VOL. 4 ISSUE 16
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ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR — SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 23-29, 2006
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WE’VE RENOVATED
BUSINESS 23
Steve Kent welcomes readers inside new supplement
Cod no longer king — but it’s still a princely resource
Not buying it Lots of fish available for Fortune, but FPI not interested CRAIG WESTCOTT
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Members of 1st Battalion, Royal Newfoundland Regiment will leave the province this week to begin specific training for deployment to Afghanistan. Foreground: Sgt. Barnes. Front row (L-R): Cpl. Lahey, Cpl. Williams, Cpl. Oliver, Cpl. O’Brien, Cpl. Glover. Back row (L-R): Cpl. Beaton, Cpl. Ross, Pte. Brazil, Cpl. Woodford, Mcpl. Fahey. Paul Daly/The Independent
Earmarked for Afghanistan Twenty-one soldiers from Royal Newfoundland Regiment prepare for overseas deployment STEPHANIE PORTER
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n April 30, the first group of 21 reservists from 1st Battalion, Royal Newfoundland Regiment will leave St. John’s en route to Afghanistan. It will be the first deployment for all. By now, the soldiers have already undergone medical, dental, family, financial and credit checks, gotten security clearance and had interviews with “a series of people,”
including social workers — a long and rigorous screening process before the next stage of training even begins. “The average age going over would be about 20,” says Capt. Michael Pretty of the regiment. “Being an infantry soldier over there is really a young person’s game. “Notice I didn’t say man? We actually have some females going over, a couple of really good ones.” Before the Newfoundland soldiers reach their overseas destination, they will meet up with about two-dozen members of 2nd Battalion (based in Grand Falls-Windsor) at
CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick. “Right now, reserve units from all over Atlantic Canada are sending augmentees to the 2nd Royal Canadian Regiment,” says Pretty. “They’re heading off to do their workup training to get them up to regular army standards.” At about the end of May, Pretty says, the full battle group will gather in Gagetown and be assigned specific roles. Then they will complete infantry battle group training, missionspecific training and, when they’re deemed combat-ready — Pretty predicts January, 2007 — they will finally fly to Afghanistan.
he story sounds disturbingly familiar. A year or so before Fishery Products International Ltd. walked away from its processing plant in Harbour Breton, fishermen on the Connaigre Peninsula started to complain the company was no longer interested in buying their fish. A similar thing seems to have been happening on the Burin Peninsula. For the past couple of years, fishermen there, too, have been struck by the turnaround in the company’s attitude when it comes to buying fish. For years, FPI was the principal buyer of cod, turbot, flounder, monkfish and every other kind of groundfish harvesters brought to the wharf, not to mention crab and other species. But not anymore. “Fishery Products gave up on the groundfish two years ago as far as I’m concerned,” says Grand Bank resident Eric Miller, 64, who has been fishing since he was a kid. “They didn’t want anything,” says Miller. “They were paying lower prices than everybody else. So they were on their way out the door then, whatever was wrong.” Last year, FPI offered fishermen on the Burin Peninsula 20 and 25 cents a pound lower than its competitors for south coast cod. The company’s prices were even below the negotiated price. FPI spokesman Russ Carrigan says it’s important to keep the quantity of fish in perspective. “You can take every inshore codfish in the province and it’s not enough to keep one medium size processing plant going year round,” he notes. “We are currently more focused on the deep sea part of that (groundfish) sector.” In other words, FPI is content to process only the groundfish it catches with its own offshore boats. But the company’s policy seems surprising given the appetite of other processors for fish and the availability of it literally on the doorsteps of several FPI plants. Last year, over 130 million pounds of groundfish were landed in Newfoundland, nearly all of it taken on the south See “It’s a hard situation,” page 2
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I think Harold would like to be remembered as somebody who fought the good fight for the rest of life on earth, not just for human beings.” — Farley Mowat on the late Horold Horwood, See story, page 3
See “A continuous,” page 8
NEWS 8
Newfoundlander on new reality series
Labrador’s Fort Mac
Lab West prepares to boom as development takes off LABRADOR CITY By Ngaire Genge For the Independent
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wenty-four months ago, Labrador West was bleeding people. Poised on the brink of strikes at both mines, just informed of a 240 per cent energy rate hike, and struggling with a transportation nightmare threatening to close their airport and see their gravel road go back to nature, business ground to a halt. Skilled tradesmen packed up for the certainty of “anywhere but here.” As the snow slowly disappears this spring, however, Wabush mayor Jim Farrell looks at 110 serviced — but undeveloped — residential lots, parcels vacant for the past 25 years, with a new eye. “With New Millennium’s LabMag project, the Lake Bloom project just over the border in Quebec, exploration proceeding on a number of other fronts, and the Iron Ore Company of Canada announcing expanded production,
we’re anticipating about 1,100 full-time jobs being created over the next three years,” Farrell says. “That’s permanent mining positions, not the construction workers that come first, and not the spin-off jobs that growth will fuel,” he says. “We’d be negligent not to look ahead, to manage that change for our municipalities and residents, both those we have now and future residents.” This isn’t the first time Wabush planned for change. Standing in the middle of an empty sub-division, Farrell faces the ultimate cautionary tale — and his community’s best hope to benefit from the latest glow on the economic horizon. Farrell believes it will be different this time. “We’ve reached an agreement with a developer for a broad construction deal,” he says. “Already, they’re stripping out the old bunkhouses, an eyesore that’s attracted nothing but vandalism and fire trucks for years, in preparation to either develop the land, or reconstruct the existing structures for condos. We’ve been searching for a solution for that
LIFE 17
Barbara Doran’s big plans Labrador City Mayor Graham Letto in the last single serviced industrial lot in the business park. Peter Genge
public hazard for years. If nothing else ever develops, we’re already ahead.” Farrell, and most of Labrador West, believes there is more ahead, and some serious companies will spend millions in research and development this summer alone. Town manager Florence Harnett’s phone is a lot busier these days as well, regularly fielding calls on the previously stalled spots available in their serviced industrial park. That’s a welcome change for Wabush, which hopes the new development will allow See “Police,” page 2
SPORTS 32
Twin Town peewee team shows strength in face of tragedy
IN CAMERA 20-21
Getting ready for a walk on the catwalk
GALLERY 18
Spring In Full Bloom Ivan Morgan . . . . . . . . . . 7 Life Story . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Book review . . . . . . . . . 19 Baychick’s debut. . . . . . 22
APRIL 23, 2005
2 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
‘It’s a hard situation’ From page 1 coast. Miller himself estimates some 2.2 million pounds of fish were landed in Grand Bank and another eight or nine million pounds in Fortune. That’s in addition to FPI’s own groundfish quotas for the south coast, much of which it ships to China for processing. Ironically, Fortune is the one plant on the Burin Peninsula that FPI has indicated it wants to abandon, while scaling down operations at Marystown and maintaining a presence in Burin.
Miller doesn’t understand it. With that much fish available in the area, it’s a mystery to him and many other people on the peninsula why the company isn’t trying to buy it. There’s enough groundfish there to keep plant workers in Fortune busy for more than half the year, at least. “But a fish plant can’t work when a company won’t buy,” Miller says. Other companies around the province are buying it, sending trucks laden with ice-filled containers down the Burin Peninsula to take the fish and bring it to
plants throughout the province. The plant in Arnold’s Cove, which was bought out two years ago by its local manager from National Sea Products, has been among the more aggressive buyers. “It’s a sin,” Miller says. “I sold to Fortune all my life. They (FPI) had a buyer stationed here in Grand Bank ever since I came here in ’89 and before that I sold it in Fortune. “Now the Burin Peninsula is gone, she’s finished. It makes me sick to go up on the wharf and see all the crab and
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lobster and now the cod and flounder and turbot and monkfish and everything coming ashore and getting put aboard the trucks and on to Arnold’s Cove, or Glovertown or St. Anthony. “And you can’t blame it on the fishers, you’ve got to blame it on FPI itself, because if they don’t come on the wharf and buy and give a negotiated price, they’re not going to get anything. I have 11 sisters and brothers and eight of them live in Fortune and all of them worked in the fish plants and now there’s no jobs, they’ve got to move elsewhere.”
Miller says the provincial government seems to have given up on the Burin Peninsula, a region of 40,000 people, more than everyone in all of Labrador combined. “It’s a hard situation sir,” Miller says. “The Burin Peninsula has gotten a slap in the face from everybody. I thought when Williams got in here he would work for all of Newfoundland, but I found out that once he got in the most he worked for was the oil companies.” cwestcott@nl.rogers.com
‘Police ready for boom’ From page 1 them to dodge a perennially hovering threat of closure at their only major employer. Wabush Mines, stepchild of the troubled Stelco, operating at arms-length from American owners ClevelandCliffs, is the source of much rumour and few facts. Jim Skinner, president of the local union, says the company regularly throws out numbers on the years the mine has left. “There’s no sense of security for workers here now,” he says. In Labrador City, home of the growing Iron Ore Company of Canada, union president George Kean wonders publicly how much boom can come from IOC projections. Says Kean, “The papers are full of positions available, they’re hiring all over, travelling across the country, but, when we compare our numbers today to the same time last year, there are just 11 more members today than at the end of the strike.” Labrador City Mayor Graham Letto says that’s about to change. “The company just requested resumes from the 60 mining technician students
about to graduate — early — from the College of the North Atlantic,” Letto points out. “We’ve been in close communication with the New Millennium group, the Department of Natural Resources, and, of course, the Iron Ore Company of Canada. The tentative nature of this industry is well understood here. We’ve seen speculation before, and we’re certainly planning for growth this time.” Labrador City’s plans for growth are mindful of the experiences of boomtowns like Fort McMurray. “Not to say we expect to be a Fort McMurray,” says Letto. “But working on the numbers of estimated permanent jobs, 1,150, and applying the 1-3 ratio of related service jobs, then assuming at least some of those new people will have partners, or children, or parents, that’s a significant number of new residents.” Having seen the example of other boom-and-bust towns, Inspector Robert Garland, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary’s detachment commander in Labrador West, has been at the municipal development table from the beginning. “Growth isn’t necessarily a policing negative,” says Garland. “Unlike other towns, even places like Fort McMuray, Labrador West remains at a physical distance from major transportation routes. We don’t have — and, even with a construction boom, won’t have — the same sort of transient population as a Fort McMurray.” He recognizes that the dynamics of the community will likely change. “Until now, most residents came from similar backgrounds. There was chain migration. What we may develop here, for the first time, is an us-and-them scenario.” He says his best weapon against potential friction, against any frontier mentality, are the men and women of his current force, RNC members of longterm residence in the region, all of whom can accurately gauge changes in the tenor of the community. With municipal councils newly elected last fall, both municipalities can anticipate having the same hand on the helm throughout the most rapid periods of change. Farrell and Letto, acclaimed to their current terms, both see a welldefined role for themselves and their councils in helping diffuse potential social ills. “A budget is a fairly good indicator of a community’s priorities,” says Letto. “Lab West communities suffered from isolation in the early years — and the problems that could easily arise in that environment aren’t so different from a boom period. Even today, 50 years into our histories, we maintain the high number of sport and social venues we did then. Recreation and opportunities for community interaction overcame social barriers then, helped us bond as towns, and provided healthy ways to combat loneliness, addictive behaviours, and stress.” Wabush also endorses the philosophy that a town that plays together stays together, and is more capable of welcoming newcomers. “Having a resource to develop isn’t enough,” says Farrell. “You need a workforce to develop it, and that’s a competitive situation right now. We’re competing with towns like Fort McMurray for workers. It’s not enough to offer a decent wage, workers want communities with services, recreational opportunities, diversity. That’s why we sink a million dollars a year into our recreation facilities now, and will continue into the future, to provide a way for new people to quickly mingle, to attract skilled workers with choices about where they want to live, and to provide our residents with healthy living choices.” Gerard Pelley, who left during the strike two years ago and has yet to work up the courage to toss himself back into the cyclical iron-ore industry, spent last week exploring his housing options. “It’s a big move back. Something we’ve been wanting to do, something we’ve been afraid to do,” says Pelley. “I’d been living and working in Lab West exactly six months when the last strike hit. I was service industry and had no reserves banked. It crippled me in four weeks.” Glancing over the available home listings, he shakes his head. “A lot is changed. When I left, I could rent a place for $300 and that was heat and light included. Not now. It’s going to be another big step back.”
APRIL 23, 2006
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 3
SCRUNCHINS A weekly collection of Newfoundlandia
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razilians love their bacalhau, or codfish that’s dried and salted. So do thieves. According to an article carried recently on the Bloomberg wire service, thefts of bacalhau peaked during Lent, the 40 days of fasting before Easter, when Catholics serve more fish than meat. Codfish is a rarity these days, as everyone knows, to the point it has become a luxury in Brazil. Most of the fish is imported from Norway and sells for as much as $25 a pound. According to the news report, theft is so common in Brazil, the world’s largest Catholic nation, that many truckers refuse to haul the fish. Those who do, hire guards and track their cargoes by satellite. Still, an estimated $700 million in codfish a year is stolen from truckers. “If you’re not vigilant, there’s a gun in your face and your truck is gone,” says Paulo Santos, 44, sales manager for Pascali, a Rio de Janeiro cod importer. “It’s a constant problem this time of year. By the time Easter comes around, the evidence is all eaten.” COD BITES According to the Newfoundland National Convention (1946-1949), Newfoundland dried codfish in the late 1920s fetched $9 a quintal (112 pounds). The price dipped to $5 a quintal during the Depression. A pound of cod (previously frozen, no fresh fish available) at The Fish Depot in downtown St. John’s April 28 sold for $5.99. Oh for the good ol’ days. WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE The fact commercial cod stocks have been practically wiped out in the northwest Atlantic has had a dramatic impact on Newfoundland outports. The following is a list of major offshore processing plants (and their workforces) that began operation in the mid-1940s and continued until the moratorium in the early 1990s, operating 50 weeks a year: Isle Aux Morts (350); Ramea (350); Burgeo (400); Gaultois (250); Harbour Breton (450); Grand Bank (450); Fortune (450); Burin (450); Marystown (1,000); Arnold’s Cove (350); Trepassey (500); Bonavista (450); Port Union (1,000); Triton (350). In addition, there were 1,500 deep sea fishermen. The vast majority of those jobs — which don’t include seasonal plants or spinoff employment — have been wiped out. Richard Cashin, former head of the fishermen’s union, described the 1992 northern cod moratorium as the biggest layoff in Canadian history. Fourteen years later and a cod recovery plan is still in the works — is it any wonder the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans has a credibility problem? Maybe it’s time for an independent assessment of the industry.
‘He led the way’
Journalist, author, naturalist, activist, leader of Newfoundland’s cultural renaissance — Harold Horwood leaves a legacy CLARE-MARIE GOSSE ONE FISH, TWO FISH, REDFISH … Speaking of endangered species, the television images of redfish being processed at a plant in New Harbour, Trinity Bay this week were unsettling. Much of the groundfish appeared as big as the palm of your hand, raising the question whether the fish should be harvested at all. As for why it was processed at the New Harbour plant as opposed to, say, Marystown, the wages at New Harbour, which isn’t unionized, are around $8 an hour, versus Marystown, which is unionized, and pays $13 an hour, plus benefits. FISH TALES New Brunswick’s Telegraph-Journal carried an interesting article this past week headlined Newfoundland fishery shutdown: corporations vs. community. The story, written by freelance writer Janice Harvey, talked about the “privatization” of fish through individual transferable quotas (ITQs), which Ottawa granted freely to private fishing enterprises based on their historical catch record (the big companies got big quotas and the small companies got small quotas). “This effectively endowed the 1980s generation of fish harvesters with private property rights to the fish resource, thereby prejudicing every other generation’s access to it, and amounting to a massive transfer of public wealth to private hands without any public accountability,” the article read. “The justification for ITQs was that if companies owned the right to catch a certain volume of fish, they would take good care of the resource, a failed theory as it turned out. But the real reason was financial. Fishing enterprises could take their ITQ to the bank to help capitalize their operations. They could also sell their quota (which they received for free), or buy it from other quota holders. Small quota holders quickly realized they would be better off financially to sell out, allowing big companies to amass quota and eventually control virtually the entire fishery.” Sounds about right … ryan.cleary@theindependent.ca
O
n Sunday, April 16, writer Harold Horwood died after losing his fight with cancer at the age of 82. As well as leaving behind a wife, Cornelia (Corky) and two grown children, Andrew and Leah, he left behind a legacy. Horwood’s many books — most of which embodied his limitless love for Newfoundland and Labrador — have educated and captivated a generation locally, nationally and internationally. Horwood was born in St. John’s in 1923 and began his public life in the 1940s as a union organizer, keen to help the province’s poorer outports and underdeveloped communities in Labrador. He went on to initially support Joey Smallwood (he became a member of the first confederated House of Assembly) and then vigourously denounce him (through his column writing at The Evening Telegram). Horwood finally achieved his ultimate ambition in the 1960s — to support himself full time as a writer of books — and has since been credited with leading the province’s post-Confederation cultural renaissance. Horwood’s works have been dramatically diverse, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry on subjects from history and science to the environment — always permeated with his own flair, passions and wit. Never one to care much for what others thought of him, Horwood was more concerned with how his own efforts might be able to help shape the world. In February 2005, he gave one of his last interviews to The Independent, shortly after publishing Cycle of the Sun, a limited edition collection of poetry. In describing his work over the years, Horwood said he was trying to teach mainlanders about his home province.
“Mainlanders knew nothing about us at all, at the beginning, say 1949. They had a total misconception of what we were like. I was trying to make Newfoundland intelligible to people on the mainland.” One particular mainlander Horwood managed to influence, even before he began writing books, is author Farley Mowat. The two were close friends since the late 1950s. “Irascible” is the first word to occur to Mowat as he tries to describe Horwood. “He did not suffer fools easily,” he says, over the phone from Port Hope, Ont. “He was as good a wordsmith, writer, as any that Newfoundland has ever produced — and maybe better — he was a poet as well as a prose writer. I think you could say he may have been the prime instigator of the (cultural) revolution that took place in Newfoundland after Confederation.” Mowat met Horwood on his first visit to
“He showed me Newfoundland as nobody else could possibly have done.” Farley Mowat Newfoundland. Looking for some information about the province, he marched into the offices of The Evening Telegram where Horwood worked, armed with a bottle of rum. “(Horwood) said: ‘Look, it’s usually the other way around, you fellows from away come down here and we give you the rum,’” says Mowat, “‘you brought me rum. You must
be OK.’ And that was the beginning of a great friendship.” The following spring Horwood took Mowat on a memorable trip around the island. They drove where they could (at that time the Trans-Canada hadn’t been completed) and shipped the car on the Newfie Bullet train service when they couldn’t. “We drove all over the bloody place,” says Mowat. “He showed me Newfoundland as nobody else could possibly have done … he was as much responsible as any other human being in infecting me with Newfoundlanditis. “The next year I bought a little boat and with his help finished up by spending practically all of the ’60s living in Newfoundland, in Burgeo, and this was all due to him; he brought me to Newfoundland.” In his second book of memoirs covering his life post-1950s, Among the Lions: A Lamb in the Literary Jungle, Horwood fondly remembers his jaunts around Newfoundland with Mowat. In one excerpt he describes his friend “cavorting along the cliff tops on a wild stretch of Newfoundland coastline wearing nothing but a pair of waders rolled down below his knees, red beard blowing in the wind … A crew of Irish-Newfoundland fishermen who passed by in a trap boat later reported that they had seen a spirit.” In Among the Lions, Horwood also outlined how he tried to instruct and reform what he saw as a repressed society around him. He believed in stripping away prejudice and conventionality and in the late 1960s created Animal Farm, a free school for youth in St. John’s. He was a co-founder of the Writers’ Union of Canada and also spent time as chairman of the Labourers’ Union in St. John’s, which he has called one of the most fulfilling periods in his career. The union was responsible for raising the wage for unskilled labourers. See “Fought the good fight,” page 8
4 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
APRIL 23, 2006
Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John’s, pre 1926.
Centre for Newfoundland Studies
Government apology Victim looking for province to own up to role in institutional abuse By Stephanie Porter The Independent
E
d O’Neill is waiting for an apology. And he’ll keep fighting for it, on behalf of the hundreds — even thousands — of victims of institutional abuse in this province. Indeed, he says it’s become “kind of a crusade,” it’s his “Don Quixote thing.” O’Neill and his brother Chris were moved into Mount Cashel in 1952. Their sister spent time at Belvedere orphanage. O’Neill describes the abuse he suffered as “mostly physical,” though he has horror stories of others around him who didn’t get away so easily, if you can call it that. He went on to a good marriage, and careers with the army and as an educator. In the past decade or two, more than one lawyer has offered to represent him in seeking some compensation for his suffering while in the orphanage. “Each time I said, ‘Sure, I’m more than willing to go in and speak my piece … and of course, you will be suing the government?’” O’Neill tells The Independent. “But the lawyers, when I looked at the statements of claim, when it came down to the nitty gritty, they were going for the archdiocese and the Christian Brothers. “That’s the easy money — and they are directly responsible for the misdeeds to the children — but still, the government took me and my brother from our parents and said ‘We are assuming guardianship of the O’Neill
boys,’ and there are many more of us, and they took that responsibility and they abdicated all that responsibility to the Catholic Church.” He is still searching for a lawyer or law firm that will take the provincial government to task for its role in the abuse. O’Neill contacted The Independent after reading an article on St. John’s lawyer Bob Buckingham (The Independent, March 26). Buckingham’s primary goal is to see some sort of accessible counseling made available for all victims of institutional and foster-care abuse. O’Neill reacted to the statements, saying he thinks there are too many people in too many places for counseling to be a sensible option (see letter below). And what he feels will offer the most closure for victims is a simple “we’re sorry.” His quest started in the ’90s. “I had gone down (to St. John’s) to see several of the trials that were going on with the Christian Brothers from the ’50s. While I was there, I met a bunch of the girls I knew from Belvedere when I was a kid.” Some of the girls had horrific stories of physical and emotional abuse. “I was talking to one girl, and I said, ‘I can’t understand how it can be that the guys’ suits can proceed through the courts and the girls’ cannot.’ It twigged off a little thing for me.” O’Neill, now “pretty well retired,” started reaching out and making contact with victims of abuse, from Mount Cashel, Belvedere, Whitbourne and the foster-care system. He continued to
research ongoing cases, and set up a newsgroup, which soon built up to more than 150 people. “All the men’s things were proceeding along,” says O’Neill. “The only difference was the girls had not sued only the Mercy Nuns and the archdiocese — they had also tried to sue the Newfoundland government.” By now, O’Neill has invested more than $10,000 in his crusade. He’s one of the major sponsors of a website (www.mountcashelorphanage.com) set up by another former resident to “tell the good and the bad” of that time. It’s also a place for residents to meet and exchange thoughts and ideas. O’Neill says he’s heard again, and again, the same main wish echoed. “We’re not interested in monetary compensation,” says O’Neill, speaking for himself and, he says, countless others. “We’re trying to get a voice … and we have not been able to find a lawyer or law firm in St. John’s that will take this on, and go after the government hard.” O’Neill is still looking for others who feel the same way to join in his call. He hopes someday the American media will pick up the story — that kind of international pressure might be, finally, enough. “Maybe if there was a little more publicity, if this was more high-profile, than maybe we’d get Danny, or whoever replaces Danny, or someone, to simply look up and say — ‘You know, we really are sorry.’ “I can’t believe that, 20 years later, that that is so hard to hear.”
corresponding years of indifference around North America … counseling for all is a pipe dream. My brothers and I were in the Mount in the 1950s, my sister was in Belvedere and we all were in the foster care system. I live in the Kitchener-Waterloo area of Ontario. There is a large population of Newfoundlanders in the Cambridge area in general … specifically there are 20 of us who were in Mount Cashel orphanage and if Buckingham could tell us why no lawyer in St. John’s will sue the Newfoundland government on our behalf we would be forever grateful. Actually, drag the Newfoundland government into court and force them to account for this shameful ware-
housing of children. Complainants’ civil suits only claim damages from the Archdiocese of St. John’s and the Irish Christian Brothers. But the government demands that all other civil suits by the Mount Cashel men have to sign off on suing the government before those men can receive their compensation. If Mr. Buckingham could answer that question … we might be able to regain some belief that there is still some integrity in that system. Chris and Ed O’Neill Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont.
YOUR VOICE Dear editor, I read the article (The Independent, March 26) where lawyer Bob Buckingham speaks of the government’s need to take some responsibility for counseling in the case of the Mount Cashel men. Of course, in a perfect world that would be the case, but when you factor in the girls from Belvedere, the men and women from the other denominational orphanages, the thousands of children from foster care and institutions such as Whitbourne, you would be dealing with at least several thousand children from Newfoundland and Labrador. Scatter those people from 40-plus years of abuse by the perpetrators and the child welfare-cum-social workers’
P.S. Visit www.mountcashelorphanage.com and you’ll see more than you might wish to know
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APRIL 23, 2006
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 5
By Craig Westcott The Independent
M
any people think the federal government’s failure to fund enough scientific inquiry into the state of Canada’s East Coast fish stocks is contributing to their moribund recovery. Sean Cadigan sees it differently. It’s not the scientific information that’s lacking, so much as the government’s proper use of that information — and its reluctance to admit what’s really being managed, is people. The Memorial University marine historian will share that message, and some lessons from it, this fall when he gives a lecture at the Scripps Institution in California as part of a prestigious research award he’s just won. Cadigan is the 2006 winner of the Ritter Memorial Fellowship. The award, which includes $15,000 (US) to conduct research, is named after the founder and first director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The award to an historian of Newfoundland’s management of the fisheries comes at an appropriate time. Newfoundland is creeping up on the 15th anniversary of the cod moratorium. When it hit in ’92, there was public anger at the federal government and its scientists for mismanaging the fish stocks. Some of it was leveled by marine scientists not employed by Ottawa. It’s ironic, says Cadigan, that now when some of those same scientists call for listing cod as an endangered species, the anger is being directed at them. “My point is that knowledge doesn’t figure in this game at all,” says Cadigan. “It’s the political economy of fishing that continues to be important.” The scenarios then and now may be different, but one thing remains the same. People use science and arguments about science for their own ends. In 1992, Ottawa’s scientific failure was used to justify arguments for financial compensation for displaced fishermen and plant workers. “Good management regimes are not based on science in the sense that we like to think of it,” says Cadigan. “There is no scientific regime in the world that has enough knowledge to manage an animal
Sean Cadigan
Paul Daly/The Independent
Making sense of fish science It’s really about people, not fish, says award-winning historian population like cod. What we manage is people’s access to that animal. “And we don’t harvest cod … harvesting is something that is usually associated with farming and other types of activities where you actually take control over the reproductive cycle … we have no control over the reproductive cycles of most of the animals we hunt in the oceans, we just hunt them. But nobody wants to admit that. “So my point is the science of fisheries management is a human science, it isn’t a marine biological science, it isn’t an oceanographic science, it’s a science of managing people, a social science.” According to Cadigan, there is a persistent reluc-
tance within the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to recognize the importance of the fishery’s social dimension. Saying there are too many fishermen chasing too few fish may be a truism, but it doesn’t do anything to help the situation, he says. “If you’re going to manage people well, you have to build processes that allow people to have an effective part in the decision making about them,” Cadigan says. But that’s another area where DFO has been weak, he adds. The federal government is good at creating the appearance it is interested in what people have to say — but he says it almost never incorporates that knowledge in its policies and decisions.
The province must also bear some of the blame for the poor state of fisheries management. “Provincially, the problem is that we can’t find a way to cope with rural development,” Cadigan says. “Historically, we haven’t been able to do that without increasing processing capacity.” For years, he points out, the province’s answer to employment creation was to licence new fish plants. It’s less inclined to do that today, but there is still pressure to support local employment by “giving them more of something to process.” Cadigan’s favourite example of the province’s approach to things occurred during the last election. “I remember the then Fisheries minister, Yvonne Jones, had called an open-line show and was hammering away at federal policy and somebody basically said, ‘Yeah, but the province controls plant licences,’” Cadigan recalls. “And I think I’m nearly quoting her verbatim, she said, ‘We’re not going to deal with that piece today because our government is not in the business of shutting down communities.’ “You can’t deal with the fisheries by that artful dodge. It’s sort of like saying, ‘Well if we close our eyes, maybe it will go away.’” But if the policymakers are reluctant to grapple with the real problems of managing the fisheries, the people who depend on them to do it can force the issue, Cadigan says. However, that too carries its share of risk. “I just don’t believe that in Newfoundland and Labrador anybody can go to the polls and form a majority without the support of rural Newfoundland, not yet anyway,” Cadigan says. “So people out there have a tremendous say over how things are going to unfold. But we still live in a liberal democracy and unfortunately what that means is that people have a democratic right to make terrible decisions and we all have to live with that. “But in the first instance, we can’t make good decisions unless we have good knowledge. My concern about the fishery right now is that we emphasize too much the importance of science without understanding the political context in which it is generated and used.” cwestcott@nl.rogers.com
SHIPPING NEWS Keeping an eye on the comings and goings of the ships in St. John’s harbour. Information provided by the Coast Guard Traffic Centre. WEDNESDAY Vessels arrived: Atlantic Kingfisher, Canada, from Terra Nova; Burin Sea, Canada, from White Rose. Vessels departed Maersk Chancellor, Canada, to White Rose; Maersk Norseman, Canada, to Hibernia; Atlantic Kingfisher, Canada, to Terra Nova. THURSDAY Vessels arrived: Maersk Chancellor, Canada, from White Rose; Maersk Norseman, Canada, from Hibernia; Cabot, Canada, from Montreal. Vessels departed: Atlantic Osprey, Canada, to White Rose; Burin Sea, Canada, to Terra Nova; Maersk Placentia, Canada, to Hibernia; Maersk Chancellor, Canada, to White Rose. FRIDAY Vessels arrived: Atlantic Kingfisher, Canada, from Terra Nova; Katrina Charlene, Canada, gone fishing. Vessels departed: Maersk Norseman, Canada, from Hibernia; Atlantic Kingfisher, Canada, to Montreal; Cabot, Canada, to Montreal; Sir Wilfred Grenfell, Canada, sea.
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6 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
APRIL 23, 2006
Moving on L
et me tell you the story about my sister Maggie, who grew up a Newfoundlander, and how she came to be an Albertan. Maggie and her fiancé, Glen, left Newfoundland in April of 1993, weeks after graduating from Memorial. They left in an old Toyota, the back seat crammed with suitcases and sleeping bags. Maggie remembers a policeman pulling them over in Ontario. They hit a stretch of highway near the Manitoba border that was the straightest and flattest they had ever seen. Glen couldn’t help himself, and floored it. “What are you newfies doing out here on the highway?” asked the officer when my sister and her fiancé handed over their IDs. Maggie said they were heading to a future out West, and the officer gave them a break on the ticket. They ended up in Brooks, Alta., where they stayed with Glen’s sister, whose home was two blocks from a cattle slaughterhouse. The smell was “sickening,” not half so pleasant as the fragrance of an outport fish plant. Maggie and Glenn felt claustrophobic, which was “strange” considering the
RYAN CLEARY
Fighting Newfoundlander land is so wide open. “It was like everything was caving in. It had a different air.” But there was no turning back. Over their four years at university in St. John’s the talk within their circle of friends centered around how fast they would leave after graduation. “You were almost seen as unsuccessful if you were planning to stay in Newfoundland.” As a young girl, Maggie was heavily involved in sports, especially softball, and travelled across Canada for tournaments. Outside of home, Alberta was her favourite place. A short while after settling in Brooks they got a call from Glen’s uncle, who lived further north in Lloydminster, an Alberta town on the Saskatchewan border. “Why don’t you come up and have a look around Lloyd?” he suggested. And so they did. Jobs weren’t so
plentiful back then, considering the price of oil was low, around $15 a barrel. They stayed with Glen’s uncle for a while, and were lucky enough to land work within weeks. They got their own apartment shortly after — the rent for the first two months was free as an incentive for moving in … the vacancy rate was that high. They used cardboard boxes, covered in sheets, for their coffee and end tables, with lawn furniture for a kitchen set. Their first purchase was a TV, laid atop stacked suitcases. Over the next few years Maggie and Glen took in an assortment of family and friends from back home, giving them a place to live until they got settled away. Our sister Rhonda and her husband Sean and their two boys moved to Lloyd a few years ago. They drove across the country in their truck, stuffed with suitcases and our grandmother’s electric organ. Everything else was sold before they left (Rhonda couldn’t part with Nan’s organ). Sean, a second-class power engineer, got a job with Husky. Rhonda landed an office job. Together, they make more than $130,000 a year. Rhonda is a recruiter with an oil field
services company, drawing workers from around the country with salaries that range from $22.40 an hour to over $40. She says some recruiting companies actually hang out at airports waiting for people to get off the planes. Rhonda recently hired 250 workers from across the country, about 45 from Newfoundland. “Fishermen and farmers are the best workers,” she says. Lately, however, they’ve had to direct recruiting efforts internationally. The irony of Rhonda’s job is that she and her husband want nothing more than to return to Newfoundland. They only recently purchased a new home. “I didn’t want to buy a house because a house was forever,” Rhonda says, “but then we did.” COMING HOME She and her family are returning home this summer, the first trip back in five years (Four return airline tickets cost $4,900). Rhonda and her husband would move home in a flash, but the work isn’t here. “I would rather take a job recruiting Newfoundlanders to return to Newfoundland to work for Husky. Maybe that will happen someday.”
Realistically, Rhonda and her husband expect to return home for good when they retire. Known as mini Fort MacMurray, Lloydminster is a boomtown. Money Sense magazine recently listed the city as the third best place to live in Canada (Grande Prairie, Alta., was No. 1). With a barrel of oil selling today for $75, the oil towns are booming. The vacancy rate in Lloydminster is negative 1. “There’s nothing to rent and nothing to buy … you have to go on a wait list,” says Maggie. The average price of a home is $250,000 — and that’s with an unfinished basement. When people ask her whether she’d ever move home, Maggie says no … she is home. She and Glen moved west to raise a family. Make no mistake: she’s a Newfoundlander, and proud of it. “Newfoundland gave me my childhood … I appreciate that, but we had to move on.” Returning East isn’t in the cards — not now, not ever. She plans to always be near her son, an Albertan. Ryan Cleary is editor-in-chief of The Independent. ryan.cleary@theindependent.ca
YOUR VOICE Baychick to the rescue Dear editor, First, I must dispel the impression given in a letter last week that your paper doesn’t get to Trinity. However, as a long-time subscriber to The Independent, I know that our copy is one of few out here, perhaps because it’s regarded by many as a “St. John’s paper.” Here are a few suggestions to help increase interest beyond the overpass: give the people out here what they need – more extensive job listings for starters. More content and coverage of local, rural issues would be an asset as well. How about events listings outside the St. John’s area or
a column featuring “news from our town.” In further support of your paper, my wife Tonya Kearley is offering her cartoon series Baychick to The Independent free of charge. Perhaps some additional humour on the “Newfoundland condition” could sell a few extra papers. Please also advise me on your advertising rates that we may consider placing an ad in a future issue. Kelly Russell, Trinity See “Baychick,” page 22
‘Glad you’re back’ Dear editor, Your brief, one-issue demise not only caught the attention of those of us who care deeply about this special place, but it also caught the attention of our great “national” paper, The Globe and Mail. That’s almost as good as getting the Michener award — not bad for a small-town weekly. I’m glad you’re back and I, for one, am prepared to help in any way I can. It’s good you’re getting your house in
order. The paper is much more important than a harbour view. I hope you expand your website to tap into the great Newfoundland Diaspora. As the only truly independent voice in the province, it is important to us who are proud to call this place home that you survive and prosper. Hang in there Brian Dobbin. J. A. McGrath, St. John’s
Burin Peninsula doesn’t need early retirement
Prom queen
Dear editor, In 2005 there was work on the Burin Peninsula for approximately 1,000 workers and a quota of 27 million pounds. The quota has remained unchanged. If caught, where will that quota be processed in 2006. If not caught, will the quota be returned to the federal Fisheries Department for transfer to a harvester willing to catch and process this quota in Newfoundland? The residents of the Burin Peninsula and the residents of the province do not need an early-retirement package, they need the opportunity to process the quotas in the province and provide gainful employment, which is better for the residents and the industry. What are we saying
t’s all over now. Probably close to $1,000 in expenses, and a lot of hours of work and worry, and it’s all over. I think I must have missed out on whatever the big deal was supposed to be. It’s like being afraid to fly and taking off for the first time, expecting the plane to come crashing towards the ground in flames only to realize that you’re sipping orange juice while cruising comfortably at 10,000 feet. All that built up anxiety while clutching the air-sickness bag for nothing. Prom is supposed to be one of those moments you never forget. Like your first kiss, or your wedding day. For me, prom combined the awkwardness of the first kiss with all the preparation, planning and endless picture taking of a wedding. I’m still feeling like it was only a practice run, a rehearsal. I’ll have a chance to get it all right and it will be the perfect memory I wanted. Yet as much as I want that to be possible, even though the memory is imperfect, I’m still happy I have it at all. That day is still mostly a blur, a hazy mix of faces and places and blinding camera flashes. I stumbled out of bed at 8 a.m. after a long night of tossing and turning, managed to shower and drag myself to my hair appointment. I’m not particularly girly, so you can imagine what an experience that was. Hours of pulling, twisting and straightening my wild locks and in the end I was still tempted to run to my friend’s house and wash it all out. Anything to feel like myself again. After the hair, there was the makeup, which I clearly did not do myself (thank you to the patient friend who sat through my whining, wincing and twitching). Then came the grand moment — putting on the dress. I’ve never had a more dramatic and heart wrenching parting from my pants. As soon as it was on I knew that it would be one of the longest days of my life. The only
— that we will provide an earlyretirement package and then it’s OK to ship unprocessed fish out of the province? This province needs the employment to keep the residents of the province, young and old, in the province. Yes, these jobs in some areas of the province are seasonable but that’s due to the nature of the shellfish industry in the inshore. However, on the Burin Peninsula these jobs were once year-round. In 2005 many inshore fisherman and plant workers did not qualify for EI, but remember that was caused by an unsupported decision of the government to bring in the Raw Material Sharing Program. Boyd Legge
‘A true voice’ Dear editor, The Independent a true voice for what no one wants to hear. Justice for
Newfoundland and Labrador. Calvin Coish, Ottawa, Ont. (originally from Baie de Verde)
AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR
P.O. Box 5891, Stn.C, St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, A1C 5X4 Ph: 709-726-4639 • Fax: 709-726-8499 www.theindependent.ca • editorial@theindependent.ca The Independent is published by Independent News Ltd. 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 EDITOR IN CHIEF Ryan Cleary MANAGING EDITOR Stephanie Porter PICTURE EDITOR Paul Daly PRODUCTION MANAGER John Andrews
sales@theindependent.ca • production@theindependent.ca • circulation@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. • © 2006 The Independent • Canada Post Agreement # 40871083
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
I
LEIA FELTHAM Guest Column
I’m just lucky I had good friends that found me and dumped me back into the safety of my little fishbowl before I choked on the unfamiliar air. thing that kept me from tearing it off and curling up in the fetal position was the reassurance that I looked fine. I sure as hell didn’t feel like it. I resembled a newborn giraffe wearing my heels, stumbling around frightened and shaky, certain that I’d fall flat on my face. Then it was off to the get-togethers for pictures and a quick bite to eat. If it wasn’t for the few crackers and cheese I ate I think I would have passed out. The real madness started with the meet-and-greet at the hotel. Crowds have a tendency to make me nervous and I couldn’t help but feel like I was lost in Disneyworld or some equally vast and confusing place where I’d be surrounded by people in princess costumes. I held on for dear life and grabbed the few quick hugs I could with friends before they were swallowed up by the sea of people. The dinner was definitely one of the highlights that night. I thought pizza at 3 a.m. got eaten fast. It was good to see that despite looking as
fancy as we did, we could still inhale cheesecake. My favourite part of that section of the evening was the slideshow. Feelings of nostalgia were running high as we watched pictures of unforgettable friends and moments flash across the screen. It was hard not to laugh at the way we were, and somehow want a piece of that time back. Relive a little of it before the current of our lives takes over. The night ended with the dance, which I didn’t participate in, being the wallflower that I am, but it seemed to be well enjoyed from the outside. Then everybody dragged themselves — sweaty, tired and sore-footed — to whatever party they planned on celebrating at until the early hours of the morning. Right now I’m still having mixed feelings about the whole experience. I’m caught somewhere between disappointment, relief and plain joy that I just did it and made it through. It wasn’t what I had imagined, but I did come out with some great pictures, even if I am ruining half of them by blinking. No one will remember that night the exact way I do, or feel the same way about it, but we can look back on it some day and at least laugh. I think that my greatest problem was that prom summed up most of the situations I’m not comfortable with. I was a fish out of water. I’m just lucky I had good friends that found me and dumped me back into the safety of my little fishbowl before I choked on the unfamiliar air. Then again, it was good to try and breathe out of that fishbowl for a little while and experience something new. It was important for me to be there and share that time with the people I’ve grown up with, and it’s a memory that I’ll always hold on to. Congrats to the Gonzaga graduating class of ’06. Leia Feltham is a Level III student at Gonzaga High School in St. John’s.
APRIL 23, 2006
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 7
That ‘open-line’ feeling Blogs just go to show how important editors are, says Ivan Morgan
I
confess I have let the whole blogging boat sail past me. I am really confused about blogging. Is it writing? Is it journalism? Is it narcissism? Is it voyeurism? What the hell is a blog? I think a blog is what you want it to be, which I think is my real problem with blogs. I went on a bit of a blog kick about a year ago, reading lots of them, but I quickly got bored. For starters (and I am loathe to admit this) it is a bit of a generational thing. The great blogs are by people way younger than me. I have read a few blogs of people closer to my age, but I left their postings with the vague notion that they had way too much spare time. I kind of get an “open-line” feeling from a lot of the local stuff written by people of my generation, especially the more political stuff. Anyone who listens regularly to the open-line shows knows that when someone starts phoning in regularly and talking in an authoritative tone, it usually means they are starting a
IVAN MORGAN
Rant & Reason political career, or angling for a government job or something like that. I think that is the goal of some of the local bloggers. I have been writing a political column for five years. I still cannot believe that week after week people read my work. And with the deepest humility, I have to say, I do it for the money. Why would anyone write about current affairs week after week for free? But they do. That’s not to say some of them aren’t great. Some of them are terrific. But unless they are hoping for it to lead to bigger things, what’s the point? And that is the way many of them read. I understand how blogs can be important to some people’s professional life. A lot of professional artists and writers have
of colour photos of our buddies puking in snow banks, and then stagger home, sneak into our bedrooms and post them on Bluekaffee for the shared hilarity of the greater community. All we got to do is lie in our dark beds fighting the spins. I rarely go on the site for fear of actually finding out what my kids are up to. I really don’t want to know. And if you do want to know, you were warned. There is a forum on catching parents “at it,” where members are invited to post their traumatic experiences with accidentally encountering their parents having sex. It was easily one of the funniest things I have ever read. It was debilitating. I laughed till the tears streamed down my face and my sides ached. But that was because I am not (ahem) featured there. If you have teens, you might want to think twice before you read this — it could be you. There are no end of blogs: there are cooking blogs and mommy blogs and tropical fish blogs and blogs for every-
thing and everyone imaginable. I dallied briefly at the blog of a woman who posted with glee her impressive sexual encounters, but that wasn’t doing either of us any good. Sounds great, but the truth is more prosaic and sad. Mostly what I have learned from blogs is how important editors are. Who wants to read me for hours on end? Even I don’t. If you are reading this paper, you are reading the material, the writers, and the stories that our editors think (Guess? Hope?) you want to read. Editors who got to where they are by being good at it. Editors whose livelihood depends on successfully sifting through all the nonsense and give you a condensed version of interesting information that you can easily deal with. Editors whose opinions you trust. With no clicking. And all for only two bucks. Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com
QUIDI VIDI GUTTED?
YOUR VOICE Foreign press Dear editor, Congratulations on the resurrection of The Independent! I am a German geographer, unfortunately already retired, but very interested in Canada and Newfoundland, in particular. I know and highly evaluate The Independent for its variety of present-day information on the province!
blogs out of necessity — but it really is just another publicity gimmick, albeit often with way too much information. The only blogging that I really enjoyed was on the truly entertaining www.bluekaffee.com. For those of you who don’t know, it is an Internet community for the young people on the northeast Avalon. Do you want to know what your kids are at? Do you want to become familiar with the generation that may (or may not) be paying taxes to support you in your old age? Look no further. It’s all there. They write about school, sex, music, drugs, friends, loves, and hates. None of them appear to have any axes to grind, they just write for each other. With a little patience you can figure out the slang, the nicknames and the format. Yes, it is a little like snooping, but it is interesting to see how the generations compare. My youth was gloriously misspent in the ’70s. We didn’t have computers, or the Internet, or digital cameras, so we couldn’t take loads
Jens U. Gerloff lives in a small village on the coast of the Baltic Sea called Dierhagen. Before his retirement he taught for 25 years at the University of Greifswald, founded in 1456. He has been a member of the Association for Canadian studies since 1990.
‘Grease-ball antics and sleazy ideas’ Dear editor If I were a Liberal in Newfoundland and Labrador right now, I’d be running for cover. It seems the communications staff for leader Jim Bennett have fallen asleep on the job. He cannot be serious when he says he wants to see two-tier minimum wage, with youth under 18 making less money than their peers. Nothing like creating a little workplace hostility and resentment, hey Jim? This is 10 steps backwards … was he not in the province when the pay-equity issue regarding women was finally settled, or was he back spending Ontario taxpayers’ money flying around with his wife on the government jet? That’s not all though, in addition to the pay inequity, Mr. Bennett wants people to start working 50-60 hours a week to qualify for E.I. and receive more money from the federal government. Correct me if I’m wrong, but E.I. is a social-safety net,
there to assist people and supplement their wages should they find themselves out of work — not a getrich-quick scheme used to cheat the feds. I thought the whole point was to eventually get people off E.I., not force them to work as slave labourers. Have you ever worked a 60-hour workweek Jim? I certainly have, and it’s not something I’d like to do again. These grease-ball antics and sleazy ideas might have been acceptable when he was chasing ambulances, but not now. If the Liberals want to make any headway in the next election, here’s my get richquick scheme — dump Jim Bennett. It’s great to see The Independent back on the newsstand; my subscription cheque is in the mail. Kudos to Ryan Cleary and all the staff for digging in. Mark Morrissey, St. John’s
Most residents of Quidi Vidi gut in east end St. John’s appear to be against proposed development in the historic village. The family of Alan Brigg (right), an 85-year-old resident, has lived in the area for several generations. He takes questions from a CBC Radio reporter as Randy Ring, another resident, looks on. Mayor Andy Wells is against the development. Councillor Shannie Duff is in favour. Paul Daly/The Independent
Lilies for Lillie Dear editor, First and foremost, congratulations on saving The Independent — it certainly brings a different dynamic to news worthy stories and always on the cutting
‘The hero’s blood’ Dear editor, There was a time in Newfoundland that when people met seamen and captains in the street they stood aside, took off their caps and nodded their heads in respect. In church on Sundays the minister honoured these captains and their wives by welcoming them at the beginning of the service. When the service was over the congregation stood and waited for the captain and his family to pass and be first to exit the church. These brave seafaring people where nurtured in the hundreds of harbours and coves all around this magnificent island. They were bred by the cliffs, the storms, and the sea. For 500 years they faced the North Atlantic in boats and ships they built, and in the process entwined the sea’s indomitable character with their own courage, strength, humility and truth — a process that built as great a maritime race as the world has ever seen.
Evidence of this intrepid character was displayed beyond the sea and shown to the world in the great wars where so many of our young Newfoundland soldiers fearlessly made the ultimate sacrifice, especially at Beaumont Hamel. The character was shown on the ice in the long history of the bravery of our sealers who risked and gave their lives while trying to provide for their families in the most dangerous job on earth. Today the latent heritage of that character is subtly hidden, but it is still there. Make no mistake it is there. It pulses in the heart and soul of our sealers and our fishermen all around this magnificent coast. It can’t be seen by cameras, by columnists, by protesters, paparazzi, outsiders and the like. It is there, this sacred character of the hero’s blood. Phil Earle, Carbonear
edge. I like it … keep up the good work! My name is Gord Delaney and I started a charity about three years ago called Lilies for Lillie (www.lflhome.com). I created the charity in memory of my mother, Lillie Delaney, who passed away of Leukemia at the tender age of 53. Over the past three years we have raised over $10,000. Both last year and again this year, we partner with the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Foundation (that means that all proceeds stay in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador), which is much needed. Saturday, May 6th, will see our third annual Lilies for Lillie charity concert take place at the Bella Vista in St. John’s. Over the past two
years we have had such acts as the Ennis Sisters, Jason Greeley, The Cormiers and many more. This year promises to be even more exciting with such acts confirmed as Blue Eyed Blonde, Siochana, Gulliver’s Spree (featuring Dave Panting) and other acts in the works. This year we also have another exciting thing happening. We have a major ticket draw, with tickets for sale province wide. Prizes range from a trip for two to the Calgary Stampede to see Alan Jackson, a Garrison Guitar autographed by Rex Goudie and Melissa O’Neil and more! If you are able to assist me in getting the message out, I would be forever grateful. Lilies for Lillie is a great charity that raises funds for an amazing centre — all in memory of a very special lady — my mother! Gord Delaney, Founder, Lilies for Lillie
Being gay isn’t a sin Dear editor, The Good Friday Pro-Life Vigil recently took place on the grounds of the Health Science Centre in St. John’s. While the vigil is in support of the fetus’ right to life, I would ask when do these same infants, as they mature through adolescence and into adulthood, acquire some public respect and support from the same Christian community? When do they attain their right
to live both consciously and conscientiously, based on their very own private relationship with their God? When do they acquire the right to “a life,” spiritual or otherwise? Regarding gay marriage, how is it that, generally, these same Christian communities can take it upon themselves to refuse other human beings a happy, fulfilling life together? This is the 21st century. We are better educat-
ed, we are better able to understand pluralism should we choose to open our minds. Christians, by definition, should be better prepared to accept yet another mystery of faith, another personal challenge. There is no choice, there is no sin associated with being gay. It just is. Ronald Tizzard, Paradise
APRIL 23, 2006
8 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
APRIL 23, 2006
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 9
YOUR VOICE
Taking control of our fishing destiny Dear editor, Before hundreds of our provincial fishing communities are ushered into oblivion we should provide a very brief review of the extent our fisheries once contributed to the social and economic life of our province. With fisheries for groundfish such as cod in such a depressed state and thousands of experienced fishermen and plant workers leaving the province in droves, the deteriorating industry will disappear entirely unless the federal, provincial and municipal representatives of rural Newfoundland and Labrador immediately combine efforts to force the Government of Canada to start rebuilding the resource. Let’s face it, those elected representatives, together with our own provincial governments, must take a great deal of the responsibility for the total lack of action by Ottawa to manage the resource — as agreed upon when we entered Confederation — and more
Paul Daly/The Independent
‘A continuous process’ From page 1 In all, it’s a 15-month commitment. “Once they determine themselves battle ready, they are deployable anywhere in the world,” says Pretty. “We’ve earmarked them to go to Afghanistan.” Currently, Pretty notes, there is a push to recruit more people for the regular army and the primary reserves. “It’s not because of Afghanistan, but because Canada’s commitment is growing in the world,” he says. “We have people on missions all over the world. We have people in Africa, in the Middle East, people in Lebanon, in Sudan … we have another person from here going to Namibia. “From that commitment, and the increased commitment in Afghanistan, you have to recruit to stay at your normal levels.” When it came to recruiting reservists from Newfoundland to go to Afghanistan,
Pretty says there was a strong response — 35 applied, were eventually weeded down to 21. “The 18 or so that were taken off the list, half of them changed their mind, or got a civilian job they couldn’t pass up,” he says. “A couple (of parents) were ‘My son’s not going over there, he’s too young!’ And a couple we felt, based on their family situation that maybe they shouldn’t go this time. “And some people, their attendance or performance weren’t where we wanted it, so they weren’t given the privilege to go. Because it’s a lot of money for them as well — tax-free money.” For those who aren’t members of Task Force 1-07 — the group leaving at the end of this month — Pretty points out there’s always next time. As training for one group winds down, another is gearing up to begin. “It’s a continuous process.”
especially for not rebuilding the resource since the moratorium. It’s clear to knowledgeable people in the fishery that the Government of Canada is continuing to allow DFO to mismanage our fisheries out of existence. Even people with superficial knowledge of our fishery know that 14 years have passed since John Crosbie announced the moratorium, signaling the collapse of the groundfish fishery and the dire necessity to replace the foreign-dominated NAFO since it had utterly failed to manage the fisheries. Everyone expected DFO to immediately take steps to restore the resource by improving domestic management, stopping foreign overfishing, decreasing the seal population, stopping the caplin fishery, closing our ports to foreigners, preventing the catch of immature fish and, above all, putting in place a major fishery research effort to establish a base program for long-term recovery of the various species.
Gus Etchegary
Instead what happened? In the 1990s the Government of Canada reduced the fisheries science budget on the East Coast by 50 per cent, effectively terminating the ability of DFO scientists to conduct research programs and stock assessments so necessary for rebuilding and for sustainable management. Canada has failed miserably to live up to the agreement to manage the huge resource we transferred to its control in 1949. We have failed to make Canada live up to that agreement. On the basis of DFO’s performance in fisheries management since 1992, it is now clear there will not be any recovery of the resource. Therefore, the people of the province must take new initiatives and new approaches if we are to force Canada to take appropriate measures to rebuild our fisheries. Gus Etchegary, Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s
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t. John’s-native Cory St. Croix is facing down the real reality of reality TV. St. Croix, currently working as a lawyer in Calgary, is one of the cast members/contestants on From the Ground Up, a new television series starting April 23 on Global TV. It’s hosted by home decorating personality Debbie Travis. The premise of the show: a dozen twenty-somethings, selected from thousands of applications from across the country, live together in a dorm for five weeks. By day, they learn to build and finish a high-end home, “from the ground up.” At the end of the series, the viewing public gets to vote on which of Travis’ “protégés” deserves the final prize of $250,000. It’s not technically a reality show, says St. Croix — because those aren’t
really allowed in Canada. “They call it a docu-drama,” he says with a laugh. St. Croix, 30, applied for the show because, though he’s got a steady job with a good pay cheque, he’s always loved carpentry work. “When I read stuff in the paper about applying, it was all about having pride in the trades, the opportunity for fame and fortune …” But this is where the twist came in. The television show is being sold as being about “the generation who has everything — except a future.” In clips posted on the TV station’s website, Travis characterizes her cast members as “unmotivated” and “lazy” — and her job is to teach the slackers a decent work ethic. “The more I see the media machine go, the more I realize it’s nothing like they told us,” says St. Croix. “Even about a week into being there (during filming), there’s a big dramatic scene where they introduce this whole new
aspect, about the useless generation … me and a couple of others were like, ‘What? Because if that’s the case, I don’t think I fall into this category at all.’ “Even what they’ve been showing, they definitely make some people look worse than they were.” Looking back at the five weeks of filming, when he and the others were sequestered from the outside world, he says he got along with pretty much everyone there. “Well, there was one guy, they portray him as lazy. And he is lazy … so it’s not all lies. “From the get-go I figured my purpose was, look, even someone who’s done seven years of university and wears a suit all day, look, he’d rather work with his hands,” continues St. Croix. (In the press kit, he’s billed as “the confused one.”) “But my purpose began to be: argue with Debbie,” which, he says, he did more than once during their five weeks
‘Fought the good fight’ From page 3 As well as creating the New Quarterly literary journal, Horwood also co-started a newspaper called The Newfoundland Examiner after leaving The Evening Telegram in 1959. The Examiner, which only lasted a year, delved into the questionable practices of the Smallwood administration following the brutal Newfoundland loggers strike and frequently highlighted labour issues. Ed Finn, one-time editor of the Western Star, helped start the paper with Horwood. He calls The Examiner a sort of “voice of conscience” within the media of the day. Finn describes Horwood as a “socially progressive person. “I think he had very high principles in terms of integrity and ethics. I think he, both in his political life and in his writing and labour activism, brought to all those activities some great talents and he harnessed them in promoting the welfare of workers and the public in general. “I think he cared about the public good, however you define that.” Mowat says Horwood also cared deeply for his natural environment.
“He was enormously interested in the others,” he says, “the other animals in the world. He was not, by any means, limited to his interest in human beings and some of his best work, I think probably his best work, is The Foxes of Beachy Cove. It’s a remarkably sensitive bridge from humankind to the other kind.” Mowat says Horwood would probably pick his first book, Tomorrow Will Be Sunday, as his best. It’s a novel about a boy growing up in a small Newfoundland outport, uncannily foreshadowing the later true story of abuse at the Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John’s. “He always felt Tomorrow Will Be Sunday was misunderstood,” says Mowat. “It was way ahead of its time in Newfoundland … there was a lot of anger and resentment about him for writing that book.” It’s difficult to place any one of Horwood’s 27 published books above their counterparts. From his first novel, to his biography on Smallwood (Joey), to his efforts to draw attention to Newfoundland’s great explorer, Bob Bartlett, to Death on the Ice (which he wrote with Cassie Brown). Horwood left his home in Beachy
at work. As for the projects themselves, St. Croix says he learned a few things but, given there were professional construction crews building the house up around them, “the work wasn’t as hard as if we really had to do it.” He got used to the cameras being on, 24/7, and says, in general, the producers and crew didn’t interfere too much with the personal interactions. Since filming ended, St. Croix has switched jobs — he’s still a lawyer, but for a company with regular hours, rather than with a high-intensity firm. And he’s enrolled in his third woodworking course. St. Croix admits he’ll be watching the first episode of the show with a combination of curiosity, excitement, and anxiety. And does he think he’s got a shot at winning? “It depends on the editing,” he laughs.
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YOUR VOICE Cove, near St. John’s, for Nova Scotia in 1979, although he returned to the province every summer until his last two years. Mowat, who divides his time between Port Hope and Cape Breton, frequently visited him in Annapolis Royal, the small town where Horwood settled. Mowat says Horwood felt somewhat “shouldered aside” by his cultural, Newfoundland counterparts towards the end of the ’70s. “In St. John’s, the academics and the new crowd growing up, considered him old hat,” he says. “He led the way, but like all people who lead the way he made enemies and towards the end of his career I think he was hurt by what he felt to be a rejection by Newfoundland.” Always a leader, Horwood has played many parts — as an activist, politician, journalist and author, as well as being the recipient of several awards, including the Order of Canada. “I think Harold would like to be remembered as somebody who fought the good fight for the rest of life on earth, not just for human beings,” says Mowat. But, as he adds, “you could go on and on.”
‘We’re all behind you’ Dear editor, It’s awesome that you guys are up and running again after that near journalistic death experience. I’m proud of the way subscribers rallied around to ensure The Independent’s survival; I’m also relieved I can still look forward to clicking on your website every Sunday to check out some solid Newfoundland reporting and perspectives. We’re all behind you here in Doha, good job. Bryan Manning, Doha, Qatar
Advertising senses Dear editor, I was delighted to hear about the rejuvenation of The Independent. I hope that this means that some of these people will come to their senses regarding advertising. I suspect there are many people in Newfoundland and Labrador who’ve come to expect The Independent on Sundays. Good Luck and thank you very much. Joe Butt, Toronto
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APRIL 23, 2006
10 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
LIFE STORY
‘A sense of being’ Internationally respected sculptor move to Newfoundland as head chef of Hotel Newfoundland
EAMONN ROSATO 1948-2006 By Mary MacNab For The Independent Editor’s note: a version of this article originally appeared in The Sunday Independent, Nov. 16, 2003. Reprinted with the author’s permission.
I “Emerging from the soul of the ash”
Eamonn Rosato
Photos by Paul Daly/The Independent
rish-born, St. John’s-based artist Eamonn Rosato passed away suddenly April 17 at the age of 58. Internationally known for his sculpture — primarily using distressed wood, reclaimed copper and other found objects — Rosato used his work to tell stories of his homeland, old and new. But he originally came to St. John’s for a much different reason: to take up an appointment as the head chef of Hotel Newfoundland in St. John’s, now the Fairmont Hotel. “I have been cooking since I was six years old,” Rosato told The Independent in a 2003 interview in 2003. “Both my parents loved to cook. My mother was an exceptional baker and used to leave scraps of pie dough for me to make into tiny pies. I was the envy of my friends. My father, who loved tomatoes and peppers and grew them, taught me about the use of greens and herbs.” Rosato graduated from school at the age of 17 and entered the Belfast College of Catering and Hotel Management. “I learned there that the eye must please the stomach. If the food does not look right, if it doesn’t please the eye, the brain automatically rejects it. The same applies to art,” he said. While studying catering, Rosato was also enrolled at the Belfast
College of Art, where he spent two evenings a week for 12 months studying still-life drawing and painting. “I used to finish classes at the catering college and then slip over to my art classes. Finally, my catering instructors caught up with me and I was told to make the choice between cooking and painting. I chose cooking, but transferred my training at art school to catering.” As an aside — one of many — Rosato recounted how Irish musician and singer Van Morrison used to call him and his fellow students “the wee fellows from the Belfast Catering College.” Morrison, then, was the doorman at a pub located near the college and frequented by the students. From college, Rosato went to the Savoy Hotel in London, England, on a four-year scholarship, where he received the training and some of the experience that eventually led to his immigration to Newfoundland in 1974, along with his wife Lily, to begin work at the hotel. “At that time, the (Hotel Newfoundland) couldn’t keep a chef for more than six months. I stayed for four years.” The evolution from chef to fulltime artist was, he said, “the natural cultural flow of an artistic person.” As with cooking, Rosato came by his artistic talents naturally. “My father, the son of Italian immigrants to Ireland, was a gifted terrazzo, mosaic and marble worker. His work can still be seen throughout Ireland … he taught me how to work with my hands, mix colours from terrazzo and marble powder in a closed room to ensure the safety of his formulae and work with marble cement. “That was what originally ignited my artistic spark.” Rosato’s work attests to his Celtic
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ancestors. Most of his pieces are created from found objects, whether it is pieces of wood, copper, brass, tin, railway spikes or washers. “Each found object has a history and a sense of being,” he said. “I attempt to breathe new life into each piece to prolong its existence. And, sometimes, I recreate what has always been there.” For one of his sculptures Rosato used discarded wood from a100-yearold ash, which had been growing near the railway station on Water Street. For a traditional Celtic chest, he used hemlock planks salvaged from a house renovation on Wood Street, and the metal bas-relief-sculptured lid of the chest was from copper originally used on the roof of the Newfoundland Court of Appeal. “In nature, nothing is created or destroyed, and it is simply recycled,” Rosato said. “In my case, I reuse what is already there and give it new life.” Rosato’s creations are often soulsearching, profound and sometimes confusing because of clashing cultures. “I accept my fate as an artist and my driving force as an Irishman and a Celt … I have a need to express my Irishness and keep alive the dominant theme in much of my work.” In 1991, Rosato and his wife returned to Ireland when their mothers became ill. They bought a house and a pub, but didn’t stay long — political pressure forced them to move back to St. John’s with their two children. Rosato spent the last years of his life living and working in a 140-yearold house beside the Waterford River. He remained fiercely loyal to his family and country. “(My) Celtic experience as an artist will never be satisfied until Ireland is under its own democratic rule,” he said.
INDEPENDENTWORLD
SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 23-29, 2006 — PAGE 11
Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (R) and Prime Minister Stephen Harper share a laugh before the start of an event in Ottawa April 20. The event was held to honour Mulroney, who was named "Greenest Prime Minister in Canadian History" by business magazine Corporate Knights. Chris Wattie/Reuters
Memo to PM: Go green — fast Like Mulroney, Harper must act on the environment if he hopes to win a majority government By Chantal Hébert Torstar wire service Memo to the prime minister ack in the days when you were still having one-on-one conversations with members of the parliamentary press gallery, you told some of my colleagues that you hoped to be as decisive a leader as Brian Mulroney and as politically savvy a prime minister as Jean Chrétien. On that basis, if Chrétien had attended last week’s Ottawa celebration of Mulroney, here is what he would almost certainly have whispered in your prime ministerial ear. If you are to steal one policy page from Mulroney between now and the next federal election, it should not be the reform of the federation, or Canada-U.S. relations but, rather, the environment. While both of the first two are important files deserving of your attention, swift
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progress on either will ultimately only entrench current perceptions of your government. Those who already agree with your aims will like what they see and vote for more. But those who fear that your decentralized approach to federalism will gut the country’s national government will only too easily find fodder for their argument in every step you take to fix the so-called fiscal imbalance between Ottawa and the provinces. And those who equate a more cordial relation with the Bush administration with Canadian subservience to a 21st-century version of American imperialism will also feel vindicated in their concern by the thawing of the relationship. As both Mulroney and Chrétien could tell you, the battle lines on the shape of the federation or the place of Canada vs. the U.S. are not about to be redrawn anytime soon.
The environment, by comparison, is probably the least divisive issue on the Canadian agenda these days. Last week’s celebration of Mulroney’s green record was a token of that and not just because it brought corporate bigwigs together with some of the country’s top environmental activists. Mulroney’s record on the environment silences his critics in ways neither his accomplishments on free trade, nor his efforts on the constitutional front can ever achieve. The former Conservative prime minister is really the second national politician from Quebec to walk the green path to redemption this year. Over on the Liberal side, Stéphane Dion has used his spell as Paul Martin’s environment minister to reinvent himself as someone other than the constitutional sourpuss of the Chrétien regime. On that basis, Dion is running for the
Liberal leadership. While his environmental record is unlikely to be enough to convince reluctant Quebecers to embrace his cause, it has at least allowed him to come out of the gate as one of a handful of potential front-runners. By treating his environment card as an ace, Dion is onto something. In the past, green credentials have paid off at least as handsomely as academic honours or economic wizardry. Two of Mulroney’s former environment ministers, Lucien Bouchard and Jean Charest, went on to become federal leaders and then premiers of Quebec. In the early ’90s, Paul Martin’s spell as environment critic went some way to rounding off his image as a progressive politician. Even Preston Manning agrees with the emphasis on the environment of his former Tory nemesis. See “Hit the ground,” page 12
VOICE FROMAWAY
‘I believe in the bond’
Nicole Maunder’s website aims to connect and celebrate Newfoundlanders and Labradorians — wherever they may be
By Stephanie Porter The Independent
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omewhere between her home in Toronto and adventures in Australia, Asia and Europe, Nicole Maunder realized something many do when abroad: there are Newfoundlanders and Labradorians “in absolutely every nook and cranny in the world.” Maunder, a St. John’s-native, was on an around-the-world trip by herself. “As I went from country to country, I’d run into Newfoundlanders everywhere who would hook me up with other Newfoundlanders,” she says. The network she accidentally came across became an important and driving part of her time overseas — and something she wanted to formalize when she returned.
The result is Newfoundlandersabroad.com, a one-stop site for tracking down familiar faces, professional networking, and general checking in to see what fellow Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are up to. “I had a lot of time to think about what was important while I travelled,” says Maunder. “Toronto is such a rat race; leaving it gives you time to sit back and think about what you value, and to rethink what’s important. “You know, all of my friends here (in Toronto) are Newfoundlanders, or my closest friends are. We just have an immediate bond and connection. It’s an instant bond, no matter what part of the province you’re from … I just thought it would be cool to have a place where everyone could connect online.”
Maunder graduated from Memorial with a bachelor of commerce in 1994, and moved to Toronto immediately — as did most of her graduating class — for employment. She worked in marketing and advertising as a brand manager in both Toronto and Calgary. After five years fulltilt into professional life, she decided it was time to see the world. When she returned, she used her marketing and product-development skills to put together the plan for her website. She hired a company to take care of the technical aspects of web design and maintenance. “I had the idea and I had the time off,” she says. “I figured, I’ll launch this because it’s a great idea and I’ll figure out a way to pay for it later.” See “The bond,” page 15
Nicole Maunder and son Adam
APRIL 23, 2006
12 • INDEPENDENTWORLD
Quick action sought on CBC review
SHIPPAGAN, N.B. By Nina Chiarelli Telegraph-Journal
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ustice officials in New Brunswick intend to lay about 80 charges stemming from a riot three years ago that destroyed a crab-processing plant and four expensive fishing boats. Yassin Choukri, New Brunswick’s deputy attorney general, says at least two dozen people in the Acadian community of Shippagan will face charges as a result of the May 2003 incident. Fires lit the night during the riot as local people, furious over lower crab quotas, went on a rampage and torched fishing boats, a fish plant, a warehouse and thousands of traps. The local offices of the federal Fisheries Department were also ransacked during the uprising. “We expect charges to be laid toward the end of the summer with the first (court) appearances shortly thereafter,” Choukri says. “If you’re going to do damage to vessels and your community, you’re going to get charged.” A wide range of charges are being considered, including arson, damage to property, break and enter, assaulting a police officer, obstruction of the work of peace officers, and mischief. Choukri says there is sufficient evidence to charge close to 30 individuals, but the exact number was still uncertain. He says the investigation was complex in the close-knit, seaside community in northeastern New Brunswick. Police ended up interviewing more than 1,000 people in a community of some 3,000 residents. No one was hurt during the riot, but property damage was extensive. In addi-
OTTAWA By Graham Fraser Torstar wire service
C More than 80 charges to stem from crab riots tion to the destroyed fish plant, four crab boats valued at $1 million apiece were burned. RCMP Staff Sgt. Jacques Ouellette says the biggest obstacle faced by his officers, and one of the reasons the investigation took so long, was locating witnesses in an area where most people work in a seasonal industry and aren’t around for months at a time. The investigation found most of the damage was caused by a core group who spent a day raging against an Ottawa fisheries decision by taking it out on local infrastructure and the local police officers called in to quell the violence. More than 100 officers worked on the case, leaving a paper trail of tens of thousands of documents for prosecutors to sift through, including witness statements, video and audio interviews, and
footage of the May 3, 2003 incident filmed by police. It has now all been turned into a few DVDs. Shippagan Mayor Jonathan Noel said the community is relieved that charges will finally be laid. “People want to see justice done,” he says. “If rioters could get away with destroying fish plants and boats, what would be next? Killing people?” Noel says fishermen and plant workers were frustrated over a reduced quota that was announced with little warning by the federal Fisheries Department. “As well, I think alcohol consumption was a factor,” he said. Crab fishermen are unhappy this year as well, but there have been no incidents. Ottawa has once again lowered the annual crab quota and markets are poor.
anadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda has told Heritage officials that she wants to move quickly on a review of the CBC’s mandate. Oda has made it clear she believes the public broadcaster should have a different role from private broadcasters, and that the review should make recommendations in what respect it should be different. “Nothing has been announced as such,” says Oda’s director of communications, Robert Paterson. “But there has been a lot of discussion of broadcasting mandates, and that would include the CBC.” While the scope and timing of the review has not been decided, it will be conducted by either an individual — or a committee — who will make recommendations to her. Oda has decided the review will not be conducted by a parliamentary committee. That may come as a relief to CBC supporters, who feared that Conservative MP Jim Abbott, an outspoken critic of the public network, would have a hand in the review. Abbott (Kootenay-Columbia), who is now Oda’s parliamentary secretary,
wrote a dissenting opinion to a 2003 report that called for increased funding for the CBC. Abbott — then Canadian Alliance critic for Canadian Heritage — called for the CBC to get out of sports programming, for a relaxation of foreign ownership rules and Canadian content requirements, and a reduction of public funding. He also argued “a majority of Canadians have a taste for programming produced by the United States.” “I can’t believe the government would put Jim Abbott in charge of the CBC mandate review,” says Liberal MP and Canadian Heritage critic Mauril Bélanger. “I can’t believe the government would do that.” POLICY CHANGE Ian Morrison of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting said the Conservatives’ policy on public broadcasting had changed significantly since the 2004 election, and since the days of the Canadian Alliance. “I credit Bev Oda as being the author of that,” he says, suggesting the Conservative party’s anti-public broadcasting rhetoric had been replaced by support for the CBC and Radio-Canada as Canada’s national broadcaster.
‘Hit the ground running’ From page 11 Manning has been arguing for years that unless the Canadian right takes ownership of the issue, its prospects for growth will be sharply curtailed. As the Reform party founder notes, new generations of voters no longer accept the notion of a compulsory trade-off between economic growth and a healthy environment. If Manning is right, you need to hit the ground running. So far, the environment issue has exposed the first real cracks in what would otherwise be a decent foundation for your new mandate. When it comes to the environment,
Canadians know only too well what you are against. In the little time you have been in office, they have mostly heard about program cuts and abandoned initiatives. That is bound to rattle many of them, especially in the big cities that boycotted your party in the last election but also in Quebec, where you hope to secure the seats that will add up to a majority in the next election. Polls show that Quebecers are more sensitive to the environmental issue than the average Canadian. If you have Chrétien’s instincts, you will make sure that a lot of Mulroney’s green colour rubs off on your government before going back to the polls.
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New Brunswick Provincial Court Judge questioned a young man last week about whether he deserved to remain with the military as she sentenced him for assaulting two Saint John city police officers. Geoffrey Ryan Byers, 25, said he felt terrible about head-butting the officer in the nose and would be unhappy if anybody he was giving orders to in the military behaved the same way. Judge Anne Jeffries relented on sending him to jail, instead opting for a $1,150 fine for the head-butting incident, and for the less serious assault, a suspended sentence and probation for a year to abstain from alcohol and take an anger management course. On Oct. 30, 2005, Byers came home from a tavern and got into an argument
with his common-law wife. The police were called and saw he was being aggressive so decided to take him into custody to prevent any worse behaviour. His attitude toward the officers deteriorated and he threw a uniform at one, counting as the first assault. He was taken down, placed in handcuffs and led outside where he head-butted the other officer in the nose. “He doesn’t drink much and has not had a drop since the incident,” says his lawyer David Kelly. In his pre-sentence report, Byers told the probation officer that whenever he saw people battling police on a newscast he always thought they were a bunch of idiots. “Then all of a sudden you’re the idiot,” he said. The officer who received the broken nose will require surgery to fully repair the damage.
APRIL 23, 2006
INDEPENDENTWORLD • 13
For Big Oil, it’s a scary search With the world in a state of unrest, Newfoundland’s stability strengthens its hand as crude surges toward a record close By David Olive Torstar wire service
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y global standards of political instability and mounting violence that have made the oil and gas industry a dangerous neighbourhood, Newfoundland and Labrador’s latest confrontation with Big Oil reads like a chapter from Anne of Green Gables. Just the same, in seeking an equity stake in the undeveloped Hebron Ben Nevis field and rejecting a $500 million subsidy demanded by the U.S.-led consortium on the project, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams has been made out to be, in the headline of one Toronto newspaper, “Canada’s Hugo Chavez” — a reference to the populist Venezuelan president hoping to use petrodollars to spread his influence across Latin America. Williams is impatient to spur development of an oilfield discovered 25 years ago, on the best terms he can extract. But the Big Oil consortium on the project balked at Williams’s offer and shelved the $3.5 billion to $5 billion Hebron project. From a distance, Williams gives the appearance of playing the feisty Newfoundland-first role of predecessors Brian Peckford and Brian Tobin. At home, however, Williams is regarded as the Rhodes Scholar and savvy tycoon who founded the province’s dominant cable operation before presiding over an offshore oil and gas company. Yet reaction to Williams’s perceived grandstanding, reminiscent of his 2004 Canadian flag-lowering antics in extracting a larger share from Ottawa of his province’s oil and gas revenues, has been all too typically industryfriendly. Tapped for his support by Williams for joint federal-provincial legislation that would force Exxon, the chief objector to Williams’s terms, to sell its Hebron stake to another party, Prime Minister Stephen Harper instead dismissed his concerns. For good measure, the Calgary MP reminded Williams — a fellow Tory, for what that’s worth — that, “we’ve learned in the past it’s best to keep a stable investment climate in the oil and gas business.”
Williams’s detractors don’t know the meaning of stability in the $2 trillion (U.S.) global petroleum industry. You can count the number of truly stable major oil-producing regions on the fingers of one hand — Canada, the United States, the North Sea and Australia. In the Middle East, still the world’s largest source of oil and gas, Saudi Arabia has recently been targeted by alQaeda terrorists, and is stable to the extent that its sclerotic ruling aristocracy, the House of Saud, can retain its increasingly shaky grip on power. Iran, the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, is threatening to curtail its oil output if Europe and the United States impose sanctions to force Tehran to curb its nuclear ambitions. Iraq, the world’s Number 3 oilreserves holder, is still producing less oil now than before the U.S.-led invasion of Baghdad three years ago. Incredibly, Iraq must import fuel due to the sustained disruption of its oilproducing infrastructure by a determined insurgency. Elsewhere, stability is a relative thing. By constitutional law, Mexico forbids foreign exploration of its petroleum assets. As playthings of Vladimir Putin, the Russian oil and gas nearmonopolies, Rosneft and Gazprom, respectively, have come to resemble Chavez’s bid for regional petro-power status. A two-decade-long civil war ultimately forced Calgary’s Talisman Energy Inc. out of Sudan; and Calgary oil giant EnCana Corp. has abandoned Ecuador after enduring years of tribal violence and kidnapping of its workers. An insurgency of rapidly growing momentum in the oil-rich Niger Delta, which accounts for 3 per cent of world production, has since January blown up oil facilities and kidnapped foreign oil workers, prompting the leading Nigerian operator, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, to shut down about 450,000 barrels of daily oil production — one-fifth of the country’s total output — and evacuate hundreds of employees. In Caracus, Chavez has not been content to seek mere equity stakes — last month, Chavez expropriated 32 oilfields outright; and he has booted Exxon out of participation in $8 billion (U.S.) worth of oil and gas projects. Yet Venezuela, relatively speaking, is
Venezuelan soldier patrols inside the El Palito refinery, some 150 miles west of Caracas.
one of the more attractive production regions, given its favourable geology (its oil is easy to find); its immense conventional-oil reserves (the world’s largest outside the Middle East); and its proximity to the United States, the world’s largest market. Thus Chevron, Britain’s BP PLC and France’s Total SA have recently acquiesced to Caracas’s demand for a total of $83.2 million (U.S.) in alleged back taxes — an after-the-fact revenue ploy frequently put to use everywhere outside the few genuinely stable regimes, along with spurious hikes in royalties and interest payments and demands that state-owned agencies be cut in for equity stakes in lucrative projects. Even before the world oil price reached a record close of $70.40 (U.S.) last week, the Wall Street Journal was warning “the number and widening scope of attacks and threats today has the oil industry and governments
scrambling to safeguard the world’s oil supply.” Not long ago, South America, Central Asia and Africa, which alone now accounts for about 10 per cent of global oil production, were seen as hedges against perpetual unrest in the Middle East. But as the century-and-ahalf history of the industry has repeatedly shown, the exploitation of petroleum assets worldwide has, with few exceptions, generated social disruption — in large degree because the oil wealth rarely reaches the impoverished people living above the reserves. The “prosperity bonus” regimens in Alaska and, more recently, Alberta, in which royalty dividends are widely distributed among the populace, remain a North American anomaly and appear destined to remain so. Alone in its hardball tactics in Venezuela, Exxon’s modus operandi makes a convincing case to Danny
Jorge Silva/Reuters
Williams that its removal from the Hebron consortium would expedite matters. With only an estimated 700,000 barrels of recoverable oil, Hebron is not the “elephant” that Big Oil craves in reversing the sharp decline in its reserves. Then again, Hebron is a sizeable known reserve basin close to the U.S. market. “That oil is not going to lose value while it’s in the ground,” said Williams last week. “We won’t back down.” If Exxon won’t back down, either, someone among the diverse Big Oil fraternity is likely to do so. It’s an informed gambit worth betting the prosperity of Newfoundlanders on. If Total, for instance, has no qualms about dealing with Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi, it should be quite comfortable dealing with the capitalistpolitician Williams.
In fact, we’re proudly unique here at Rogers Television. In the communities that we serve, we focus largely on local flagship television programs – programs with fun names like “Out of the Fog.” And our broadcast schedules are definitely – how do we say this – a bit unusual. We put a lot into creating each program, and we like to make sure that everyone has a chance to see each and every one of them. So we tend to repeat ourselves….our shows that is….throughout the evening during primetime. Our unique approach to television includes community participation through a vibrant volunteer program. At Rogers, we don’t “shoo” visitors out of the studio – we direct them straight to the control room! If you would like to join Rogers Television’s team of professionals, the following opportunities may be of interest to you.
Wanted: TV Host/Producer (contract position) Are you plugged in, turned on and downright emotional about what’s happening in your community? Would you like to turn that passion into a job? If you’re into everything from current affairs to line dancing and business to basketball then you just might be the new co-host for the wildly successful Out of the Fog! Rogers Television is searching for a TV Talent/Producer to fill the dual role of on-air co-host and behind the scenes producer. There are a few must-haves, besides the desire to work like the dickens the second you walk in the door. You’re a performer at heart and love being in the spotlight. You’re a creative, strong (and fast!) writer who sees an interesting story around every corner. Other useful stuff might include a college diploma, university degree in journalism or television production and of course the most important – transportation to work! Did you hear that sound? It’s opportunity knocking at your door. If you’d like an audience with us, then drop us a line with your resume and cover letter.
Wanted: “Daytime” Volunteers Rogers Television will train 25 people in a variety of television production roles for its new St. John’s summertime series “Daytime.” This summertime talk/entertainment show will be seen weekdays starting at 4 p.m. (repeating throughout the evening) beginning Tuesday, July 4th. Here’s the deal. In exchange for some of your free time, Rogers Television is offering professional training with industry professionals in a broadcast facility in several critical production roles. Including graphics, audio, camera, make-up and floor directing. Our hours are flexible and no previous experience is required. But openings are limited. So…if you have some “spare time” for “Daytime” then you should give us a call at 753-7461. Quickly…before this limited number of volunteer positions is taken. It’s your chance to join the team at Rogers Television where you can learn new skills, meet new friends and support your community…in the exciting world of television production! All applicants are required to be knowledgeable of and adhere to all applicable health and safety regulations, both legislatively mandated and as outlined in company policy. Rogers is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants are encouraged to apply on-line by visiting www.rogers.com. We strongly recommend that applicants complete all required pages of the on-line application, even if they choose to paste a copy of their resume. Applications can also be submitted to: Tracey O’Toole, Human Resources, Rogers Cable, P.O. Box 8596, St. John’s, NL, A1B 3P2 e-mail: tracey.otoole@rci.rogers.com Competition closes at 5 pm on Monday May 8th, 2006.
APRIL 23, 2006
14 • INDEPENDENTWORLD
Ottawa, U.S. discuss passport alternative WASHINGTON
C
anadian and U.S. officials are working on a third alternative, neither passport nor national ID card, that would allow Canadians to move freely into the United States after more stringent rules come into
place at land border crossings in 20 months. Top U.S. officials stress that any Canadian proposal, such as a driver’s licence with enhanced security features, would have to go through a complex regulatory process and approval is not guaranteed.
Jim Williams, head of the USVISIT program at the Department of Homeland Security, said U.S. law will require a card that denotes citizenship and is linked to a security database. Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day says he has received assurances
from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that an alternative Canadian document, as yet to be determined, would be acceptable. Day suggests Canadians get passports and reiterated that Ottawa would not try to create an identity card that would mirror the U.S. PASS
card, a passport alternative Americans would need to re-enter their country beginning Jan. 1, 2008. Canadians travelling to the U.S. by air or sea will need passports beginning Jan. 1, 2007. — Torstar wire service
Happy 80th, ER II April 21 was her actual birthdate but the official House of Windsor wingding takes place June 17 for the beloved monarch By Lynda Hurst Torstar wire service
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Queen Elizabeth, her fortunes revived after a turbulent decade for the royal family, turned 80 on Friday demonstrating the stamina she needs to become Britain's longest-reigning monarch. Stephen Hird/Reuters
he big events — Trooping the Colour, a Service of Thanksgiving — won’t happen until her official birthday, June 17, but today is the Queen’s actual 80th birthday and the small celebrations are far from low-key. At noon, there will be a 41-gun royal salute in London’s Hyde Park; an hour later, a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London. All very splendid, except that the Queen will be at Windsor. A royal walkabout at the castle is planned this afternoon, followed by a family dinner at one of the birthday girl’s lesser-known residences, the newly restored Kew Palace in southwest London. At some point in between, the Clan Windsor will sit down en masse and switch on the telly to watch the Queen’s son and heir pay his tributes. The Prince of Wales, given their upand-down relationship over the years, will be saluting Elizabeth as public monarch and, perhaps, as private parent. In his authorized biography, Charles painted a picture of a cool, detached mother, but since his marriage last spring and the Queen’s sharing of the constitutional workload, the two are said to have had a rapprochement. It’s been a week of tributes in Britain. Tony Blair, the 10th prime minister of her reign, said that “like each of my predecessors, I am profoundly grateful for her wise counsel.” Conservative Leader David Cameron, who recently met with her for the first time in that role, noted “as you
try and explain what you are up to, you are acutely conscious that she has heard it all before and seen it all before.” Venerable journalist William Deedes wrote last week “by any measurement, Queen Elizabeth has served the nation well on dismal days and sunny days for more than half a century.” The accolades have been spiced, however, with debate on whether the Queen, after 54 years on the throne, should think of retiring. Is it time to hand off to the next generation — that being Charles, now 57, not Prince William, 22 — before it gets any longer in the tooth? Conclusion? Not a chance. The Queen will never abdicate and the British do not want to see her go. But she might start to ease off, a bit. “This process of winding down has already begun and can continue comfortably,” wrote Deedes, himself now 93, in The Telegraph. But “she is a tough woman, this Queen, who will not readily surrender duties for which she was prepared from childhood.” So far this year, QEII has travelled, with her husband Prince Philip, 85, to Singapore and Australia and attended 82 official engagements at home. In a classic British-newspaper aside, Deedes could not resist adding: “One wonders what thoughts will be passing through her mind as she celebrates. We shan’t know because, unlike her eldest son, she keeps her inner thoughts on the tightest of reins.” On April 19 at Buckingham Palace, Elizabeth hosted a roast-beef birthday lunch for herself and 99 “twins” — octogenarians born the same day in 1926. In toasting her guests, she said, “I
doubt whether any of us would say the last 80 years have been plain sailing, but we can give thanks for our health and happiness ... some wonderful memories and the excitement that each new day brings. I hope all of you who are my exact twins will make the most of our special day.” Lunch at the palace, not their actual birthday, was the special day for most of the excited attendees. As many do who meet her for the first time, luncheon guest Doreen O’Leary said: “She was totally different from what I expected, slimmer, smaller, and her skin was lovely, absolutely lovely.” Genuine twins Keith and Jack Hurst told her they hoped she would live to 101 like her mother. “Oh,” she asked, “do you really want to live that long?” Lilly Lund, down from her Yorkshire village, recalled that, as a child, she had been told that the flags were flying for her birthday. “I’ve had a very different life from the Queen. I think she’s had a harder life than I did.” Well, it’s certainly been a life Elizabeth did not choose, but had thrust upon her. Few, if any, would argue she’s been anything less than stellar. In her later years, with her family finally in some sort of order, she seems to have blossomed; her once rare smile is more often and more easily found. “I think perhaps the (2002) death of the Queen Mother had quite a huge effect,” her cousin Margaret Rhodes told the BBC this week. “She could come into her own as the head of the family.” So, happy birthday, Your Majesty. Keep smiling through.
APRIL 23, 2006
INDEPENDENTWORLD • 15
Play pushed underground Cancelled in New York, the first Toronto reading of My Name is Rachel Corrie is being held at a secret location By Richard Ouzounian Torstar wire service
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achel Corrie was born in Washington, killed in the Gaza Strip, praised in London and censored in Manhattan. Now she’s being forced to go underground in Toronto. My Name Is Rachel Corrie is a play based on the life and words of the 23year-old American activist who died in Gaza on March 16, 2003, after an incident involving an Israeli Defence Forces bulldozer. Corrie’s supporters claim she was run over deliberately during the course of a peaceful political demonstration. Those on the opposing side insist the bulldozer driver couldn’t see her and it was simply an accident. The New York production of the play was recently cancelled, because of fears that its pro-Palestinian stance would upset the Jewish community at a difficult political time. This decision provoked a worldwide debate that has become so heated it has become necessary to keep secret the exact location of a simple reading of the script for 50 people at the University of Toronto. But the astonishing thing about this whole affair is that at no point in the play’s history has it been the cause of any actual confrontations or demonstrations. It’s the fear of what might happen that seems to be motivating people’s actions. Paul Leishman, who is directing the reading with actress Marya Delver, explains “the play was intended to be an exploration of a girl’s life, but now
it’s caught up in the crossfire of much larger issues.” Shortly after Corrie’s death, a series of e-mails she wrote from her time in Gaza were published in The Guardian and came to the attention of London’s Royal Court Theatre. They contacted Corrie’s family, who made their daughter’s writings from the age of 10 available to them. The script, compiled by actor Alan Rickman and journalist Katherine Viner, opened in April 2005, to reviews that were mostly highly enthusiastic. Charles Spencer, in The Daily Telegraph, captured the tone when he called it “a powerful, thought-provoking and deeply moving piece of theatre.” After a sold-out run at the Royal Court, it transferred to the West End, where it is still running. The rights for the first North American production were awarded to James Nicola, head of the highly regarded New York Theatre Workshop. Nicola scheduled a March 22 opening, but a month before the date, he wrote to the Royal Court asking if he could “indefinitely postpone” the production. He gave his reasons in an interview with The Guardian: “In listening to our communities in New York, what we heard was that after Ariel Sharon’s illness and the election of Hamas, we had a very edgy situation. We found that our plan to present a work of art would be seen as us taking a stand in a political conflict that we didn’t want to take.” Rickman was furious and pulled the rights instantly, claiming, “This is cen-
A group of international peace activists hold up photos of Rachel Corrie on the second anniversary of her death in the West Bank city of Jenin March 15, 2004. Saeed Dahlan/Reuters
sorship born out of fear.” The ensuing battle was waged in newspapers, on radio and television and all over the Internet. Some praised Nicola for being responsible; others damned him as a coward. It was in this atmosphere that Leishman contacted the Royal Court and asked for the rights to a single reading — as opposed to an open-ended production — of the play in Toronto. Leishman is an ex-New Yorker who came to Canada in the mid-’90s to work as Richard Monette’s assistant at the Stratford Festival.
When he left that job, he temporarily set aside the theatre as well, going to work for a Toronto law firm. But Rachel Corrie’s story lured him back. “I remember hearing about her death in 2003,” he recalls, “how gruesome and sad it was.” But he hadn’t read the script until the cancellation occurred and then he picked it up “to see if there was anything there to provoke all this tempest.” What he discovered was “the story of a young woman who begins by asking what she should do with her life and experiences an awakening of con-
cern and compassion for people.” Leishman says that roughly 40 per cent of the script deals with Corrie’s life up until her decision to go to Palestine and the remaining 60 per cent with her time spent in Gaza. Leishman felt it was important to have the play read “in a neutral, classroom situation, because Rachel was a student.” He was given just such a space, but then asked not to publicize the time and place of the reading, “because of the political partisans on both sides it might attract and the unpredictability of their responses.”
‘The bond of Newfoundlanders’ From page 11 The website launched five years ago to significant media attention. There are more than 5,000 Newfoundlanders living elsewhere in Canada and the world listed in the database — searchable by name, location, or profession. The site still receives more than 5,000 unique visitors, registering half a million hits a month. Maunder’s site did attract a small amount of advertising, but has come nowhere close to recouping here $10,000 initial investment. “It’s definitely not a money-maker, it was never meant to be,” she says. “I’d love to break even but I just think there’s a real need for the site and I love it.” As a businessperson in Toronto, Maunder says she also saw there was room for an on-line professional network. “If you’re coming up from Newfoundland it can be really difficult to find connections here … so now, if you come up to Toronto as a (commerce) student and you want to get into marketing, you can search through the website and find other Newfoundlanders in marketing. “It’s also for Newfoundlanders at home,” she continues. “If you’ve got a business trip coming up to Boston, you can do a search and see what Newfoundlanders are living there. You may have some old friends there, or at least you’ll find someone to go out
for a beer with.” There are also places on the site to list events, post messages, and advertise job openings. And there’s one more important purpose Maunder wanted to serve. “I really wanted to celebrate the success of Newfoundlanders living abroad, which is why I feature a monthly profile,” she says. Dozens of feature stories are now on the site, on figures from Seamus O’Regan to Natasha Henstridge to the Designer Guys. Maunder’s happy with the activity the site’s getting — but admits it’s time to “freshen it up, more features updated more frequently.” In early May, she plans a re-launch — again, out of her own pocket — but this time she plans to learn enough to take care of updates and maintenance herself. The planning and training is happening as well as she can manage, in fits and starts. Maunder, on maternity leave from her current job as a focus group moderator, is at home with her eight-month-old son Adam. “People should know this is not for profit. I invest my time, energy and money to keep it going. I really rely on the audience to use it, enjoy it, and keep coming back. “I believe in the bond of Newfoundlanders.” Do you know a Newfoundlander or Labradorian living away? Please e-mail editorial@theindependent.ca.
Simply fill out this form and mail to Walter Andrews, 5 Dartmouth Place St. John’s, NL, A1B 2W1
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Authored by Walter Andrews and Illustrated by Boyd Chubbs • Where Once They Stood is a unique Newfoundland & Labrador chronology presented as a beautiful poster. • An accumulation and cataloguing of our history and cultural development, the material is presented in a continuum of time from the ice age to the Twentieth Century, supplemented by sidebars of interesting information and statistics. • The poster is of significant interest and informative to history buffs (young & old), tourists, expatriates, cultural supporters, education developers, tourist operators and the general public. Poster measures 2’ x 3’.
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16 • INDEPENDENTWORLD
APRIL 23, 2006
INDEPENDENTLIFE
SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 23-29, 2006 — PAGE 17
Gator aid Accomplished producer and director Barbara Doran plans to take Lisa Moore’s novel to the big screen “I have never failed. I have never given up. I don’t take no for an answer. I’m a hard ticket.” — Madeleine, the character based on Barbara Doran in Lisa Moore’s Alligator By Susan Rendell For The Independent
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he name of Barbara Doran’s new production company is Morag Loves Company. It used to be Morag Productions, but Doran, the producer of Random Passage — and producer or director of more than a score of films, including the internationally acclaimed When Women Kill and A Harbour Symphony, which competed at Cannes — has recently gone into partnership with Lynne Wilson, a fellow producer from Port aux Basques. Who is Morag? Morag, as it turns out, is three women. Morag Gunn, the independent protagonist of Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners. Morag, the local “witch” of Doran’s childhood. “When I was five years old my hands were covered with warts, and my mother took me, screaming and kicking, to Morag,” says Doran. “We kids used to throw rocks at her house, and I was scared to death of her, but she did some incantations over my hands and the warts went away.” Morag O’Brien, a midwife from the province’s south coast, recipient of the Order of Canada. “All driven, strong compassionate women,” says Doran. Doran has been in the film industry for over 20 years. She was working off and on for CBC radio in St. John’s when she got a call from the National Film Board to go to Montreal to do some research on battered women. She ended up living there for 18 years. Film, says Doran, “is the only thing I know, the thing I love. It’s the passion that drives you.” Her passion for the medium — and the message — has taken her all over the physical world, and deep into the human psyche — of romance writers, abused women who kill their husbands, women struggling to become entrepreneurs in east Africa. She’s used her craft to probe the lives and minds of two
chalk-and-cheese Canadian icons — Lucy Maud Montgomery and Joey Smallwood. One of Doran’s current projects is a big-screen adaptation of local writer Lisa Moore’s critically acclaimed novel Alligator. “I was absolutely captivated by the book,” she says. “St. John’s has its dark side. Alligator is contemporary St. John’s. It won’t be an easy book to film; it’s not a linear story. Although Lisa is a very visual writer.” While Doran and Moore were in Iceland filming Hard Rock and Water, a 2005 documentary that compares the cultures of Iceland and Newfoundland and Labrador, Doran noticed Moore busily writing away in the back of the van one day, “oblivious to the chaos that is filmmaking, cellphones going mad all around her.” When Doran asked her what she was doing, Moore said, “I’m putting you in my novel. But you’re going to die.” Madeleine, the character based on Doran, does die. But she dies with her boots on, chasing down a film that “will be better than any film ever made by anyone … This film will contain everything. It will contain everything.” Doran says it will take three to five years to develop Alligator. Morag Loves Company has optioned the movie rights to the book, but “optioning is like optioning a piece of property, you only have so much time, the clock is ticking.” The next step in the process will involve approaching Telefilm Canada and the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation for development money to hire a scriptwriter. After the script is ready, it will go to one of the theatrical distributors, such as Alliance Atlantis. After that … well, according to Doran, it’s never a straight path to opening night. “Sometimes you get stopped See “Feels like driving,” page 19
Barbara Doran
Paul Daly/The Independent
Chatting about chapbooks
Mary Dalton’s advanced poetry writing seminar produces volumes of work By Mark Hoffe For the Independent
M Mary Dalton
Paul Daly/The Independent
ary Dalton is flipping through up-and-coming poet Lee Butt’s Stationary: Thirteen Poems for Objects, a funny and satirical collection of monologues in which ordinary office supplies (a pen, pencil, eraser, paper clip) express personal views on their existence. It’s a handmade chapbook, and constructed from sheets of brightly
coloured felt, clipped together with bulldog clips. On the page that bears the poem The Eraser’s Grudge, an eraser is nestled in a felt pocket. It’s also the final project of an advanced poetry class. Butt is a student in Dalton’s English 4911, a relatively new creative writing course offered at Memorial. Dalton, an award-winning poet, has published three volumes of poetry to date and has a fourth, Red Ledger, hitting the shelves this fall.
For this particular class, Dalton guides students — accepted on a submitted portfolio of work — as they develop their craft, and publish their work by creating individual booklets. The chapbooks, which differ greatly in vision, style and in their experiments with form, reflect the subject matter of the poems. They were released to the public earlier this month. During the poetry seminar, students are instructed to work on 13 poems, interconnected through form
and subject matter. Dalton stresses the importance of encouraging her students to “write authentically from their own perspective and in their own voice.” This method of guidance is evident in the range of subjects and styles displayed by the chapbooks. Stephen Rowe’s Below the Spruce, a deeply felt homage to his grandfather, contains a series of haibun, a Japanese form in which haiku-style See “Handcrafted,” page 19
APRIL 23, 2006
18 • INDEPENDENTLIFE
GALLERYPROFILE
IN FULL BLOOM Group exhibition
O
n a grey and dripping St. John’s spring day, there’s no better remedy than a room full of flowers, bursting with life, colour, and the promise of brighter days to come. That was exactly Brenda McClellan’s reasoning behind In Full Bloom, an exhibition of new work created by many of the artists she represents at her Red Ochre Gallery. “It’s the second year we’ve done this,” says McClellan. “I hate to say yet it’s going to be an annual thing … but everyone was so enthused about the colour; when you walk in, it’s like ‘Wow.’ So we thought it would be a good idea to try again.” There were no restrictions or guidelines for artists — just the theme to work with. “It’s open to all gallery artists who wanted to participate, and practically all of them did, including Gerry (Squires), who doesn’t usually do florals — he did.” In all, McClellan received about 50 pieces to exhibit — significantly more than last year. Squires contributed a couple of small, delicate pieces. At the other end of the scale, Ilse Hughes and Elena Popova submitted large, vibrant works. Sheila Hollander switched up from the landscapes she’s known for, and added a few new small pieces, bright and cozy. Natalia Charapova — a native of Russia who moved to Corner Brook in 2001 — has several large, eye-popping florals, painted using dyes on silk; St. John’s artist Olga Davis, now in her 80s, submitted an earthy piece in her trademark oil on porcelaine. From Jennifer Morgan’s tiny, delicate paper collages to Ying Tian’s refined oil painting on linen to Julia Pickard’s watercolours, there’s as much variety in technique and medium as there is in the artists’ personalities. McClellan points to a tall, rectangular piece, featuring a white flower, a heart — veins and arteries included — with an insect flying between the two. “Terrence Howell is a new artist,” she says. “I love his young approach, it’s innovative and different from anyone else’s … he’s a graduate of the Grenfell program and I think he’s got a lot of potential.” And the list of participants and pieces goes on. The exhibition, which fills both rooms of the Red Ochre Gallery to overflowing — and there’s still a handful of works that haven’t yet been given wall space — is on display until April 27. “Everybody did something different; it’s all a different approach yet also very typical of their work,” McClellan says, surveying the room. “They did a beautiful job.” www.redochregallery.ca — Stephanie Porter The Gallery is a regular feature in The Independent. For information, or to submit proposals, please call (709) 726-4639, or e-mail editorial@theindependent.ca Work shown above, clockwise from top left: Olga Davis, Delicious Bolete; Brenda McClellan, Nature’s Attraction; Terrence Howell, Heartland; Sheila Hollander, Yellow Silk Kimono; Sylvia Bendsza, Iris Garden; Natalia Charapova, Black-Eyed Susans; Ying Tian, Flower in a Jar.
APRIL 23, 2006
‘Feels like driving four Mack Trucks’
INDEPENDENTLIFE • 19
Boiled dinner is good for you MARK CALLANAN On the shelf
From page 17 right when you’ve reached the door,” she says. “Very fluid, this industry. It’s tough keeping all those balls in the air. Sometimes it feels like driving four Mack Trucks at the same time. Or five.” Doran plans to partner with a Quebec production company or one from the UK on Alligator. “Partnering nationally or internationally brings more funding, more tax breaks, a larger pool of talent for creating the film, a better chance at distributing it when it’s finished.” Doran recently teamed up with Quebec’s Cinemaginaire to produce Ray Guy’s Young Triffie’s Been Made Away With. Starring Mary Walsh, who makes her directorial debut with Triffie, the film is due for release this summer. Besides Alligator, Doran is currently involved in three other projects: Andrew Younghusband’s Surfing in Newfoundland; Des Walsh’s Love and Savagery; and Anne Troake’s Trout River. “The kinds of films I want to do are films that interest me. Hard Rock and Water was right from my guts.” Doran is ardent when she talks about Newfoundland and Labrador, its past and its future. She and Moore recently returned from Tasmania — Doran is considering a documentary on the island state, which, she says, is the Newfoundland of Australia. “Tasmania was settled as a penal colony, and Newfoundland wasn’t supposed to be settled at all. You hear the Tasmanian jokes, they’re the same ones people tell about us,” she says. “And they sell T-shirts with two holes in them, the implication being that Tasmanians are so inbred they have two heads. Like the two-storey outhouses they sell on Water Street, all that stuff the tourists take away in bagfuls. Along with the idea this is what Newfoundland is all about.” Barbara Doran may or may not be a hard ticket, but because of her tenacity and her vision, Karen Kain, Canada’s prima ballerina, will dance on the rocks of Trout River this summer. And if Doran gets her way — and the odds are she will — a few summers from now Frank the hot-dog vendor will be dreaming of love and money on George Street, while the cameras roll and Alligator slithers its way to the big screen under Doran’s clear and passionate eye. Susan Rendell is a freelance writer and editor living in downtown St. John’s. Her collection of short stories, In the Chambers of the Sea, was published by Killick Press in 2003. srendell@nf.sympatico.ca
Three Servings By Mary-Lynn Bernard, Michael Crummey and Andy Jones Original linocuts by Tara Bryan Running the Goat Books and Broadsides, 2006.
S
ince its first publication in July of 2000, the St. John’s-based micro press Running the Goat Books and Broadsides has been quietly working away at letterpress printing some of the nicest broadsides and chapbooks you could ever hope to get your hands on. In a world of cheap paperbacks and novelty publishing, Running the Goat offers a welcome alternative — books that are as in love with the printed medium as they are with the writings they feature. I recently received a copy of Running the Goat’s latest offering, a collection of writings on the subject of jiggs’ dinner. Imagine this: I open the padded envelope to find a pease pudding bag tied at the top with string, the title and the authors’ names printed on the front. Inside the bag is the chapbook itself, a squarish thing bound in handmade paper. Its cover insists that Three Servings have been set out for me. Frankly, it looks good enough to eat, pudding bag and all, but I can’t let myself be persuaded by the arguments of appetite; I will not allow my stomach to inform my critical sense for sheer want of a bit of salt beef. Mary-Lynn Bernard is the first of the three contributors to this table setting. Thursday Night Boiled Dinner: What’s Wrong with Boiled Dinner? Boiled Dinner is Good for You! briefly describes both the Acadian version of the Newfoundland favourite and a Guyanese variation on the same theme that one cooks in coconut milk. It also veers into a defence of the boiled dinner against potentially health-conscious detractors. The better part of her entry, however, is occupied by a recipe promising to serve six to eight. To any who have laboured for hours over Sunday dinner only to find the meat still salted to within an inch of its life (and theirs), the pease pudding doing a lovely little impression of lumpy cement and the carrots practically dripping between the tines of their fork like wax off the end of a taper, Bernard’s recipe may prove a blessing. For those of you in search of more than the utilitarian, skip ahead to Crummey and Jones. Michael Crummey’s Jiggs’ Dinner is a meal of leftovers — its first incarnation came in the 1998 poetry collection Hard Light; it was served again in two Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland stage adaptations and also appears in a Rattling Books audio version of Hard Light.
Handcrafted by their authors From page 17 prose is punctuated throughout by haiku or tanka. The mute beige of the chapbook’s cover and pages reflects the restrained sorrow of the collection. In Around the House, Jonathan Parsons draws on black humour to explore such various topics as the pollution in St. John’s harbour to the difficulties of strained relationships. Jonathan makes clever use of drawings to add dimension to his work. The other students who participated in the workshops are Amy Evans (Colourable), Angela Otto (My Roots Are Showing), Sean Walsh (A Good Edge), Sam Johnson (Sentinal), and Marlene Creates (The Boreal Poetry Garden: Winter 2006). Amy Evans won first prize in the 2006 Gregory J. Power Poetry Competition for her poem Yellow Plum, while Jonathan Parson (The
POET’S CORNER Another Lonely Day I step outside my door To face another lonely day No sunshine comes to greet me Just a sky of pale grey The air that’s all around me Feels desolate and cool The warmth of a lover’s arms Has been dejectedly removed In this unfamiliar space A site I’ve been for far too long My heart’s moved much too far From my only life’s true song There is one I wholly need She inhabits all my dreams A woman who’s very presence Shapes the colours that I see I miss her tender innocence I miss her loving soul But above all else I miss Her smile that keeps me whole By Nathan Roberts St. John’s
Bubble) and Steve Rowe (Aubade) received honourable mentions. It’s an impressive showing, and it speaks to Dalton’s success in creating and structuring a writing course that teaches developing writers how to recognize and craft their individual vision, skills and talent. Robin McGrath participated in the first English 4911 seminar, in which she workshopped a sequence of poems about her hens that subsequently became part of her second book of poems, Covenant of Salt, which has just been short-listed for the Atlantic Poetry Prize. The chapbooks maintain an indefinable mysteriousness stemming from the fact only one or two copies of each exist and that they were handcrafted by their authors. The students’ chapbooks will soon be accessible to the public in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies at Memorial’s QEII Library. markhoffe@yahoo.ca
Tim Conway returns May 7
Original linocut print by Tara Bryan
As anyone who has eaten hash (of the fried vegetable variety) is likely to tell you, jiggs’ dinner is just as good the second or even the third time around, and here the literary meal is every bit as dynamic as its namesake. Jiggs’ Dinner is both humourous and artful in its treatment of the meal that, in the minds of some Newfoundlanders, approaches sacrosanct. “Carrots are the middle child,” Crummey writes — they are “no one’s particular favourite, but well enough liked by all… (they) tr(y) so hard to please.” Then there’s the beautifully hyperbolic prescription for boiling cabbage “until the inner leaves … part before a fork like the Red Sea before the staff of Moses.” Crummey’s is a dinner of spiritual significance prepared with the weight of religious ritual. You can almost see it being laid out — steam rising from the plate like smoke from a censer. If Crummey’s writing is the bowed head and the murmured prayer in this cult of the epicurean, then Andy Jones’ Boiled Dinner (or By ’m By) is the state
of religious ecstasy, the mystic enraptured by visions and visitations. Such a sermon as his has never yet been (nor, likely, will ever be again) delivered in the name of a pot of vegetables and meat boiled half to death. If ever a meal rose to stardom by comin’ in the back door, if ever a dark-horse general quietly entered the presidential palace, tipped his hat, and was immediately anointed head of government, head of state and emperor for life in the greatest of bloodless coups — just by being what he was! — then “Boiled Dinner” is such a meal. And funny? Lord yes. There’s not a sour face in the whole congregation. My only hesitation in commending this piece to anyone and everyone is that I’m not entirely certain how much I’m laughing at the page and how much I’m laughing at how I know Andy Jones would read it. Sometimes it’s difficult to separate the two, especially with work that is intended for performance. Still, there’s a mental agility there and a sense of rhythm that makes the writing undeniably good. For Jones’ alone I would buy this book, but a plate of seconds never hurt anyone either. Mark Callanan is a writer and reviewer living in Rocky Harbour. His column returns May 7. callanan_ _@hotmail.com
20 • INDEPENDENTLIFE
APRIL 23, 2006
IN CAMERA
On the
Dress by Stephanie Stoker, worn by Cynthia Whalen.
APRIL 23, 2006
INDEPENDENTLIFE • 21
catwalk
Chain-mail bustier by Jason Holley, worn by Kathryn Byrne.
M
ore than two-dozen women buzz around the third floor of the Devon House Craft Centre in St. John’s. The central room, used most recently as an art exhibition space, is now one big dressing room. Clothes are hung on the walls and on racks. More are on tables, couches, chairs — everywhere. Women try on different accessories with different outfits, switch dresses — to see which fits best — compliment each other’s clothing and look. They’re in the final stages of planning a major fashion show, to be held April 23 at the Holiday Inn. Many of the people in the room are students of the College of the North Atlantic’s textile studies program, offered at the Anna Templeton Centre on Duckworth Street. Others are friends, clients, and volunteers, recruited for the event. For some of the students, this is the first time their designs will hit the runway. Their work will be displayed alongside that of dozens of established clothing designers, producers, and manufacturers in Newfoundland and Labrador. And in the middle of it all is Beverly Barbour, executive director of the Anna Templeton Centre, chief co-ordinator of the fashion show, unfrazzled — in appearance at least — as she suggests accessories, picks outfits, matches models to garment. “We always lay the best plans,” Barbour says with a laugh. “I set the deadline to have the clothes in three weeks ago, and stuff’s still coming in. The thing is, you need a lot of pieces to fill up a fashion show. The more, the better.” And the audience will have an awful lot to feast their eyes on. From evening
gowns to floor-length leather coats to wool sweaters to flouncy scarves to children’s workout wear, the variety may surprise some. “The whole purpose of a fashion show is to draw attention to the industry,” says Barbour, “and make people aware there is an apparel industry in the province and it’s growing and it’s vital and it’s exciting … I know I’ve been asking people to be models and working on this project with the apparel industry and people go, ‘There’s an apparel industry?’” This is far from the first fashion show the school has participated in — but it may be one of the largest and most wide-ranging. It comes at the end of the weekendlong annual conference of the Apparel Producers of Newfoundland and Labrador. It’s a celebratory send-off for the delegates and a chance to check out each other’s work, as well as the upcoming designers and trends in the province — and gauge the reaction of the public who will be watching the show with them. In past years, the textile studies program has hosted a small reception at the Anna Templeton Centre, and put off a small show focused on their inhouse handiwork. (They also have an annual graduating class show at the centre, this year’s is May 10.) “But we always felt kind of bad that it’s a small crowd and we kind of want to get it out there to the larger community,” says Barbour. “So this year we thought, well, what about having a bigger, flashier, let’s brag a little bit about ourselves, let’s show the whole town and province.” It’s also going to be a learning experience for the students — an important one, too, as many head out into the world of small business and a brand new career over the next months.
“They’re the new entrants to the industry,” says Barbour. “To keep the industry vital and good you always have to be having new excitement and new things happening and, especially with clothing and apparel, it has to be trendy. “That’s why it’s important to have the link between the industry and the school; have all the young people, get them excited, and they can actually meet and talk to people that have companies and manufacturing … it makes it a reality, and helps them build a network.” As for the fashion show, Barbour predicts an evening of “everything from the traditional to the cuttingedge.” And she promises some eyepopping designs from the 27 students currently in textile studies. “They’re learning hand-dying and embroidery and felting and weaving and surface embellishments — so many things that they incorporate into their work to make them so special.” As a final point, Barbour underlines that the fashion show is also a fundraiser for the Anna Templeton Centre, currently in the midst of a multi-year renovation and new construction project — supported by different levels of government, but it’s still up to the centre to raise one-third of the capital. Home to textile studies, the centre also offers children’s workshops, evening and weekend classes, and a meeting space for other groups and programs. “We’re meant to be a community centre,” says Barbour. “A place people come to and look to for all sorts of things.” The Fashion Show 2006 takes place at the St. John’s Holiday Inn, April 23. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., show starts at 7 p.m.
The Anna Templeton Centre for Craft, Art and Design is teaming up with the provincial Apparel Producers Association to present a major fashion event, showcasing an incredible range of local clothing and accessories — from Nonia’s hand-knit sweaters to Abbeyshot’s movie-replica jackets to the newest in high fashion from the centre’s textile studies students. Photo editor Paul Daly and managing editor Stephanie Porter stopped by for a glimpse of the fittings, the adjustments, the planning — and a quick preview of the upcoming show.
APRIL 23, 2006
22 • INDEPENDENTLIFE
BAYCHICK
By Tonya Kearley and Laura Russell
Baychick visits the Rooms
EVENTS APRIL 23 • We’re pulling all the stops, Stephen Candow performs an organ recital in celebration of the restoration of Memorial’s Casavant Pipe Organ, D. F. Cook Recital Hall, 8 p.m. • Open mic at Hava Java, Water Street. Every Sunday, 8:30-10:30 p.m. • The Avalon Unitarian Fellowship’s regular service starts 10:30 a.m. at the Anna Templeton Centre, Duckworth Street. • Quintessential Vocal Ensemble’s spring concert, Cochrane Street united Church, 3 p.m., 722-1169. APRIL 24 • The Back Door Cabaret: RCA theatre’s performance playground for emerging artists, 7 p.m., RCA Gallery, LSPU Hall, 753-4531. • Provincial battle of the bands winners Coy DeCoy kick off provincial tour at St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre. Madman Orchestra opens, 8 p.m., 729-3900.
Baychick, a new weekly feature in The Independent. Watch for her story next in next week’s paper.
APRIL 25 • Lloyd Bartlett CD launch, Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre, 8 p.m. • Lunch and traditional music with Frank Maher, Rick West, Stan Picket and Andrew Lang. Auntie Crae’s, Water Street, 12:30 p.m. • Rotary music festival presents evening concerts at Cochrane Street United Church, 7:30 p.m. daily until May 3. For more, see www.rotarymusicfestical.org. • Book launch: Weather’s Edge, edited by Linda Cullum, Carmelita McGrath and Marilyn Porter, Bianca’s Bar, Water Street, 5 p.m. APRIL 26 • Folk night at the Ship Pub featuring Greg Walsh and Fred Jorgensen, 9:30 p.m. • Lunch-time music featuring the Great Casavant Organ, David Drinkell, organist at the Anglican Cathedral, 1:15-1:45 p.m., free. • The Abbey Road Show, a tribute to the Beatles, features local musicians Ken Fowler, Barry Fowler, Greg Gill, Terry Fogwill and Sonny Hogan. St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre, 8 p.m. • Love Hijacker at CBTGs night club, George Street, 11 p.m. APRIL 27 • Coy DeCoy, provincial battle of the bands winners, Gander Arts and
Terry Reilly (foreground) with the cast of Some Picnic. Reilly wrote the play, based on a true story, about one family’s escape from the Holocaust. Actors and Prince of Wales Collegiate students Kerri Steele-Nash, Joshua Ellis, Mark Day and Michelle Feltham will perform the show at Memorial University’s Reid Theatre April 27 and 28. Paul Daly/The Independent
Culture Centre, 8 p.m. • Newfoundland Historical Society George Story Lecture: Rogue in Office, A Portrait of Richard Squires, by Patrick O’Flaherty, 8 p.m., Hampton Hall, Marine Institute. APRIL 28 • Madman Orchestra, Jill Porter and Funky Dory at the Majestic Theatre, Duckworth Street, 9 p.m. • Canadian Federation of University Women’s annual giant book sale and request for book donations, 754-6065 for drop off or pick up information. Sale at St. St. David’s Hall, Elizabeth Avenue, St. John’s. APRIL 29 • Island Hobby Group’s annual hobby show, Bldg. 309, Jr. Ranks Mess, Pleasantville, www.IHG.ca, 6914791. Continues April 30. • Landscape and Garden Show 2006 at the St. John’s Curling Club, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Continues April 30, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., 579-6510 • Photography flea market: buy or sell anything photography related at The Studio (above Auntie Craes), 10 a.m.-5 p.m., 739-0346. • Trailer Camp all ages release party, with guests the Nordic Beat, Resurectum, Profession:ill, Werewolf, St. Andrew’s Hall, 6 p.m. • The Battle Harbour Historic Trust presents a three-course meal and music by Kelly Russell, Frank Maher and Jason Whalen and a dance with
Billy and the Bruisers, Reid Center, Mount Pearl, 7 p.m., 727-1769. • Let Voices Ring, spring concert with Shallaway, Newfoundland and Labrador youth in chorus, St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre, 8 p.m. www.shallaway.ca. • Wintersleep with special guests Contrived at Club One, St. John’s, 9:30 p.m. APRIL 30 • Grand opening of the St. John’s Jazz Festvial’s Groovin’ and Improvin’ workshop and jam sessions. Hosted by Jason Hayward’s 9 Lives, Cochrane Street United Church, St. John’s, free, 739-7734. Bring instruments and friends. IN THE GALLERIES • In Full Bloom, a group exhibition of new work by artists represented by the Red Ochre Gallery, 96 Duckworth St. Until April 27. • Where Wonder, What Weight by Will Gill and Beth Oberholtzer, The Rooms. Until May 14. • 4 points of view, exhibition showcasing Denis Chiasson, Michael Pittman, MJ Steenberg and Taryn Sheppard, Leyton Gallery of Fine Art. • Men, by Cathia Finkel, at RCA Gallery, LSPU Hall, until May 7. • Joy, a whimsical celebration, by Cara Kansala and Pam Dorey and Spring! A multimedia group exhibition in the Craft Council’s Gallery. Until May 5.
INDEPENDENTBUSINESS
SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 23-29, 2006 — PAGE 23
Jeff J Mitchel/Reuters
Cod by the numbers 2005 cod landings: 35,310,000 pounds Total value: $17,432,786 Average value per pound: 49 cents Total 2005 groundfish landings: 130,511 968 pounds Total landed value: $58,935,574 Total allowable catch for northern cod in 1988: 266,000 tonnes Total allowable catch for northern cod in 2006: 0 Total 2005 pelagics landings: 225,780,197 pounds (Herring, mackerel, caplin, etc.) Total landed value of pelagics: $37,464,123 Total 2005 landings of snow crab: 96,876,074 pounds Total landed value of snow crab: $140,207,896 Average value per pound of crab: $1.45 Allocation of south coast cod: France: 2,340 tonnes* Fixed gear fishermen: 9,733 tonnes Mobile gear fishermen: 609 tonnes FPI Ltd.: 1,160 tonnes Icewater Seafoods (Arnold’s Cove) 331 tonnes Seafreeze Ltd.: 202 tonnes Sentinel fisheries: 200 tonnes Aboriginal fishers: 30 tonnes Individual quota for small boat harvester: 15,000 pounds Individual quota for mid-size vessels: 24,000 pounds Individual quota for longliner enterprises: 40,500 to 50,000 pounds** *Most of the St.-Pierre-Miquelon quota is actually harvested by Canadian vessels. ** Longliner fishermen in Placentia Bay are entitled to an IQ of 40,500 lbs, while Fortune Bay licence holders can take 50,000 lbs.
A king in exile Cod may no longer be the ruler of Newfoundland’s fishing industry, but its value is still felt By Craig Westcott The Independent
C
od may no longer be king of the Newfoundland fishery, but it’s still in the peerage. Last year, just over 16,000 tonnes of cod were taken in the waters off the south coast of Newfoundland, while another 5,000 was allocated for fishing in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The value of the south coast cod weighed in at $17.4 million and employed people in nearly 1,000 fishing enterprises and thousands of others in fish plants around the province. Among all the groundfish species taken last year, cod was second in value only to turbot, but by just a whisker, or gill, as the case may be. The next most valuable groundfish catches were yellowtail flounder, at just over $10 million, redfish at $3.6 million, halibut at $2.8 million and
monkfish at $1.8 million. But the numbers should be kept in perspective, notes oceanographer Brad de Young of Memorial University. Even added together, the total landings and monetary value of groundfish last year was a fraction of what it was before the cod moratorium. The groundfish stocks are in such bad shape generally, that it’s deceptively easy for a 15,000-tonne quota of cod to look substantial in comparison. “Amongst the blind, the one-eyed man is king,” de Young says. “The stocks generally are not in tremendous condition. One hopes that they are in a regrowing phase. And one hopes that the catches in the two (cod) stocks that are presently actively fished are kept at a level where the stocks at least have a chance to grow.” As for northern cod, the once mighty engine of the Newfoundland fishing industry and rural economy, the scien-
tific indications remain disturbingly clear. “Those fish are still missing,” says de Young. “And the large numbers that one sees inshore and the large sizes, which are all good signs, are only signs of a narrow strip of fish along the edge of the shore and don’t really represent an enormous abundance of fish.” The south coast stocks too, de Young notes, haven’t grown as much as hoped. “The general story is that fish seem to recover much more slowly than people thought,” de Young says. He doubts cod fishing will stop altogether, given the economic pressure put on governments by people wanting to fish. “It takes relatively little fishing pressure to limit the recovery of a stock,” de Young says. “The best we can do is be as cautious as is reasonable.” cwestcott@nl.rogers.com
The end of the fun S
omewhere along the way, it just stopped being funny. Like many people, I was long a fan of the gong show at City Hall. And having covered the municipal beat several times, I appreciated the fact that despite all the shouting and low shenanigans, things actually got done. City Hall worked, and it worked well, better than most forms of government. St. John’s council was both our purest form of democracy and the funniest free entertainment in the city. Well relatively free. Our tax dollars are paying for the cast. Some of the goings on over the years gave been golden. Many of the John Murphy versus Andy Wells exchanges
CRAIG WESTCOTT The public ledger were as good in their timing and delivery as any bit performed by Abbott and Costello, or Martin and Lewis. Throughout the years, in each ensemble cast, there have been bit players who, though on the periphery, contributed hilarity in their own way. There was the time Andy Wells took out a packet of gum, tossed a stick down in front of Ray O’Neill and dared him to
chew it and walk at the same time. There was the photocopier incident. Notice how we remember these highlights as if they were an episode of Seinfeld? Councillor Jeff Brace returned to the council chamber after a break and said deputy mayor Andy Wells had punched him in the face while he was out making photocopies. Common to all the highlights has been Andy. He’s the central character around whom all the others revolve. It’s nearly always been Andy versus Murphy, or Andy versus Dot, or Andy versus Ray. A constant through the years has been Andy versus Shannie. Take Wells out of the cast and you
don’t have a show. But the atmosphere around City Hall has changed. The show doesn’t get the same laughs anymore. Somewhere along the way, without any of us really marking it, things stopped being funny. This council, not even a year into its mandate, carries the gloom of a once popular sitcom on its last run. A lot of it has to do with Wells himself. He has lost his sense of humour. That comical sigh of exasperation he used to so audibly let loose has turned to near solid bitterness. Where once he could garner our empathy for his grudging sufferance of fools, now his plight earns little sympathy. He has hardened
and it’s harder to relate to him. Perhaps he has reached this point honestly, because he has tried too hard and cared too much while enduring the political parlour games of the shams, egomaniacs and sociopaths who so often people elect to politics. Or perhaps it is as simple as the creeping crassness that can come with age and power. Whatever it is, one senses that the fun has gone out of it for Andy Wells. Like a dispirited serial actor working out his contract, Andy Wells’ lines just don’t ring true anymore. He has lost his audience. cwestcott@nl.rogers.com
24 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS
APRIL 23, 2006
Tallman’s mettle Deal with Falconbridge buoys geologist’s effort to find next Buchans By Craig Westcott The Independent
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ow that he has a freer hand on his zinc project in central Newfoundland, Messina Minerals president Peter Tallman can’t wait to rev up this year’s exploration program. The problem is, all he can do is wait. The wet weather of the past few weeks coupled with the spring thaw is preventing Tallman from getting two more drill rigs onto the Tulks South property located south of Red Indian Lake. And the drill rig that’s on site and turning steadily for the past 13 or 14 months is mired in mud and getting harder to move around. Still, Falconbridge’s acknowledgement that Messina has earned a 100 per cent interest in Tulks South is some consolation. That Tallman was able to cement the deal now, while many other things at Falconbridge are on hold pending that company’s acquisition by Inco, makes it slightly remarkable. It adds up to a feeling of liberation for the famously independent-minded Tallman who has made finding a major
zinc discovery in Newfoundland — perhaps even another Buchans — his life’s work. “We are in control of our own destiny now,” says Tallman. “We own, with 100 per cent rights, a whole swath of ground that has lots of zinc on it.” While he’s not well known in Newfoundland generally, Tallman is well regarded in mining circles. The Ontario native first came to Newfoundland as a “bush bunny” for Noranda over 20 years ago. After becoming a geologist in his own right, he helped discover the Hope Brook gold deposit and had other successes before starting his own company. He’s been convinced that another big zinc deposit is located in central Newfoundland ever since he first worked the area as a junior geologist. As president of Messina Minerals he has put everything he has into finding it. He spent two summers living out of a pup tent and exploring the region alone when his company couldn’t afford to pay for prospectors and the high tech stuff that characterizes most mineral exploration today. Then two winters ago, about two weeks before Christmas, Tallman hit
pay dirt. A drill rig that he was funding left on his credit card turned up rock that contained zinc, lead, copper, gold and silver in grades that were as high in grade as the famous Buchan’s deposit about 60 km away. Tallman named it the Boomerang discovery. Almost overnight shares in Messina Minerals shot from nine cents a share to well over $2. For a while they were trading at over $4. Since then, some of the euphoria has worn off as Tallman has gone back to the long, hard, slogging work of proving a deposit is big enough to be worth mining. These days Messina’s shares trade in the $1.30 to $1.60 range. But Tallman is making progress. He counts the finalization of the rights deal with Falconbridge as a success of a different sort. The mineral rights to the land that Tallman has been exploring was originally owned by Noranda, then passed on to Falconbridge. Tallman optioned the exploration rights for an agreement to spend $1.75 million on the property before July 15 this year. He reckons he’s put $5.2 million in the ground already. Now that Falconbridge has acknowledged that, the mineral rights
“We are in control of our own destiny now. We own, with 100 per cent rights, a whole swath of ground that has lots of zinc on it.” Peter Tallman
are all his — except for a two per cent royalty Messina will have to pay Noranda if a deposit is ever mined. Previous to the transfer of all the mineral rights, Falconbridge had the right to review and reject Messina’s exploration plans. That oversight is now gone. Tallman couldn’t be happier. “We’ve got a lot of time now to try to find more zinc and other metals and do it right,” Tallman says. He’s confident he will find a lot more zinc, enough to justify another zinc mine in the area. He had hoped that he
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would have found it in time to start mining before Aur Resources opens its mine at nearby Duck Pond. But that deposit, discovered 20 years ago, will go into production this year. Tallman’s goal now is to find enough zinc to justify building a dedicated mill for Tulk’s South. Otherwise, the deposit at Boomerang will be mined and trucked out for milling at Duck Pond or somewhere else. So the work continues. Tallman is feeling confident about his methods of targeting places for drilling. The first two holes he drilled on an adjacent prospect, called Domino, have also returned high grades of zinc, lead, copper, silver and gold. He will continue to drill that prospect this year and sink the bit into an even bigger target called Zinc Zone. But first he has to get more drill rigs hauled down the soggy logging roads and pulled through the bush of central Newfoundland. “Right now I’m really frustrated,” he admits, “because I would love to be drilling it now, knowing what we’ve learned. I want many, many drills, more than three, and that will come.” cwestcott@nl.rogers.com
Ad spending up at radio stations, newspapers By Rick Westhead Torstar wire service
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aybe newspapers, radio and other forms of traditional media don’t need the last rites after all. Newly compiled advertising-industry statistics show newspapers, radio stations and even magazines reported stronger advances in advertising revenue in 2005 than juggernaut TV, which had made strong gains in recent years as more subscribers signed up for digital cable. The new ad figures may be especially heartening for Canada’s beleaguered newspapers. Many paid dailies have struggled to retain circulation as some readers flock to free commuter papers. Paid dailies have also battled to maintain classified-ad income with competition from online ventures such as Craigslist, which allows people to place free real estate ads in many North American markets. While Canada’s ad industry grew 4 per cent in 2005 compared with the previous year, out-of-home advertising, which includes billboards, bus-stop shelters and other marketing ventures, was the industry’s best-performing sector. Advertisers spent $404.3 million on out-of-home marketing in 2005, according to Nielsen Media Research Inc., a 13.6 per cent increase over 2004. Newspaper-related spending rose 6.7 per cent to $2.8 billion, while marketing on radio rose 3.6 per cent to $488 million, Nielsen says. Revenue in the TV-ad industry, the largest of Canada’s media sectors, was relatively flat at $3.3 billion. Several media buyers said one reason TV underperformed was because of the National Hockey League lockout, which led to the 2004-05 season’s cancellation. “There’s usually so much spending in hockey that the lockout really forced some money into other media vehicles,” says Caroline Gianias, a media planner with Carat Canada. Andrea Horan, a media industry analyst with Genuity Capital Markets, says she has seen a shift in ad business from TV to radio, buttressed in part by consolidation in the radio industry. “Now you don’t have to talk to 16 station owners,” Horan says. “You can cover the whole country with four phone calls.” The Nielsen report did not include the fast-growing Internet sector. Still, the study did reveal a few surprises. For instance, General Motors Corp. has struggled recently to deal with unwieldy labour costs and other expenses, but the huge auto maker increased ad spending in 2005 by 7 per cent to $138.2 million and was the country’s secondbiggest advertiser. But rival Ford Motor Co. cut ad spending 20 per cent to $85.5 million, according to Nielsen. Procter & Gamble Co., the maker of household items such as Gillette razors, remains Canada’s biggest marketer. The company’s ad spending increased 12.5 per cent in 2005 to $212 million. Besides Procter & Gamble and GM, other top Canadian advertisers in 2005 were Rogers Communications Corp. ($130.4 million), the Canadian government ($104.8 million) and BCE Inc. ($100 million). The Nielsen list of the top 10 Canadian advertisers included two newcomers: Telus Corp. ($85.6 million) and Wendy’s International Inc. ($73.8 million.) Top advertisers in 2004 that fell out of the top 10 were Hudson’s Bay Co. and the Chrysler Dodge Jeep Dealers Association.
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WEEKLY DIVERSIONS ACROSS 1 It’s available in bars 5 Missing a match 8 Big wingding 12 Camera setting 17 Advantage 18 Mink’s coat 19 In the sack 20 Weaving machines 21 B movie genre 22 Impeccable 24 Eyes thighs, e.g. 25 Spring bloom 27 Market places 28 French silver 29 Cookbook offering 31 Sock end 32 “King Kong” actress 33 Shortened alias 34 Boletus mushroom 35 Iranian city 36 Long, long ___ 39 Solid as the Rock of ___ 43 Bird once native to Funk Island: Great ___ 44 Reversing ___, N.B. 46 Pronto! 47 Goal 49 Governs 50 Crimson 51 Wool and linen 52 Russian empress 54 Persona non ___
56 Slide downhill 57 Pertaining to people 58 Austrian pastry 60 Stretchable 62 Foofaraw 65 Bug 66 Port in Brittany (France) 67 Smack 68 Tied 69 Party fig. 70 Trifle 72 Lode load 73 Valentine mo. 74 Toronto valley 75 Daytime dozing 76 Indonesian island 78 French royalty 79 Kilt material 82 Fortified wine 85 Cellist Ofra 87 Eat hearty! (2 wds.) 89 Quebec City university 90 Balderdash 92 Behind 93 Just like ewe? 94 “Parsley, ___, rosemary ...” 95 No big wheel 96 Pierre’s perhaps: peut___ 97 Waistline wear 98 Worry
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99 World lang. 100 Sow DOWN 1 Dispatched 2 Nostril wrinkler 3 Nimble 4 Seedcase 5 “___ to the races!” 6 Edible seaweed 7 Darn! 8 Ride at full speed 9 White poplar 10 Not so much 11 Newspaper income source 12 ___ and fauna 13 Marshy 14 Lacquered metalware 15 Harbinger 16 Attention getter 23 Squirt gun 26 Rodent of the Rockies 28 Alice ___, B.C. 30 Examine by touch 32 Chinese cooking pan 34 Painter Emily 35 Prov. twice the size of Texas 36 Everything considered (3 wds.) 37 Fairy ___, Sask. 38 Greek mountain 39 Long-nosed fish
40 Expert ending? 41 Grudgingly: with ___ (2 wds.) 42 Pertaining to a duct 43 Winnipeg park with zoo 44 Picture enclosure 45 Subtle emanation 48 Uncouth male (Austral.) 51 Washed out 52 Person, place or ___? 53 Seedless raisin 55 Ploy 58 Normandy city of WWII fame 59 Sign of sadness 61 Comedian Cullen 63 Indian lentil 64 Open poetically 66 Hit high 67 Snowiest city in Canada 69 Most densely populated prov. 71 Late in Limoges 73 Move on wings 74 Arctic people before the Inuit 76 Noted Mohawk chief (18th - 19th c.) 77 Van Gogh painted here 78 The Rockies, e.g.
79 Singer Sylvia 80 Official gemstone of N.S.
81 Saltpetre 82 Slovenly one 83 Possess
84 Wickedness 85 Type of frost 86 ___ in a blue moon
88 Exigency 90 Bad cheque letters 91 Breakfast protein
WEEKLY STARS ARIES (MAR. 21 TO APRIL 19) Impatience is still somewhat of a problem. But a sign of progress should soothe the anxious Aries heart. Meanwhile, invest some of that waiting time in preparing for the change ahead. TAURUS (APRIL 20 TO MAY 20) Bovines tend to excel at solving problems, not creating them. But you risk doing just that if you’re slow to respond to a timely situation. If necessary, seek advice from someone you trust. GEMINI (MAY 21 TO JUNE 20) The Gemini Twin might need to do more than a routine check of both a job-linked and home-based situation. Dig deeper for more data on both fronts to avoid unwanted surprises later. CANCER (JUNE 21 TO JULY 22) Moon Children facing an impor-
tant workplace decision are encouraged to use their perceptiveness to see through any attempt to win them over with a supercharge of fawning and flattery. LEO (JULY 23 TO AUG. 22) Good news catapults Leos and Leonas into reconsidering a deferred decision. But time has moved on, and it’s a good idea to recheck your plans and make adjustments where necessary. VIRGO (AUG. 23 TO SEPT. 22) The week favours relationships, both personal and professional. Take the time to look for and immediately repair any vulnerable areas caused by unresolved misunderstandings. LIBRA (SEPT. 23 TO OCT. 22) A friend’s problems bring out your protective instincts. Be careful to
keep a balance between meeting the obligations of friendship without being overwhelmed by them. SCORPIO (OCT. 23 TO NOV. 21) The temptation to take an extreme position on an issue is strong, but moderation is favoured both in personal and professional dealings. Move toward finding areas of agreement. SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22 TO DEC. 21) Getting another boss or teacher? Try to see the person behind the image. It will help you adjust more easily to the changes that new authority figures inevitably bring. CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 TO JAN.19) Much as you might dislike the idea, keep an open mind about using the assistance of a third party to help resolve problems that threaten to unravel an important
agreement. AQUARIUS (JAN. 20 TO FEB. 18) Music helps restore the Aquarian’s spiritual energies this week. Take someone you care for to a concert of your musical choice. Also, expect news about a workplace matter. PISCES (FEB. 19 TO MAR. 20) A challenge that seems easy enough at first could take an unexpected turn that might test your resolve. Decide if you feel you should stay with it, or if it’s better to move in another direction. YOU BORN THIS WEEK: You can be strong when standing up for justice, both for yourself and for others. (c) 2006 King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Fill in the grid so that each row of nine squares, each column of nine and each section of nine (three squares by three) contains the numbers 1 through 9 in any order. There is only one solution to each puzzle. Solutions, tips and computer program available at www.sudoko.com SOLUTION ON PAGE 31
APRIL 23, 2006
INDEPENDENTSPORTS • 31
Goaltending will be an issue From page 32 stay out of the penalty box. San Jose in seven. Eastern Conference (1) Ottawa vs. (8) Tampa Bay: there will be no repeat for the defending champs in Tampa Bay, not unless Ottawa totally self-destructs (which has happened before in the playoffs). The Senators have too much firepower on offense, and their defense consists of perhaps the best blueline corps in the league. Ottawa in five. (2) Carolina vs. (7) Montreal: the Hurricanes had the Habs’ number during the regular season, sweeping the series 4-0. Look for continued domination by Carolina in this series. I’d love to see Bonavista’s Michael Ryder go deep into the playoffs, but it won’t happen this year. Still, I expect Montreal to give Carolina a good fight, but the Canadiens’ goaltending (who is No. 1: Huet or Aebischer?) will
Toronto Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn.
become an issue. In the end, Carolina will emerge in seven. (3) New Jersey vs. (6) NY Rangers: give the Devils their due, they are on a streak heading into the playoffs. They’ve lost a bit of defense (Stevens and Neidermayer) from previous teams, but they still have Martin Brodeur and his three Stanley Cup rings. Compare that to talented rookie Henrik Lundqvist in net for New York and that’s where this series will be decided. For all of Jaromir Jagr’s scoring punch, the Devils will advance in six. (4) Buffalo vs. (5) Philadelphia: the Sabres have benefited from the new rules perhaps more than any other team, as their smallish lineup has been free to use its speed and creativity throughout the regular season. But does that mean anything in the playoffs? Philadelphia has the advantage in size and toughness. This one will go the distance, with Buffalo advancing in seven. whitebobby@yahoo.com
Mike Cassese/Reuters
Decisive end to Quinn era
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ohn Ferguson didn’t wait long to end the Pat Quinn era. Rather than let the uncertainty over Quinn’s future drag on for days or weeks, the Maple Leaf GM officially fired the club’s head coach April 21, just two days after the team ended the 2005-06 season by finishing out of the playoffs. “This change is as much about the future, and where we are going as an organization, as it is as much about what has transpired here,” Ferguson said, adding a search for Quinn’s successor would start immediately. Paul Maurice, who has experience as an NHL coach, and is currently behind the bench of the AHL Toronto Marlies, is seen as a possible successor. Richard Peddie, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, gave Ferguson a vote of confidence when asked whether the Leafs were looking to install a hockey supremo as they did by appointing Bryan Colangelo to run the NBA Raptors. “John’s our top hockey guy,” Peddie told Leafs TV after the announcement. Peddie said the Leafs are looking for a proven winner as coach. “Rookies need not apply,” he said. Quinn, the club’s coach since 1998 and the 25th bench boss in team history, had almost seemed resigned to his fate for weeks, at least until a late season surge by the team led by the goaltending of JeanSebastien Aubin kept the Leafs in the playoff hunt until the final weekend of the season and led some to suggest it was evidence
that a coaching change wasn’t necessary. But the working relationship between Quinn and Ferguson had soured long before that, not surprisingly, perhaps, given that Ferguson had taken over the GM’s portfolio from Quinn, and Quinn had actively pushed for others to get the job ahead of Ferguson. Ferguson today called Quinn “a consummate professional,” but said he was looking for “a new voice, a new approach.” During Quinn’s tenure as head coach, a time when the club ran up record payrolls, the Leafs were unable to realize their dream of returning to the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1967. Eastern Conference final appearances in 1999 and 2002 fell short at the hands of Buffalo and Carolina, respectively. In 2003, the Leafs were beaten in the first round by Philadelphia, and after beating Ottawa for the fourth time with Quinn as head coach in 2004, the Leafs were knocked out again by the Flyers in the ‘04 playoffs. When the club fell from 6th place in the conference this season in January to as low as 11th in March, it became clear Quinn was in the final days of his run with the Leafs. With the Leafs obliged to pay him $1.5 million (US) next season, Quinn immediately becomes one of the hottest coaching candidates for a variety of NHL jobs, including Boston and Los Angeles. If Wayne Gretzky decides not to return behind the Phoenix bench, Quinn would be a natural fit there, and there’s already speculation he could return to Vancouver if major executive changes occur with the Canucks.
Weep not for Pat Quinn
I
n canning Quinn as head coach Thursday morning, Ferguson put himself squarely in the line of fire if next season duplicates the results of the one that just ended. But for Quinn, it was one heck of a run. You have to look at this from a historic perspective. In lasting from 1998 right through to the end of the 2005-06 season, with a lockout wiping out one season, Quinn had a longer run than any head coach of the Leafs since Punch Imlach during the glorious, four-Stanley Cup 1960s. None of the 14 other men who guided the Leafs between Imlach and Quinn lasted nearly as long, and that tells you something about Quinn’s ability as a coach and his tenacity as a hockey politician to have outlasted so many personnel and ownership changes within the Leafs organization. Quinn did it by creating a mix a strong regular season results and moderate playoff success, and by being able to out-muscle Ken Dryden in a drawn out executive tugof-war that saw Dryden eventually pack it in and head off for federal politics. As well, he won big with the 2002 Canadian Olympic team and the ‘04 World Cup squad, and that gave him currency in a city in which he was otherwise unable to end a Stanley Cup-drought that stretches
Solutions for crossword on page 30
back to 1967. Moreover, he made a great deal of money while doing the job, and even more when he held the GM post, as well. In the end, Quinn simply ran out of wiggle room and time. When he lost the GM post to Ferguson in 2003, he was on the clock, and that became even more apparent as he and JFJ failed to negotiate a comfortable working relationship. Beyond that, every coach is hired to be fired, and Quinn’s inability to produce a Cup winner or even a cup finalist means that, eventually, the team would have to turn to another coach. Mounting public criticism of team chairman Larry Tanenbaum and president Richard Peddie put added pressure on the team to make a substantial move this season after a promising campaign deteriorated after January. In essence, Quinn lasted as long as a coach could last without winning. Indeed, Pat Burns only made it from 1992 to 1996, and he had as much success during his time with the Leafs as Quinn had over the past eight years. Quinn had his shot, and undoubtedly, he’ll now get another somewhere else. — Damien Cox
Solutions for sudoku on page 30
A LITTLE OF YOUR TIME IS ALL WE ASK. CONQUERING THE UNIVERSE IS OPTIONAL. Think it requires heroic efforts to be a Big Brother or Big Sister? Think again. It simply means sharing a few moments with a child. Play catch. Build a doghouse. Or help take on mutant invaders from the planet Krang. That’s all it takes to transform a mere mortal like yourself into a super hero who can make a world of difference in a child’s life. For more information...
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Newfoundland 1-877-513KIDS (5437) www.helpingkids.ca
CARRIER OF THE WEEK
By Damien Cox Torstar wire service
INDEPENDENTSPORTS
SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 23-29, 2006 — PAGE 32
The Twin Town Minor Hockey Association's peewee team. Clockwise from bottom left: Dylan Rose, Brady Francis, Brandon Smith, Chantelle Ryan, Alex Tulk, coach Darren Ryan, Ryan Critchley, Joey Cornick, Matthew Caines, coach Ken Waddleton, Josh Hughes, and Adam Gould. Middle: Kendra Waddleton. Bob White/The Independent
‘Playing is their therapy’ Twin Town Minor Hockey Association’s peewee team shows its strength and teamwork in face of tragedy By Bob White For the Independent
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e’ve heard all the sayings about how sports can teach children valuable life lessons of how to deal with adversity. The young athletes of the Twin Town Minor Hockey Association’s peewee team have come to grips with the saying in a heart-rending manner. Just a week before competing in the biggest tournament of their season — the Easter holiday ritual known as Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial championships — the Twin Town team, based in Port Saunders on the Northern Peninsula, was dealt a tragic blow. Team captain Dylan Gould was killed in a traffic accident. He was returning home with his family from a tournament his sister, Daylena, had competed in at Grand Falls-Windsor two weeks ago. Faced with the loss of a dear friend and a great hockey player, it would have been understandable had the team opted not to compete in the provincial peewee “C” championships held, ironically enough, in Grand Falls-Windsor, April 20-22. Immediately after the tragedy, the team all but decided to skip the tournament. The feeling was it would be too difficult for the boys and girls, aged 11 to 13, to get back on the ice after such a devastating event. But with the backing of the Gould family and some off-ice solidarity, the Twin Town team made the decision to play.
“The teamwork that they learned in individually … so they would be able to hockey really came in handy,” says Twin find out where their heads were and to Town association president Karen Tulk, make certain they all wanted to do this, whose son Alex plays on the peewee team. and not one or two players making the “Our coaches have always taught the decision for the whole team. Every one of players to rely on each other when they are them said they wanted to go.” on the ice, and they applied that support With Dylan’s No. 7 jersey hanging on off the ice in this case. They showed us the bench for each game, Twin Town iced skills that we, as parents, didn’t realize just 10 players — two lines — and a they had.” goalie, but their spirit and determination At Dylan’s funeral, was evident. They opened where his peewee teamthe tournament with a 3-3 mates were pallbearers, tie, but fatigue set in and “Teaching them that they dropped their second the players got talking to each other and said contest. it’s okay to cry was they wanted to honour However, winning isn’t Dylan’s life by competeverything, a point hamanother hard lesson mered home in a profound ing in the tournament. “They felt Dylan way after misfortune. for them to learn, would want them to Dealing with loss at such a come and play,” Tulk because some of them young age, when your says. “Playing was betlinemate and friend is are just so tough.” ter for their therapy, to taken away, is a tremenlet them finish off the dously difficult experiyear on the ice.” ence. Karen Tulk Despite dealing with “At this point in their their loss, the Gould lives, this is a hard lesson family was fully behind the decision. to learn,” says Tulk. “They were very supportive,” says Tulk, “The coaches, parents and counsellors a close friend of the Gould family. “They at the school have been talking to them told the kids ‘We want you to be there.’” about how to move on and to keep the Under these stressful circumstances, the memories alive.” coaches and association members took Hockey is a rough game, and the on-ice measures to make sure the players were bravado of peewee players paints an exteready to play again, that they would be rior of toughness. Underneath, however, able to handle it. they are still just kids. “Our coaches (talked) with each player “Teaching them that it’s OK to cry was
another hard lesson for them to learn, because some of them are just so tough.” Parents Agnes and Jeff Gould, showing strength and dedication, travelled to Rocky Harbour while the peewees were in Grand Falls-Windsor. Daylena’s bantam team was competing in a provincial championship there, and while an injury suffered in the accident kept her from playing, she and her parents went to cheer on the team. Support has come from everywhere since the tragedy. Each Twin Town team, from atom to midget, hung Dylan’s No. 7 on the bench during games throughout the Easter week championships. The entire association, wearing their jerseys, were the honour guard during the funeral. At school, the older players have been looking out for the peewee players to comfort them and provide support. Tulk, the Twin Town president for the past five years, says being a minor hockey volunteer can be a thankless job — but during a time like this, the value of being a part of such a group is unmistakable. The outpouring of goodwill from minor hockey associations across the island and Labrador has been non-stop since the news broke. The minor hockey family has rallied to help in many ways. “In minor hockey, everybody travels — we are all vulnerable,” Tulk says. “But you don’t realize it until something like this happens. The support has been unbelievable.”
Let the playoffs begin T
he NHL playoffs are set to start, and the two players from this province who are going to see some action in the chase for Stanley’s mug are not likely to meet each other. In fact, the only way they would face off against each other is if Michael Ryder’s Montreal Canadiens somehow manage three straight upsets to get to the final. It’s a more likely scenario for Dan Cleary’s Detroit Red Wings to make the final, as the Wings have home-ice advantage throughout, and the league’s best regular-season record behind them. Ryder has enjoyed the better statistical season, leading Montreal in goals with 30 and finishing third in team scoring with 55 points.
BOB WHITE Guest Column Cleary, meanwhile, picked up 15 points in 77 games, and sported a +5 plus/minus rating — not bad for a guy who spends a fair bit of time on the penalty kill. Aside from the interest of watching two of our own, I’m anxiously waiting to see if the rule changes, which made a dramatic impact on regular season action, contribute to how teams play in the playoffs. In past years, playoff hock-
ey meant grinding it out in the corners and knockdown tactics. This year, if the NHL follows its own standard, it should translate into more wide-open hockey. The playoffs are always fun to watch, but if the games have that free-wheeling style, it’ll make it that much more enjoyable. NHL PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS Western Conference (1) Detroit vs. (8) Edmonton: the Oil will give Detroit all it can handle, and a good scare to boot, but the Red Wings will take the series in six games. Riverhead, Harbour Grace’s Dan Cleary will enjoy facing off against his former team and helping his current team get to
the next round. (2) Dallas vs. (7) Colorado: the Avalanche are in tough against the Stars, and I don’t think Jose Theodore is going to be the goalie to carry Colorado past Dallas. The last time Colorado picked up a goalie from Montreal, it turned out great as Patrick Roy led the Avalanche all the way to the Stanley Cup. Thoedore has won a Vezina trophy, like Roy did too, but that’s where the similarities end. Dallas in five. (3) Calgary vs. (6) Anaheim: the last edition of the Stanley Cup playoffs had the Flames in the final, just a bounce or two away from hoisting the franchise’s second Stanley Cup. This year, to get back to that level, Calgary is going to
need to improve its offensive output over the regular season. Defensively, Calgary is solid, with Miikka Kiprusoff leading the way as one of the league’s top goalies. However, the Flames still have to put the puck in the net, and that’s where Anaheim has an edge. Teemu Selanne leads this charge, but a lack of playoff experience from other Ducks will cost them. Calgary in six. (4) Nashville vs. (5) San Jose: two words can sum this one up: Joe Thornton. Since his trade from Boston, Big Joe has been ripping it up. His impact alone will lift the Sharks past the Predators. However, San Jose needs to See “San Jose,” page 31