’ve learned by this time ago that Elsie Wayne and John Crosbie that one of those great big “storm outs” were the only PCs left in captivity and, has got to be rounded off by a pretty like the giant pandas, it proved devilhefty “or else.” ishly hard to get them to breed.

And we must be ready to have our So it was that Bushism burst like a bluff called. Otherwise, they’ll simply boil from the confines of Alberta. It pee down our mousehole once more. was called Reform. It was called The However, there has Alliance. And, finally, been no “or else” put this Canadian strain of forward by Danny W. Bushism absorbed Yes, it was only a The only “threat” what was left of the we’ve heard so far is old Conservatives and few short years ago that Premier Millions that Elsie Wayne and became what it is may go across Canada today.

John Crosbie were talking up our case.

It was honey-coated Well, gag me with a for the east. The fine the only PCs left in caplin … I can’t see the captivity and, like the old “values” of the prairies or Ontario original PC party accepting Dan as their giant pandas, it proved would hold at bay that devilishly hard to personal saviour. Haligruesome sackful of fax, either, come to medieval spite and get them to breed. that. avarice previously What’s really at the spouted by the likes of bottom of all this latest Stockwell Day. For the hoo ha? sake of survival, even dear old stalNo doubt about it, Newfoundland warts like John Crosbie scrinched up has been royally rooked once again their eyes and went along. over that offshore oil deal.

But the infections of Bushism still But what’s the plan, Dan? roil and divide and expand within the Where’s your “or else?” Should we “Conservatives.” The holy terrors who all fall to the floor, kick our legs and cry death and destruction on abortionhold our breath until we’re blue in the ists, gays, pot smokers, USA-critics, face? It’s all been done before. labour unions, socialists, quiche-eaters Perhaps this angle may be helpful: if and commie-lovers know they must you voted for Danny Williams you stifle themselves until they can get

A Poke In The Eye

their hooks into real power. Bushism’s Canadian shadow grew longer this week.

So, like it or lump it, there we are.

Last time to the well, a majority of Newfoundlanders voted for Danny Bush. Danny’s political bedfellow in federal politics is the shadow minister of external affairs … Stockwell Day. The Liberals … under Bushism, a term hardly to be uttered without spitting … are now in a dingle-dangle minority in Ottawa.

CLOSER TO THE RIDDLE Does all this bring us any closer to the riddle of why Premier Williams feels that the Newfoundland mouse has now grown to the size at least of a pit bull or that it will profit us one fart from a baby’s backside to rant and roar and kick and bash?

Whatever slight grace and favour the Liberals (spitoo!) show us, would Premier Williams’ own party, the shadow Bushites, shower blessings on us if they come at last to power in Ottawa?

It is difficult to think so. It’ll be, take the oil but let me live.

Because what Bushites want, they take. What disagrees with them, they punish. What obstructs them, they destroy.

God and the Blessed St. Jude protect us, but if Premier Danny Williams puts a foot wrong here or bites off more than he can chew or tries to blindfold the devil in the dark ... we may have to invent some new nicknames for the poor creature.

Like Saddam Williams, perhaps. Or Danny Hussein. Danny bin Liberal?

Ray Guy’s next column will appear Dec. 5.

Page 4

NEWS

The Independent, November 7, 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 Reporter Alisha Morrissey Reporter Clare-Marie Gosse

Sunday dinner

Production Manager John Andrews OPERATIONS General Manager John Moores john.moores@theindependent.ca Consultant Wilson Hiscock Manager Sales & Marketing 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

T

here was money in Riverhead, Harbour Grace in the 1970s, at least for a few hours on Sundays, when the rich townies made their way around the bay like the conquering heroes they were.

“They’ve got money,” nodded the poor baymen, out and about as the fancy cars went by.

Baymen heads followed the townie cars over the road, toward the church and the school and Fishermen’s Road in between.

New vehicles were a novelty then, cars that weren’t sanded and primed, at least in spots. Older trucks with homemade wooden flatbeds were the Chevettes of the ’70s; if you didn’t own one, you knew someone who did.

New cars with new car smells weren’t owned by the baymen who crewed the boats or worked shifts at the plant. Their cars were older and cheaper. They stank of fish, always, and grease from the toolbox, opened and at the ready on the backseat floor.

Now and then a young buck bayman, as they were called by mothers who weren’t theirs, would quit school, get a job at the plant for so much an hour (unlike the townies, who made so much a year), and buy a new red or yellow Firebird or

Camero to park in front of St. Joseph’s.

If the young maids weren’t impressed with the ride and spinning tires, they were usually smitten with the snack pack from Mary Brown’s, dining on chicken and chips under a street light as the outport world went by.

The cars lasted until the pregnancy, when they were parked at the end of the nearby causeway with a for-sale sign on the dash (“mag wheels included”), o.n.o. — or nearest offer … to what was still owed to the Bank of Nova Scotia.

Townie kids always wore good clothes out playing on Sundays when the salt meat and pease pudding boiled on the stove and the adults sat on the good couch in the front room decorated with doilies and pictures of the Sacred Heart.

The townie kids weren’t allowed to go far from the door of the houses they were dropping by. They weren’t allowed in the woods or by the bog or on the beach in front of the Kyle, the once-famous steamer grounded off shore, because they might get their good clothes dirty before Sunday dinner.

The baymen kids stuck by their townie cousins as the morning passed; the fog (there was always that too) was shredded as the wind

RYAN CLEARY

picked up, and the smell of Sunday dinner wafted from all directions.

Mass was always held on Sunday mornings but most of the kids went on Saturday evening, which satisfied the parents in terms of spiritual fill-up. Townie and baymen kids alike watched the men sneak out of church just after communion to light a smoke on the steps.

Soon enough the main flock would depart and drive off in their trucks with homemade wooden flatbeds, staring at the townie kids standing, primmed and pressed, near the new cars with the new car smells. “They thinks they’re somethin’ special.”

Soon enough the calls would ring out to come home for dinner and the street would clear of kids for an hour or two. The only sound would be the flap of clothes on the backyard lines, the bark of a lonely dog and cars crossing the causeway.

Riverhead and outport towns like it have changed since the 1970s.

The smile that is main street is missing teeth. The fish plant further down the harbour closed years ago.

Hundreds of jobs went with it so that not so many cars stink of fish.

(Looking back, it wasn’t so bad a smell.)

The lack of opportunity hasn’t changed; the pace of out-migration has. Newfoundlanders have always left, but starting in the late 1980s they left in droves. They were tired

of being poor, and who could blame them.

But are Newfoundlanders poor so much as kept in poverty? The debate continues to this day as the federal government and Danny Williams battle over offshore money. The difference between the two sides is not philosophical so much as dollars and cents. Newfoundland and Labrador wants more than Ottawa is willing to give.

The MPs against such a move are not from the East or West, but from the Ontario caucus, mostly, and Quebec.

What’s not clear is why. Why would central Canada not want this province to rise to its feet?

We’re trying once again, as a province, to stand on our own.

Nationalists are snickered at for considering themselves any more special than any other Canadian.

Separatists are seen as a joke for not realizing how good they’ve got it under the Maple Leaf. Politics is seeping into the fight — the federal government is the bad guy and companies, as usual, are walking away, unscathed, with cash from our resources falling from their stuffed pockets.

Focus must remain on the outports or only the townies will be left.

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

Letters to the Editor

‘Blatantly incorrect’ Dear editor, In her article $76 B loss in the Oct. 31-Nov. 6 edition of The Independent, Stephanie Porter writes “Changes to the Terms of Union to award joint management, like custodial management of the nose and tail of the Grand Banks, (have) been asked for, voted on — and never received.”

This is blatantly incorrect.

Assuming, for the sake of argument, that joint management could be implemented by amending the Terms of Union, then the “bilateral” amending formula — s. 43 of the Constitution Act, 1982 — would apply.

This would require a resolution of the legislature of the province concerned and the two chambers of parliament.

This formula has, in fact, been invoked, and such resolutions have, in fact, been passed to amend the Terms of Union. This has been done on four occasions in respect of Newfoundland and Labrador — three times to amend Term 17

concerning education, and once to change the name of the province to Newfoundland and Labrador. The bilateral formula has also been invoked to pass constitutional amendments which only involved New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec.

The line in Ms. Porter’s article gives the impression that the provincial legislature passed some kind of resolution to amend the Terms of Union to this effect, and that the resolution was somehow nefariously rejected. However, no such resolution to amend the Terms of Union has ever been introduced in the House of Assembly, let alone passed, let alone “never received.”

Wallace McLean, Ottawa Editor’s note: In terms of changes being voted on, The Independent was referring to a private members’ bill passed earlier this year in the House of Commons.

The Independent’s pleasure Dear editor, I just wanted to send you a quick note to thank The Independent for its participation, through senior writer Jeff Ducharme, in our 10th annual Telethon on Rogers Television in Corner Brook.

As a past host, Jeff was sensitive to our needs when discussing the wish children and their families, and on this first telethon since the passing of Claudine Wall, who was a wonderful resource for all of us. We are very appreciative of his skills and his willingness to join us that day under the lights for what is a very long day.

Derek deLouche, Newfoundland and Labrador chapter, Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada

The Independent, November 7, 2004

T

NEWS

Page 5

Newfoundland nationalists ‘uniquely Canadian’

here is a whole generation of bureaucrats who owe their careers to the idea of “downloading services.” This was the great fiscal movement in government in the 1990s, both federally and in this province.

One of the heroes of the movement was Paul Martin, who was considered a financial whiz because he discovered that you could make the provinces responsible for stuff that had previously been a federal government responsibility. Not that our own bureaucratic class is the repository of great intellectual ability, but the idea eventually trickled into their heads. Shift the responsibility to some other poor sucker, then pass yourself off as a genius. Our bureaucrats had it easy, because (to paraphrase the great Ray Guy) Newfoundlanders are more accustomed to the whip.

It was a win-win situation. Balance the books without raising taxes by sticking others with the responsibilities that were once yours. But how? They made municipalities responsible for more services. They reduced the number of police on the road to the point where we are all — police officers

Rant & Reason IVAN MORGAN and citizens alike — now at the mercy of the criminal element amongst us. They cut back on snow clearing. They managed to cram more youngsters into classrooms. They stopped repairing schools. They stuck parents with extra school fees. I could go on.

FINDING A ‘PATSY’ Part of this policy was finding a “patsy.” That’s the second win in the “win win.” Set up boards to deal with the horrible shortfalls caused by the lack of money. Take school boards, for example. They are responsible for allotting the pittance they’re given. Brilliant.

Holding the school board responsible for crumbling schools and crowded classrooms is roughly akin to giving you $20 bucks to care for my kids for the weekend.

All I have to do is come home Sunday night to see how you’ve done.

If they’re hungry, I can act annoyed

and disappointed because the kids are pale and listless.

The concept was easily explained to even the dimmest politician. Who could resist?

Quick — name a member of the school board. Right. They’re the patsies. The high-profile minister just has to look busy. And it saves money. Sweet.

Now we have the prospect of the opposite scenario. We may be facing prosperity. Danny Williams wants to repeat Roger Grimes’ “whatever tour” across Canada. He wants “our money” for “us.” He might just get it. Maybe I have in the past made a practice of taking the piss out of our Danny. If I have, frankly, it’s mostly because I am lazy and it’s too easy. But like most Newfoundlanders, I support him — 100 per cent. You go boy.

But what if he is successful?

What if he gets the big dollars?

What’s to be done? The same political culture that is so immature that it races to the airport to “greet” Danny as a conquering hero is going to have some awfully big expectations. The same Newfoundland nationalists who drone on about our lot in Confederation are going to look to Danny and his

crowd for a lot. And they are going to think it’s “theirs.” That could turn bad fast. We may be accustomed to the whip, but the champagne might go to our heads.

I had the pleasure of meeting Globe and Mail columnist Jeffrey Simpson a few weeks back. He said that ... no region had any use for any other part of Canada (or Ottawa) and that each region was sure it was being screwed by the rest of us.

I had the pleasure of meeting Globe and Mail columnist Jeffrey Simpson a few weeks back. What he said found resonance in all the columns and op-ed pieces I have been reading. He said that having criss-crossed this country for the past 20 years, the only thing he could say with any assurance about Canada is that no region had any

use for any other part of Canada (or Ottawa) and that each region was sure it was being screwed by the rest of us.

Sound familiar? That’s not to say that I don’t think that Ottawa is rooking us. I do. What I am saying is that makes me a Canadian. Newfoundland nationalists don’t want to hear this, but they are uniquely Canadian. That they think they — and we — are special and different is what makes them so tediously similar to Pequistes, Albertan Firsts, Reformers and a host of other malcontents. It isn’t unique.

It’s Canadian.

What is unique about Newfoundland politics is the passion, and it’s nasty underbelly, the vindictiveness. Just as they’ll pin all their hopes and dreams on you, so will they pin their insecurities.

Here’s a warning note to Danny Williams in his struggle to better all our lots. Did you happen to notice, amidst all the flag waving and cheering , the stunned look on John Efford’s face? Take a careful look at that expression. You’ll be wearing it yourself next week if you aren’t careful.

Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com

Letters to the Editor

‘New meaning to endangerment’ Dear editor, Referring to the editorial cartoon (The Independent’s Oct. 31Nov. 6 edition), I have to wonder.

The “endangered species” — is this the fish, or the fishery worker?

Both should be added to the COSEWIC agenda. Until foreign countries understand the words conservation and regulation, both codfish and industry people will be endangered.

Further to the cartoon, on the taste of cod, pending a point of view, the package of fresh frozen cod that I recently purchased, with packaging to suggest that it was produced by a local or eastern Canadian plant, was actually processed and packaged in China.

Just imagine, the only fresh frozen cod that morning at the market was a foreign product. I, and others, should watch these labels closely, and refuse to purchase as such.

A whole new meaning to endangerment, when the only available product to purchase, bears foreign production!

Dan Brewer Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s

Page 6

S

NEWS

The Independent, November 7, 2004

Don’t eat the brown acid

pelling — the anti-drug.

In my Oct. 24 column, I spelt Led Zeppelin wrong — the second e was left out.

The 1970s were a hard decade on the old brain synapses. It’s amazing that those of us who lived through that decade can even remember to wake up. The ’70s should have come with a warning label: you will forever feel drowsy and never again be able to safely operate heavy machinery.

The ’70s were the hangover from the psychedelic ’60s, and the disco ’80s were penance for both.

They say if you remember the ’60s then you weren’t there.

“Don’t eat the brown acid,” they cried from the stage at Woodstock. Damn, at least the acid was colour-coded in the ’60s — mental note, brown is bad. In the ’70s they put pictures of Mickey Mouse on the little pieces of blotter paper. Acid — or so I’m told, officer — comes on pieces of blotter paper. The chemical, called LSD, is absorbed into the blotter paper and then sold with various images on it.

Honestly, I always thought The Beatles song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was about, well, jewelry.

To this day friends of mine don’t dare take their kids to see the figure-skating extravaganza Disney on Ice for fear of what might happen.

They’re not the least bit interested in explaining to the authorities why they acted on an overwhelming urge to jump the boards, run onto the ice, attack Mickey Mouse and begin licking his face uncontrollably while screaming something about a white rabbit — not to mention explaining it to their kids. “Daddy wasn’t trying to

Opinions Are Like...

JEFF DUCHARME hurt Mickey Mouse. He was just trying to re-live part of his youth, hun.”

But none of the above comments are meant to support or defend drug abuse even if it can be marked on the stupidity side of youth’s balance sheet. We all have a friend who didn’t make it out of the 1960s or ’70s in one piece.

You know the ones, they refuse to admit vinyl albums are dead as a music format and wear Birkenstock sandals every chance they get.

My buddy was named Peter. He once spent a winter at his parents’ remote cottage living on nothing but tree bark and berries. By the time we picked him up in the spring, he had named all the trees and regularly had spiritual conversations with a number of the squirrels. The last I heard, Peter was driving an 18-wheeler in Ontario — I now pull over when I see a transport truck with Ontario plates anywhere near me, just to be safe.

By the sounds of some of the Halloween antics in Saskatoon, Sask., Peter may have moved there.

TRICK OR TREAT A parent in Saskatoon had to do some fancy verbal dancing to explain to his young son why some people do what they do when out trick-or-treating. With his nine-year-old son and a couple of friends in tow, the group received an unexpected and

unwelcome treat — cans of beer.

“I suppose a 16-year-old might appreciate it, but my kid and his buddies just thought it was kind of odd,” said the father of one of the boys.

The 53-year-old man who handed out the cans of beer was charged with distributing alcohol to minors.

In another part of the Prairie town, a 16-year-old girl decided that she’d had enough of walking and decided to borrow a set of wheels. Noticing an ambulance idling outside a house, the teen decided to steal it and go for a joyride. The wannabe ambulance

attendant was tracked down some 30 minutes later using a global positioning device carried by many ambulances in that province.

One mature trick-or-treater decided that the age-old, tried and true practice of egging a house that ran out of candy just wasn’t good enough. The man barged into the house and tried to pick a fight with the homeowners because they had run out of candy.

Police believe the man was threesheets-to-the-wind at the time of the indiscretion. The guy must have been trick-or-treating on the street where they were handing

out the free beer.

In Saskatoon there were also seven candy muggings reported — two at the point of a knife.

It makes one pine for the days when ticked off trick-or-treaters would express their frustration by lovingly hanging rolls and rolls of Cottonelle in the branches of a homeowner’s trees.

By the way, if, by chance, you do run into a very large white rabbit, tell ’em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call.

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

‘An important lesson for everyone’

‘It’s time’

From page 1 much and I think that view is quite wrong,” says Stanford.

He admits that even he was surprised by the findings.

“I found it surprising to stretch my own mind, because like it or not you’re always going to be influenced by the stereotypes that you read in the paper … I think that’s an important lesson for everyone in both Newfoundland and the mainland to think about.”

According to Statistics Canada, more than 13,000 people left the province in 2004. Ontario saw the greatest influx of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians — 5,200.

An estimated 3,400 moved to Alberta.

“The social engineers who run our EI program and other social programs almost think it’s a good thing for young Newfoundlanders to pack up and move elsewhere, but that, in fact, amounts to a subsidy measured in the tens of billions to the mainland economy.”

Paul Daly/The Independent

Former provincial Tory cabinet minister Tom Hickey is one of the founders of the new Newfoundland and Labrador First Party, which plans to run candidates in the next federal election. He says the party won’t be officially registered until next year. The group held a news conference Nov. 5 in St. John’s.

VARIED COSTS Stanford says that the loss of the province’s workforce costs the province in a multitude of ways.

“These are skilled, able-bodied workers who’ve been born, bred and trained at the public’s expense in Newfoundland who will go off and devote the prime

productive years of their lives to Alberta and other provinces,” says Stanford.

The largest hit to the province’s population was in 1998 when 16,882 left for the mainland.

“When the youngest and most productive members of your society start leaving, you really face an uphill battle to try and generate enough domestic momentum to keep your economy moving forward.”

Ivan Emke, a sociologist with Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook, says outmigration isn’t so much the issue as the lack of immigration.

“Even Toronto, with all the luxuries and the seductions, they have outmigration,” says Emke.

“The majority of their young people leave, but the thing is they have huge numbers of people coming in and taking their place.”

In 2003, 11,665 people moved into the province, but outmigration outpaced immigration leaving the province on the minus side of the ledger by almost 2,000 people.

Stanford says there’s no easy solutions. “… you need a well-rounded understanding of the problem and for mainlanders getting a better understanding means starting to recognize and appreciate what Newfoundland gives us as well as the other way around.”

The Independent, November 7, 2004

NEWS

Page 7

‘Reason for hope’ Ex-premier Frank Moores on the Atlantic Accord, upper Churchill, resettlement, separation, and the ‘Mary Walshes’

By Ryan Cleary The Independent

I

“It’s an unfair yardstick. With the population of Newfoundland and with the resources we have we should be the most have province in Canada,” he says.

“There’s more reason for hope in Newfoundland today than there’s been anytime since — forget Confederation — but anytime since it was discovered for that matter.”

“The upper Churchill is the equivalent of 150,000 barrels of oil a day. They were sold to Quebec for less than $3 a barrel.

If it wasn’t for that (deal) we would be a have province.”

COSTLY MISTAKE — Former Premier Moores took over the reins of power in Frank Moores

t’s only now, 24 years after walking away from the office of premier of Newfoundland, that Frank Duff Moores will freely answer the hard questions.

His chief frustration with trying to turn the province around for the seven years (1972-1979) he served as premier?

“Not knowing what to do about it,” Moores tells The Independent. the province from the late Joey Smallwood, “The biggest frustration was the limita- who ruled the province with an iron hand tion on what you could do. People always for 22 years. Moores says the most costly wanted to hear how things were going to be mistake the province ever made was signbetter. That’s a very difficult thing ing the upper Churchill contract, FINDING THE to say when you can’t see yourself which sees Quebec walk away with how they’re going to get much betan estimated $1 billion a year in Cost benefit analysis ter,” he says. profit — compared to the province, of Confederation “I’m admitting stuff now I never which makes little or nothing. admitted when I was in politics, but it’s “The upper Churchill is the equivalent of absolutely true … I mean, you were stuck. 150,000 barrels of oil a day. They were sold There was never enough money to do what to Quebec for less than $3 a barrel,” he had to be done, and there was never any- says. “If it wasn’t for that (deal) we would thing on the horizon that would show us the be a have province.”

Moores says the worst idea he had as preway.” mier was to buy Brinco’s interest in CFLco MOORES SEES HOPE (Churchill Falls Labrador Corporation), the Retired for 15 years, Moores, 71, sees a company that runs the upper Churchill difference in Newfoundland and Labrador hydro project, for $160 million in 1974. today — hope. He agrees with the stand “We thought we could pressure the fedPremier Danny Williams is taking regard- eral government to pressure Quebec into ing the Atlantic Accord and offshore rev- giving us access or a straight line from enues, stressing how the issue is “misun- Churchill to New York or Ontario or wherderstood” by the mainland press. ever,” says Moores.

“They say it’s going to be eight years “We couldn’t get it because there were 75 until we get up to the level of Ontario. Well, seats in Quebec and we had seven. And Jesus, do they ever say to Ontario you’ve that’s why it didn’t happen.” got to keep it down until you get to the level The province, today, is still pressuring of Newfoundland?” Moores asks.

Ottawa — these days for a better deal on

BALANCE

provincial offshore resource revenues.

Besides the fishery, the province’s “big future” is tied to natural resource development and secondary processing. “You take Voisey’s Bay. The smelter is one thing. If we get that we’ll be fine. But Jesus, it would be an awful lot better, we’d make an Stu Moores/photo awful lot more money if we were shipping Frank Moores out pots and pans.”

And just why hasn’t that happened yet?

“What happened was you took a popula“Because we’ve given it all away,” says tion of people who were totally indepenMoores, who gives Prime Minister Paul dent. They built their own homes, they had Martin credit for giving provinces more no mortgages, they had a way of life that autonomy than his predecessors. “If he gave them a living … they were taken and (Martin) doesn’t give totally, he’ll give 90 whacked up in the bottom of Placentia Bay per cent.” … they were put in a house, they were Equally as important as a better deal on passed a mortgage. They were told there offshore resources, however, is the was no jobs for them so all of a sudden they province’s success at attracting industry. couldn’t practice their own living,” Moores Moores says it’s the job of private indus- says. try to stoke the economy.

“So they sat at home with a mortgage “What happens in Newfoundland, of over their heads waiting for social assiscourse, is we’re on the dole. Our way of life tance. Now the problem with that was that depends entirely on how much Ottawa is the kids, they grew up under social assisgoing to give us. That’s not a healthy way,” tance and never knew anything else. That Moores says, adding dependence began Continued on page 9 with the resettlement program of the 1960s.

Page 8

NEWS

The Independent, November 7, 2004

‘This is our government’ But few federal jobs here; critics say that must change

By Jeff Ducharme The Independent

Premier’s grandstanding has little credibility; Williams’ sight set on wrong target: economist

T

he federal government directly employs almost half as many people as the population of Newfoundland and Labrador.

As of 2003, the FINDING THE total number of civil servants on benefit analysis the federal payroll Cost of Confederation was 268,372.

The total number of federal jobs in this province is 5,528 or 2.1 per cent.

St. John’s had the lion’s share with 4,405 of the jobs. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and Customs and Revenue Canada are the main federal employers in this province.

Of the 50 federal Crown corporations, none have head offices in this province — including Marine Atlantic and the Hibernia Holding Corporation.

Liberal Humber-St.Barbe-Baie Verte MP Gerry Byrne says things have to change.

“Ottawa tends to look at the Atlantic as one big region when it’s really four very unique, separate provinces,” Byrne tells The Independent.

He points to the federal government’s relocation of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs to Charlottetown, PEI, as an example of how jobs can make a huge impact in a province with a small population. In 1976, the federal government moved the department to PEI, creating almost 850 jobs. In 1999, the department alone contributed more than $70 million to Charlottetown’s economy.

“The place is booming,” says Byrne. The economic spin offs that that’s created and the economic engine that has created in PEI is phenomenal.”

BALANCE

‘DISGRACEFUL’ LACK OF JOBS Reg Anstey, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour, calls the lack of federal jobs in this province “disgraceful.

“Again, we lead the nation in the wrong categories,” says Anstey. “We have the lowest number of federal jobs per capita in Canada.”

St. John’s South MP Conservative MP Loyola Hearn says this province isn’t even a blip on the federal gov-

By Jeff Ducharme The Independent

A

Paul Daly/The Independent

Federal workers picket outside federal office in early fall. They have since returned to work.

ernment’s radar screen when it comes to lucrative civil service jobs.

“This is our government. We’re all supposed to be part of it.”

Natural Resources Minister John Efford is also taking heat for the lack of federal jobs — with his department specifically — in the province.

St. John’s Mayor Andy Wells has been trying for the better part of a year to get an answer from Efford.

“I thought that under the Atlantic Accord that the federal offices having to do with the administration or the development of our offshore would be located in Newfoundland and Labrador,” Wells says.

The text of the Accord reads: “The Government of Canada shall establish in this province, where possible, regional offices with appropriate levels of decision making for all departments directly involved in activities relating to the offshore area” Efford, who has been taking heat for his unwavering support of Prime Minister Paul Martin over changes to the Atlantic Accord, didn’t respond to a request for an interview.

According to Natural Resources Canada, the department has 4,638 employees in Canada. As of press time, officials couldn’t provide the numbers of employees in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Canadian Forest Service, a branch of Efford’s department, employs 1,042 across the country, with 24 employees in

this province.

“We pay into a pot that pays all these federal jobs and they don’t put any of these federal jobs here and it really is terrible,” says Anstey.

Provincial and federal politicians have long tried to convince the federal government that the headquarters for Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) should be located in the province it serves the most — Newfoundland and Labrador.

Two years ago, Byrne presented a proposal to move DFO out of Ottawa and into the regions it serves.

Had the proposal been accepted, 350 jobs would have come to this province.

But those jobs still wouldn’t have made up for the cuts between 1992 and 2002 when 5,000 federal jobs were axed in this province alone — more than one third. Much of those job losses came as part of the federal government’s program review of the 1990s. Over the same 10-year period, Ontario saw a 12 per cent reduction, and Manitoba was hit with a 30 per cent drop. During that decade, the civil service across the country was slashed by an average of almost 20 per cent.

“It was a mistake,” says Byrne.

“There should have been better coordination.”

Most of the jobs were centralized in Halifax, N.S., Moncton, N.B., Fredericton, N.B., and Ottawa.

n economist with the Canadian Auto Workers’ union says Premier Danny Williams is pointing his gun at the wrong crowd.

Jim Stanford says the real issue the province should be dealing with is corporate profit — specifically when it comes to the offshore oil industry. He contends that Newfoundland and Labrador is currently losing on equalization payments — not so much because of federal government clawbacks — but because of the royalty regime that was negotiated with the oil companies.

As oil production rises and profits from the offshore drive up the province’s gross domestic product (GDP), the federal government reduces equalization. Standford contends that much of the GDP growth never makes it to this province, ending up in the pockets of corporations in Alberta and Texas.

“When they negotiated those royalty contracts, which were very sweet, no one was thinking about $55-a-barrel oil,” Stanford tells The Independent. “So the oil companies are making a fortune on Hibernia and the other offshore developments.”

Stanford says he has “no sympathy” for Williams or his “political grandstanding.

“He (Williams) is the one who wants to give it all away to corporations in a futile effort to catch some trickle-down benefits and the proof’s already in the pudding with the oil problem, that you can get great boosts in GDP and a tiny, tiny fraction of that trickling down to Newfoundlanders’ pockets,” says Stanford.

Former premier Brian Peckford’s Tory government did much of the negotiations with the oil companies — not Williams.

But those royalty regimes remain in place.

From 1998 to 2003, overall corporate profits went up by 400 per cent in the province while salaries only grew by 29 per cent.

“This is the most lopsided business-oriented pattern of economic growth I have ever seen in Canadian history.”

Since 1997, says Stanford, half of all GDP growth in the province has gone to corporations and their shareholders. The province’s increase in GDP was 6.5 per cent in 2003, but it has steadily declined and is forecasted to be 1.2 per cent by 2005.

The federal government, says Stanford, should be taken to task, but he says Williams will have to do some “hard bargaining” if he wants to go after the largest drain on the province’s offshore profits — corporations. “… the federal equalization payments to Newfoundland are being reduced as a result of income that ends up in Alberta — not Newfoundland,” says Stanford. “That is an incredibly unfair and painful problem and it reflects both the dependence of Newfoundland’s economy on those offshore resources and the mainland control of those resources.”

The Independent, November 7, 2004

NEWS

Page 9

Out of step

Armed forces spending in province isn’t what it should be: Doyle

By Jeff Ducharme The Independent

N

ewfoundlanders and Labradorians have always shown a huge commitment to the Canadian Armed Forces, but FINDING THE some politicians contend benefit analysis the forces aren’t Cost of Confederation making enough of a commitment to the province.

BALANCE

DOESN’T ADD UP St. John’s South Conservative MP Norm Doyle says it just doesn’t add up. “… the infrastructure that should be put in place in Newfoundland should reflect the kind of contribution that we’re making to the overall military,” Doyle tells The Independent.

The Department of National Defence has 604 regular forces personnel spread across the province, plus 128 civilian personnel and 1,072 part-time reservists. The annual payroll is approximately $5.4 million.

“On a per capita basis, we have more people in the military than anywhere else in Canada.”

The forces spend 1.1 per cent ($256 per resident) of its total budget of $12.4 billion in Newfoundland and Labrador, compared to 7.2 per cent ($1,752 per resident) in Nova Scotia. Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Yukon bring up the rear, each barely even registering.

PEI and Saskatchewan also place behind Newfoundland and

Labrador in total spending. This province, however, rests on the edge of the North Atlantic, closest to the action in terms of the navy.

In 2002, the forces spent a total of $131 million in the province, plus another $812,000 on rangers and cadets.

“I think it’s time the federal government to put some sober thought into recognizing that contribution and putting more infrastructure in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.”

Doyle says considering the province’s port infrastructure and location, the navy would be wise to locate a number of frigates here.

The main naval base is located in Halifax.

“It’s been there since about 1750 and the fact is that in today’s current environment to establish a larger presence in St. John’s for the east coast fleet, the cost would be exorbitant and unfortunately it is cost prohibitive,” says Lieutenant Commander Kent Penney, spokesman for the Department of National Defence.

Each year DND pumps a total of $1.25 billion into Atlantic Canada.

REGULAR VISITS Penney says while there may be no ships based in Newfoundland and Labrador, ships regularly visit St. John’s after coastal patrols or when returning from missions abroad such as Afghanistan. Depending on circumstances, navy ships often buy supplies such as fuel and provisions when in St. John’s

“When they are there for rest and recreation, you know they are in the community, tourist shops, Gorge Street, movies, all these things have a residual effect,” says Penney.

In Labrador, total expenditures for 5 Wing Goose Bay in 2002 were $93.5 million — spilt between Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Germany and Canada.

Those countries use the base as a low-level training site. The Netherlands pulled out in 2003.

Germany and Britain have announced they will be no longer be operating permanent detachments out of 5 Wing Goose Bay by the end of 2005, leaving the future of the base unclear. Goose Bay is home to the 444 Squadron, one of five combat support squadrons fulfilling a variety of roles within the air force. The squadron is the only DND operational presence at the base.

Federal Defense Minister William Graham declined requests for an interview.

The forces also have a number of reserve units across the province including St. John’s, Corner Brook, Grand Falls-Windsor, and Gander.

While the Canadian government doesn’t pay taxes, it does make a total yearly payment of $4.7 million to various communities in the province where they maintain infrastructure.

Doyle says a larger Canadian Armed Forces presence here would do more than just recognize Newfoundlanders and Labradorians commitment to the armed

Paul Daly/The Independent

The HMCS Toronto is welcomed back to St John’s after a tour of duty in the Persian Gulf.

forces.

“It would certainly help the province’s overall fiscal situation too,” says Doyle.

Penney, whose wife is from St. John’s, says he knows first-hand how important Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are to the forces. “… and you know the navy has a long-standing love affair with the people of Newfoundland, and St. John’s in particular … the fact

that a segment of the population would like to see a larger presence is only seen as being supportive and I don’t know of anybody in the forces that wouldn’t see that as welcome,” says Penney.

“You know, my mother-in-law would very much like to see a large naval base established in St. John’s and in my six-year marriage I have had to hear that argument quite a bit.”

‘I’m a Newfoundlander before I am a Canadian’ From page 7 group of Newfoundlanders, that set them back 100 years.”

Moores says resettlement wasn’t only the province’s biggest social mistake, “it was the cruellest thing we ever did.”

As premier, Moores advocated rural development and provincial control of natural resources, as well as economic development.

“

”

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L ET ’S TALK ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS

Deanne Legrow Commercial Sales Executive

Who says small businesses require little insurance attention?

We certainly don’t In the past 26 years we’ve worked with the smallest

CLEARED OF SCANDAL He left politics in 1979 to reenter business and become a lobbyist. In 1983, he helped organize Brian Mulroney’s successful federal Progressive Conservative leadership campaign. He served as an advisor to Mulroney while he was prime minister. In 1987, Moores became chairman of Government Consultants International, a powerful international lobby group. In the 1990s he was caught up in the Airbus scandal but was ultimately cleared.

Today, Moores lives about 40 kilometres north of Kingston on the Rideau Lake system. “I have to have water to look at,” he says.

“I feel like getting a couple of dump truck loads of salt to fill in the bay here.”

He’s currently in the process of preparing his biography (“You’ll read a lot about home”). Moores maintains close ties to the province, returning about four times a year. When Moores was a

boy he went to a private school north of Toronto at St. Andrew’s College. On March 31, 1949, with the entire student body assembled in the dining hall, Moores — along with John and Andrew Crosbie — stood on a table and sang the Ode to Newfoundland.

“You’re damn right I did,” says Moores, who, along with his family, was pro-Confederation. “(But) I’m a Newfoundlander first. I’m a Newfoundlander before I am a Canadian.

“We got lots of boos but we gave lots of fingers, too.”

Moores brings up the subject of separation. He says if the upper Churchill contract had worked out in the province’s favour, and Newfoundland and Labrador was still being given a hard time about offshore revenues, “I would say Newfoundland’s attitude towards separation would be stronger than Quebec’s.”

Moores says it doesn’t take much to get a “Newfoundlander’s independence up” because “we are independent.

“I don’t think we’re ready for it yet, but I sure as hell wouldn’t put it on the backburner either. Jesus Christ, here I am living in Ontario, I may not be allowed outside the gate if that gets published.

“As long as we can keep our culture, as long as we can keep the Mary Walshes alive, we’re OK.”

Page 10

NEWS

The Independent, November 7, 2004

Townie ‘Q’ tip for Corner Brook

W

hen has Corner Brook ever cheered for St. John’s?

Hardly ever, you say. Maybe there are a few die-hard Maple Leaf fans out here on the west coast who supported the Baby Buds when they were still considered “Newfoundland’s team.”

But have you ever heard of Corner Brook fans cheering on a St. John’s team that doesn’t even exist yet?

That’s exactly what’s happening these days. Now that the Baby Buds are gone (in spirit, if not in body), St. John’s has turned its affection to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The league will expand to the capital city next year, and Corner Brook is fully behind the bid.

Corner Brook itself has lusted after the Q for many years. When St. John’s gets a team, then that would improve Corner Brook’s chances of landing one. Or so some people on the west coast hope.

The Q might look seriously at Corner Brook if it wants to make it more economically viable for other teams to travel to Newfoundland. If your team is travelling all the way from Rimouski, the argument goes, wouldn’t it make more sense to play two teams here instead of one?

West Words FRANK CARROLL Also, since there is already a built-in rivalry between St. John’s and Corner Brook, a west coast team might make the St. John’s team more viable by generating more interest throughout the province.

Corner Brook first began eyeing the Q when it was building the Canada Games Centre, now known as the Pepsi Centre.

The project was controversial.

While federal transfers and provincial operating grants were being cut, the city seemed to be tightening its purse strings in every respect but one — the Canada Games and its promised legacy.

WHITE ELEPHANT The Canada Games Centre was a big part of that legacy. Yet, many people in Corner Brook believed it would be a white elephant, an albatross or whatever clichéd animal metaphor you prefer.

In a certain sense, their fears have been confirmed. This year

The Shipping News

Alex Gordon in St. John’s Harbour.

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, NOVEMBER 1 Vessels arrived: ASL Sanderling, Canada, from Halifax; Atlantic Eagle, Canada, from Terra Nova; Teleost, Canada, from Sea. Vessels departed: Maersk Chignecto, Canada, to Glomar Grand Banks;Algoscotia, Canada, to Halifax; Atlantic Eagle, Canada, to Terra Nova Oil Field.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2 Vessels arrived: Burin Sea, Canada, from Terra Nova Oil Field Vessels departed: None

Paul Daly/The Independent

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3 Vessels arrived: Maersk Placentia, Canada, from Hibernia; Maersk Chancellor, Canada, from White Rose Field.

Vessels departed: Maersk Challenger, Canada, to White Rose Field; Maersk Norseman, Canada, to Hibernia.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4 Vessels arrived: None Vessels departed: Burin Sea, Canada, to Terra Nova Oil Field; Teleost, Canada, to Sea. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5 Vessels arrived: Planeta, Russia from sea.

Vessels departed: Cicero, Canada, to Montreal; Sir Wilfred Grenfell, Canada to sea.

alone, city taxpayers were projected to subsidize the civic centre to the tune of $640,000. The city slowed the bleeding a little by striking a 10-year, $500,000 deal with Pepsi. But that would still put this year’s projected deficit — and I stress projected — at around $590,000.

for towns and small cities such as Corner Brook.

The Q has a much better track record in Atlantic Canada than the American Hockey League ever did. With higher player salaries, the AHL was too costly

BEYOND THE BOTTOM LINE It’s important to look at more than the bottom line. The City of Corner Brook is getting something out of its investment — a quality recreational facility for the city’s citizens, especially its children. But those $600,000 deficits add up after a while.

So, it’s easy to understand why some people in Corner Brook are so excited about the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

For the uninitiated, the Q is one of a handful of elite junior hockey leagues across the country. The players, many of them destined for the National Hockey League, do not make big bucks.

Many of them board in the towns where they play and some take courses at local colleges.

Since the Q teams are not burdened with high player salaries, the games tend to be more affordable for the average hockey fan.

And that makes the league more accessible — and profitable —

For the uninitiated, the Q is one of a handful of elite junior hockey leagues across the country. The players, many of them destined for the National Hockey League, do not make big bucks.

Many of them board in the towns where they play and some take courses at local colleges.

for casual fans. And it seems that once an AHL team gets sight of a greener pasture, it bolts at the first opportunity. Ask any heartbroken fan in Halifax, Sydney, Fredericton, Saint John or St. John’s.

Actually, fans in Halifax and Cape Breton aren’t heartbroken at all. The Q has been a better fit

than the AHL in both places.

With the Mooseheads and Screaming Eagles drawing good crowds, I don’t think the Citadels or the Oilers are missed at all.

Smaller communities than Corner Brook have landed Q teams. At last count, Bathurst, New Brunswick, had a population of about 13,000 while Corner Brook had around 20,000 citizens. The Acadie-Bathurst Titans have been a huge hit since moving to the town in 1998.

But the Titans’ success underscores one of Corner Brook’s challenges. Notice the hyphenated name: Acadie-Bathurst. The Titans’ fan base is regional, drawing from the Acadian Peninsula as well as from Bathurst and its neighbouring communities.

In order to be successful, a Corner Brook-based team would have to draw on regional support.

That means Corner Brook might have to swallow its pride and settle for a regional name — something like the West Coast Wind.

After all, when have Stephenville or Deer Lake ever rooted for Corner Brook?

Frank Carroll is a journalism instructor at the Stephenvillecampus of the College of the North Atlantic. frank_carroll_nf.yahoo.ca

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November 7, 2004

Page 11

‘Between the lines’

Musical drama based on First World War letters sent from soldiers to women they left behind

By Clare-Marie Gosse The Independent

W

riters Sandy Mackay and John Meir used research and material from hundreds of real-life love letters written during the First World War to build the script for Two Minutes of Silence — A Pittance of Time, inspired by Newfoundland singer/songwriter Terry Kelly’s song, A Pittance of Time.

The musical drama, soon to tour the province, features local actors Brad Hodder and Sara Tilley in the two principal roles. The script unravels around the emotional inadequacy of letters — all John and Elsie have to span their separation — and private monologues revealing the newlyweds’ true frustrations and pain.

The First World War saga features original live music, as well as some well-known war songs. Kelly performs centre stage with musicians

Floyd King and Trevor Mills. They’re flanked by Tilley and Hodder in emotional time capsules.

The unique and moving production explores the unspoken pain behind so many written words. Elsie, the lonely sender of socks and chocolate, privately rages and sobs at the insignificance of her gestures, and John realizes the impossibility of ever describing to her the suicide of fighting at the front, the friends dead, the rats, the lice, the stench.

“They never really told one another what was actually going on because they were being protective of one another and in the letters we get to read between the lines,” Kelly tells The Independent. “We figured the letters would have an emotional hold — everybody knows what that feels like on some level … everybody knows what it’s like to be away from someone.”

Photos by Paul Daly / Story by Clare-Marie Gosse

Continued on page 12

Page 12

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Remembrance From page 11 Kelly is a well-loved Canadian celebrity, known for his award-winning singing and songwriting, his athletic achievements, professional and motivational speaking, and perhaps, most notably, his energy for life. Kelly contracted eye cancer as an infant, and his family in St. John’s made the difficult but ultimately rewarding decision to send him at the age of seven to the Halifax School for the Blind, which nurtured a love for music and his love for a challenge.

Last year he was awarded the Order of Canada.

The inspiration for his song, which, in turn, inspired the performance, Two Minutes of Silence — A Pittance of Time, came four years ago when he witnessed a rowdy customer in Shoppers Drug Mart.

Out of respect for Remembrance Day, a request was made over the public address system for customers to join staff in two minutes of silence. One customer refused.

Angered by the experience, Kelly went home and started to compose.

“I have a venting mechanism by writing songs so I wrote a song in response to that. From that we put a music video together and then from that we got the idea to maybe put a show together.”

The tour kicked off with a special media preview at the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre Nov. 3. From there, the musical drama will be performed in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick before returning to Newfoundland and Labrador with multiple dates across the province, wrapping up back in St. John’s on Nov 21.

“This is a musical drama about remembrance,” says Kelly. “… and we chose to set this in the First World War because it was supposed to have been the war to end all wars but it was really a war that was the beginning of modern warfare as it were … airplanes were being used and explosives and bombs, so even though it was different from today, much is the same.”

Oct. 1, 1914, Canadian soldier at home My dearest Elsie, We have missed each other by just a few precious moments, but I can delay no longer. Orders came for us to report to Ottawa and from there to England … there is no time for me to properly put into words what you mean to me, Elsie. Suffice it to say, I love you and will miss you terribly. Please try not to worry…

Oct. 15, 1914, a pub in England … they certainly are a friendly lot over here. Within a couple of days we were on a first-name basis with all the barmaids … Albert made sure of that.

And is the beer here ever strong.

We have begun our training and will be leaving in a few days for a camp in the south of England. Sometime soon we will leave for France…

Nov. 8, 1914, home in Canada My dearest John, Received your letter this day. Glad to hear things have been going so … swimmingly. Happy to hear you and Albert are in high spirits … I won’t be able to rest easy until you are back in my arms. I think of you always and pray that you will return home safely …

April, 1916 My dearest John, … the news we are hearing is disturbing for everyone who has family overseas. I know that it must be hard for you my dearest to read some of my letters — but I have to be honest. It seems much you write to me has been censored, either that or you feel unable to put into words what you are feeling …

Nov. 3, 1916, Givenchy, France My darling Elsie, I am presently in a hospital unit many miles from the front following a near miss in the trenches … my wounds are not serious enough to get me sent home. The doctors think I will be fully recovered in a month or so. … as we have been in service for more than a year, we are now considered veterans. I am not looking forward to a return to the trenches and have requested a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps, as an observer …

Dec. 9, 1916, Canada My dearest John, With everything happening here it gets more and more difficult to write. I am sending some extra socks and chocolate for you to share with your friends. Another Christmas and no end in sight …

Feb. 27, 1917, Vimy Ridge, France My dearest Elsie, I received the latest parcel you sent. The socks will be most useful and the chocolate was particularly fine.

I was disappointed to find that most of your letter had been heavily censored. I know how upset you must have been by my last correspondence. It is impossible for me to know what you were trying to tell me, but I can imagine how you must feel. … it is an awful day here today with a heavy wind and the rain turning everything into mud. I go up to the front tonight for a short spell and I am hoping it will be my last turn up there.

Our boys have been training for months and something big will be taking place soon. There is a great feeling among the men here that we need to finish what we have started. Other wise … all that has taken place will have been for nothing … I need you to know that I love you … more than life itself.

April. 15, 1917, Canada My dearest John, I realize that we have been lying to one another. Our letters do not intend to deceive, however it seems more important that we speak of what we have in common, socks and chocolate, and not about the things we may never understand, life and death. … I have never doubted your love. Mine has grown immeasurably despite the fact that you are so far away. I know now that I have always loved you and always will.

Someday, I hope this world will be a better, happier and peaceful place. Until then, I will always keep my love for you close to my heart …

The Independent, November 7, 2004

The Independent, November 7, 2004

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The Independent, November 7, 2004

Gallery Audrey Feltham Printmaker

A

udrey Feltham says a person has a certain responsibility when looking at art, but in a world of instant satisfaction the obligation to learn something and take away a message is often lost in the schmooze and glitz of an art show.

“You want people to take away the very fragile nature of existence,” Feltham says. “You want people to really question what it is they’re doing with their life, where they’re going and what they value.”

Feltham says she’s found a way to stimulate an appreciation and contemplation of her art — the written word.

When Feltham completes a piece she searches for the most appropriate quote by an established writer — Emily Dickinson, Margaret Atwood and Philip Larkin, to name a few — and uses a small type size and an intricate font to impose the quote on each piece of art.

The tiny print forces the viewer to peer into the piece, as if to catch a glimpse of some deeper meaning.

“If you choose the quote first you tend to illustrate the quote, whereas if you do the image first and then you go to look for the quote you’re not book ended quite so much — you’re more open to choosing something that’s more evocative,” Feltham says.

A voracious reader with a degree in English literature, along with one in fine arts, Feltham says it’s easy for her to find an appropriate quote that fits with the tone of the print.

Her work has been labeled as feminist, a brand she’s not comfortable with.

Feltham says words like feminism carry “baggage.

“You don’t have a choice whether you’re born male or born female, but I think it does, in the long run, say something about how you approach the work you do.”

Born in Lethbridge, Atla. Feltham, who was once a teacher, now lives and works in Deer Lake.

After 12 years of working on her craft, Feltham, 57, says she’s just now gaining notoriety and beginning to sell some of her work — which never would have happened if not for her supportive husband, Jim. “You go eight (to) 10 years without getting much positive feedback … you sort of say to yourself ‘Am I doing the right thing?’ and Jim has always felt that it was never a matter of making work for commercial sale — it was a matter of making work because it was work that I felt that I needed to do.”

Feltham originally went to Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook to study fine art and thought she would declare her major in painting, but after her second year she says she fell in love with printmaking. Now she’s delving into her past and has once again picked up oil painting.

She says many of the images will be similar to those in her prints, but the texture and colour will be vastly different.

Her show Initmations is currently on display at the Christina Parker Gallery in St. John’s.

— 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

November 7, 2004

BUSINESS & COMMERCE

Page 15

Paul Daly/The Independent

Federal Conservative leader Stephen Harper on Signal hill during pre-election visit.

‘Vote against the government’ Conservative leader Stephen Harper ‘happy’ for government to call election over Accord

By Sue Dyer For The Independent

C

onservative leader Stephen Harper says his party would be prepared to go to the polls over the dispute on the Atlantic Accord.

“I’m certainly prepared to vote against the government on this regardless of the consequences. If it’s non-confidence, it’s non-confidence,” Harper tells The Independent from Ottawa. “If government wants to hold an election on this issue I’d be happy to have one.

“The government is obliged to fulfill its commitment here. I don’t believe a government that blatantly lies to people on important issues should be retaining office.”

MOTION IN THE HOUSE The Conservatives put forward a motion in the House of Commons last week calling on the Liberal government to fulfill a commitment made prior to the June 28th election promising Newfoundland and Labrador retention of 100 per cent of provincial offshore revenues.

In recent weeks Martin and his government have put strings on the original offer, including a cap on overall revenues and a time limit of eight years.

A vote on the Conservative motion has been deferred.

In an exclusive interview, Harper says the Newfoundland and Labrador MPs have to make a choice between their party and their province. He says Conservative MPs, along with the New

Democrats, are behind Premier Danny Williams in his demand that Martin live up to his original commitment.

Liberal and Bloc Québécois MPs are rumoured to be joining forces to defeat the motion.

“Shamefully, the government is

trying to line up the Bloc to save its bacon on this. But the question, I think, is really for Liberal members: are they going to let the Bloc Québécois vote down commitments to their own region of the country?”

Harper and Williams are in

agreement that Newfoundland and Labrador should be able to keep 100 per cent of provincial offshore resource revenues. They differ, however, on exactly how that should be done.

Williams wants 100 per cent of provincial oil and gas revenues.

Harper takes the stand that all non-renewable resources — on land and under the sea — should be removed from the equalization formula.

“The hope is if you leave the resource royalties there, they will generate over time much larger permanent revenue flows in other areas, which is what the experience in Alberta has been,” Harper says.

FISCAL CAPACITY The question has been raised why Newfoundland and Labrador should exceed the fiscal capacity of Ontario and still retain its equalization. The federal government takes the stand that equalization and offshore revenues should not exceed the fiscal capacity of Ontario.

Harper disagrees, saying that in order to get ahead, all revenues should be used to generate economic growth.

“Clawing back the revenue today is not going to accomplish that. It will accomplish the opposite.”

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BUSINESS

The Independent, November 7, 2004

EI, EI, oh Newfoundlanders take a lot more from Employment Insurance fund than they pay in

By Alisha Morrissey The Independent

W

hen it comes to the Employment Insurance (EI) fund, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians take out a lot more than they FINDING THE pay in — almost double. benefit analysis The EI sys- Cost of Confederation tem isn’t funded by the federal government. Rather, it’s paid for solely with contributions by employees and employers across Canada.

A conservative estimate of the total premiums paid in by employees and employers in the province in 2000 has been pegged at $340 million. At the same time, $719 million was paid out in benefits — mostly to seasonal workers.

The outstanding 50 per cent of EI benefits are covered by contributions from other provinces.

The calculations were made by The Independent using figures provided by Human Resources Canada, which runs the EI program.

The federal government tinkered with the EI system in 1997, making it harder for seasonal workers to qualify for benefits. Those changes — which were highly unpopular given the province’s seasonal workforce — were later reversed.

Larry Welsh, spokesman for the Public Service Alliance of Canada, says seasonal workers shouldn’t be penalized.

“It (seasonal work) is a necessity — you can only do minimal construction, road work, construction like that, anything on the water, in the summer. You can’t do that in the winter … or only do it minimally,” Welsh tells The Independent.

Conservative MP Loyola Hearn says seasonal workers who draw EI every year are “getting back way more then they pay in,” and people in Alberta or Ontario may not understand the rationale.

Welsh says it’s unfair to assume that workers in the province prefer seasonal employment.

“I don’t think people really recognize the fact that seasonal work is not just because people only want to work for four or six or eight months a year. It’s because that’s the only time you can do it.”

As of August, 2004, approximately 38,000 people in the province were receiving income benefits — com-

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Paul Daly/The Independent

The Employment Insurance office in east end St. John’s.

pared to 182,000 in Quebec and 137,000 in Ontario.

Newfoundland and Labrador has had the highest unemployment rate every year since 1997, averaging 17 per cent.

On average, a Canadian receives $308 in benefits a week.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, the average weekly benefits total $298. Nova Scotians receive the lowest average weekly benefit at $287. The highest average weekly benefit is recorded in the Northwest Territories — $386 per week.

EI STOCKPILE Through premiums paid by employees across the country, the federal government has stockpiled a massive EI surplus. Federal government officials contacted by The Independent could not provide an exact amount, but it’s estimated to be in the $40-billion to $50-billion range.

Reg Anstey, president of the province’s federation of labour, accuses the federal government of “stealing” the EI surpluses.

Hearn says a small surplus is needed in case there’s a downturn in the economy or a major failure in an industry.

“Whether it be the car industry in Ontario, whether it be the fishery as we’ve seen in Newfoundland, where you get excess of demands on the EI fund, you need a little bit of a blanket there, but you don’t need $40 billion bucks,” says Hearn.

He estimates the account takes in up to $10 billion a year in EI surplus.

Hearn says EI contributions, made by both the employee and employer (who pays 1.4 per cent times that of the employee) are too high and he’d like to see lower premiums.

In the 2002/2003 fiscal year there was a decrease in premiums paid by 10 cents. Benefits, meantime, were boosted by 2.5 per cent.

Anstey disagrees with Hearn, saying premiums don’t need to be lowered. He argues EI needs to be reformed.

“Most unemployed Canadians

now don’t even qualify for this fund. So they (the federal government) stole the money and now they want to talk about cutting back on the premiums to employers,” Anstey says.

UPGRADING AND TRAINING “What really should be done is to move the plan back to what it was intended to be, that if a Canadian is unemployed, they get a reasonable amount of money while they try and sort their life out.” Hearn says the surplus should be used for upgrading and training.

Anstey couldn’t agree more, but points out there are no training programs for those already employed.

“There’s not one single program for someone who has a job to upgrade their skills. The only programs are for people who don’t have jobs. And if they’re serious about this being an employment program … if we’re going to be the best we can be to compete, then there has to be programming to enable people to upgrade their skills,” he says. “… what we’re saying is lets go back to what this fund was intended to do in the first place, provide a decent level of income for Canadians who are out of work and not what it’s become, which is really a boondoggle for more money for the government.”

The Independent, November 7, 2004

BUSINESS

Page 17

‘Make us more equal’

Transferred funds to the province from Ottawa since 1949 equal $34 billion; funding formulas need work

By Stephanie Porter The Independent

S

ince the equalization program was introduced in 1957, the federal government has transferred over $23 billion to the provFINDING THE ince of Newfoundland and Cost benefit analysis Labrador. of Confederation The program, designed to ensure provincial governments offer Canadians relatively similar social services no matter where they live, with a relatively similar tax load, has always made up a large portion — up to 25 per cent or even more — of this province’s annual revenue.

In that first year, 1957, Newfoundland was allotted $11.8 million in equalization. The funding level reached an all-time high of over $1.2 billion in 1999. Since then, equalization has decreased annually — due to a declining population and an improving economic situation — and currently sits at about $800 million.

Equalization is one of four federal programs that transfer funds for services to the provinces and territories. The others are the Canadian Health Transfer, the Canadian Social Services Transfer, and Territorial Formula Financing.

Newfoundland’s share of these transfers, plus annual federal contributions to cost-shared programs, adds up to a grand total of $34 billion in transferred funds, from 1949 to 2004.

In 2004, eight of 10 Canadian provinces qualify for equalization — Alberta and Ontario currently have a per capita fiscal capacity high enough that they don’t qualify: they are have provinces. (It hasn’t always been this way — Alberta received equalization between 1957 and 1964. Ontario, though it came close several times, remains the only province to never qualify for equalization.)

As a province’s ability to generate revenue grows, it receives less equalization — an adjustment

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The late premier Joey Smallwood brought Newfoundland into Confederation in 1949.

known as the “clawback.”

The principle behind equalization — to create a level playing field between the provinces — is simple; the formula to calculate which province gets what, is not.

Each province’s ability to raise revenue is measured by examining 33 actual and potential sources of income, including personal income tax, business income tax, gasoline tax, forestry revenues, oil revenues, mineral resources, insurance premiums, lottery ticket revenues and property taxes.

The result — calculated per capita — is compared to what is called the “five-province standard,” a weighted average of the ability of the five so-called middle provinces (B.C, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec) to raise taxes. Provinces that fall below this standard qualify for equalization. In recent years, Newfoundland and Labrador has qualified for about $1,500 in equalization, per resident.

The equalization formula has changed over the years. Originally, it was designed to bring all provinces up to a comparable level (of per capita tax revenue) to the average of the two richest provinces of the time, Ontario and B.C.

In 1962, the standard was changed to a 10-province national average — thus lowering equalization payments. Other adjustments were made over the years, but the most notable changes came in 1982, when the 10province standard was exchanged for the current five-province one — done mostly to exclude the “volatility” of Alberta and its oil and tax revenues.

“Alberta is out because it would cost more (for the federal government) to keep it in,” says provincial NDP leader Jack Harris. “It would point out the greater inequality that exists between the provinces.”

Another change came that year.

For the first time, equalization “was constitutionally mandated to make sure governments across the country can deliver relatively equal services at relatively equal cost,” says Harris. “‘Relatively’ being a political term, not a legal one.”

Recently, there have been calls to return to a 10-province equalization standard. There are also suggestions, particularly from the less populous provinces, that distributing equalization funds on a per capita basis is not the fairest way to do it.

Loyola Hearn, Conservative MP for St. John’s South, speaks to this point. While we’d be in “pretty hard shape” without the funds, he says it’s “a question mark” whether it’s working as it should.

Newfoundland and Labrador, with a declining population, is consequently receiving less money than it would if the population was growing. In addition, Hearn points out, “our average population, I believe, is the oldest in Canada. Consequently that population requires greater expenditure than a younger, healthier population.”

And besides, geographically we’re spread “over hell’s half acre” — making services even more expensive to administer.

Ronald Martin, a former deputy minister of Finance for this province, wrote Equalization: Milestone or Millstone for the Atlantic Institute of Market Studies in 2001. In it, he calculated that, given Newfoundland’s population had decreased by about 40,000 between 1992 and 2000, the province received $78 million a year less in equalization — yet in the same period, public expenditures grew by nine per cent.

In a recent interview, Finance Minister Loyola Sullivan tells The Independent the province has lost $1 billion over the past decade or so in equalization as a direct result

of population loss.

As Sullivan stated in a 2001 press release, “our needs are proportionately greater than our population.”

One of the other major concerns about the equalization formula is the inclusion of revenues from non-renewable resources like oil and gas. Particularly when it comes to the East Coast, many believe those revenues should be exempt.

It’s one of the keys, writes Martin to “the acceleration of the economic growth in the lagging and fiscally disparate provinces.

“As our fiscal capacity increases here in the province, at some point we’ll go beyond qualifying for equalization and there’s nothing wrong with that,” says Reg Anstey, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour.

“The problem with equalization as it’s now structured is that in the short haul a non-renewable resource is not exempt … it really means that the money from a nonrenewable resource, while we’re below the national average on fiscal capacity, the profits all go to Ottawa instead of here.”

In 1957, the provinces of Canada had comparable taxes and tax rates. Since then, the gap has widened, the federal government has become more decentralized — and the reliance on transfers, such as equalization, has increased.

“The failure is, it hasn’t made us equal enough,” says Harris. “We have the lowest level of services and the highest level of taxes.

“How do you fix it? You put more money into it and you use a 10-province standard when calculating the numbers and you make us more equal.”

Liberal MP Gerry Byrne is less certain of an answer. “I don’t think we’ll ever get a perfect equalization formula,” he says.

“Anyone who tries to suggest they’re going to find a perfect way to describe the fiscal balance and the fiscal capability between provinces has probably been either an economist too long or been in school too long.”

Page 18

BUSINESS

The Independent, November 7, 2004

Investing right here Province in need of venture capital; government to fill gap

By Alisha Morrissey The Independent

W

hen it comes to Newfoundland and Labrador as a place to do business, investors say it’s not about geography so much FINDING THE as potential.

Still, the province isn’t benefit analysis known for drawing huge Cost of Confederation amounts of venture capital — money businesses need to get on their feet or expand.

That may soon change.

Finance Minister Loyola Sullivan says the province may have two venture capital funds up and running by early next year.

“We’re looking at overall major economic initiatives that would be able to improve the business climate, to enhance the opportunities for companies to get involved,” he tells The Independent.

Sullivan says government understands the challenges faced by capital-starved businesses and is working toward removing obstacles for investors.

“So we realize there has to be improvements and we’ve been working hard at that and we’re starting to roll out some of these things now and over the next several months you’ll see significant others.”

Private investments in the province have grown every year since 1991 when Statistics Canada began recording the figures. The highest amount of investment — ringing in at almost $4 billion — was recorded this year.

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Paul Daly/The Independent

The lowest amount — $1.5 billion — was invested in 1992, the year the commercial cod fishery first closed.

When it comes to public investments, the best year was 1994 when an estimated $900 million was spent by various levels of government. The lowest amount of investment totalled $350 million in 1996.

John Steele of Steele Communications — one of the largest broadcasting companies in the province, owner of VOCM, among other interests — says investors face many challenges in the province.

The fact that Newfoundland and Labrador has never been looked at as a financially secure province is one of the major deterrents to investment, he says.

“I think our national image, within Canada,

Lure of the baby bonus

By Alisha Morrissey The Independent

M

arian Hann of Corner Brook says she remembers the referendum on Confederation well. A Scottish war bride in Newfoundland only four years, she was pregnant at the time, in 1948, with her first child, Linda.

Hann voted “yes” for Confederation though not specifically for the “baby bonus,” although her sister did.

“I don’t think I was really thinking of anything like that at the time,” she tells The Independent, adding she just wanted to deliver the baby. “I remember some of the family boys, my brothers-in-law, were putting bets on it that she would be a Newfoundlander, ‘No she won’t she’ll be a Canadian.’

And she wasn’t born until the 24th of April. She was born a Canadian.”

Hann says she voted for Confederation to make the country a better place for her daughter.

“I was very new here then — I only came in 1947 — and I didn’t really know too much about life in Newfoundland before that,” she says. “What I learned from people was that they were really having struggling times and I thought if we joined Canada well, perhaps it’ll help.”

WAR BRIDES Hann and her sister Mary moved to Newfoundland as Scottish war brides — marrying two brothers. Mary, 84, voted for Confederation.

“It was a great benefit — we saved it (the baby bonus) to help them when they grew up — to go to university and that sort of thing,” she says.

It’s been reported that many families, women particularly, voted for Confederation specifically for the Canada Child Tax

Benefit — commonly known as the baby bonus — as well as dutyfree ordering from the Eaton’s catalogue.

Conservative MP Loyola Hearn says because of a lack of mass communication, he doesn’t believe Confederation was won because of such promises as a baby bonus.

“I’m not sure whether or not they fully understood the commitment by, I guess, Joey Smallwood at that time, that there would be social benefits from Ottawa,” Hearn says. “Maybe the promise of more money may have helped, but I think we over simplify things by saying it was the promise of the baby bonus.”

BABY BONUS SONG Critics of the benefit claimed the baby bonus was an incentive for poor families to have more children. Joan Morrissey, a prominent Newfoundland singer wrote The Baby Bonus Song as a humorous poke at such ideas.

Hearn says with so many large families in pre-Confederation years he’s almost sure the money was appreciated.

At the time, the benefit was paid as relief for families suffering a war-time wage freeze.

Families received $5 per month for children under five, children ages six to nine got $6 per month and kids aged 10 to 12 got $7 per month. Five dollars in 1945 is equivalent to $55 today.

In 2002, a married couple anywhere in Canada making a combined income of $30,000 per year, with two children, receives $295 a month in the form of Canada’s Child Tax Benefit.

The Canadian government paid out $6 billion in child tax benefits in 1999, the most recent year for which stats were available. Officials for the Canada Revenue Agency could not say how much is been paid out to the province in a year, let alone since 1949.

is generally very poor in an economic sense.

I think people look upon us fairly favourably as a people and all that type of thing, but we’re not looked upon as an economic hotbed. We’re always in a racket about some thing — whether it’s justified or not.”

Steele says strikes and other disputes portray a certain negative image to the Canadian business community.

“This is the constant image that gets fed across in the national media. You don’t hear of any success stories coming out of here because that doesn’t make the news.”

Steele says a “socialistic mindset” exists in the province in which the creation of jobs is more of a priority than profit. He also criticizes the amount of bureaucratic red tape in the province.

“It takes forever for things to get moved along and there doesn’t seem to be any viewpoint … that time is money, you know, ‘We’ll get around to it later on,’” Steele says.

“It can be very, very frustrating. So I think if they could make that process quicker it would be a good starting point.”

Tony Van Bommel, regional representative for the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), says he has no doubt that potential exists in the province. In fact, there are more opportunities on his desk now than three years ago.

The problem, as he sees it, is that there are no venture capital providers in Newfoundland and Labrador like in Ontario or Alberta.

“The BDC is currently the only active fund that I’m aware of that is looking at investments in Newfoundland. Other funds will be attracted on a business by business opportunity,” Van Bommel says. “You’re getting a lot of mixed signals in the marketplace because a lot of people get turned down for venture capital … in my opinion you (Newfoundlanders) do have a more difficult time because there are no local funds other than the BDC.” He’s also careful to point out that in the business world there are no handouts.

Investing in business is not part of a social support system, but a fierce competition to find and acquire capital.

“It’s not an economic development feature, venture capital, it’s the best opportunities will get funded and if it happens to be in St. John’s or Halifax, Toronto … that shouldn’t make a difference.”

The Independent, November 7, 2004

BUSINESS

Page 19

‘Our battle will never be with Ottawa’ Labrador party fighting with province over Big Land’s fair share Happy Valley-Goose Bay

By Bert Pomeroy The Independent

A

s debate over offshore oil revenues continues between the province and Ottawa, Lloyd Pardy can’t help but wonder whether Labrador will ever see the benefits of its own natural resources.

“If Labrador can’t get a fair share from its own resources, then how can we expect to get anything from Newfoundland’s resources?” asks the president of the Lake Melville wing of the Labrador Paul Daly/The Independent Party. “That’s one of the main reasons why our party was formed — Ern Condon is president of the Labrador Party, which ran candidates in we’re sick and tired of watching all three Labrador districts in the 2003 election. None were successful. our resources leave right before our eyes and not seeing anything existent and we have some of the ratism,” he says. “We just want to come back.” highest levels of unemployment work for the betterment of The massive iron ore mines in in the province.”

Labrador, to be a voice for Labrador City and Wabush, the Barge loads of unprocessed tim- Labrador and to hopefully change rich timber stands of central and ber continue to leave the docks at things.” southeastern Labrador, the fishery, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, desWhile the premier has overlow-level flying at 5 Wing Goose tined for mills on the island, Pardy whelming support for his position Bay and the infamous adds, and there’s more in the dispute with Canada over FINDING THE hydro development at talk of further developing offshore revenues, not much of it Churchill Falls have gen- Cost benefit analysis the hydro potential of the is coming from Labrador, Pardy of Confederation erated billions of dollars Churchill (Grand) River. contends. to provincial and federal coffers “We have all of these huge “There hasn’t been a huge outsince Confederation. Meantime, resources, like Voisey’s Bay, in cry from Labradorians,” he says.

Pardy tells The Independent, our midst, and we continue to “Our battle will never be with Labrador still lacks basic infra- watch as they are taken away.”

Ottawa, as far as I’m concerned — structure, adequate health care and Formed just months before last it will always be with the educational facilities. fall’s provincial election, the province” “It costs twice as much for a Labrador Party’s ultimate goal is Labrador City Mayor Graham person from Labrador to get a uni- to send four representatives to the Letto is less critical of the provinversity degree because they have legislature, Pardy says. cial government, and is confident to travel outside of the region, “We’re not a separatist party Labrador will start getting its fair highways are pretty much non- and we haven’t promoted sepa- share if the province is allowed to

BALANCE

keep all royalties generated from its resources without any federal clawbacks.

“While the province is fighting for offshore revenues it should go a step further and demand that we get 100 per cent from all of our non-renewable resources,” says Letto, the Labrador West vicepresident of the Combined Councils of Labrador.

“There’s a lot of potential from Voisey’s Bay and the development of natural gas off the Labrador coast, as well as new mining opportunities. We feel that changes to the Atlantic Accord will set a precedent … to remove all natural resources from the equalization formula.”

Letto says Labrador has contributed significantly to the country as a whole, and it’s time some of that wealth came back to the region.

“It’s unbelievable what iron ore has contributed alone, not only to Newfoundland and Labrador, but to Ontario and Quebec,” he says.

“It’s mined in Labrador, moved by rail to Quebec and shipped up the St. Lawrence to the Great Lakes — just imagine the jobs and wealth that’s created.”

Add that to the “inequities” of the Churchill Falls hydro development, which generates hundreds of millions in profits each year for Hydro Quebec, and you have a recipe for discontent from a region of the country that expects more from its federal and provincial governments, Letto says.

“It’s high time that Labradorians — instead of feeling like someone else’s treasure trove — started feeling like an integral part of our province. We cannot expect fair treatment from Ottawa if we don’t practice what we preach.”

— Premier Danny Williams’ inaugural address as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, April 7, 2001.

“As far as I’m concerned, and I’ve always believed this, Labrador is the economic engine that’s driving the provincial economy, and I think it will continue to be that engine as projects like the lower Churchill come on stream and the forest industry is developed,” he says.

“From Labrador’s perspective, when you look at what we’re getting back in terms of what we’re generating to the provincial and federal economies, it’s peanuts,” Letto adds. “Now is the time for us to really put the pressure on Ottawa to allow us to reap the benefits from our resources. If we don’t do it now, we may never have another opportunity.”

Model prefinishing hardwood Canadian Made 8 Species 4 Widths 3 Gloss Levels 6 Stains

Official Supplier to Humber Valley Resort Cottle’s Island Lumber Co. Cottlesville

November 7, 2004

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Times Square, Manhattan

Page 20

John Andrews/The Independent

Marystown takes Manhattan Mike Ryan set out to be Newfoundland’s version of Indiana Jones; he didn’t quite make it, but his life in the Big Apple is an adventure

By Clare-Marie Gosse The Independent

M

arystown-native Mike Ryan discovered his first taste of freedom on a six-week French program when he was 17. He spent the time with over 30 other like-minded, Newfoundlanders — “raging, unsupervised through the streets of Montreal.”

Ryan didn’t learn much French, but he did discover a “wanderlust” that sent him on a travel quest, eventually setting him down in his current home, New York City.

HIGHS AND LOWS Now 27, Ryan’s been through the highs and lows of navigating the big city as a newcomer from a small place — from his first experiences riding the subway and driving the streets alone, to witnessing the skyline from the World Trade Center, and, later, watching the two towers as they collapsed.

“I completed a degree in archaeology and physical anthropology at Memorial hoping to become a Newfie Indiana Jones,” Ryan tells The Independent. “But the closest I got to a dig or adventure travel was taking the tunnels from residence and risking freezing from exposure while sprinting to the archaeology building.”

While at MUN, Ryan used his experience as a lifeguard in Marystown when he was a teenager to land work at summer camps in the United States.

“I fell in love with the experience, and met people from all over the world.”

As it happens, during his second summer Ryan also “fell in love” with a girl from the Big Apple and as soon as he finished his undergrad in 2001, he

joined her there. first he thought a huge movie with major He managed to find work in an afflu- special effects was being made as he ent area in New Jersey as an athletic co- “watched the scene that was unfolding in ordinator for a Jewish community centre, the sky.” He was driving out of the travelling the daily 30-minute commute downtown area towards Jersey at the from the apartment he shared with his time, and as he saw emergency vehicles girlfriend, Shara, in Manhattan. speed by, realization sank in.

“As you might be “My next thought was thinking, what qualifies for my girlfriend who a guy with a degree in took the subway to “If you can make archaeology and physiBrooklyn every morning cal anthropology to be to work, and passed it here you can an athletic co-ordinator through the World Trade make it anywhere. at a community centre Center subway station in That’s what this in one of the most affluher commute. I was city’s all about.” ent areas in the United unable to confirm her States?” asks Ryan. safety for a period of — Mike Ryan Immigration asked about six to seven hours the same question, and following the collapse of after eight months the towers, due to all denied his application for a work visa. communication in the city crashing.”

Not to be outdone, with continued supTrapped in New Jersey, he and his port from the centre, Ryan started giving girlfriend were unable to return to their private and group sports lessons to chil- East Village apartment — only a mile dren, and as word of mouth spread, he and a half away from ground zero — for found himself coaching kids with devel- two days. opmental and learning disabilities.

He says his most vivid memory of Now he’s studying occupational ther- that time was walking around silent apy at New York University, and practic- streets and down Broadway without having as a certified health and fitness ing to move for cars. instructor, specializing in adapted sports “On every corner, lamp post, bus stop, and aquatic fitness for overweight chil- there were pictures of the missing and dren and children with developmental their loved ones who were searching for disabilities. them,” Ryan says. “I broke down once Ryan says immigration has been par- after going to get food one day, all I ticularly tough since Sept. 11. returned with were posters of the dead “Even with my student visa I’m con- and missing. I forgot all about my food.” tinually hassled every time I go through He says the smell in the city, as the carcustoms. Most times I’m detained for no nage continued to burn, was “indescribreason for periods of up to three hours, able. just so they can confirm that I am indeed “You couldn’t open a window, the a student at NYU.” smell was in your clothes and your apartRyan recalls 9/11 as “one of the most ment … the smell; it just made you feel surreal experiences” he’s ever had. At sick to your stomach.”

Ryan still lives in the East Village, and the big topic of discussion these days is the election.

“Well I must say that bearing witness, first hand, to the democratic process in this country was a treat. It was an endless source of entertainment and amusement.

It’s scary to think that these people are the leaders of the free world and I use that phrase loosely.”

CITY OF OPPORTUNITY But Ryan’s happy to be there. He says his favourite thing about New York is the unlimited, around-the-clock entertainment, and the opportunities to get ahead.

“If you can make it here you can make it anywhere. That’s what this city’s all about.”

Ryan says he’s enjoying everything New York has to offer, and although he can’t imagine returning to Newfoundland on a permanent basis, he calls himself “an islander at heart.”

He’s found friends in the area through Newfoundlandersabroad.com, and for now he’s content with his Screech and the occasional Great Big Sea concert — which he says, always sell out.

If anyone’s looking for “an excellent tour,” Ryan says he’s available “at a reasonable price.

“Now don’t be fooled, this is a hard and expensive city to live in, and some days are more challenging than others especially when you aren’t American,” he says. “The thing is that being from a place such as Newfoundland — which offers its youth such limited possibilities — even the bad moments I’ve had in this city stand out as good ones, just for the pure fact that I would never know the difference if I had never left the province.”

LIFE &TIMES

November 7, 2004

Page 21

The National Convention, a debate about Newfoundland’s future, was held in the Colonial Building in St. John’s in 1946.

‘Locked into insolvency’ From page 1 The increases in savings accounts are just one example: the war years were good — economically — for Newfoundland.

In July 1940, Commissioner of Finance J.H. Penson announced that for the remainder of the war, Newfoundland would no longer ask Britain for financial assistance. A year later, a $700,000 budgetary surplus was announced.

A report prepared by G.W. St. John Chadwick of the Dominions Office and E. Jones of the British Treasury in 1946 stated: “The result of almost six years of wartime financing was to yield a cumulative surplus of about $26 million, to which must be added $6.5 million from public borrowing.

Out of this total of $32.5 million, some $12.3 million was lent (interest-free) to the United Kingdom.”

The late Walter Carter, in a column in The Telegram of January, 1999, characterized the 1940s this way: “Newfoundland was not an economic basket case when it entered Canada … it had a self-reliant population, a strong manufacturing sector, easy access to the most prolific fishing grounds in the world and airports vital to transatlantic commercial aviation.”

AMERICAN INFLUX The war years brought an influx of Americans, American money, and jobs. Water Street merchants recorded a 25 per cent increase in sales. Budgets were in the black and it was, in today’s terms, a “have” situation.

That would come to an end in 1949.

Retired St. John’s lawyer James Halley — a participant in the Confederation debate — says a province had been

created “without adequate income to plus for the commission) the first year. meet our needs … we were locked into The annual “transitional grants” of insolvency.” $3.5 million to be given by Canada In 1948, Corner Brook’s Western were not projected to be enough for Star commissioned McDonald, Currie the loss of revenue from personal and Co., chartered accountants based income and customs and excise tax. in Montreal, to prepare a In other estimates by FINDING THE report on the effect of ConMcDonald and Currie, corpofederation on Newfoundland. rate income taxes were lower benefit analysis They wanted “to assist the Cost in Newfoundland, and basic of Confederation Newfoundland people to personal income tax exempcome to an intelligent decision in the tions were higher. forthcoming referendum (on ConfedOn the other hand, it estimated the eration).” people of Newfoundland would, as a The resulting report was published province, save about $36.43 per capiin the newspaper of May 4, 1948. ta annually in savings of customs and It showed that Newfoundland, in the excise duties. year ending March 1947, recorded a Three months after Newfoundlansurplus of $3.2 million (the province ders voted, narrowly, to join Canada, a of Nova Scotia, in virtually the same delegation appointed by the Commisperiod, had a $2.4 sion of Government million deficit). travelled to Ottawa to The McDonald- “Newfoundland was not negotiate and sign the Currie report com- an economic basket case final terms. pares actual numAll members of the bers of expenditure when it entered Canada delegation were … it had a self-reliant apparently amenable and revenues for the Newfoundland govto the agreement, with population, a strong ernment with estimanufacturing sector, oneOnexception. mates for same, Dec. 9, 1948, should Newfound- easy access to the most Chesley Crosbie land enter Confed- prolific fishing grounds walked away. As he eration. in the world and airports wrote in a letter that Given that the day to the chair of the vital to transatlantic Canadian governNewfoundland delement was to take commercial aviation.” gation, he could not over operations of a sign the agreement: — The late number of services, “(1) because I conWalter Carter expenditures and sider deficit financing revenues would be out of surplus, less for the province unsound and impracof Newfoundland, than for the Com- tical. Further, it does not give Newmission of Government. foundland the chance to adjust itself, But the accountants estimated the smoothly, to the status of a province. province would have a deficit of $4.5 “(2) I can see no relief for our peomillion (versus the $3.2 million sur- ple from the present load of taxation,

BALANCE

and there is a possibility that it will have to be substantially increased.

“I cannot accept the financial assistance offered as being adequate … furthermore, I can see very little prospect of improvement after the first eight-year period, when our deficit will be very large.”

Prior to April 1, 1949, nearly twothirds of Newfoundland’s revenue came from customs and excise taxes on goods and services. That, plus income tax, was virtually enough to meet the expenditure needs of the government.

DAWN OF CONFEDERATION With the dawn of Confederation, the tariff wall, which protected Newfoundland’s small manufacturers, came down. “Cheaper Canadian goods flooded into Newfoundland,” writes historian John Fitzgerald in The difficult little island (Newfoundland Quarterly, Spring 2001). “It has been conservatively estimated that 4,000 jobs were instantly lost.

“The Newfoundland per capita debt, which was about $160 the day before confederation, jumped to about $1,300 the day after … but … the new province received no debt equalization compensation which it should have been due, which could have greatly assisted in the transition to provincehood.”

He later concludes: “The historical myth about Newfoundland during the war has been the myth about pre-confederation Newfoundland: that it would be eternally impoverished, that it didn’t have a hope of making it on its own …

“But these myths are simply not supported by the evidence.”

Page 22

LIFE & TIMES

The Independent, November 7, 2004

Why so angry on the Rock?

Funding formula, oil stirs passion; hard for outsiders to grasp import Editor’s note: The following story appeared in the Nov. 1 edition of The Toronto Star. Reprinted with permission of Torstar Syndication Services.

Halifax Kelly Toughill Atlantic Canada Bureau The Toronto Star

I

n the outports of rural Newfoundland, Premier Danny Williams’ high-profile fight with Prime Minister Paul Martin isn’t about arcane funding formulas and offshore oil royalties.

It isn’t even about jobs.

It is about keeping your kids nearby, about the small, outside chance of getting to see your grandchildren come into the world and grow.

That has been the dream for generations in a province that leaks people like a rusty boat leaks water in a heavy sea. When oil was discovered under the ice fields of the North Atlantic, many Newfoundlanders thought the exodus would end, that their dream would finally come true.

It didn’t, and now they want to know why.

The answer, suggested Williams, is Ontario greed.

Williams called Martin a liar and a cheat last week. Then he said it again.

There is a long tradition of political theatre in Newfoundland that casts the premier as valiant defender against resource-sucking business-ghouls-from-away intent on stealing the Rock’s pristine wealth.

But even by the standards of that tradition, Williams’ rhetoric was extreme. And Martin’s crime?

Offering Newfoundland an extra $233 million a year in oil royalties — and another $228 million for basic services. The royalty package alone was worth $1.4 billion over eight years.

Williams didn’t even attend last week’s first ministers’ meeting, storming out before it began.

No other issue better illustrates the divide between Atlantic Canada and the rest of Canada than the fight over the federal equalization program.

Paul Daly/The Independent

Pigeon Cove, Labrador

It is hard for an outsider to imagine how much equalization counts in a place like Newfoundland, or how a $2 billion top-up to Canada’s poorest province could be considered an insult.

For most Canadians, the federal transfer program is a mind-numbingly boring jumble of numbers that is worth thinking about only to the extent that it affects personal income taxes. But in Newfoundland, the equalization program is the lifeline for schools, roads, hospitals and other vital services. It is the topic of coffee-shop chatter, and any deckhand can knowledgeably discuss the elements that determine fiscal capacity under the federal formula.

When Williams arrived home from the battle, he was met by cheering crowds at the airport. Old foes from the Liberal and New Democratic parties have lined up behind him, as have union officials and business pundits.

The $861 million that Newfoundland will get in equalization payments this year is the province’s single largest source of income, worth more than provincial income taxes, or sales tax or anything else.

In fact, 35 cents of every $1 collected by the government of Newfoundland comes from Ottawa.

Compare that to just 14 cents from

Ottawa collected by the Ontario government.

The equalization program is supposed to ensure that Canadians in all parts of the country have access to roughly the same public services at roughly the same rate of taxation. It is calculated with a complex formula that considers different economic factors in five provinces.

(The standard excludes Alberta because it is too rich and the Atlantic provinces because they are too poor.)

MAGIC FIGURE The magic figure for the current fiscal year is $6,126. Provinces that can raise less than that per person get equalization money. Alberta and Ontario, which can raise more than that, don’t receive equalization payments, although they do, like all provinces, get federal funds through other programs.

Last year, Ottawa figured Newfoundland had the ability to raise just over $4,900 per person in taxes of all kinds, so the province was allotted $1,230 per person in equalization payments to bring it up to the national standard.

Despite the formula, Newfoundlanders pay higher taxes and get fewer services than most Canadians. For instance, a Newfoundlander with a taxable income of

$40,000 a year pays almost twice as much provincial income tax as an Ontario resident with a similar income: $4,788 compared to just $2,654 in Ontario.

A Newfoundlander with a taxable income of $100,000 pays $15,398 in provincial income tax — almost 50 per cent higher than the $10,815 due in Ontario.

Yet many don’t even get the most basic public services. More than 200 villages are under boilwater orders in Newfoundland.

That means 40,000 people in the province are supposed to boil their water before brushing their teeth, mixing up juice or sometimes even showering — and that doesn’t count people on private wells.

More than 70 villages have no water treatment system at all, and have been under a boil-water order for years.

When the province’s first oil platform began to suck black gold out of the ocean floor in 1998, many thought the province’s fortunes had finally turned around.

Newfoundland’s gross domestic product led the nation, and oil royalties poured in. But the economic impact was less than many hoped.

The revenues earned by Hibernia didn’t stay in Newfoundland long.

Provincial incomes didn’t rise much, and unemployment didn’t

plummet. In the last 10 years, the province lost another 10 per cent of its population. The unemployment rate is still 17 per cent — more than twice the national average.

Most disappointing was watching the oil royalties flow right through the province to Ottawa.

Under the equalization program, when a poor province’s coffers get fatter, the province gets less money from Ottawa. The theory is that as provinces get better off, they need less help. But those on the receiving end say the system means they can never get ahead, because every time they generate $1 to spend on services or cut the deficit, $1 is taken back by Ottawa.

Forty years ago, when Alberta was rural and poor and just developing its petrochemical industry, oil revenues were exempt from the equalization formula. Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, which also has offshore energy resources, asked for the same deal.

Martin refused until last June when, just before the election, he finally agreed to rebate energy royalties to the two provinces without reducing equalization payments.

But when it came time to sign the deal last week, there were two new conditions. The deal was only good for eight years, and Newfoundland would only get the rebate as long as the combination of its fiscal capacity and its equalization payments stayed below Ontario’s fiscal capacity.

In short, Ottawa was only willing to give Newfoundland another $500 per person per year — no matter how much oil flowed out of the sea. By Newfoundland calculations, the offer was more than $1 billion short of fair.

In Ottawa, the argument made sense: why should Newfoundland continue to get reimbursed for oil royalties if its tax base and equalization payments bring it up to the level of Ontario?

In Newfoundland, it was an insult, confirmation of a long-held suspicion that central Canada would never let Newfoundland prosper.

East Coast pundits on both ends Continued on page 24

The Independent, November 7, 2004

LIFE & TIMES

Page 23

‘We must remember’

Virtual war memorial dedicated to Labrador servicemen who died far from home

By Connie Boland For The Independent

T

he aging, black and white photographs are striking in their simplicity. Young men, some barely old enough to shave, smile into the camera. They were too young to die.

Sgt. Archibald Ash, a Blue Puttee from Red Bay, was part of the first contingent of the First Newfoundland Regiment to serve overseas. Killed in the line of duty more than eight decades ago, he hasn’t been forgotten. Someone cared enough to ensure this soldier’s credentials were immortalized on a virtual war memorial.

So many other names and faces are absent. Michael Martin scans the on-line tribute and sighs. The missing photos of the dead send a strong message to the living.

“Some of these men gave everything they had to give,” the Cartwright native tells The Independent. “There’s an old saying that ‘If we forget our past we are condemned to repeat it in the future.’”

Every morning, the former UN peacekeeper checks a website dedicated to the Labradorians who served in the First World War, Second World War and Korean conflict, hoping other people share his interest in the servicemen, boys for the most part, who gave their lives in battles fought far from home.

He usually clicks off bitterly disappointed.

Martin’s father and uncles fought in the First World War; his cousins enlisted in the Second.

“We were on holidays compared to what those guys went through,” he says, referring to his peacekeeping missions to Egypt in 1958-59 and Congo in 1960-61. “They lived in mud up to their waist for months

Paul Daly/The Independent

The family of a fallen soldier in the First World War would receive a grim souvenir known, unofficially, as the ‘Death Penny’.

and months. Some of them died from being eaten by rats.

“The Newfoundland regiment had more causalities from ill health, accidents and exposure than from bullets and bombs, and God knows there was enough of them.”

With the exception of the generic cenotaphs erected by the Royal Canadian Legion, no monument has been built in Labrador to pay homage to its brave soldiers. In an attempt to change that, Labradorheritage.ca — in co-operation with Branch 51 of the Royal Canadian Legion in Happy ValleyGoose Bay and Them Days Magazine — created a virtual war memorial.

The general public is asked to

help acquire photos and information for addition to the website.

The ultimate goal is to erect a permanent memorial in Cartwright in

“Some of these men gave everything they had to give. There’s an old saying that ‘If we forget our past we are condemned to repeat it in the future.”

2005, as part of the Sandwich Bay Reunion celebrations.

The project was a perfect fit for

Martin, an admitted history buff and former member of the New Labrador Party. Martin was the first Labradorian elected to the House of Assembly and designed the Labrador Flag. Now living in Ontario, the former journalist remains intensely interested in all things Labrador. The project being supervised by Cartwright resident Rev. Graham Hill is a perfect fit.

“It needs to be done,” says Martin, an active Legionnaire. “They did so much for us and we have done so little for them. The Legion has a motto — We Remember Them — and we haven’t. That’s what this monument is all about.”

The list of First World War soldiers posted to the virtual museum

is nearing completion. The Second World War and Korea conflict sections are under construction. Martin is looking for information on soldiers born in Labrador, as well as those who gave their home address as Labrador upon enlistment. Personal pages have been set up for many of the fallen comrades. Anecdotal information combined with service records and details on where a soldier is buried make for compelling reading.

Martin acknowledges the information isn’t easy to get. “Communities were small and scattered.

Some of the places the men came from simply no longer exist,” he says. “In some cases, the family name has died out. If there ever were pictures of some of these soldiers they are probably long since destroyed.”

Men weren’t willing to discuss their experiences, he adds. “They simply went to war. If you look at the website you will see blank spaces that represent a whole bunch of people that we’ve simply forgotten. That’s not acceptable.

We must remember and we must pass on the information so that our children will remember.”

The implications of letting the past slip away are tremendous, Martin points out. “If we don’t take it upon ourselves to be constantly reminded then we are going to be stupid enough to send our children over there, or somewhere else, again. It’s human nature and the reason is that we simply don’t pay attention to what it means to send our children into action.”

The Labrador War Memorial is located at www.labradorheritage.ca Information pertaining to Labrador soldiers can be sent to msm@wonderstrand.com

Rock lives on, as long as you want to see it

I

recently caught a show with two bands I hadn’t seen in some time, Victory Cigarettes and The Eddy Stevens Band.

Victory Cigarettes was first to play and whoever wasn’t there won’t know how good it was. My intake of Victory Cigs is admittedly low, so getting a drag of some damn fine modern rock was refreshing. Jonny Harris and Phil Churchill had a twin guitar-andvocals vibe happening, trading off on lead mic duties and solos.

There were soulful harmonies on these original tunes, with Harris’ gritty vocal style rising to the top. The songs had colourful oddtimed sections and ambient guitar delay, but believe me, it was still a rock show. And the late-arriving

GARY PERRY

Local Spins RICK BAILEY crowd that appeared out of the night to swoop in on the bar were into it, too.

After their short set, it was Eddy Stevens’ turn. Both bands agreed they’d split the night into two sets apiece. The Eddy Stevens Band had been fluctuating in lineup for a while, but has now settled in with a comfortable trio including the ex-Margaritas Calling rhythm duo of Mike Dowding and Brad Wheeler behind bass and drums, respectively. It totally works for

753-3030

Stevens’ danceable blend of funkpop.

The thing I’ve always noticed about his style of band is the ability to fuse addictive original material and covers they take ownership of. Whether it’s a jazzed Dancing Days by Led Zeppelin or a version of I Will Survive, they melt together with such Stevens’ favourites as Storm, The Band, Honey Pie and a few new rockflavoured numbers that rightfully bring the guitar to the front. It’s often hard to tell when a cover is actually played, which should be the idea, right?

SIGN OF THE TIMES In the past, his tunes got everyone within a two-kilometre radius up on the dance floor, but this night most people seemed to treat it as background to chatting and boozing. It’s a sign of the times — crowds crave rock now more than ever. When Victory Cigs returned to rock the stage, those around me were loose enough to flail around with the heavy sound. Less dancin’, more fist-pumpin’ is what it’s about when I decide to call it a night.

On another night, I followed more new rock with a show by The Antics at Roxxy’s. As a first time listener, I must say, these guys were very entertaining. The band name fits with the spirited energy of Brad the vocalist, Ian’s guitar

melody, Peter’s bass and Ben keeping time on the kit. The Antics churned through a set of original tunes like a driving Montreal, interspersed with their raw take on covers, including Radiohead’s Karma Police, The Cult’s She Sells Sanctuary, and a rockin’ ver-

Local punk rock legends Dog Meat BBQ followedup with a mash of corrosive, stomping ditties of debauch and doom.

These rowdy middle-aged rock ruffians will never die, which is what all zombies wanted to hear. sion of Elton John’s Rocket Man. I was eager to hear their mean version of the theme from TV’s The Littlest Hobo, and thought it was pretty cool to inject a little pop culture into their live show. It was another slow night for the crowds, but on a busier occasion they could’ve had a decent party for feel-good rock. It’s always great to witness a new bunch of rockers in action, and there are many more yet to be heard from.

I returned to Roxxy’s on Halloween Sunday to frolic with friendly spooks. There were some

spirited costumes in the room, especially from the stage as Endearing Perversion brought some ghoulish flash. Funny that the first time I caught their show was last Halloween.

This year’s treats looked and sounded better, with evil Sabbathinspired riffing under lyrics in Cara Winsor-Hehir’s low, gloomy brogue. Original songs like Big Newfie Man, Where The F—-’s The Caribou? and Little Metal Mistress were devilishly fun and localized. I think “bog metal” is the style they were tagged with before, and it sounded right to me.

Local punk rock legends Dog Meat BBQ followed up with a mash of corrosive, stomping ditties of debauch and doom. These rowdy middle-aged rock ruffians will never die, which is what all zombies wanted to hear. Wallace Hammond’s squealing guitar work is eerie to behold, and on a tune called Bomb Dog, lead growler Mike O’Brien emerged with a dog mask to bark out words that get buried in groovy sludge.

I guess it really is true that rock has been rekindled, forever changing and surprising, in St. John’s.

Long may it live in the heart of the city for someone to hear.

Rick Bailey is a radio DJ and musician. His next column appears November 21.

Page 24

LIFE & TIMES

The Independent, November 7, 2004

‘One big networking party’ Steve Edwards — and his new band, Love Hijacker — is just one of many local acts showcasing at next weekend’s MIANL conference

By Clare-Marie Gosse The Independent

T

wo years ago the provincial Music Industry Association released a report, which concluded their industry contributes $37 million annually to the gross domestic product — the total value of all goods and services — of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Executive director Denis Parker, busily gearing up for the association’s annual conference and awards — running Nov. 12-14 — says the industry is no doubt generating much more money today.

“For the size of our population, we have a very vibrant and wonderful music scene. A lot of people in the province are into music, if they’re not into it professionally they’re into it as a hobby.”

Parker tells The Independent the Music Industry Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (MIANL) hired a consultant especially for the purpose of investigating the figures. They discovered the music industry was generating more than agriculture — and

took those findings to the provincial government.

“The government was a little bit unbelieving,” says Parker. “So they took it to their finance people.”

He says it turned out the MIANL’s numbers were on the conservative side.

Parker was one of the founding members of the MIANL, a nonprofit association created in 1992 to represent, develop, and promote all aspects of the music industry in the province. Among its 600 to 700 members are names like Great Big Sea, Crush, and Shaye.

‘WONDERFUL INDUSTRY’ “People come here to see our music, to hear it. So for the size of the place we have this wonderful industry happening,” says Parker, “… the challenge for us these days is to export that talent so we have to see it going to market places around the world. We’ve got world class talent that deserves to be heard and seen and we have to work on that.”

Next weekend’s MIANL Con-

ference and Awards will be held at the St. John’s Convention Centre.

The association is presenting awards in 23 categories, and the weekend will also include seminars and showcases featuring local artists.

‘LEARN AND NETWORK’ “We’re bringing in a lot of people from around North America to network and sit on panels, so our members can learn and network,” says Parker. “It’s one big networking party, you might say.”

One of the groups performing this year who are hoping to network and promote itself is Love Hijacker, made up of singer/guitarist Steve Edwards, bassist Mike Dowding and drummer Brad Wheeler.

Frontman Edwards — from former band The Eddy Stevens Quartet — Love Hijacker is using the upcoming conference to introduce its new name and new CD into the community.

“No one would know us as Love Hijacker,” Edwards says. “That’s

Paul Daly/The Independent

Steve Edwards

why we’re trying to release it at a high point; at the music awards … this is just getting out the new music and using it to get the bigger ball rolling.”

Love Hijacker’s CD includes six original tracks, which Edwards describes simply as rock and roll, compared to his previous music with the Eddy Stevens Quartet, which was more “funk and blues oriented.”

“It’s really short, three and a half

minute songs with harmonies — I like to make melodies as interesting as I can.”

Edwards says, as well as looking forward to playing the MIA conference and awards, the band are planning their CD release party at CBTG’s on George Street, Nov. 26.

Love Hijacker performs Friday night at the St. John’s Convention Centre Ballroom, along with six other acts.

How did Ontario ‘become the golden goose’ From page 22 of the political spectrum have taken Williams’ side.

Brian Crawley is the director of the Atlantic Institute of Market Studies, a right-wing think-tank in Halifax that has denounced the equalization program for creating a “long-term dependency” on Ottawa and wants it traded for debt relief. Despite his opposition to the program, he thinks natural

resources should be exempt, as they were when Alberta was developing its energy industry. So does Donald Savoie, an economist at the University of Moncton and a frequent adviser to federal Liberal governments.

The thing that seemed to stick in the craw the most was the expectation of gratitude, the belief that Ontario wants Atlantic Canada to not only take less than it is due, but say thank you on the way out the

INDEPENDENT CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Napping 7 With: prefix 10 Private eye 16 Author Watson (The Double Hook) 17 Streetcar sound 19 Capital of Albania 20 Transgressor 21 Cow’s largest stomach 22 Bias against the old 23 Bank payment: abbr.

24 Loving touch 26 Apiece 28 Test site 29 Be frugal 31 No (slang) 32 Lyme disease carrier 33 Author of O Canada in English: Robert Stanley ___ 34 Lacquered metalware 35 German article 36 Least’s opposite 37 Term of familiar address 38 System start?

40 U.S. inventor Howe 42 Relieved (of) 43 Big Ben’s city 46 Besides 47 Painter/author of A Prairie Boy’s Winter 51 Black wood 52 Author of Green Grass, Running Water 54 Bathroom fixture 55 Buffet container 56 Something owed 57 Stopper for a cask 58 Dispatched 59 Yukon tourist slogan: Canada’s ___ North

door.

You could hear it in the voice of Newfoundland Finance Minister Loyola Sullivan, a thoughtful, normally soft-spoken man who all but spat as he tried to explain his rage.

“It isn’t a matter of generosity, it’s a matter of rights,” he said. “We’re just trying to get up off our knees and have a chance.”

You could hear it in Savoie’s voice. “Maritimers are convinced they have been had, and that’s the

part that Ontario doesn’t understand.”

You could hear it on the call-in shows of St. John’s.

“Ontario thinks that it became wealthy because it is better than the other regions, but Maritimers don’t believe that,” explained Savoie.

“How did Ontario become Canada’s engine? How did it become the golden goose?

“For Maritimers, the answer is very simple: federal government

policies favoured Ontario. For the past hundred and some years, (Ontario) has been in a privileged position, whether it is in research and development, the location of the public service, the location of government, tariffs and trade, location of crown corporations and on and on and on.

“The golden goose was built not so much by the wisdom of the province of Ontario, but by favourable federal policies.”

Solutions on page 26

60 Take advantage of 61 Fiddlehead, e.g.

62 Like the dodo 63 Dessert pancake 64 Ofra Harnoy, e.g.

66 Whose maiden name was 67 Promotes 68 Brewer’s vessel 69 Accumulate 71 Authority on diamonds?

72 Deck with swords and cups 75 Fossil fuel 76 The law’s is long 78 Feeler 82 Norway’s patron saint 83 Author Carrier (The Hockey Sweater) 84 Triangular sail 85 Kind of bear 86 Einstein’s birthplace 87 Vancouver artist Gathie ___ 88 First French-Canadian governor general 90 Him in Paris 91 B.C./Yukon lake 93 Decree 95 Canadian folksinger (Barrett’s Privateers) 97 Tinting 98 Disgusting 99 Likenesses 100 Ancient Palestinian sect 101 These (Fr.) 102 Pleasing to the eye DOWN 1 Help 2 Religion of Japan

3 Small legume 4 Wittenberg one 5 Send to Ottawa 6 Prefix with trooper 7 Snow in the city 8 Thanksgiving tubers 9 Wind dir.

10 Pile 11 Lofty 12 Exist 13 Entrusted to Canada Post 14 Not stated 15 Oldest working lighthouse in N. America: ___ Island (near Halifax) 17 Area in front of hockey net 18 Metamorphic rock 25 Cellular letters 27 Play the part 30 Doesn’t have to 32 Tailless amphibian 33 From far and ___ 35 Cherry with opinions 36 Chinese dynasty 37 Church (Scot.)

39 Affectedly shy 41 Kathy Dawn ___ 42 Smallest of the litter 43 Site of 1947 oil strike in Alta.

44 Like Henry VIII 45 Prize-giver Alfred ___ 47 Compassionate 48 Angler’s aids 49 Burst forth 50 Proposal joints 52 Skater Browning 53 Traveller’s stopover 54 The Sargasso and the Adriatic 57 “It was the ___ of

times ...”

58 Prophet 59 In moderation (mus.): non ___ 61 Italian car 62 Good buy 63 Dot follower 65 City in W Ukraine 66 Biblical ark-itect 67 Cadge 69 Canadian sport

70 Of delicate beauty 72 At once: ___ suite (2 wds.)

73 Bowling locations 74 Name of some Egyptian kings 75 Econ. indicator 77 Baseball stat.

79 Assert 80 ___ and Hardy 81 Prim

83 The Rockies, e.g.

84 He invented the sport of Ringette: Sam ___ 85 Ad campaign 87 Scandinavian 88 Immoral habit 89 Actor Peterson (“Corner Gas”) 92 ___ down for a nap 94 French duke 96 Attractive leg

SPORTS

November 7, 2004

Page 25

Paul Daly/The Independent

Jenine Browne

‘She’s so fun to watch’ Memorial looks to Jenine Browne to lead rookies down winning path

By Darcy MacRae The Independent

J

enine Brown has a lot on her shoulders this year. The St. Bride’s native is being asked to lead a young and inexperienced Memorial Sea-Hawks women’s basketball team to national contention, a job that could prove difficult given only four players returned this season from last year’s squad.

Together with fellow returnees Amy Dalton, Leslie Stewart and Krista Singleton, Browne hopes to gel quickly with the new crop of players and once again make Memorial a national powerhouse.

“A lot of people think we’re young and this is a rebuilding year, but by February I think we‘ll be ready to go. I don‘t see why we can‘t make it to nationals again,” Browne tells The Independent.

Memorial head coach Doug Partridge knows as well as anyone that this year’s version of the Sea-Hawks will have to suffer some growing pains before they’re ready to challenge for the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference title later this winter. But he says his squad has one advantage that most rebuilding programs don’t — Jenine Browne, a two-time All-Canadian who’s led the entire nation in scoring the past three seasons.

“She doesn’t get too high or too low. example. Her quickness, ball control She just stays calm and plays,” Par- and ability to find open space are sectridge says. “Her work ethic is a great ond to none and have helped make her example to the kids on the team this one of the nation’s top university playyear. It should drive them to be better ers. She passes the ball with authority than they are.” and senses which way the play will Browne’s impact on the team goes turn, but her most celebrated trait may further than scoring and solid defence. be her ability to hit shots from all over The 5’11 forward the court. appears to have a When the 22-yearcalming influence on old shoots, the ball “Everyone can score, leaves her hand with her teammates.

The club’s rookies so the important thing grace. You’d never are drawn to Browne is often stopping people imagine it could hit during water breaks anything but net. from scoring,” says and stoppages in play.

“She’s so fun to They seek advice on Browne. “You’ve got to watch,” Partridge says. offensive and defen- play tough defence and “It’s helped take our sive schemes they make your opponents program — fan-interest have just begun to wise — to another miss their shots.” learn, taking in every level. People really word offered by the want to watch Jenine — Jenine Brown fifth-year star. Her shy, Browne play.” yet inviting personality While she has always — combined with her been an offensive force, on-court intensity — seems to reassure Browne has had to overcome some her new teammates during those times defensive shortages since arriving at when they have no experience to draw Memorial in the fall of 2000. She has on. worked hard to improve her foot work “They’re great players, they just have and now has better awareness of where to overcome some nervousness,” the player she’s shadowing is moving Browne says of the Sea-Hawks’ rook- and where the ball is headed. Overall, ies. she has become one of the Sea-Hawks’ After averaging 23.1 points-per-game more reliable defenders, a talent the during the 2003-04 campaign, Browne team will rely on heavily this season. is qualified to lead the young team by “Five years ago she couldn’t stop a

fly. She really had no knowledge defensively. She’s worked so hard to become a strong defender,” says her coach. “She’s going to have to be one of our leading scorers and top defenders this season. That’s the biggest adjustment she’s going to have to make.”

Browne acknowledges she wasn’t a defensive wizard in her early days at Memorial, and is proud of the fact that her team can now trust her at both ends of the court.

“Everyone can score, so the important thing is often stopping people from scoring,” says Browne. “You’ve got to play tough defence and make your opponents miss their shots.”

Whether the Sea-Hawks can reclaim the Atlantic Conference title later this season (they won the AUS banner in both 2002 and 2003 before falling to Cape Breton in last year’s championship game) remains to be seen, but it’ s a given that Browne will be the center piece of any such run at glory.

At the conclusion of the season, Browne plans to pursue a pro career in Europe. Just the mention of it brings a smile to her face.

“Doing something you love and getting paid for it would be great,” says Browne. “Just getting to travel and see the world would be something.”

Darcy_8888@hotmail.com

Page 26

SPORTS

The Independent, November 7, 2004

Raking the Leafs from memory

W

hile it has yet to be determined who will run the franchise, St. John’s will almost assuredly have a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League franchise next season at Mile One Stadium.

Three interested parties (St. John’s Sports and Entertainment, JCT Enterprises and local developer Derm Dobbin) await word on which entity will be granted the franchise.

Undoubtedly, there will be much controversy over who wins the battle.

I believe the team should be operated by private enterprise, although I’d be surprised if St. John’s Sports doesn’t come out on top.

Things just seem to happen that way in the capital city.

Regardless, there are three competent bidders for the franchise, and that has to be a good thing — if the power struggle doesn’t scare off the Q. As for the team and what name and logo the players will be wearing on the ice, I just hope it won’t be the Leafs. That name has had its day, which has passed. While it would probably be a cheaper route to take (because of existing logo, promotional materials, etc.), the team needs a fresh, new approach. Perhaps management (whoever that will be) will dip into our rich history to honour our past.

But please, stay away from Cabot. No disrespect to such an intrepid explorer, but his name and likeness has been used enough.

Other Q teams have historically-themed names specific to the respective city or region, while others have gone with names of local animals. Some, like the Halifax Mooseheads, honour both animals and beer.

Now that’s a nice combination.

How about the St. John’s Black Horses?

Whatever the moniker, I look forward to watching the games. AHL hockey had its moments, but I’ll bet local fans will get more excited with Q-caliber junior hockey.

TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF What is it with Tracy McGrady? Acquired by the Houston Rockets from the Orlando Magic this summer, he is without question one of the most talented individuals in the NBA. But the focus always seems to be on the word “individual” when discussing McGrady’s greatness.

Take, for example, a recent quote in a Toronto newspaper after the Houston Rockets lost their second consecutive game to

Bob the Bayman BOB WHITE with Rockets star Yao Ming. The 7’6” Chinese big man has the skills and size to dominate, but he needs to be given the ball to do so. McGrady likes to have the ball in his hands and it will be up to him to feed Yao. If McGrady can’t raise the level of Yao’s game (and, with him, the Rockets), he will be exposed as a selfish stat-stuffer.

Paul Daly/The Independent

start the season to the Raptors.

“I think with the pieces that I have, the team that I have, the coaching staff, I think this year will be the year, but it’s really all up to us.”

I know it’s only a quote, but his use of the word I is telling.

He’s the type of modern-day athlete who will take all the praise when his team is play-

ing well, but blame everyone else when losses pile up. It happened in Orlando, who traded away the two-time defending league scoring champ and were happy to be rid of him.

He also couldn’t stand playing second fiddle to Vince Carter in Toronto, and bolted at the first opportunity to Orlando. It would be a shame if McGrady can’t co-exist

Shut out at Mile One

B

usinessman Derm Dobbin has a definite shot at landing a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League franchise for St. John’s.

If only he had a stadium for the team to play in.

St. John’s Sports and Entertainment Ltd. — the company responsible for operating Mile One Stadium for the City of St. Johns — has denied Dobbin the use of Mile One should he win the bid.

Dobbin is one of three bidders for the franchise. The other two bidders include St. John’s Sports and Entertainment and JCT Enterprises. The league has already approved the franchise for St. John’s with the understanding the team will use Mile One. In a Nov. 4 letter, Keith Coombs, chair of St. John’s Sports and Entertainment, turned down Dobbin’s request to use Mile One. “…the board has decided not to enter into negotiations with you or any other potential franchise holder,” Coombs wrote.

“Our treasurer has reviewed your offer and the effect would be to significantly increase the deficit of St. John’s Sports and Entertain-

ment Ltd. because you would receive 95 per cent of the hockey revenues and the building would only receive five per cent.”

Dobbin had offered to pay off St. John’s Sport and Entertainment’s $4.5 million debt should the company withdraw its bid. Dobbin has also offered to pay the operator of Mile One $5,000 per hockey game.

In a Sept. 22 letter to Dobbin, Coombs stated: “If you choose to apply for a franchise we will have

Solutions from page 24

By Clare-Marie Gosse The Independent

to advise the league that you do not have the right to use Mile One stadium.”

The St. John’s Maple Leafs — the current American Hockey League franchise overseen by the city for the past 14 years — will be relocating to Toronto at the end of the 2004-05 season.

Dobbin told the local media late last week he received inside information that he will be awarded the franchise by month’s end.

BELEAF IT OR NOT Yao Ming is a national hero in his native country and one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. Yet, even one so mighty as Ming would be hard-pressed to defeat the villain that threatens the greatest moment in China’s sports history — Beijing hosting the 2008 Olympics Summer Games.

Air pollution in big cities is a global concern, and Beijing has struggled tremendously with the problem. The city and the international Olympic committee are well aware of the crisis, and officials are actively trying to find a solution. Recent information has some wondering whether the air will be clean enough in four years.

Chinese children in big cities like Beijing live in an atmosphere equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarette’s a day.

Can you imagine steroids and performance-enhancing drugs being upstaged at the Olympics by the air athletes breathe?

What are the Games coming to?

Will athletes competing in outdoor events have to wear special masks? Will they be able to blame positive drug tests on chemicals they ingested while simply breathing?

In many respects, from economics to sports, China has shown tremendous growth in recent years, which is how the IOC came to award Beijing the 2008 Games. China is a huge, largely untapped market that has become a prime target for every exporting company in Western civilization.

Maybe we can sell them clean air. I wonder what kind of royalties Ottawa would claim from oxygen? (And will Newfoundland and Labrador get a cut?)

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

Bold opinions. Great photos. Sports and much more.

Available at the following fine TM

locations: • 131 Commonwealth • Churchill Square • 193 LeMarchant Rd • 204 Freshwater Rd

• 130 CBS Highway • 141 Torbay Rd • Village Mall • Bidgoods Plaza, Goulds

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, November 7, 2004

SPORTS

Page 27

Events NOVEMBER 7 Deck The Halls craft fair, Fairmont Newfoundland Hotel, 7228855.

The Ultimate Bridal Show, approximately 40 exhibitors, 11a.m.-5 p.m., Holiday Inn, tickets $3 single, $5 per couple, 364-7277.

Wish for Daniel Primmer at Club One. Entertainment by Pete Soucy, Jim Payne and Fergus O’Byrne, The Punters, Denis Parker, Boyd Chubbs,Bart and the Breadpicks, $10, 722-6674.

Resource Centre for the Arts theatre artist forum On the Verge: a general meeting for artists in the community is discuss how to exhibit the talents of emerging artists, LSPU Hall, St. John’s, 753-4531.

NOVEMBER 8 Fiddler on the Roof, Nov. 8-13, St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre, 8 p.m.

Writers’Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador presents a reading

by Edward Riche. LSPU Hall Gallery, St. John’s, 8 p.m.

P4 Youth Centre, Placentia, 10th anniversary celebration begins, 3:30 p.m. at the centre. Events continue through Nov. 14, 227-2050.

NOVEMBER 9 Cafes in the Cove — A Salute to Bluegrass, The Kirk (St. Andrew’s church), St. John’s, 7:30 p.m., $5/$3, 753-0484.

NOVEMBER 10 Ceremony of Remembrance, honouring the war dead in the university’s annual Ceremony of Remembrance on the St. John’s campus. Reid Theatre, Arts and Administration Building. 11 a.m.

The Curse of the Wild Rover, a panel discussion on commercialism and folk music featuring Ray

Walsh, Fergus O’Byrne, and Christina Smith, 7-9 p.m., Ship Pub regular folk night will follow at 9:30 p.m. featuring the guests.

Choices for Youth Inc. annual general meeting (12:30 p.m.) and open house (1:30-4:30 p.m.), 1216 Carter’s Hill Place, St. John’s, 754-3047.

NOVEMBER 11 The Heidi Chronicles: The Beothuck Street Players, Nov. 1113, (www.beothuckstreetplayers.org), LSPU Hall, St. John’s, 8 pm.

A Night of Tales, an informal gathering of storytellers and lovers of a good story. Crow’s Nest Officer’s Club, St. John’s, 7:30-9:30 p.m., 685-3444.

Cantus Vocum Chamber Choir presents For the Fallen, a concert for remembrance, 8 p.m., St. James Church, St. John’s.

NOVEMBER 12 Wreckhouse Winds, chamber music., D. F. Cook Recital Hall, MUN, 8 p.m. Tickets available the evening of the performance, $10/$5, 737-4455.

Paddy McGuinty’s Wake dinner theatre at the Majestic, 7 p.m., 579-3023, reservations required.

Nov. 12-13.

Back to Basics wine tasting dinner. Reservations required. Located at Chef-to-Go, 2, Barnes Rd., 7 p.m., cost $95 members/$105 nonmembers, 579-2342 for wine and menu details.

NOVEMBER 13 Two Minutes of Silence – A Pittance of Time, musical drama featuring Terry Kelly, Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre, 8 p.m.

The Scruncheons, chamber music. D. F. Cook Recital Hall, MUN, 8 p.m. Tickets available

the evening of the performance, $10/$5, 737-4455.

Books for Babies 10th year celebration party, with puppet shows, stories, face-painting and cake, 10 am-3 pm, Chapters Bookstore, Kenmount Road, St. John’s, 6344888 IN THE GALLERIES • Segments by Anita Singh, Bonnie Leyton Gallery of Fine Art, St. John’s.

• Intimations by Audrey Feltham, Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s.

Contemplating Re-Tox, new oils

by Ron Andrews, until Nov. 11, Christians Pub. La Vie en Bleu, exhibit of cyanotypes by Barbara Burnaby, until Nov. 14, Pollyanna Gallery.

Exhibit of 19 Quebec artists, James Baird Gallery, until Nov. 17, call 726-4502.