VOL. 4 ISSUE 17
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ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR — SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 30-MAY 6, 2006
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SPORTS 32
A look inside the Al-Noor Mosque in St. John’s
Carl English’s NBA dreams alive after a season of play in Italy
No break in fees
SPRING COLOURS
Fisheries minister says Ottawa can’t cut fishermen a break on licences; questions whether union will lower dues CRAIG WESTCOTT
T
he deepening crisis in the crab fishery and the future of FPI Ltd. were on the menu for federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn and his provincial counterpart, Tom Rideout, during a luncheon meeting in Ottawa Friday. “With crab prices, there’s not a lot we can do about it,” Hearn told The Independent afterwards. “The market will dictate prices. What we’re trying to do is find ways to help fishermen survive.” Hearn says he had already taken some steps to do that even before a call by the fishermen’s union last week for action. He says his decision to allocate more shrimp to fishermen this year was an attempt to give them something to make up for expected lower crab earnings. A loosening of the rules that allowed fishermen to “buddy up” on the use of one boat to catch each other’s catch is a similar measure, because it saves money for fishermen. But Hearn says he’s unable to meet the union’s demand that Ottawa waive all licence, observer and other fees this season. Hearn says the problem with the idea is that the fees are the purview of other departments. “If there were certain fees that were just the responsibility of my department, in light of what’s happening, we would be only too willing (to do it),” Hearn says. “But observer fees and licence costs, these things are regulated through general government and Treasury Board. So you’d have to go and make arguments in specific sectors. And once you do it, it’s not a Newfoundland problem alone. Quebec is hurting worse than we are.” See “New Brunswick,” page 4
QUOTE OF THE WEEK “I hope they’re not doing it for the paycheque because my God, I’d rather flip burgers than flip dead bodies out of a pickup truck.”
— Luc Levesque, Gulf War veteran, on Canadian soldiers serving in Afghanistan
Members of O’Donel High’s class of ‘06 celebrate their prom at the St. John’s Convention Centre April 28. This year marks the Mount Pearl high school’s 20th anniversary. Paul Daly/The Independent
‘Can’t let this be another fishery’ Union president says company running Wabush Mines into the ground By Ngaire Genge For the Independent
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im Skinner eyes the recent report on mining practices at Wabush Mines. “Flawed and biased,” the United Steelworkers local 6285 president proclaims. “When estimated reserves go from 250 million tons in 1989 to 60 million tons in 2004, and you haven’t brought out 50 million tons yet, you’ve got to question the math,” he says. The report identified several issues contributing to lower esti-
Mines, estimated ore reserves at 270 million long tons. At six million tons annual production, Wabush Mines, its employees, the Town of Wabush, and the province as a whole could benefit from that resource for nearly 45 years. The reserve was still estimated at 240 million long tons in 2001, but just one year later, plummeted to 86 million long tons. In 2003, it was at 64 million long tons and, despite a long labour disruption in 2004, it fell yet again to an estimate of 57 million long tons. In less than 10 years, mine life
was reduced to less than 10 years. Major reasons for the reduction in reserves were listed as water flooding western sections of the mine in 2003, a strong Canadian dollar, and increasing operating costs. The first major drop in estimated reserves, however, is attributed to high manganese percentage — a troublesome waste — in parts of the ore body, a condition known since operations began. “In 2002, it was … recognized See “Prepared,” page 2
‘We will lower them’
NEWS 10-11
Chuck Furey looks back
Gulf war vet determined to see flags at half-mast, encourages support of troops
LIFE 17
Mary Walsh and company remount High Steel at the LSPU Hall BUSINESS 21
Good news coming for province’s book publishers Life Story . . . . . . . . . Brazen . . . . . . . . . . . . Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . Noreen Golfman. . . . Food column . . . . . .
mates at the mine, but high-grading — selective mining to take in only the high-value ore — was not among them. “That’s semantics,” Skinner says. “If I said ‘cherry-picking,’ taking ore that doesn’t need blending to be marketable, and leaving ore that needs blending, or further concentration — any extra step — anyone would understand the problem. High-grading, selective mining, cherry picking, it’s all the same thing.” In 1996, Cliffs Mining, managing agent for Wabush Scully
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STEPHANIE PORTER
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ndeterred by new federal policy, Luc Levesque plans to lower the Canadian flag outside his Upper Island Cove home to half-mast “each time a brother or sister falls.” And he’s encouraging others in his section of the Canadian Army Veteran Motorcycle Unit (CAV) to do the same. Levesque is a veteran of the Gulf War, and the first president of the Beaumont-Hamel Unit of the CAV, a nation-wide “brotherhood of Canadian Army, Air Force and Navy veterans who are motorcycle
enthusiasts.” The Newfoundland unit is brand new, and Levesque has got about a dozen recruits so far. He’s readying an e-mail about the latest flag flap to the membership as he speaks. “Hopefully the national headquarters or, better, (the Department of National Defense) will give us a chunk of money so each member of CAV can get a flag to put on their lawn,” he says. “We will lower them.” Levesque says he’s “still pissed” about the federal government’s decision to stop lowering Canadian flags when soldiers are killed in the line of duty. He understands why the prime minister is doing it — but he doesn’t agree.
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The flag-draped casket, containing the body of one of four Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan last week, is carried to a waiting hearse April 25. J.P. Moczulski/Reuters
“What happens, and this is going to happen, we’re going to have more bodies coming home, there’s no doubt about that,” he says. “Fifty of them down the road, if they don’t have the CBC there or the prime minister there or the dignitaries don’t show up, those families are going to be left wondering why — ‘Is my son not
good enough to receive this outpouring of grief?’ “So they had to draw the line.” Levesque believes there’s another political strategy at work as well. “My theory is that a lot of Canadians do not want troops See “They haven’t a clue,”page 2
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2 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
APRIL 30, 2006
‘They haven’t a clue what’s going on’ From page 1 there,” he says. “And if the people walking by Parliament Hill don’t see the flag at half-mast, it’s out of sight, out of mind, so it’s all hush-hush.” And that, says Levesque, is the worst thing that could happen. He started a Newfoundland unit of the CAV partly because he’s a motorcycle owner and lover (he bought a Harley last year), partly for the camaraderie he’s been missing since he left the forces, but most importantly because the group’s mandate is to help promote “awareness and remembrance of the sacrifices men and women have made throughout the years and continue to make.” Levesque served in the army for 13 years and was a medic during the Gulf War. He injured his back while overseas, and is now retired and receiving a pension from Veterans Affairs. An Ontario native, he moved with his wife and two young children to Newfoundland three years ago. “One of the greatest things about Newfoundland is, out here, there is so much more respect and appreciation for veterans and military members,” he says. “In Ottawa, Remembrance Day is seen as one day of traffic — and then it’s over with.” Although Levesque admits he feels too young to call himself a veteran, he is, and carries the patriotism of a proud soldier with him daily. He says the majority of Canadians don’t understand what the forces are doing in Afghanistan — no more than they understood the Gulf War. “If you want to get a horrible look
from a soldier, call him a peacekeeper,” he says. “One guy I know, he’s a sniper, and he says ‘Yep, I really feel like a peacekeeper when I pull the trigger and see the pink puff come up from the shoulders.’ “He’s traumatized.” Levesque remembers taking part in a parade when the troops returned from the Gulf. “There were all these protestors there and I had to restrain myself not to walk up to them … they haven’t a clue what’s going on. “The soldiers, we’re ill-equipped but we’re well-trained and our soldiers will improvise and adapt that equipment to suit whatever environment they’re in … they’re the first people to raise their arms to go to Afghanistan.” Levesque firmly believes that the majority of soldiers volunteer for duty because of patriotism, a feeling that’s been growing since 9/11 — that Canadians should be taking care of our country. “It’s time to take our country back, and be proud of who we are and where we came from. At least I hope that’s where they come from, I hope they’re not doing it for the paycheque because my God, I’d rather flip burgers than flip dead bodies out of a pickup truck.” Levesque admits he’s been known to fix Canadian flags that have been hung upside down, or even replace ones he sees blowing in the wind, all tattered and weathered pink. As he says, it’s all about respect. “People really have to support the troops. A lot of people think, ‘Well, I’d like to send a letter but they won’t get
read.’ Believe me, they do get read. “In the Gulf, we’d be bored at night, back in 1991 and there would be boxes of mail, and we’d start grabbing letters. I’d always look for ones written in crayon, because I knew it would be kids, and then I’d reply to them. “As a soldier sitting away from home, I’m wondering, what are they thinking about us down home? Are they thinking we’re just wasting time? And you’re glad to receive something that shows someone’s thinking about you. Thanking you for doing this for the country.” For more on the CAV, visit www.thecav.ca. The Beaumont Hamel unit will hold their first official ride July 1, in commemoration of the battle’s 90th anniversary.
‘Prepared to run this operation into the ground’ From page 1
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that the mine could no longer mine and produce pellets for sale into the global market starting with material that had such a high manganese content,” the report reads. “The mine has to practice ‘low-grading’ with respect to manganese.” It’s just words to Skinner.
“You can sell all the easy product with no investment, or, you can blend the good and the bad and sell all the product — with a little extra investment, and a better plan for development,” he says. Minister of Natural Resources Ed Byrne’s acceptance of the report upsets Skinner on several levels. “How independent can a report be when you only talk to the people being
investigated?” says Skinner. “We’ve worked very well with this government … but the question here is how best to use this resource? Having Wabush Mines close in seven years with product still in the ground, isn’t the best practice.” MHA Randy Collins backs the union. “We recognize the difference between reserves and economically-viable reserves, but by removing what is viable with the current operation, what’s left becomes unviable,” he says. Collins thinks it’s incumbent on government to ensure Wabush Mines submits a plan including the manganese separator, which could add decades to the mine. “If Cliff’s operation, leaving good ore underwater, a lack of provision for better blending, and tailings being stored on top of ore … continues, Cliffs walks away with easy ore and no one will be able to use the mess left behind.” “We’ve sampled,” adds Skinner. “They’re throwing 28 per cent ore out in the waste, more than they’re mining for in some places.” Skinner and Collins say this behaviour is part of a bigger plan. While the Iron Ore Company of Canada pours millions of dollars into meeting new environmental standards coming into effect shortly, Wabush Mines appears to be making no changes. That, in combination with a lack of planning beyond year seven, leaves them wondering if Cliff’s has any intention of being here in year eight. “It is my firm belief they are prepared to run this operation into the ground,” says Skinner. “Make it appear unprofitable, to get their other partners out of the picture, take it over for nothing, and exploit only the favourable ore until they close it up.” “Water is controlled in other mines,” says Collins. “Manganese can be extracted with minimum investment — especially with the market so high — and a better plan can be put in place. The definition of ‘marketable’ isn’t ‘what they can get cheap and run.’ “If this company can’t manage this site long-term, they shouldn’t be permitted to make the situation worse for another operator.” Skinner wants an agreement in place for the manganese separator that could give Wabush new life, see other Wabush-controlled ore bodies developed, and a commitment to better mining. “We can’t let this be another fishery, another Voisey’s Bay.” The minister has promised a meeting in the near future.
APRIL 30, 2006
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 3
SCRUNCHINS A weekly collection of Newfoundlandia
W
ith the federal government budget slated for release on Tuesday, now is as good a time as any for a story on Newfoundland finances of old. The Globalist, an online magazine on the global economy, politics and culture, ran a fascinating article in April 2003 about Newfoundland and the global debt crisis. The story stated that the most extraordinary debt restructuring of the pre-1945 era did not occur in Latin America, but in the country of Newfoundland. “During the early 1930s, Newfoundland experienced a form of political punishment and national humiliation for its debt problems, which has never been surpassed by any other country with financial problems,” the article read. Newfoundland racked up a massive debt to finance military expenditures during the First World War (loans to Great Britain) and to finance the construction of a railway, as well as to cover operating expenses throughout the 1920s. By 1933, there was a public debt of over $100 million — and Newfoundland’s income was just $30 million. Newfoundland turned to the British government for help. England, in turn, appointed a royal commission, whose description of Newfoundland’s democracy “would not be out of place in today’s Argentina.” An excerpt … “Rival politicians … in the desire to secure election, were accustomed to making the wildest promises involving increased public expenditure in the constituency and the satisfaction of all the cherished desires of the inhabitants. The latter, as was natural, chose the candidate who promised them the most. “The electors in many cases preferred to vote for a candidate who was known to possess an aptitude for promoting his own interest at the public expense, rather than for a man who disdained to adopt such a course. They argued that if a man had proved himself capable of using his political opportunities to his personal advantage, he would be the better equipped to promote the advantage of his constituents; an honest man would only preach to them.” In the end, a six-man commission was appointed by Britain to govern Newfoundland. If the International Monetary Fund had existed in 1933, it would have granted emergency debt relief to Newfoundland. The country would have never given up democracy or independence. Indeed, democracy is now a pre-condition for IMF aid. At least some good came out of our mystery.
The legend of Sheila NaGeira ‘Carbonear princess,’ pirate’s wife, healer, mother of the nation of Newfoundland — she could have been any of these things By Stephanie Porter The Independent
TRUE COLOURS Cory St. Croix, the Newfoundlander starring in From the Ground Up, a new reality series on Global TV, showed his true colours on the inaugural episode. The show is about a dozen twenty-somethings who live together in a dorm and build a high-end home “from the ground up.” St. Croix, a lawyer living in Calgary, painted a pink, white and green flag on his construction hat. FINE COMPANY The April/May edition of Our Canada magazine lists six of the best, must-see events across Canada this spring and summer — including the Newfoundland Targa Rally, which runs Sept. 9-16. Other events included the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan Festival, Canadian Tulip Festival and the Olds Fair and Rodeo outside Calgary. MEGA-U Axel Meisen, president of Memorial University and chairman of the Association of Atlantic Universities, shot down a concept earlier this week of one big Nova Scotia university. According to a report in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, talk of amalgamating some or all of Nova Scotia’s 11 degreegranting, post-secondary institutions to cut costs has been bandied about informally for decades. Meisen said some smaller schools have appeal by virtue of their size. (Could that mean Axel has had a change of heart about a stand-alone university for Corner Brook?) Meisen and other representatives of Atlantic Canadian universities were in Halifax for the release of a study that found the institutions collectively represent a $4.4-billion industry. The newspaper quoted the study as finding universities in capital cities account for about four per cent of total employment, and investing in a bachelor’s degree can generate about $450,000 in increased individual lifetime earnings. ROWE’S BOAT Finally, Derrick Rowe’s severance of about $750,000 may have been all over the news this week, but how about the annual salary? Truth be told, he actually took a pay cut in 2005, when he made $317,000, compared to $375,000 in 2004. No wonder he quit. ryan.cleary@theindependent.ca
B
y the side of Pike’s Lane in Carbonear is the fabled gravesite of Sheila NaGeira and her husband, Gilbert Pike. Although the name on the headstone is clearly for a John Pike — who died in the mid-1700s — local lore insists the Irish noblewoman turned pioneer rests below. NaGeira’s story may be one of the oldest and most beloved romances of Newfoundland’s European history, filled with pirates, danger, rescue, and a wedding on the high seas. The details have been told and retold, as both history and myth. Today, there are plays chronicling the legend of Sheila NaGeira, a theatre and bed and breakfast in Carbonear bear her name, and a new novel published by Paul Butler, NaGeira, hits the shelves this week. Butler reworks the legend, telling both the story of a young NaGeira in England in the 1600s, and that of an 80-year-old NaGeira, an outsider in her Newfoundland outport community, but respected for her healing and pagan powers. Butler says he researched the legends and oral and written history of the time. His work is fiction — but it also reflects “settler mythology, the story of where this (society) came from. “And there’s no stronger story than that,” he adds. Butler, originally from the United Kingdom, has already examined “the prehistory of Newfoundland” in two other publications, Easton and Easton’s Gold. Being a “naturalized Newfoundlander” has driven his fascination with the time period. “People who come from outside and grow to love a place, they look for ways to understand and define it,” he says. “For me, coming to the prehistory of Newfoundland is a way of doing that.
It’s a way of trying to explain or pay tribute to a certain place by trying to explain a certain mythological character who is rooted here.” Sheila NaGeira — according to one version, at least — was a woman of noble Irish birth. After four years of studying in France, NaGeira was making her way home across the English Channel (or perhaps it was on her way to France) when the boat was attacked and captured by Dutch pirates. All were subsequently rescued by Captain Peter Easton, an English privateer en route to Newfoundland. The captives, including NaGeira, went along across the sea. On the way, NaGeira and Gilbert Pike — a pirate in some accounts, the navigation officer in others — fell in love and married during the voyage. It was sometime between 1600 and 1610 when the couple landed in Newfoundland and set up in a community called Mosquito (which apparently featured better houses than Harbour Grace, at the time). They later settled in Carbonear. Most notably, it is said NaGeira and Pike were the parents of the first child of European descent to be born in Newfoundland, making her the mother of a nation — even the new world. NaGeira is generally though to have outlived her husband by decades. She led a long and respected life, perhaps reaching her 104th birthday. She’s characterized as a great pioneer, a midwife, healer, planter and a centerpiece of the community. “That’s what makes her such a powerful folkloric character,” says Butler. “The hugeness of the iconography … the weight that’s put on Sheila as a herbal healer, mother goddess figure, the pagan power of that. “One thing that really interested me is the story is both local, in terms of being a Newfoundland phenomenon, and she’s international as well because of the Irish connection.”
In Ireland, there’s another forerunner of the legend, Butler continues. “Sheila Na Gig in Ireland is a fearsome warning signal, a kind of gargoyle on church doors and gateways. She’s very old, very fierce, and seems to represent sexuality and fertility living on to a very old age.” While Butler admits he’s met a few people who are certain they are direct descendants of NaGeira, he tends to believe the story is more myth than fact. But not all agree. In volume three of Joey Smallwood’s Book of Newfoundland, there is a short article about The Carbonear Princess, Sheila NaGeira. It certainly reads as though NaGeira was an historical figure — though not a true princess. She was given the title, it says, by local Irish fishermen, struck by her “regal bearing.” “Women in those times in Newfoundland were not very numerous,” the book states. “Any woman, therefore, would command more than ordinary respect in those times in Newfoundland, but an aristocratic young woman such as Sheila Nagira, with her romantic experience of having been captured and then re-captured … would win much more than ordinary admiration.” At no point does the article indicate “Nagira” did not exist, indeed, it states her story is of particular interest to Newfoundlanders because of “the fact that many of her descendants are still living in this province.” “She is impossible to verify, a very elusive figure in actual history,” says Butler. “But then again, this is all legend … it could be true. We can’t prove that it isn’t. “Either way, she means a lot to a lot of different people.” Flanker Press and Paul Butler will officially launch NaGeira at Bianca’s Bar, Water Street, St. John’s, May 2, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
4 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
APRIL 30, 2006
New Brunswick’s crab industry is hurting too From page 1
Paul Daly/The Independent
New Brunswick’s crab industry is hurting too, he adds. Hearn says he suggested Rideout try getting support for the union’s idea from his counterparts in the other provinces. That combined pressure might have more success in changing the rules. Hearn is also worried that if Newfoundland crab fishermen get a break on the costs, other fishermen will want them too. “I asked the question yesterday, in light of this, has the union dropped its dues this year?” Hearn says. “We’ll do what we can within our power to help them. But we also have to be realistic. The money that we take in on our fees keeps us going for many of our programs. Just a reduction in fees for shrimp and crab, we’re probably looking at $20 million, because it’s not just Newfoundland. And once you open the doors, where do you stop and how can you stop?” Meanwhile, Hearn says the hard year in the fishery may create opportunities that government and harvesters can use to consolidate the industry. “A lot of people now are having problems getting crews,” he points out. “Younger people are heading to Alberta or leaving (the industry) because the money is not there that was there three or four years ago.” That could mean fewer people and fewer boats, which in turn would leave
a bigger share of the resource for the people remaining in the industry, he says. As for FPI, Hearn says Rideout, Premier Danny Williams and provincial officials are keeping him apprised of what’s happening. “It’s a real dog’s breakfast down there (on the south coast),” Hearn allows. “People are reacting as if everything is lost. It’s not. My prediction is that three years from now the south coast area is going to be better off than ever it was. But we have to stop playing games and fooling around and pick good operators who are interested in (staying) and we have to enforce some of our rules about moving product and we can have a very solid industry.” Does that mean Hearn sees Bill Barry as the future operator of FPI’s Burin Peninsula operations? Barry has offered to buy most of FPI’s Newfoundland assets. “I haven’t seen his proposal at all,” says Hearn. “I still haven’t seen the Harbour Breton one. And there’s no reason that I should unless they’re asking for quotas or to move quotas. “But I haven’t seen anything at all from Barry and I wouldn’t want to judge whether he is the answer or not. I guess there isn’t going to be an opening if FPI doesn’t go, unless they’re forced out or something. It’s a fairly complicated situation.” cwestcott@nl.rogers.com
‘Two people can’t manage anything’ Hearn downplays joint management recommendation By Craig Westcott The Independent
J
oint management of the fishery, at least in the way that Richard Cashin suggested it, appears to be dead. The former head of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers’ union suggested the concept last fall as part of a series of recommendations designed to fix problems in the crab fishery. His report was compiled at the request of Premier Danny Williams. In it, Cashin observed that the current split of responsibility between the two levels of government is contributing to the industry’s most serious problems, including too much harvesting and processing capacity in almost all industry sectors. Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn says while Cashin’s idea is generally sound, it can’t work in all cases. “The words joint management are probably deceptive because when you talk about joint management you are more or less saying two governments should manage the resource,” says Hearn. “And two people can’t manage anything.” But Hearn says he is trying to “enhance management opportunities” with the province. “In all our stocks we’ve agreed that as we move forward the province will be involved more so that we’re not catch-
stories from here
Richard Cashin
ing them by surprise with decisions and allocations.” The province should also be involved up front in any attempt by Ottawa to consolidate the industry, he adds. One area that will see action this year is a co-ordinated effort at enforcing angling rules on salmon rivers, Hearn says. RIVER PATROLS Two years ago, the premier assigned provincial wildlife officers to patrol rivers, an area of federal jurisdiction. He said he was moving out of frustration over federal cutbacks in its enforcement efforts. Hearn says his officials have already been talking with their provincial counterparts about how to handle things this year. “So Cashin’s recommendation, generally, is an exceptionally good one, but to do it right across the board, you would create a lot of problems,” says Hearn. “And, of course, if you’re going to ask to share in the management, then you also have to share in the costs and responsibilities, and I don’t think any province is up to that.” Provincial Fisheries Minister Tom Rideout, who met with Hearn in Ottawa on Friday, did not respond to a request for an interview. cwestcott@nl.rogers.com
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APRIL 30, 2006
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 5
Innu want land claim settled before ‘consenting’ to lower Churchill project By Craig Westcott The Independent
L
abrador’s Innu Nation will insist on having its land claim settled before entertaining any idea of consenting to a development of the lower Churchill River, says one of the group’s two chief land claim negotiators. But Joseph Riche declined to say how far along the Innu and provincial and federal governments are in their land claim talks.
The province sees settling the claim as being an important prerequisite to developing the river’s remaining hydroelectric potential. The Innu are also expected to be offered an impact benefits agreement as part of the deal to develop the lower Churchill. Riche says the Innu Nation last consulted with part of its membership on the land claim issue about a month ago. “It was clear the land (claim) question has to be solved first,” Riche says. “I think our membership wants to be com-
fortable with whatever offer is going to be made … and then once you figure out that, you can go to your second question, which is the consent issue for the upper and lower Churchill.” With the province determined to decide by 2009 whether to proceed with the hydro project, provincial negotiators are expected to pick up the pace of negotiations. The situation is similar to what happened with the Labrador Inuit Association land claim once the Voisey’s Bay nickel project was discov-
ered. For years, little if any progress had been made in those negotiations. But with the nickel discovery, both the federal and provincial governments fasttracked the talks. Riche says the Innu Nation has been advised by its lawyers and consultants that it has a strong position legally for its contention that the province will need its consent before developing the lower Churchill. The rivers involved in the project were “travelling lanes” for the Innu historically, he added. Riche says the impact benefits agree-
ment the Innu reached with Inco at Voisey’s Bay will serve as a template for any deal on the lower Churchill. “The land (claim) question is directly linked to the issue of the upper and lower Churchill,” Riche says. “I think the province does want the land question solved … I think once the land question is solved, an AIP (agreement in principle) is very possible, and things will move forward fast. But you can only move as fast as your membership tells you.” cwestcott@nl.rogers.com
Injured St. John’s East MP dismisses talk of censorship By Craig Westcott The Independent
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orm Doyle may be treading lightly in Ottawa these days, but it has nothing to do with any attempts by the PMO to censor him. Rather, the St. John’s East MP is recovering from a serious fall he suffered this past winter that saw him unconscious for a few minutes on an Ottawa sidewalk. The slip on snow-dusted ice left Doyle, 60, with a badly broken ankle. He’s still experiencing pain and swelling, but that’s the only thing that is hobbling him in his job as MP. Reports that Conservative members must clear all interviews and statements with the Prime Minister’s Office simply aren’t true, he insists. “We’re free to operate the way we always did, to speak to the press and do Norm Doyle
your thing as often as you want,” Doyle says of caucus members. “We’ve never ever been given any directives by the Prime Minister’s Office or by government generally. We’re operating as freely as we ever did.” Doyle admits he can’t say if the same is true for cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries. And he notes in Opposition you’re able to operate more freely generally than you are when you are in government. But he thinks more is being made of the censorship issue than it really is. “I haven’t seen any attempt to muzzle anyone,” says Doyle, who was elected to his fourth term in January. “People are free to speak their minds. I can’t really see what the national press is talking about here.” The changes in reporters’ access to cabinet ministers inside the Parliament Buildings is “cosmetic stuff,” Doyle says.
Meanwhile, Doyle allows some things have changed for him since he took his seat on the government side. A bigger caucus means more competition for speaking opportunities in the House of Commons, he says. And his constituents’ expectations have heightened. “Your access to the ministers is so much better than it used to be and so I think the expectation, quite naturally, is that you have to produce,” Doyle says. As for the busted ankle, the former high-steel worker says things are working out. “I’m not back in top shape because I’m still limping on it, but it’s pretty good, I’m getting around. There is a lot of walking you’ve got to do up here. You’re walking from building to building constantly, so I’m going to get plenty of exercise on it.” cwestcott@nl.rogers.com
Paul Daly/The Independent
SHIPPING NEWS Keeping an eye on the comings and goings of the ships in St. John’s harbour. Information provided by the Coast Guard Traffic Centre. MONDAY Vessels arrived: Wilfred Templemen, Canada, from sea; Maersk Chignecto, Canada, from Conception Bay; Maersk Norseman, Canada, from Hibernia; ASL Sanderling, Canada, Halifax. Vessels departed: Oceanex Avalon, Canada, to Montreal; Maersk Chignecto, Canada, from Conception Bay; Saint Georges XII, from France, to St. Pierre; Maersk Norseman, Canada, to Hibernia. TUESDAY Vessels arrived: CCGS Terry Fox, Canada, from Dartmouth; Maersk Chancellor, Canada, from White Rose; Maersk Nascopie, Canada, from Hibernia. Vessels departed: ASL Sanderling, Canada, to Corner Brook. WEDNESDAY Vessels arrived: Maersk Placentia, Canada, from
Hibernia; Atlantic Hawk, Canada, from Bay Roberts. Vessels departed: Maersk Chignecto, Canada, to Terra Nova; Maersk Nascopie, Canada, to Hibernia THURSDAY Vessels arrived: Jean Charcot, Britain, from sea; Atlantic Kingfisher, Canada, from Terra Nova; Atlantic Osprey, Canada, from White Rose; Atlantic Hawk, Canada, from Conception Bay. Vessels departed: Atlantic Hawk, Canada, to Conception Bay; Atlantic Eagle, Canada, to Hibernia. FRIDAY Vessels arrived: Maersk Dispatcher, Canada, from White Rose; Funk Island Banker, Canada, from sea; Ann Harvey, Canada, from sea; Maersk Norseman, Canada, from Hibernia. Vessels departed: Maersk Chancellor, Canada, to Hibernia; Atlantic Hawk, Canada, to Conception Bay; Cabot, Canada, to Montreal; Funk Island Banker, Canada, gone fishing.
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6 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
APRIL 30, 2006
Message to the mainland An editor with the Toronto Star asked me recently to write a column about The Independent, “the little newspaper that could.” This is my article, which was to appear in the Saturday, April 29 edition of Canada’s largest daily paper.
RYAN CLEARY
Fighting Newfoundlander
T
he true story of Newfoundland has never been told, and that’s the simple truth of it. Bits and pieces have been shared, here and there, a few paragraphs about how the Vikings mistook big, fat blueberries for grapes, a line or two about how John Cabot fished with a bucket over the side of his boat, the cod were that thick when he discovered the place. After a few hundred years of grit and grind, Newfoundland became an independent country, albeit a poor one. The economy, which was shaky to begin with, took a turn for the worse in the 1930s and the nearbankrupt dominion surrendered its democracy in favour of a commissionled government, followed in 1949 by Confederation with Canada. There have been whispers of conspiracies and plots, treason and treachery ever since — based on the theory that Newfoundland didn’t so much join Canada as was maneuvered into it. Over the decades Newfoundland was classified as a drain on the rest of the country. Between seasonal work and make-work and no work at all, the
youngest province was pegged as havenot. When it came to the marriage, mainland Canada was widely seen as getting the short end of the stick, which was puzzling, considering Newfoundland and Labrador’s fantastic resource wealth. The personal insults didn’t help. Being called “goofie newfies” for 50odd years didn’t exactly boost our selfesteem. Tasteless jokes have a way of wearing a people down — after a while the punch line becomes just a punch. Attitudes began to change with the turn of the century — the incredible loss of the cod fishery was offset by the oil boom, modest by Alberta standards, but a boom nonetheless. The first issue of The Independent — the only provincewide, independently owned and operated paper — came off the press in October 2003. The weekly paper was different from the newspapers that came before it. There have been comparisons with the Sunday Express, the award winning weekly led by Michael Harris that broke the Mount Cashel story. But solid journalism isn’t enough to guaran-
tee newspaper success in this part of the world. It’s been said that the only thing you can sell a Newfoundlander on is Newfoundland itself. With that in mind, The Independent took a strong Newfoundland and Labrador focus from the start. Most of our investigations delve into motherhood issues. From the “negotiations” that led to the Terms of Union to the infamous upper Churchill contract — which saw Quebec rake in an estimated $2 billion in profit last year alone, compared to this province’s $34-million take — most projects have a distinct local flavour. The paper’s first major special project was a cost-benefit analysis of Confederation, revealing that Newfoundland has contributed much more than it has benefited since 1949. The results received national attention a few weeks after publication when Premier Danny Williams ordered the Maple Leaf removed from the front of all provincial government buildings in protest over then-prime minister Paul Martin’s refusal to follow through with a new deal on offshore oil revenues. It’s fair to say that over the past two years there’s been an awakening in Newfoundland and Labrador. Where once there was a people down on themselves, now there’s pride and hope for the future.
It’s fair to say that over the past two years there’s been an awakening in Newfoundland and Labrador. Where once there was a people down on themselves, now there’s pride and hope for the future. Ironically, the awakening is happening at a time when rural Newfoundland and Labrador is on its deathbed. Outports are fading as fast as U-Hauls can cross the Gulf as Newfoundlanders make their way west to Alberta for work. The sea around us is empty of fish to the point that it’s illegal for a boy to jig a cod from the end of a wharf. It’s been 14 years since the moratorium was imposed on commercial cod fishing and a recovery plan has yet to be introduced — how sad is that? Better yet, why is that? These are the types of questions that The Independent attempts to answer. No subject is sacred, nor should it be.
Then on April 1 — the 57th anniversary of Confederation — the newspaper shut down. Over its two-and-a-half-year run, The Independent had never made money so, when the owner restructured his company and redirected his cash flow, the paper was forced to close. The flag on the masthead — the Pink, White and Green, the old Newfoundland flag, representative of the new Newfoundland and Labrador — was lowered to half-mast. The hell with that, I thought after the last issue was out. A fighting Newfoundlander, which we’re known to be, would never lay down and die. A media campaign was launched within days to raise enough community support — in the form of subscriptions and advertising (which really pays the bills) — to resurrect The Independent. And the community responded. The Independent, which is now partly owned by the editorial department, is back up and running, with plans in place to put a copy in every nook and cranny of Newfoundland and Labrador in short order. The story isn’t about “the little newspaper that could.” No, the real angle is the little province that must. Ryan Cleary is The Independent’s editor-in-chief. ryan.cleary@theindependent.ca
YOUR VOICE PM should ‘act as a leader’, lower flag to half-mast Editor’s note: the following letter was written to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, with a copy forwarded to The Independent. The purpose of Remembrance Day is to honour the passing of people who died fighting for our freedoms. We do this as a reminder to ourselves to never let it happen again, and to honour their supreme sacrifice. Canada is a model to the world for what a progressive society should strive toward. Not lowering the flag over Parliament is unacceptable. A flag flown half-mast means that someone recently gave their life in service, ultimately acting on decisions made by you and your colleagues. I call for you to bring back the recent tradition of honouring fallen soldiers at all times — not only on Remembrance Day. Remembrance is not a sacrament to be practiced once a year and quickly forgotten until the next. It is having a reverence for sacrifice when sacrifices are made. Avoidance of bad press and appeasing our allies is a poor excuse. Act as a leader, that’s why we hired you.
Show the U.S. and the rest of the world that Canada respects its troops and civilians. Do not follow blindly after their policies. Denying media coverage and keeping the flag at full-mast has not been successful as a long-term strategy of the Bush administration for retaining the public’s support and will have less success in this country. The media have a responsibility to cover these stories in a tasteful and sensitive manner and have given no reason to endure censorship. The Liberals covertly squandered our money without accountability and were ousted partly because of this, but now we have to contend with a government that wants to squander lives without showing accountability or respect. Anyone can fly to Kandahar, give the thumbs-up and shake a few hands, but will you be patriotic enough to reverse this policy and show respect to the survivors of the soldiers who have fallen? Or maybe you can tell them to just forget about it, stick with tradition, and wait until Nov. 11th to grieve. Ben Turpin, Topsail
Mistakes, we’ve made a few Dear editor, So very happy to have you up and rising again! I certainly enjoy reading The Independent! I am a critic though and must tell you that the publication went out with a typo — the sentence, Craig Westcott has also joined out team as a reporter and columnist,
should read, Craig Westcott has also joined our team as a reporter and columnist. Keep up the good work and I look forward to future reading! Cathy White-Carter, Corner Brook
In support of paper carriers Dear editor, Well done for keeping The Independent going — it was a lovely surprise to get a copy in my mailbox on Easter Sunday! I know this might sound sentimental, but I’d rather pay cash for the paper as we get it delivered by an older man who seems to be using the paper route to teach his grandson about work responsibilities and han-
dling money. My daughter delivered papers and I know how much she learned from the experience — including meeting her customers who gave her tips! Best wishes for the continuing success of The Independent and thank you. Christine Draper, St. John’s
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
Toddler eye for the pigsty
I
t starts every morning. I free my son from the confines of his crib and he stands in awe of the uncluttered floor and full toy box. I can almost hear him thinking that it just needs a little something. I admire his resolve. It must be infuriating to wake up each morning with all the handiwork of the day before destroyed by parents who like to see a strip of carpet without a toy on it, who scrub works of crayon art off the wall, and like to bathe in the place he thinks his dinosaurs should live. I understand his frustration since mine exists as the antithesis of his. We both futilely destroy the other’s work and hope upon hope it will stay the same as we left it. We are on warring sides. Our nights, once our son has gone to bed, now consist of battle plans and reconstruction efforts. Every night my husband and I carefully put the toys back where they belong. We search at length for the TV remote and put it back in our hiding place up high, next to the television. Suddenly, the whole remote part of the remote control has lost its effectiveness and meaning. That’s OK. It will only stay on the kid’s channel anyway. During our nighttime missions, we also search for the lost things. The child is a mastermind of hiding stuff. We sit and try to think like the enemy. “Where would he put the car keys?” we say repeatedly, eyes glazed over. Thinking of the most unlikely places imaginable, we find them under our mattress. We were pathetically excited (and disgusted) after finally finding the sippy cup of milk that had been missing for two days, hidden carefully behind my dresser. I regularly organize the toy section of our home in an absurd effort to keep some order to the madness, buying a large toy box where big things migrated to the top of the box and
TINA CHAULK Guest column Our nights, once our son has gone to bed, now consist of battle plans and reconstruction efforts. Every night my husband and I carefully put the toys back where they belong. small things disappeared into the bottom, also known as the black hole of toys. I later went with a toy case — a colourful bookcase I filled with nice, neat, organized baskets. Each basket is labeled — one for vehicles, one for animals of every variety, one for blocks, one for noisemakers (filled with old batteries so they always sound sick but quieter than the creators intended), and two for miscellaneous things. It was after I created this particular toy system that my husband became a traitor to the other side. He feels no need to adhere to my organization and tosses anything my son plays with into the first basket he sees. I am just as likely to find my soup ladle in the animal basket as a purple hippopotamus. His explanation when I complain is “at least I put the things away.” I sometimes whisper to my son that Daddy likes it when you put bananas in his boots. My child is kind and always aims to please.
In the battle between neatness and his post-apocalyptic decorating scheme, I fear the boy is winning. There are times I just give up. I don’t care enough to fish the frying pan out of the bathtub or the spatula from under the bed. Occasionally I leave the can of soup under the coffee table. Sometimes the peanut butter-smeared cordless phone stays in the magazine rack. No one calls anyway. I have a toddler who thinks spaghetti sauce is finger paint and my powers of conversation consist of “peek-a-boo” (although hubby likes that) and “did you go potty?” Besides, I can’t remember the last time I read a magazine or anything written for an adult. I just surrender and admit that cleaning up is pointless, like trying to lose weight or win the lottery. But he never gives in. He is relentless. He will not rest until every room is chaos, each cupboard is empty, and something extremely hard, or very soft, is hidden in the toes of our shoes (especially Daddy’s boots). If company ever does come over, he must ensure that an embarrassing feminine product is prominently displayed next to the hors d’oeuvres. My child is a genius at redecorating. He is thorough, precise, and persistent. One day I will be proud of these skills. I will admire some work of art he has created or a science project that will wow me but until then, I will continue in my struggle against his powers. I will march on, ever hopeful that one day he will turn to me and say the three words that make motherhood worth it all, that will fill my eyes with grateful tears: “Let’s clean up.” Tina Chaulk is a mother and author living in Chamberlains, Conception Bay South. Despite her unending work of organizing toys, her first novel, This Much is True, is due to be published this summer.
APRIL 30, 2006
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 7
The left is a mess
Bob Rae has never been a true believer, says Ivan Morgan, and that’s a good thing
I
am interested in Bob Rae’s candidacy for the Liberal party. There has been a lot of sneering at his announcement, as he used to be a New Democrat and now he is running for the leadership of the federal Liberals, but I like some of the things he has to say. Why shouldn’t he take a stab at it? The Liberals have always been ideologically amorphous. “Whichever way the wind blows” has always been their strategy, and a wildly successful one at that. Chrétien and Martin, while embracing social liberal values, ruled like conservatives while calling themselves Liberals. They did so with the able assistance of Preston Manning and Stockwell Day, whose Reform Party helped tie the right wing up in ideological knots and out of power for years. But that was then and this is now. Now we are seeing a very different political landscape. Now it is the New Democratic Party’s turn to be the spoiler. The Conservative Party of Canada is just that — a conservative party. There is no com-
IVAN MORGAN
Rant & Reason mitment to progressiveness. They are true believers. They have a conservative agenda, and they are pursuing it — and with the opposition divided between New Democrats and Liberals and separatists, they have more than a fighting chance at ruling. I have always been scared to death of true believers, regardless of their political stripe. I define them as people who, having decided upon their ideology, feel comfortable changing reality to fit what they believe to be true. True believers are inflexible. True believers are determined to make you see things their way. True believers cannot have their minds changed. While once a New Democrat, Bob Rae has never been a true believer, but is what
I call a pragmatic socialist. He wants to unite the left. So do I. With the conservatives united, and increasingly receiving public support, Rae feels it is important that the left get their act together. So do I. But that’s going to be a problem. Don’t look to Jack Layton to fall on his sword for the good of the country. He thinks he can supplant the Liberals, who are on the ropes at the moment, as the leader of the left wing in Canada. I don’t think he can. That’s where Mr. Rae comes into the picture. Having been that rarest of creatures, a NDP premier of Ontario, his leftwing credentials are untouchable. Having been an NDPer, he knows first hand how divisive, shallow and vindictive many of their supporters can be. He was faced, in 1993, with the paradoxical challenge of cutting billions from the provincial government budget while also saving public sector jobs. His solution? Rae Days. He decided to force public servants to take unpaid leave as part of a way to fight the deficit. The public service unions flipped, fought him all the way
and shanghaied him at the polls the next time round. By God, they were going to teach Bob Rae a lesson. He did manage to save almost $2 billion dollars and not lay off any employees, but that didn’t matter. In the next election they worked hard to bring him down. Mike Harris’ Conservatives were elected instead, and they went about laying off approximately 16,000 government workers. I saw that coming. They apparently didn’t. Like it or not, we are heading back into politics divided along clear ideological lines. And my side is in a mess. The Liberals are rudderless, leaderless and lacklustre. They have forgotten how to pander to the public. The NDP, on the other hand, is in fighting form, as trim and as focussed as Preston Manning and Stockwell Day ever were. Under these conditions, the Conservatives need only hold the line, keep their folk in check and their cards close to their chests, and they should walk away in the next election with a
majority. Should the NDP stop, pack up their tents and leave the political scene? Not on your life. We need their voice in our electoral debates. But the electorate might want to listen to Bob Rae too. Granted, he has more than a little political baggage. He was clumsy in governing and he has a reputation for being a cold fish. But he is a pragmatic left-winger with (horror of horrors) new ideas. The NDP will brand him a traitor and a turncoat. In 1993 the public service unions of Ontario were so out of touch that they fought the Rae Days tooth and nail. They didn’t see it coming. If Bob Rae has his way, the Liberal party will duke it out with the NDP for the hearts and minds of the left-wing voter. My advice to those voters? Think very carefully about who you support in the next election. Look at Stephen Harper. It’s coming again. Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail .com
EYE ON THE PRIZE
YOUR VOICE ‘Couldn’t be happier’ Dear editor, Just got my issue. I couldn’t be happier. You’re running the highest quality newspaper in the country, in my mind. There are a lot of us who thank you for your commitment and passion. Thank you and good luck, sir! Seamus O’Regan, Toronto, Ont.
Mayor’s behaviour ‘like a hungry rabid dog’ Dear editor, I am writing to express my views on the way our mayor, Andy Wells, behaves in chambers. Mr. Wells has always behaved in an obnoxious manner toward council but he’s even worse since the last election. I work in the public sector and if one of my bosses spoke to me the way Mr. Wells speaks to some of the members of our city council I would be able to press charges. If one of my bosses tried to intimidate and bully me in the way Mr. Wells tries to bully council members I would launch a human rights complaint against him. There is no need for a person to personally attack another council member. Mr. Wells has always been loud and insulting, but these days his insults are beyond anything even remotely acceptable. I personally have called my ward councillor and told him that I think
something should be done to keep Mr. Wells’ behaviour in check. Does he have to behave like a hungry rabid dog being tossed a bone every time he’s in chambers? I think he absolutely loves trying to intimidate. Mr. Wells has to adhere to a higher standard of decorum. Some people love bullies and have a great time watching our Andy metaphorically beat up council. I remember when I was growing up some people would not go to a hockey game if a certain player was off with an injury because they knew there would be far fewer fights when he was not playing. The majority of us are not like that. We want fairness and decorum in all aspects of life, including council chambers. Majorie Osbourne, St. John’s
A Newfoundland hockey hero Dear editor, You ask any hockey fan in Newfoundland and Labrador to name one of the most exciting players from the 1960s and ’70s and the name Jimmy Dawe would be at the top of the list. The native of Grand Falls passed away in Labrador City on April 7, leaving behind a legacy in senior hockey unmatched by most. The little guy from central Newfoundland was one of the greatest players to ever lace on a pair of skates. Known for his exceptional speed, grit and determination, Jimmy Dawe completed his career as the fifth leading scorer in league history with 631 points — fifth all time in goals (291), sixth in assists (327), and fifth in games played (359). He also took time to spend 511 minutes in the penalty box. Jimmy Dawe won five Herder championships during his career. He won his first in 1959 with the Grand Falls Andcos before being sought out by George Faulkner to come and
play with the Conception Bay CeeBees in 1963. The CeeBees became a powerhouse during the 1960s and Dawe won two more Herder’s in 1965 and 1967. After the CeeBees folded in 1969 he moved back to Grand Falls and helped the Cataracts win two more championships in 1971 and 1972. He closed out his career in Labrador City with the Corol Lakers. Dawe’s playoff totals were just as remarkable — 76 goals and 55 assists. He had 14 points in 14 Allan Cup appearances. I had the pleasure of nominating Jimmy Dawe for the provincial hockey hall of fame in 2000. To be able to attend the banquet and see one of my hockey heroes of Newfoundland senior hockey receive his award was indeed a thrill. Rest in peace, Jimmy, and thanks for the memories. Jerry Elliott, St. John’s
Fish processing magnate Bill Barry (above) confirmed April 27 he has started preliminary discussions with FPI about buying most of its plants and trawlers. Fish, Food and Allied Workers’ president Earle McCurdy says the union will fight Barry’s plans; Premier Danny Williams has said he’s willing to look at the proposal. Paul Daly/The Independent
Don’t shoot coyotes just yet Dear editor, There have been calls lately for a bounty on coyotes suspected of threatening local caribou herds. But think about it — until completion of a caribou population survey we don’t even know if there really is a problem, let alone what’s causing it. Like coyotes, moose are not native here and compete directly with caribou for food. Could moose be the culprit? What about hunting? I applaud government’s decision to fund the survey, but if there’s a problem with the caribou population is the
province willing to go further and find out why? If hunting is the problem, caribou licences would need to be restricted or even halted. If it’s competition from moose, then that animal — not the coyote — may need to be culled. Either way, there could be a major backlash. Guides and outfitters depend on both species and would be severely impacted. The adventure tourism industry would suffer and a ripple effect would be seen at hotels, restaurants and bars. The outcry from the public, business sector and animal rights groups may be
deafening to our politicians. Maybe the problem is none of the above. Unfortunately, to find that out we need to wait before loading our guns and blasting away. The easy way out is to determine if the herds are declining and, if so, kill the coyotes. It’s the easy thing to do, but is it right? To do what’s right we need to wait. We also need political leaders who aren’t afraid of the truth, no matter what it turns out to be. Myles Higgins, Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s
Can ex-pats ever come home? Dear editor, Ryan Cleary’s column, Moving On (April 23rd edition), sparked an interest in me. I’m not surprised he wrote that after reading goodbye articles from him just a few weeks ago. From the days of writing for our St. Francis Harbour Grace high school publication Spindrift (I was teacher/moderator there in the 1970s) to The Evening Telegram and Newfoundland Herald etc., this intelligent editor of the now “reborn” Independent is once again continuing to make his living here in Newfoundland.
Good stuff! In the column, Ryan’s sister says, “Returning East isn’t in the cards — not now, not ever.” Interesting to hear her say that. Most Newfoundlanders I know living away still talk of retiring here someday. Or is that just a dream of returning to days of unlocked doors, open fields, clean air, fantastic summers and autumns and long drives out around the scenic coves? So to gutsy/delving Ryan, sternfaced Ivan Morgan, gifted-quilled Stephanie Porter, artistic-lensed Paul
Daly and all the rest of The Independent troupe, thanks for not “movin’ on” and “staying where yer to.” Glad to see you’re back. I’ve “freely” enjoyed reading the paper just sitting down at beautiful Strawberry Hill and/or Humber Valley Resort with the countless folks from the U.K., but I’m glad to say I paid for this copy and will continue to do so to support a great publication. Mike Madigan, Pasadena
APRIL 30, 2006
8 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
APRIL 30, 2006
IN CAMERA
‘We have great support’ Before Sept. 11, 2001, Mahmoud Haddara says the Muslim community in this province mostly kept to themselves. But since that “crisis” in the Islamic world, they have opened up, encouraging Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to understand their beliefs and customs. Photo editor Paul Daly and managing editor Stephanie Porter stopped by the Al-Noor Mosque in St. John’s last week for a tour, and to talk about the ever-growing local Muslim population.
M
ahmoud Haddara figures there might have been 20 Muslim families in St. John’s when he moved to the city in 1986. Since then — and particularly in the last five years — the community has grown steadily, and now includes at least 100 families. In fact, he says, they’ve almost outgrown the mosque they built only 15 years ago. “This is our dilemma now,” says Haddara, president of the local Muslim association, standing beside the prayer room in the AlNoor Mosque on Logy Bay Road. “We have a basement downstairs where we have our social gatherings. Now this is not enough, we can’t hold our dinners and teas downstairs, we have to go somewhere else.” The prayer room, with its high ceiling and tall windows, is the focal point of the mosque. The walls are white and unadorned; the wooden floor covered with red and blue prayer mats aligned so those in worship will face Mecca. It’s easy to feel an immediate inner calm in the simple, yet immaculate and well cared for surroundings. On the wall just outside the prayer room are five clocks, indicating the proper times for each of the daily prayers — they change over the course of the year, depending on sunrise and sunset. Although it is not necessary to come to the central location to pray — any clean place will do — Haddara says the mosque is generally opened up for three of the prayer times on most weekdays. But on Friday, attendance at the midday prayer is considered obligatory. “It’s like the (Christian) Sunday service,” Haddara explains. “This is a congregation prayer, this is a must … it takes about half an hour and is within the lunch hour of most people.” More than 150 worshippers, many of them university students, show up for the Friday sermon and prayer. The main room is packed, and chairs and tables are removed from the nearby library to accommodate overflow. Haddara says there are plans to purchase a short-circuit television, so some can gather downstairs and still be attuned to what’s going on. At a time when many religious institutions are dealing with shrinking congregations, Haddara — who has been Imam, or prayer leader, of the mosque since 1990 — smiles as he admits an expanding Muslim community is a good issue to have to deal with. “The latest statistics from StatsCan say there are 600 Muslims in the province,” he says. “But of course not all Muslims come to the mosque … I would guess we get about 300 for major celebrations and things like that. “It’s funny because, well, it’s tragic too, because some of them only come when they are dead — for the final prayer.” Haddara attributes the growing community, in part, to the healthy economy of St. John’s. “Many of them are physicians,” he says. “Many are working in the oil and gas industry, for the provincial government, and there are a number of students.” Haddara, originally from Egypt, studied in the U.S. and worked in Kuwait before moving to Newfoundland to take a position in Memorial’s engineering faculty. He talks briefly about some of the most
basic customs of Islam. There are no icons, idols, or paintings of living things — the creative energies of Muslims find outlets in calligraphy, geometric patterns, and architecture. All able-bodied Muslims are expected to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, at least once in their lifetime. (Haddara has been twice, and calls it “a unique experience,” detailing the movements and prayers made in a crowd of two to three million other people.) “One of the things that is stressed in this religion is the balance between physical hygiene and spiritual hygiene,” he continues. “Before one prays, one has to wash in a ritual wash. Even if one is clean, spic and span, just to stress the point. The clothes have to be clean and the place of prayer has to be clean.” This is the practical reason why shoes must be removed and left in the foyer before entering the mosque. Haddara is used to giving these kind of descriptions, to answering the most simple and obvious questions about Islam. With his relatively flexible university schedule, the public relations duties of the association — school visits, tours, media requests — often fall on his shoulders. “The understanding (of Islam) has grown a lot here since 2001,” he says. “Before 2001, we were a quiet bunch, we minded our own business, and they left us alone. “After 2001, we realized that we have to tell people who we are and what Islam is all about because of what happened (on Sept. 11). We started to have a more active role, conducting more tours and open-door events.” Haddara says the mosque receives many visitors during every public event. “The comment I hear from visitors again and again is ‘I have been passing by this building for years, and I have been always wondering what is going on inside.’ “People are interested, and it is a very good environment for us.” Though the Muslim community in the province hardly has a long history, Haddara says he feels “lucky” to live in Newfoundland and Labrador. He mentions the cartoon furor of several months ago — when caricatures of Muhammad were printed in a number of international papers, sparking outrage and protest among Muslims — and that there was no backlash felt in St. John’s. “There was the first Gulf War, the second Gulf War, Sept. 11, all these were crises in our community, and we had great support from the community in Newfoundland, from the people, from the clergy, from the media, so we really appreciate that,” says Haddara. “In the Middle East, governments keep an eye on Muslims very closely, you have to be careful there. Here, we come and go … I think we have a different psyche here in Newfoundland.” Haddara ends with a few words he’d like all to hear, as he encourages Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to try to understand “how the Muslim thinks and what they do. “You have the good and the bad, it’s all there,” he says. “When you see something happening that’s not good, don’t say that ‘this is what the Muslims do.’ “We are normal human beings and it is a normal community.”
A stunning collection of photography from the portfolio of The Independent’s own Paul Daly. Available this summer. To preorder your copy, contact Boulder Publications at 895-6483.
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 9
APRIL 30, 2006
10 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
Lucky By Craig Westcott The Independent
C
Mary Walsh
Paul Daly/The Independent
Hatching in limbo T
he cast and crew involved in CBC’s Hatching, Matching and Dispatching are still waiting to hear whether the show will air for another season. Despite expecting to find out one way or another over a month ago, recent changes in high management positions at the CBC seem to be delaying line-up announcements. “It’s very difficult,” says the show’s creator and lead actress, Mary Walsh,
“but the CBC is all brand new people, so I don’t know.” The fate of the dysfunctional Furey family, who offer ambulance, wedding and funeral services in outport Newfoundland, is in the hands of officials such as CBC’s brand new executive director of arts and entertainment programming, Fred Fuchs. Meantime, Walsh is also working to bring Young Triffie’s Been Made Away With to the big screen by summer
2006. The film, based on Ray Guy’s stage play of the same name, is a dark, comedic thriller set in a small Newfound land community in the 1940s. Young Triffie’s Been Made Away With (Walsh’s film directorial debut) is co-produced by Montreal-based, Oscar-winning production company Cinemaginaire. Shooting is complete and Walsh says the producers are currently wrapping up editing. — Clare-Marie Gosse
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huck Furey is writing a book, a collection of essays about his life in politics and some of the characters he’s met along the way, including Chile’s former dictator Agusto Pinochet and rock singer Rod Stewart. But he’s not going to publish it yet. “You’ll see why,” he promises. “It wouldn’t be proper for me as chief electoral officer to come out with a book about my thinking of politicians and political life.” His big regret is that he didn’t keep a diary while he was in politics. What reading that would make. From partying with Brian Tobin and western Newfoundland’s political mafia, to falling in and out of love, to governing in the lean, mean years of the early 1990s, Furey’s political life has been one big drama. That life enters a new chapter Monday when Furey becomes the province’s chief electoral officer and the man responsible for enforcing conflict of interest rules among MHAs. Even Furey admits it’s kind of like putting the lion in charge of the zebras. But he’s determined to play his part according to the script laid out in the Elections Act. As for the members he will overseeing, Furey is well acquainted with the pressures and temptations facing them. Like many good stories, the one about how Chuck Furey got into politics begins with a bottle of rum. It also involves Brian Tobin. It started in 1980. Furey was teaching English and drama at a school in Stephenville Crossing. He was organizing a trip for about 40 students to go to Vancouver to present a play. But he needed money. That’s when he contacted the local MP. Furey says Brian Tobin showed up to see the play, cried, laughed and came up with the money. And the two became friends. “Drinking some rum one night,” Furey recalls, “Tobin said, ‘Why don’t you come to work for me?’” Previous to this, Furey had helped his friend John Ottenheimer campaign for the Tories and worked on the federal campaign of fellow St. FX alum Phonse Faour, who ran for the New Democrats. “But it was just a lark and a bit of fun,” Furey says. “I never really had a political affiliation or any political philosophy.” Nevertheless, Furey became Tobin’s executive assistant. At the time, the Member for Humber-Baie Verte-St. Barbe was the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. Tobin and Furey travelled the world on government business. Furey’s new job included tending to the constituency needs of the Great Northern Peninsula part of Tobin’s riding. So when the 1985 provincial election rolled around and the Liberals were trolling for candidates, Furey was pressured to run there. He won by just 14 votes (this increased to 15 in a recount). But with his good looks and talent for performing before the media, he soon became one of the Opposition’s stars. “All politics is drama, all politics is the moment and all politics is timing,” Furey admits now, when asked whether his background in theatre helped his career. “And if you have a sense of timing about you, a sense of confidence about you, if you have a sense of what you’re about and what the issues are, then it’s a play where the script changes everyday. And you’re the author of the script.”
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The theme for NAOSH Week 2006 — Review. Refresh. Revitalize — promotes the ever-present need for ongoing development and encouragement of safety and health practices, processes and procedures at home, at work and in the community. To Review is to look around you and ask questions! To Refresh is the process of updating, improving, making new! To Revitalize is to breathe new life and vitality to the health and safety message. The SAFE Work social marketing campaign works hand-in-hand with the theme of NAOSH week. For the past two years, the Commission has forged a new path in workplace injury prevention in its quest to build a safety culture all over the province. It started with two SAFE Work television commercials and posters and now three new television and radio commercials have been produced as part of the next phase of this social marketing campaign. This campaign encourages everyone to think before they take an action and understand that preventing accidents is everyone’s responsibility in every area of their lives. The Commission is committed to changed people’s attitudes and behaviors when it comes to safety. It is important that safety become a priority for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians ...everyday.
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www.whscc.nf.ca
APRIL 30, 2006
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 11
man?
From party animal to pilgrim, Chuck Furey has always done things in full
Paul Daly/The Independent
Furey’s last year in Opposition was under a new leader — Clyde Wells. Furey was named his parliamentary assistant. When the Liberals won the government in 1989, Furey was sworn in as minister of Development, responsible for his favourite portfolio, tourism. But it was a lean period to be in politics. “We had to be ruthless or the province would have been bankrupt,” Furey says. “We had to go in there and cut and slash and burn and chop back and shut schools down, close hospital beds and lay off people.” It was during this period of fiscal austerity, however, when Furey encountered the high life of being a cabinet minister. It cost him his marriage. The experience makes him sympathetic to the demands on politicians today. “Newfoundlanders and Labradorians generally are very hard on their politicians,” Furey says. “Getting elected … is the easy part. “It’s brutal on family life. I know, I’ve gone through a divorce. And I’m not blaming the divorce on political life, I blame the divorce squarely on me … I was far too young to get married and I was stupid to get married. “But politics didn’t help. It didn’t help that I was gone three days out of seven, it didn’t help that I was working 14 hour days,
i t didn’t help that I was eating incorrectly, it didn’t help that I was going out to cocktail parties and getting half smashed dealing with people …” Furey says the pressure is even worse for politicians now, thanks to cellphones and e-mail and Blackberries. Everybody expects attention right away. He can relate to the pressure. In February 1993, Furey and his new partner won $2.5 million in the Lotto 6-49. A month later, he was excoriated in the legislature for spending $800 of taxpayers’ money on a new briefcase. It was actually $630, and Furey paid it back. But not without being chastized by Wells. Less than three years later, Furey had a new boss, Brian Tobin. It was party time again. Furey was shuffled to the tough portfolio of Mines and Energy, but at least the spending reins inside government had started to loosen. And by December 1998, just in time for Soiree ’99, Tobin moved Furey back to his dream job in Tourism. The pair announced they would have to embark on a six city national tour with a Newfoundland chef and the Ennis Sisters in tow. If it cost $50,000, or even $100,000, Furey told reporters, it would be money well spent in terms of the tourism interest that would be generated.
But it wasn’t all partying. Furey ran into trouble when reporters discovered that he had given $20,000 of his department’s money to the children of his friend Brian Babb of Harbour Grace. John and Rebecca Babb had moved to the mainland to train as figure skaters, but Furey insisted the money was an investment in two great ambassadors for the province. The sporting community, long starved of funding, didn’t agree. After this, Furey seemed to devolve. He lashed out at his federal cousin Gerry Byrne, over the state of the Marine Atlantic ferry service, attacked Canada Post for failing to recognize Newfoundland’s Viking Celebration with a stamp, and fought off charges from constituents he wasn’t spending enough time in his district. By 2000, with his buddy Tobin heading back to Ottawa, Furey realized it was time to contemplate his own future. But then he did something he now regrets. “I took a kind of cowardly way out of politics,” he admits. “I should have resigned on my own time and perhaps stayed around and helped the Grimes administration … but I got pushed into running federally in St. John’s West and put my body on the ballot and the tracks for the federal party and God knows it got steam-rolled over.” But he did have enough sense to stay out of the ensuing leadership race for Tobin’s old job as premier. “I knew when Tobin left it was going to be a disaster,” Furey says. “I knew that when Tobin left, and the way and manner in which he left, that it would leave a vacuum and a divisive party behind and I was right.” After politics, Furey started to pull his personal life back together. He and his beautiful 20-something year old girlfriend Vanessa Doyle headed to Spain where they walked the famous Santiago de Compostela pilgrim’s trail. Throughout that journey, says Furey, Doyle kept the whip to his butt and helped him kick cigarettes and get in better physical and emotional shape. “I fell madly in love with her over there,” says Furey. “We’re getting married in August. She’s the light of my life and has become a real soul mate.” Meanwhile, he has a new job to do. Furey says as chief electoral officer he intends to modernize the province’s electoral system and make Newfoundland the national leader in electronic voting. The question is, will he be able to resist the inevitable tug back towards politics? Furey admits the fire in a politician’s belly never fully burns out. “I don’t know how long I’ll be there,” he admits of the new job. “Certainly it’s my determination to take the province to the next election, which has a fixed date of October 9, 2007, and that’s not too far away.” Furey will continue to pick away at the writing. It’s something he loves to do, he says. Looking back on what some people might describe as a life and a half — and the new turn it’s about to take — Furey acknowledges the obvious. “I am a lucky man.” cwestcott@nl.rogers.com
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APRIL 30, 2006
12 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
LIFE STORY
Dr. Olds goes to Twillingate American doctor built career, launched a forerunner of medicare, awarded Order of Canada JOHN OLDS 1906-1985 By Jenny Higgins For The Independent
E
ach summer in the 1930s, Twillingate residents were accustomed to seeing half a dozen American medical students intern in their small community on Newfoundland’s northeast coast. The summer experience “down north,” as the students referred to it, was intended to provide senior medical students the opportunity to experience rural medicine. The interns remained for the season before returning to the U.S. where many set up practice in much more affluent metropolitan areas. One student, however, fell in love with Twillingate during his stay and returned to the community a year after graduating — on the same day he got married, and against his father’s wishes. He became the region’s most important, and at times only physician and even invented a forerunner of Medicare to help his poorer patients obtain medical attention. John McKee Olds was born in Windsor, Connecticut on March 27, 1906. He belonged to an upper-class family whose members were pleased when Olds entered the prestigious John Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Olds’ father, who hoped his son would obtain a respectable position treating society’s upper-crust, was shocked when his young son turned down a summer job at the revered Duke University Hospital in 1930 to instead complete an elective in the little-known community of Twillingate. Undaunted by his father’s objections, Olds travelled to Twillingate, where he enjoyed his time so much he asked for permission to skip the first portion of his final year at medical school to spend a full six months treating the region’s patients. He received permission from his supervisors and censure from his father, who wrote an angry letter saying Olds was wasting his talents and staining
the family’s honour. Undaunted, Olds remained in Twillingate and worked out of its small Notre Dame Bay Memorial Hospital, which had been founded by the Grenfell Mission in 1924 and served the roughly 35,000 people living in the villages dotting the bay. The six months up, Olds returned to Baltimore, where he finished his medical degree and then completed a one-year surgical internship at John Hopkins. Immediately following that, and again against his father’s wishes, Olds accepted a residency at Twillingate’s hospital. On a fall day in 1932, the 26-year-old Olds boarded a boat headed from New York to Newfoundland. That same morning, Olds married Elizabeth Arms, a 1930 graduate from the John Hopkins School for Nurses. Like Olds, Arms had spent a summer interning in Twillingate and had fallen in love with the remote community. Once in Twillingate, Olds worked as a full-time doctor under the supervision of Charles Parsons and earned $50 a month. Parsons, a surgeon, was in charge of the cash-strapped hospital, which faced a constant threat of having to shut its doors, while employing a small staff of underpaid and overworked people. To further complicate matters, Parsons fell ill soon after Olds arrived and was forced to leave Twillingate in 1935. Olds, not yet 30, stepped into Parsons’ shoes and become both superintendent and chief physician of Twillingate’s 120bed hospital. RESOURCEFUL THINKER Fortunately, Olds proved not only a skilled surgeon, but a resourceful thinker. In 1936, he devised a method of treating patients who lived in communities along Notre Dame Bay’s coastline by turning an ordinary fishing boat, the Bonnie Nell, into a travelling clinic. During winter, doctors in rural areas usually made house calls by borrowing their patients’ dog sleds, but Olds thought making the arrangements to obtain the sled ate up valuable time. Instead, he travelled on a pair of skis pulled by his two dogs — a mutt named
Spot and an Irish Setter named Jake. One of Olds’ most revolutionary contributions to Notre Dame Bay health care, however, occurred when he devised a new, unorthodox plan — perhaps the first of its kind in North America — to allow the region’s poorer patients to obtain medical treatment through what he called a “contract system.” An early form of Medicare, the contract system asked each person living in the region to pay 44 cents each year to receive nearly free medical care in return. Although he brought affordable, accessible and high-quality health care to Notre Dame Bay, both Olds and his wife grew ill in the 1940s. In 1945, an overworked Olds contracted tuberculosis (there was no known treatment at the time), but stubbornly refused to take any time off. In 1944, Elizabeth suffered an infection that resulted in a progressive disease of the kidneys. She died from renal failure in 1954. Her condition devastated Olds, who developed a drinking problem that dogged him for years. Eventually things improved. Olds was ultimately able to control his alcoholism and, once a treatment for tuberculosis became available, he overcame that as well. He also married again — twice. First, briefly, to a local nurse named Stella Manuel, and later to another nurse from Nova Scotia, named Gloria Chisholm. The couple remained together for the rest of Olds’ life. In 1966, at 60, Olds finally became a Canadian citizen — after he had been living in Newfoundland for 34 years. Three years later, Olds’ adopted country gave him its highest honour, the Order of Canada, for his services at the Notre Dame Bay Memorial Hospital. Olds continued to work at the hospital for more than a decade, until he retired in 1983. On Sept. 6, 1985, after devoting more than 50 years of his life to the patients in Notre Dame Bay, Dr. John Olds died. He was 79. When asked why he had stayed in Twillingate for so long, Olds replied, “Because I liked it.”
‘Just a pair of ill-fitting tracksuit bottoms …’
A
pparently I’m a “style slob.” I discovered this fascinating piece of information recently while browsing MSN, UK. To be honest I was bored, procrastinating, and idly clicked on a link that said: “MSN Lifestyle is conducting the first comprehensive study into the UK’s Lifestyle Quotient (LQ) … find out how high maintenance you are.” It was a quiz and I had to pick answers from around 15 questions, such as: Do you employ any help at home? How much do you spend on clothes a month? and how often do you indulge in beauty treatments? According to MSN, the average “LQ” in England is 105 and women have a higher LQ than men (shock, horror). I scored a whopping 53. MSN’s response to that was: “LQ? What LQ? You’re just a pair of ill-fitting tracksuit bottoms away from being beyond help!” and then it proceeded to compare me with Vicky
Pollard, a pink tracksuit-wearing, bleached-blonde, obnoxious, teenaged character with about 13 children, played by chubby comedian Matt Lucas in the sketch comedy show Little Britain. That’s some heavy-duty, socially scientific research MSN is conducting. I couldn’t help feeling mildly astonished that just because I don’t spend considerable money on designer outfits, facials and redecorating my home every six months I’m a slob. Anyway, isn’t being low maintenance — within reason — a good thing? The UK’s style standards do tend to be higher than Canada’s (particularly Newfoundland, where nine months out of the year a woolly jumper wins out over a pashmina), but seriously, either I’ve been Newfoundlandized to a ridiculously low level of maintenance, or the UK (and society in general) is totally out of whack. The fact I was dubbed a style slob
would be of great amusement to my husband, who can attest to the fact I generally take at least an hour to get ready and spend unholy amounts of money in Shoppers Drug Mart. Admittedly, I no longer highlight my hair (contrary to the picture above) and avoid the hairdresser until my split ends start to multiply like gremlins; I dislike anyone fussing over me, so beauty treatments (barring massages) are a no-no; and I don’t go to the gym. But I like to look good. I read fashion magazines, wear makeup and shave my legs. All in all, since I came to Canada, I’d say the only thing that’s changed about my LQ is my shopping habits, which have definitely dwindled. Usually when it comes to shopping, I like to browse leisurely along a high street, wandering in and out of affordable stores and stopping for the occasional coffee. Unfortunately St. John’s doesn’t really accommodate that.
CLARE-MARIE GOSSE Brazen Although there’s a handful of great stores downtown, they’re few and generally out of my price range. The mall, to me, is an unbearable hell of a place, visited only when strictly necessary; a shopping destination I will occasionally plough through with ruthless precision, head down and feet flying from one store to the next. The fact I was dubbed a slob just goes to show how much pressure women face today in a world obsessed with looks, full of air-brushed celebrities and companies promising to turn you into a goddess with their next newfangled product. Then there’s the whole weight issue/body image thing.
Every single magazine, lifestyle website, TV show and commercial seems to be trying to tell people how to lose weight, as if they’ve all stumbled across a magical solution to melt pounds. I’ve had my brush with fads like the high protein Atkins diet (which, by the way, works like a charm if you want to be miserable and mealobsessed along with being skinny) and I can honestly say there’s only one way to stay in shape: Don’t overeat, don’t go overboard on carbohydrates, eat protein, try to eat fruit or vegetables with every meal and keep moving on a regular basis. And for God’s sake, don’t stress about it — and eat chocolate if you bloody well want to. Being female is complicated, because on the other side of the coin, if you decide to dress up a bit, maybe wear something slightly different, you often get the feeling others (often other women) are judging you — particularly here in Newfoundland. I was talking with a friend of mine about this last Christmas. She’s from St. John’s, but currently lives in Ontario. She complained that whenever she packs for a visit home, she generally regrets her choices, because she always ends up feeling too smart and self-conscious at social gatherings. Just wearing a skirt and knee-high boots makes her feel awkward among the jeans and sneaker-clad crowd. I know exactly how she feels. When I first visited St. John’s from highmaintenance Britain nine years ago, I clumped off the plane in knee-high boots and a floor-length suede coat. It wasn’t until my next visit that I got the jeans, sweater and sneaker-thing down. Now I — an MSN-proven style slob — am not turning around and looking down on Newfoundlanders and suggesting they lack style. Fashion is alive and well here. And besides, I love jeans and sneakers and live in them religiously, it’s just, occasionally, it’s nice to vamp it up for no particular reason and not feel as though people are wondering who you’re trying to impress, or attempting to look up your skirt. And as for MSN, who after calling me a slob and comparing me to Vicky Pollard, rounded up with: “You don’t have to spend a fortune: just a few clever measures could take you from dire to diva.” Up yours. Clare-Marie Gosse’s column returns May 14.
INDEPENDENTWORLD
SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 30-MAY 6, 2006 — PAGE 13
As if a nation should look away
Does anybody really believe throwing a veil over return of slain soldiers was undertaken out of respect for grieving families? By Rosie Dimanno Torstar wire service
F
ine words, this Canadian government has for its soldiers, especially when they die at their country’s bidding. But words without pictures — except from a distance. Without even — any longer — witnesses. As if a nation should look away when the casualties of war come home in a box. Such is the defensive posture of a government that doesn’t trust its own principles, the very ideals that put a country’s lifeblood, its uniformed men and women, in harm’s way. Soldiers serve. Politicians are self-serving. Unlike our troops, they run from a fight. They duck and cover at the first hint of trouble, trembling at the optics of flag-draped coffins arriving at CFB Trenton, as if Canadians must be spared the spectacle of repatriated remains. So quick, the Conservatives were, to yoke themselves to the valour of troops fighting in Afghanistan; portraying themselves as superior to their predecessors in their higher regard for a military beggared through years of neglect and diminishment by the Liberals. But Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor is a coward for banning media coverage of four slain soldiers whose bodies were returned to Canada last week. And since surely no such decision would have been made without the approval of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, that makes him a coward too. Does anybody really believe, as O’Connor has posited, that this abrupt and unilateral shift in policy was undertaken out of respect for the families of the dead? It is precisely respect — a nation’s acknowledgment of the sacrifice made by Cpl. Matthew Dinning, Bombardier Myles Mansell, Cpl. Randy Payne and Lieut. William Turner — that is being denied those grieving families. Watching isn’t voyeurism. It’s shared mourning, for all those who can’t attend funerals or mumble their condolences at visitations. Protocol may exist to justify another reversal of practice and no longer fly the Maple Leaf at half-mast over Parliament Hill every time a soldier is killed. It was a policy unevenly applied, one that ignored long-standing military tradition stipulating flags should be lowered at National Defence headquarters, the soldiers’ operational base and their home bases. Many Canadians, including the father of at least one of the soldiers killed last weekend, are unhappy about reverting to that tradition. But at least there exists a historical context for doing so. There is none for dropping a blackout curtain over soldier coffins. No such censorship was invoked for the solemn airfield ceremonies on all previous occasions when Canadians killed in Afghanistan were brought home, most recently Pte. Robert Costall, slain a month ago in a fierce firefight at Forward Operating Base Robinson. There was no transgression on the private sorrow of Costall’s loved ones. And someday, that young soldier’s now infant son will be able to read those newspaper stories, view those television tapes, and probably understand a little better how his father’s death moved a nation; that it mattered. And there is a record of it mattering. This isn’t, narrowly, a media access issue. Most Canadians don’t give a toss about the frustrations of working journalists, which is totally understandable. We have a history of routinely inserting ourselves into intimate places. But, in our finer moments, reporters are the eyes and ears of the public, chronicling events most people can’t attend and, when done properly, invoking the feel of a thing. By asserting a rubric — protecting loved ones from the glare of See “Selective,” page 14
Members of the media are forced to film from behind a barbed wire fence as the caskets containing the four Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan are returned to Canada on board a transport plane at Trenton air force base in Trenton, Ont., April 25. The Canadian government issued an order banning the media from covering the return of soldiers to Canada. J.P. Moczulski/Reuters
‘I thought I was prepared’ Sara Stratton says her childhood in Newfoundland helped her find comfort in the Middle East By Geoff Dale For The Independent
F
or most Canadians, the Middle East crisis appears little more than flickering images broadcast during an evening newscast. Ramalla, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip are names that elicit vague visuals of Palestinians and Israelis locked in global conflict thousands of kilometres away. For Sara Stratton, raised in Corner Brook and now a Toronto resident, those names and faraway images merged into a deeper, more personal reality during a few weeks last year.
As the network co-ordinator for the Canadianbased Kairos, she strolled through the streets of Jerusalem and savored the city’s many delights while marveling at the sight of armed soldiers outside her hotel door. The contrasts captured the stark reality of the ugliness of conflict trapped within the historic old city’s beautiful confines. It was a far cry from her middle-class days growing up in western Newfoundland’s pulp and paper town. But the time away resulted in, not only a greater grasp of international tensions on foreign shores, but surprising revelations that paralleled her upbringing. See “I struggled with,” page 14
Sara Stratton
APRIL 30, 2006
14 • INDEPENDENTWORLD
Selective news dispersal
Provincial jails may become more crowded
From page 13
By Rob Linke Telegraph-Journal
media attention — the government has fooled no one. The objective was to create a buffer between this dreadful image of multiple coffins and Canada’s mission in Afghanistan — a mission that can be entirely justified on the facts and doesn’t require this sort of un-image spinning. By doing so, the government has actually exploited the grief of those families it claims to be protecting. What all but a handful of Canadians have yet to realize is that this on-message obsession has already compromised the information relayed by journalists embedded with Canada’s troops in Afghanistan. The military claims to be receptive to “embedded” reporters but, since the death of Costall, the entire nature of that reporting has changed. Journalists are no longer allowed to accompany troops on missions that are suddenly deemed too risky, despite signing waivers that remove all legal responsibility for death or injury from the military establishment. This, I hasten to add, runs contrary to the wishes of most senior commanders on the ground, especially Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, who heads Task Force Orion, the battle group component of Canada’s contribution to Task Force Afghanistan.
Reporters who set forth with Charlie Company last month, headed for FOB Robinson, were yanked back within hours of arrival on the orders of Brig.Gen. David Fraser. Similarly, reporters have been prevented from attaching themselves to other ostensibly aggressive operations, while being ushered toward banal assignments that do little but reinforce passive, Boy-Scout images of soldiering. Further, soldiers who had participated in the FOB Robinson fight were forbidden from talking to reporters upon their return to Kandahar Airfield, even after they’d been thoroughly debriefed by investigators looking into the possibility that “friendly fire” might have been involved in the killing of Costall and an American medic, and after they’d been trauma-counselled. This is not embedding. It’s selective news dispersal and antiinformation management — a subject to be explored at greater length on another day. There are stories the military brass doesn’t want told. There are stories, and images, the government doesn’t want in the public domain. But there was not a single honourable reason to throw a veil over the arrival of slain Canadian soldiers. Only the cowering and the gutless would pretend otherwise.
T
he Harper government’s plan to ban house arrest for people convicted of serious crimes is expected to cost the New Brunswick government money as it is forced to find space for more offenders in already crowded provincial jails. The proposed ban is also prompting provincial Public Safety Minister Wayne Steeves to send feelers out to the federal government and neighbouring provinces to see if they’ll share in an expansion of the jail system. House arrest, or a conditional sentence, allows a convicted criminal to serve out his sentence at home under strict conditions enforced by spot checks by probation or police officers. Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently called the practice “unconscionable” in the case of criminals convicted of serious violent, sexual, weapons and drug offences. Banning house arrest for those crimes was part of the lawand-order platform he campaigned on. The government plans to ban house arrest for those convicted of certain violent and sexual offences, weapons offences, major drug offences, crimes committed against children, and impaired driving causing death or serious injury. If the reforms pass, a significant portion of the offenders under house arrest would end up in a provincial jail, not a federal prison. Only criminals sentenced to two years or more go to prison. The province has not calculated how many more offenders will need a bed in jail, but New Brunswick’s jails already house more inmates than they are designed for. The system’s rated capacity is less than 300, and the average daily jail population this year is more than 350
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offenders. Offenders are double-bunking, or living with two beds in a cell designed for one, and some adult offenders are being housed in separate quarters at the provincial youth jail in Miramichi. On any given day, between 300 and 350 people in New Brunswick are under house arrest. Not all of them would be denied house arrest under the federal plan. But placing any of them in jail would cost the province $120 per person per day on average, says the provincial Department of Public Safety. The province already planned to replace the Moncton Detention Centre with a jail three times larger, and is spending $500,000 this year planning construction. Federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day conceded this week “there could be some financial implications” to provinces, but “we’re told at this time they don’t think they’ll be severe.”
‘I struggled with watching people be oppressed’ From page 13 Much of her recent growth, both personal and professional, can be attributed to her association with Kairos (derived from the Greek word for time). Kairos is described on its website as Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives that “unites churches and religious organizations in a faithful ecumenical response to the call to ‘do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8).” “I thought I was prepared for it,” says Stratton. “I thought I understood intellectually what this struggle is all about and I expected to go in and dispassionately watch it unfold around me. But I couldn’t — on either side. “I struggled with watching people be oppressed. Whether you are a Palestinian or an Israeli Jew on the left feeling so isolated in Jerusalem, you are in this bizarre world that bears no resemblance to what we know as reality.” Stratton, overwhelmed by sights and sounds, immediately found beauty in the palm trees growing in the middle of the Tel Aviv Airport, the inviting taste of falafels, and glorious fresh juice in Jerusalem’s markets. Ugliness emerged as a hotel waiter from the West Bank, heartsick over a suicide bombing in his home, shattered a serene Sunday morning breakfast. Outside soldiers walked by the building’s front door, machine guns in hand. “My feeling was one of not knowing my place at all and not knowing how it was going to turn out,” she says. “I didn’t feel afraid when I was there but I felt unsettled, almost like being inside of a little plastic sphere inside something that was happening, something completely incomprehensible to me. “The mandate for me was to go and do what I did — which was to learn what the situation was like. I work in the education department of Kairos and my job is to communicate some of the work we do and some of the experiences of the people we work with around the world. I was there for two weeks and was ready to leave at the end.” Born in a little airforce community in Lincolnshire, England and raised in Corner Brook by parents Jack and Sophie, Stratton completed her BA at Memorial University, moving on to McMaster in Hamilton for a masters degree in history and on to York in Toronto for her doctorate (the main area of study was American foreign policy). With a growing relationship with the United Church, Stratton began doing social justice work ecumenically in 1997 for the Women’s Interchurch Council — a member of a broader coalition called the Jubilee Initiative. The initiative was working at Third World debt cancellation and issues inside and outside Canada. In 1999 she secured a staff job and moved later into Kairos, formed July 1, 2001. Working along grassroots individuals across Canada (including St. John’s), she assists with the running of awareness campaigns and drawing people into action on specific issues. “I was always interested in social justice work and sort of faintly interested in exploring faith,” she said. “The story in my family is that the first time I went to church I put a quarter into the collection and took out change. “I had a privileged upbringing in Newfoundland — from a solid middle-class family. In retrospect, I had everything that I wanted but I am also aware that my parents didn’t always have everything. My mother’s family had a hard life much of the time and my granddad got a job in the mill. That sense of getting through hardship that exists in many Newfoundlanders has served me well in doing this kind of work … as a Newfoundlander, I am aware of fighting against something that is bigger than you.” In the Middle East she came face to face with people having little or no access to public water. She met a man, from just outside Ramalla, where clean water services were turned on for just one hour a day. She heard tales of residents, unable to buy bottled water, frantically filling buckets and tanks of water to drink. “A 16-year-old girl told me in Ramalla she got used to the gunfire and curfews,” Stratton says. “It became the norm but it’s just not normal for that to be normal. When I was 16 and going to Herdman Collegiate I was just having a good time in the drama club, going to parties with friends. That was the norm for me.” Months after her Middle East journey, she sees some striking similarities between Palestinians and Newfoundlanders. “They (Palestinians) were so hospitable,” Stratton says. “They brought you into their homes, made you a dinner, sat down, talked with you, told stories about their families since 1948, where their children are and then fed you this great meal, even if they didn’t have much to give. “That kind of generosity and wanting to connect with people reminded me of my childhood when we went down to Bonavista Bay, where my mom and dad’s families are from … It’s that sense of connecting with people and the hospitality that struck me as similar to my early days in Newfoundland. Perhaps that is what made me so much more comfortable when I was in the Middle East.”
APRIL 30, 2006
INDEPENDENTWORLD • 15
Harper’s accountability act goes too far JOHN CROSBIE
The old curmudgeon
I
t is true, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said, that we need to create “a new culture of accountability that will change the way business is done in Ottawa.” The legislation to start this process is tabled, but before it becomes law, there must be detailed, serious and thoughtful consideration of what is proposed and what the likely effects will be. The need for change to our legislative and constitutional framework to ensure better accountability of those who manage our federal government system is caused by our political system failing to provide us with effective competition between our national political parties since 1935. During those 71 years, one political party, the Liberal party has formed the government for 56 years, including from 1993 to 2006. Our current political malaise is caused by the dominance of one national party over the others. Still, the proposed Federal Accountability Act goes too far in some areas and could weaken the functioning and effectiveness of our political parties, or cause them to be dominated by the state — especially in the reduction of the ability of the private citizen and private sector to make political donations. It is difficult enough now for political parties to obtain the funding they need to operate without the draconian restrictions proposed. While it may be reasonable to prohibit donations by individuals each year to some sensible limit, such as $10,000, and have that same limit for corporations or unions to avoid undue influence, it is ridiculous to reduce maximum contributions to only $1,000 a year. If Canada is to have an effective democracy,
then its political parties must be allowed to obtain funding from people, unions or corporations within reasonable limits and not be forced to be dependent upon government funding. Furthermore, remembering that it is difficult even now to find and encourage intelligent young people to participate in the political process by working with or for politicians, I don’t believe we should put obstacles or disincentives in their way. The proposed act does this by removing the possibility that, when their minister or MP is defeated or retires, they could use knowledge they have gained through their work to engage in what is known as “lobbying” to assist clients in dealing with governments or civil servants. While a one-year waiting period might not be unreasonable, the forcing of such experienced and competent people needing career employment to wait five years before they can use their experience to earn a living once they no longer work for ministers or MPs is far too extreme — and will make it difficult, if not impossible, to obtain vigorous and intelligent political staff. Since the rules are also to be changed to ensure ethical behaviour by anyone who engages in “lobbying,” the five-year provision is not needed. As well, the proposal to remove the right of ministerial staff to be appointed without competition, once they have left a minister’s office, to a position in the public service (if the public service commission considers them qualified) is neither necessary nor wise. The current system has worked well and is an inducement for able young people to work for ministers. One hopes Bill C-2 will be referred to committee after first reading to ensure a full opportunity for debate. We must ensure that the act, if passed, accomplishes what is desirable — not just attempts to remedy matters that do not need to be remedied, nor create obstacles to attracting bright and able people. John Crosbie’s column returns May 14.
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APRIL 30, 2006
16 • INDEPENDENTWORLD
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INDEPENDENTLIFE
SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 30-MAY 6, 2006 — PAGE 17
Phil Churchill, Steve Cochrane, Alison Woolridge, Amy House, Joel Thomas Hynes, and Christa Bourden on the set of High Steel at the LSPU Hall in St. John’s.
CLARE-MARIE GOSSE
B
efore he was a politician, Norm Doyle, MHA for St. John’s East, helped erect one of the tallest buildings in the world. In the early 1970s he and two of his brothers were members of the “raising gang” for one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Doyle — who started his working career in construction — says completing the structure to its height of 110 storeys was “quite an experience. “We had a number of Newfoundlanders on that building,” he says. “There were four main people on each tower who ran the erection of steel … two of those were my two brothers and the other two were Mohawk Indians. “We would take the steel right from the street … right from the ground up.” Newly married at the time, Doyle says he was looking for a way to make some fast cash to build a house, so like many Newfoundlanders, he became part of the province’s massive, historical contribution to big city skylines along America’s east coast, dubbed “the Boston States.” Just as married life prompted Doyle to seek a salary in the heights of New York, Mary Walsh and Rick Boland’s “musical saga” High Steel, which fol-
lows three generations of Newfoundland ironworkers in the Big Apple, also begins with nuptials. “It goes from a wedding in 1906 to a funeral in 1980,” Boland says. Walsh and Boland first wrote and performed High Steel at the LSPU Hall in 1984 after extensive research in both Conception Harbour and New York City; musician Ron Hynes composed music to accompany the dramatic story of comedy and tragedy. The show is relaunching this week under the direction of Boland and Walsh. The cast and crew hope to take High Steel on the road to New York, Philadelphia and mainland Canada. The show boasts an iron-strong cast of local talent, some new music by Hynes and everything short of a “performing elephant,” Walsh says. Walsh comes from a family of ironworkers and she became fascinated with this odd culture of travelling far away, either temporarily leaving a family behind or completely relocating, to risk working thousands of feet above the earth; a job shunned by most Americans. “My family has been working iron for three generations,” she says, admitting to taking much of the material for High Steel from them. “My grandfather worked on the Empire State Building and my brothers worked on the World Trade Center. I have two brothers working iron now, one in Alberta, one
Paul Daly/The Independent
Hanging high High Steel takes a theatrical look at the Newfoundlanders who built New York’s skyline — and those still working in the trade today in Toronto.” Today, as Boland points out, this migratory work ethic still exists, but has shifted from America to the Canadian growth centres. The workers from Conception Harbour and surroundings, who left their homes in the early 20th century have been continu-
ing their trade and expanding their Newfoundland bloodlines within Brooklyn, instead of Avondale or Colliers. Walsh says Newfoundlanders took to the high-risk, high-skilled ironwork “like ducks to water.” Used to working with ships, risking the Atlantic Ocean,
navigating treacherous ice floes during the seal hunt and being part of closeknit communities, the men proved to be ideal workers. “It is so intensely important that everyone work as a team when you’re See “We do not die,” page 14
LIVYERS
‘It’s about the evolution’
It’s been five years since Kirk Newhook began the first jazz festival in the province By Mark Hoffe For The Independent
K
Kirk Newhook
Paul Daly/The Independent
irk Newhook, local musician and executive director of the St. John’s Jazz Festival, is standing with a guitar in his new office. The fact Newhook has an office to operate from is one testament to the hard work and passion he has put into making the festival the success it is today. “It’s a labour of love,” says Newhook in his relaxed voice. “I do it because I want to.” It’s this no-holds-barred love of music that drives Newhook. “Jazz is an art form, an evolution,” he continues. The evolution of the fazz festival, now in its fifth year, is a story based on an essential aspect of jazz itself — collaboration. The first significant collaboration Newhook experienced was with his musi-
cal family. After studying the piano from the age of six to 14, Newhook had a firm grasp on classical methods and theory, but he was attracted to his father’s ability to pick up a guitar entertain for hours. “I want to be able to do that,” he said to his father, and thus began a life-long infatuation with music and its entrancing effect on people. After graduating from high school — and despite his original attraction to blues — Newhook studied jazz guitar at university. He played gigs wherever he could, establishing himself in the music scene. Things took an interesting turn when Newhook learned New York-born Kenwood Dennard, jazz drummer and percussion professor, was interested in playing some gigs in Newfoundland. The two musicians hooked up, and Dennard stunned local audiences with his biting percussion solos. “We were limiting audience potential
playing in night clubs,” says Newhook. He decided to organize an all-day festival. He secured a personal loan from his father and contacted local musicians. The response was outstanding, and in August 2002, after only eight days of promotion, the Hew Knew Jazz Festival, the first in the province, took place at the St. John’s Convention Centre. Sixty local performers forming 12 ensembles played a diverse blend of jazz, including big band, Dixieland and electronic experimental accompanied by interpretative dance. “We had a great night of playing,” remembers Newhook with a satisfied grin. High on his ability to organize and orchestrate a successful event — and despite the fact he lost money the first time around, Newhook threw all of his energy into planning the next year’s festival. “It See “Danced,” page 14
APRIL 30, 2006
18 • INDEPENDENTLIFE
GALLERYPROFILE ELANA POPOVA Visual Artist
O
ver the past six months or so, Elena Popova has focused on creating a major body of new work, some 30 or 40 large abstract paintings, demonstrating a marked change in direction and outlook for the accomplished artist. She’s quick to say her “visual language has not changed drastically” — the vibrant colours and powerful, fearless markings will be immediately recognized by anyone familiar with her work. But the forces that call her into the studio are changing. “I’m painting about new things,” says Popova. “These pieces all relate in a way, they’re all based on my different feelings, in the sense they’ve matured and I am maturing. “As I move through life and go on my way, I discover how much I’m part of a bigger picture … I have a strong feeling that I am not alone in the world, which we sometimes tend to believe we are.” A sense of connection to the people and natural world around — from the rocks in her garden to her friends to the star-filled night sky — is the current source of Popova’s inspiration. “It’s excitement, fascination with the universe in general,” she continues, trying to put a very instinctive and personal method of working into words. Born and educated in Sophia, Bulgaria, Popova immigrated to Canada in 1990, and settled in Newfoundland. She and her family live near Flatrock, where she also has her studio. Popova smiles as she talks about her evolution as an artist. She describes her work of 20 years ago as “dark,” the work of a younger women in disagreement with the world. “The young person … they want to protest, they want to scream,” she says. These days, her colours are brighter, reflecting both her determination to put her positive thoughts on display and her belief that every day is another chance to “live better, to become a better person.” Not surprisingly, the new work bursts with vitality, movement and energy. Although Popova says days may go by without her putting brush to canvas, when the moment arrives, when it is time to create, she must head to the studio immediately, and work quickly. “I paint with energy and with full awareness,” she says. “Those are the moments I am really alive. There is no perfect recipe for what happens … there is no such thing as being perfect. I just try to do my thing. “This is my hope, my way to stay honest and true to my ideas, to try to attune to the melody of the universe where we all sing in harmony.” A selection of Popova’s new work will be on display at the Leyton Gallery of Fine Art, May 6-28, as part of a joint exhibition with Lousie Sutton and Clement Curtis. The opening reception is May 6, beginning at 3 p.m. — Stephanie Porter The Gallery is a regular feature in The Independent. For information, or to submit proposals, please call (709) 7264639, or e-mail editorial@theindependent.ca
POET’S CORNER
Fog WELL it is known that mariners of yore, When land and sea with fog were blanketed, Filled were with fear and superstitious dread Of shipwreck, loss and tribulation sore, Till Science, as largess, threw wide the door To knowledge of warm rays below the red, Giving for blindness a clear view instead; And radar echoes from the soughtfor shore. Could Science not, with equal skill, devise For minds befogged by passion, greed and fear, Some simple formula to make men wise, Some lens to make men’s mental vision clear, Free from men’s eyes all prejudice, which blinds? There is no fog but in myopic minds. A 1948 poem by Chester Harris, from the book Poems of Newfoundland.
APRIL 30, 2006
INDEPENDENTLIFE • 19
‘Danced the whole night’
NOISES OFF
From page 17
Ernst Rollmann and Jackie French in a scene from Beothuk Street Players’ production of Noises Off. The comedy about a second-rate acting troupe — with plenty of backstage antics and onstage mayhem — was written by Michael Frayne. Also starring Darrel Brenton, Neil Butler, Madeline Holden, Jill Kennedy, George Robertson, Angela Record and Tim Ronan; under the direction of Janet O’Reilly. Noises Off runs May 3-6 at the School for the Deaf Theatre, Topsail Road, 729-3900. Paul Daly/The Independent
was trial by fire,” he says. Newhook found a mentor in John Nugent, acclaimed jazz musician and producer/artistic director of the Rochester Jazz Festival and the Stockholm Jazz Festival. Nugent offered valuable support with booking acts, securing such talent as Woody Hermann, and Dutch Robinson. In order to operate as a non-profit organization, Newhook formed the Atlantic Jazz Initiative, the Jazz Festival’s corporate name, and selected a board of directors. In the summer of 2003, the 2nd annual St. John’s Jazz Festival — now four days long — put its stamp on the cultural history of the province. “(The final show) was packed,” recalls Newhook. “People danced the whole night.” And, he adds, everybody got paid. Newhook kept the momentum going. He attended booking and blocking meetings in Vancouver, learning about festival organization from bigwigs representing the Toronto and Montreal Jazz Festivals. Support rolled in from Canadian Heritage, and Newhook integrated four educational workshops into the plans for the third year. “It’s always a good sign when you wake up after a festival and feel good,” recalls Newhook. “I did after that one. The third one was a hump. If it didn’t go well, I was ready to give up. It went well.” The St. John’s Jazz Festival is now a full member of Jazz Festivals Canada. “Every year we’ve been making more steps towards being more professional,” says Newhook. These days Newhook spends his days in his new office, focused on the task at hand: to expose the public to jazz and international music and educate people in the process. Packages arrive daily from places as Egypt, Sweden, and Israel. “It’s great, because it proves we’re on the map,” says Newhook. This year’s jazz festival kicks into gear early, with Groovin’ and Improvin’, a free concert, workshop and jam session at Cochrane Street United Church, April 30 at 2:30 p.m. “For the amount of hours, the work is not worth the pay. I still teach in order to pay the bills,” says Newhook. “It was never about the money. It’s about the evolution.”
Arts council’s big questions Quebec spends $9 per capita on arts grants. In this province, it’s up to $1.10 this year
A
pril’s been the coolest month for artists. It’s the 25th anniversary of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council (NLAC) and the month has been devoted to celebrating. CBC-TV and Out of the Fog have been running a series of spots featuring artists and artspromoters from the provincial pantheon speaking about their interests or craft to someone just off camera. These promotional bits have been amusing to watch — they have a kind of raw, quick-and-dirty look to them, no doubt a sign of a low budget and a tight shooting deadline. Truth is, it’s really heartening to see all that the talent on the screen, whether a Joan Clark or a Pete Soucy talking about the importance of the arts or a Ron Hynes singing about it. This celebratory branding exercise is crucial. It’s important to acknowledge the essential work of the Arts Council, to enhance its profile, and to recognize the constraints under which it operates. Yes, the arts community finally got its wish when the premier announced a commitment of new money for arts and heritage in the provincial budget, with $17.6 million dedicated to the sector over three years. But, like finding Prince Charming or winning a door prize, the answered wish is creating a wallop of new problems. If you are a professional artist and you need to get on with your dream you can apply to the NLAC for a project grant up to $5,000. For years the average grant has been far less than $2,000. Everyone knows how pathetic that figure is. It barely covers the cost of the therapist you need to handle your insecurity. If you are a professional organization that actually produces works of art, like the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, you can apply for a sustaining grant. Here, too, for years the fund has been stretched to capacity, while the real costs of making music or running a gallery have risen with everything else in the world. A few years ago the NLAC, pushed beyond its limit, embarrassed by the small bits of
NOREEN GOLFMAN Standing Room Only money it was slopping out like porridge at the orphanage, established a policy of not funding festivals or anything remotely like one. This has forced such groups to march up to the minister’s door at Tourism, Culture and Recreation, that old battered cap in hand, begging for more. What, then, is government’s direct role in arts spending when the NLAC simply can’t accommodate every category of need? The answer is not yet obvious. It is important to realize that when all the monies are meted out, the NLAC is getting an increase of only $300,000 for the first year of the roll-out. That’s what a gentrified old house costs in downtown St John’s. How far can that money go at the NLAC? It’s humbling to compare arts councils across the country. Not surprisingly, Quebec, that distinctively rich cultural neighbour most like us, spends almost $9 per capita on arts grants. They know what they’re doing. With this year’s budget increase we will have anted up our own NLAC per capita share to $1.10. Yes, you read that right. In three years we will have moved the figure up to about $2.75, not nearly enough for a beer a person. Alberta, reputed home of philistines, provides over $6 a person, and Manitoba — Manitoba? — provides even more. With greater budgets come greater questions. What should the NLAC do with its relatively small envelope of new money? Should it expand its program structure? Should it dedicate some of its budget to professional development, facilitating communities in rural Newfoundland to develop higher standards and a bigger share of the goods? Should it increase its sustaining grant budget and prohibit groups awarded those grants from applying for projects grants? Should it just throw most of its money at individual artists?
Ideally, impossibly, the answer to all these questions is yes. The current board of the NLAC will soon take up the big funding questions, trying to grapple with a modestly enhanced budget and a huge surge of requests, as more people wake up to the council’s existence and smell the new coin. It doesn’t help that Gerry Byrne circulated a letter to every member of his riding of Humber–St. Barbe–Baie Verte, encouraging them to apply for a piece of the 17 million dollar action. You can almost hear the ensuing rampage of demands. If you dig up a bit of ceramic or a dirty old piece of glass in the back garden you want a grant to display it. If you put a rubber boot over your head and sing Lukey’s Boat you want the funding to tour the island. Mr. Byrne, what were you thinking? Never mind. We don’t want to know. Of course, the best thing about the government’s long awaited plan for the entire sector is that it reaches over three years and looks even further to the future. This fact was almost buried in the noisy hype about the multi-million dollar amounts in the budget. Government’s commitment to stabilizing the always-shaky arts scene is absolutely vital. The plan emphasizes the growth of professional production, not every amateur’s muddled notion of art. It also promises, if not yet actually delivers, a more rigorous scheme for determining what projects and which artists ought to be fended and by whom. What remains unclear is how the NLAC will cope with its modest increase and the community’s huge expectations. The annual arts awards are coming up May 6, one of the season’s most festive, glamourous occasions and a chance to honour the integral work of the NLAC. Publicly, there will be pats on the back. Privately, there will be a lot of speculation about the big questions.
up there,” she says. “Two guys are connecting, making an end, they’re 100 stories above the ground … Newfoundlanders are from such a tiny little place … that kind of community and working together and all that, that’s what made them strong.” Jim Rasenberger, author of the 2004 book High Steel: The Daring Men Who Built the World’s Greatest Skyline, says throughout his research, he found the role Newfoundlanders played in high-rise construction fascinating. “The one thing most Americans know about ironwork is that Mohawks do it,” he says. “Nobody knows about the role of Newfoundlanders, which I think is … every bit as significant and is every bit as important to the New York skyline.” Inspired by an article he wrote for the New York Times on high steel construction in 2001, Rasenberger went on to further research the death-defying industry and interviewed countless men, including Newfoundlanders. He spoke with Doyle’s brothers who remained in New York (Doyle’s brother, Jack, was president of New York’s Ironworkers Local 40 until recently).
The local’s president before Jack was also a Newfoundlander and the union contributed $10,000 US to Walsh and Boland’s 1984 High Steel production. “A lot of these people who are at it now grew up in America and they’re American citizens,” says Rasenberger. “Some of them haven’t even been back to Newfoundland, but they identify themselves, still, as part of this tribe of Newfoundlanders.” For a working class occupation, the iron jobs paid well, but in the early days it was “phenomenally dangerous.” Rasenberger estimates about four per cent of men either died or were permanently disabled every year. “The iron workers had a motto which was: ‘we do not die, we’re killed,’ which is a very grisly motto but it kind of represented the reality.” It’s a reality tackled in Walsh and Boland’s High Steel production, which follows the highs and lows of three generations of ironworkers in the Costello family, from Conception Harbour. Although the tale is fiction, it’s strongly grounded in fact. It’s possible a Conception Harbour Costello is even one of the men having lunch, sitting along a steel bar high above
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Noreen Golfman is a professor of literature and women’s studies at Memorial. Her column returns May 14.
‘We do not die, we’re killed’ From page 17
Bat t e r y R ad i o independent production
New York City in the famous 1930s photograph taken during construction of the Rockefeller Center. The image has become synonymous with the city’s ironwork legacy and High Steel — by superimposing the members of the cast –— use the photo for a promotional shot of the production. “I hate to burst the bubble,” says Rasenberger of the rumour most of the 11 men are Newfoundlanders. “I actually tried to track down the names of those guys … and they appear to be neither Mohawks or Newfoundlanders.” There was never any caption given with the picture and even the identity of the photographer is questionable. “Looking at the photograph, there’s a guy with his shirt off, sort of around the middle of the beam, he’s fifth in from the right,” he says. “Costellos would swear to you … it’s Ray Costello of Conception Harbour, but I got the name Howard Kilgore, although people who knew Costello, including his nephew that I interviewed, say there’s no question that it’s him. So, who knows?” High Steel opens on May 4 at the LSPU Hall and runs until May 14.
$200,000
IN SCHOLARSHIPS? not bad for a start The catch: This is your one chance – scholarship money is only available to those who attend the Vancouver Film School Canada Roadshow 2006.
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Saskatoon, Tuesday May 9 @ 6pm Delta Bessborough Hotel, 601 Spadina Cres.
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Vancouver Film School Where Results Matter
APRIL 30, 2006
20 • INDEPENDENTLIFE
Eating the menu Nicolas Gardner couldn’t resist tasting everything on offer at one of St. John’s newest restaurants
W
hen I began this column I made two absolute resolutions: there were to be no restaurant reviews; and I must talk about all food — good, bad, or indifferent — to show people that there is a world of good food if they just go out and try it. I hate to break my own rules, but I cannot keep quiet anymore. I had a fantastic meal in this city and I have to tell you about it. So let me tell you about Basho. The friendly face that greeted us at the door lit up with a smile. Entering the space we were greeted with a warm fire, and a minimally decorated room. Not sparse, but tastefully done. Flowers on the tables were fresh and the far wall had an under-lit counter. It was dark, but not dim, and ultra modern. If it weren’t for the pouring rain, which belied where we were in the world, I could have sworn I was in a city as large as Toronto or Montreal. Basho, a Japanese fusion restaurant, is a gem. Owner Tak Ishiwata has elevated the dining experience in Newfoundland to something truly elegant and unique. Seated at the table my wife and I looked over the menu. There was so much interesting food I had to try it all. The waitress came with our drinks — the Basho Martini for my wife, and a sumptuous lychee fruit and sake martini for me. One sip and it was clear we were on to something good. Zesty and refreshing, both drinks were excellent aperitifs. “Do you have a tasting menu?” I inquired. “No, but we get asked that question all the time,” our waitress said. “Well, I want to eat the menu — top to bottom — and we would not like to
NICHOLAS GARDNER Off the Eating Path duplicate any plates. Is that possible?” “Sure.” And off she went. What came next was a wonderful experience, one that I have not had in St. John’s before. Two small martini glasses filled with tartar, one of tuna and the other of fresh salmon, as well as a selection of soy-wrapped sushi rolls came out. The tuna, in jewel-like dice, beautiful and tender, was presented in a refreshing lime aioli; the salmon was fragrant and smoky thanks to the addition of toasted sesame oil. The tartar was presented with small toasted slices of baguette, golden and crunchy. Each martini glass was topped with multicoloured fish roe, adding that delicate popping in the mouth with every bite. The trio of soy sheet rolls, more subtle in flavour than traditional nori (seaweed) wraps, held triangular portions of duck, pancetta, and beef. Each bite was welcoming and elegantly done. While these were non-traditional combinations of flavours, each piece was distinct — a sign of true craftsmanship. Next came the Nobu dishes. Ishiwata was fortunate enough to work for celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa in Japan, and as a present upon opening Basho, Matsuhisa gifted two recipes — asparagus with an egg sauce, and new style sashimi (raw fish) lightly cooked with a yuzu and hot oil sauce and sitting beneath small potato “hay” stack. Each one left a heady sensation as if we were in the presence of the master himself. Mains were in the form of Caribou ten-
Tak Ishiwata, chef and owner of Basho, a high end Japanese Fusion Restaurant newly opened on Duckworth Street in downtown St. John's. Paul Daly/The Independent
derloin with a chocolate and beef demiglace for my wife, and a succulent duck breast for me. While not entirely Japanese, nor fusion in any way, it did not detract from the rest of the meal. The only minor complaint was that the caribou should have been cooked slightly longer. Game meats, even delicate cuts, can do well with medium well cooking rather than traditional medium rare doneness. We finished the savouries with the
“expert” selection of Nigiri or “finger sashimi” – including barbequed eel, clam, and salmon roe. Green tea ice cream, light and luxurious, and a mandarin orange cake finished the meal. Eating the menu is not for the faint of heart, nor faint of wallet. Their wine list is compact but drinkable. We enjoyed a Fox Creek ShirazCabernet Franc from Australia for our
mains, it was a good match and moderately priced. Ishiwata has proven to the city that good food comes in all forms without pretensions and in a truly elegant way. Basho is simply perfect. Nicholas is an erstwhile chef and current food writer now eating in St. John’s. nicholas.gardner@gmail.com
BAYCHICK
By Tonya Kearley and Laura Russell
S
ome of the readership may recall an initial introduction to Baychick last fall, when the Independent interviewed me about Baychick’s creation. Well, here she is again — at last. For those as yet unfamiliar with her witty, wordy, wiles I will take a few lines to introduce her. She will further make herself known to you in this spot in future issues of this newspaper. A few words about her design and technical credits first. I cannot draw. My 22-year-old stepdaughter Laura Russell, however, is an artist of extraordinary skill. When I decided the voices in my head needed a shape so that they may stand on their own soapbox, I consulted with Laura. I had given my alter ego’s design considerable thought and yet when Laura and I sat down two years ago
to flesh out the meat and bones of Baychick, Laura intuitively knew what she would look like and how she would move when brought to life. By the time Laura came back to me with some proofs, I had a score of conceptual situations for her to shape into Baychick panels. Soon we had an arsenal of finished product. I should also add that Baychick, despite being a rural Newfoundland and Labrador enigma, is a national gal — Laura lives and works in Vancouver, and I in Trinity. Throughout last summer my husband Kelly Russell published the Trinity Times, a newsy local broadsheet, which featured Baychick each week. She was met with a great deal of discussion and debate. Many times she offended and she sometimes felt misunderstood. I worked on convincing the readership
Baychick had a mind of her own and that she didn’t speak for me necessarily. I eventually came to believe this myself. As the creator, I took quite a bit of heat for her politics. Ironically, growing up I constantly heard from my father “a still tongue is a wise head” and “believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.” It would appear these wisdoms never seeped far enough into my psyche to make an impact on Baychick. She may well have been listening, though, for my father would also say of me “she could make a longshoreman blush!” I guess she was there all along for she often tells it like it is and suffers fools lightly. Baychick may tick you off from time to time. I hope so. She raises my ire because she reminds me of our growing complacency.
EVENTS APRIL 30 • Annual Holocaust memorial service, 8 p.m., Prince of Wales Collegiate, Paton Street. Guest speakers Sylvia Thomas and David Benson will discuss the poetry of Irving Fogwill; Charlotte-Anne Malischewski will play Nigun on the violin; and the PWC choir will sing Ani Ma’Amin. All welcome. • 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. • Open mic at Hava Java, Water Street. Every Sunday, 8:30-10:30 p.m. • The Newfoundland and Labrador LETS Barter Network’s rummage and bake sale, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Eastern Edge
Gallery. • Landscape and Garden Show 2006 at the St. John’s Curling Club, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., 579-6510 • 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, 7397734. Bring instruments and friends. MAY 1 • Alice Cooper at Mile One stadium, 8 p.m. • Memorial’s Botanical Gardens open for the season. Free admission all week, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. MAY 2
• Flanker Press presents the launch of NaGeira by Paul Butler, 4:30 p.m., Bianca’s Bar, Water Street. • Lunch and traditional music with Frank Maher, Rick West, Stan Picket and Andrew Lang. Auntie Crae’s, Water Street, 12:30 p.m. MAY 3 • The Beothuck Street Players present Noises Off, a farce by Michael Frayn. At Newfoundland School for the Deaf Theater, 729-3900. Continues through May 6. • Folk night at the Ship Pub featuring Andrea Munro, 9:30 p.m. • Lunch-time music featuring the Great Casavant Organ, David Drinkell, organ-
ist at the Anglican Cathedral, 1:15-1:45 p.m., free.
Quartet, Bianca’s bar, Water Street, 9:30 p.m.
MAY 4 • High Steel, written by Mary Walsh and Rick Boland, music by Ron Hynes, directed by Mary Walsh. Featuring Jonny Harris, Joel Thomas Hynes, Christa Borden, Amy House, Steve Cochrane, Alison Woolridge and Phil Churchill. At the LSPU Hall, 8 p.m., continued until May 14, 753-4531. • The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter, featuring Aiden Flynn and Bryan Hennessey, directed by J.M. Sullivan. Rabbittown theatre, 7:30 p.m., 739-8220. Plays until May 6. • Blue Jazz Night with the Mary Barry
MAY 5 • All ages show at St. Andrew’s Church Hall (the Kirk) with Children of Eve, Call the Ambulance, Flatline, Without Judgement, Idyll, and Don’t Fade Away, 5:30 p.m.
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MAY 6 • Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council awards, hosted by Ruth Lawrence and Sherry White, at the Reid Theatre, 726-2212. • Exhibition opening: new work by Clement Curtis, Elena Popova and Louise Sutton, Leyton Gallery of Fine Art, 3 p.m. Showing until May 28. UPCOMING Bridges to Hope/Emergency Food Aid Centre’s first rummage and bake sale, May 13, 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m., at St. David’s Presbyterian Church, 98 Elizabeth Ave. Donations of small household items and baked goods welcomed, 722- 9225. IN THE GALLERIES • Photographic Perspectives, by Nicholas Langor, MUN Botanical Gardens, until May 28. • Where Wonder, What Weight by Will Gill and Beth Oberholtzer, The Rooms. Until May 14. • Men, by Cathia Finkel, at RCA Gallery, LSPU Hall, until May 7. • Joy, a whimsical celebration, by Cara Kansala and Pam Dorey, Craft Council Gallery, Devon House, until May 5.
INDEPENDENTBUSINESS
SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 30-MAY 6, 2006 — PAGE 21
Wade Foote of Breakwater Books
Rhonda Hayward/The Independent
By Craig Westcott The Independent
M
embers of the local book publishing industry will sit down Monday with provincial officials for a briefing on a new funding program. But they’re already giving it rave reviews. The three-year, $200,000 a year assistance scheme was announced in the provincial budget last month. It marks the first serious money government has set aside for publishers in nearly a decade, apart from the $70,000 pot that was offered last year. “A provincial program is a stepping stone to other national programs,” says Breakwater Books general manager Wade Foote, explaining why the money is important. “If you get provincial support, that means you’re able to do more books, and if you’re able to do more books, then you’re available to get more federal funds, and if you get more federal funds than you can get even more books. It’s like a domino effect.” Flanker Press owner Gary Cranford agrees the financial help will result in more Newfoundland and Labrador titles on bookshelves. “It certainly will, you simply have more resources,” he says. “And the fact that it is three years, you can develop a three-year production program and plan the resources you need to increase production. “Up until now we’ve all been going along and using our in-house resources as best we can. Anything new in terms of financial aid means we can out-source work to increase production, or bring people in on staff to increase production, marketing and all the other aspects. “And of course all of that means too that in the end you’re creating more cultural product and not only are you bringing in more revenue to the firm, you’re actually putting more money into the pockets of writers.”
The provincial money follows a long drought for Newfoundland book publishers. The last financial assistance program expired in 1996. “It was one of our crutches, it was one of the things that kept us alive, to be perfectly honest, and we’ve been struggling since then,” Foote says. The loss of that program, he adds, contributed to the closure of two “very good” publishers — Newfoundland’s second oldest publishing house, Harry Cuff Publications, and Jesperson Press, which was restarted only recently. “It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” Foote says of the new program. “And this culture document that was put out by the Williams government, the blueprint for development and investment in culture, if it is followed through on, it is definitely a step in the right direction for the cultural industry and publishing.” Cranford says he wasn’t surprised to see the money for publishers in this year’s budget. The Progressive Conservatives promised in their election bluebook three years ago that they would increase support for cultural industries, he notes. Cranford, whose publishing house will produce about 20 titles this year ranging from history to fiction to cookbooks, says he is extremely pleased. Newfoundland readers look for local titles, he says. “It’s a cultural thing,” says Cranford. “People in this province love their books.” And they also love to write. He reckons some local publishers get as many as 500 inquiries a year from writers and would-be writers. “We’re getting say 10 a week,” Cranford says. “That may be a telephone inquiry, an email inquiry, or an actual synopsis with a few chapters … We’ll look at anything that comes in.” cwestcott@nl.rogers.com
‘People love their books’ Publishers offer chapter and verse in praise of Williams’ cultural funding
Dirty deeds done dirt cheap
This is what happens when corporate treachery and political connivance come together
D
anny Williams’ handling of the FPI conundrum is starting to look scary. How any lawyer and businessman, let alone a premier, can say that an $834-million company that lost just $11 million last year is in danger of collapse is beyond me. If any other person in a position of authority were to say that about any other company in FPI’s financial position, most informed people would say the man was nuts, irresponsible, or didn’t know what he was talking about. But when it comes to FPI and Danny Williams, there always seems to be a hidden agenda. That agenda seems to involve Williams’ new bosom buddy, Bill Barry, who has been angling for some time to take over FPI’s Newfoundland assets.
CRAIG WESTCOTT The public ledger Williams’ apparent support for that scheme is about the only thing that can explain his public utterances, which sound like a contrivance to make people think FPI is worse off than it is so that Barry will look like a saviour. If Barry succeeds, and he probably will thanks to the intervention of the premier, he will have finally accomplished the deed he tried to do six years ago. Remember NEOS? That’s when Barry and Risley teamed up to attempt a takeover of FPI. As stunned as they were, the governing Liberals had enough sense to say no at the time. When NEOS failed, Barry and
Risley and a group of some of FPI’s other international competitors engineered a coup through the backdoor and managed to acquire the company anyway. Somewhere along the way, as Risley was delayed from cutting up FPI, Barry either lost interest or sway and sold his shares. Now Barry is back, and hats off to him for playing the premier like a violin. It’s not every day a businessman can get the leader of a country or a province to be his pointman, at least not in most open, democratic jurisdictions. We haven’t seen anything akin to this since John C. Doyle had his hand up Joe Smallwood’s puppet sleeve. You have to ask though, what does this mean for Newfoundland in general and the people of the Burin Peninsula in particular? By any reckoning, it’s a huge and
damaging blow. For one thing, the assets that Barry doesn’t get will end up in complete control of Risley and FPI’s other competitors. Kiss the U.S. marketing arm good-bye. According to Williams’ statements on Thursday, he thinks that may not be a bad thing. The reality, however, is that for years that marketing arm has also handled crab and other seafood belonging to a host of Newfoundland fish processors. They’re now out of luck. In a season when a controlled and co-ordinated marketing presence in the United States for crab has never been more important, Danny Williams is putting the boots to the whole shebang. But we shouldn’t be surprised. The mask he wears when talking about FPI slipped last summer when he argued out of one side of his mouth how the
government had to let Risley sell part of the marketing division as an income trust, while out of the other side he admitted it was a terrible deal. That his minions on the government benches were made to vote for the disastrous idea while he voted against it to save face was beyond tawdry. At any time in the last two years Danny Williams could have rejigged the FPI Act to further restrict the shareholdings of individual investors. That would have stopped Risley and his cohorts, or at least severely hampered them in their attempts to dismantle eastern Canada’s most important seafood company. But Williams didn’t act, at least not in a way that served the public good. So we’re left with a company that was one of Newfoundland’s greatest corSee “Low politics,” page 22
22 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS
APRIL 30, 2006
Bernie Halloran
Paul Daly/The Independent
Seal debate only helped local business By Leia Feltham For the Independent
B
ernie Halloran, owner of Vogue Furriers, says Paul McCartney and Heather Mills McCartney did his business “the biggest favour of the winter.” In response to the now infamous seal hunt debate on Larry King Live between the McCartneys and Premier Danny Williams, Halloran put on a promotion in his Water Street business: half price on every seal product in the store. Rather than being deterred by the seal hunt — as the McCartneys no doubt had hoped — Halloran says many Newfoundlanders showed a growing interest in the products it had to offer. New customers walked through the doors of
Vogue Furriers every day, a pleasant and profitable result of the media attention. During the normally slower month of March, business was booming. In the week after the debate, Vogue Furriers did two months’ worth of sales. “Within a week we had sold pretty well every garment in the store,” says Halloran. “And we (still) have orders now.” Over the past month and a half Halloran has received about 500 e-mails. Although he says this has been one of the most controversyfilled years of the seal hunt, he “really (doesn’t) think they did damage.” Halloran mentions one of his newest customers. A young woman who once had no desire to wear fur became adamant about owning a seal coat after watching the debate — and was surprised how much she liked the jacket
she purchased. Halloran says many like her rallied together and purchased jackets and other products to show their support of the premier and the seal hunt. Interested customers can also purchase seal oil caplets at Vogue Furriers. Halloran believes in using all that the seal has to offer — not just the fur, but also the oil, leather and meat. He hopes to see the seal become “one of the most utilized animals in the world” within the next few years. As for next season, Halloran is optimistic. After this winter’s success and a wider range in customers and demand for the product continuing, the future looks bright. As Halloran says, “the fur business is still here.” Leia Feltham is a level III student at Gonzage High School in St. John’s.
Business wants time to prepare for GST cut
W
hile many consumers can’t wait for the promised one percentage point cut in the hated GST, some businesses are hoping Ottawa will delay its implementation by at least two or three months. That would give small business long enough to switch over their systems without hurting sales, says Garth Whyte, executive vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. The Conservative government is widely expected to honour its campaign promise to cut the federal goods and services tax to 6 per cent in Tuesday’s budget. It has been at 7 per cent since its introduction 15 years ago on Jan. 1, 1991. But Canada’s owners of small and mid-sized business hope it won’t take immediate effect because they need time to switch over their sys-
tems. “If they’re going to lower it, that’s great. But you can’t just flick a switch tomorrow,” said Whyte, speaking on behalf of operators of the 105,000 small and mid-sized businesses who belong to the CFIB. “We need some time to implement a cut.” TIME NEEDED Businesses will need to change their cash registers, websites, advertising and accounting practices, Whyte says. He estimates most businesses could do it within two to three months. Any longer and they risk hurting sales of big-ticket items because consumers will postpone those purchases in order to save the tax, he says. “If it takes too long, you’ll hurt big spending
decisions for things like cars and appliances.” On a really large item, like a new home, a 1 per cent cut in the GST can translate into thousands of dollars in savings, says Beverly Gilbert, a chartered accountant with Borden Ladner Gervais. However, she questions whether it’s worth the delay in markets where house prices are rising faster than the tax cut is falling. “I’m probably not going to put off my purchases because the housing market is so tight,” says Gilbert, who is based in oil-rich Calgary. Gilbert agrees the timing of any sales-tax cut is critical to both business and consumers. There’s no guarantee the GST cut will make it through both the House of Commons, where the Conservatives are in the minority, and the Liberal-dominated Senate, she says. — Torstar wire service
‘Low politics’ From page 21 porate successes, a company made solvent and profitable out of the ashes of a group of debt-laden predecessors, one that managed to survive the incredible challenges of the cod moratorium, now being chopped up and shared out among Williams’ friend Barry and his fellow corporate wolves. But let’s not blame Barry. He is a businessman looking out for his own end. That’s what businessmen do. He claims to have a plan for rural Newfoundland. If he does, that’s one thing he has that the government itself doesn’t. Something stinks about this whole FPI debacle. And if you have a sensitive nose, you can trace the hum all the way back to the premier’s office. By summer, the tally will look like this: two towns dead in Harbour Breton and Fortune; a host of other fishing communities left in jeopardy; and the Newfoundland fishing industry’s most important link to its most important market severed. This is low politics. If Danny Williams does nothing else wrong during his mandate, this is still enough to stain his record for good. He is helping to destroy something that took Newfoundlanders two decades to create. cwestcott@nl.rogers.com
APRIL 30, 2006
INDEPENDENTBUSINESS • 23
Price of admission about to go up
SWEET DEAL
City of St. John’s spending 30 per cent more than six years ago; property tax may soon increase
S
pirit of Newfoundland is an award-winning, terrifically talented group of actors and singers who perform dinner theatre at the old Majestic Theatre on Duckworth Street. Performing for thousands since their inception in 1997, they specialize in musical comedy and drama. As is the case with most in the theatre community, Monday is a day off from performing for Spirit employees. Unfortunately, the media and the citizens of St. John’s have gone across the street to City Hall for their Monday night drama and comedy — and the cost may be far higher than the $37 admission fee being charged at the Majestic. For a long time the citizens and media of the city have been captivated by the personality clashes, drawn out verbal battles and lawsuits that have dominated the municipal political scene. This interest has even reached the national stage, where on several occasions our national broadcaster has profiled the circus that is our city hall (laughing at us, not with us, I am certain). At a time where we are aggressively re-branding and promoting our city and province, this attention does nothing to promote our cause or improve our city’s prospects. To be involved in politics at the municipal level is to be involved at the most raw and base level. Unlike provincial and federal politics where issues primarily involve policy, municipal governance is fraught with issues that are personal. Often those directly impacted are sitting mere feet from the politicians while the decision is being made. Assisting the federal and provincial systems are large bureaucracies and public relations machines to help deliver and manage messaging. Municipally, there is a limited, non-partisan bureaucracy to assist only with the process, and there is no PR machine to keep councillors “on message” and out of trouble. While larger-than-life personalities have long dominated municipal politics across the country (think Mel Lastman), there is a potential cost to the community when the personalities and not the job at hand become our collective focus. On the very day the local media was leading newscasts with the latest installment of the Punch and Judy show at City Hall, the City of St. John’s printed its 2006 estimated revenue and expenditures in the local papers, outlining its $152-million operating budget. This represents a spending increase of over 30 per cent since 2000. While some of this $152 million comes from grants from provincial and federal sources, the vast majority
RAY DILLON
Board of Trade comes from the taxpayers of this city, through property tax and service fees. Are we getting good value for the money we spend? Maybe, but it appears we are too interested in political theatre to even ask the question, let alone seek an answer. Perhaps the potential for an increase in the amount of property tax we pay will finally beg the question. Under the existing “St. John’s Assessment Act” legislation, the city has a three-year reassessment cycle, with 2007 being the next assessment year. Currently, residential property tax is calculated at the rate of 12.2 mils, or 1.22 per cent of a property’s total assessment (i.e. a residential property with a total assessed value of $100,000 would be charged an annual property tax of $1,220). The current commercial property tax mil rate is 18.2 or 1.82 per cent (i.e. the owner of a commercial property with a total assessed value of $500,000 would be charged an annual property tax of $9,100). It is widely expected there will be a dramatic increase in the assessed value of residential and commercial property in the city as a result of this exercise, perhaps in the 15-20 per cent range. While it is great the value of our property is increasing, this is an increase on paper only. Most of us will continue to live and work in the property we own. But, if the mil rate on our property remains the same, and the assessed value of our property increases, our tax bill will rise accordingly. This point appeared to have been lost on the local media during the last reassessment in 2004, as the story reported by many outlets was that there would be no property tax increase for the year because the mil rate was left unchanged. This interpretation missed the point — additional money from people’s pockets is a tax increase, plain and simple. So, we can choose to treat municipal politics as entertainment, or we can press our elected officials to focus on what’s important — the growth and success of our city, the efficient delivery of service and a fair and competitive taxation system. But be warned, if we elect to choose the entertainment option, the price of admission is about to go up. Ray Dillon is president of the St. John’s Board of Trade. His column returns May 14.
Eyebrows raised last week — it was revealed former FPI CEO Derrick Rowe will receive a compensation package totaling more than $750,000. Rowe received a lump sum payment of $375,000 when he quit the job last fall — and will also receive more than $10,000 a month for 36 months. Premier Danny Williams echoed public reaction late last week, calling the sums “excessive.” Paul Daly/The Independent
Starts May 1st
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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.
24 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS
APRIL 30, 2006
WEEKLY DIVERSIONS ACROSS 1 Tree of the genus Acer 6 Pack (down) 10 Lea 13 Floating platform 17 Enjoyed to the max (2 wds.) 18 English horn’s cousin 19 Demeanour 20 French pronoun 21 E. German secret police, once 22 Fire-starting sticks 24 Spanish water 25 Silence 26 Wager 27 Help 28 Cream pastry 30 Wages 33 Jotted down 34 Where grocery carts go 36 Halloween greeting 37 Pier 39 Traveller’s stopover 40 Part of ball game 42 Honeybee genus 43 Vancouver time 46 French viscount 48 Singer Tyson, of Quartette 50 Opposite of faux 51 Slip 52 King topper
54 Small island 55 Subarctic zone 56 Loud noise 57 Bled colour 58 Scrooge’s exclamation 59 Joe Batt’s ___, Nfld. 60 Take away by force 62 Rx writers 63 Impersonal pronoun 64 Feudal lord 67 Smallest of the litter 68 Ottawa canal 70 City of Israel 72 Even 73 “___ Fan Tutte” (Mozart) 74 Showy 76 Roman greeting 77 Edible seaweed 78 Norse goddess 79 Ancestors of Canadian Inuit, who arrived from Asia around 500 A.D. 81 Author Edeet ___ (A Wall of Light) 83 “Fruit stand capital of Canada” (B.C.) 85 Madrid Mrs. 86 Maid’s introduction? 87 Damage 88 Prov. with Rosemary, Millicent and Patricia
92 Leather (Fr.) 93 Any time 96 In an excited state 97 Greek mountain 98 Last summer mo. 99 Prong 100 Make an identical organism 101 Seven days 102 Affirmative vote 103 Porridge grain 104 Emergency shelters DOWN 1 Prepare potatoes 2 Alaskan island 3 Princess testers 4 ___ Bight, Nfld. 5 Start for centre or cure 6 Memento 7 Region of N Quebec 8 My (Fr.) 9 The art of teaching 10 Put down 11 One in M¸nchen 12 Nfld. port, once U.S. naval base 13 Real estate 14 Phycologist’s subject 15 Capable of flowing 16 Shed a ___ 23 Fleur de ___ 26 Butt of jokes 29 Army beds
31 Nourishment 32 Foolishness 34 Indigo plant 35 Event 37 Moose Jaw resident: Moose ___ 38 Terms of abuse 39 Med. feeders 41 Not quite a hit (2 wds.) 43 Primordial 44 Respond to gravity 45 Acapulco aunt 47 Keats, e.g. 49 Worker 50 Miscellany 53 Club lugger 55 Hunting cry 60 Kind of humour 61 Wish undone 65 Bestow 66 Twilight, for short 68 Spare bed 69 Uphold (2 wds.) 71 Organic compound 73 Prompter 75 Neon or silver 77 Czech composer 80 Not ready to throw out 81 Get more out of 82 Licorice-like seed 83 Understanding 84 Cantering females
85 Flat-bottomed boat 86 Bucks or bytes preceder
89 Ontario’s official bird: common ___ 90 Dye
91 Pub rounds 94 Shade 95 Passenger train service
96 Play the part Solutions on page 31
WEEKLY STARS ARIES (MAR. 21 TO APRIL 19)
A more harmonious aspect favors all relationships. Family ties with mates and children are strengthened. Libra is Cupid’s choice to win the amorous Aries’ heart. TAURUS (APRIL 20 TO MAY 20)
The bold Bull is ready to take on fresh challenges. Expect some opposition as you plough new ground — but supporters will outnumber detractors. GEMINI (MAY 21 TO JUNE 20)
An upcoming job change could mean uprooting your family to a far-distant location. Weigh all considerations carefully before making a decision one way or the other. CANCER (JUNE 21 TO JULY 22)
A long-standing problem is
resolved by a mutually agreedupon compromise. You can now focus on getting the facts you’ll need for a decision you’ll soon be asked to make LEO (JULY 23 TO AUGUST 22)
The Big Cat needs to be wary of what appears to be a “golden” investment opportunity. That “sure thing” could turn out to be nothing more than a sack of Kitty Glitter. VIRGO (AUG. 23 TO SEPT. 22)
You give of yourself generously to help others, but right now you must allow people to help you. Confide your problems to family and trusted friends. LIBRA (SEPT. 23 TO OCT.22)
Relationships benefit from a strong harmonious aspect.
Things go more smoothly at work. Someone you thought you’d never see again asks for a reconciliation. SCORPIO (OCT. 23 TO NOV. 21)
A minor distraction interferes with travel plans, but the delay is temporary. Meanwhile, expect to play peacemaker once again for feuding family members. SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22 TO DEC. 21)
Keep that positive momentum going on the home front. Arrange your schedule to spend more time with your family. You’ll soon have news about that job change. CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 TO JAN. 19)
Control that possessive tendency that sometimes goads you into an unnecessary display of jealousy. You could be creating
problems where none currently exist. AQUARIUS (JAN. 20 TO FEB. 18)
A new project holds some challenges you hadn’t expected, but don’t be discouraged. You’ll find you’re more prepared to deal with them than you realized. PISCES (FEB. 19 TO MAR. 20)
Yours is the sign of the celestial Chemist, so don’t be surprised if you experience a pleasant “chemistry” betwixt yourself and that new Leo in your life. BORN THIS WEEK
You enjoy being fussed over, as befits your “royal” Leonine nature. You also have a strong loyalty to family and friends.
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 30, 2006
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26 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS
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30 • INDEPENDENTSPORTS
APRIL 30, 2006
Apathetic U.S. just fine by me If Yanks latch on to soccer, the game will never be the same By Cathal Kelly Torstar wire service
E
very four years, as the world gets ready to luxuriate in a monthlong celebration of soccer, we must spend a couple of minutes wondering why the American people won’t join the fun. The issue is particularly vexing to Europeans, who not-so-secretly resent their collective obsession being ignored in favour of NASCAR and figure skating. So along comes American satirist Dave Eggers to explain it to them. In a recent essay in England’s Observer, Eggers names the three roadblocks to soccer’s success in the 50 states (and, by extension, the soccer-light environs of Canada). First, Americans don’t like games dominated by communists. As Eggers’ gym coach once told him, Americans
play sports “where you use your hands. Sports where ones hands are not used are commie sports played by Russians, Poles, Germans and other commies.” That theory might hold water if communists were any good at soccer. Exhibit one: China. Exhibit two: Cuba. Exhibit three: every communist country of the past except Czechoslovakia, Poland and Yugoslavia. Second, Americans do not like games they didn’t invent. That’s true if, like Eggers, you incorrectly believe an American — not a Canadian — invented basketball. Third, Americans don’t like divers. According to Eggers, an “intense loathing of penalty faking” animates the American fan. C’mon. Have you ever seen a guy go down after he gets hit in the head with a baseball? They are wearing helmets. So the only thing keeping America and soccer apart is a cable-TV subscrip-
tion? Not exactly. Jon Stewart, host of the Daily Show and former midfielder on the William & Mary squad, sums up the problem this way: “To me, (soccer) is probably more like Nutella. The rest of the world clearly loves it and puts it on almost everything, but here in America we’re like, ‘I don’t know, man, it tastes like almonds.’” By almonds, he means subtlety. Americans love the grand gesture. They love the bizarrely complex. They love bench-clearing brawls, touchdown passes with no time left on the clock and cheerleaders filling up the gaps. They like a lot of talky-talk between the action and they love short bursts of intensity, as in football and baseball. Basketball has a time clock so fans know exactly how long they have to wait before someone scores again. Soccer is 90 minutes of simmering intensity. We’re not sure when, or if,
anyone will score. We hope the slow progression will be punctuated by one or two spectacular moments. Soccer is chess while everything else is checkers. Far more invested in this argument than the Europeans are the North American fans who believe the great soccer awakening is only a year or two away. Their favourite theory is that all the kids playing soccer right now will grow up to be soccer-loving adults. What they don’t see is the clear line dividing the games people play and the ones they watch. If it held that participation equalled viewership, bowling would be the biggest spectator sport in the U.S. As Eggers points out, most of those kids will quit soccer to pick up a mainstream sport, or no sport at all, when they are teenagers. Then they’ll start watching whatever their old man watches. The breakthrough is never coming.
Soccer will be a fringe sport on this continent forever — just the way I like it. Because if Americans ever really latch on to soccer, the game will not change them. They will change the game. First, there will have to be animated graphics and TV timeouts, techno blaring during throw-ins and raining balloons following goals. For everything that gets added, something will have to disappear. No more shin pads, for one. That should reduce diving, even if it does increase career-ending injuries. And forget about back-passes — even laterals may be out. Americans will let us keep the South American play-by-play guy who screams “GOOOAAALLLLL!” because they like that guy. They’re not sure what he’s saying. They just like screaming South Americans. So be good and glad for American apathy. It’s keeping the game pure.
Jay bats keep on booming Toronto’s offence, and not Burnett, now the main talking point By Mark Zwolinski Torstar wire service Thanks in large part to Vernon Wells and Alex Rios, all the talk surrounding the Blue Jays is shifting to the club’s awesome offence and away from A.J. Burnett. Wells and Rios continued their respective tears April 26, with Wells reaching the .400 mark in batting and Rios climbing to within four ticks of it at .396. They homered back-to-back in the sixth and Wells added a two-run shot in the eighth with Rios aboard to spur Toronto to an 8-2 win over Baltimore. “I knew (April) would be different because of the work I did in the off-season, but I didn’t know how different,” says Wells, a notoriously slow starter. Burnett admitted “there’s something
going on,” in his troubled right elbow, a development that will sideline him indefinitely. Normally, the loss of a high-profile No. 2 starter, and the fact it comes only two outings after his highly publicized $55 million (US) signing, is the news that follows the team. At this point, though, Wells and Rios are second and third, respectively, in American League hitting, and Wells rolled into a tie for the league RBI lead with 22 after a three-RBI night. With the Jays inching closer to first place, offence is helping put the Burnett situation behind them. “I wouldn’t want to be pitching against this lineup right now,” says lefty Ted Lilly. Wells’ multi-homer game was his third of the season as he hit nine homers in April, a career high for homers in any
month. Platoon left-fielder Reed Johnson is also hitting over .400 (.405) for a Jays club that entered the game with a league-leading .310 batting average and collected 13 more hits last night. “I’m sitting on the bench between innings and it’s almost a surprise when we don’t get two or three guys on and score some runs,” Lilly said. Jays manager John Gibbons realizes it’s only April, but the offence so far is a marked contrast to the past several seasons in which the team waited for Wells and Carlos Delgado to get hot. “Top to bottom (of the lineup), we have been pretty effective for the most part,” Gibbons says. “And good teams have that, contribution from everyone … so you don’t have to worry about it too much.”
Toronto Blue Jays batter Vernon Wells runs back to the dugout after hitting his second home run of the game against the Baltimore Orioles in Toronto April 26. Mike Cassese/Reuters
‘Each day I get more and more hungry’ From page 32 “I will be part of the Canadian team, and our goal is to make it to the Olympics. We have a young team but we are going in the right way. Last summer I put up some big numbers and there was a lot of NBA people watching, so it opened more doors.” English has secured individual workouts with two NBA teams this off-season, and he has committed to play in an NBA summer league with another team. “I have the option to come back (to Virtus) if I want,” he says. “But I am still following my dream to
make it to the NBA, and each day I improve and I get one step closer. I am older, stronger and wiser then before, now it comes down to being in the right place at the right time and finding a good situation to show that I belong there.” Since the time he was passed over in the NBA draft, English had faced his share of nay sayers, both locally and abroad. Doug Smith of the Toronto Star recently wrote English would never play in the NBA. Some people would allow such comments to eat away at them, but English in unconcerned. For a guy who lost both his parents in a tragic fire when he was five — and,
years later, held his dying uncle in his arms during a fishing trip — English considers himself above those kinds of opinions. “I’m not sure who Doug Smith is and I really don’t care. People can say whatever they want,” he says. “When I was in high school people said I would never play in the U.S and that I might be able to make MUN. “But whatever, I believe in myself, my family believes in me and that is what matters. I have faced many things in my past and they make me stronger. Each day I get more and more hungry for the NBA, to prove people wrong. I believe my time is coming, and very soon.”
APRIL 30, 2006
Better late than never for pricey Pronger By Damien Cox Torstar wire service
F
or most of the NHL regular season, Chris Pronger was fine, OK. At the Winter Olympics in Turin playing for Canada, Pronger was fine, OK, neither a major disappointment nor an eye-popping success. Fine, OK, of course, isn’t what the Edmonton Oilers were paying for when they traded rearguard Eric Brewer and two blue-line prospects to St. Louis last summer for Pronger, a marquee star they then inked to a five-year, $31.5 million (U.S.) contract. Well, Pronger has finally gotten his game in gear. While Oiler management had to be frustrated over the course of the season with the defenceman’s average play despite slightly-improved offensive totals, they have to be elated now that Pronger is a key reason why the club is closing in on a first round playoff upset over the heavily-favored Detroit Red Wings. Pronger has been a big presence in the series, so much so that he has earned an edge in the head-to-head confrontation with Nicklas Lidstrom, the veteran Wings rearguard. Lidstrom received many Norris votes for his play this season, while Pronger was barely mentioned as a serious candidate. Perhaps the best number working in Pronger’s favour is the zero penalty minutes he has acquired so far. In Turin, he took a series of ill-advised penalties, on one occasion eliminating a Canadian power play and on another occasion putting Team Canada down two men. So far in these playoffs, however, the Dryden, Ont. native has kept his stick both down and to himself, avoiding the reach-out-and-hook-somebody fouls that are still being called with regularity in the post-season, much to the NHL’s credit. It may be that like other prominent NHL veterans, Pronger’s regular season simply wasn’t up to his usual standards because he decided against playing anywhere in the world during the lockout that erased the entire 2004-05 NHL season. Now, with 80 regular season games under his belt, Pronger is elevating his play against a familiar opponent. While with St. Louis, Pronger and the Blues faced the Wings four times, losing all four. Pronger is looking a lot more like the defensive monster who won the Norris back in 2000. For the Oilers to upset the Wings, he’ll have to keep it up.
INDEPENDENTSPORTS • 31
Crawford, Leafs bad fit Time has passed for Toronto to start courting this coach By Damien Cox Torstar wire service
T
here was a time when Marc Crawford and Joel Quenneville were a promising 1-2 coaching combination with the St. John’s Maple Leafs, and there was a time when one or both would have been a terrific choice to coach the NHL Maple Leafs. But not now. Of the two, of course, only Crawford is available after, as of last week, being a predictable casualty of the lost Canucks season in Vancouver. Quenneville looks like he’s en route to guiding the Colorado Avalanche to a first-round playoff upset of the favoured Dallas Stars, and probably isn’t going anywhere. With ex-Leaf head coach Pat Quinn already rumoured to be headed back to Vancouver — didn’t these people see how Punch Imlach worked out with the Leafs the second time around? — there will now be all kinds of chatter about a convenient Vancouver-Toronto coaching switch. Quinn to the Canucks, Crawford to the Leafs. Nice and neat. Except with only one other candidate currently on the Leaf coaching wish list, Crawford is already a decided second. Paul Maurice, it says here, would be a better choice and for any number of reasons. Yes, Crawford has a 1996 Stanley Cup ring courtesy of the Colorado Avalanche, something Maurice — nor Quinn, for that matter — has in the jewellery box. But without Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Patrick Roy, Crawford won nothing, and he failed to do at the Olympics what Quinn did manage to achieve. As the Vancouver coach since 1999, Crawford’s Canuck teams won one — count ‘em, one — playoff series. On two occasions, Crawford’s teams were poised to move on in the playoffs, but lost Game 7 on home ice. With all kinds of talent this year — more, in fact, than the Leafs — Crawford couldn’t cajole enough effort out of his top players to qualify for post-season play. No matter how badly Todd Bertuzzi and Markus Naslund played, Crawford continued to play them as a No.1 line even though the unit of the Sedin twins and Anson Carter was
Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Marc Crawford reacts as he talks about his disappointment during a news conference in Vancouver April 27. Crawford, who spent six years as coach, was fired by General Manager Dave Nonis last week after the Canucks failed to make the National Hockey League playoffs. Andy Clark/Reuters
With all kinds of talent this year — more, in fact, than the Leafs — Crawford couldn’t cajole enough effort out of his top players to qualify for post-season play. better all season long. And yes, let’s talk about Bertuzzi. You could make a case that Crawford, as much as Bertuzzi, was responsible for that horrible incident on March 11, 2004. NHL lawmakers were dying to fine Crawford individually in the wake of the Steve Moore attack, but instead, chose to fine the Canucks as a team.
With the game out of control that night, it was Crawford’s responsibility to be clear-headed and concerned for the overall well-being of the team, not frothing at the mouth and part of the posse out to get Moore. The Canucks, as a franchise, have paid dearly for what happened that night in lost revenue and lost public esteem, and Crawford has to share the responsibility for that. Maybe he could rehabilitate himself with the Leafs, but quite frankly, the slicked-back look and overall Crawford act have worn thin over the years. Once a friendly and affable sort, he has become increasingly aloof and arrogant over the years. Maurice, by contrast, has managed to continue to maintain the same solid, working man’s public persona and attitude throughout his time in Carolina and, this year, as coach of the Marlies. Is he a better coach than Crawford? Well, both men have a lot of experience and knowledge, but Maurice sure Solutions for crossword on page 24
Serious talent in senior hockey From page 32 much. I’m sure other teams would have done the same thing if they were in the Shore’s situation and were permitted to do so, but the league should step in and prevent this type of thing from happening. Another idea to help create a healthy senior circuit would be to have some
inter-locking games between the east and west leagues at a couple of junctures throughout the season. Sort of like a test-run to see if fans would show up. If they do, well then the cost of travelling on a more regular basis would be feasible. Senior hockey, for the most part, is enjoyable to watch. There are local players to cheer on, guys you know. There is
some serious talent, which leads to some exciting action on the ice. And for the Don Cherry in everyone, some scraps and even brawls. And because of fan support, there is also some money floating around. Money that could be wisely invested in the future health of the league or squandered. Let’s hope it’s the former. whitebobby@yahoo.com
seems like a far better fit for a Leaf franchise that could use somebody the public could like. To be sure, the Leafs should be looking around, although it would appear GM John Ferguson has already decided on Maurice. They should be talking to everybody and anybody, from Ted Nolan of the QMJHL Moncton Wildcats to Red Deer Rebels boss Brent Sutter to Mike Eaves, coach of the NCAA Frozen Four winning Wisconsin Badgers. If the Flyers bomb out of the postseason and make a coaching move, the Leafs should be talking to Ken Hitchcock. If Dallas gets upset by the Avs, Dave Tippett should be at the very top of Toronto’s list if Stars GM Doug Armstrong were to make a move. And, yes, the Leafs should most definitely talk to Crawford. But his time to coach the Leafs was years ago. The timing didn’t work then, and it doesn’t work now. Solutions for sudoku on page 24
INDEPENDENTSPORTS
SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 30-MAY 6, 2006 — PAGE 32
‘I believe my time is coming’ After a season playing basketball in Italy, Carl English is still focused on his NBA goal
By Bob White For the Independent
Y
ears ago, when Carl English began his basketball journey, his focus and drive gave him the strength to achieve great things on the court — and to overcome many hardships off the court. As he winds down his first season in Italy’s top basketball league with Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, English is determined to use that drive on his quest to return to North America and basketball’s top league, the NBA. After a successful collegiate career in NCAA basketball at the University of Hawaii, English left school with one year of eligibility remaining and threw his name into the NBA draft. In the end, he went undrafted and spent the next two seasons in the National Basketball Development League, chasing his dream of a call-up. Despite decent showings in NBA training camps and summer league teams the past three seasons with the Indiana Pacers, the Seattle Supersonics and the Cleveland Cavaliers, English has yet to crack the ultracompetitive world of NBA rosters. Thus, his move to Europe. Outside of the NBA, Italy’s first division is seen as one of the best leagues in the world. Over the years, many NBA stars have played for the Virtus franchise, including Manu Ginobili, who played three seasons in Italy before getting nabbed by the San Antonio Spurs. Other former Virtus members include Predrag Danilovic (former Miami Heat), Radoslav Nesteroviç
(current Spur), Michael Olowokandi (current Boston Celtics), and Bill Wennington (former Chicago Bull and Canadian senior team member). The Italian league has not come without some trials for English, but he is confident the experience will help him achieve his goal. “This season has been up and down,” English writes via e-mail. “At first it was very hard getting used to the Euro game, the style … and it was hard to understand what the coach wanted from me. “After about five games I got over
“Italy has been a learning experience for me, and a chance to improve my game both mentally and as a player.” Carl English that, and started to play my kind of game, and for about 15 games I started and had 13 points shooting 49 per cent from 3s. But after that we needed a point guard and things changed.” English says most of his teammates speak English, which helped ease the transition — to a point. “The language and living in a foreign country is hard. The culture is very different and their way of life is not what I am used to.” Perhaps the most difficult part of his Italian experience is being without
his wife, Mandy, who is completing a degree in occupational therapy in Canada. She spent Christmas in Italy, but that was it. He found some comfort watching the Olympics in his current country of residence. He was not able to catch any action live, but followed the games closely. “We practice two times a day, so you don’t have much time for anything else,” he says. “But congrats to the curling team and Brad Gushue for leading the way.” With only a few games remaining, English says his season, and the team’s, has had its moments. “We are having an OK season, and at times we played to our potential, but it is a very long season playing only one game a week. We were winning but not at the point in which we should have been.” English says he would have liked to have played more minutes — but he did produce when on the floor. Some personal highlights include a 22-point effort in one game, and another game, at Livorno, where he scored 17 points. He hit four big shots down the stretch and Virtus won in overtime. “Italy has been a learning experience for me, and a chance to improve my game both mentally and as a player,” he says. Another proving ground for English has been the Canadian senior men’s team. Last summer, the Patrick’s Cove native had an impressive campaign with the national squad, and he hopes to duplicate that this summer and in the years ahead. See “Each day,” page 30
‘Back in da bay’
W
ell, it’s been a long time coming, but like Gord Downie once sang “it’s well worth the
wait.” The Cee Bee Stars captured their first Herder Memorial Trophy last weekend, the first for the Harbour Grace-based team since 1967. The team’s potential was the talk of the Conception Bay North region all season long, and now that senior hockey’s top prize is “back in da bay,” the jubilant feeling will continue for some time. I missed the clinching game, but not because I wasn’t interested. In fact, I was watching a younger group of Cee Bees win a distinguished trophy in Grand Falls-Windsor. My son, Alex, and his Pee Wee Cee Bees were fortunate
BOB WHITE
Guest column enough to capture the Lorne Wakelin Trophy as provincial Pee Wee “C” champions, just a couple of hours before the senior Cee Bee Stars skated around Mile One with the Herder. For my son’s team, winning the trophy and accompanying banner meant as much as winning the Herder for Randy Reardon and company. The Cee Bees name carries with it a proud past all across the province and it was special for the younger players to be able to link
their win with the senior team’s return to past glory. Parents and players gathered around a clock radio in a small hotel room at the Mount Peyton to listen to CFCB’s impressive broadcast of game six. With the seconds ticking away in the final minute, and the clock radio about to explode from being turned up on bust, a rather loud cheer erupted in Grand FallsWindsor. My thanks to the staff at the Mount Peyton for being so understanding. Hockey has a rich tradition in the CBN region, and fans certainly love a winner. That being said, if the lineup remains intact, or at the very least, the core group of players continue to don the Cee Bees
colours, the current Cee Bee Stars have a chance to equal the Herder output of the teams from the 1960s, which won four championships. However, while the Cee Bees and Deer Lake Red Wings have a healthy Herder rivalry — and fans have proven they will show up in droves to watch — just how deep is the senior hockey pool? Depending on how you look at it, the senior circuit is either a couple of missteps away from collapse or poised to enjoy a resurgence that will see a fullfledged provincial league. To avoid the first scenario and achieve the latter, there are some matters that need to be addressed. Over-stacking of teams cannot be allowed. If the strength of the league lies with one or two teams,
well, there won’t be a league for very long. Of course, for followers of provincial senior hockey over the years, that little piece of wisdom is old news. It seems every incarnation of a so-called senior league in this province has struggled with that situation, and it is most often the reason for its downfall. One thing that can be done immediately to combat the stacking of teams is to get rid of whatever regulation that allows a team to pick up a player from a team that has been eliminated. From listening to fans, having Mount Pearl goalie Graham Cook suit up with Southern Shore after the Shore defeated Mount Pearl in the east semifinals was a little See “Serious talent,” page 31