2005-01-16

VOL. 3 ISSUE 3

EDITOR’S NOTE Due to demand, the methodology behind The Independent’s six-part series on Confederation published last fall is now available on our website: www.theindependent.ca

ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

Power hungry

SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, JANUARY 16-22, 2005

WWW.THEINDEPENDENT.CA

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Empty rooms

Hydro-Quebec lines at full capacity; ‘Atlantic corridor’ on New York’s radar

By Jeff Ducharme The Independent

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SPORTS

New coach of Fog Devils has the experience

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LIFE & TIMES

Hands for Hope to reach out at Mile One

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he once touted Atlantic corridor route to transmit power from the proposed lower Churchill development to the eastern seaboard as a means to bypass Quebec is still “on the boards,” according to a spokesman for the New York corporation that oversees the transmission of power there.

Ken Clapp of the New York Independent System Operator says he doubts the existing Hydro-Quebec transmission lines can handle any more power. Hydro-Quebec buys upper Churchill hydro and then resells it to American markets, including New York state.

While Hydro-Quebec has gathered an estimated $23.8 billion in revenues from the sale of electricity since the upper Churchill came on stream in 1972, it’s estimated Newfoundland and Labrador has taken in less than three per cent of that — about $680 million.

Premier Danny Williams’ government recently called for proposals to develop the lower Churchill, which could produce 2,824 megawatts of electricity with the development of Muskrat Falls and Gull Island. The province expects the proposal process to take 18 to 24 months.

If it can be proven that the current Hydro-Quebec lines can’t handle any more power, the federal government could intercede and force Quebec to allow the construction of a second transmission line through that province.

That would be an alternative to the so-called Atlantic corridor, which would funnel Gull Island power through the main generating station in Churchill Falls, and back past Gull Island to the southeast tip of Labrador.

Paul Daly/The Independent

Gordon Laurin, executive director of the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, looks out the window of The Rooms in St. John’s. Late last week, Tourism Minister Paul Shelley made the announcement many have long been waiting for: The Rooms will officially open June 29 — one year later than originally planned. The facility, which houses the art gallery, provincial archives and museum — as well as a number of spectacular views — is ready for business, though the walls, vaults, and exhibition spaces are bare at the moment.

Continued on page 2

‘Outside the box’

OPINION

Time right for long-term transportation plan — super port for Burin Peninsula, experts say

Ivan Morgan on grocery store by the lake

Page 5

HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY

By Bert Pomeroy For The Independent

By Stephanie Porter The Independent

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A

INTERNATIONAL

Indonesian sensitivities change foreign aid Page 20

Quote Week OF THE

“We think that NAFO is managed by Canada” — Luz Maria Duran, economic/ sea journalist for Faro De Vigo, a Spanish newspaper

member of the 1977 federalprovincial commission on the transportation system in Newfoundland and Labrador— which recommended, among other things, that the railway be abandoned — says the time is right to do another one.

Burford Ploughman says there’s little or no long-term planning within the current provincial department of Works, Services and Transportation.

Partly, he says, because there is no department solely devoted to issues of transportation.

‘There’s a department of engineers who know how to design roads, bridges and so forth, but have no concept of the importance of transportation to economic benefit in the province,” Ploughman says, adding that short-term issues like repairs, maintenance and snowclearing take up most of the existing resources.

“Consequently, there’s a number of areas in which mistakes are being made, opportunities are being missed … planning is not what it could be.”

Doug Oldford, regional director for Transport Canada until his retirement five years ago, agrees. “The problem I see — now looking inside from the outside — is that a lot of decisions have

Hydro project could further damage Labrador cod stocks; paper

Burford Ploughman

been made on a mutually exclusive basis.”

Transportation issues, Oldford continues, become difficult to separate from social and political ones — decisions, like the buyout of the coastal ferry service, are often made with short-term goals in mind.

While a sweeping review of Marine Atlantic is currently underway, Ploughman and Oldford suggest a broader examination may be needed.

“The time may be right for where something like a royal commission,”

Paul Daly/The Independent

says Oldford.

“Some kind of heavy artillery commission, should be started to look at all issues and modes of transportation, recognizing you haven’t got money to improve everything.

“That would give them a chance to at least cherry pick the things you should be doing.”

It’s the missed opportunities Ploughman sees that bother him the most — including the lack of an adequate, Continued on page 2

he construction of hydroelectric stations at Gull Island and Muskrat Falls on the lower Churchill River could further damage groundfish stocks off the Labrador coast, documents obtained by The Independent reveal.

Entitled Modeling Variations of the Seasonal Cycle of Plankton Production: The Labrador Sea, Labrador Shelf and Hamilton Inlet, the document was completed in April last year by a graduate of Memorial University’s environmental sciences program.

Diana Cardoso, who now works with Oceans Ltd. in St. John’s, submitted the 260-page thesis as part of her requirements for a masters of science degree.

While the document is only an opinion based on known facts, it contains some evidence that suggests a possible link between the Churchill Falls development and the decline of fish stocks on the Hamilton Banks off Labrador.

Cardoso says it’s hard to narrow down whether there’s a connection, but it is known that there have been significant changes in the river’s flow since the hydro project was completed more than 30 years ago.

“There wasn’t a lot of data from before or after (the Churchill Falls development) to do a good analysis,” she tells The Independent. “But the monthly mean river flow

before … had a distinct springtime rush of water — it doesn’t get as much in the spring as it used to, because it’s now being regulated.”

The regulated flow, she says, has changed the water column in Hamilton Inlet, which affected phytoplankton populations. Phytoplankton are microscopic plants that live in the ocean, and are the foundation of the marine food chain.

“I think Hydro is keeping a lot of data to themselves.”

— Diana Cardoso “In Hamilton Inlet, after the hydro development, the model showed that the timing of the spring bloom (of phytoplankton) remained unchanged, but the total annual biomass decreased,” she writes in her paper. “The primary production in (Hamilton Inlet) also decreased after 1976 by about 25 per cent …”

Cardoso notes that a 1981 report she obtained for her paper points out that 70 per cent of the fishermen interviewed at the time felt “changes of flow of the Churchill River was the blame for the cod stock decline in Groswater Bay.” A lower Churchill development “could cause greater changes in the water circulation and properties of Hamilton Inlet and has the potential to influence fish and fisheries,” the paper reads.

“Hydroelectric developments have impacted the environment worldwide. For

example, on the Dnieper River, which flows to the Black Sea, construction of a dam caused a change in the pattern of seasonal discharge. The spring discharge rate was reduced and the discharge became sporadic throughout the year. This resulted in a $3.8 billion loss to the fishery industry.”

Cardoso’s model also looked at the seasonal plankton cycles in the Labrador Sea and the Labrador Shelf. She says there wasn’t enough available information to determine whether any changes in levels of phytoplankton could be related to the Churchill Falls development.

“There could be other factors, such as climate change,” she says.

Cardoso says she studied dozens of documents to come to her conclusions. She suspects there’s more information out there to back up some of her claims.

“I think (Newfoundland and Labrador) Hydro is keeping a lot of data to themselves,” she says. “I had to fight tooth and nail to get the data I did get from them.”

Last week, the provincial government and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro released a request for expressions of interest and proposals for participation in the development of the lower Churchill.

“Our decision to issue this request signals a new approach for the development of this significant renewable resource at a time when there is increasing demand for clean, renewable electricity supplies,” Premier Danny Williams stated in a news release.

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NEWS

The Independent, January 16, 2005

Flag flap shouldn’t affect economy

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ould the uncertain relations between the province and Ottawa adversely affect Newfoundland and Labrador’s business credibility in the eyes of potential investors?

News of the discord surrounding changes to the Atlantic Accord has travelled far and wide, even garnering attention from publications

like Britain’s Financial Times. Jim Stanford, an economist with Canada’s largest private-sector trade union, the Canadian Auto Workers, tells The Independent he doesn’t think the political unrest will have any adverse effects on the provincial economy.

“I wouldn’t view it as having any significant impact one way or

another … what is the risk for Newfoundland? The possible benefit is they’ll get more federal transfers coming in, that would be an economic plus … I don’t see any downside for Newfoundland and Labrador in this.”

Joe Riche, owner of Riche Investments, a financial planning practice in St. John’s, agrees.

“What needs to happen in Newfoundland and Labrador, there has to be more opportunities for venture capital, and that’s (already) happening now,” he says.

Riche adds that if anything, the flag flap is gaining the province more attention — which can only be a positive thing.

Finance Minister Loyola Sulli-

van says with the Canadian flag reinstated in front of government buildings, a point has been made.

He adds if taking it down had adversely affected provincial business opportunities, Quebec would have already experienced a “tremendous negative” impact to their economy long ago.

— Clare-Marie Gosse

Transmission lines ‘generally loaded’ From page 1 From there, the power would cross the Straight of Belle Isle by means of an underwater sea cable, and land on the Northern Peninsula. The transmission lines would then travel down to the southwest coast.

The power would cross the Cabot Strait, then surface again in Cape Breton to begin its trek across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The hydropower from Gull Island would then reach its final destination in New York.

“The other dilemma with Quebec is that it’s my understanding … that the (transmission lines) are generally loaded,” Clapp tells The Independent.

The New York Independent System Operator is a not-for-profit corporation that manages the transmission of power in what is one of the most power-hungry markets in North America.

Christine Martin, a Hydro-Quebec spokeswoman, refused comment on whether the utility’s transmission lines to the U.S. are stretched to the limit. She would only say officials are aware of the call for proposals on the lower Churchill, but have “no comment to make whatsoever.” She did say Hydro-Quebec’s interest in the lower Churchill “is well known and remains,” and officials “understand and respect the Newfoundland government’s initiative.”

Clapp says the Atlantic corridor hasn’t completely dropped of the radar.

Paul Daly/The Independent

“There’s a project (Atlantic corridor) still on the boards, but again, until that connection is made, we’re stuck with the existing transmission links with Canada and you can only bring over so much power on those lines.”

Reports by the New York Independent System Operator call for 5,000 to 7,000 more megawatts of power to be in place by 2008 when it expects demand to outpace supply. While some of that power has already been secured or is currently being developed, the corporation is still searching for 3,100 megawatts of power.

Gull Island, if developed, could generate

2,000 megawatts of power — more than half of New York’s power requirements.

(The 824 megawatts from Muskrat Falls would remain in the province.)

But, says Clapp, the main power requirement is in New York City and Long Island.

“We always welcome economic (cheap) power … that would be bidding in our market regardless of what the capacity situation looks like.”

In the early 1980s, then-premier Brian Peckford was embroiled in a heated battle with the federal government. He demanded Ottawa step in and force Quebec to allow Newfoundland and Labrador to build transmission lines through Quebec to carry lower Churchill power, thus removing the middleman — Hydro-Quebec. Peckford felt the province had the constitutional right to transmit electricity through Quebec.

While Peckford was doing battle with Ottawa, the Power Authority of the State of of New York found itself on the sidelines waiting for a resolution and the badly needed power.

At the time, the Power Authority of the State New York was desperate for a clean energy source to get away from its reliance on foreign oil. In the early 1980s it was estimated that the sale of Gull Island power to New York could give Newfoundland and Labrador up to $400 million a year. Thenchairman John Dyson said the power authority would look for a guaranteed 30year supply of electricity.

He didn’t care if the power was brought

Kicked around for years From page 1 organized, intra-provincial bus service.

“If tourists fly into St. John’s and want to go to Trinity or Gros Morne, what can they do?” he says. “This is the only province or state in all of North America that doesn’t have published schedules and rates.

“We’re losing out big time in tourism, not to mention business from people who live on the island, because not everybody wants to drive a car.”

Ploughman also looks to Burin and the seaway as another major opportunity not being properly taken advantage of. He pulls out carefully clipped newspaper articles he’s kept on file.

“The ports in Vancouver and so on are all blocked off because of all the goods coming over from China,” he says. “There are plans now to go through the Panama Canal and up to Halifax — Halifax may be the new Asian gateway.”

He goes on to describe the everincreasing size of container ships.

The vessels now carry between 6,000 and 9,000 containers, he says. But bigger ones are being built, which will hold up to 12,000.

Currently Halifax is the only port on the eastern seaboard that can accommodate these ships.

Ploughman says Whiffin Head, on the Burin Peninsula, could be developed as a competitive trans-

shipment port.

“You can imagine the cost of operating one of these container ships per day,” Ploughman says.

“Now, if you could shorten the journey by a day or so … and they’re going right by Newfoundland.

“There’s a nice port, ice free, on the Burin Peninsula — the oil is coming in there and being transshipped, we should be looking at this as an alternative.”

Oldford, too, says the possibility of a super port on the Burin Peninsula should be further studied.

‘NOT A NEW IDEA’ “It’s not a new idea, it’s been kicked around for years,” he says.

“Vessels could come in from all over the world and there would be a break bulk kind of situation — some would go down the Gulf of St. Lawrence, others down the eastern seaboard.

“Unfortunately, Halifax kind of beat us to the punch on that … but it’s not too late.”

Ploughman, who spends four months a year in his Labrador residence, has another beef. He believes the Trans-Labrador highway plan should be revisited, in light of the possible completion of Quebec’s north shore highway, which would take travellers through Quebec, along the coast of the St. Lawrence, and to the Blanc Sablon ferry to Newfoundland.

Quebec Premier Jean Charest made an election promise to finish the road — should he indeed do so, says Ploughman, it could be worth changing the TransLabrador highway plans to connect with the new coastal highway.

“It’s only a matter of Premier (Danny) Williams picking up the phone, and asking Jean Charest — are you going ahead with the road, and what’s the timeframe? Then the department can start planning with that in mind.”

All these pieces link together, says Oldford.

“With all of the different things churning up requiring provincial/federal funds, some kind of exercise should be generated to have a bunch of well-qualified, professional people to take a hard look at this — and not have everybody fight for their own pet project.”

Ploughman doesn’t blame the provincial minister responsible for transportation or any of those working in his department for any lack of foresight.

“It’s not the people there, it’s the system that’s got to change,” he says. “We’ve got to be looking forward 10, 15, 20 years in terms of planning, in terms of tourism opportunities.

“We need people not just worried about maintenance and snowclearing. We need people thinking outside the box.”

to market via the Atlantic corridor or through Quebec.

“Newfoundland can transmit power across our province tomorrow if they want to,” Nova Scotia premier John Buchanan said in a 1980 CBC Television interview.

Dyson also said that the power authority was prepared to finance the project — at least partly.

A quarter century later, Connie Cullen, a spokeswoman for the renamed New York Power Authority, says power from the lower Churchill remains an alternative.

“We could conceivably consider this power source if it develops as part of a competitive RFP — that’s request for proposals — that (the power authority) would issue.”

Cullen says the power authority is currently evaluating a number of proposals to provide New York State with a 20-year power supply. She says officials expect a decision on a supplier to be made in the near future, leaving the lower Churchill project out of the picture for the moment.

The New York Power Authority is the largest state-owned electrical utility in the United States.

Peckford’s war with Quebec eventually killed the lower Churchill development. He tried to regain control of the upper Churchill by attempting to take back the water rights, but eventually lost his case in the Supreme Court of Canada.

With time running out, the Power Authority of the State of New York proceeded with other power options.

The Independent, January 16, 2005

NEWS

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Paul Daly/The Independent

Chief concerns

Constabulary boss reflects on 2004, high crime rates, George Street and his worry for the future

By Clare-Marie Gosse The Independent

W

ith a self-confessed “challenging” year behind him, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary’s Chief Richard Deering tells The Independent that 2005 will bring some changes.

Taking his position at the end of a large, polished boardroom table, Deering’s careful demeanor reflects some of the pressure felt by the force of late.

Issues such as lack of manpower, alarming peaks in crime stats, labour strikes, and a high-profile public inquiry into past Constabulary operations have stressed the organization.

WAYS TO IMPROVE Following in the footsteps of other government sectors, the Constabulary is planning some efficiency restructuring this year, looking at ways to improve and tighten service delivery.

“With limited resources you want to make sure they are being used to your best advantage,” says Deering.

The ongoing issue of “limited resources” was recently addressed by the Constabulary’s union head Tim Buckle in a pre-budget presentation to government, citing a history of “neglect” towards the force.

One area of concern is the shortage of police officers. The Constabulary is also facing a significant drop in numbers over the next 10 years due to retirements.

Six new officers were officially

sworn in last week, and another 29 “It was very lengthy … it was wait in the wings, enrolled in an very taxing from a human resources academic program at Memorial perspective and a financial University. The recruits are expect- resources perspective,” he says. ed to hit the streets by September, “It was a very emotional time after some practical on-the-job because clearly the role of the training. police in the strike is to walk down “We’ve been playing catch-up … the middle of the road as much as for quite some time, but it will take possible and to remain neutral and us a number of years to really catch to ensure that both sides live by the up,” Deering says. rules.”

It’s anticipated With the unusualthat as a result of the ly high number of conclusion of the strikes that were to “We’re still pretty Lamer Inquiry, addifollow, picket lines safe but I don’t tional policing stanbecame a focus for like the direction dards will be recomthe Constabulary, mended, which we’re going and I’m whose own union would pose another association contract not sure that’s the drain on Constabuended in June. A fault of anyone.” lary resources. new agreement is Deering says he’s still pending, but — Constabulary refraining from pubnegotiations are lic comment on the Chief Richard Deering expected to begin inquiry — which is within the next investigating three month. wrongful murder convictions — A continuing area of concern last until it concludes. year was the dramatic rise of certain Roughly half of the officers under crime trends in the province, which questioning are still part of the Deering blames largely on drug use. force.

“People are desperate and we see “Obviously Lamer is something desperate people committing desthat’s a source of concern to the perate acts to get the money to feed organization and to particular mem- their drug habit,” he says. bers of the organization … but I “We are dealing with it, but you think in terms of being able to move can’t just go out and deal with it in forward you have to know what a day and make it go away.” caused the problems in the past.”

The issue seems to strike a chord Reflecting over 2004, Deering of frustration. Deering says too mentions the 28-day public sector often people turn exclusively to the strike in early spring as the first police to fix “a crisis situation,” major operational challenge, par- when society also needs to assume ticularly as officers found them- responsibility and consider soluselves policing some of their own tions. civilian colleagues.

He adds instances of armed rob-

bery are up over 100 per cent from 2003 levels.

“There’s been a lot of significant ups unfortunately. Particularly in the realm of property crime, break and enter thefts, thefts of motor vehicles and in particular, armed robberies.”

Drugs aside, the economy of the province is expanding, which causes other crime issues. More people are moving into the city, tourism is growing, and Deering says every weekend seems to bring another business conference, drawing more and more visitors to popular areas like George Street, which he adds, is a growing area of concern for the Constabulary.

‘DRAMATIC’ ADJUSTMENT Coming from a position with the Ontario Provincial Police four years ago, Deering says adjusting to the policing culture in Newfoundland and Labrador was “pretty dramatic” in both good and bad ways.

Despite the differences and the fact this province has a low murder and violent crime rate, he expresses worry for the future.

“We’re still pretty safe, but I don’t like the direction we’re going and I’m not sure that’s the fault of anyone. I think it’s all part of this village globalization, that mentality,” he says.

“I mean, think about the number of people that access this province on a daily basis now, and that was unheard of 15, 20 years ago … people are coming and going here, we’ve become a multi-national centre for a number of industries.”

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NEWS

The Independent, January 16, 2005

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

Ottawa’s ‘or else’

Reporter Clare-Marie Gosse Production Manager John Andrews OPERATIONS General Manager John Moores john.moores@theindependent.ca Consultant Wilson Hiscock Manager Sales & Marketing Andrew Best Account Executives Corey Lynch corey.lynch@theindependent.ca Gillian Fisher gillian.fisher@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 Canada Post Agreement # 40871083

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

A

revolution is taking place in Newfoundland and Labrador today, at least on the editorial pages of The Independent, where the rising number of letters to the editor is threatening to squeeze poor columnists — innocent bystanders that we are — out on the street.

Everyone has an opinion these days: on John Efford; on Churchill Falls; on the Gulf ferry; on the Coast Guard ships tied up in St. John’s harbour for lack of gas money; on Globe columnist Margaret Wente and the central Canadian ignorance/bigotry she’s suspected of representing.

It’s dangerous when the public becomes overly riled, which is when heads tend to roll.

Canada has problems; Canada has always had problems. But issues like the flag flap and ongoing Atlantic Accord negotiations are focusing more scrutiny on the federation’s weaknesses.

Will Canada as we know it survive the latest crisis, for it is surely that.

Those goofy Newfies who were laughed at for years are no longer with us. They moved to the mainland and became Canadians. In

their place is a new generation of educated Newfoundlanders and Labradorians (Independent readers, more and more) no longer willing to accept the old line that this place is have-not.

That’s not true, we’re slowly learning.

Most of us have only wonderful things to say about our country, Canada. How can you not when so many of ours sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, live in Victoria and Winnipeg, Scarborough and Halifax?

The same blood flows through the veins of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians as other Canadians.

We are the same people — only less equal.

Separation, the word, was once only whispered; today it’s openly discussed on call-in radio shows and by water coolers. It’s a course that no one wants to see charted, but all routes must be explored. It would be foolish to rule anything out.

Mainland media have one question in mind when the cameras are on and lens focused: what’s the “or else?”

Newfoundland and Labrador is hard done by, but what’s it going to do about it?

Some advice from The Rock:

RYAN CLEARY

don’t put our backs to the wall — we’re fighting Newfoundlanders yet.

The battle over oil and gas revenues is destined to broaden to include the mismanaged fishery (let’s save that for another day), and the division of power amongst the 10 provinces (this week’s topic).

From this province’s perspective, it’s politically screwed. With only seven seats out of 308, our voices in the Commons are but a whimper.

The idea of our MPs forming a Bloc has been bandied about, but the idea died the minute it sprang from Roger Grimes’ mouth. And, given our dwindling population, the number of seats isn’t about to shoot through the roof.

That leaves the Senate and the age-old argument for a Triple-E (equal, elected, effective) makeover. But the idea of a stronger Upper Chamber to make up for the inequities in the Lower one would be kiboshed as soon as Ontario and Quebec realize they’d have the same number of Senators as poor old Newfoundland and Labrador. How could they be expected to live with that?

Is there a Canadian (outside of Quebec) who believes that Quebec would stand for reforming a parliamentary system that it controls?

Quebec has charge of the prime

minister’s office; Quebec dominates the Supreme Court of Canada; Quebec has the bureaucracy under its thumb (bilingualism takes care of that).

Quebec is in complete control and it’s not about to give it up. (A Quebec company, remember, also owns all the print media in Newfoundland and Labrador, outside of The Independent, The Shoreline and the Northeast Avalon Times.)

Why would Quebec voluntarily give up its power?

That brings us back to the point about the province being politically screwed.

Too much attention on the problems of Confederation is never a good thing. Quebec’s separatism movement has become a bluff, a way to get what it wants. The movement here in Newfoundland and Labrador is based on getting what we rightfully deserve, on building a future for this place and our people.

The revolution has begun. The real question is not what’s our “or else,” but Ottawa’s. What will happen if Newfoundland and Labrador doesn’t mind its place?

Not a damn thing. The future is ours.

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

Letters to the Editor

‘The goose that lays the golden egg’ Dear editor, The dawn of a new year is perhaps as good a time as any to reflect on significant happenings in the year past.

In regards to the cod situation in 2004, DFO apprehended a number of individuals around Newfoundland who took the chance to catch a cod or two and the courts made an example of those cod destroyers.

In my opinion, however, the group responsible for the untold destruction of countless cod around the shores of Newfoundland last year was DFO itself.

Let me explain the great cod caper of 2004.

A lobby effort was mounted in the spring of 2004 to persuade DFO to allow a limited commercial cod fishery along the northeast

coast.

What was finally decided upon and agreed to by DFO was a socalled winter flounder or blackback fishery in which fishermen were permitted an incidental catch of 300 pounds of cod per trip up to a maximum allowable catch of 2,000 pounds per fisherman for the season — at which time fishing would cease.

Unfortunately, as in most cases when one tries to fool the devil in the dark, there was a serious catch — one that led to the destruction of thousands of precious large mother cod.

The catch was DFO’s insistence that fishermen not use nets with mesh smaller than six and a half inches — knowing the large mesh size would result in the destruction of large breeder cod so necessary

for recruitment.

I begged DFO to allow fishermen to use five and a half inch nets to catch their 2,000 pounds of cod. I was told that anyone using gear smaller than six and a half inch mesh size would be charged.

Consequently, I asked many fishermen in this area as to the size of cod and roe sacs being taken in this summer fishery of 2004.

“Like young harps!” I was told.

“A bucket of spawn in each one.”

Lest anyone misunderstand, I was totally in favour of a commercial cod fishery along the northeast coast of Newfoundland, but absolutely against a gear type that targets the precious, large mother breeders .

Any fisherman who cares anything for his community and his

future will agree, I believe, that we must find some way to protect the goose that lays the golden egg, as it were, while maintaining the right to feed our families from the resources at our disposal.

To avoid any misunderstanding, let me reiterate that I believe we should be permitted a commercial cod fishery along the northeast coast in 2005, but let’s have the guts to call it a cod fishery and let’s use gear that targets merchantable fish — not the precious breeders.

And by the way, DFO, the next time you stand in court — the federal minister or the managers — you should be the ones on trial for crimes against nature!

David Boyd, Twillingate

The Independent, January 16, 2005

NEWS

Page 5

Attention shoppers: supermarket by Quidi Vidi

I

love a city where a supermarket can cause such a fuss.

Only in St. John’s could this be such a big issue.

Toronto is a big city and it has serious problems. It’s plagued with youth-related crime, gang violence, drive-by shootings, robberies and murders. All that and Margaret Wente lives there too.

It’s a great city, but it has big challenges. I’m glad I don’t live there.

I’m happy to live in a city where people get their knickers in a twist over a supermarket. Since I started working for The Independent, I’ve been approached numerous times and asked what my stand is on the supermarket Loblaws wants to build by Quidi Vidi. I have no stand. Build it or don’t; that doesn’t mean I agree with it. That doesn’t mean I don’t agree with it. It means I don’t give a rat’s ass.

I love supermarkets — the bigger the better. I want it all and I want it all in one place. I want it now. Build one and I will come, wherever it is. I understand the contested location might be put to better use, but that’s true of a lot of places where supermarkets now stand.

I remember when the Shamrock supermarket flap was in full roar.

Lines were quickly drawn; opinion was sharply divided. Friendships

Rant & Reason IVAN MORGAN were tested. Tempers flared.

My opinion at the time? Whatever.

When it was Shamrock Field I coached soccer there. Now it is gone, replaced by a beautiful supermarket full to the brim with delicious food. The same thing will happen if and when they build on the Memorial Stadium site. What’s to hate?

Plenty. There are two sides to this debate. They’re both convinced they’re right and have dug in their heels.

That’s why I have some sympathy for John Roil, the independent commissioner appointed to review the whole fuss.

He must have known what a thankless task it was going to be.

No doubt he’s a fine fellow who gave the matter his full attention.

But it could not have escaped him that no matter what he decided, it would not matter.

He reported that while it was a smart financial move for the city to put a supermarket there, it was not

the right use for the area and may cause traffic issues. With absolutely no disrespect meant to Mr. Roil — who I do not know and who I assume is a competent and capable fellow — duh.

Did we really need to spend the big dollars to have this figured out? Will this change anyone’s vote on St. John’s City Council?

One side is claiming a great victory and the other side says Roil is wrong.

Quelle surprise!

Reviews and commissions of this kind are a phenomenal waste of time and taxpayers’ money.

They state the obvious, change no one’s mind and are immediately dismissed by those who don’t agree with the findings. I’m guessing that will be the fate of Roil’s hard work.

That’s what happened to the Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada. Again, I have no beef with those who conducted it. I’m one of the nine who read it. The writing wasn’t too ponderous (although it was dripping with new age twaddle that sends me right round the bend.)

It was just a waste of time. It cost the taxpayers of this province a hefty sum. It rehashed old facts and added lots of upbeat blather

about our “unique culture” and the like. It was released with forced fanfare by the quickly dying Grimes administration and just as quickly disappeared without a trace, revived recently only in the context of how it was utterly outclassed and upstaged by an upstart local paper (cough cough). Danny Williams and a bunch of flag-lowering commissionaires caused more of an impact on Tipp’s Eve. I wanted to take a case of copies of the report and place it on the meridian of the highway that was built but never used and take a picture.

I’d call it “Your tax dollars at work.”

I fear Roil’s report will have the same impact. The press has reported that Roil has wisely refrained

from publicly commenting on his report. No doubt he did his best to inject sweet reason into the debate.

It just doesn’t serve any purpose. If Roil threw a press conference tomorrow and changed his mind, all any reporter would have to do is switch the names of the councillors in front of the for-and-against quotes and file it again.

Here’s the Morgan Report: the duly elected council of St. John’s will put a supermarket there, regardless of Roil’s findings. A bright clean facility filled with fresh food that will make King’s Bridge Road a nightmare.

Oh horror of horrors.

I love this town.

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

Letters to the Editor

‘Motherless, mewling seal pup’ Dear editor, Of late, I have heard the plaintive cry, “They are still not allowing me to talk.”

Who exactly are the they, Minister Reuben John Efford? Is it Premier Danny Williams and Finance Minister Sullivan? Or is it your federal liberal confreres?

You claim you are a Newfoundland and Labrador’s staunchest defender. Where have you been since Jan. 6th when that hate-mongering fascist, Piggy Wente, spewed her racism from sea to sea to sea? Silence for a moment is silent too long.

Wednesday, Jan. 5, the federal government held a technical briefing to explain their position on the offshore deal. The prime minis-

ter’s senior communications official, Scott Reid, was there, masked as a senior federal bureaucrat.

What is your opinion of this dirty trick by your own government against your own people?

Will you stand idly by when Scott Reid makes good on his threat to punish Newfoundland and Labrador from Premier Williams’ insisting that Paul Martin, Jr. (a.k.a Small Paul) honour his promise? I fear you will.

You have hardly been an ol’dog hood in your willingness or ability to fight (except for you and only you). More like a motherless, mewling seal pup.

Resign. Go fishing. Get lost.

Tom Careen, Placentia

‘Wented piece of writing’ Dear editor, After soul searching for a proper response to the “opinion” of Margaret Wente in her Jan. 6th column in The Globe and Mail, I believe that one way to give her the attention she so craves for by writing such an inflammatory piece, would to immortalize her name.

From now on, whenever we need to describe a piece of writing as offensive to a group, so bigoted

and unfair, as well as ill informed about an issue, or just designed to inflame sentiments, cprovocative enough that it promotes hatred from far and wide, let’s just say that it is a “wented” piece of writing or a “wented” article.

Thus, she would — as her name would be — forever associated with the lowest form of acknowledgment.

Andre Dubeau, Old Shop

Page 6

NEWS

The Independent, January 16, 2005

Warning: don’t brush teeth with toilet brush

C

olumnists are often best described as students of the human condition. Stupidity is often the cause, and effect, of that condition.

In the home of the free and the brave, launching a lawsuit is viewed by some as a right enshrined in the U.S. constitution.

Being a victim of one’s own stupidity is often — at least south of the border — like winning the lottery. Being dedicated to stupidity is now the fastest route to riches in America.

The American government is currently trying to make changes to its civil-law system in a bid to reduce the number of lawsuits. It’s a challenging issue as lobby groups — insurance companies on one side and victim rights groups on the other — battle for support on Capitol Hill.

Lawsuits impact the American economy by a staggering $233 billion a year. It’s estimated that the average family of four pays $3,200 US more for products, insurance and health care because of that country’s lawsuit love affair.

Among other changes, the U.S. government is trying to limit “noneconomic” damages such as pain and suffering to $250,000.

An anti-lawsuit group in the U.S. recently announced the winners of its “wacky warnings” contest. The group runs the contest in a bid to show just how far manufacturers have been forced to go to lessen the chance of being sued because of a customer’s blatant stupidity.

First prize actually went to an Ontario man for a label on a toilet

Opinions Are Like...

JEFF DUCHARME brush that read: “do not use for personal hygiene.”

Personally, I’d like to see the yap that’s big enough to fit a toilet brush in. A brush that size, though, would cut down on the amount of strokes needed to maintain good dental hygiene — as long as it hasn’t already done any bowl-duty.

The second-place winner was a warning on a child’s scooter. The warning, “this product moves when used,” would seem to suggest that some buy a scooter for reasons other than just scooting.

One would have a head-scratching time imagining what those alternative uses might possibly be.

It would also seem some American consumers have trouble telling which end is the business end when it comes to proper use of a digital thermometer.

“Once used rectally, the thermometer should not be used orally,” reads the warning.

“Warning labels are a sign of our lawsuit-plagued times,” says Robert Dorigo Jones, president of Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, in a press release on the group’s website.

Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch runs the contest in a bid to expose frivolous lawsuits.

“Plaintiffs’ lawyers who file the lawsuits that prompt these warn-

ings argue they are making us safer, but the warnings have become so long that few of us read them anymore — even the ones we should read. Hopefully, MLAW’s Wacky Warning Label Contest will motivate everyone to read their warnings again, and maybe even motivate judges to get tougher on frivolous lawsuits.”

It’s a nice thought, but no group, campaign or contest can protect people from themselves. People don’t read warning labels. Beyond that, many of us have waited in anticipation to finally move out of the family house and get our own

place and fill it with brand-new furniture so we can run around our apartment in a frothing fit and tear off every label that reads “do not remove under the penalty of law.”

Rip. “Wahooooo!”

Rip. “Wahooooo!”

“There are many cases of warning labels saving lives,” said Joanne Doroshow, executive director of New York’s Center for Justice and Democracy, in an Associated Press interview. “It’s much better to be very cautious ... than to be afraid of being made fun of by

a tort-reform group.”

Maybe so, but if people are going to brush their teeth with a toilet brush or have absolutely no hygiene concerns when it comes to the use of a thermometer, then maybe frivolous lawsuits aren’t what society should be truly concerned with. The concern should be that these people are running through the streets and, more importantly, reproducing at will.

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

‘Tea leaves’ Atlantic Accord talks may be delaying Labrador byelection call: political scientist

By Jeff Ducharme The Independent

A

political scientist with Memorial University says Prime Minister Paul Martin may be waiting until after negotiations over the Atlantic Accord are complete before setting a date for the Labrador byelection.

Candidates are already lining up to make a bid for the Liberal nomination after the seat was left vacant following the untimely death of Lawrence O’Brien. The Labrador MP died on Dec.16 after a long battle with cancer.

“I think it’s probably less so in Labrador to some extent, but I think all Liberal seats in the province are in danger while the Atlantic Accord issue is in flux,” Christopher Dunn tells The Independent.

“People tend to pay attention to byelections and the provincial and national media would be looking at the tea leaves on this one in regards to the implications of an unfavourable Liberal vote.”

Under federal legislation, Martin must set the date of the election within 180 days after Elections Canada is officially notified of the vacancy. That notification was given on Dec. 21, meaning the date of the election must be called by mid-June. While the prime minister must set a date within a specified timeframe, there is no legislation governing how long he can wait

before he sends voters to the polls.

Marc Roy, a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office, says the fact that no date has been set has nothing to do with the Atlantic Accord. He says the prime minister’s only concern may be “respect” for O’Brien and his family.

O’Brien’s staff in Ottawa and Labrador, says Roy, will remain in place until a byelection is called and a new MP is elected.

Natural Resources Minister John Efford is looking after O’Brien’s former constituents.

“My good friend and colleague Lawrence O’Brien has only been dead a few weeks,” says Efford.

“My goodness gracious, to say that the prime minister is holding off — no, that’s not correct.”

Rick Matthews, president of the riding association in Labrador, says he’s heard the same rumblings over the contentious Atlantic Accord negotiations.

“We would like to have somebody in place fairly soon, not immediately, but these things take time.”

Candidates are lining up for the Liberal nomination.

Todd Russell, president of the Labrador Métis Nation, says he will seek the nomination. Former MHA Perry Canning, CartwrightL’Anse-au-Clair Liberal MHA Yvonne Jones, and Torngat Mountains Liberal MHA Wally Andersen have confirmed they’re seriously considering seeking the Liberal nod.

bigger FEBRUARY 13, 2005

The Independent, January 16, 2005

NEWS

Page 7

Spain ‘furious’ with Canada over turbot war

By Alisha Morrissey The Independent

W

hile Canada may place much of the blame on Spain for foreign overfishing and the destruction of stocks on the Grand Banks, the Spanish believe Canadian influence over the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization has been the downfall of its fishery.

As the owners of the Estai — the Spanish fishing vessel caught overfishing outside the 200-mile limit in 1995 — sue the Canadian government for “piracy and unlawful seizure,” one Spanish journalist says her country is the victim in the battle over foreign

overfishing.

Luz Maria Duran, the “economy/sea journalist” for Faro De Vigo, a Spanish newspaper from the fishing town of Vigo, says the country caught 40,000 tonnes of turbot each year between 1991 and 1995 — compared to 14,000 tonnes in 2004.

Spain shared a quota — put in place by NAFO, which oversees fishing on the high seas — with 14 other European Union (EU) countries. Duran says the combined quota was comparable to what previously was the allotment for a single nation such as Cuba.

She says there were meetings set up to come to an arrangement between NAFO and the European

Union for a fairer quota to be put in place, but in the end the EU opted out of quota regulations, choosing to set its own.

“In September 1994, NAFO decides to regulate the halibut (turbot) because Canada asks that,” Duran tells The Independent in broken English. “It makes the Spanish people very angry.”

Duran says Spain didn’t always fish for turbot in international waters off the nose and tail of the Grand Banks.

The waters off Armenia were once a primary fishing ground for the Spanish (as well as the Faroe Islands and Argentina) until the country declared its independence in 1991 and told Spain it was no

longer allowed to fish its waters.

The oceanographic institute in Spain then discovered they could legally fish turbot outside Canada’s 200-mile limit.

“They sent three boats — three fishing boats — to try to fish this turbot in international waters,” says Duran.

“It was good for the fishermen to catch this new fish because the meat is good and also they think they can find a market to sell that.”

She says Spain fished there until 1994 when NAFO regulated the species — at Canada’s urging, because its scientific data said the stocks were in danger.

“And when NAFO decides to

regulate this fish then the EU was not happy with the quota that NAFO decide for the EU.” Duran says the Canadian government wasn’t even interested in turbot until they saw Spain creating a profitable market for the fish.

“When the Canadian people saw the Spanish fishing halibut in international waters and (we had) a market in Germany and other countries, they say, ‘Why don’t we do that?’”

Duran says that’s why the Spanish are “so furious” with Canada.

She says fishing in Spain was never a seasonal industry, although it is now.

“We think that NAFO is managed by Canada.”

‘My objective is to win’ John Efford not ruling out running again; recall movement to try and oust him

By Clare-Marie Gosse The Independent

F

ederal Natural Resources Minister John Efford accuses Premier Danny Williams of intentionally delaying a deal on changes to the Atlantic Accord.

Efford, who’s found himself squarely in the premier’s sights as a stumbling block to negotiations, is now the subject of a movement to recall him from Parliament.

With Williams fighting it out with Ottawa over changes to the accord and his bid for 100 per cent of provincial offshore oil royalties, Efford says Williams is going to use the loss of hundreds of millions in additional revenue to justify further provincial government cuts.

In the March 2004 budget, 4,000 position cuts were announced — more are expected.

“If you ask for 100 per cent of the revenues with no clawback on equalization … what else can be on the table? Maybe he (Williams) is waiting until his budget is done.”

Paul Cooper of St. John’s has started a movement called “Recall John Efford” through his website previously named “Terminate John Efford.”

“We don’t have the legitimacy in recalling him,” Cooper tells The Independent. “However, if we had enough support, enough people who felt he should resign, then you would hope that he would note that, realize he wouldn’t have the support of Newfoundlanders in representing them in Ottawa.”

While the Canadian Alliance Party (forerunner of the federal Conservative Party) called for legislation that would allow voters to recall a federal MP, it never happened. Only British Columbia has such legislation.

Efford, MP for the federal riding of Avalon, won the June 2004 election by some 10,000 votes. He admits that supporting the federal government over the accord has cost him dearly. Efford blames the failure on his office and bad “communications.”

“We intentionally held back before December because there was a lot of emotion in Newfoundland on this issue and no matter what we said, people weren’t listening, but I think now it’s time to get the real message out there.”

Cooper, who says he has no political aspirations, says Efford has to support the province’s posi-

Paul Daly/The Independent

John Efford

tion — not the feds.

“I don’t see any change in John Efford’s approach, or his heart,” says Cooper. “I don’t see that he’s changing his attitude. He’ll try to sell to Newfoundland whatever Prime Minister (Paul) Martin wants him to sell to us.”

Despite the fact the Liberals have a minority in the House of Commons (such governments last an average of 18 months), Efford says he hasn’t even considered the possibility of another election in 2005.

“I’ve got no doubt that when the next election comes and I’m in the race there will definitely be somebody to challenge me,” says Efford. “And if I’m not in the race, I’m sure there’ll be people champing at the bit to be nominated to

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become the candidate.

“It’s democracy and people have the right to run, and my objective is to win always.”

Efford says he hopes an agreement will be reached between the premier and Martin when they meet Jan. 28. The premier had requested the face-to-face meeting after negotiations fell apart before Christmas.

“I wouldn’t like to say that there can’t be a deal reached,” says Efford. “In fact, it should have been signed weeks and months ago.”

In a Jan. 13 press conference, provincial Finance Minister Loyola Sullivan said Efford should go away and hide “because every time he opens his mouth, he complicates it.”

Sullivan maintains it would be best for Efford to stay away from any future meetings on the accord, despite Martin’s position that he be involved.

Steve Crocker, president of the Liberal riding association in Avalon, says he has seen no indication that Efford won’t run in the next federal election. He’s also seen no sign of candidates preparing to challenge him for the nomination.

Michelle Brazil, president of the riding association in Avalon for the federal Conservatives, is already getting the election machinery ready.

“There’s certainly a lot of people talking and there’s certainly a lot of interest generated in mobilizing people,” says Brazil. “There’s no question about that.”

Page 8

NEWS

The Independent, January 16, 2005

Paul Daly/The Independent

CORNER BROOK

By Connie Boland For The Independent

P

aula Gillam chuckles when asked how long she’s been waiting to have an MRI. It’s been more than two years, the Corner Brook woman estimates. “I guess I got lost in the shuffle.”

Gillam has had one MRI since being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1994. She hopes the province’s second Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) unit — scheduled to be up and running at Western Memorial Regional Hospital by mid-February — will mean decreased wait times for patients like her.

“It’s about time,” she tells The Independent. “Hopefully, people won’t have to wait so long to get an MRI when they need one.”

The former Liberal government announced in 2003 that it would purchase additional MRI capacity as part of a $26-million medical and diagnostic equipment fund.

MRI units would be placed in western and central areas of the province to complement the sole MRI unit operating at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s.

The announcement sparked discussion province-wide as to what

‘It’s about time’ Province’s second MRI machine to start up next month type of MRI unit — stationary or mobile — as well as location, would best service those regions.

The initial plan — to bring in a mobile unit — drew intense opposition from all corners.

In Corner Brook, an MRI Action Committee was formed, letters were written and protests staged.

During one memorial event, thousands of men, women and children held hands to form a human chain around Western Memorial Regional Hospital. Their show of support did not go unnoticed.

Gillam, chair of the local MS chapter, was part of that massive lobby effort. “Seeing that many people fighting for the same thing is something I will never forget,” she says. “Everybody came together for a common cause. It was wicked.”

The public outcry worked. In July 2003 government announced a stationary MRI would be placed at Western Memorial. The current

Tory government furthered that by allotting $1.3 million for renovations at the hospital in its 2004 budget.

Max Powell, vice-president of clinical operations with the Western Health Care Corporation,

anticipates the unit will be installed by the end of January.

“We have trained staff ready to go,” he says. “After a brief transitional phase the machine should be in operation by mid-February.

“This is great news for the

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region,” Powell adds. “Probably the question I get asked most often is ‘When is the MRI going to be up and running?’ It’s something that has caught hold in the entire region.

“It’s always been a popular project,” he says. “I have no idea why.

I guess people see it as the epitome of technology.”

Having an MRI on the west coast will ease the cost of travel for some patients. Gillam went to Halifax for her initial MRI and is excited that the second will be done closer to home.

“Having to travel for medical tests is expensive,” she says. “I’m ambulatory, but for an MS patient who has to have a caregiver travel with them that adds to the cost.

Driving isn’t comfortable and the cost of flying isn’t feasible. This is going to make things easier for a lot of people. It’s about time.”

With construction well underway, Powell says the corporation will now turn its attention to existing wait lists and get down to the business of booking appointments.

No decision has been made as to whether people in the eastern region will be able to travel west to have an MRI. A report released recently by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) ranked Newfoundland and Labrador at the bottom of all Canadian provinces when it comes to MRI access.

With only one MRI serving roughly 500,000 people, the province was given a 1.9 rating for MRI scanners per million population.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a high technology diagnostic tool that can detect soft tissue problems and is especially useful in more indepth diagnosis of conditions of the brain and spinal cord.

The Independent, January 16, 2005

NEWS

Page 9

‘It shouldn’t kill anybody’ Police waiting for Taser study results; Constab association will fight for officers’ right not to be shocked

By Jeff Ducharme The Independent

T

he question of whether Taser guns are safe has surfaced again after a Jan. 9 incident in which an RCMP officer used one to subdue a man in Botwood.

Even the association representing Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers says it doesn’t support training officers in the use of the Taser — not by using it on them anyway.

The Botwood incident did not result in serious injuries, but the Taser is currently the subject of a nationwide study.

The RCMP has a number of Tasers that officers can access if needed, but officers don’t carry

Paul Daly/The Independent

RCMP Sergeant Jim Skanes

the weapon as a rule. The Constabulary won’t make a decision on widespread use of the Taser

until the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Research Council announce the

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Buckle says the association findings of a joint study on the Taser and its use. The main goal “would consider it (an officer’s) of the study is to reassure the right under Occupational Health and Safety not to subject thempublic that the Taser is safe.

A study released last week by selves to that situation.”

Staff Sgt. June Layden, spokesthe U.S. Pentagon found that the weapon is “without a significant woman for the Constabulary, says risk of unintended severe the force has no concrete policy when it comes to asking officers effects.”

Members of the Constabulary’s to be tasered as part of their traintactical force are currently armed ing. An American police officer with Tasers, but the Mounties recently launched a lawsuit have 60 of the weapons in use against his employer after he across the island. Since coming injured his back after being shot into use, the Mounties have used with a Taser during training.

RCMP Sergeant Jim Skanes, the Taser 17 times and the Constabulary’s tactical squad, about who’s in charge of Taser training in the province, five times (exact says the Taser is numbers weren’t valuable because available).

“It fills a void it gives officers Approximately there in that our an option to con60 police forces members can tain an individual across the counwithout using try use the Taser, still confront that lethal force. which delivers a individual with “It fills a void 50,000-volt an option that may there in that our shock, incapacinot be (lethal).” members can still tating the subject. confront that Approximately — Sergeant individual with 84 deaths in Jim Skanes an option that North America may not be have been linked (lethal),” says to what police call the “less-than-lethal” option Skanes.

“The Taser itself is not a lethal since the Taser was introduced.

According to a story in The weapon, it shouldn’t kill anyArizona Republic, medical exam- body.”

The RCMP still use Tasers as iners found that in 11 of those 84 cases, Tasers “were a cause, a part of their training, but the contributing factor, or could not practice of tasering members of be ruled out in someone’s death.” the media to demonstrate the Deaths that have occurred fol- safety of the weapon has been lowing Taser charges have been halted after concerns were raised linked to heart conditions, drug that an injury could result and a use and even the result of the lawsuit launched against the subject falling after being RCMP. “In the (Botwood) case, it shocked.

Police forces across the country probably saved the individual’s require that their officers be life because if he picked up a gun tasered before they’re allowed to the boys were probably going to use the weapon, but Tim Buckle have to shoot him.”

Skanes says officers are makof the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Association says that ing a last minute, often life and death decision when using the practice should end.

“In the same way that I don’t Taser. When the use of such need to be shot with a firearm to weapons is questioned after the know what effect it has, I don’t fact in a court of law or during an think that I need to be shot with a inquiry, he says they “have all the Taser to understand the shock that time in the world to dissect it.

“They’ve got months and years it presents to the central nervous system and the incapacitation that to look at what you did in the space of a second.” results.”

Page 10

NEWS

The Independent, January 16, 2005

The Shipping News

The day the birthright died

O

nce upon a time, it wasn’t like this. You could cut a tree wherever you wanted, catch a fish whenever you wanted.

Now you need a permit to cut a Christmas tree, or you’re forced to buy one off a lot. And as for catching a cod to put on the supper table, forget it.

Modern values of conservation may make these laws necessary, but there’s something about them that go against the Newfoundland and Labrador psyche.

We don’t take to them naturally. On an intellectual level, we may appreciate the need for laws regulating our use of the land and sea. But, deep down, we often resent them.

FREE REIGN It wasn’t that long ago in our history, relatively speaking, that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians had free reign over their natural surroundings. And I believe even the younger generations have inherited a sense of birthright, a sense of entitlement to what nature has to offer.

I remember sometime in the 1990s listening to a lecture by Innu leader Daniel Ashini in Corner Brook. He spoke of how the Innu feel at home when they have the chance to go in the country and live off the land. He said people who are disconnected from the land don’t really know who they are.

There was something about his words that struck a nerve with me. I remembered how once, after a particularly disastrous semester at MUN, I spent a week visiting the different islands in Placentia Bay on a boat with some friends. We caught trout at Indian Harbour for breakfast one day, lobster off Port Royal on another. By the

West Words FRANK CARROLL time we steamed into Placentia, I felt healthier than I had for a long time — physically and spiritually.

These days, I hardly ever get out in the country. I haven’t been out in the bay (the real bay) in 20 years. Life is too hectic, I tell myself.

There are still people out there who are connected in a meaningful way.

Fishermen and loggers are, however, usually too busy to wax poetically about the experience.

There are those who take a less hectic approach — the hikers and snowshoe enthusiasts who take their time to enjoy nature. Then there are the weekend warriors, those for whom nature is a racetrack for the loudest and fastest machines they can afford.

Oddly enough, some of the people with the biggest and baddest modern machines are the same people who cling most tenaciously to the frontier mentality.

Around Christmas time, the province introduced a law requiring all snowmobilers who use groomed trails to purchase an $80 sticker from the snowmobile federation. Money raised from the stickers will go toward maintaining the trails.

It’s only fair. If you want to use trails that cost money to maintain, then you should contribute to the maintenance.

It will be interesting to see how effectively the new law is enforced. If

it isn’t enforced, it will be a law in name only, similar to the bicycle helmet laws that were introduced throughout this province about a decade ago. Know anyone who has received a ticket for not wearing a bike helmet?

Snowmobilers who don’t want to pay the fee have the option of roughing it, of veering away from the groomed trails. But they have to ask themselves if it costs more in the long term to avoid them.

Insurance rates for snowmobile operators have been skyrocketing in recent years. There is a hope that the presence of groomed trails will help curtail or even reverse the trend.

Here on the west coast, we’re blessed with an abundance of snow and countryside. Like Labrador, there is a definable snowmobile culture in this part of the province — quite a departure from the Placentia area where I grew up. Not many snowmobiles down there. It’s too much of a bummer to have to keep dragging the machines out of the bog.

No such problem here. Come late November, there’s enough snow in the high country for the snowmobile season to begin, and it doesn’t end until April.

It is exhilarating, speeding through the open country. But such a feeling of freedom is no longer totally free anymore. It might offend some part of us that still clings to the old ways. But if we want the benefits of a modern world, we have to accept the rules and realities that come with it.

Frank Carroll is a journalism instructor at the Stephenville-campus of the College of the NorthAtlantic. frank_carroll_nf@yahoo.ca

Paul Daly/The Independent

K

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

MONDAY, JAN.10 Vessels arrived: ASL Sanderling, Canada, from Halifax; Maersk Chignecto, Canada, from Trinity Bay. Vessels departed: Maersk Placentia, Canada, to Hibernia; Burin Sea, Canada, to White Rose.

TUESDAY, JAN. 11 Vessels arrived: Cicero, Canada, from Montreal.

Vessels departed: Maersk Placentia, Canada, from Terra Nova.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 12 Vessels arrived: Maersk Norseman, Canada, from Sea. Vessels departed: Cicero, Canada, to Montreal; Tuvaq, Canada, to Come By Chance.

THURSDAY, JAN. 13 Vessels arrived: Atlantic Eagle, Canada, from Terra Nova.

Vessels departed: Atlantic Eagle, Canada, to Terra Nova.

FRIDAY, JAN. 14 Vessels arrived: Maersk Nascopie, Canada, from Hibernia; Ann Harvey, Canada, from sea.

Vessels departed: Maersk Chignecto, Canada, to White Rose.

Health cuts still not known: Ottenheimer

By Clare-Marie Gosse The Independent

H

ealth Minister John Ottenheimer says he can’t speculate as to how many administrative positions may fall by the wayside when the province’s health boards are trimmed to four from 14.

He says his department’s main focus is geared towards moving the restructuring process along, as well as putting to use extra federal funding negotiated for the provinces last fall.

“We hope to be in a position within the next couple of weeks perhaps, to announce the new four CEOs for each of the health authorities,” Ottenheimer tells The Independent.

“That will then complete the personnel component.”

NEW BOARD MEMBERS Last week, the minister’s office released the names of the new board members for the four regions — Eastern, Central, Western and Labrador-Grenfell — following the appointment of chair designates in November.

The existing 14 boards will remain in place until March 31 while a transfer of duties takes place. All significant operational decisions until then will be made in consultation and agreement with the new chairs and members.

The board restructuring was announced as part of the March 2004 budget in an attempt to save

money and increase efficiency.

Ottenheimer says the transition seems to be a smooth one and is progressing “on schedule.”

Opposition Health Critic Yvonne Jones is keen to see the process, which has lagged behind schedule of late, move along. She says dealing with people “that might not be there in a month” on long-term issues has been frustrating and is stalling the progress.

‘SUBSTANTIAL TIME’ “Some of these issues … will take substantial time to bring about resolutions to. You almost feel like you’re wasting your time because you’re meeting with people who may be exiting the system any day.”

Jones admits concern over the inevitable job losses.

“You’re looking at an 18-month process before you start seeing where the cuts are going to be, but there will be cuts, there’s no doubt about that. The earlier ones will be in the administrative area.”

She adds she would like to see the allotted $32 million to $34 million the government has announced — part of $293 million in federal funding for provincial healthcare over the next six years — go towards improvements officially targeted at specific areas in need.

“I’d also like to see them (the provincial government), under this budget, look at how they can assist the boards in paying down the debts that they have.”

stronger FEBRUARY 13, 2005

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January 16, 2005

Page 11

Winter, spring, summer or fall Sure, it may be freezing outside, but ice cream is churned out at the Brookfield plant in St. John’s no matter the season

T

he January streets of St. John’s are cold and snowy. People out and about in woolly hats and gloves are concerned with grabbing hot cups of coffee and warm muffins. Ice cream is the last thing on anyone’s mind, relegated to that far away memory known as summer.

Inside 312 LeMarchant Rd., however, seasons are irrelevant.

At Scotsburn Dairy — more com-

monly known as Brookfield — production of thousands of litres of ice cream, spanning three floors of operation, churns at a frenzy, often non-stop for 24 hours a day.

And it’s not even the busiest time of year.

“Summertime is traditionally our biggest selling season,” says Brian Walsh, Scotsburn’s corporate marketing co-ordinator, “but we’re busy in the off-

season, gearing up for production. We’re producing in the off-season now.”

Having just sat down after a tour around the production facility, watching ice cream mix being squished into tubs, between cookie slabs and dipped in chocolate, Walsh settles into a board room chair and relates some of the company’s history.

“The company formed in 1926 so we’re almost at our 80th now. Almost 80

PHOTOS BY PAUL DALY / STORY BY CLARE-MARIE GOSSE

years in Newfoundland.”

Scotsburn’s corporate past has evolved. The sign above the door still says Brookfield, but the company has officially been known as Scotsburn since 1988.

Brookfield began life as a creamery and cheese manufacturer in Truro, N.S. In 1926, the owner, R.B. MacLannan, Continued on page 12

Page 12

IN CAMERA

Scotsburn products go ‘far and wide’ From page 11 decided to bring his ice cream across the Gulf and arranged to have his products sold through a long-established Newfoundland drug store. The product travelled to Halifax by truck and then shipped in cold storage by steamer to St. John’s.

By June of that same year, MacLannan decided to set up the first Brookfield plant in the province’s capital city, on the corner of Hill ‘O Chips and Water Street.

Three years later, the facility moved to its current location on LeMarchant Road.

The company today is a combination of three different dairies: Brookfield, Scotsburn and Eastern Dairyfoods.

“It’s like a company divorced and got back together again,” says Walsh.

“There’s all kinds of history there as we went from a different owner to a different owner … over the years, even though we were in one company originally, that became two companies and through mergers and acquisitions it became one again.”

Even Walsh looks mildly confused, but Scotsburn or Brookfield — there’s not a Newfoundlander or Labradorian who doesn’t recognize the brand — produces milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, and butter, in addition to frozen sweets.

“We produce so many different products,” says Walsh when asked about the best-selling items.

Production facilities in Mount Pearl and Corner Brook take care of the milk market, and plants in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are responsible for the rest of Scotsburn’s repertoire, but it’s the ice cream plant in St. John’s that produces the company’s “speciality.”

Down on the first floor, 10 giant vats full of ice cream mix, loudly churn and funnel the liquid up two floors and through the appropriate machines.

During a tour, production manager Glenn LaCour points out some of the big sellers, like ice cream sandwiches, which are created at a rate of 700 dozen per hour.

He and Walsh explain that the

company doesn’t just produce under its own brand name. An “abundance” of their business comes from private labels such as supermarket chains, and some of the ice cream reaches — not only across Canada — but far away countries like Indonesia.

One particularly impressive machine called “the glacier” makes production of what Walsh calls “super-premium novelties” possible.

“The glacier machine is one machine that we have that not a lot of ice cream manufacturers have,” he says. “There are three in Canada and we’ve got one of them.”

Today the glacier’s making Premium Bars, 500 dozen per hour. It’s hypnotic to watch, as sticks with globs of soft vanilla ice cream swish and dip through sweet-smelling liquid chocolate. The goop passes into what’s called a spiral freezer with a temperature of -51 F and comes out the other end rock solid.

LaCour demonstrates by picking one off the line and whacking it against a shelf. It takes a couple of tries before it breaks.

The Premium Bars pass through a metal detector before they’re encased in plastic wrappers.

Close to 10 different products are being made in the plant today. Vanilla, of course, is always the big flavour favourite, although Walsh says anything containing caramel sells well.

Sixty workers are employed to produce the goods — not including 40 administrative staff behind the scenes — and LaCour says in the next few months, as summer approaches, numbers will go up. At peak times employees have the option of working 16-hour shifts, as production is ongoing 24 hours a day.

“We’re Atlantic Canada’s largest dairy producer,” says Walsh. “I think people would be surprised how far and wide our products go and that we are producing products for the Canadian marketplace from St. John’s to British Columbia and somewhat into other countries, all from here in St. John’s, Newfoundland.”

The Independent, January 16, 2005

The Independent, January 16, 2005

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Page 13

Page 14

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Gallery

The Independent, January 16, 2005

Mark Prier

Performance Art

M

ark Prier uses a variety of techniques — sculpture, video, installation, audio — in his mixed-media pieces.

“I like to dabble in as many things as possible, but I try to keep performance as kind of a central aspect to it,” Prier tells The Independent. “It gives you the opportunity to do whatever you want.”

Originally from Hopeville, Ont., Prier has relocated to Corner Brook, and is now an active member of the League of Artists from Western Newfoundland (LAWN).

During LAWN’s recent members’ exhibition, Prier showed Sentinels, a 10minute video loop, shot from high vantage points around Corner Brook and modified to look distorted and distant.

Mechanical breathing layers the images.

While his pieces may stand out from the others — which are mostly visual art — he maintains it’s accessible to all.

“I’m not doing anything too wild,” Prier says with a laugh, “although that could be disputed … it’s not like some of the crazy stuff going on in LA, I’m not having anyone shoot me in the arm or anything.

“I don’t think there’s as much of that isthis-art-or-is-it-not debate, which seems to be the biggest problem for performance art … I try to give (the audience) a little bit of the meeting ground where we can all understand. I enjoy the theatrical part of it.”

With Nomad’s Land, for example: Prier set up a one-man passport office/con-

sulate for the state of Nomad’s Land (“an independent state of mind”) on the street, complete with national flag, appropriate forms, and solemn citizenship oath. Over the week-long performance, he signed up over 100 people — making a commentary on bureaucracy, travel, borders, and belonging.

For another project, The Stump Act, Prier and his partner Melissa Creasey drove the entire 1,896 kilometre length of Young Street, stopping along the way to erect 20 wooden signs, each with a tree stump on the front. The performance was turned into a two-channel video, shown in a 10-minute loop — filmed partly from the dash of the car.

Then there’s Sorry, a video of Prier and Creasey lying in the snow. And Hunting Blind (Game Birds), featuring a recording of Prier playing an early duck hunting simulation game.

“I focus on landscape and geography, and the experience of being in between,” says Prier. “I like sort of a subtle sense of humour — I don’t think I can take on some of the big issues that other artists take on.”

In an effort to promote performance and video art in Corner Brook, Prier and Creasey have opened up the foyer of their apartment as a small space to view independent video shorts — Gallery 312, viewing by appointment only. www.markprier.com — Stephanie Porter

Sorry

Hunting Blind (Game Birds)

Nomad’s Land

Sentinels

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

The Independent, January 16, 2005

NEWS

Page 15

Letters to the Editor

Full name of province: Newfoundland and Labrador Editor’s note: The following letter was writing to Margaret Wente, a columnist with The Globe and Mail.

Ms.Wente, Canada has to be one of the most wonderful countries in the world. Never has this been better illustrated than upon reading your disparaging writings about Newfoundland and “great land North of 60.”

Where else could such a nasty little article be printed under the guise of freedom of speech? And our freedom, indeed, decrees that one can have such pejorative remarks printed without the political retribution so commonly seen in other countries. Lucky you.

It’s clear that your indignation stems from the current furor over equalization payments and the associated political wrangling that has recently been in the news. My own indignation stems from the discriminatory comments so clear-

ly blaming Newfoundland for the expiration of the Ontario coffers and theft of what you feel rightly belongs to your province. The correct title of our province is Newfoundland and Labrador, for those for whom “our great land north of 60” might be incomplete information. I’m not actually sure if you refer to Labrador, Nunavut, the Yukon or Santa’s North Pole. Your

insults in that regard are not clear.

As I sit here, surveying the vast and scenic northern Labrador tableau outside my windows, I cannot help but feel sorry for your misconceptions. Your vast generalizations alluding to welfare and fishing, illustrate your lack of knowledge about this region, and the province as a whole.

I entered the workforce 20 years

‘Marriage brings many blessings’ Dear editor, Thank you for permitting me the opportunity to comment on the topic of same-sex marriage, which I’m sure would be of interest to your readers. This topic has generated much debate (I will limit my remarks).

Sadly, I feel God’s word has been left out of the picture or taken out of context. I say this because God’s definition of marriage is totally different than that of a common-law, same-sex relationship.

It was God Himself who joined together the first couple and the institution was fundamental to the continuance of the human race.

If the human race was to continue, it was needful that the sexes mate and reproduce,

and we have that divine edict on this.

Undoubtedly, in creating the male and female the Creator provided physical attraction between sexes in humans in order to ensure the procreation required for the multiplication of the race. This was a basic requirement in the case of man and woman, procreation was to take place within marriage. God had created man and later the women as man’s counterpart who would complement him physically, mentally and emotionally.

As well, we know marriage brings many blessings, and it’s not simply an arrangement established for the multiplication and continuance of the race.

Freenon Langer

ago, and I have never been unemployed. Let’s do some math — 1,040 weeks of work, not 10. Let’s add billions of dollars worth of cheap power supplied by Labrador’s Churchill Falls hydroelectric facility to light up the eastern seaboard of North America, of which Labrador collects … zero.

The extensive Voisey’s Bay (oh, that’s in Northern Labrador, by the

way) mineral deposits of nickel and copper, valued in the billions of dollars, are managed by Inco.

Last time I checked, they operated out of Ontario. Under the Atlantic Accord, federal revenue is extracted at 86 per cent, and federal revenue is precisely that — it’s certainly not coming here.

Ingried Felsberg Crocker, Goose Bay

‘Tyranny and oppression’ The following is a copy of a letter sent to various national newspapers.

down any pole erected to carry Newfoundland and Labrador power across his province. The Supreme Court of Canada, Dear editor as usual, bent over backwards to keep I am to the point now, where I become Quebec happy. This is the same court that physically ill with contempt for my Cana- ruled that Alberta is allowed to pipe its oil dian brothers and sisters who continue to across any province it wishes. call Newfoundland and Labrador a welfare When we entered into this federation, recipient trying to keep we brought with us one of their cheques after winthe richest fishing grounds Rene Levesque ning the lottery. in the world. They sat idly by Their total lack of and watched as foreign fleets cried they would understanding of the situthe fishery. They burn down any pole decimated ation and complete ignoignored mounting political erected to carry rance towards us only and scientific pressure at adds fuel to the fire and Newfoundland and home to close the fishery further proves the point because they did not want to Labrador power that Newfoundland and risk jeopardizing the trade Labrador is not now, nor across his province. deals they had secured with ever will be, an equal The Supreme Court other countries. partner in Confederation. of Canada, as usual, Even today, with the vast Newfoundland and oil and gas resources off our Labrador has never been bent over backwards shores, Ottawa is still trying to keep Quebec a welfare case, we to rob us. Newfoundland had/have more resources already receives 100 per cent happy. This is the than any province in of its offshore revenue. Probsame court that ruled lem is, 70 per cent of it is Canada. that Alberta is So why is it when we clawed back under equalizahave an embarrassment of allowed to pipe its tion. riches such as this, we are A study conducted by The oil across any still considered a welfare Independent found that since province it wishes. Confederation, Canada has case?

Because since we were taken over $50 billion in brought kicking and resources and money from screaming into this Confederation 50 years Newfoundland and Labrador, while we ago our natural resources have been stolen have received a paltry $10 billion in return. from us.

We, as a province, contribute approxiChurchill Falls, one of the largest hydro- mately four times more per capita to this electric projects in the world, was taken by country than any other. We are fighting our Quebec. We could generate the electricity, own version of tyranny and oppression. but we needed a power corridor through Quebec to reach the U.S. market.

Mark Morrissey, Rene Levesque cried they would burn Corner Brook

Page 16

NEWS

The Independent, January 16, 2005

Letters to the Editor

‘What is rightfully ours’ Editor’s note: The following is a copy of a letter forwarded to The Globe and Mail.

Dear editor, I awoke this morning and was shocked to hear on CBC Radio some of the comments in Margaret Wente’s article about our province.

What is her problem? Did she fall in love with a Newfoundlander who realized how shallow and ignorant she was and dumped her? Did she eat some of our wonderful fish and find out she was allergic? Did she visit one of our beautiful coastlines and get sun

burned or, worse, bitten by a sea gull?

I was born in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1944 and I am more than proud. I feel special. My mother was born in a little fishing village called Petty Harbour. From her, my father and my relatives, I learned what it meant to work hard, to be honest, to be kind, to cherish each beautiful day. I was too young to remember joining Confederation, but I never felt that it was a good thing, and as time went on, I started to think it was a bad thing.

Now I know it was a bad thing.

My sister and her husband, like thousands

of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, moved to the mainland to work, as did my son. They come home as often as they can and we visit. I have no desire to separate — yet.

I love that we are a peace-loving nation.

Danny Williams is looking at the future and hoping to secure it for us, our children, and our grand-children. That is not to the detriment of Canada.

What is Ms. Wente so afraid of?

I have read Danny’s excellent response to Ms Wente’s article and I take my hat off to

Cole’s notes version

him. I have also read Ryan Cleary’s article in The Independent (Wente too far, Jan. 9 edition) and take my hat off to him. To Ms. Wente, I throw a brick.

I suggest Ms. Wente move to Newfoundland and Labrador and take courses in Newfoundland studies at Memorial University. I will put her up in my home. We can watch Land and Sea together. That will teach her something about Newfoundland and Labrador and its people.

Christine Care, St. John’s

‘What a premier’

Place: Globe&Mail,Toronto.

Time: slow news week.

Meeting: editors and journalists.

Question: what would make a good news story this week?

Answer: let’s stir up the Jews.

Vote: no. Unanimous.

Answer: let’s stir up the Muslims.

Vote: No. Unanimous.

Answer: let’s stir up the Jamaicans.

Vote: no. Unanimous.

Answer: let’s stir up the French Canadians.

Vote: No, no no. Unanimous.

Answer: let’s stir up the Ontarians.

Vote: No, no, no, no, no.Unanimous.

Answer: let’s stir up the Newfies.

Vote: yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.Unanimous.

How? Simple. Print anything that is degrading, insulting, offensive, belittling, discriminatory, derogatory, demeaning, false, misleading.

Have a nice day.

Burford Ploughman, St. John’s

Dear editor, Premier Danny Williams has conducted the Atlantic Accord file like a chess master, thinking three or four moves ahead of everybody else. Sure he received some criticism for removing the flags, but if he had not done something drastic after talks broke down in Winnipeg, where do you think the issue would be right now?

Given the horrific events happening in the world today, the Christmas holidays and the fact Ottawa has let this issue drag on, without the flag controversy this issue would not have maintained any national media attention, leaving us once again at the federal government’s mercy to do a deal on their terms.

Do we honestly believe that removing the Canadian flag has changed the national attitude towards Newfoundlanders and Labradorians? Margaret Wente’s recent Globe and Mail column illustrates just how deeply rooted those national stereotypes are — flag or no flag. Taking such a strong stand, tempering the fire with a national press tour, then sending a personal letter to Paul Martin was pure strategy that leaves the prime minister with no choice but to deal publicly with this issue.

Strong support at home will win the day, and Wente has further galvanized that support. Next time you hear someone say Williams overplayed his hand, reflect and think where we would be right now without his brain.

What a premier.

Kirk Bussey, St. John’s

‘Smog floating over Lake Ontario’ Editor’s note: The following letter was written in response to an article by historian Michael Bliss that was published in The National Post’s Jan. 8 edition A copy was forwarded to The Independent.

Dear Michael, Sure it was a nasty shock when you threw a haymaker right over top of Quebec – whom we thought was the problem child – and smacked us a good one here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Then, after we were hit, we watched on CBC your supercilious smirk seep into our living rooms like green smog floating over Lake Ontario. Your marriage metaphor was catchy though — many of us would agree we married the wrong partner. It was arranged, as you know, and not a love match. Maybe after the divorce, which you suggest, we could get back with our old flame — now that would really box you in eh!

We thought the Anglo-Torontonians would be our friends. But, we should realize that you have problems also: the elite Anglo remnant in Toronto is shrinking like the polar icecap.

Wallace B. Rendell, St. John’s

‘Do not give in to cowardly feds’ Dear editor, Is the Nova Scotia premier having more success with the feds because that province has recently passed a French Language Services Act? Those of us who have lived through the history of arm-twisting over French language services by Canadian provinces are always suspicious of federal-provincial negotiations. But do not let it happen in Newfoundland and Labrador. There are now Language Police in Ontario and the minimum fine for unequal English/French signs is $5,000.

Support your premier, and do not give in to those cowardly feds.

Helen Sikora, Hamilton, Ont.

‘My God,’ imagine if John Efford had become premier Dear editor, John Efford recently said he thinks he made a mistake in asserting that the premier should have accepted the federal government’s initial offer on the Atlantic Accord.

Mistake is an understatement; he has made a colossal error that is nothing short of amoral.

Back in October, Efford said, “This is the deal … take it or leave it.”

At that time, the offer from the federal

government was for $1.4 billion. Efford would have taken that offer. Shame on him!

Since that time, Premier Danny Williams has dug in his heels and the feds have since upped the offer to almost double that. It seems fair to say that Efford made a $1.4 billion mistake. Even now, the federal offer that Efford is supporting is still $1 billion short of the 100 per cent commitment made by the prime minister on June 5 last year. So really,

Efford has made a $2.4 billion mistake at the expense of the province.

In case Efford has forgotten, he is Newfoundland and Labrador’s representative in the federal cabinet.

He cannot afford to be making $2.4 billion mistakes at the expense of the province.

Efford is actually working against their interests and will. From a moral standpoint, Efford must resign.

Efford once said he’d get elected if he “ran for the Green Party.”

I’d love to see him try it now. My God, imagine if he had become premier!

Mr. Efford, you have no credibility left on this file. If you really want to help the people of this province you have one option: resign.

Andrew Butler Bay Roberts

January 16, 2005

BUSINESS & COMMERCE

St. John’s Mayor Andy Wells

Page 17

Paul Daly/The Independent

‘A thankless job’ Most municipal council jobs unpaid, only 43 per cent of current councillors to run in September election

By Alisha Morrissey The Independent

M

unicipal elections may be set for Sept. 27 in Newfoundland and Labrador, but candidates aren’t exactly lining up to put their names on the ballot.

In most communities around the province council members and mayors are volunteers who work long hours trying to improve their towns.

In St. John’s, Mayor Andy Wells makes $82,000 a year. In Englee, a small town on the Northern Peninsula, Mayor Edgar Fillier works for nothing.

“I guess it’s sort of stems from your desire to help where there’s a need for someone to do work on a volunteer basis,” Fillier tells The Independent.

He says for many years Englee gave up on having a council and the town manager handled administrative duties.

“It got to the point where a number of us realized that there was a need for some individuals to come together and try to bring the town back to where we thought it could be and where it should be,” he says.

“A monetary incentive is not the reason they’re on (council) it’s just offering themselves for service.”

When asked if he will run in this fall’s election, Fillier, a retired teacher, says he isn’t sure as he may decide to spend winters elsewhere in the future.

He says it’s difficult to get people to run for council in such a small town.

“It’s a position that’s not enviable.”

Craig Pollett, executive director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Municipalities, says

Municipal salaries St. John’s Corner Brook Gander Happy ValleyGoose Bay Englee

Mayor $81,975 $24,622 $15,509

Deputy Mayor $38,010 $14,678 $13,899

$14,000 $0

$12,000 $0

Councillor $29,477 $13,369 $12,727 $10,000 $0

surveys carried out over the past election. two years asked councillors from If an important issue comes around the province why they along, Pollett says that can always chose to run for an office that does- “change the water on the beans. n’t pay.

“In the last election we had 100 “In some cases it’s a positive maybe … of the 286 municipalities thing and they see an opportunity either had just enough candidates to and they think they can help the fill the slate, which means acclacouncil get that mation, or didn’t opportunity,” Pollett have enough and says. “In some cases had to have a it’s negative in that byelection,” he “A monetary they see council says. incentive is not the doing things they “Almost half of don’t particularly them didn’t have reason they’re on feel are in the best enough candidates (council) it’s just interests of the comto contest seats.” offering themselves munity. So they run In St. John’s, in the election to try Wells has “made for service.” to bring their point no bones about — Edgar Fillier, of view to the table.” running” for his Mayor of Englee He says there’s a third term. general sense that “I would think candidates want to being an elected contribute to the councillor or quality of life of their friends and mayor, in some of these municipalneighbours. ities around the province, must be “The experience that most of one of the most thankless jobs them have is that it ends up being a because you don’t get any compenlot more work then they expected sation for it,” says Wells. and it ends up being a lot more frus“I guess these people are motitrating then they expected.” vated by public service.”

He says surveys showed only 43 He says he was originally motiper cent of the more than 2,000 vated to run for public office during current council members in 286 his university days. municipalities around the province “I’ve always had an interest in are expected to run in this year’s the politics of this province … I

guess I’m what you might call a junky.”

Wells and his councillors make a good salary, one third or which is an allowance. There’s also a healthy pension.

Municipal Affairs Minister Jack Byrne, who’s also a former mayor of Logy Bay-Outer Cove, says it has become more difficult to find a full compliment of councillors to run in municipal elections — it all depends on the issues in a community.

Byrne says he’s been encouraging people to run. While experienced people step forward, he’d also like to see some new blood.

Younger people, he says run for the right reasons — to make a town better.

As a mayor, Byrne says the council could have been paid a small stipend, but they choose to use the money to pay down the town’s debt.

“Really what it boils down to is being interested in your community and personal satisfaction from helping out your community and the people living in the town,” Byrne says. “Just being able to help the people out. It’s just a personal satisfaction thing and I think that applies to a lot of the people across the province who run for council.”

Back on the Northern Peninsula, Fillier says it takes a certain characteristic to work in a critical environment for little or no monetary gain.

“If you’re not hard-nosed enough to take that criticism and realize that you are doing your best, well then, I guess it’s no place for you,” he says.

“It has to be somewhat rewarding otherwise you wouldn’t be doing it.”

Page 18

BUSINESS

The Independent, January 16, 2005

No word on release of fixed-link study

Making a date

By Alisha Morrissey The Independent

paid for by the federal government, meaning the feds need time to conduct their own review. remier Danny Williams has Eighty per cent of the $352,000 had a pre-feasibility study bill for the study was covered by on a fixed link between the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Newfoundland and Labrador on Agency; the other 20 per cent was his desk since early December, picked up by the province. breaking an election promise outThe pre-feasibility study into lined in the Tory preconstruction of a election Blue Book. causeway, tunnel or The Williams gov- The pre-feasi- bridge for crossings ernment pledged that the Strait of Bell bility study into on any report prepared Isle was expected to with public money construction of be complete in midwould be released August. a causeway, within 30 days of tunnel or bridge Such a link could be receipt — and would used to transmit elecbe available to the pub- …was expected tricity from Churchill lic both on the Internet to be complete Falls to the island porand in hard copy. in mid-August. tion of the province The Blue Book also and is expected to says government will increase economic layout an action plan within 60 growth in Labrador and on the days.

Northern Peninsula.

Elizabeth Matthews, spokesThe consortium of companies woman for the premier’s office, hired to prepare the study was says there are several circum- headed by Hatch Mott MacDonstances preventing the report from ald, a well-known company with being released and acted upon. expertise in long-span bridges and “The document has to go before tunnels, including the Channel cabinet, which we’re hoping will Tunnel between England and happen in the next couple of France. Other companies include weeks,” Matthews tells The Inde- IBI Group and St. John’s-based pendent. companies SGE Acres and CShe says the release was CORE. There was no additional delayed by the holiday season. cost to complete the study, which Further, the report was partially was set at a fixed price.

P

Paul Daly/The Independent

Finance Minister Loyola Sullivan announces the date of a long-awaited meeting between Premier Danny Williams and Prime Minister Paul Martin — Jan. 28. Sullivan had some choice words for Natural Resources Minister John Efford, requesting he keep out of future bargaining because he has been a “detriment to getting a deal.”

Taxing story

By Clare-Marie Gosse The Independent

W

hy are personal income tax rates in Newfoundland and Labrador consistently higher than the other provinces and territories in Canada?

“We’re high because we need revenue, we have expenditures and we need to have taxes to be able to pay the bills, it’s as simple as that,” Finance Minister Loyola Sullivan tells The Independent.

“If you keep taxes down you have to cut expenses and cut services.”

He adds funding is an area of constant concern, particularly in light of the size of the provincial debt, more than $11 billion.

Personal income tax rates are calculated through separate federal and provincial percentages.

Everyone in Canada pays the same amount of federal tax — 16 per cent for taxable earnings not exceeding $35,595 — and that number increases as earnings increase.

The government of every province then decides their own rates for their own residents — apart from Quebec whose rates are federally and provincially combined.

“We went to the legislature, we bought in a set rate and that rate is established,” says Sullivan. “Our income tax is separated from federal tax. It used to be a per cent of federal tax but we divorced that from the federal tax several years

Trade doesn’t end rights abuses OTTAWA Canada’s 10-year preoccupation with trade as a means of fixing human rights abuse has been a dismal failure, human rights activists say.

They’re calling on Prime Minister Paul Martin to take a firmer stand when he visits China during his Asian tour this week.

“We cannot leave human rights simply to the whim of market forces,” Alex Neve, head of Amnesty International Canada, told a news conference.

“To have pursued that as almost the solitary approach to how human rights were going to be raised and advanced in the Canada-China relationship was inadequate.”

A coalition of non-governmental advocates say Martin has a unique chance to correct a failed foreign policy on his first official visit to Beijing as prime minister.

Martin departs early today (jan.

16) on a diplomatic mission to Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Japan and China.

The fast-growing Chinese economy and its hunger for raw mate-

rials and resource expertise give Canada leverage it must use, the activists say, especially given China’s new-found interest in currying foreign favour in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics.

Those forces have done nothing yet to end the Chinese government’s abuse of rights and the rule of law, says Tenzig Dargyal of the Canada Tibet Committee.

Through a series of Team Canada trade missions in the 1990s, the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien stressed global trade and open investment as the road to human rights reforms.

Martin’s officials signalled a subtle shift in emphasis in a background briefing this week, stressing that human rights issues will be tackled through broad-based engagement with Chinese professionals and development projects.

But trade remains at the forefront of the prime minister’s latest diplomatic foray.

Officials say “significant commercial deals” will be formally signed during the nine-day excursion.

—Canadian Pres

ago.”

Any changes — whether to increase or decrease rates — would be announced as part as the provincial budget.

Rates for all provinces in the country have varied little over the last few years. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians pay 10.57 per cent on all taxable income up to $29,590. Again, that amount increases with earnings.

The lowest provincial rates are paid by people in Nunavut — four per cent on taxable income up to $35,595 — closely followed by the Northwest Territories, Ontario and British Columbia. Residents of Alberta pay 10 per cent on all taxable earnings regardless of how much they make past the basic minimum amount.

GARY PERRY

753-3030

January 16, 2005

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Voice from Away

By Laura Power Livingston, Scotland

A

Walter Bibikow

View of Princes Street, Edinburgh, Scotland

Life by the bonny city Mount Pearl native Laura Power dreamed of sunshine and sunny beaches.

She landed in Scotland instead

Page 19

drunk if his or her state needed to be exaggerated.

Then of course are words like “skint,” which I understood and adopted immediately. It’s a great word — being skint is simply being broke. You can say you skint yourself if you spent too much over the weekend, or you can simply tell someone that no, you can’t go out tonight ‘cause you’re skint.

When I first started working over here in July, a co-worker asked me loudly and quite quickly, “How ya getting’ on?” I did a double take to make sure I hadn’t met her in a previous life in St. John’s.

vast imagination is key for a child in Newfoundland, particularly a child in a fogshrouded bay, cove or inlet. While I grew accustomed to the surroundings, and even learned to appreciate the Avalon’s weather (it’s not miserable, biting wind — it’s a refreshing breeze) I also grew up dreaming of far away lands.

Growing up in various parts of northeast Avalon Peninsula gave me WINTER WONDERLAND ample opportunity to fill my head with palm trees and sunshine, never When I first talk to people, they believing I would ever have to leave. cock their heads and listen to my But eventually, after relocating to accent instead of what I’m saying.

Ottawa for a few years, I accepted They are curious about where I’m that I was at risk of becoming yet from. Being too stubborn to just say another full time ex-pat. My face Canada, I tell them Newfoundland. towards Britain, my back to the Gulf, Then they make me explain the I crossed the pond and ended up in geographic location, genealogy and Scotland. topography of the island, which I stay in Livingston, a town creat- becomes quite tedious. Hard to get ed in the 1960s to accommodate the any work done when you’re sitting overflow of people in Edinburgh and on the phone all day explaining the Glasgow. I had no complaints when history of the Power family. Luckily, I arrived, but I didn’t find myself many people either pretend they actually looking around in awe until know where Newfoundland is, or I took a short train ride into Edin- assume I’m from southern Ireland. I sometimes get burgh, Scotland’s bored correcting bonny capital city. It people and play never fails to take my along. breath away.

The Scots have a The culture shock Gothic monuments, was minimal but I stone buildings blackfamiliar rivalry … still had my fair ened by soot, and Feeling as though share of happy surgiant cathedrals tower they have been prises. Edinburgh in over the grey-cobblethe winter is a wonstone hilly streets. taken advantage of derland.

Princes Pipers clad in full traby the English for Street Gardens, ditional kilt suits stand at busy street which lies low centuries, they feel between Princes corners filling the separate and proud Street and the Royal cool, breezy air with Mile (the two major traditional Scottish and they scowl at shopping areas) bagpipe melodies.

So I didn’t end up the folks down south. becomes a tourist’s paradise and a basking in the sunchild’s dream. light on beaches of The trees are full golden sand. In fact, it’s amazing how similar the U.K. is of white lights and a giant Ferris to my native land. Basically, you take wheel stands tall over the street, lit up Newfoundland, and you take a lot of at night. An outdoor skating rink trees away and put sheep in their underneath is a family favourite, as stead. Then you put a few jobs in and are the carnival games and candy replace the currency with a thicker, floss (that’s cotton candy to ye westheavier one … There you go, you’ve erners). For the tourists and shoppers, there is a German market to take a got Scotland. gander through.

PORTHOLE TO HOME The most major adjustment I’ve During my first couple of weeks had to make, though, is to the weathhere, I travelled with my new friends. er. The U.K. is famous for its nasty, We drove up north through many foggy, drizzly weather, right? beautiful towns and stopped at the When I arrived in July, it was hot, Glenfiddich distillery. A few more clear, and sunny. I inquired with towns and cities and we landed in Steve (the fellow I was boarding Inverness, the capital of the Scottish with) if this was unusual. He said, Highlands. My heart was pounding “och, wait until the winter.” So I — driving down through the high- asked people at work and they all lands, it was as though we had found said “aye,” they had terrible winters, a porthole to Gros Morne. oh they were expecting the worst The Scots have a familiar rivalry winter yet. with their neighbours to the south.

By the way these people were talkFeeling as though they have been ing I figured I had walked into an taken advantage of by the English for early death. It turns out the first time centuries, they feel separate and I saw snow here was Dec. 18 at the proud and they scowl at the folks border on my way to England. down south. If you replace the EngI may not have palm trees and hot lish with mainlanders and south with sunshine, in fact, I’m no further south west, it all makes sense. on the globe than I was in the beginI have had to make a few adjust- ning. But, truth be told, there’s somements. I’d be a liar if I pretended like thing familiar and comforting about I understood all their slang words being able to look out onto the same and sayings immediately. I had to ocean I grew up with.

Do you know a Newfoundlander or question them on words like “minging,” which means “filthy.” You can Labradorian living away? E-mail also say that someone was minging editorial@theindependent.ca

Page 20

INTERNATIONAL

The Independent, January 16, 2005

World Briefs

Nine women claim baby

Bay IsmoyoAFP/Getty Images

An Acehnese mother takes free food for her family at a refugee camp in Blang Bintang, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Unsafe efforts Indonesian sensitivities force changes in foreign aid plans BANDA ACEH, Indonesia Associated Press

S

ecurity concerns threaten to hamper efforts to deliver aid to Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra island, where more than 100,000 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless or in need.

Foreign aid workers will have to take military escorts to areas of Indonesia’s tsunami-stricken Aceh province deemed unsafe but troops for such escorts may be in short supply, the Indonesian military says.

The comments likely will raise fears Indonesia’s recent move to restrict the movements of foreigners could snarl up the massive relief effort.

Indonesian military spokesman Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki says the army considers only the areas around the provincial capital Banda Aceh and the stricken coastal town Meulaboh safe for foreigners.

“Other areas aside from that are potential trouble spots,” he says. “Anyone wishing to go there will need to co-ordinate with the military.”

That means taking military escorts but Basuki warned: “We don’t have enough personnel to secure everyone.”

Moves by the Indonesian government, aimed primarily at U.S. troops, underscore the nationalistic country’s sensitivities at having foreign military forces operating there, even in a humanitarian effort.

Hundreds of troops from Australia, Singapore, Germany and other countries are also helping the relief mission. The Indonesian military is providing security for all of them.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is leading the U.S. military’s relief effort, steamed out of Indonesian waters Wednesday. The U.S. navy only has permission to fly aircraft into Indonesian airspace if the flights are directly supporting the humanitarian operation.

Indonesia declined to let the ship’s fighter pilots use its airspace for training missions. Under U.S. navy rules, pilots of carrier-based warplanes cannot go longer than 14 days without flying or their skills are considered to have degraded too far.

Since the Abraham Lincoln has been stationed off Sumatra since Jan. 1, the carrier moved out of Indonesian waters so its pilots could conduct their training flights in international airspace.

Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla said foreign troops would leave the country by March 31.

“A three-month period is enough, even the sooner the better,” Kalla says.

The government also ordered aid workers and journalists to declare travel plans or face expulsion from Aceh as authorities moved to reassert control of the rebellion-racked area.

Separatists in the Aceh region have been fighting for an independent state for decades. Indonesia’s military chief offered the rebels a ceasefire, matching a unilateral one already declared by the insurgents.

The military has nevertheless warned that rebels could rob aid convoys and use refugee camps as

hideouts.

“It is important to note that the government would be placed in a very difficult position if any foreigner who came to Aceh to assist in the aid effort was harmed through the acts of irresponsible parties,” the government said in a statement.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard described Indonesia’s demand as “a good idea.”

“It is very, very important that in the process of giving full effect to this magnificent international response, that we recognize the difficulties in Aceh, but that we don’t overreact to them and we don’t dramatize them,” he says.

Before the tsunami, foreigners were banned from the area. This week’s demand highlighted the unease with which Indonesia has faced the aid operation, replete with civilian aid workers and foreign soldiers.

UN agencies said they did not expect Jakarta’s order to affect their operations because their security officers already work in close contact with Indonesia’s military.

“It could change the situation of (non-governmental organizations) who are moving around like private persons,” says Mals Nyberg, a spokesman for the UN High Commission for Refugees.

“I guess that’s what soldiers want to control: that people are moving in conflict areas just like tourists.”

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka Nine different women are claiming a baby boy called “Baby 81” who was brought to a hospital in eastern Sri Lanka on the day the tsunami hit last month, officials say.

The boy, whose real name is not known, was taken to Kalmunai Base Hospital on Dec. 26 covered with bruises and mud, Dr. K.R. Saseenthirian said. The child, who was alone, was the 81st admission of the day.

“Parents who have lost their children come every day to the hospital to check,” Saseenthirian said in a telephone interview. “Some go back, and some stay and claim that the baby is theirs.”

Hospital officials said nine women have claimed the baby. The women have quarrelled with each other and one threatened to commit suicide if she was not given the baby, a hospital official said on condition of anonymity.

Hospital authorities asked police to investigate and DNA tests may be conducted, Saseenthirian said.

Children accounted for a staggering 40 per cent or 12,000 of Sri Lanka’s tsunami death toll of nearly 31,000.

UNICEF says preliminary data indicate that nearly 1,000 children were orphaned by the tsunami in Sri Lanka and 3,200 lost one parent.

— Associated Press

Video vendor arrested BANGKOK, Thailand Police in the tsunami-devastated Thai resort town of Phuket arrested a man late last week for selling video CDs of the disaster.

The killer waves on Dec. 26 killed about 5,300 people in Thailand, and left another 3,600 people missing. Survivors of the disaster have been enraged by reports that sidewalk vendors have been peddling VCDs of the tsunami for about 100 baht each, or around $3 Cdn. In response, police have ordered a crackdown on vendors selling the VCDs. “We detained one man for distributing the tsunami video and charged him with distribution of an illegally produced feature,’’ says police Col. Theeraphol Thipchareon in Phuket.

Much or all of the footage on the disaster VCDs is copied from material broadcast on television.

The punishment for piracy is a minor fine.

— Associated Press

January 16, 2005

LIFE &TIMES

Page 21

‘It resonates with us’

By Stephanie Porter The Independent

B

arry Canning, like so many musicians, has been asked to perform at more than a handful of fundraisers during his career — to offer his time and talent for free, for any of a number of causes.

“I try to pick a couple every year,” he tells The Independent.

“You can’t say yes to everyone.

But sometimes, there has to be exceptions, like this disaster or the one in Badger.

“Sometimes you just get this overwhelming desire to help, and you ask yourself ‘What can I do?’

I guess that’s human nature.”

Canning performed at a concert at Gower Street United Church last week, an early fundraiser that pulled in about $10,000 for relief efforts for victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami that ravaged southeast Asia.

And when he got another call, this time from a hastily-organized group called Hands of Hope — the organizers of a massive day-long drive for donations, culminating with an afternoon concert at Mile One Stadium and another show and auction at the Delta St. John’s — he agreed to that one as well.

“I’m sure it will be a top-notch show,” he says. “Some of the organizers have basically dedicated their life to it for the time being.”

Like Caron Hawco, of Caron Hawco Communications. She says she’s virtually put her company on hold until after Jan. 22, the big day.

Hawco is one of the brains behind the fast-moving Hands of Hope campaign. It all began, she says, during a conversation with her husband, John Hutton, and two of their friends, on Dec. 30, during a concert at Club One in St. John’s.

With the Beatles tribute band, Abby Road, playing in the background, the four decided to put off a major benefit event.

“We were all in some aspect of the entertainment or public relations business so we thought we could do it,” Hawco says. “We just thought we had to do something.

“We want to come together and celebrate generosity and pay homage to people who live by the sea. We live by the sea, we work by the sea, we’re a Costal people.

It resonates with us.”

The next day, the group met with representatives of the CBC and Red Cross. Two days later, Jan. 2, a 15-person committee gathered to strategize and plan.

Three days after that, Hands of Hope held a press conference to announce their plans.

“I’ve never come up with a con-

Members of the Hands of Hope committee put their lives on hold to organize major concerts and auction; musicians step up

Paul Daly/The Independent

Above: Dan Crummell, John Hutton and Caron Hawco, members of the Hands of Hope committee, model coats by local clothier AbbyShot, which will be auctioned off at the Delta. Top: the list of special guests for the Jan. 22 events include, left to right, Shaun Majumder, Brothers in Stereo, Damhnait Doyle, Ron Hynes, Barry Canning.

cept, an event name, branded and launched to the press in four working days,” says Hawco, “We knew we had to get out early … you lose the public’s attention otherwise. If we wanted to make a difference, we had to move quickly.”

Since then, says Hawco, donations of time, services and goods have poured in: all costs related to

the venues are being donated or covered by the city or the Delta.

Talent, airfares, hotel rooms, food, light and sound, are being offered at virtually no charge.

The list of entertainers grows daily — from Rex Murphy to Shaun Majumder, Ron Hynes to Shaye, Brothers in Stereo to the Masterless Men.

It’s quite possible, Hawco says, that every penny from every ticket sold will go straight to the Red Cross.

Hawco, Hutton and Dan Crummell, chair of the Delta event, meet at the Elks club in St. John’s, where the donated goods for the silent auction are being stored until the day of the show.

There’s already several paintings, a barbeque and three movieworthy trench coats by Mount Pearl-based manufacturers AbbyShot — which the three committee members immediately don for a photo.

The trio, no strangers to fundraising or co-ordinating events, say they’re overwhelmed by the generosity they’ve encountered — which comes sometimes from unexpected places. Like all three of the major breweries in town — Labatt, Molson and Quidi Vidi — each offering to donate three dollars for every beer sold at the Delta on Jan. 22. And SeaKnife kayaks in Cottlesville, who called out of the blue and offered a kayak and all the custom-made fixings for the auction.

All involved in the show are busy (“I’ve got this life, my other life, and my other life and it’s a lot …,” says Hutton), committed, excited — and anxious.

“The key right now is to mobilize the general public to come to these events,” says Crummell. “We need to get people to join together under these two roofs … I am nervous about the response we’ll get.

We do need to sell some tickets here.

“It’s tough to talk about an event like this as enjoying yourself, I mean, it’s a solemn, sad event, but … it will be just as much about the coming together of artists and the people of the community to support these initiatives as it is a fundraiser.”

That sense of celebration and togetherness isn’t lost on Canning either.

“Ultimately, it’s alright for us (musicians) too,” he says. “At Mile One, we’ll get to hang with our peers as we come together for this cause, be a part of a great musical vibe, and have the chance to play a very professional show to a very large crowd.

“And we play our part in helping to raise money for another part of the world that desperately needs it.”

The Mile One show, 4-7 p.m.

Jan. 22 features: Shaye, Jason Greeley, Ron Hynes, Brothers in Stereo, Mopaya, The Catch, The Flummies, Barry Canning, the Masterless Men and more, hosted

by Rex Murphy.

Act II at the Delta begins 8 p.m.

There will be a “not-so-silent” auction and show hosted by Mark Critch and Shaun Majumder, featuring The Irish Descendants, Fergus O’Byrne, Dermot O’Reilly, the Abbey Road Beatles Tribute, The Fables and the Janet Cull band.

Tickets available at Mile One.

Page 22

LIFE & TIMES

Nell’s song A Rope against the Sun

By Al Pittman Breakwater Books, 1974 If ever you set foot on shore and come upon my stone, remember, lad, I lived for you, and lived quite all alone.

— From “Nell’s Song” A Rope against the Sun

A

s a poetry reader I’m inclined to agree with Patrick Warner’s assessment of Al Pittman’s verse in a recent issue of Books in Canada, that “Pittman … wrote the kind of chopped-up prose very common in Canadian poetry of the last 30 years.” Warner goes on to say “Having one’s roots primarily in the oral tradition is no excuse for sloppiness on the page or sloppiness in thinking.”

What Warner is getting at — for I doubt he is suggesting any inherent deficiency of oral literature — is that Pittman’s style often focuses on a poem’s potential for oral delivery to the detriment of its life on the page. Put another way: without benefit of the author’s vocal interpretation, many of Pittman’s poems are doomed to collapse from their exertions without ever having attracted a reader’s attention.

I must admit that if I were to judge only on the basis of An Island in the Sky (the collection of selected poems under review in Warner’s piece), I might be left wondering what was so good about Pittman’s writing. Thankfully, I have read beyond that.

Now over 30 years old, A rope against the sun is a play written for voice alone, much in the vein of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood. Set on the “fictitious” island of Merasheen, the play is populated by almost 20 voices and threaded along by an all-seeing narrator who often breaks in to describe elements of setting or reveal the inner thoughts of characters.

Jake: … Good morning, Nell.

Narrator: says Jake and walks on, hating her all the more now that he’s greeted her kindly and not had the courage to curse or

On The Shelf MARK CALLANAN ignore her.

This might amount to stage directions in a regular play, but without benefit of physical acting here, the narrator fills in those gaps of setting and character that props and body language might ordinarily accomplish.

It is Father Power, the local priest, who lays bare for us the meaning behind the play’s title (and by extension, much of its theme). “To coil a rope against the sun, to purchase a broom in May, to meet a red-haired woman, to look over another’s shoulder into a mirror, to come in one door and go out another, to cross knives on the table, to whistle on the water” are all, according to the clergyman, “pagan rites” hung over from a time when the light of Christ had not yet illuminated the hearts of men and women.

According to Steve Roud’s introduction to The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland, the following definition from the Collins English Dictionary is the most pervasive understanding of the term superstition: “Irrational belief usually founded on ignorance or fear and characterized by obses-

sive reverence for omens, charms, etc.” Superstitions are thought to be counter-intuitive, beliefs rendered obsolete by modern understanding but persisting regardless.

Cultural tradition is often perceived in this same dim light. We tend to think of modern methods as vastly superior to their predecessors, not necessarily for any inherent value they possess, but for the very fact of their modernity, as if youth alone were enough to recommend them. A rope against the sun concerns itself with this very thing.

Man: Used to be. Used to be.

Like I just said, there ain’t nothing like it used to be. It used to be the Mass was said in Latin on account of the devil not being able to understand it.

And then later: Man: … times is changing and things changes with it.

Passages such as this in turn contribute to a growing sense of the characters’ unease with life on the island. Father Power, considering himself a failure as a priest to the people of Merasheen, yearns to be reassigned to another parish; Michael Kennedy, the school teacher, wants nothing better than to escape these people who are “much too petty to be fascinating … and too self-centred to be lovable”; Mrs. Ennis, awaiting the birth of her baby, is tortured by the possibility of breaking sunkers, an omen she fears will herald the child’s doom; Nell Pittman pines for “her nameless lover who never came though she waited for him all her life.”

Each suffers their private miseries without comfort, in complete emotional isolation from their neighbours. Really, Pittman’s characters are a bitter, contemptuous lot.

But ultimately, it is the play’s dark lyricism and not the strength of its characters that commends it.

A rope against the sun will assert its relevance for as long as people remain concerned with issues of tradition and belonging; in short, for as long as they remember. I only hope a reissue is in the works as this is a piece of writing that deserves not to be forgotten.

Mark Callanan is a writer and poet living in Rocky Harbour. His next column will run Jan. 30. He can be reached at callanan_ _@hotmail.com.

The Independent, January 16, 2005

Keep on trucking

W

hen the members of CDs at a show they weren’t Bucket Truck found playing at over the holidays out their last album was a Christmas present to cost $30 in stores across Cana- fans. da they decided it was time for “It was Christmas so we payback. brought down a big box of The eight-year old, native- EPs and just gave them out as Newfoundland rock band Christmas presents. We’re just recently released a four-song gluttons for punishment — we EP with 40 minutes of don’t need to make money.” enhanced footage called The The band has also released Republic: A Prelude To The its fourth self-produced video, Album: Favour The Bull. which was written and directThen they started giving it ed by Newfoundlander Shanaway. non Spurrell.

Not only are all Bucket Truck the songs available has been working “We’re just for free on Bucket on its own progluttons for Truck’s website, duction company punishment — the band also for the past few brought a box of we don’t need to years. Although disks to an all-ages the video for make money.” show in St. John’s People are — Matt Wells when they were in watching has town for Christonly been in rotamas, and handed tion on music out copies to the audience. channels for a few weeks, “Probably the most impor- Wells says they have begun tant reason we put it out was production on another video. to try to combat the high He says working in producprices of albums in stores — tion allows the band the freeespecially by independent dom to help other musicians artists,” Matt Wells, lead and bands in Atlantic Canada. singer for the band, tells The “We get to help the bands Independent. “There was that we really, really like and nothing we could do about it. potentially get them videos We were just kind of screwed that can get played and the over a little bit by the record second thing about it is it’s label so we wanted to try to fun for us because we get to be pay back everybody who behind the camera more … if might have purchased one.” we can do it for Bucket Truck Wells says another full- we can do it for other bands length album will be released too.”

— Alisha Morrissey this summer, but handing out

The Independent, January 16, 2005

LIFE & TIMES

Page 23

Ottawa 67’s owner says Q will work in St. John’s; Corner Brook has shot at landing own team

‘More shots, more goals, N more hits …’

By Jeff Ducharme The Independent

ewfoundlander Jeff Hunt knows how to put the puck in the net. In 1998, he bought one of the Ontario Hockey League’s most venerable Junior A franchises — the Ottawa 67’s.

Hunt, 39, made his fortune when he founded Canway in 1984 — the largest carpet cleaning company in Canada.

When Hunt bought the 67’s, the team was averaging approximately 2,200 fans per game — the lowest attendance in the league. After making himself as much of a fan favourite as any player, and using his Midas touch on the business side, he’s turned things around at the gate. The team now sits atop the national junior hockey attendance rankings with an average of more than 9,100 fans per game.

On Dec. 30, the 67’s played a game at the Corel Centre — home of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators — and set another national record with almost 21,000 fans in attendance.

“We’ve had great success,” Hunt tells The Independent from his Ottawa office.

One of the few full-time owners in the OHL, Hunt has made himself as recognizable as the players that wear the unmistakable red, black and white barberpole sweaters of the 67’s. He’s built a team that has won two eastern conference championships and one Memorial Cup. As the son of an RCMP officer, Hunt was born in Stephenville, but he’s called a number of communities home — Corner Brook, Labrador City, Flower’s Cove, Stephenville, Stephenville Crossing, St. George’s and St. John’s.

With Derm Dobbin’s group winning a franchise for St. John’s in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (known as the Q), Hunt has watched with interest. The St. John’s Fog Devils will enter the Q for the 2005/06 season, filling the void left by the American Hockey League’s Baby Leafs.

Hunt admits they’ve had “failures on the ice and off.

“Coincidence would have it that failures on the ice tend to be failures off the ice,” says Hunt. “And one of the things, if I was giving advice to the owners of the St. John’s team, is get a guy who knows the league.”

Hunt says he’s seen a lot of expansion teams hire a general manager who worked magic in the NHL, but was unable to repeat the feat in another league. It may be the same game, but the rules for success don’t always translate from one level of hockey to the other, he says.

“I don’t care if you hire Scotty Bowman … Scotty Bowman would not succeed, at least initially in the Quebec league,” says Hunt.

The Devils have hired Real Paiement, a 13-year Q veteran, as bench boss to lead the team into its inaugural season. Paiement also won a gold medal at the

1997 World Junior Hockey Championships as an assistant coach. Former AHL star and NHL player Andrew McKim is the assistant general manager.

Not long after the Pepsi Centre in Corner Brook was built for the 1999 Canada Winter Games, Hunt realized there was an untapped hockey market with a great facility for the taking. He tried, unsuccessfully, to bring a Maritime Junior Hockey League franchise to the city.

But Hunt says he’s had “his kick at the cat down there and it hasn’t worked out.

“I’ve kind of gone on to other things and what I’ve learned is that I’m one of the rare exceptions in Canadian hockey in that this is all I do,” says Hunt. “And I think that the success of the team has been somewhat of a result of that and to spread myself thin and try to run another team 1,000 miles away would probably not have been the best-case scenario.”

Hunt had a deal signed to buy the Dartmouth, N.S., Blizzard of the maritime junior league, but the same higher travel costs that are staring the Fog Devils in the face caused the Maritime club owners to vote against the deal.

With the addition of a Quebec junior team in St. John’s, there’s been a suggestion that having a team in Corner Brook would make even more sense.

“It’s on the same piece of island, but really, once you’re in St. John’s it’s not like you’re just around the corner from Corner Brook. But you’ve bridged that gap if nothing else, that psychological gap.”

Hunt still believes that Corner Brook could support a junior team.

The Fog Devils, says Hunt, “will be a tremendous success.”

“I mean naturally they have a much higher travel budget than any other team, but I think that’s going to be more than offset by the corporate support that the St. John’s Maple Leafs have enjoyed.”

After the maritime league turned him down, Hunt tried to secure a Q franchise for Corner Brook.

“When I approached the Q about Corner Brook, I don’t think they could get past the fact that is was an island away, there was water in between,” says Hunt.

With more shots, more goals, more hits and more fights, Hunt says the Devils should be a huge success in St. John’s.

“Most corporate sponsors, it’s not that they’re necessarily enamoured with the American Hockey League per se, they’re enamoured with the support the team gets and the number of eyeballs that go into the building.”

The Baby Leafs, as the farm team for the Toronto Maple Leafs, often call up star players as the AHL squad is making a run for the playoffs.

“The Fog Devils exist for their own success,” says Hunt. “They don’t exist for someone else’s success … when a player shows up in September, he’s going to be there in March”

Q The

Jeff Hunt, owner of the Ottawa 67’s PROSAR photo

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Page 24

LIFE & TIMES

The Independent, January 16, 2005

‘A nice warm feeling’ Hundreds of pictures and plaques line walls of province’s hospitals, inventory planned A doctor’s caring heart Guides an intelligent mind And directs a skillful hand To perform acts so kind — A poem from Gary Hill and family carried on a plaque on the 5th floor of the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s

By Alisha Morrissey The Independent

T

he sterility of a hospital corridor is disrupted by colour and light in paintings of fishing captains, landscapes and towns.

The walls of units at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s are covered with memorial plaques, paintings and poetry about the helpful healing hands of doctors and nurses. Donated by former patients and their families, the artwork and plaques are thoughtful thanks and reminders of patients who have come and gone. Most of the paintings are by amateur artists, but not all.

One of Cynthia Noel’s paintings of downtown St. John’s was bought and donated by a family member who wanted to give a token of appreciation to the hospital staff, while at the same time creating a memoriam of a loved one who passed on.

Noel also plans to donate a painting to hang in a room occupied by her father at St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital. (He’s since moved on to a long-term care facility.)

She says having art in hospitals is a wonderful idea that can help in the recovery process.

“As a matter of fact, I was at

St. Clare’s the other day, looking around while my father was in … and everywhere in the halls there there’s paintings donated by different people and limited editions, and what not, and it adds such a nice warm feeling to the place,” says Noel.

“It takes the sterility off it you know. A hospital, I think, should have more pictures around to make it more home-like.”

Bruce Gorman, vice-president of support services with the Health Care Corporation of St. John’s, the entity that runs hospitals in the city, says there are more plaques than artwork.

“Occasionally you might get a

INDEPENDENT CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Economize 7 Equal (Fr.) 11 Calculator with beads 17 Burka 18 Site of 1947 oil strike (Alta.)

20 Compassionate 21 Bother 22 S Asian republic 23 Wit 24 Business letter abbr.

25 Elude 27 Ark builder 29 Equal: prefix 30 Honey wine 32 Of the nature of: suffix 33 Flowing 35 Courts 36 Claimed 38 Public square (Fr.) 39 Yellow (Fr.) 40 Canadian P.M. of Great Britain (1922) 41 Swift 42 ___ tongues (Nfld. dish) 43 Reversing ___, N.B. 46 Make baby food 47 Author of Unless (2002) 51 Brainwave 52 Sliders 53 Wrack and ___ 54 Anger 55 “Shame!” in Shakespeare 56 Boot-shaped country 57 Ebb and neap ___ 58 Vehicle

Paul Daly/The Independent

The Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s

family member, or the patient themselves, who might be a bit of an artist who might paint a small piece and give it to, say, the nursing staff on a unit which may end up on a wall or in an office,” says Gorman. “People just want to show an appreciation to the staff

“It takes the sterility off it you know. A hospital, I think, should have more pictures around to make it more home-like.”

— Cynthia Noel

who have cared for their family member, and No. 2, I think they try to leave it as a memoriam or a legacy to their family member.”

He says the corporation has begun a process to take an inventory and review all the pieces.

“So as we get requests to put up plaques or art work we’re going to start reviewing the process of how many we have, the appropriateness of them and try to identify whether or not it’s becoming too much for our wall space,” says Gorman, adding the process may take a few months to complete. “(We’ll) try to identify other ways that we can have family

members thank staff, appreciate staff, or leave an in memoriam to their loved ones. Maybe there are other ways we can do that like through our health care foundations, for instance.”

He says the art hung in the facilities — some commissioned by professional artists and some donated by patients — add to the healing environment of the hospitals.

“I think what we try to do is have our facilities enhanced in some way to provide some level of a therapeutic environment,” he says. “If you are receiving treatment in an area that may be dreary dark, old-fashioned, I can see that making a difference in somebody’s recovery.”

Boyd Chubbs, well-known poet, musician and visual artist from Labrador, was pleased to hear that Inco Ltd. purchased his entire October 2002 exhibit to donate to the people of Labrador.

The exhibit, Gifts and Allegories, was then hung in the Labrador Health Centre.

“The donation in the act is a kind of healing anyway,” says Chubbs, adding there is great beauty “even in the midst of great calamity and desperation.

“It all belongs together, sure it’s all life isn’t it?”

Noel is still choosing which piece of art to donate to St. Clare’s Hospital, but she says it will be there soon.

“It’s a hard time of life, but it’s good news that he’s there and being taken care of properly,” she says. “I think it’s a nice thank you to the staff. They’re there all day long and they’ve got something nice to look at.”

Solutions on page 26

59 Dry flax 60 “Double, double ___ and trouble...”

61 Joltless (joe) 62 Has a hand out 63 Wife’s mate 65 Singer, poet Leonard 66 Outmoded 67 Just ___ among many 68 Native playwright Daniel David ___ 69 Bill 70 Vietnam’s capital 73 Mobile home 74 Painter of A Prairie Boy’s Winter 78 Leave out 79 Saw 80 Brother, for short 81 Liquid rock 82 Prune 83 ___ Onion, Nfld.

84 Declare invalid (as a marriage) 86 A Mulroney 87 Tiny particle 89 Greek finale 92 Thin plate or scale 94 King of the fairies (folklore) 95 Incurred (2 wds.)

96 Lucky charm 97 Gingerly 98 “Et tu, Brute” day 99 Mignonette DOWN 1 Conceptual framework 2 French fashion house 3 Mischievous one

4 Driver’s licenses, e.g.

5 Sleeper spy 6 Advance showing 7 Suppress, as a vowel 8 DNA segment 9 Tot up 10 Elle’s opposite 11 In front 12 Roughing It in the ___ (Moodie) 13 Elec. unit 14 Author of Lake of the Prairies (2002) 15 Something to sing in?

16 Bristly 19 Vancouver athlete 26 Conjunction 28 French goose 31 B.C. waterfall, highest in Canada 33 The Way the Crow ___ (Ann-Marie MacDonald) 34 Spike with spirits 35 Walk in water 37 Fossil fuel 38 “Poet of the people” 39 Connects 41 Suppress 42 “Dief the ___” 43 ___ Business (Davies) 44 French farewell 45 Yorkshire city 46 Tartan pattern 47 Largest country in Africa 48 ___ of the Saints (Nino Ricci) 49 Hauls

50 Just know 52 The ___ Angel (Laurence) 53 Basmati et al.

56 Author of Deafening (2003): Frances ___ 57 Snicker 61 Gave medicine to 62 Confused noise of voices 64 Footwear 65 Handle it

66 Golf norm 68 Shooting star 69 Like penne or cannelloni 70 Like some logs 71 Simple life form 72 Biter 73 Faucet 74 Cousins 75 Unstable 76 Smoothed 77 Ottawa neighbour-

hood 79 Finkleman with 45’s 80 Photos 83 Neat 84 Malarial fever 85 Crippled 88 Pod prefix 90 When Paris is blooming 91 Wind up 93 Mouse genus (Lat.)

SPORTS

January 16, 2005

Page 25

Paul Daly/The Independent

The Real deal

New coach and general manager of Fog Devils has the experience to build team from scratch. Don’t count on a championship in year one — but you never know.

By Darcy MacRae For The Independent

R

eal Paiement loves a challenge. The St. John’s Fog Devils’ general manager and head coach has been behind the bench of championship teams and clubs that struggled to win every third or fourth game.

Through it all, he maintained his passion for hockey and drive to succeed.

“I like building a team,” Paiement tells The Independent.

“I like what we’re doing in St. John’s. I enjoy making plans and watching everything come together. We’re developing a solid plan and will execute it day after day.”

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND Given his resume, it’s little wonder Paiement was chosen to be the person responsible for moulding and shaping the Fog Devils’ from scratch. He played professionally for four years (three with the Milwaukee Admirals of the old International Hockey League and one season in France), and has been a head coach in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League since 1986.

Since stepping behind the bench, he guided teams in Granby, Chicoutimi (where he won a Quebec league championship in 1997), Moncton and Bathurst. He was also an assistant coach with the Canadian national junior team that won gold at the 1997 world championships in Switzerland and head coach of the squad the following year when Canada finished in eighth spot in Finland.

Faced with adversity at every stop, Paiement has learned something from every hockey job he held. Whether dealing with different types of players, making decisions regarding trades and draft picks (as he did when he was general manager with Moncton) or deciding who to add to his coaching staff. Paiement insists the key is to always do things right — the first time.

“What we have to focus on is making sure we’re building on solid ground,” he says. “If you don’t do things right the first time, everything piles up and you lose your focus.”

Staying focused will be important for both the Fog Devils and their fans in the early going.

Paiement admits it’s hard to guarantee a winning record in the first season when you’re an expansion team competing against clubs that have had the same players suiting up together for three or four years.

When it comes time for St. John’s and Saint John (the New Brunswick city was also recently granted a Q team) to engage in the upcoming expansion draft, Paiement would like nothing more than the opportunity to obtain some of the league’s more highly skilled players.

Realistically, he knows the players exposed in the draft will be third and fourth liners.

When shuffling through the available players, Paiement will search for hard workers willing to pay the price to win. He wants players who will make life tough for opposing players — young men who take the body at every opportunity, pursue the puck like

a wild animal chases dinner and put the good of the team ahead of their own personal goals.

“We’re going to be selecting the other team’s 17th, 18th, and 19th players,” Paiement says.

“These are going to be character guys, hard workers who are willing to get their nose dirty. So in our selections we’re going to look for guys who are going to make it very difficult for teams to play in St. John’s.”

With plenty of grinders expected to be on board, Paiement says the team will add some skill and

“What we have to focus on is making sure we’re building on solid ground. If you don’t do things right the first time, everything piles up and you lose your focus.”

— Real Paiement finesse via the European draft (the club can select two junior-age players from the European ranks) and midget draft (where they will acquire 16 and 17-year-old skaters from the four Atlantic provinces and Quebec). Such a combination of players will take time to gel, but success for such a group is not unheard of.

Just last season the Everett Silvertips advanced to the Western Hockey League finals in their first year of existence and are equally

as strong in their second season.

For further proof that a team long on character but short on skill can succeed, Paiement needs only to reflect on the 2001-02 season when he guided the AcadieBathurst Titan to the Quebec league finals.

Although the club was not an expansion team, they were certainly built like one. With a roster comprised mostly of players full of hustle and hard work but lacking outstanding skills, the Titan shocked the country by winning 45 games. For 10 consecutive weeks the team was ranked No. 1 in the entire Canadian Hockey League.

Paiement says that team — which wasn’t even expected to make the playoffs — overachieved because they consistently outworked their opponents.

They won nearly every race to a loose puck, hit everything in sight and, most importantly, never gave up in a game or on each other.

“That was one of the highlights in my career because of the quality of kids we had on that team,” says the 45-year-old. “Our character made us a contender when most people thought we would struggle. To be associated with those young men was something I won’t forget.”

While there have been many happy on-ice memories, Paiement says some of his fondest experiences over the past 18 years occurred away from the rink.

Having coached hundreds of teenaged hockey players since 1986, he speaks with pride about the fact that he still maintains a relationship with many of them.

He has watched 16-year-old rookies grow into men who have successful careers — not only as hockey players — but also as teachers, engineers or lawyers.

Paiement is filled with satisfaction when he speaks to former players who want advice on hockey, school or their personal lives.

“I’ve enjoyed having young men call me for counselling in regards to life, not just hockey,” he says. “Because they know I’ve gone through university (Paiement studied at McGill in Montreal), I can help them with courses. I like when they call me and we reminisce.”

ON THE MOVE Born and raised in the Montreal suburb of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Paiement has moved around a lot since he began coaching. He currently resides in Bathurst, N.B., but will make the move to St. John’s in July.

Accompanying him will be his wife Irene, son Vincent, 15, son Paolo, 14, and daughter Bianca, 11. Although they enjoy life in Bathurst, Paiement is confident his family will quickly take to the friendly atmosphere and smalltown feel of St. John’s.

“We’ve always been able to adapt as a family,” he says. “We only hear good things about the Newfoundland people — their warmth and how friendly they are. Andrew (McKim, the Fog Devils’ assistant GM) keeps saying it is a unique city, so we’re looking at it as a unique experience.”

Darcy_8888@hotmail.com

SPORTS

Big Land vs. Rock — a sports perspective I noticed our friendly folks in Labrador weren’t too swift in jumping on the no-flag order issued by Premier Danny Williams a couple of weeks ago.

As someone who lived for two years in the Big Land, it’s not hard for me to understand why our northern brethren felt more than a little awkward with the whole scenario. It’s no secret Labrador has long had a beef with Newfoundland, one that is microcosmic to the relationship Newfoundland has seemingly forever had with Ottawa.

In many respects, and from my experience, Labrador often has closer ties with Quebec, which is nothing if not ironic (at least to us on the island). Quebec, by geography, often gets to play with its next-door neighbour more than it does with its relative down south.

TRAVEL EASE It’s no different in sports. With hockey, for example, it’s easier for a Quebec team to travel to Labrador because they can drive there in the winter. Even though it’s quite a trip from Baie Comeau to Labrador City, planes and boats are not necessary.

Take any minor sport, and you wouldn’t need all your fingers and toes to count the number of provincial championships that have been played in Labrador. It rarely ever happens. Just look at the minor hockey Easter tournaments this year. Of the 40 events scheduled, only one will be played in Labrador (Lake Melville, in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, will host the Midget D tournament).

That ratio is pretty much the same every year, and not just in minor hockey.

Even when the Big Land hosts such a competition, there’s usually a Newfoundland championship held first, as is the case in most high school sports. The winner of the island tournament then travels to Labrador to compete for the provincial title.

So, Labrador gets a watered-

Bob the Bayman BOB WHITE

down Newfoundland and Labrador championship and only one lucky island team gets to travel to the Big Land, which is a shame.

Labrador is a beautiful part of the province, but it is so different from Newfoundland. As a result, it’s sad more island athletes don’t get a chance to travel there and experience it, like they’d experience another part of the island.

Guys and girls on the island can look back and remember that road trip to Marystown, that devastating loss in Stephenville or that overtime thriller against the home team in Plum Point.

Labrador athletes can have these same memories, because they travel all the time to the island. To compete in a provincial tournament, they rarely have any other choice.

On the other hand, few island athletes can recall their stay in Churchill Falls, Cartwright or Makkovik. Some have competed in Lab West and Goose Bay, the two largest centres in Labrador, but those two communities are as different as St. John’s is from Corner Brook.

Lab West and Goose Bay offer their own distinctive tastes of Labrador life, but there is so much more flavour to experience. Communities on the south coast of Labrador have some of the characteristics of rural Newfoundland, but the Strait of Belle Isle acts as a major buffer. The north coast of Labrador is unlike any other part of the province, with two distinct cultures (Innu and Inuit) residing in communities that are breathtakingly beautiful. At the same time, you have to either fly in or take a boat trip to reach there.

In the end, the prohibitive cost of

travelling to communities all over Labrador seems to be the main reason for the lack of island teams willing to make the trip up north. I say willing and not able because many teams — both school and club-based teams — find the funds to travel to other parts of the country.

Most of these trips have as much to do with “culture enhancement” as they do with providing quality competition.

CHILLY RELATIONS It’s no wonder why Labrador has the perception it’s constantly getting a cold shoulder from Newfoundland, and consequently why the Big Land remains chilly with the Rock.

Regardless, there are many talented athletes in Labrador. Take volleyballers from the north coast.

The communities are small, it’s next to impossible to get regular competition against other school or club teams, but they still manage to produce highly skilled teams.

There have been loads of talented hockey players from Labrador over the years, which is no surprise. However, some might raise an eyebrow when they experience the level of soccer that’s played in the Big Land. The Labrador Cup, held each spring in Happy ValleyGoose Bay, attracts teams from all over and competition is stiff. Not bad when you consider these teams play almost exclusively indoors.

There’s enough talent there to give Challenge Cup teams a good game, for sure.

Also with soccer, the Mealy Mountain high school girls’ team won the 3A provincial banner this year in Carbonear. As it stands now, they won’t get the chance to repeat next season. There is not enough money in the Labrador sports budget for them to do so.

Can you imagine an island team being told they can’t defend their hard-earned title?

Bob White writes from Carbonear. whitebobby@yahoo.com

The Independent, January 16, 2005

Events JANUARY 16 • Revue 04 St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre, $22 ($18 student/senior), 729-3650.

• Michael Kaeshammer in concert, D. F. Cook Recital Hall, Tickets: $18 ($15 student/senior).

• Printmaking (two-day workshop Jan.16 and 23), 1:30-5:30 p.m. Learn a variety of techniques with artist Anita Singh. No previous experience required. This class is suitable for ages 12 and up, $85 includes materials. Anna Templeton Centre, 278 Duckworth St., St. John’s, 739-7623.

• Open mic at Fat Cat Blues and Jazz Bar, George St. JANUARY 17 • Maritime Marionettes presents Rumpelstiltskin, St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre, tickets $6 (school matinees), 729-3650.

• Granny Bates Children’s Books announces the creation of a new book club — for adults who read children’s books. The group will meet the third Monday of every month at Granny Bates, 8 p.m. Book to be discussed: J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. • Open mic at Greensleeves, George St. with Damien Follett, 10 p.m.

• O’Reilly’s Irish Pub and Eatery, George St. Ballads with Con O’Brien and Mike Hanrahan, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

JANUARY 18 • Chef to Go, five week cooking class, (one night a week until Feb.15) 2 Barnes Rd., St. John’s, 7 p.m. $260, 754-2491.

Crossword Solutions from page 24

Page 26

JANUARY 19 • Introduction to Drawing (eight Wednesdays) 7-9:30 p.m.

Instructor Jim Maunder. Participants gain hands-on experience as they experiment with drawing techniques and materials (pencil, conte, graphite) contour, gesture, tone. Suitable for adults and teens (ages 15 up). No previous experience required, $155, materials extra. 278 Duckworth St., 7397623.

JANUARY 21 • NSO’S Big Band A Tribute to James Taylor, featuring Barry Canning, St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre, $21-$35, plays again Jan. 22, 729-3650.

• CBC Radio presents Singers and Songwriters, LSPU Hall, 3 Victoria St., 8 p.m. 753 4531.

• A New Coat of Paint, Fat Cat Blues and Jazz Bar with Ian Goudie, sax, flute, percussion and Terry Rielly, keyboards, vocals, 7–10 p.m.

• Chef to Go cooking classes, 2 Barnes Rd. food and wine matching course and dinner with Chef Bob Arniel, 7 p.m., $110, 754-2491.

JANUARY 22 • Hands of Hope: tsunami fundraising concert, 4 p.m. Mile One Stadium. Featuring Shaye, Brothers in Stereo, Ron Hynes, Cory Tetford, more.

• Hands of Hope: concert and not-so-silent auction, 8 p.m., the Delta St. John’s. Tickets available at Mile One.

The Independent, January 16, 2005

SPORTS

Page 27