2006-07-23

VOL. 4 ISSUE 29

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ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR — SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, JULY 23-29, 2006

LIFE 17 The life of a fisherman

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Lawyer launches federal suit in the name of 2,000 retired fishermen

By Pam Pardy Ghent For The Independent

T

he day Doug Harvey came in from a hard day’s fishing with 175 pounds of cod instead of the 1,500-2,000 he was used to, he knew he had to get out.

It was 1999 and the fisherman from Isle aux Morts on the southwest coast was tired of being told there was no fish “out there” by the government. The cod-fishing season in his area had been changed, and the fish just weren’t around to be caught.

He started the bid process with Ottawa to buy back his licence.

Doug’s bid of $110,000 was accepted, but when he received the cheque in November 1999, he was in for a shock. The amount was $26,000 less than expected — $24,000 of which was eaten up by capital gains tax.

“That money had to last us 13 years, until he turned 65,” says Doug’s wife, Elizabeth. “Now, what started as $110,000 is now $84,000, and we weren’t told that going into all this. We were ripped off.”

Doug cannot return to his old way of life. He signed an agreement stating he can never work in the fishing industry again — not even in a fish plant.

What seemed manageable when the couple first sat down and made the decision to leave the business, suddenly seemed impossible.

Being angry is one thing, having the resources and the know-how to do anything about is was something else.

“I’m just a housewife who thought her husband was mistreated,” Elizabeth says. But she decided to ask questions — and find out if others were in the same situation. Her perseverance was rewarded: she discovered a so-called “secret deal” that 132 fishermen in this province were offered in 2003; a deal that has led a St. John’s lawyer to start legal action on behalf of about 2,000 former fishermen.

“I used to pick up the phone to see if it worked, that thing never rang,” Elizabeth laughs. “But since starting, this I wish I could See “Revenue Canada,” page 4

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “The fact that Canada was party to such an inglorious act is something of which Canadians everywhere have little reason to be proud.”

— The late Walter Carter, on Confederation.

GALLERY 18

Scott Pynn’s dreamy Labrador landscapes COLUMN 19

Noreen Golfman on the demise of the Pouch Cove Foundation In Camera . . . . 8-9 Brazen. . . . . . . . . 12 Voice from away 13 Crossword. . . . . 24 Rock Outdoors . 29 •

Kathleen Murphy, Joan Roberts and Julie Duff bring their art to Signal Hill, taking advantage of the summer weather to paint the capital city.

Seduced?

STEPHANIE PORTER

T

he widow of former MHA and MP Walter Carter would “dearly love” to see her late husband’s unpublished manuscript reach a wide audience.

Seduced? From colony to province: Newfoundland’s struggle for independence is a detailed 200page exploration of the history and

Paul Daly/The Independent

Before his death, lifetime politician Walter Carter wrote a book about Confederation — with some tough words for Canada

circumstances leading up to Confederation. Muriel Carter says her husband worked diligently and passionately on the book for more than two years, producing a complete first draft before he passed away in 2002.

“It was fun for him … he talked to me about it as he went along,” she says. “He’d read parts out loud, to see what I thought.”

By then, of course, Muriel was used to a life surrounded by politics, politicians, and a passion for

Newfoundland.

Walter Carter began his political career in 1961 as deputy mayor of St. John’s. It wasn’t long before he caught the attention of then-premier Joey Smallwood, and within two years, he was a Liberal MHA. He would go on to Ottawa as a Progressive Conservative MP, then return to Newfoundland as the PC MHA for St. Mary’s. He ended his political career in 1996, retiring as Liberal MHA for Twillingate district.

But even before being officially

involved, Walter was an observer of the political process and personalities. In his first and only published book, the autobiography Never a Dull Moment, he reminisces about watching pre-Confederation debates: “While most teenagers were taking their girlfriends to a movie or hockey game, I talked my girlfriend, Muriel Baker, into accompanying me to the National Convention. We sat for countless hours in the gallery of See “Canadians,” page 2

In search of Hobo Bill He may have vanished from the streets of St. John’s, but Bill Cherniwchan is alive and kicking

By Ivan Morgan The Independent

R

umours of Bill Cherniwchan’s demise have been, as they say, greatly exagger-

ated.

Earlier this week, The Independent received an e-mail bemoaning the sudden death of Hobo Bill, as the popular downtown resident is best known. The push was on for material for an obituary.

Cherniwchan, 73, is undoubtedly a well-known figure — most frequently seen on or near Water Street, perched on a park bench, immediately recognizable by his long, wild beard and layers of cloth-

ing, even on warm days. But it seemed no one really knew much about him.

It also turned out he wasn’t dead.

Cherniwchan is currently resting comfortably in hospital after a medical issue forced him to voluntarily renounce his famed independence.

Recently Cherniwchan lost his downtown apartment, and was back living on the street. Arrangements to find him another home were taking a long time, he says, and in the meantime, he found a small park and took up residence there.

Asked how he ended up in hospital, he replies with good humour.

“You are aware of my eviction, after 12 years in an apartment?” he

Bill Cherniwchan

Nycki Temple-Delisle/For The Independent

says. “I went out to sleep next to the Cotton Club — even one of the girls came out and talked to me — you know the little park there? I had the first bench on the left.

“The thing is I was sleeping there,

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2 • INDEPENDENTNEWS

JULY 23, 2006

‘Canadians everywhere have little reason to be proud’ From page 1 the old House of Assembly in the Colonial Building, engrossed in the debates.”

Little did either know then, some 50 years later, Walter would put pen to paper to write a book about the very proceedings he had watched first-hand.

Reminded of those days, Muriel laughs. “It was a fascination for him,” she says. “And it became a fascination for me too.”

After Walter passed away, Muriel tried to shop Seduced? to a least one local publisher — but no bite.

“It’s a good subject for a book,” she says. “A lot of people are questioning how we got here, what’s happening in Newfoundland and Canada …

“I would love to have seen Newfoundland be an independent country. It’s such a beautiful place … we had so much, so many resources seemed like they were given away.”

It would appear she and Walter shared some of the same philosophies. While he was never a separatist, it’s clear from Walter’s writings that he always felt his home province didn’t get a fair shake in its dealings with Canada.

The first half of Seduced? is a

straightforward, factual, political history of Newfoundland, from the fishing admirals in the 1700s through representative government to all the prime ministers and administrations up to 1934.

When, as he writes, “after 79 years of self-rule, Newfoundland returned to rule by a benevolent dictatorship appointed by, and answerable only to, the British Government.”

From there, the text starts to pick up steam, coming to life as the Confederation debate heats up. By the time Walter begins writing about the National Convention — the 45-member team set up in 1946 to discuss the future

of Newfoundland post-commission government — his descriptions are more colourful, the text more engaging, and his opinions barely veiled.

He follows the events through to the final vote for Confederation, the swearing in of Newfoundland’s first lieutenant-governor, and the official union ceremony in Ottawa.

In his epilogue, entitled Political Naivete, Walter pulls no punches.

“Given the irrevocable nature of Confederation, the process under which Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949 was a shameful betrayal of its national interest …” he begins. He goes on to point a finger at the Government of Canada, which was “morally, if not constitutionally, wrong to have proceeded so hastily to consummate the union …

“The fact that Canada was party to such an inglorious act is something of which Canadians everywhere have little reason to be proud.”

Walter’s son, journalist Glen Carter, would not be surprised to read those words.

“Dad, I think, thought it was really important to have his say on the Confederation debate,” he says. “I think it was in some respects a labour of love to bring all those facts together into one place. For himself and for anybody who cared to read it.

Bill Cherniwchan

“I think my father believed that Newfoundland brought far more to the table than Canada did, with the fishery the way it was or wealth in terms of resources, the oceans, the forests, the mines.”

Not only was his father a natural storyteller, says Glen, but he was also a “real nationalist. He really believed in Newfoundland, he believed in being a Newfoundlander first and Canadian second.”

That much is reflected in Walter’s written words — and his determination to share them with a new generation of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Glen says he’d love to see his father’s manuscript published — and believes the right time will come.

“Like for any book, there has to be a time and a place for it and I think maybe we’re not ready for that yet,” he says.

“If all of a sudden a debate started to rage about Confederation … we got a little of that with Danny Williams and the flag flap and the accord and all that, when people started to look at what we’ve become in terms of the family of provinces.

“That kind of situation leads to debate and discussion and scrutiny of how we came to be part of the country.

“Maybe down the road there will be a time and a place.”

Nycki Temple-Delisle/For The Independent

‘Everyone thinks I’m a millionaire’ From page 1 “I was in the elements, and continuously wet … And I was laying on the steps to the Conference Centre and a police cruiser pulls up and he says ‘You want to go to the hospital?’ and I said ‘Sure.’”

Cherniwchan says earlier attempts to get him to seek medical attention failed.

“They had tried to make me and I revolted. But by the time I was laying out there prostrate for six weeks, I thought it was about time I got some indoor … you know … your personal … how do you call it? … Ambience?”

He doesn’t finish the thought, distracted by a kind nod from a fellow patient. It is understood that at his age, six weeks outdoors didn’t do him any good.

Born and raised in Smoky Lake, Alta., Cherniwchan was the son of Ukrainian immigrants. After a stint in the army cadets, he joined the Canadian Armed Forces, and was stationed in British Columbia, where he served with an anti-aircraft artillery unit. His specialty was radar instruction.

Cherniwchan was married, but after his marriage ended, he decided to take up the life of a hobo. He cites political reasons, among others, for his choice.

“I was a Communist when I was 30 years old, living in the city of Edmonton, and I found out the city was infiltrated by real Nazis — and I am talking the government.

“In 1971, I decided to leave and not come back. I knew I would not go back.

That’s the main reason I became a hobo … You can use the word ‘persecution,’ but I like to think it more (as) extra legal measures to keep this fella from being any threat to the right wing, redneck, political climate of the province of Alberta. And you can quote me … the thing is, if you are a Communist in Alberta, you’re finished.”

For the past 17 years, Cherniwchan has been a resident of downtown St. John’s. In past weeks he has been the

subject of wild rumours: that he had died, that he had returned to his family, that he had moved. Well aware of the the speculation, one rumour particularly amuses him.

“The thing is, I’ve been what, 17 years on the street here?” he asks.

“Everyone still thinks I’m a millionaire.”

Had he indeed passed on, Cherniwchan offers a possible epitaph: “Billionaire, millionaire and dead hobo.”

He remains philosophical. “You know as you get older, you don’t really mind your mortality,” he says. “When you get older, you accept you are faced with mortality. Besides, I beat the odds — three score and 10 — I’ve beaten that by three years already, and I might even beat it by another three years, who knows?”

Cherniwchan admits he hasn’t made plans past his hospital stay.

“I have a number of … alternate locations,” he says thoughtfully. He had entertained the idea of moving back to Montreal, where he lived for many years, but has decided he probably won’t.

“There is a saying that once you leave a town, don’t come back. And there’s some validity to it.”

Cherniwchan is touched so many have been kind during his time in hospital. The staff, he says, are experts in TLC. He wonders if plans are being made on his behalf for a place to live.

“I have a sneaking suspicion that they are going to try and get me into some establishment — a nursing home?”

Ebullient, charming, and smart in bright shirt, suspenders, and newly trimmed beard and hair, Cherniwchan would be a welcome addition to any such residence.

He prepares to pose for a picture, but it quickly becomes evident he knows a great deal about the camera, offering advice on the aperture and exposure for direct sun.

“How do I look?” he asks.

“The word I am going to use,” comes the response, “is distinguished.”

Posing in the hot morning sun, Cherniwchan smiles slyly. Out of the corner of his mouth he says, “and the word I’m going to use is extinguished.”

Not yet, and if his good humour and personal warmth are anything to go by, not for years to come.

JULY 23, 2006

INDEPENDENTNEWS • 3

SCRUNCHINS A weekly collection of Newfoundlandia

U

nder the did-you-know category, the July/August issue of Saltscapes, which bills itself as Canada’s East Coast Magazine, includes an article, Three Rs by Rail, about the School Car, which started life in Newfoundland as a private car for visiting Lord Northcliffe, founder of the AngloNewfoundland Development Company, and became a schoolhouse for dozens of kids from Placentia Junction to Codroy Pond.

Writer Robin Gillingham says the late Frank Moores (much better known for his later stint as premier) was the first teacher in the school car, a travelling classroom for children in isolated rural communities during the late 1930s and early ’40s. The construction of the railway in 1881 led to the expansion of the timber industry, which, in turn, led to the birth of remote communities by railway and forestry workers.

“These settlements had few government services and the children had no prior form of schooling,” the article reads. “The travelling school proved to be a hit from the very beginning, with nine students attending on opening day — despite a blizzard. For the next six years, the School Car travelled the rails providing school services to 13 communities, through not all were served each year.”

In June 1941, Moores, who worked in the school car from 1936-41, apparently left teaching for more profitable work constructing the Newfoundland Airport (at Gander).

SEA STORIES While on the topic of famous people … writer Kenneth J. Harvey sure gets nominated for some interesting awards. The Town That Forgot How To Breathe has been nominated for Italy’s Libro del Mare. The award is presented each year to the author of the best book about the sea. Harvey is up against nine others, although he definitely stands out, considering he’s the only Newfoundlander/English author.

OMAHA’S WILD KINGDOM The World-Herald newspaper of Omaha, Nebraska published a story July 17 on how local eateries are backing a boycott of Canadian fish products in retaliation for the seal hunt. The Flatiron Café is one of 13 Omaha restaurants and caterers to join a U.S. boycott of Canadian seafood in a bid to end the hunt. But not everyone’s on board.

“So I’m supposed to turn around and punish (my suppliers), other small businessmen, for the small percentage of people who actually go out and do this harm to these animals?” asked Ron Samuelson, another Omaha restaurant owner. “If you boycott Canadian seafood for the seals, do you boycott veal? Chickens, if they’re not free-range? Foie gras? You could make an argument against anything on the menu.”

Desmond McGrath, who describes himself as “a Newfoundland patriot living in socio-economic exile in the bayous of Louisiana,” forwarded a copy of the story to local newsrooms. No word on whether Des is any relation to the good Father Des of fishermen’s union fame …

BOTTOMING OUT The Toronto Star carried an unusual column this week, Newfoundland hits Rock Bottom.

“The only thing that keeps Newfoundland going these days is duelling literary festivals, one on the island’s west coast, one on the east coast, but otherwise identical. This distresses the one or two forward-looking citizens in the province who still hold out some hope for The Rock’s future,” writes columnist Joey Slinger.

“For one thing, the Woody Point festival is dedicated to the proposition that ‘I’s the b’y that writes the book, and youse the b’ys that reads ’er,’ while the Eastport festival theme is ‘I’s the b’y that writes the book, and youse the b’ys that reads ’er.’

The problem facing these literary events is the same as the province faces with all its other resources: Newfoundland is running thin on writers. Festival participants must dash back and forth, and with the famous Bullet no longer operating they are left with no alternative but to hitchhike.” ryan.cleary@theindependent.ca

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This could be a big year for hurricanes — even here in Newfoundland and Labrador

By Ivan Morgan The Independent

O

n Sept. 12, 1775 a hurricane blew into eastern Newfoundland, laying waste to everything in its path. It caught the entire fishing fleet of eastern Newfoundland unaware as it was preparing to sail back to Europe.

Loaded to the gunnels with salt fish, waiting in their home harbours for favourable winds, the fishermen and their boats were sitting ducks. Four thousand people drowned. Many more were left homeless or marooned, their supplies ruined, facing a long and bitter winter with little hope of relief. No one had any warning.

The province will have plenty of warning if such a storm is to happen again, but there are still questions to be asked as the “hurricane season” approaches. Could the conditions that spawned that tragic storm be brewing off our shores again? Would we be prepared for it?

This might sound alarmist, were it not for Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The citizens of New Orleans and elsewhere in the southern States had plenty of warning. With modern weather predictions, and high-tech graphics that showed in real time the advance of the storm, one of the largest cities in the United States was still wiped out, many of its citizens left destitute and helpless.

The factors that generated the hurricane of 1775 and others of its time will remain historical speculation, due to a lack of hard scientific data. But now quite a bit is known about these storms — and some of the data points to this year being a troublesome one for residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, especially those who live on the east coast.

The American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predict 2006 will be a very active hurricane season. The North Atlantic hurricane season usually runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.

As NOAA stated in a recent press release:

“For the 2006 north Atlantic hurricane season, NOAA is predicting 13 to 16 named storms, with eight to 10 becoming hurricanes, of which four to six could become ‘major’ hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher.”

That’s not a record-breaker like 2005 (28 storms, including 15 hurricanes), but it is still serious.

Hurricanes tend to start in the south and move northwards — and that’s when they can become our problem.

The good news: Newfoundland is surrounded by cold water, and hurricanes — which derive their energy from warm water — tend to dissipate over colder water.

The bad news: this year, the water south of Newfoundland is warmer than usual. This could be a cause for concern. With this corridor of warmer water, a hurricane could dissipate at a slower rate, perhaps staying stronger longer, and hitting us harder.

Could we be looking at a Katrina-type storm? AMEC meteorologist Stephen Greene says it’s possible — but isn’t likely.

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have to understand a few basic facts about the weather in this part of the world, Greene cautions. Newfoundlanders are used to bad weather. The people are hardy, says Greene, “and that is absolutely true when it comes to the weather. We are used to having big storms — primarily in the winter — big

major storms that would pretty much shut down anywhere else in North America.”

He says one of our winter storms can be comparable to a tropical storm, except the precipitation is solid instead of liquid.

“Look, for example, the storm we had last year: 76 centimetres of snow, winds up to 120 kilometres per hour, gusting up to 140 kph — 140 kph is a hurricane.”

This province does have more experience with bad weather than many. Although bad weather doesn’t faze us, Anna Power, manager of community development for the Newfoundland and Labrador regional office of the Canadian Red Cross, says we should all ensure we are prepared.

“If individuals themselves are prepared, it significantly reduces the impact (a disaster) would have on the family and the community as a whole.”

Power stresses it’s important to be ready for any contingency. Simple things like extra food, a supply of clean water, extra batteries, a radio and other basic essentials ensure people will be comfortable until a bad situation gets better.

Besides the food, clothing and shelter the Red Cross provides in troubled times, Power stresses the organization’s communications programs.

“One of the big things that causes an extreme amount of stress for people is that they watch the news … and all of a sudden they think of their loved ones,” she says.

“Communications systems are often down and they don’t know how to track a person down. The Red Cross has established links where we can register people and people can call to any Red Cross office across the country, or for that matter anywhere around the world, and they can track down people if they are registered with us.”

The Red Cross is one of a network of likeminded organizations, such as the provincial government’s Emergency Measures Organization and the Salvation Army, whose staff and volunteers are ready to help out in times of trouble.

Cardiac wait times same as last year

T

he wait time for cardiac surgeries in St. John’s is on average with last year, says Norma Baker, program director of cardiac critical care with Eastern Health.

The wait-time benchmark is six months,

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“If individuals themselves are prepared, it significantly reduces the impact (a disaster) would have on the family and the community as a whole.”

Anna Power of the Canadian Red Cross

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although Baker says 80 per cent of patients don’t have to wait that long. As of June’s end, 86 people were on the waiting list — a list that stretched to as many as 300 two or three years ago, which led to some patients being sent to the mainland

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BEATLEMANIA Gander airport is one historic place — The Beatles first set foot on North American soil in the central Newfoundland town.

Frank Sinatra tried to butt in line at the bar and was asked to wait his turn. Jackie O., Churchill, Khrushchev, Marlene Dietrich, the king of Sweden, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Marlon Brando, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley all stopped by the terminal at one point or another …

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AIRPORT TERMS Speaking of Gander, news broke this week that the town’s airport — known for years as the “Crossroads of the world” — may declare bankruptcy or close unless the federal government steps in with financial help. Military aircraft, which account for half of the airport’s traffic, don’t have to pay landing fees, resulting in a $2-million a year loss for the Gander Airport Authority.

The authority is after the federal Conservative government to live up to a pre-election promise to compensate it for the revenue it loses from free military landings. It just so happens that the Gander airport is mentioned in the Terms of Union — Term 31 actually, under the heading “miscellaneous provisions.” Quote: “At the date of Union, or as soon thereafter as practicable, Canada will take over the following services and will as from the date of Union relieve the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador of the public costs incurred in respect of each service taken over, namely … civil aviation, including Gander Airport.”

But then that may not mean much — the first item on the list of things to be taken over by Ottawa was the railway.

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The number of procedures taking place a week during the summer months stands at around 12, compared to 16 for the rest of the year.

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4 • INDEPENDENTNEWS

JULY 23, 2006

Little hope for fixing fiscal imbalance: economist

By Nadya Bell The Independent

W

hile Canadian premiers are hopeful they’ll find a solution to the fiscal imbalance in their upcoming meetings, an economist says there is little hope for an agreement.

“It’s not going to be a pretty sight,” says Hugh Mackenzie of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. “In some respects we know way too much about the details of the way this formula works, so it would be a shock if they came up with any kind of consensus.”

Premiers from every province and territory are scheduled to meet in St. John’s July 27-28 to discuss equalization and the fiscal imbalance, among other issues.

Admitting the existence of a fiscal imbalance, Prime Minister Stephen

Harper has said the federal government is taking too much money from Canadians, and should re-direct some of those funds back to the provinces.

The provinces have not agreed on how the imbalance should be fixed — through changes to equalization, federal transfer payments, or transfers of federal tax authority.

“Every province has done the number crunching on the various options and priorities and knows exactly what the implications are for that province specifically,” Mackenzie says.

His recent report on the fiscal imbalance says the provinces have lost more money from their own competitive tax cuts than from reductions in federal transfers.

As the new chair of the council of the federation, Williams says he’s optimistic a solution can be found.

“There is the makings here of a con-

sensus. I think there is enough goodwill, there is enough broad understanding that everybody has legitimate interests,” Williams said after meeting with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty last week.

“The ideal solution would be that if we can come up with a national solution that is principals based, that is long term and visionary.”

The Council of the Federation last met in Edmonton, and was unsuccessful at making any progress on either equalization or the fiscal imbalance.

In June, the O’Brien report on equalization, which proposed a limit on how much provinces should receive under equalization, was opposed by Williams.

If the premiers are unable to come up with a consensus by the time they meet with the federal government in the fall, Ottawa may impose a solution to the fiscal imbalance.

“The best that the premiers can hope for is that they can produce another topic that they can say they talked about,” Mackenzie says.

The Council of the Federation meeting is followed by a number of lobby groups hoping for an opportunity to talk with the premiers.

The Canadian Federation of Nurses’ Unions is meeting on Wednesday morning in the Fairmont hotel to talk about health care issues, including the national labour shortage.

“We’re there to remind the premiers that healthcare is still the No. 1 issue for Canadians,” says Pam Foster from the federation. “We believe that it is an important moment to put things on the premiers’ agenda.”

Code Blue Childcare campaign is planning a demonstration Thursday morning outside the Fairmont Hotel to get the premiers’ attention.

Nancy Peckford of the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action will also be in St. John’s. She says discussion on the fiscal imbalance involves the re-negotiation of the fiscal terms of the Canadian federation.

“We want to ensure that there is an appropriate sharing of responsibility between the federal and provincial government on social programs and services that are significant to women. We don’t want women to loose out in this process.”

Other issues on the agenda for the premiers include economic opportunities and challenges across the country and healthy living. They may also discuss post-secondary education and skills, energy, transportation and global pressures on traditional resource industries such as fish and forestry. nadya.bell@theindependent.ca

SHIPPING NEWS Keeping on eye on the comings and going of the ships in St. John’s Harbour. Information provided by the Coast Guard Traffic Centre.

SATURDAY Vessels Arrived: Atlantic Eagle, Canada, from Terra Nova.

Vessels Departed: Trinity Sea, Canada, to White Rose; Maersk Dispatcher, Canada to White Rose; Cicero, Canada, to Halifax.

SUNDAY Vessels Arrived: Oceanex Avalon, Canada, from Montreal; Double Haven, Cayman Islands, from St. Bride’s; Maersk Nascopie, Canada, from Hibernia; Atlantic Hawk, Canada, from White Rose.

Vessels Departed: Atlantic Eagle, Canada to Terra Nova.

MONDAY Vessels Arrived: Atlantic Eagle, Canada, from Terra Nova; Cape Fortune, Canada, from Arnold’s Cove; Caps Keltic, Canada, from sea.

Vessels Departed: Oceanex Avalon, Canada, to Montreal.

TUESDAY Vessels Departed: Atlantic Hawk, Canada, to White Rose; Atlantic

Eagle, Canada, to Terra Nova.

WEDNESDAY Vessels Arrived: Sir Wilfred Grenfell, Canada, from Dartmouth; Atlantic Eagle, Canada, from Terra Nova; George R. Pearkes, Canada, from sea.

Vessels Departed: Double Haven, Cayman Islands, to Newman Sound; Maersk Dispatcher, Canada, to sea.

THURSDAY Vessels Arrived: Jean Charcot, Britain, from sea; Maersk Chancellor, Canada, from Bay Roberts; Maersk Dispatcher, Canada, from Terra Nova; Atlantic Osprey, Canada, from White Rose; RRS Discovery, Britain, from Ireland; Cabot, Canada, from Montreal; Atlantic Jet, France, from St. Pierre; Acadian, Canada, from Dartmouth.

Vessels Departed: Maersk Chancellor, Canada, to Bay Roberts.

FRIDAY Vessels Arrived: Anticosti, Canada, from sea; Cicero, Canada, from Halifax; Wilfred Templeman, Canada, from sea; Burin Sea, Canada, from Terra Nova.

Vessels Departed: Maersk Chancellor, Canada, to Terra Nova; Cabot, Canada, to Montreal; Acadian, Canada, to Searsport.

Lawyer Eli Baker

Paul Daly/The Independent

‘Revenue Canada would have put these people off till they died’ From page 1 have a minute when it didn’t.”

In 2003, Revenue Canada offered the group of 132 retired fishermen — who had retained a lawyer — a new method of assessing income received from the Atlantic Groundfish Licence Retirement Program. Each fisherman in the group received substantial refunds of income tax paid, on the condition that they sign a statement of secrecy.

The new method of assessment meant that instead of a 75 per cent capital gain on a $120,000 buyout, the assessed income of the small group dropped to $17,013.00. Instead of paying over $24,000 in taxes to the Harveys and 2,000 others, the group paid closer to $2,000 in income tax.

The bottom line: they kept most of the money they got for their licences.

“Now, fair is fair, and that wasn’t,” Elizabeth declares. “You can’t give to one and not to others, we all fished the same waters, and the tax laws are all the same for one and all, you just can’t do that, it’s not right.”

Elizabeth started a campaign, calling open-line programs and contacting

politicians directly. She collected 972 names of fishermen who were “ripped off” by Revenue Canada.

Seven hundred of them are ready to move forward with legal action, and the remaining 272 probably will — if they can be found. “Some have died since,” she explains. “Others are working away and they haven’t heard yet, but they will, I’m sure they will,” she says.

Two months ago, Harvey got the attention of St. John’s lawyer Eli Baker. On July 20, Baker filed action in the federal court to force the Minister of National Revenue to rule on the objections raised by hundreds of the province’s fishermen who retired in 1999 and 2000. Baker believes the fishermen are potentially owed millions of dollars lost through unfair taxing.

“It should be called the fishermen’s rip-off program instead of the fishermen’s retirement program,” says Baker.

“Imagine the shock of a fisherman when he or she was promised $120,000 and received only $60,000 for giving up permanently their means of livelihood.”

When word started to spread about these so-called secret deals, Baker says retired fishermen began placing calls to

Revenue Canada. All received the same response — that their files would be reviewed. That was two years ago, and so far there has been no answers.

“Revenue Canada would have put these people off, till they died and didn’t have a voice at all. It looks like (Revenue Canada’s) favourite thing to do is rob the Newfoundland fisherman,” he says.

“Some of these fishermen are now on social assistance. They need to insulate their houses, fix their roofs and it’s not fair that the money that they should have had to do this with was ripped away from them. I’m going to go get that for them.”

Baker hopes legal action will get the answers so many are waiting for.

“We can have this settled before first snowfall,” he says. “They (Revenue Canada) shouldn’t have had this money in the first place and (the money) just needs to go from the hands that shouldn’t to the hands that should — the fisherman. Two hundred and fifty million dollars were made available for this program and $125 million of that was taken back.

I want that money back in those fishermen’s hands, with no negative effects.

“And I want it with interest.”

JULY 23, 2006

INDEPENDENTNEWS • 5

To strike or not to strike, nurses’ union weighs options

By Ryan Cleary The Independent

T

Auditor general John Noseworthy

Paul Daly/The Independent

Under the microscope 122 current and former MHAs to be examined in auditor general’s new probe

By Ivan Morgan The Independent

O

ne hundred and twenty two people, some dead, will have their expense claims audited in the next few months by auditor general John Noseworthy.

On July 19, Speaker of the House Harvey Hodder announced Noseworthy was being asked to look at the spending of every MHA since 1989 — the year the constituency allowance was brought in.

In the past few weeks, Noseworthy has released five reports, alleging millions in questionable spending — including overspending by four MHAs. Two weeks ago, Noseworthy stepped out of the media spotlight, saying further investigation would be carried out by the RNC. With Hodder’s recent announcement, Noseworthy once again faces a large, and potentially explosive, project.

Based on the assumption expense claims were filed annually — for each of the past 16 years — the auditor general face approximately 700 individual audits — not including the Williams administration.

While no chartered accountant contacted by The Independent wouldo go on the record, several speculated the auditor general faces a big task — particularly considering the claims go back before the advent of electronic records.

The expense claims of all members of the House of Assembly since 1989 will be examined: Wally Andersen William Andersen III Joan Marie Aylward Kevin Aylward Robert Aylward Winston Baker Percy Barrett Julie Bettney Charles Brett Joan Burke Roland Butler Edward J. Byrne Jack Byrne Perry Canning Nick Careen Walter C. Carter Felix Collins Randy Collins Patt Cowan John Crane Chris Decker Dave Denine Paul Dicks Norman Doyle Shannie Duff Danny Dumaresque Kathy Dunderdale John Efford Roger Fitzgerald Graham Flight Judy M. Foote

Clayton Forsey Bob French Terry French Chuck Furey Rex Gibbons Dave Gilbert Glenn C. Greening Roger Grimes Kathy Goudie Aubrey Gover Eric Gullage Harry Harding Jack Harris Loyola Hearn Tom Hedderson Alvin Hewlett John Hickey Harvey Hodder Jim Hodder Mary Hodder William Hogan Bud Hulan Ray Hunter Barry Hynes Clyde Jackman Charlene Johnson Yvonne J. Jones Eddie Joyce Jim Kelland Sandra C. Kelly Hubert Kitchen Oliver Langdon Tom Lush Mike Mackey Fabian Manning Lloyd G. Matthews William Matthews

Hodder has asked Noseworthy to file a report in November.

Hodder acknowledges these issues have been discussed by government.

“At the moment we have had some tentative discussions on that matter,” he tells The Independent.

“To date he has not requested additional resources, but if he should, the Internal Economy Commission will address that issue at that time.”

In regards to the short time-line of the task, Hodder again defers to the auditor general’s discretion.

“It might be done in various phases,” he says.

“That’s really for him to decide. There may be certain parts of the report he can have available by November.”

PAPER RECORDS Hodder says government is aware of the practical issues concerning the work — but, he adds, the records do exist.

“There may be some issue involved in the first several years, but for the most part the rest of the years are available electronically.”

Hodder doesn’t predict any problems with the auditor general completing his work alongside an on-going police investigation.

“We’ve consulted with legal advice, and we have consulted also with the RNC and its senior management and we have consulted with the management team for the investigation and ... there is deemed to be no prejudicial effect that would effect the investigation.”

Noseworthy has declined comment until Monday, July 24, when he plans to hold a press conference to provide details on the additional audit work.

Elizabeth Marshall Tom Marshall Ernest McLean Robert Mercer Thomas Murphy Walter Noel Kevin O’Brien E. Douglas Oldford Paul Oram Sheila Osborne Tom Osborne John Ottenheimer Kelvin Parsons Kevin Parsons Melvin Penney Charles Power William Ramsay Art Reid Gerry Reid Bob Ridgley Thomas G. Rideout Edward Roberts Paul Shelley Larry Short Leonard Simms Shawn Skinner Harold Small Gerald Smith

he union representing the province’s 5,000 nurses may have hit the wall in contract negotiations with the provincial government, but Debbie Forward isn’t prepared to talk strike just yet.

“Obviously everybody’s asking the question, ‘Will there be a nurses’ strike?’” says Forward, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses’ Union. “We’re not in a legal position right now to take a strike vote.

Legislation has to be complied with, essential services have to be negotiated. None of that is done.”

In fact, Forward isn’t prepared to even talk about the time line leading up to possible job action. “There are so many unknowns around that,” she tells The Independent. “That’s never a process that we enter into lightly, and so we’re going to take this time to make sure that we evaluate everything about where we are and then make some decisions.

Obviously the first people who know will be nurses.”

Negotiations between the province and nurses’ union broke off July 6 when government laid its final offer on the table. The three-year deal includes a 0 per cent pay increase in the first year (retroactive to July 1, 2005), another three per cent effective this July, and a final three per cent in July 2007.

As well, government wants to cut sick leave in half for new nurses. The province was prepared to invest $325,000 in the education leave fund and potentially invest in the unfunded liabilities of the Public Service Pension Plan.

Finance Minister Loyola Sullivan has said money is a factor, meaning nurses have been offered the same package as other unions, including teachers.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association, representing the province’s doctors, signed a memorandum of understanding

with government this past February.

The four-year deal gives doctors a pay increase similar to the package given to other government workers. At the same time, the global cap on the doctors’ fee-for-service budget was eliminated. Other improvements to their agreement will see the physician services budget increase by $18 million in the final year of the deal.

Forward says doctors were treated differently.

“Government keeps talking about how the doctors got the same salary increase and gave up their sick leave, but our contention is that there were issues that physicians wanted addressed in their memorandum of understanding that government did address,” she says.

“Government can’t keep ignoring us falling behind, so far behind the rest of the country it’s getting laughable and it’s insulting to nurses.”

WORST PAID The nurses’ union recently prepared an information package for its membership. The union predicts nurses in this province will soon be the worst paid in Atlantic Canada, and second lowest-paid in the country.

As of June 2005, Newfoundland and Labrador nurses at the top of the pay scale made $28.28 an hour, compared to nurses in Nova Scotia who will make $30.71 an hour when their contract expires this October.

New Brunswick nurses will make $31.49 an hour by December 2007.

Nurses in this province already have the lowest weekend, evening and night-shift premiums in the country — 33 cents an hour on nights and evenings, for example, compared to $3 an hour in PEI. “Our priority is to negotiate,” reads the handout from the nurses’ union. “We are not prepared to take job action at this point in time, however we must keep this option open.”

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6 • INDEPENDENTNEWS

JULY 23, 2006

Connecting the dots I

disagree completely with people who compare our current political state to a banana republic or Mexico. If that were the case, I’d be dead in a ditch.

The goons wouldn’t even bother to hide my remains in the woods, which, on a positive note, would save the Constabulary some time and expense.

They’ve got enough half-buried corpses in the forest to deal with as it is.

My body would be found right there on the side of the road for barefoot kids to see when they walk by searching for a drop of clean water.

That’s what happens when reporters get aggressive in Third World countries. Thankfully, I live in Town, where there aren’t so many open ditches to tempt the political powers that be.

First, to the misdeed …

Why would a paper question Danny and the good he does for charity?

Whose business is it how the premier spends his paycheque? It’s his money.

Didn’t Harvey Hodder just threaten The Independent with a lawsuit for the front-page numbers the paper printed on MHA spending? Must be a vendetta.

Must be a way to get the premier and his crowd back for unleashing their downtown lawyers on us. The premier gives his money away — MHAs spend

RYAN CLEARY

Fighting Newfoundlander government cash.

Big difference, don’t you know?

That kind of reporting isn’t journalism so much as the stuff National Enquirer minds want to know. Aren’t there more important things to investigate than dirt?

The ongoing political scandal comes down to transparency. The cash distributed by the premier’s personal charity — even though it’s his own — also comes down to transparency.

Transparency is the line that connects the dots.

In the case of MHAs, every single one of the 122 elected since 1989 has had a pot of money, a constituency allowance/expense account, to dip into.

There weren’t many controls to speak of — politicians could spend the money however they wished. To date, four of them are accused of severely overspending or spending on themselves.

How many more will there be by the time the auditor general digs back 17 years? How many politicians are quak-

ing in their patent leather shoes?

The one time the AG’s office took a peek at expenses back in 2000, officials found wine and artwork billed to constituency allowances. But then the AG was kicked out of the House faster than Ed Byrne can draw up a resignation letter.

The scandal wouldn’t have happened if there was transparency — if the expenses were accounted for in an open book.

As for the premier’s pay, the money is his — he works damn hard for it, no one questions that. But part of Danny’s reputation is built on his generosity, on the fact he’s a successful businessman and doesn’t need the money, on the fact he gives his salary to charity. He made that known from the get-go.

Given Danny’s rank, shouldn’t a third party keep an eye on where and how the $150,000 a year is doled out?

Just to ensure there are no conflicts, perceived or otherwise. The purpose of last week’s Charity case story was not to question the honesty or integrity of the Williams Family Foundation and the people who run it.

Danny is the premier — considering the office, how and exactly where he hands out tens of thousands of dollars, as honourable as that may be, must be

transparent.

Look at it another way. Before entering politics, Danny sold his company, Cable Atlantic, for $232 million. He has an enormous list of holdings and properties and other investments.

But that’s his personal fortune — why is it the public’s business what happens with it? Why should the premier be made to keep his personal portfolio under the thumb of a blind trust?

The interests are his and his alone.

The simple answer: to avoid possible conflict of interest … so the premier doesn’t personally benefit as a result of moves he makes while in office.

Same holds true for the salary he gives away. The fact that the only people who can answer questions about the Williams Family Foundation are in the premier’s office is a problem in itself.

At the very least the foundation should be arm’s length. It is not.

Transparency, there’s that dirty word again.

It will be interesting to hear what Chuck Furey, the commissioner of members’ interests, the province’s MHA watchdog, has to say about the premier’s charity. We would have asked Chuck this week but he was away on vacation.

Danny made the right move this

week to allow the AG back in again, to allow John Noseworthy to finish the job he started. If we’ve learned one thing about the man, Mr. Noseworthy tells it like it is. His work (if he’s not restricted in any way) will be as good as an inquiry, without the months of distraction.

Noseworthy will have his work cut out — reviewing the expense accounts of every MHA, past and present, going back to Clyde Wells’ day.

Should be a hell of a report — probably good with a bottle or two of wine.

Not the expensive stuff, mind you.

The review of MHA compensation

by Justice Derek Green should also be a fascinating read. Our political system has been in need of a complete overhaul for decades, including a reduction in MHA ranks. Communities have lost churches, banks, schools, fish plants, families … why should politicians be sacred?

Newfoundland and Labrador is in need of a new breed of politician.

Attitudes must change; expectations must change. To misquote the great John F. — ask not what your province can do for you, but you can do for your province. And for God’s sake, don’t shoot a guy for pointing that out. ryan.cleary@theindependent.ca

YOUR VOICE Confederation’s ‘real bullies’ Dear editor, It seems the editors of The Globe and Mail are upset at Danny Williams. For months now they have been whining about the premier for being too aggressive and unreasonable with ExxonMobil. On July 14 they even accused him of being a bully. How the premier of “Canada’s poorest province,” a place that is being gradually depopulated, could bully one of the largest corporations in the world, with profits last year of $34 billon, is beyond my comprehension. Nonetheless, The Globe editorial ended with: “Such bullying will not scare the oil industry or ensure that Newfoundland gets a better deal. It’s time for the premier to change tactics and stop acting as if everyone were out to rob his province of its due.”

To me, this says more about the people making the statement than it does about the person being accused.

The Globe is supposed to be Canada’s “national newspaper,” and these people are supposed to be Canadians, yet here they are apparently taking the side of a foreign multi-national corporation. Perhaps I’m being too cynical and they are just trying to be helpful and give some good advice. If this is so, they must be suggesting that Williams treat Newfoundland and Labrador’s oil resources the same way as governments of the past treated hydro, mineral and fishery resources,

and that everything will turn out smelling like roses. Well, if you told that to a dead cat it would scratch your face off! I suspect what’s really bothering The Globe is the fear that their little empire is starting to fall apart. In the past the old system of the “dual monarchy” (Ontario and Quebec) served central Canada very well. In fact it turned southern and southeastern Ontario (areas with few resources apart from mostly second- and thirdrate farm land) into not only the richest part of Canada but also one of the richest areas in North America. When one considers this, you don’t have to be that bright to figure out who are the real bullies of the Canadian federation.

If Newfoundland and Labrador can’t reach a fair deal with ExxonMobil, then I see nothing wrong with leaving the oil in the ground, it’s like having money in the bank — and as long as the price of oil keeps going up, you’re collecting interest as well. ExxonMobil, like all big corporations, has a need to maximize profits — so they probably will come back. If they continue to be unreasonable, Newfoundland and Labrador at some point should stop pussy footing around with these guys and start shopping around for an alternate company to develop the Hebron oil field.

Joe Butt,Toronto

W

‘Dirt’ does not equal sales Dear editor, I would suggest that The Independent stick with good clean, unbiased journalism, rather than playing dirty and attacking the integrity of upstanding individuals in order to “create” what they call news.

Premier Danny Williams has been kind enough to not take a salary from government and instead give this money to charity. I would like to ask Ryan Cleary and Sue Kelland-Dyer how much they give to charity each year.

It is nobody’s business how an individual chooses to spend his or her income. Mr. Williams should not have to account for how he distributes his salary. We know it goes to charity and that should be sufficient.

I wonder if Mr. Cleary or Ms. Kelland-Dyer would be willing to make a copy of their bank statements available to the public to show every-

one how they spend their income.

Our premier has honourably given up his salary, but does that automatically make his charity choices public knowledge? Last week’s article on the premier’s charitable donations gave no thought to the fact that some of the individuals and families that received donations from Mr. Williams’ salary may wish to remain anonymous. Furthermore, I think the very title of the article, Charity case, is derogatory and disrespectful to those people who are less fortunate than the rest of us. I would suggest that you need look no further than this title to see why some donation recipients would like to remain anonymous. Mr. Cleary should have learned by now that this kind of dirt does not translate into sales.

Andrew Butler, St. John’s

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‘Dominion of Canuckistan’

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hen you think about it, Newfoundland and Labrador, along with most other Canadian provinces, is little more than a glorified colony to the great Ontario metropolis, with the exception of Quebec that is.

Quebec’s great struggle for independence — though not yet successful in its primary objective — has resulted in a situation where the rest of the country has wound up sitting on the sidelines of a battle of the titans. A battle for the biggest bone of them all, who will eventually be the top dog in a twodog fight and who gets to pick the carcass of Canada clean.

With 308 seats in the House of Commons and 181of those in Quebec and the big O, it doesn’t take Rex Murphy or even Rex Goudie to figure out where that leaves the rest of us. In a nutshell, the boys’ club is full and they aren’t taking any new members. In that context, Newfoundland and Labrador’s seven seats don’t even register on the Ottawa radar and as long as the colonies keep the supplies pouring in, everyone who really matters in this dominion will be contented and maybe, just maybe, they won’t crush us for sport.

As things stand, the role of the other Canadian provinces, or as I prefer to call us, the colonies, is little more than that of supplier to the great insatiable appetite of central Canada.

The purpose of good old Newfoundland and Labrador, as it is with the other colonies, is to supply iron, nickel, uranium, gold and copper to satiate the appetite of the great smelters of metropolis. We are here to cut down forests so they can build their multimillion dollar hobbit holes and ensure that the great Ontario court has a steady supply of paper for their “national” newspapers and personal toiletry needs, both of which are interchangeable.

We are expected to suck our land and ocean’s dry of every last drop of oil and gas so, as the old song used to say, “… their derrieres won’t freeze” — likely

MYLES HIGGINS Guest column We are expected to suck our land and ocean’s dry of every last drop of oil and gas so, as the old song used to say, “… their derrieres won’t freeze” — likely when they expose them for us to kiss when they expose them for us to kiss.

Oh yes, let’s not forget, we are also expected to smile sweetly and bow our heads in respect when the great metropolites bestow upon us whatever pittance our unworthy slovenly selves might be given by their grace.

One hell of an existence, isn’t it? Oh, don’t get me wrong, it’s not all rape, pillage and plunder, no sir, not in the great Dominion of Canuckistan.

We hear wonderful stories from time to time about how Newfoundland and Labrador is now second only to Alberta when it comes to leading the nation in economic growth. Sounds great until you realize that in Newfoundland if someone sells a gallon of blueberries near the overpass our numbers skyrocket into uncharted territory. If we keep our eye on the ball, who knows, some day, God willing, our revenues may even surpass those of a KFC outlet in Toronto. We’ll get some pat on the head then, eh? (I hope our revenues aren’t capped at the capacity of some Ontario chicken outlet. I’ll have to look into that.)

Simply put, Newfoundland and Labrador has about 500,000 people, or at least we did until the latest mass exodus. In other words, this place has the population of a small- to medium-sized North American city. We have huge oil and gas reserves, a landscape that’s a tourist’s dream, more mineral deposits than my Aunt Lucy’s bathtub, enough hydro power to supply 1,000 Sprung greenhouses and that’s not even considering the potential for a properly managed and rebuilt fishery, our human resources and our greatest untapped resource of all, a stubborn streak as wide as the Atlantic. With all of those riches available to our little city-state, has anyone ever stopped to ask the simple question: “Why the hell are we always one step ahead of the bill collector?”

Maybe it’s time for someone to ask that question. Maybe it’s time to find out if we’d be better off just sitting back and depending on the largesse of Ontario’s royalty or if we should jump in the pool and try to sink or swim on our own.

Thanks to the creative financial management of the great metropolis, the colony of Newfoundland and Labrador can barely survive on the pittance it’s allowed to keep.

Maybe it’s time we took a step back, took a long hard look at ourselves and cut the apron strings. Maybe we should just bite the bullet, save up the damage deposit and go get a place of our own.

I’ll be happy to chip in on the groceries, help cover the lights and whatever else I can do. Who’s with me? Hell, at least then if we starve to death we can always say we did it to ourselves. It’s either that or we can continue to sit on the couch and watch while our colony is robbed blind before our very eyes.

So which is it, should I ask Mr. Cleary if I can place an ad for a nice big apartment or are we simply going to look for a good deal on a used couch that sits half a million?

Myles Higgins is a freelance writer living in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s.

JULY 23, 2006

INDEPENDENTNEWS • 7

The premier’s serene confidence

D

anny Williams’ relationship with the business and corporate worlds confuses me. If you look at it the right way, it is a little schizophrenic. On the one hand, he talks about how Newfoundland’s future depends on business, expresses great confidence in business, cultivates an image of being a plain man of business, has a reputation for being respected in the business community, and then does nothing but battle with businesses. It’s a little weird.

Williams was quoted last week as saying he has the greatest confidence in Bill Barry and the Barry Group’s ability to save communities like Harbour Breton.

Maybe Barry can do something down there, but careful with the wording. He ain’t doing Harbour Breton any favours.

Williams knows this. That’s why he’s at war with ExxonMobil over a fair share of our Hebron fields. Exxon executives are used to a certain way of doing business down here. Danny is trying to change all that. They don’t like it, and they are not alone. Does his confidence in business extend to our local oil industry, who are pressuring him to sell us all out for their fast buck? They have been

IVAN MORGAN

Rant & Reason sooking and whining about the “delay,” issuing dire press releases on what will — or won’t — happen if Danny doesn’t play nice. Are these the “business leaders” we are all so lucky to benefit from?

The battle Williams had with Abitibi is another classic example. Here was a rapacious business organization asking for the most outrageous concessions from us in order to continue doing us the favour of harvesting and processing our own resources for their profit.

Why were they asking for such concessions? Because they have been getting them for decades. The premier balked, and they were gone — with hundreds of people immediately out of work, and hundreds more faced with the stark realization that slowly but surely, they will starve and go under too.

At the time there was hell to pay. This time last year the premier’s craftiest

communications weasels wrote the testiest of communiqués. The premier chastised the president of Abitibi, John Weaver, in the media, saying he and the minister responsible, Ed Byrne, were “shocked and outraged” at Abitibi’s decision to abandon Stephenville and begin the slow process of abandoning Grand Falls-Windsor.

“I indicated to Mr. Weaver that our government will not stand by and allow them to devastate these communities that depend on these mills for their survival,” said Williams. “I sent a message loud and clear to Mr. Weaver that we would explore every possible option in terms of what legal authority government may have over the company’s water and chartered timber rights.”

Well? One year later and Byrne is generating lots of outrage on his own, the people of Stephenville have no mill, and what options have been “explored?” I am not inferring the premier should have caved to the likes of Abitibi. I am asking where does his serene confidence in business come from?

But let’s not stop there. The premier’s inexplicable relationship with FPI bears

examination. Recently he has been complaining about the “tight control” of FPI by too few people (which is a laugh, coming from him) and has publicly mused about changing the legislation of the FPI Act to fix this “problem.”

Yet the infamous “free vote” on whether FPI could sell its American marketing wing showed that Williams’ commitment to reigning in FPI is situational at best. Is it me, or is this weird?

Now we see FPI may have been illegally shipping our fish to China for processing. I loved Earle McCurdy’s clearheaded quote: “The Government of Canada didn’t allocate generous resources to FPI so it could create jobs in China.” No kidding. Yet the money saved by paying poor, exploited souls in China to process our fish goes into the pockets of the shareholders of FPI. There is money to be made getting fish from water to table — the battle is over who gets what for doing it?

Everyone seems to agree it won’t be the people of Harbour Breton. Is this the business acumen we are supposed to admire?

And Inco? That’s a whole column of

its own.

I could go on, but back to my point.

The current administration makes a big deal about being “business friendly.”

They are going to cut “red tape.” They are going to “rebrand” the province. We are going to be “open for business.”

Sounds great.

But business seems to be a frightening collection of greedy, profit-mad bullies bent on screwing every last cent from this place that they can, and to hell with the environment, government regulations, future generations, and, for that matter, to hell with you and I, who collectively own the resources they covet.

There is no leadership here. There is nothing to admire. This is unfettered greed.

So what I don’t quite understand is: how can the premier, who has locked horns with all these organizations, then turn around and express confidence in business and business “leaders?” From where I sit, he seems to be the first premier in our history to protect us from these people.

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

REST IN PEACE

YOUR VOICE The good, the bad and the downtown Dear editor, We read with extreme interest the column Downtown life support by Clare-Marie Gosse in the July 9 issue of The Independent. We agreed with every line. However, we might contribute to your list by adding that tolerance for bad behaviour in the downtown is a disgrace.

At night, anything goes on Water Street — urinating against store entrances, vomiting in doorways, drunkenness, vandalism, unconscious bodies blocking the outside of fire exits and store entrances and a complete tolerance for broken bottles and beer glasses and every kind of litter and garbage one can imagine (as well as some that one could not possibly imagine). This is not an occasional happening; it occurs 365 days of the year, particularly on weekends. For some reason unknown to us, both levels of government — provincial and municipal — have chosen not to enforce existing laws and regulations.

In spite of that, each of us chose to set up or move our businesses to Water Street. We have no regrets but plenty of challenges. The many problems faced by business owners including limited parking, derelict buildings, etc. are offset by the enthusiasm we and our customers have for the unique owner-run stores that are not to be found elsewhere in the province.

To highlight the advantages, we three businesswomen launched the Walk on Water project last month. It is a drop in the bucket to what needs to be done, but it is our particular small

contribution. Twice a week we lead a walk through the downtown, pointing out the various shops, interesting buildings and a little sprinkle of history. We are not tour guides, but do our best to introduce a few facts and figures about the street during each walk. When questions come up that we can’t answer, we have the answers for the following week. The continuity of this fitness walk contributes to the interest. New participants are encouraged to join us and bring their memories of the street. It’s great fun, and the participants go away with a new awareness of the many positive features of the downtown.

Let’s hope The Independent keeps plugging away about the deficits, but we do encourage you to see beyond the negative and help inform the public about the many really great retail businesses, restaurants, galleries and yes, even bars that are the downtown.

Downtown has been devastated by fire numerous times and been rebuilt each time. It has also managed to struggle back to life after the invasion of the malls and the power centres. As long as there are entrepreneurs with commitment and enthusiasm for the downtown it will continue to grow, develop and flourish.

Walks are 10 a.m. Sundays, originating from Auntie Crae’s, 272 Water St., and finishing at Dandelion Green at 274 Water St.; and on Thursdays at 7 p.m., originating and finishing at Details and Designs, 151 Water St. Mary Andrews, Details and Designs Janet Kelly, Auntie Crae’s Kim Thomson, Dandelion Green

Killing the ‘newfie’ cancer cells Dear editor, Kudos to Bill Green, Royal Newfie Regiment, July 16-22 Independent, for keeping alive the protest against the complicity of some of our people in the perpetuation of the derisive newfie label.

After years of constant opposition by those of us determined to prevent this denigrating invective from finding a respectable place in our argot, victory is at last in sight so that now the term is used amongst us only by those who are lacking either in pride or in knowledge of our history. However, like a single insidious cancer cell that escapes the assault of chemo and radiation, it could

regenerate and re-infest the body politic. Vigilance is the word. Let’s keep up the fight until the sight and sound of that ugly tag is completely banished: repudiated to the same extent that we repudiate any justification for its ugly origin.

There is one other comment I would make on Mr. Green’s letter.

Whereas the Americans may have been guilty of using the newfie word, the term actually originated with the Canadian Home Defense assigned to this “overseas” post, and who were here with a chip on their shoulders. I remember.

Lloyd C. Rees, Conception Bay South

‘Fight on’ Dear editor, Fight on Ryan! Fight on! Keep up the tough questions. Who cares if

someone hangs up on you?

Roger Linehan, St. John’s

An honour guard stood at attention as Sgt. Duane Brazil's flag-draped coffin was carried into the Basilica in St. John's by civilian and military family July 20. The 39-year-old was one of three military personnel based in Greenwood, N.S. who died July 13, when their Cormorant helicopter went down during a routine training exercise.

Paul Daly/The Independent

Tide has turned Dear editor, FPI offers $2.66 an hour less for wages and the FFAW, government and media have a panic attack — and rightly so!

Fishers in 2006 receive a 50 per cent and greater cut in prices for everything from crab to caplin and all in between and no one bats an eye.

Curious but not unexpected, as the processors are cutting their slice of flesh in revenge for not getting their way with RMS, and obviously govern-

ment’s sympathy lies with the processors.

Just for example: Crab sells for 92 cents per pound — down from $2.50 a couple of years ago.

Lump sells for 90 cents — down from $3.30 a dozen years ago.

Caplin sells for 10 cents to 15 cents — down from 80 cents a pound 13 years ago. (We were paid a cent at that time … 80 per cent female caplin fetched 80 cents a pound.)

Squid and mackerel are in great

demand, but I hear rumours of fishers being paid eight cents a pound for squid.

Today, with the high cost of operating a fishing enterprise, fishers need support from their union and government more than ever, but it’s just not there.

This fall the processors will be relaxing on the white sands of the Caribbean, while fishermen slave on the shores of Great Slave Lake.

End of story!

David Boyd, Twillingate

Article off the rails Dear editor, We greatly appreciate your interest in the Railway Coastal Museum (not the Newfoundland Railway Museum), although museum staff raise a number of points concerning the article Riding the Rails in the June 25th edition. The museum is about both the Newfoundland railway and coastal boat services, the chief means of transportation for Newfoundlanders for over 100 years.

The Railway Coastal Museum contains over 100 exhibits, including a large number of artifacts and models. The well-illustrated pictorial exhibits inform visitors about the background of the railway and coastal-boat services. The platform area presents a view inside actual cars of a Newfoundland train in the 1940s.

The museum’s founders and design team spent two years researching,

acquiring, planning and assembling material for the highly interesting subjects. A careful selection and doublecheck by highly qualified historians, exhibit-specialists, and graphic-artists assured accuracy and validity of all exhibits.

There is no museum panel that states H.D. Reid and his son were parked on Signal Hill to “examine their territory,” and St. John’s was not Reid’s “territory.”

However, the Reid family was successful in developing Newfoundland’s interior and coastal areas. We would not refer to Mr. Reid as a “business king.”

We have nothing in our exhibits to suggest that the Reid’s were “not well liked.” Many people felt that Reid’s contracts and land grants were generous. On the other hand, several companies before Reid’s had been ruined on railway work.

Also, for years the government refused

to grant needed increases in railway fares to the Reid Newfoundland Company. The museum has never said, nor inferred, that the relationship between the Reid’s and the government was “shady.”

On other points about the exhibits, the father and son seated in the coach car are not “lower-class Newfoundlanders.” The coach car depicts the Trouter’s Special, which ran every May 24th weekend.

As well, the “models of upper-class Newfoundlanders” in the dining car represent the dress worn by most train passengers in the 1930s and ’40s. The dining car service featured chinaware and silver-plate, but was not a place that only upper-class people could afford.

We would welcome your reporter to a personally escorted tour of the museum.

The staff of the Railway Coastal Museum, St. John’s

JULY 23, 2006

8 • INDEPENDENTNEWS

JULY 23, 2006

INDEPENDENTNEWS • 9

IN CAMERA

Love is in the air I

f you’re lucky, in your lifetime you will have a friend like my friend Heather. I knew I had hit the jackpot when, at age 16, I discovered she still had a complete collection of Charmkins perfectly preserved in their original packaging. The box said ages four and up — but I don’t think they meant up to 16 — and we just could not resist breaking them open and reliving a little bit of our childhood.

There are incriminating photos to prove it, although I’m not sure what is more embarrassing: the pink and purple little-girl jewels I’m wearing; or my spiral perm and slouch socks.

The funniest part of that day was not that we were playing with toddler toys as teenagers, but that we grew up two doors apart and had really just met. Because of the denominational school system I, being Catholic, went to St. Kevin’s across the street. Heather had to get the bus in St. Kevin’s parking lot to go to town for school.

If not for some boys long forgotten, our paths might never have crossed. We were never really that much alike. My world revolved around church youth groups and 4-H; Heather’s was Girl Guides and Pathfinders.

Somehow, however, through dying our hair and sneaking into her father’s wine cellar, we found common ground and have never looked back.

Over the years, there were the usual necessary teenage dramas, but one particularly significant event was meeting a crowd of guys from Torbay. If you were to ask me how a group of young girls from the Goulds got tangled up with a group of boys from Torbay I’m not sure I could re-trace the steps, but rest assured it started with someone meeting someone else at the mall.

What transpired in the years to follow was not a fairytale romance but a typical, some-

’Tis the season for weddings, with all the excitement, expectations, and emotions they bring. On July 8, Heather Decker and Paul LeGrow tied the knot. LeslieAnne Stephenson, best friend and maid of honour, reflects on the road to the alter. Photographer Rhonda Hayward was there to capture the day. times soap opera-esque relationship between a girl with big hair and a guy with a mullet.

There were countless drives to Torbay, before the Outer Ring Road. There were too many nights at the Outer Limits.

There were fights and break-ups, reunions and last waltzes at the end of the night. Before too long, we all knew Heather and Paul would always be Heather and Paul and there was nothing typical about their connection.

As with any good friendship, months often passed between chats for Heather and I during the university years — but when we did get together, it was always as if no time had passed. She has constantly been my rock, that person you call in a crisis even before you can think of who to call. As I struggled to “find myself,” she always seemed to know where I was. We never judged each other, just listened, accepted, cried and laughed … always laughed, a lot.

And so as the giggly teenagers drifted into memory (perm and all, thank God) Heather and Paul’s relationship grew ever more mature and strong. They could not visit anyone without being asked when they were getting married. Even Heather became a little impatient,

What transpired in the years to follow was not a fairytale romance but a typical, sometimes soap opera-esque relationship between a girl with big hair and a guy with a mullet. so after a 10-year courtship, it was hardly a surprise when their engagement was announced.

Being private people, I wondered what their wedding would be like. I could not picture them sitting at a head table in front of a backdrop of pink tissue paper flowers spelling Heather & Paul, listening to speeches about embarrassing things they did as children and tipsy aunts and uncles singing Skin-a-mar-inki-dink-i-dink to get them to kiss.

I also knew Heather, being the quintessential princess, would have to have something special. So we tossed around a few ideas, but it was inevitable Heather would get married in her mother‘s garden.

As the engagement was a long time in coming, it felt like setting the date was equally tardy, but I guess I was just anxious. I regretted my haste when she announced in March she was getting married in July.

With four months to plan a wedding, there was a considerable amount of work to do, for everyone. I was nervous about getting caterers, flowers, hairdressers, a photographer and all the other things that are generally booked a year or two in advance. Call it good karma or

just plain old luck, but everywhere we called seemed to have July 8 available. And even more miraculously, I was much more nervous about the details than Heather. There was no “bridezilla,” just her usual grace and style.

As the day approached and everything fell into place, I noticed all the little details that go into planning a small wedding. If you think a private affair would be less expensive, or less work, you could not be more wrong.

Especially if you plan to have the reception in your own home.

Heather and Paul built their dream house just a couple of years ago, and with all the work and time they have put into making it their home, it was the obvious place to host the event. Add to that Heather’s borderline analretentive attention to detail and this wedding promised to be quite a time.

And it was. It was a perfect day, in weather and everything else. It was a beautiful, personal celebration of the love between two of the most special people I know.

I feel privileged to have been a part of it and a part of their lives. I gave them a pair of lilac trees as a wedding gift so that they can watch them grow. It sounds a little corny, but I hope each spring as the lilacs bloom and the fresh scent fills their garden their love will be renewed.

So now that another one of my friends has turned that corner in her life, I am feeling the familiar pressure that comes when you’re dangerously close to 30. Even before the day was over, people were looking at my boyfriend and I saying, “It’s your turn now.”

And who knows what life holds for us?

Being one of the only unmarried girls at the wedding, Heather just handed me the bouquet, so I am hoping that is a good omen. But for now, back to the wine cellar.

JULY 23, 2006

10 • INDEPENDENTNEWS

First Nations recording artist Paul Pike

Old favourites and new friends

T

he stage at this year’s Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival will be home to both familiar faces and new ones, as the festival plays host to an impressive variety of performers.

Among those old friends returning to the festival stage are veteran performers Dermot O’Reilly and Fergus O’Byrne, the well-known Irish duo who have been taken into the hearts of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Also returning this year is popular singer-songwriter Colleen Power, known for her intriguing lyrics and unique vocal style. Fiddler Christina Smith combines classical training with an intuitive feel for traditional tunes that pays homage to some of the province’s best-known musicians.

Well-known instrumentalist Kelly Russell appears on the Main Stage this year with a program of Tales and Tunes from Pigeon Inlet, a collection of stories and recitations inspired by his father, the late Ted Russell.

Labrador’s own Harry Martin returns to bring his evocative songs of the Big Land to St. John’s audiences.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, Ron Hynes, is no stranger to fans here on the East Coast, across Canada and in many corners of the world. Widely acknowledged as one of the country’s finest singersongwriters, Ron counts Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, The Beatles and Bob Dylan among his influences, and in turn countless aspiring writers have been influenced by him. Saturday evening brings a tribute to Ron in recognition of his many contributions to the music of Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Blasts from the past” at this year’s festival include performances by lively trad band Tickle Harbour and The NSG Singers (those initials stand for “not so gifted,” but don’t you believe it – they’re great!)

New faces, appearing for the first time on the festival’s Main Stage, include gifted songstress Donna Roberts, whose highly personal songs speak of her life in Labrador. Amelia Curran, originally from St. John’s, has built a recording and performing career in Halifax, garnering ECMA nominations for both her solo and band work.

First Nations recording artist Paul Pike is from the Mi’kmaq Nation.

The musician and composer now makes his home in Alaska. Finally, Serre l’Ecoute from Quebec City bring tight, creative vocal harmonies to stir your heart and get your feet tapping. Whether it’s the familiar faces we know and love or new friends visiting our shores for the first time, there’s something for everyone at Bannerman Park this year.

See you at the festival!

JULY 23, 2006

INDEPENDENTNEWS • 11

Danny’s donations R

evenue Canada has released the entire list of registered charities that received donations in 2004 from the Williams Family Foundation, which distributes money Premier Danny Williams contributes in the form of his provincial government salary.

In 2004, the premier gave $110,000 to the foundation — $66,850 of which (see breakdown) went to 68 registered charities.

The remainder was given to charitable activities, although there’s no breakdown of

those monies. A spokeswoman for the premier has said a significant amount is given to personal charities and individuals whose identity the premier isn’t prepared to reveal.

“The premier is not going to divulge the names of individuals and families who are less fortunate and require help,” she said.

“This would be inappropriate.”

The foundation’s 2005 returns have been filed with Revenue Canada, although they have yet to be publicly released.

Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. Johns — $4,000 Cerebral Palsy Association of Newfoundland — $3,500 Western Regional Hospital Foundation — $2,000 Labrador Creative Arts Festival Inc. — $2,000 The Margaret Acreman Foundation — $2,000 Brother T.I. Murphy Learning Resource Centre Inc. — $2,000 School Lunch Association — $2,000 Girl Guides of Canada — $1,600 The Arthritis Society – Newfoundland and Labrador Division — $1,500 The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Young Canadians Challenge — $1,500 Jesuit Fathers of St. John’s — $1,500 Alzheimer Society, Newfoundland & Labrador — $300 Anglican Parish of Grand Bank — $1,000 Bay D’Espoir Local Cancer Benefit — $1,000 Bell Island Community Food Bank — $500 Big Brothers Big Sisters, St. John’s — $500 Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bay St. George — $300 Humber Literacy Council — $500 Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind — $500 Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation — $500 Canadian Cancer Society – NL and LAB Division — $1,000 Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Canada — $500 The Community Food Sharing Association Inc. — $1,000 Right to Life Association — $1,500 Froude Avenue Community Center — $500 The Foundation for Gene and Cell Therapy (Jesse’s Journey) — $300 Grand Bank Heritage Society — $1,000 The Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation — $500 Huntington Society of Canada — $500 Catholic School Foundation of Corner Brook Inc. — $500 Janeway Children’s Hospital Foundation — $1,500 Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation — $500 Kittiwake Dance Theatre — $1,000 The Kiwanis Music Festival Association of St. John’s — $500 Knights of Columbus – Mary Queen of Peace — $300 Newfoundland and Labrador Lauback Literacy Council — $1,000 Lion Max Simms Memorial Camp Foundation — $500 The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada – NL Chapter — $1,000 MaterCare International — $500 Metro Community Chaplaincy — $1,000 National Sport Trust Fund — $500 Newfoundland & Labrador Wildlife Federation — $500 Newfoundland Snowmobile Fed – Children’s Wish — $500 Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra — $1,500 Newfoundland & Labrador Health and Community Services — $300 Newfoundland & Labrador Down Syndrome Society — $500 Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Historical Society — $1,500 Realtime Cancer — $1,000 Resource Centre for the Arts — $1,000 RNC Veterans Association — $1,500 Salvation Army — $1,500 Salvation Army – Crottrell’s Cove — $1,000 Seniors Resource Centre Association — $1,500 Shearstown Ride for the Janeway — $200 Special Olympics — $1,000 St. Matthew’s School — $500 St. Teresa’s Parish – Mission India — $150 St. Patrick’s Parish – Catholic Women’s League — $200 St. John The Apostle Parish — $1,000 St. John’s Boys & Girls Club — $1,000 Avalon West School District — $200 Holy Family Parish — $500 St. Patrick’s Parish — $1,500 Stephenville Theater Festival — $1,000 Trinity Conception Placentia Health Foundation — $1,000 Humber Community, YMCA — $1,000 Town Council of Nain – Recreation Department — $500 City of St. John’s – R.E.A.L. Program — $500

Compensation review outline released

L

ate in the day July 21, the premier’s office released a summary of Chief Justice Derek Greene’s terms of reference for reviewing the compensation package for MHAs. Greene is to present a report this fall.

The terms of reference are: 1. Review and evaluate the policies and procedures regarding compensation and constituency allowances for MHAs including: • An assessment of MHA constituency allowances to determine if they are the best way to reimburse MHAs for expenses.

• A comparison and evaluation of all aspects of MHA compensation with that in other provincial and territorial legislatures in Canada.

• A determination of whether proper safeguards are in place with the rules and guidelines of MHA compensation and constituency allowances.

2. Review and evaluate the policies and procedures for spending money reviewed by the auditor general in his report, Payments Made by the House of Assembly to Certain Suppliers.

3. Develop and make recommendations to ensure the new accountability and compliance practices for the House meet or exceed the best in the country, and enhance the accountability and transparency of MHA expenditures.

4. All ministers and officials of the government, and its agencies, are to provide the Chief Justice with their complete and unreserved cooperation in all aspects of this review.

5. All government ministers and officials are to provide the Chief Justice with unreserved cooperation in all aspects of the review 6. Bring forward recommendations for the consideration of cabinet before its fall 2006 session.

7. Government will take the necessary actions to provide Chief Justice Green with the necessary resources to undertake the review in a timely fashion, including providing a part-time legal counsel, a part-time accountant, a part-time advisor from Memorial University, an individual to provide administrative and research support, a policy advisor and an actuary.

8. The ability to summon a witness or witnesses if necessary in the conduct of his review.

Source: Revenue Canada

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JULY 23, 2006

12 • INDEPENDENTNEWS

SCATTERED PAST

Pirates and pilots The Conception Bay Museum celebrates two heroes — Amelia Earhart and Peter Easton

By Nadya Bell The Independent

P

Peter Easton makes his presence known at the Conception Bay Museum.

Nadya Bell/The Independent

irate Peter Easton and pilot Amelia Earhart have retired to history together in Harbour Grace. An odd couple, but they must be common-law by now — they have been sharing the same house for 10 years.

The famous pirate from the 17th century and the female pilot from the 1930s are the subject of two exhibits in the Conception Bay Museum in Harbour Grace. The three-story brick building they share on Water Street is red with tall windows that face the bay.

Past the hat and umbrella stands in the front hall, there is a wide, curving balcony staircase of dark wood with red runners. Sun and salt air come in open windows facing the bay, and souvenir postcards flap in the breeze.

Peter Easton occupies the bottom floor with a collection of model boats in glass cases.

The prize ship is a model of the SS Vanguard — the 1896 gold medal winner in a London competition. A replica of Easton’s own ship Happy Adventure sits in the same room as a mannequin pirate pouring over a ship’s log. There are few artifacts relating to the pirate — aside from a sealskin treasure chest of unknown origin — and Easton’s story described on the walls.

Easton, a famous pirate nicknamed “The Pirate Admiral,” spent four years in Harbour Grace hiding from the British authorities, biding his time capturing Spanish galleons for gold.

Easton was a privateer in Elizabeth the first’s navy. When the navy was disbanded, he turned into a pirate, upsetting the government by charging merchant ships for safe passage through the Bristol Channel.

He fled to Newfoundland from British authorities in 1610 with his 10 best ships — known as the flying squadron. He set up a fortification with three cannons to protect his base in Harbour Grace.

During the pirate’s stay he captured, looted and burned the Spanish galleon San Sabastian.

Easton lost 47 pirates in a battle with the Basques, burying them at Bear Cove. John Guy, a merchant from Cupids, hired the pirate to protect his fishing salt from raiders.

Easton moved to England in 1615 after he was pardoned by King James. With his fortune he bought the title Marquis of Savoy, and retired with nearly two million pounds sterling.

The museum’s model of Happy Adventure has

eight sails, a mizzen and complete rigging of waxed string. A gilded lion instead of a mermaid holds the bow, and two fish decorations resemble those on light posts along the Thames River in London.

While Peter has model boats, Amelia has model airplanes.

Earhart takes a room on the second floor with clouds painted on the ceiling. There is no mannequin, only a replica flight jacket and video from the provincial archives of Earhart leaving for her trans-Atlantic flight in the Lockhead Vega on May 20, 1932. At the time, Harbour Grace was the main airport on the island.

On the video, Earhart has short hair, high cheekbones and smiles while talking with officials. She stayed at the Cochrane Hotel the night before her flight and the museum is looking forward to celebrating the 75th anniversary next year.

SPIRIT OF HARBOUR GRACE Her room in the museum has a model for every airplane that landed at Harbour Grace, and the cockpit dashboard from the Spirit of Harbour Grace. The plane itself sits on the side of the highway as one of Harbour Grace’s broken monuments — the other being the Kyle. The pair are known as “the plane that don’t fly and the boat that don’t float.”

Above the window in Earhart’s room is a large wooden propeller from a 1940s airplane.

A sitting room in the upstairs makes the museum feel like a home, with a set of burgundy and dark wood furniture from 1853, and three gramophones. Portraits of the Munden family hang in the room, and the green-gold wedding dress of Mary Grace (Henley) Munden.

In the third floor attic, up a narrow winding stairway, are photos of the 1944 fire of Harbour Grace, and a family and dog sled from 1902. The first radio transmitter in Newfoundland sits in the corner the size of two black refrigerators. It belonged to Ernest Ash with call sign VO1A. Between Easton and Earhart, this museum has symmetry. Easton is the hero of little boys, independent and powerful through his own means, living in a world based on honour and his own desire.

Earhart is the heroine of little girls, able to do anything — no matter how fantastic and challenging — with grace and style.

But if a pirate and pilot were ever to share a house, it would surely be a rocky relationship. In the museum, the bathrooms are separately labeled — Amelia and Peter.

Overhagtive imagination

A

lthough I’ve never been an insomniac, I do often suffer from post-nightfall overactive brain syndrome. That’s my own name for something I’m sure a lot of people experience. As soon as my head hits the pillow, my brain suddenly perks up into overdrive and I have more thoughts in the space of 20 minutes than I managed to have all day.

This isn’t necessarily a problem (I usually manage to force enough innocuous thoughts into my head to eventually bore myself to sleep), except when my overactive imagination syndrome kicks in at the same time.

Having a good imagination and having an overactive imagination are two different things. Having a good imagination is the sort of thing that can lead to writing a best-selling novel. Having an overactive imagination is the sort of thing that conjures up shadows where there are none, makes me think some-

CLARE-MARIE GOSSE Brazen thing is creeping up behind me when I’m vacuuming, and prevents me from falling asleep on my back because I’m afraid of the old hag.

Ah, the old hag: a Newfoundland folklore delight. I first heard about the old hag a few years ago when I was living in Halifax. A friend from Newfoundland mentioned having experienced the phenomenon and claimed sleeping on your back was a sure-fire way to bring it on.

A few months later I was watching TV and a documentary called The Entity came on. It was all about phenomena such as the old hag, which, although it hasn’t been scientifically

explained, is thought to be linked to sleep paralysis, a temporary state that can occur between waking and sleeping.

By the end of that documentary I was completely astonished and terrified.

My already uncanny ability to randomly scare the crap out of myself in the dark had just been intensified a hundredfold.

People who suffer an attack of the hag — or night terrors — suddenly wake up from sleeping, unable to move. Experiences vary, but it’s common for victims to sense an unnatural presence, hear footsteps and frightening voices, see ominous shadows or forms, and feel a crushing pressure on their chest.

One of the most fascinating points the documentary made was that what is called the “old hag” in Newfoundland goes by varying names all around the world. People from completely differ-

ent cultures and backgrounds have reported the exact same experience — worrying, because it makes it seem all the more authentic.

The most terrifying aspects of the documentary were the real-life accounts from people who have suffered these night terrors. One woman described how she has experienced the old hag since she was a child.

Occasionally, and for no apparent reason, two figures — a shadow man and an old woman — appear in her room at night and viciously attack her. The reenactment in the documentary was one of the scariest things I have ever seen, and I’ve watched a lot of horror movies.

Although I’m the kind of person whose overactive imagination can make me break out in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, I really have no reason to be so jumpy; I’ve never seen a ghost and I’ve never been visited by the hag (touch wood).

The closest experience I’ve had of anything resembling night terrors was a recurring nightmare as a child. In the dream I would suddenly wake up in my room, knowing there was a demon hiding in a dark corner. The demon would laugh and threaten to get me and I would try and scream, but I couldn’t move. Just as I would hear it shuffling towards me, I would wake up.

It’s always amazed me that babies and small children know enough to be afraid of the dark, and have nightmares when they’ve never been exposed to anything frightening in their lives.

I can clearly remember my own first nightmare when I was two years old. I dreamt a row of scary puppets on springs popped up beside me in bed. I woke up crying and my parents could-

n’t figure out what was wrong with me.

They hauled me off to the bathroom and I remember sitting down, unable to enunciate my problem through my confused tears, wondering how it could be that they didn’t get it. Somehow I realized what I had experienced wasn’t real, but I was scared and pissed off.

Despite my overactive imagination, I love frightening myself with a good scary movie (a rare phenomenon in itself). One of my favourite TV shows is Most Haunted, where a host and TV crew, along with psychics and parapsychologists, spend 24 hours filming inside haunted locations around Britain. Perhaps even more entertaining than the amazing old buildings they visit — and the crashes, bangs and orbs of light they capture on camera — is the palpable blinding fear of the crewmembers.

That’s a job in which my own overactive imagination would probably cause me to suffer a heart attack. And if the heart attack didn’t finish me off, the complete inability to fall asleep afterwards certainly would.

Instead of lying awake at night trying to come up with something to write about in an article, I’d be lying awake convinced a murderous ghost had somehow attached itself to me during the course of filming in an old dungeon or a cursed mansion.

I’d end up lying in bed (not on my back) every night, with my eyes straining through the darkness, convinced something hideous was waiting for just the right moment to pounce from the shadows and scare the almighty hell out of me once and for all.

Clare-Marie Gosse’s column returns Aug. 6.

INDEPENDENTWORLD

SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, JULY 23-29, 2006 — PAGE 13

Lebanese-Canadian families wait to be evacuated near Beirut port.

Jamal Saidi/Reuters

‘I made it here alive’ Passengers end long odyssey that included sea voyage to Cyprus

By Heba Aly and Graham Fraser Torstar wire service

T

wo radically different tales emerged from the passengers who disembarked the first plane to land in Canada with those fleeing the war in Lebanon.

At 4:00 a.m. July 21, in the middle of a dark, clear night, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s plane landed in Ottawa with 87 Canadian evacuees, who — tired but relieved — told their stories.

One was a story of gratefulness for a prime minister who “did the best he could.”

The other: a story of anger over what they experienced before they boarded the magical flight from Cyprus.

“Once we were in Cyprus, the Canadian authorities did a great, great, great job getting us to here. It was more than we expected,” said Lemira Omran of Woodbridge,

referring to the supply of food, the organization of the flight and the overall treatment of the evacuees. Her three children, aged six to 12, surrounded her as she checked into a room at the Holiday Inn in Ottawa.

Harper praised the work done by Canadian officials to help evacuate Canadians from Lebanon when he landed, but some of his staff blamed the Canadian ambassador in Beirut for the confusion, saying he was a Liberal appointment.

“To be frank, my main concern right now with the evacuation effort is that we’ve got a lot of federal employees working very long, very difficult hours themselves,” Harper said. “I’m just concerned they’re going to burn out before this is over.”

Evacuee Liliane El-Helou said she had complained about the organization of the evacuation in Beirut to Harper on the plane.

“One of his people … said to me ‘This is a Liberal-appointed ambassador,’” she said. “Well I am sorry. If this is an excuse, and it is a silly excuse I think, well remove him now, and appoint someone who is more qualified.”

Louis de Lorimier is a career diplomat who, previous to becoming ambassador to Lebanon, served in Abidjan, Seoul and Paris. He also worked as a ministerial liaison in the office of Joe Clark when he was Secretary of State for External Affairs.

Harper said that the government has pulled together staff from around the Middle East region to deal with the demands of the evacuation.

He said that the flight itself was uneventful.

“It was very quiet,” he said. “Mostly people were very tired. They were in very good spirits, considering, but they were tired. The kids, of course, went to sleep like babies, but most people rested. It was kind

of like a normal long transcontinental voyage, except with a little extra measure of satisfaction for us, and I think for them.”

Most of the Canadians who returned after days of waiting and travel had nothing but praise for the prime minister with whom they shared a quiet ride home.

Apart from a few critical comments, passengers reported no outbursts at the prime minister during the flight, where he casually chatted with some of the passengers and shook hands with each one as they got off the plane. For the most part, “everyone had no energy to be angry,” said Joe Azzi, 18, of Ottawa.

But as they walked through the cameras and spotlights with their luggage and children, hugging the family members that awaited them, most evacuees couldn’t remove the bad memories from their minds.

See “Thanks, Canada,” page 14

VOICE FROM AWAY

A call to adventure

St. John’s-native Laury Hill has made a home for herself in the U.S. desert

By Devon Wells For The Independent

T Laury Hill

he Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Ariz. is a far cry from the lilting hills of St. John’s, but Laury Hall has crafted a home for herself in the desert city.

“Being from the ocean and moving to the desert was kinda wild,” says Hall. “But, it is awesome — it’s great to get up every day and the sun is shining.”

Though the weather in Chandler may be beautiful, Hall — a 44-year-old manager of an outsourcing company —

still misses the East Coast and makes it a point to head home to St. John’s for a couple of weeks each year. “(I) still have many, many friends and family there,” she says. “I like to go that week of Regatta, to take in the George Street Festival, the Folk Festival, (and) eat lots of chips, dressing, and gravy and turkey rolls from Fabulous Foods.”

Although she now lives south of the border, St. John’s was always a sanctuary for the world-traveller.

Hall first left St. John’s in 1981 and bounced around Canada, spending time in Edmonton and Halifax, returning to

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Newfoundland whenever she could. By the ‘90s, she grew tired of her routine and felt the call to adventure. “(I) had an awesome trip around the world … sold my car to fund it, put all my stuff in storage, (and) took off with cash, an around-the-world ticket, and the backpack on my back,” she says.

Listening to the tourism ads, she chose to see Canada first, hitting Toronto and Vancouver before visiting the tropics. “Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia, then back to New Zealand, then back to Australia. I just fell in love with Down Under,” she says.

Yet, through all her travels, she kept her ties to the province strong: “I love Newfoundland, proud to be from there, loudly proclaim it where ever I go.

When I bungee jumped on New Year’s Day in Queenstown, N.Z., some years ago, I was screaming in delight as I bounced around on that rubber band.

“When I finally stopped bouncing and was lowered into the boat, the guys in the boat were saying ‘My gosh, where are you from? You have the loudest screams we have ever heard in this canyon,’” says Hall.

See “Lottery luck,” page 15

14 • INDEPENDENTWORLD

JULY 23, 2006

Canadian nationals line up outside Beirut port during a massive evacuation operation from Lebanon July 19, 2006.

REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (LEBANON)

‘Thanks, Canada!’

From page 13 When asked what message he wanted to give the prime minister, 19-year-old Shady Abboud held back in his criticisms, as his mother insisted in Arabic “thank him, thank him.” Others were more frank.

“It was hell to arrive,” said Ottawa’s Rawad Antoun, 20. It took three days to evacuate the first 250, he said, noting there are 25,000 Canadians who want to leave the war-torn country. “If it goes at this speed, it’ll take them months to get everyone out.”

“It was chaotic. It was insulting,” said Woodbridge’s Omran, as remembering the fainting and vomiting on a crowded boat from Beirut, with a grueling hot sun shining down on them during the day and cold air keeping them company at night. She used a tablecloth to keep her children warm as they slept on the deck. The food ran out before she and her family could feed themselves during the 17-hour trip. She scrounged up extras for her children from other families.

“I felt like an animal on this trip,” said El-Helou, who made the trip with her teenaged son and daughter and had been traveling for 51 hours straight. “We thought they would be organized; it was a disaster,” she said. “There were 4,000 people in line at the Port of Beirut — and they only evacuated 255 people.”

The passengers could only guess why they were the lucky ones to be chosen for the boat to Cyprus and subsequently the first of two flights to Canada

— the other landed in Montreal later this morning.

While the evacuees couldn’t be happier to finally be home, some still had weights on their shoulders for those they left behind.

For Omran, it was her elderly parents.

“I lived through the civil war, I lived through the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and I know how horrible it was, so I didn’t want the kids to go through what I did. I couldn’t leave my parents, but at the same time, I couldn’t sacrifice my kids.

I had to bring them here.” “(Harper) didn’t have to do this; he didn’t have to come with his plane, you know, but he did his best,” said Rima Saab, 36, of Ottawa. “He was there and he greeted us with his wife. They were so sweet. I don’t know who else would do this. I can assure you that the Lebanese government wouldn’t do this. They couldn’t care less.”

Tay Bazzi, who lives in Windsor, was visiting Lebanon for the first time since he came to Canada 15 years ago, and was in South Lebanon near the border.

“You could die any second,” he said. After being trapped in a house for five days because of the bombing, he and his uncle and aunts fled by car to Tyre, which he said was being bombed from the sea.

From there, he said, they drove north on back roads and stayed with cousins on the other side of Beirut, where he was called by the Embassy after his cousins had registered him on the Internet.

“It was a long wait, but it was worth it,” he said.

“I made it here alive. Thanks, Canada! I’m home!”

Who will be Toronto’s next mob boss?

There’s a lack of candidates vying to be the city’s next godfather, although experts say leadership vacuum won’t last

By Peter Edwards Torstar wire service WANTED: MAFIA GODFATHER. HIGH-LEVEL EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH OTHER CRIME GROUPS A PLUS BUT NOT NECESSARY.

T

oronto area mobsters haven’t taken out a classified ad for a new godfather — yet — but there’s clearly a leadership vacuum atop the local underworld.

Murders, court actions and voluntary retirements have drastically depleted the top level of the local mob ranks, according to police specialists.

While the local mob remains strong in drug trafficking, gambling and fraud, it’s hard to remember a time when its leaders were weaker, organized crime experts say.

Antonio Nicaso, who has written several books on the underworld, says no one person has emerged as an obvious mob leader for the Greater Toronto Area.

“Why would you follow someone if you don’t think they can lead you anywhere?” asks Nicaso, a senior partner in Soave Consulting Group of Concord, a security firm employing former police organized crime specialists.

Despite the apparent dearth of quality local leaders, there’s plenty of local mob activity in the GTA, according to the latest Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada organized crime report.

The report, prepared by police specialists on organized crime, notes the local mob (which police call “traditional” and “Italian-based” organized crime) is involved in a wide variety of criminal enterprises.

They include running illegal Internet gambling operations, illegal gaming establishments in cafés and restaurants, bookmaking, credit card fraud, and distributing illegal drugs, including cocaine, heroin, marijuana, ecstasy, gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), anabolic steroids and psilocybin (magic mushrooms).

“Legitimate businesses targeted by (traditional organized crime) groups include: construction and transport companies, restaurants and bars, and import/export companies,” the report continues.

Not everyone associated with the local mob is burning with ambition for the top job.

And, contrary to popular belief, you can leave the mob, if you keep your mouth shut or move far away.

One local septuagenarian, who was a prime suspect in a gangland slaying, has apparently decided he prefers sunning himself in Florida to local gangland intrigues.

Meanwhile, long-time local mob power Pietro (Peter) Scarcella, 56, won’t be free to vie for the top job for several years.

Scarcella was sentenced earlier this year to 11 years in prison for his role in a bungled mob hit in

a North York sandwich shop that left bystander Louise Russo, a mother of three, paralyzed.

One of Scarcella’s intended targets that day was Sicilian mob leader Michele Modica, who seemed to be pushing for more local power at Scarcella’s expense.

Modica has since been deported — for his second time — to Italy.

While Toronto has never had an all-powerful godfather, it’s hard to remember when things have been so weak at the leadership level, mob experts say.

“It’s open,” says Anthony Saldutto, formerly of the elite police Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, and now president of Detek Investigative Group, a Concord security firm.

“It’s been (open) always but it seems even more so now.”

Over the past decade or so, mob experts say Vito Rizzuto of Montreal has filled much of the leadership void, as a commuting godfather of sorts.

Rizzuto, who once ran a waste disposal business here, is currently in custody in Quebec, fighting an extradition order that would send him to the U.S. to face a racketeering indictment. It alleges he fired shots that killed three Bonanno crime family members in 1981 in New York.

A police report filed in his extradition case alleges that Rizzuto is widely considered to be the head of the Mafia in Canada.

Alfonso Caruana, of Woodbridge, is fighting extradition to Italy, where he would face almost 22 years in prison if convicted of laundering drug money. Caruana was charged in Canada in 1998 with conspiracy to import and traffic cocaine, and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Whatever happens in Toronto will likely impact the nearby Hamilton mob, and vice versa, mob experts say.

John (Pops) Papalia of Hamilton was once considered Ontario’s top mobster, and a frequent visitor to Toronto. Papalia was murdered in Hamilton in April 1997.

Hamilton mobster Pasquale (Pat) Musitano, 36, was originally charged alongside his younger brother Angelo with hiring a local hitman to commit the murder. However, those first-degree murder charges were withdrawn when they pleaded guilty to the 1997 gangland murder of Carmen Barillaro of Niagara Falls, a Papalia lieutenant.

The Musitanos are due to be released from minimum security Beaver Creek Institution in Gravenhurst on Oct. 5.

“I think it’s going to get heated up once the Musitanos come out,” Saldutto says.

Armand La Barge, chief of York Regional Police, wouldn’t comment on leadership contenders in the local mob, but he didn’t dispute there’s a seismic shift underway.

“Vacuums don’t stay vacuums for very long,” La Barge said.

JULY 23, 2006

INDEPENDENTWORLD • 15

Canada’s overall crime rate down 5 per cent

By Betsy Powell Torstar wire service

T

he number of Canadians killing each other rose to the highest rate it has been in almost a decade, but we’re still a lot less bloodthirsty than we were in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, according to national crime statistics released last week.

Overall, however, Canada’s national crime rate, based on incidents reported to police, fell 5 per cent last year — and the violent crime rate remained unchanged despite increases in the number of homicide, attempted murder, serious assault and robbery charges laid, the Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics said.

The homicide rate increased 4 per cent to the highest level in almost a decade after a 13 per cent increase in 2004. Most of that was attributable to a rise in homicides in Ontario and Alberta. Police reported 658 homicides last year — 34 more than in 2004 — a number in line with some large American cities.

Toronto had 79 homicides last year, including a record 52 handgun slayings.

The national homicide rate peaked in the mid-1970s at three homicides per 100,000 population. It has generally been dropping since then, reaching a low of 1.7 in 2003. The 2005 rate was

two homicides per 100,000.

Police reported 772 attempted murders across Canada in 2005, a 14 per cent increase from 2004. In addition, there were just over 3,000 aggravated assaults, which rose 10 per cent, and almost 50,000 assaults with a weapon, an increase of 5 per cent.

The rate of robberies rose 3 per cent, but it was still 15 per cent lower than a decade ago.

Police reported almost 29,000 robberies, more than half of which were committed without a weapon.

Robberies committed with a firearm fell 5 per cent.

Police reported 1.2 million property crimes, a 6 per cent drop to make it the

lowest rate in 30 years. Among the most common were thefts, which accounted for more than half of all property crimes, as well as break-ins, motor vehicle theft and fraud.

The rate of drug offences declined in 2005 as did crime committed by youth aged 12 to 17, which fell 6 per cent last year. While violent crime among youth dropped 2 per cent, the number of young people accused of homicide rose from 44 in 2004 to 65 in 2005, the highest point in more than a decade.

The national crime rate has been relatively stable since 1999, with last year’s 5 per cent decrease offsetting a 6 per cent hike in 2003. The rate declined

By Murray Whyte Torstar wire service

during the 1990s, after rising throughout the three decades previous.

“There’s no doubt to me the crime rate has come down because the boomers have got older,” says David Foot, co-author of a series of books on demographics who teaches economics at the University of Toronto.

But children of the boomers — who are now in their mid-20s — account for an increase in certain categories of crime “which tend to be more violent because young people tend to be more violent.”

Some believe the homicide rate would be much higher if it wasn’t for advances in medical expertise saving the lives of more victims.

f the many qualities ascribed to Oliver Stone in his 30-plus years of filmmaking, “understated’’ has rarely been one of them.

So it was with unexpected restraint that Stone, in a pink dress shirt and khaki summer suit, appeared before a small audience at Toronto’s Varsity Theatres to introduce a closed screening of his latest opus. World Trade Center is a big-budget, Hollywood treatment of the most horrific 24-hour span in recent American history: the destruction of the twin towers on Sept.

11, 2001 by terrorist-hijacked planes.

Early on, grudgingly, he decided to give it a try, joining Jimeno and McLoughlin as consultants.

“Oliver and me, we had our battles, yeah. Some I won, some I lost,” he says. “But he took it in stride. He really is a great guy. He had his heart in the right place, all the way through.”

Strauss had his concerns assuaged, but he wasn’t the only one with misgivings. Since its beginnings, World Trade Center has been plagued with unrest: Victims’ families accused Stone of looking to cash in on the tragedy; other relatives were angered by not being involved; others were simply horrified at the dead not being left to rest.

‘A LOT OF BAGGAGE’ “Listen, 9/11 comes with a lot of baggage,” says Stone, on a promotional jaunt for the film, which opens Aug. 9. “All we wanted to do here is get down and make a movie that was as realistic and true to life as possible.”

You’d be forgiven if you were to take those comments with a grain of salt. Stone’s career is sprinkled liberally with heavy-handed bluster: Natural Born Killers (1994), for example, a litany of extreme violence intended as critique of the mainstream media’s fascination with criminal brutality, remains one of filmmaking’s most divisive examples of artistic licence bombastically applied. Or JFK, his 1991 unravelling of a favourite conspiracy theory regarding the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

So when Scott Strauss, an Emergency Service Unit officer with the New York Police Department, first got the call from Stone’s people to act as a consultant on the film, his response was quick.

“I didn’t want to do it. It was a bad day. I didn’t think it was something that should be made into a movie at the time,” he says. “I was afraid it would be Hollywood-ized, and made into something silly.”

Strauss spent all of that fateful day at Ground Zero, combing through the smouldering wreckage. “We were walking around, all day long, looking for survivors and there weren’t any,” he says.

In the end, only 20 of the thousands

GRISLY DEATH Among many brutal, graphic scenes, the film depicts the grisly death of Dominick Peluzzo, one of the officers trapped with Jimeno and McLoughlin.

“My thing is: this man died for you,” his widow, Jeanette, told the Seattle Times. “How do you do this to this family?”

World Trade Center, of course, is not the first film to be made of the tragedy. A collection of shorts by renowned international directors about the day — 11.09.01 — was presented at the Toronto Film Festival in 2002, but never found a North American distributor. More recently, United 93, about the hijacked flight destined for the White House that was diverted by a passenger uprising to crash in a Pennsylvania field, was critically lauded but failed to draw audiences.

But World Trade Center is the first with the full might of a Hollywood studio’s promotional budget behind it — and the first to extract an intensely personal character-driven story literally from beneath the wreckage, where more than 2,200 people died that day.

The story, of Jimeno and McLoughlin’s survival, is ultimately one of redemption. But whether audiences can reconcile the horror of the event with the deeply personal, emotional story that lies within remains to be seen. United 93’s commercial failure weighs heavily on Stone.

“We may have the same problem,” he said. “That’s why we made the budget as tight as we could.”

O

Scott Strauss, former NYC cop around which the movie is based and actor Michael Pena who plays the character Strauss rescues. Ron Bull /Toronto Star

Oliver Stone on 9/11 Survivors are the focus of World Trade Center inside would be taken out alive. Two of them, Will Jimeno and John McLoughlin, became the focus of World Trade Center. The film revolves around their experience buried under the smoking rubble for nearly 24 hours.

Strauss was the first one down the deep, tangled pit of wreckage where they lay pinned by rubble. He reached Jimeno first, cutting him free and sending him to the surface.

Strauss’s experience was vital to Stone’s goal of veracity. After some coaxing from friends — “My partner said ‘You know, they’re going to make

Lottery luck From page 13 “My reply: ‘I’m from Newfoundland in Canada, I’m from Newfoundland in Canada.”

After Australia, Hall headed to Southeast Asia, spending time in Singapore and Thailand.

“Then I started to run out of money. So I flew to London, hung out with friends there for a few weeks, and headed back to the Rock.”

When she was offered a job with SHL Systemhouse — an international assessment and consultancy company — she snatched up the opportunity and headed back to Toronto, where she soon met Kenneth Steiness, another employee of SHL, who she would wed a year-and-a-half later.

The couple ended up in Arizona after Hall’s unit was transferred to Phoenix, but immigration to the U.S. from Canada is not easy. Because of quota restrictions, Canadians are currently unable to apply for the annual green card lottery.

However, Steiness is a citizen of Denmark — a country that is eligible. By extension, Hall is considered Danish as well. They both entered the lottery and she was chosen.

“Kenneth automatically got it as well – all immediate family members do,” says Hall. “It is kinda cool that it was the perfect symbiotic relationship. I could (not) have entered if I wasn’t married to him, he would not have won if he wasn’t married to me.”

Now official permanent residents, Hall and Steiness spend their free time hiking, skiing, and playing with their two Weimaraners in the wilds of Arizona. And, although Hall knows the opportunities Newfoundland presents for outdoors adventures, Steiness has yet to see them.

“He loves it (in St. John’s),” she says. “I’ll have to take him to the west coast the next time, perhaps next summer.

He would love to see, camp, (and) hike in Gros Morne.”

Do you know a Newfoundlander or Labradorian living away? E-mail editorial@theindependent.ca

“Oliver and me, we had our battles, yeah. Some I won, some I lost,” he says.

“But he took it in stride.

He really is a great guy. He had his heart in the right place, all the way through.”

Former NYC cop Scott Strauss

this movie with or without you; you may as well do what you can to make this accurate’” — he met Stone.

He described it as awkward at best.

“I was a little nervous: You know, Oliver Stone, his whole conspiracy theories and stuff. I thought, ‘Oh, no, this is going to be bad.’”

All of which, of course, does little to explain Strauss sitting with actor Michael Pena, who plays Jimeno, in the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto in a crisply pressed blue shirt and tie, obligingly offering himself to the press as part of the movie’s promotional circuit.

JULY 23, 2006

16 • INDEPENDENTWORLD

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INDEPENDENTLIFE

SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, JULY 23-29, 2006 — PAGE 17

Rendell Clarke by his boat on Bell Island.

Paul Daly/The Independent

‘Putting me in the hole’ Rendell Clarke has been an inshore fisherman all his life. These days, he makes less than $20,000 a year — and doesn’t mind talking about it

By Pam Pardy Ghent For The Independent

R

endell Clarke, 57, is in the minority these days on his native Bell Island.

“Years ago there was 20 or more of us fishing from here,” he says. “Fellers like me aren’t around here now. There may be two who makes their living fishing ’sides myself. I’m the last with the Clarke name to be fishing these waters.”

Clarke has been a fisherman all his life, first with his father and brothers, and since 1989 on his own. He says he has a love-hate relationship with the way he “barely” earns his living.

“Fishing nowadays is about just getting by, living day by day,” he says. “I’m starting to

hate the fishery, it’s only putting me in the hole now that I thinks about it.”

Clarke first turned to Employment Insurance to get him through the winter just 10 years ago. Before that, selling salted cod door to door kept him going — but when quotas were cut, there was no extra fish for him to cure and sell.

As Clarke says, you can’t get stamps selling fish door to door, so he began to work with fish buyers like Bidgoods in the Goulds so he could keep the heat on and put gas in his ’77 pickup all year long.

Clarke fishes for cod and lobster from his 19-foot boat, and uses a second-hand motor.

He has a 3,000-pound quota for his cod catch this year, barely enough to fatten up his stamps

to ensure his winter income will be a little higher than it otherwise would be.

It’s not a lot of money, he tells The Independent.

Sold at 60 cents a pound, his full cod quota of 3,000 pounds would total $1,800.00.

“Not a lot, is it, dear?” he says. “Some would say it isn’t worth bothering with, but that little bit makes a big difference on my EI so I do it, got to.”

Clarke makes enough on the lobster fishery to “get his weeks” but the amount is small and small lobster sales mean lower EI cheques.

That’s why his tiny cod quota is so valuable.

“See, that bit of cod will top off your EI” To earn EI benefits between $300 and $350 a week from November to March, Clarke says

he needs to sell $10,000 worth of fish a season.

Clarke makes $10,000 in cod and lobster sales, when he can, from April to October, then collects EI the rest of the year. He says 25 cents of every dollar he earns goes to government in taxes. He makes less than $8,000 on EI during his off times. All told, Clarke’s annual salary is below $20,000.

That’s for a businessman who pays for gas and gear out of his own pocket.

Being based on Bell Island has other challenges that cost Clarke more than he feels it should. By law, all fish must be monitored before it can be unloaded out of any fishing vessel, and the only monitoring that happens See “Hard predicament,” page 19

LIVYER

Dance desire Victoria Wells-Smith is planning big things for her three-month-old dance company

By Stephanie Porter The Independent

V

ictoria Wells-Smith sits in the dance studio she considers her second home, all energy, determination and enthusiasm. Just 19 years old, Wells-Smith has a clear vision of where she wants to be, what she wants to do — and seems to be on track to figuring out how to do it.

After a year-and-a-half of classes at Memorial University, Wells-Smith decided not to return in January.

“I was all over the place,” she says of her university experience. “It’s just, that’s when I came to the decision: I just want to be a dancer. And to do that, I have to work these 17hour days, so I can’t be spending 12 of them doing business or kinesiology or neuroscience.”

Wells-Smith has been dancing

since age four, and has trained in ballet, Latin, jazz, and any number of other dance regimes. By 14, she was an assistant teacher under the direction of Marie Cragg, at the School of Dance on Water Street, where she sits today. This year the St. John’s-native started teaching on her own. She currently leads a hip-hop class and at least two pilates and conditioning classes a week.

“It’s not a nine-to-five,” she says.

“It’s wake-up to sleep. I can’t tell you want I love about dance, it just makes me high all the time.”

But the big news — and the project she’s practically bursting to talk about — is the dance company she started three months ago.

“I just got to thinking, if I could do anything in the world, it would be to have my own dance company, just to be in charge of everything, and all the creative aspects, everything down to

lighting,” she says. “I underestimated how much work that was.”

Through Creator Dance Theatre, Wells-Smith currently employs six dancers (herself included), a manager, and two visual artists — most are her friends, people she’s danced with for years.

Wells-Smith describes her dance as modern (“it’s where my movement See “I have,” page 18

JULY 23, 2006

18 • INDEPENDENTLIFE

GALLERYPROFILE SCOTT PYNN Visual Artist

L

abrador City-native Scott Pynn spent much of his youth tucked inside a snowed-in house, drawing and painting the hours away. Now he’s doing what most doodlers only dream of — making a living from his art.

“It’s a pretty happy life. I wake up every morning with a smile on my face because I know I’m going into my studio painting,” says Pynn, who previously worked in construction and logging.

“I’d be daydreaming while I was cutting down trees, admiring the reflection on a pond or something. It was kind of hard to concentrate on work when all I really wanted to do was paint. Towards the end it was just unbearable to not be making art,” he says.

“That was kind of ironic really. I’d work all day chopping down trees, then go home in the evening and paint them back up.”

Pynn lived and worked all over Atlantic Canada before settling in Saint John, N.B., but it’s Labrador that has given him success. For almost two years Pynn has been a full-time artist, selling artwork at shows in Labrador City.

The 25-year old artist credits his hometown popularity to the distinctly Labradorian flavour of his work. While some of his work is clearly inspired by other areas of Atlantic Canada, he often paints colorful Labrador landscapes with frozen lakes, black spruce trees, and vibrant Northern Lights.

“There’s just something about Labrador,” says Pynn. “I know a lot of people see it, and I think that’s what they recognize in my work. There’s just sort of a spirit to the place, almost like a mystical type of thing in the lights there.”

Pynn’s surrealist touch makes his work stand out from most Labrador art.

Some paintings show Northern Lights making impossibly perfect geometrical shapes, while others have outport houses bending out of shape. His night time scenery boasts surprisingly bright splashes of colour.

These unreal qualities led him to call his last show Nightmares and Daydreams. While his surroundings influence his subject matter, he never uses reference photos, adding to the purposeful inaccuracy of his artwork.

“Everything I paint is coming directly from my head, like memories, and there’s no way you’re going to be able to paint something from memory exact-

ly as it was,” says Pynn. “The colors and the compositions — you actually make them up, and when you do that, you’re just dreaming. So you can’t even help but put in a little surrealist aspect.”

People sometimes reflect their own dreams and memories into Pynn’s paintings.

“Say I paint a certain sunset coming down over a Labrador lake. That could

remind someone of a fishing trip they had when they were young. Or it could be terrible; it could remind them of someone they know that drowned,” he says.

“It could be totally different for everybody that looks at it. And the dreamlike quality … that’s just in the way that you process something and put it out.”

Pynn will soon expand his horizons

with his first art show outside Labrador City, planned for Saint John. After Christmas, he plans a two-part show in Corner Brook and St. John’s. The art will include his memories of Labrador, as well as sketches and paintings of scenery from Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick — all with his dream-like, abstract touch.

— Sheena Goodyear

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

Victoria Wells-Smith

Paul Daly/The Independent

‘I have this philosophy that you can do anything’ From page 17 flows the most easily, it’s where I can be most creative,” she says) — but maintains that the work performed by her company is accessible and, above all, entertaining.

“I’m always being told there’s no audience for modern or contemporary dance in this province,” she says. There’s a glint in her eyes that says she’s determined to change that. She’s booked the LSPU Hall for two nights of dance, July 29 and 30.

The show will feature more than a dozen pieces, each choreographed by WellsSmith and fleshed out with the help of the other women in her company.

“A lot of people feel like they can’t go watch dance, because they’re not dancers,” she says. “A lot of it … well, if you go somewhere, and you don’t get the point (of the performance), you feel like you’ve wasted your money.”

Wells-Smith says she’s overcoming those perceptions by starting with easily recognizable music, by Pearl Jam, Massive Attack, Holly Cole, and more. Each piece has its own setting and story, and may even have a script. Wells-Smith goes on to detail

some of the segments, from the “more balletic” Tall trees in Georgia, to a lengthy cat fight, to a slinky cabaret-type performance.

“We want to be new and creative and make a big splash in the entertainment industry,” she summarizes. “(The performance) is really fun, totally humourous … it’s important to make people laugh, make people cry, make people think they saw something — but they didn’t just want to take people’s minds on a journey so they’re not sitting at home and watching The Simpsons again.

“It’s something for average people that just want to be entertained.”

FIRST SMALL STEPS As Wells-Smith continues, it becomes obvious that this month’s shows are the first small steps of a very far-reaching plan. She has aspirations of taking her young company to the national level, growing and performing and taking audiences by storm.

“It’s still going to be Creator Dance Theatre in 10 years, but it’s going to be so much bigger and better and hopefully we’ll tour Canada … we have all these ideas that just require money, which we don’t have

now …”

Wells-Smith has vision — but she admits she needs more training. She plans to start the musical theatre program at Sheridan College in Ontario. While there she plans to audition “all the time,” and drop-in for dance classes in various places in Toronto.

It sounds like the dancer’s been on a bit of a whirlwind since deciding to leave Memorial in January. She says she’s found encouragement from all quarters — except from some other members of the dance community who may be a little skeptical of the 19-year-old’s ability to make good on her words.

“My parents are generally very supportive,” Wells-Smith says. “They’re also concerned. But not so much, because I can do anything I want to do.

“That’s how this whole thing started. ‘I want to have a dance company’ — done. ‘I want to raise $1,500’ — done. ‘I want to choreograph 13 pieces’ — done. I have this philosophy that you can do anything. You just have to absolutely do it.”

Creator Dance Theatre performs at the LSPU Hall July 29 and 30, 8 p.m.

JULY 23, 2006

INDEPENDENTLIFE • 19

The battle in Pouch Cove Like him or not, James Baird contributed to the province’s cultural landscape — and his now-defunct artists’ residence inspired visitors from around the world

E

arlier this week I was able to log on to James Baird Gallery website, but by the time I got back from lunch the page, like the gallery itself, was down.

Baird announced he was closing his Pouch Cove Foundation after a week of public bickering with the town council, and apparently after years of uneasy relations. The St. John’s-based nonconformist had established a retreat there in a former school for visiting artists well over a decade ago. But the base soon became a beachhead when Baird saw himself defending his enterprise against the town council.

Indeed, as Baird and the mayor of Pouch Cove started trading insults over the airwaves last week, the skirmish started to take on the shape of an old

NOREEN GOLFMAN Standing Room Only story: David up against the Philistines, townie versus baymen, lone, creative guy with a dream blocked by narrow-minded municipal councillors, or all of the above?

It is worth asking whether this narrative of victimization is accurate: just where does the truth lie?

In one corner, we have Sarah Patten, mayor of Pouch Cove, who is arguing that the town gave Baird’s foundation notice of a rezoning order as early as 2003, but that the notice and subsequent orders have been ignored. There’s a good chance the old school building, the centre of the artists residency program, was, and is, an asbestos-ridden hazard, sorely in need of renovation. My 114-year-old house needs constant upkeep and so I can only imagine what a giant old schoolhouse requires, especially one exposed to the fierce elements of the eastern Avalon.

In the other corner we have James Baird, colourful maverick and businessman, who manages to get himself into the news every other year, rearing up like a foxglove after a cycle of rest. Baird is

‘Hard predicament’ From page 17 for Bell Island fisherman is out of Portugal Cove, across Conception Bay. “It puts us in a hard predicament,” he says.

“On windy days you got to unload your fish or you don’t get paid, and you could lose your licence fast if you unloaded it anywhere else.”

Clarke does what he must, even on bad days, putting himself and his boat in danger to unload his fish and make his dollar. And he does a lot of waiting. Some days, he says, he has been at the dock in Portugal Cove for three hours or more, waiting to unload his catch.

“That fish is sittin’ in the boat waiting for a monitor and it’s in the hot sun so then it’s not fresh fish, is it? I’ll tell you what that catch is then — it’s crap.”

More than the fish are aging in this waiting game. Clarke’s gear is getting old, and with low quotas there is no money and no incentive to invest more. He just keeps hoping what he has keeps going.

“I have a 40-horsepower motor I bought second hand for $800,” he says. “I got an old plank 19-foot boat I’ll try to patch up and get a few more years out of.”

He would like to put fiberglass on his boat, but he can’t spare the money right now. Clarke says there are times he can’t afford string to mend pots and nets and he makes do with tying knots in what he does have to make it last and, hopefully, hold. It’s also difficult to get someone to help, so he fishes mostly on his own.

“It really poisons me,” he says of trying to get someone to go out in the boat for a day here and there. “Someone on social assistance does better than me and all they got to do is go to the mailbox and turn their key to get their money.

“My father was a full-time groundfish fisherman all his life and he sold his licence back to the government when he was in his 80s and he got $15,000 for it, for a lifetime of work … all that money did was bury him, and it barely did that.”

Clarke says he still loves fishing and being on the water, but hates the fishery. There is a difference, he says.

“If I was allowed to make money, it would be a great living,” he says. “A 7,000-pound cod quota would give me a nice paycheck and I’d be doing what I love ’cause I still loves being on the water. I’d stay out there all day long if I could, but it costs money to go out there.”

And there just doesn’t seem to be enough of that to go around.

POET’S CORNER

His name is wonderful

By Janet Mary Reid

Slick as a salesman He says he cares about is He walks on water Single moms love him Signs sprout like dandelions Grin for my daughter Fighting like a ram He argues about cutbacks Health care should be free His party wins big Lower taxes please the rich Jobs still elude me.

arguing one of his familiar tales of victimization, declaring that the town has been hostile to his enterprise from the beginning, “making exaggerated claims,” and forcing him to shut it all down.

Now why would that be the case? The unspoken suggestion here is that the town of Pouch Cove fears outsiders, is not comfortable with a bunch of bohemian types from away inhabiting the building in which many of its own residents were schooled. No one would ever utter such a thing in public, nor would anyone necessarily acknowledge to themselves that this was a motive. But the way the two parties have pitted themselves through the media has led to a lingering suspicion. Who knows if there is anything to this? It is enough merely to raise the possibility, a widely held but shameful thought.

Also circulating in the air between Pouch Cove and St John’s is the suspicion that the mayor has a conflict of interest, since she is apparently opening her own more modest version of Baird’s residency program, a commercial venture that will see her profit from the pick up, or fall out, following the closing of the foundation.

Although Her Worship denies there is any such conflict, it is easy to see the timing of her own investment and the can-

cellation of Baird’s artist-in-residence program strains her credibility.

So it is that we have a somewhat credibility-challenged mayor and a resolutely nonconformist entrepreneur scrapping with each other like a pair of moody cats, the sad result being that Pouch Cove loses an exciting colony of artistic endeavour and Baird abandons a 16year-old dream. Couldn’t they have worked something out?

To be fair to the mayor, Baird’s reputation carries a fair bit of baggage. He was probably the first guy to recognize the power of the Internet for marketing the province as a tourist destination. Those were the Tobin days, when it was possible to get a sizable chunk of change to develop a web site simply by knocking on Chuck Furey’s door.

Baird developed his downtown Wordplay bookstore and gallery into an arty website long before anyone had even dreamed of hot links. To get to the province, so to speak, you ended up going through his portal. But many local artists have also complained about the way Baird was handling or mishandling their artworks. Others quit working for him at his shop and wouldn’t cross the street to save his life.

Baird has always courted provocation.

Some of his Wordplay gallery shows have pushed the limits of propriety, most

notably those about sex and desire. He’s always been out there, taking risks, playing the angles. He has also been too impatient with the system to play by its rules.

Like him or not, Baird has made a significant contribution to the cultural landscape of the place, drawing countless artists from all over North America and beyond to the magnificent Pouch Cove shoreline. In effect, he has generated an entire legion of good-will ambassadors for the province by hosting their talents.

He has made them feel welcome and offered them inspiration in the raw beautiful landscape of his Pouch Cove Foundation. He’s been a one-man tourism board, with the foundation as his central office.

But he is not the easiest guy to argue with, and he is not inclined to compromise with city councils or anyone whom he sees as standing in his way. Such stubbornness has taken his dreams far, but it has also stood in his way. I own two great paintings borne of his artist-in-residency program. It’s too bad it’s all come to this.

The whole situation puts the “ouch” in “Pouch Cove,” if you’re talking like a mainlander, that is.

Noreen Golfman is a professor of women’s studies and literature at Memorial. Her column returns August 6.

W

hile fisherman like Rendell Clarke struggle to make a dollar from low cod quotas, others seem to be a tad more content with theirs.

Len Pike, 48, of Harbour Mille, Fortune Bay, has been fishing for 30 years and he fishes for “it all.”

He has a 17,000-pound cod quota and a 4,000-pound crab quota. He proudly says he always fills both — and would willing to work more if it meant he could catch more.

QUOTAS “Quotas is the biggest thing,” he says. “Before you could fish as much as you wanted, it was a free for all and the hardest working man made the most. Quotas took a big bite out of my income, let me tell you.”

Pike’s wife and son are involved in the fishery with him. He works eight to 10 hours a day, seven days a week, from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. when fishing is good.

“When you’re not in your boat, you’re getting ready to get in your boat,” he says. “You are your own boss, and I’m a tough boss, even on myself, but fishing is the only job I’ve ever liked. Bring it on.”

Pike employs three other locals to help him from time to time. He needs to — when he’s done fishing for one day, he says he needs to start preparing for the next one and the one after that.

Pike has to hustle. He says he and one other fisherman — his nephew, Rod Pike — supply 100 per cent of the cod and 99 per cent of the lobster purchased by Bidgoods in the Goulds. Bidgoods sells the fresh and salted fish in their store.

Alvin Chafe, fish buyer for Bidgoods, says they send a truck on the six-hour round trip drive almost every day, starting in April.

“We have to,” Chafe says. “No one locally has the quotas we need.

We bought 35,000 pounds of cod so far this year and 19,000 pounds of lobster off two fishermen in Harbour Mille.”

Bidgoods pay a good price for cod, 85 cents a pound, and most of it is dried and sold salted. The lobster price can vary from $5.50 to $6.50 a

Joan Pike of Harbour Mille.

Paul Daly/The Independent

A living wage pound, though when lobster are scarce, the price has gone up to $7.75.

“We make $1.50 to $2 off the resale of the lobsters, but you need to. You’re dealing with a live product and dealing lobsters is a tricky business.”

GAVE UP LOBSTER Harbour Mille fisherman Russ Windsor, 48, gave up his lobster licence three years ago, but still fishes for cod, crab, and other groundfish. He has worked at other jobs over the years, but fishing is by far his favourite. He hopes to retire within two years.

“Fishing has been good to us, “ he says. “But the family is all up on the mainland, they all thought they could do better than staying in the fishery.

I don’t know if they did or didn’t, but

“You can’t control the fish and you can’t control the price and like everywhere else, your price seems to go down as your costs go up, but I’m pretty contented.”

Harbour Mille fisherman Russ Windsor fishing is like anything else — you have to work hard to make a good living.”

Windsor says he always fills his quota, and this year was particularly easy. “The cod was there to catch, this was definitely one of my better years,” he says. “You can’t control the fish and you can’t control the price and like everywhere else, your price seems to go down as your costs go up, but I’m pretty contented.”

Windsor says he reinvests between 25 and 30 per cent of his earnings back into his fishing enterprise each year.

“You know, people say fishing is a hard job, and it is, but I remember when I used to fish with my old man,” he says with a wink. “Now that was when it was hard, 20 years ago it was all manual, now 90 per cent of it is hydraulics. What we do today is a breeze.”

— Pam Pardy Ghent

JULY 23, 2006

20 • INDEPENDENTLIFE

Summer herbs: fresh is better H erbs. You have them in your cupboard even as I write this. Take a little peek and see what’s there. I’ll bet most of you have at least thyme and oregano — but how many of you use them?

Fresh herbs are always better for cooking.

Whereas dried herbs can withstand the entire cooking process, fresh herbs are used at the end for that direct hit of flavour and bright colour. I enjoy the pungency of the fresh herbs of summer.

Basil is a favourite of mine, with that heady aroma filling the kitchen as the leaves are plucked, rolled and finely sliced — that, to me, is a fragrance of summer.

Lucky for us, we can find fresh herbs all year long so we can enjoy them even when the sun doesn’t shine. Here’s what you can find in the local stores: Parsley: two varieties, flat leaf or Italian parsley, and curled leaf or regular parsley.

Italian parsley has a more robust flavour and makes a great component of light salads.

Curled leaf parsley makes a pretty garnish and has a slightly weaker flavour than the flat leaf.

Thyme: there are many varieties available to the public now, and some have overtones of other flavours like lemon. Fresh thyme can be used in just about any dish.

Rosemary: not just for Sunday lamb dinner any more. This hardy and woody herb is strong and pungent and sticky to the touch when freshly cut.

Basil: green, purple leaf and all varieties in between. Useful for garnish, fantastic aroma to finish fresh pasta, and a great flavour balance to tomato or oil based sauces. Basil is also wonderful over chunky potato salad.

NICHOLAS GARDNER

Off the Eating Path Mint: chop up finely and add some vinegar and sugar (to balance the acid) and voila, mint sauce for lamb. (Don’t forget the rosemary!)

Varieties include chocolate mint, a dark-leaf mint with “chocolatey” overtones and fantastic for sweets. A leaf or two placed on top of chocolate pudding goes a long way in impressing your guests.

Herbs should be treated with the same respect you treat fresh-cut flowers. Get a container big enough to fit all the herbs standing up.

By standing the herbs up in a bit of water (about one inch), they last a lot longer. If you wish, wash all the herbs right away, but be warned — soft leaves like basil start to decompose when wet, so they are better left dry. Dry them very well with a clean dishtowel.

When the herbs have been washed and dried, wet a piece of paper towel and lay it over the top of the herbs like a blanket. The extra dampness over the top will keep them from drying out and they will remain fresh much longer. Change the water daily, as you would with some flowers, and they will last up to two weeks.

When some of the herbs become a little tired, try making salsa verde. It is fantastic with baked fish and on grilled meats or even spooned over hot new potatoes.

SALSA VERDE 1bunch parsley 1bunch basil 6 sprigs mint 2-3 cloves garlic 3 Tbsp capers, drained 12-14 anchovy fillets (optional: found in the cooler aisle, near the butter) 1Tbsp of grainy mustard Juice of 1/2 lemon 1/3 cup olive oil Pepper

Remove and discard stalks from herb leaves. Place herbs and the rest of the ingredients minus olive oil and lemon juice in a food processor. Blend until slightly chunky. Add some of the oil and lemon juice. Pulse several times to blend. Taste for consistency and adjust the seasoning. If you haven’t used the anchovy, you can add a small handful of green olives to add to the salty component.

Refrigerate for at least one hour to allow flavours to develop.

If you have any excess herbs, the best thing to do is dry them out. Take the herbs and tie them in bunches. Leave enough string on the end to tie it off. Choose a cool, dry place in the house and hang the herbs upside down until completely dried. This should take about one week.

When deciding what herbs to use next, remember: fresh is better.

Nicholas Gardner is a food writer and erstwhile chef living in St. John’s nicholas.gardner@gmail.com

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES Keeping up with Cathy Jones, a “biographical romp” through the life and times of one of this province’s best-known actresses and comedians, airs on CBC-TV Monday, July 31. Barb Doran (left) wrote and directed the production starring, of course, Cathy Jones (right). The biography is a production of St. John’sbased Morag Loves Company.

INDEPENDENTBUSINESS

SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, JULY 23-29, 2006 — PAGE 21

Nick George

Paul Daly/The Independent

More than street meat Nick George’s business plan is simple: offer more than the average downtown hotdog cart

By Ivan Morgan The Independent

T

here’s a new kid on the block, and he wants your business. Nick George, president of Nick’s Vending, says he has something new to offer the people walking around downtown St. John’s.

Over the past several years, more and more hotdog and other food carts have appeared on Water and George Streets.

George took a look around and thought he could offer something more. He has developed a food cart and an accompanying business approach that he hopes will catch the attention of hungry people.

George says he has an edge, stressing there is nothing complicated in his approach to business: customer service, cleanliness and quality are his business philosophies.

“It’s not like I came up with a huge In the competitive downtown food vendbright idea or anything like that,” he says. ing market, anything to get the attention of “I like to think that I am providing a good hungry passersby makes a difference. Nick quality service to people for a quick lunch is gambling on variety of new products or a snack in the daytime. being a draw.

“When you go into a In addition to the tradi“I like to think that restaurant, you don’t have tional “George Street somebody totally dirty I am providing a good sausage,” George offers walk up to you and take boneless pork rib sandyour order and then go quality service to people wiches on fresh buns, back to the kitchen and with an assortment of for a quick lunch or a have a cigarette and not name-brand condiments. wash their hands and While Nick realizes these snack in the daytime.” condiments cost him a litserve you food. As far as I am concerned when it tle extra, he banks on his Nick George comes to my business and customers appreciating my mobile unit … I treat the difference. it like a restaurant, except it’s on wheels.”

“If you’re paying the same price (as His business is founded on the idea of another product) why wouldn’t you want a building a clientele, one customer at a time. quality product?” He plans to branch out as “People are smart, people notice quality, much as he feels he can — he’s looking at cleanliness and customer service.” souvlaki and possibly kebabs in the weeks

to come. He even caters to vegetarians, offering both jumbo and small vegetarian sausage.

George also says location gives him an edge. Nick’s Vending can be found stationed outside Atlantic Place every day 11 a.m.-5 p.m. In the evenings he is outside O’Rielly’s Pub on George Street. When asked why he chose O’Rielly’s, he sheepishly confesses to a love of Irish and traditional music — it’s nice while he works.

But he is quick to add that while some George Street businesses are less than thrilled when a hotdog cart is parked outside their door, he has found O’Rielly’s staff very supportive.

And they aren’t the only ones. A particular source of pride for Nick is the fact many staff from other carts come to him for their snacks — the pork-rib sandwich being a See “Looking,” page 23

Hub cities part of rural growth strategy: O’Brien

By Nadya Bell The Independent

N

ewfoundland and Labrador’s Business minister, Kevin O’Brien, says six Newfoundland towns are the “hubs” or growth centres to be focused on in the province’s rural development strategy.

But the hub model may work in the short term, its long-term benefits aren’t assured, says a professor specializing in rural development.

O’Brien names Gander (his district), Grand Falls-Windsor, Corner Brook, Clarenville, Stephenville and St. Anthony as rural Newfoundland’s urban centres of development.

While those centres will be key to the future of rural area, O’Brien says no area will be completely left out.

“It’s on a broad spectrum. We see things happening hopefully in Port-auPort, Harbour Breton, not necessarily just the hubs,” O’Brien says. “The hubs, yes absolutely, there’s challenges there as well, but they are at an advantage as compared to, say, Harbour

Breton.”

The Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development released an economic development strategy last March. According to the report, a culture of innovation will be created through training, higher spending on research and development, and increased capital investment.

The report says the province’s large size requires a directed approach to spending.

“Our resources must be deployed strategically if they are to be available to all who need them,” it reads.

“Working collectively is the only realistic way of sharing limited resources, overcoming barriers of distance and isolation, and avoiding costly duplication and unproductive competition.”

O’Brien says rural areas, though on a different level of development than the hubs, are crucial for economic growth of urban centres.

“Rural Newfoundland is very important to Newfoundland and Labrador.

The (communities) certainly are the driving forces to the urban centres —

certainly my own (district), because we’re a hub, a lot of our business comes from the rural areas.

“I always as a pharmacist knew full well what drove my business, and it was mostly rural Newfoundland … I understand the importance,” says O’Brien.

“We know the northeast Avalon is doing very well. I will be keeping part of my focus to rural Newfoundland and try to build up and diversify their economy, it can be done.”

Hub towns are similar to Joey Smallwood’s growth centres in the 1960s resettlement program, but smaller in scale, says University of Regina history professor Raymond Blake.

Blake researched and wrote on rural and regional development strategies in Newfoundland and Canada for the 2003 Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada.

“Going from 1,500 communities to 900 — you needed quite a few growth centres — and now with the rural depopulation that is happening, proba-

bly five or six centres outside of St. John’s might be the best the province can hope for,” Blake says.

Other countries such as the U.S. and Australia use hub centres as part of their rural development strategy.

Employing hubs is a common strategy from technology research to cost effectiveness in the airline sector.

But Blake is not sure that hubs work well outside a few key areas.

“One of the problems with trying to create hubs outside of the major metropolitan centres is that it comes quite frequently with a huge amount of capital investment from the state.”

Blake says the strategy will work in short term, but long term is still in question.

“Some of these places, Gander, Grand Falls are in fact service centres themselves and are serving the area that is becoming increasingly depopulated — what happens when the population they are serving disappears?” he says.

“What is the industry that is going to flow out of these hubs?”

For 50 years the government’s strate-

gy has been to give money to small businesses. Blake says changes in approach have not addressed the underlying problem.

“With declining wages, people will naturally migrate to where they can earn the highest income. If we’re going to create hubs in these five communities around the province, are incomes going to be at a level that people will find Alberta unattractive?”

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians need to talk about the importance of rural Canada, and acknowledge that subsidization is necessary for some rural areas, Blake says.

“What we have been telling ourselves in Canada is that rural Canada is in trouble, but it’s only for a year — well we’ve been doing this since 1930,” he says.

“We haven’t said place is important.

We need to support place, where we live, and people choose to live in certain parts of Newfoundland, therefore there is a subsidization of the rural economy because it is something that we value.”

22 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS

JULY 23, 2006

Newfoundlanders: a gutted people?

SUE KELLAND-DYER

Guest column

S

eals reportedly eat the stomachs of cod and allow the remains to float down for the bottom feeders. Our rural communities have sunk and are now being devoured by fish merchants.

Government has announced a further delay of the much-anticipated results of the fisheries summit — because of scheduling conflicts. The premier is convinced that Bill Barry, the man who just finished a herring survey off the south coast, knows what he’s doing and will have the answers. Turns out they found very few herring in three months — nowhere near enough for the

Harbour Breton plant to be viable.

Nothing concrete is being done to save the communities of the families that are leaving in droves from rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

What can be done?

First, sue the feds for gross negligence of a renewable resource — the groundfish fishery — that’s been under Ottawa’s management since 1955. The next order of business should be to stabilize the communities by whatever means until the fish come back or Ottawa pays the price. Our federal minister needs to shake up the quota allocations to ensure they benefit Newfoundland and Labrador — or Canada even.

What are the politicians up to? The premier says people may have to move away while the fishery or province recovers.

He adds: “We have not given up on

Harbour Breton.” Danny doesn’t have to give up — the people have and are moving. Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn suggests that joint management of the nose and tail between Ottawa and the European Union should do the trick. OK Loyola, I’m willing to take the bait if you can deliver 5,000 federal government jobs for fishing communities until the stocks come back.

FPI is more arrogant now than it ever was. The company’s execs won’t even sit and talk to the union until salaries are reduced by over $2 an hour. The company that enjoys the benefit of our common fish resources is now holding that license over the heads of the people who own them. The union is “necessarily” quiet while communities fold. The much-hyped Barry or Penney takeover of various processing assets of FPI is gone by the wayside and what do we

have to show for it? Another six months wasted and another rural area decimated.

The truth is we have given up and we lack leadership to protect this valuable renewable asset. The strong backbone shown when negotiating with big oil and Abitibi is not evident with fish merchants. This so-called Confederation that has cost us so much was achieved by votes of rural Newfoundlanders that suffered under the merchants of Water Street. They picked the lesser of two evils.

Here we are over 50 years later again deciding between merchants and Confederation. The trading-fish-for flour that our fishermen endured has been replaced by Ottawa bartering our resources to oblivion. We are told there are too few fish for too many fishermen. It is easier to believe this rhetoric than make the politicians do what is

responsible.

Our collective guts have been removed by federal and provincial politicians, union reps, and regional leaders who lack the ability or desire to fix the problem. You’re not a true Newfoundlander and Labradorian if you fail to protect and defend our reason for being here. Simple questions: Why is the province refusing to take legal action against the Government of Canada for mismanaging the stocks?

Why is the federal government refusing to take custodial control and work toward joint management?

We will be the only people to voluntarily give up our sovereignty and then go about eradicating ourselves. All for the price of a question or two.

Sue Kelland-Dyer was a policy advisor to former Liberal premier Roger Grimes.

Xstrata ups Falconbridge bid

By Tara Perkins Torstar wire service

S

cott Hand has had better days. The 64year-old chief executive of Inco Ltd. has spent the past nine months trying to buy Falconbridge Ltd. and pull off the world’s biggest mining takeover.

He worked through Thanksgiving, when Inco first launched its bid. He spent Valentine’s Day telling analysts about Inco’s 2005 results. Over the Mother’s Day weekend, he worked feverishly on an improved offer for Falconbridge as his wife of 37 years flew to Singapore to visit the couple’s threeweek-old grandchild.

On July 19, just 33 minutes before Hand was scheduled to hold a conference call to announce Inco’s highest-ever quarterly earnings, Switzerland-based Xstrata PLC announced it was raising its hostile all-cash bid for Falconbridge by $3.50 per share, to $62.50 per share. The bid values Falconbridge at more than $24 billion.

Xstrata also extended its offer until Aug. 14, allowing Falconbridge’s shareholders to pick up the 75-cent dividend Falconbridge Inco Limited Chairman and CEO Scott Hand (L) and Falconbridge Ltd. CEO Derek Pannell.

REUTERS/Mike Cassese has declared for shareholders of record on July 26. $62.65 per Falconbridge share yesterday, And, later in the day, Inco’s partner in the nificantly last week. proposed deal, Phelps Dodge Corp., got Scotia Capital’s Onno Rutten pegged the after Inco shares rose $2.35. Shares of Inco news from its second-biggest shareholder chances of Xstrata winning Falconbridge at and Phelps rose yesterday, as the market decided the chances of them winning — and that it would be opposing a three-way com- 100 per cent. bination due to the debt Phelps could take “I think this is probably going to do it,” paying for — Falconbridge were less likely.

Xstrata chief financial officer Trevor Reid on. said one source involved in Xstrata’s bid.

“I see that Xstrata today has announced an Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis speaks says Xstrata’s bid shows “a strong intent to increase in their bid to $63.25 a share,” Hand as if his takeover of Falconbridge was a done draw this process to a close.”

Xstrata has reached a deal with Investment said on the conference call. deal.

“Our bid remains very competitive and “We’ll be reviewing all the assets when we Canada, which asked the company to comshareholders of Falconbridge have to make a take over the company, but at the moment mit to certain measures to protect jobs and choice — they can take cash and leave the there are none we have marked for sale,” he base the nickel business in Canada, Reid says. Approval is expected shortly. future benefits of participating in this great says.

Davis emphasizes Xstrata has a $7 per future to Xstrata, or they can join with us in share advantage in the bidding war. The creating the new Phelps Dodge Inco, which RAISED ITS OFFER Inco has raised its offer for Falconbridge company bought 20 per cent of Falconbridge will be the world’s leader in nickel and the largest publicly traded copper company in three times, with the most recent increase for $28 per share in August, and so the average price it would pay for all of Xstrata’s the world, participating in all the synergies announced July 16.

Inco’s bid is financially supported by shares under its current offer is $56.44 per and benefits in Sudbury and elsewhere Phoenix-based Phelps Dodge, which plans share. which the three companies will realize.”

Davis says Xstrata’s offer is higher than Inco and Falconbridge have a lot in com- to buy Inco. Phelps’ chief executive officer mon, including head offices in Toronto and Steven Whisler said Sunday’s offer is “the any other company can offer under realistic best and final proposal that we will support.” assumptions for metal prices in the future. side-by-side operations in Sudbury.

Hand said “this is our best and final offer Some people close to the situation suggest And they think they could save nearly for Falconbridge.” it’s still possible Inco could raise its bid. $600 million annually by merging them.

Inco’s offer, of $18.50 in cash plus Under the current offer, Phelps could take But analysts say the chances of a marriage between Inco and Falconbridge dropped sig- 0.55676 of an Inco share, was valued at on up to $24 billion (U.S.) of debt.

Thunder Bay mill closings to cost 275 jobs The Buchanan Northern Hardwoods sawmill in Thunder Bay will shut down indefinitely on Sept. 15, putting 225 people out of work. The news comes just days after Buchanan said a birch pallet sawmill at the

same site would close, affecting 50 jobs.

Vice-president Hartley Multamaki says the closing is the result of low market prices for poplar lumber, combined with the high cost of energy and reduced access to wood fibre.

Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union Local 40 president Stephen Boon says workers were expecting some bad news, but were surprised to hear of the outright closing.

— Torstar wire service

JULY 23, 2006

INDEPENDENTBUSINESS • 23

Looking for repeat business From page 21

Kevin O’Brien

Paul Daly/The Independent

Expectations raised for Business Department T

he recent cabinet shuffle within our provincial government, which happened just a couple of weeks ago, included a move by Premier Danny Williams to relinquish his secondary role as minister responsible for the Department of Business (a department he and his government created), handing over those ministerial duties to cabinet newcomer Kevin O’Brien.

A change of minister doesn’t necessarily mean a change in focus and direction for the fledgling department.

However, it does perhaps signal an effort to reenergize the department and bring its work more to the fore.

When it was first announced, there were high hopes for the Department of Business throughout much of Newfoundland and Labrador’s private sector, but there’s been limited buzz ever since. Not that the department hasn’t been working hard and getting some things done — but most of the work gets relatively little notice or attention. News releases from the Business Department, for instance, have been few and far between compared to all the other departments.

There’s a high-level business advisory board linked to the department whose job it is to provide advice to the premier and the rest of government on matters of economic development and business in Newfoundland and Labrador.

But overall, you could say the Department of Business has been somewhat of an enigma. Currently, its two main files are a provincial rebranding initiative aimed at creating a consistent, recognizable, professional image and identity for Newfoundland and Labrador; and the red tape reduction initiative, shifted to Business from another department last year.

On July 18, the newly appointed

RAY DILLON

Board of Trade

Just like Nova Scotia’s business development agency ... we need to be more out front in aggressively and strategically attracting business to Newfoundland and Labrador.

O’Brien had his first speaking engagement as a minister at a luncheon of the St. John’s Board of Trade.

He updated the businesspeople in attendance on the red-tape reduction and re-branding projects, and how those fit into the mandate of the department. But he also underlined the growing emphasis government is putting on business and investment attraction, an objective which the Department of Business was set up to lead, but which has been slow in progressing to this point.

Clearly, we as a province have work to do to build up business here. As a result of our recent economic success, Newfoundland and Labrador runs the risk of becoming cash-rich but opportunity poor. Our natural resources — oil primarily — are the major source of our wealth, while our private sector, which is the engine for self-sustaining

wealth creation, remains comparatively underdeveloped.

Without a doubt, we need a strategic, business-like approach to enhancing our business environment and achieving value-added, sustainable economic growth in Newfoundland and Labrador. This approach is needed both in the development of our indigenous private-sector businesses and also attracting inward investment and companies to the province.

Just like Nova Scotia’s business development agency, Nova Scotia Business Inc., has helped entice the likes of Research in Motion and other high-value firms to locate their operations in that province, we need to be more out front in aggressively and strategically attracting business to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Is our Business Department fulfilling that role? As an infant department, let’s give it a chance to get the ball rolling. But it certainly has some growing and maturing of its own to do if government hopes to rely on it as an agency that will actively help the province compete for national and international business.

“This is where we mean business” was the minister’s refrain throughout his address to members of the St. John’s Board of Trade last week.

That was an encouraging message from a department that has been flying under the radar, for the most part, since its inception. And now that the premier has passed the portfolio to a full-time minister, expectations will be raised.

Certainly, the local private sector is anxiously waiting for the Department of Business to take a more prominent position within government.

Ray Dillon is President of the St. John’s Board of Trade.

particular favourite.

When asked about the competition amongst cart operators (rumoured to be stiff), George is the picture of diplomacy. He has great respect for his competition, but feels there is room for his business too.

“Everyone wants their company to be the best. All I do is what I would expect myself from another vendor.”

While he claims he’s never taken a business course in his life, George sounds like a manual for opening a small business. His educational background in architectural design allowed him to design and build exactly the cart he wanted. While attending university, he worked in a restaurant kitchen to make ends meet — he brings that expertise to his new business.

After coming up with the idea, he researched every possible aspect of the street vending, meeting with suppliers, government departments and even working for another cart operator, all so he could get his head around the business and its challenges.

George says this preparation, combined with his energy, business strategy and good, old-fashioned gumption, will be a winning combination for him.

George isn’t relying on the sight of a slowly roasting, fresh jalapeno and cheese sausage on the grill next to a lightly toasted bun to bring in business — it’s the memory of the last one he served you. He is gambling he’ll draw you back.

24 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS

JULY 23, 2006

WEEKLY DIVERSIONS ACROSS 1 Drooler’s accessories 5 “Mr. Hockey” 9 Like a fox 12 Bear droppings 16 ___ et lui 17 Hot: like an ___ 18 Soil turner 19 Many voices 20 Small European monarchy 23 Tough 24 First francophone P.M. 25 Qom’s country 26 Head cavity 27 Extension 28 Work week whoop 29 Inventor of Ringette: Sam ___ 30 Nfld. painter Mary ___ 33 Longest-running CBC radio show: “The Happy ___” (1937-59) 34 Haunch 35 Cut covering 38 Cured pork 39 Grey (Fr.) 40 Asian desert 41 Foofaraw 42 Self 43 Seed cover 44 “___ a fine seam” 45 Make short cuts 46 Sleepless 48 Cousin’s mother

49 Units of power 50 Large medicine dose 54 Slender weapon 57 Butter from a tree 58 Collection of weaponry 62 Maritimes 63 Makeover beam 65 When Brutus was brutal 66 Devon river 67 Go on stage 68 Pub rounds 69 Ballet movement 70 ___ and hearty 71 Simple soul 73 Delivery vehicle 74 A cold one 75 Closer to extinction 76 Grand ___, N.B. 78 Cajole 79 European beetle 80 Confused din of voices 81 Painter of B.C. woods 82 Enticed 86 Aristocratic 87 Not giving a fig 89 Stopped a squeak 90 Salt source 91 Wild party 92 Prov. that produces more potash than any country 93 Toboggan

94 Encountered 95 Loch ___ 96 Family plan?

DOWN 1 First swimmer across L. Ontario (1954): Marilyn ___ 2 Pelvic bones 3 Un certain fromage 4 The Book of ___ (Vassanji) 5 Hospitality establishment 6 ___ and done with 7 Wart cousin 8 Flags 9 Bundle (of wheat) 10 Tender cut 11 Japanese capital 12 Knee to ankle parts 13 Scintillating 14 Helps 15 “If at first you don’t succeed, ___” 19 Gaspé ski area: les ___-Chocs 21 Sword handle 22 Math subj.

26 Palatable 28 Follow 29 Agree 30 Sound of relief 31 Madras music 32 Run ___ (wild) 33 Searing surface 34 Bookstore category

(2 wds.)

36 Mine entrance 37 Punches 39 Larva 40 Columbus’ birthplace 43 At a distance 44 Terrific!

45 Retail lure 47 Coup d’___ 48 What campers soak and stir 49 Wimp 51 German city 52 Lowest point 53 Untie 54 Cullen of stand-up 55 Large tropical rodent 56 Worthy of respect 59 Close 60 Wheel shaft 61 Lustful look 63 Quebec university 64 Park of “Air Farce” 65 Holly genus 69 P.M. who gave us our flag (1960’s) 70 Judy Loman, e.g.

72 Storied 74 Cause yawning 75 Gypsy men 77 Poverty 78 Unit of gem weight 79 Quebec film director Arcand 80 Heat (water) until

bubbling 81 One of N.W.T.’s official languages

82 Clothing 83 Skier’s pick-me-up?

84 If all ___ fails ...

85 Fake shot (hockey) 86 Refusals 87 Suffix for a doc-

trine 88 Before: prefix Solution page 31

WEEKLY STARS ARIES (MAR. 21 TO APR. 19) You face the possibility of raising your relationship to another level.

However, your partner might demand that you make promises for which you’re not sure you’re ready.

TAURUS (APR. 20 TO MAY 20) As changes continue, expect things to get a little more hectic at your workplace. An unexpected travel opportunity could open new career prospects.

GEMINI (MAY 21 TO JUNE 20) Confront the person who caused your hurt feelings and demand a full explanation for his or her actions. You’ll not only recover your self-esteem but you’ll also gain the respect of others.

CANCER (JUNE 21 TO JULY 22)

That personal problem in the workplace is compounded by someone’s biased interference.

Stand your ground, and you’ll soon find allies gathering around you.

LEO (JULY 23 TO AUG. 22) You don’t accept disapproval easily. But instead of hiding out in your den to lick your wounded pride, turn the criticism into a valuable lesson for future use.

VIRGO (AUG. 23 TO SEPT. 22) That former friend you thought you’d cut out of your life is still affecting other relationships.

Counter his or her lies with the truth. Your friends are ready to listen.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23 TO OCT. 22) What appears to be an unfair situ-

ation might simply be the result of a misunderstanding. If you feel something is out of balance, by all means, correct it.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23 TO NOV. 21) A stalled relationship won’t budge until you make the first move.

Your partner offers a surprising explanation about what got it mired down in the first place.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22 TO DEC. 21) A co-worker shares some startling news, but before you can use it to your advantage, make sure it’s true. The weekend favors family matters.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 TO JAN. 19) Your usual conservative approach to family situations might not work at this time. Keep an open mind about developments,

and you might be pleasantly surprised.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20 TO FEB. 18) Plans might have to be put on hold because of a family member’s problems. Don’t hesitate to get involved. Your help could make all the difference.

PISCES (FEB. 19 TO MAR. 20) Relationships in the home and in the workplace need your careful attention during this period. Be careful not to allow misunderstandings to create problems.

BORN THIS WEEK You have a keen, insightful intellect and enjoy debating your views with others who disagree with you. You also love to solve puzzles — the harder, the better. (c) 2006 King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Fill in the grid so that each row of nine squares, each column of nine and each section of nine (three squares by three) contains the numbers 1 through 9 in any order.

There is only one solution to each puzzle. Solutions, tips and computer program available at www.sudoko.com SOLUTION ON PAGE 31

JULY 23, 2006

INDEPENDENTSHIFT • 25

JULY 23-29, 2006

If you’ve ever slipped into a Formula 1 cockpit, the S2000’s interior may feel vaguely familiar. The car is available at the Honda dealership in St. John’s.

Paul Daly/The Independent

DRIVEN

FROM A CHOPPER TO A MOTOR HOME TO A PORSCHE 911 TO A RICKSHAW, NEW INDEPENDENT COLUMNIST WILL REVIEW ANYTHING THAT MOVES

I

like to drive. A lot. Over the years I’ve driven almost every make and manner of machinery. Cars and trucks, both new and old, and every style of motorcycle — motocross, cruiser, rocket and chopper. I’ve driven a backhoe and a front-end loader. The motor home I drove cost more than my house, had a V-10 engine under the hood and a 21-inch colour television in the dashboard.

I’ve taken the wheel on big power boats, small boats, all kinds of snowmobiles, quads and trikes. Every now and then I’m offered the chance to do a bit of stock-car racing and actually won the Media Challenge race a few years ago. (I would like to thank our sponsors, got a great team this year.)

It’s pretty easy to see I love machinery, but I still enjoy the simple pleasure of riding a bicycle. A few people who really know me can laugh because I have a collection of about 16 bikes and that’s not normal, I admit. But hey, I do like to launch my vintage canoe on occasion or have a paddle in my little kayak. Sometimes I’m lucky enough to ride horses or take the evening air on a pony cart, the original convertible.

The pony cart reminds me of a latenight episode around 20 years ago.

There was an attempt to establish a rickshaw service in downtown St. John’s (I’m not making this up), and upon leaving one of the finer east-end establishments, I was looking for transportation to the west end of Water Street and lo and behold there was a rickshaw. To the uninitiated a rickshaw is an ornate, light wooden cart with two long wooden handles attached to, and propelled by, a guy trotting along

in front. All the rage in Singapore and Tokyo to be sure! But an absolute oddity and rarity on a late night on Water Street, which made it all the more desirable. So I inquired about rates and the runner was both surly and overpriced, but from what I know about horses, he showed spirit. So off we went, he trotting and me fashionably ensconced in the rickshaw, tipping my hat to startled onlookers. A short ways ahead was another rickshaw at a set of traffic lights and I coaxed my runner

around a few cars to pull alongside the other chariot to have some sport. I nodded to the other passenger and we both passed pleasantries and agreed it

was indeed a lovely evening for rickshaw. The light turned green, the other chariot pulled ahead and gained a full measure in front, then I leaned forward and roared at my overpriced, surly charge, “On Donner, on Dasher, or Rudolph or whatever your name is!

Run like the wind and pass him!” I instinctively reached for the whip, which he must have cleverly hid, so I leaned forward with my hat but couldn’t reach him and realized why the handles were so long. Wily creatures

these rickshaw runners. Having won the race, I allowed him to walk a bit and catch his breath but insisted on a fair trot upon approaching my destination for the pretext of a fine entrance. I tipped him well and never saw a rickshaw downtown again.

I presume he continued his studies, achieved a higher education, found reputable work and held his head high when queried about his previous employment and barked “Rickshaw runner, sir.” Now that’s something you don’t see too often on a resume. I, on the other hand, am listing rickshaw racer on mine.

I’m actually on vacation right now and around noon today my sister-inlaw let me take her new Yamaha motorcycle for a spin. I cruised through the back roads down to the ocean and thought to myself, this is the life.

Within an hour I was invited to the offices of The Independent and offered a dream job, the opportunity of a lifetime.

Drive everything I can get my hands on every week, have fun and share my thoughts. I got called up to the major league and I’m going to have a lot of fun. Now I can sincerely say, “I want to thank our sponsors, we got a really strong team here at The Independent and I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

So, there’s a Porsche 911 that I’ve had my eye on for the past year, perhaps they’ll allow us all the pleasure of knowing what it feels like to drive it.

Please, call me Woody.

Mark Wood lives in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s and is responsible for the failure of the rickshaw industry.

26 • INDEPENDENTSHIFT

JULY 23, 2006

Public drag racing

Canadian drag racer Carl Spiering says Canadian kids need a place to legally race. Above: assistants count down for Denis Belikov (left) and Ruslan Zuyev during the start of a drag race on a runway near the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk July 1. Non-professional drivers from Russia and Kazakhstan took part in the "Drag-Fight 2006" 402 m short distance race.

Ilya Naymushin/Reuters

problem, why aren’t they taking some of the money Spiering, who’s nicknamed “the Big Dog,” finthey have and building drag strips? ished third last year in the Pro Modified division of “And then, once they have the drag strips, they the IHRA World Championship National Event Tour could schedule mandatory, supervised, street racing while competing in nine of the 12 events. En route, nights. That way, if a couple of guys in hot cars meet he won the Tarco Race Fuels Pro Modified up in the parking lot of a mall, and one says, ‘Hey, Shooutout and the IHRA ACDelco Nationals. want to race?’ the other could say, ‘OK, see you at This year, he’s in sixth place going into this weekthe track.’” end’s event, the sixth of 11 races in the IHRA series Spiering says if people get into a street race and (which includes a stop in Atlantic Canada at there’s an accident and somebody is Miramichi Dragway Park in Bellefond, killed, “they should never be allowed to N.B. on Sept. 16). However, he’s leading drive a car again. But if there are places the pack of qualifyers aiming to compete where people can go to race, just like there in this year’s Tarco fuels shootout (a speare places for people to go play other cial championship-within-a-champisports, then that would be a solution. onship) that will be contested in Martin, “Give kids a place to go and race and Mich., during the Tarco Race Fuels you won’t have a problem with people Northern Nationals Aug. 4-6. racing on the street.”

Spiering always knew he’d be a world Carl Spiering, 41 and married with two championship-calibre drag racer, but he NORRIS daughters, doesn’t race on the street. He had to walk before he could run.

MCDONALD does his talking on quarter-mile drag Following a short stint in a Pro Streetstrips all over Canada and the United division Malibu back in 1991, he turned States while scrunched behind the wheel to racing snowmobiles on grass to get of an Eaton Electrical-sponsored 1967 some competition experience and to build Chevrolet Camaro powered by a 526a resume. cubic-inch Hemi engine (2,300 horsepower) that can He caught the eye of Bombardier, manufacturers go down a quarter mile like Cayuga’s (where of the Ski-Doo snow machines, who offered him a Toronto Motorsports Park is located, south of factory deal. He ran well for four years but then Hamilton) in 6.165 seconds, which translates into a went back to the asphalt. speed of 232.91 miles an hour.

A succession of cars (a ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air and In comparison, Clay Millican can take his glam- a ’64 Chevy II among them) brought Spiering to the our-puss-class Top Fuel car down that same strip in end of the 2003 season when he had a chance to pur4.633 seconds (317.05 mph). But while the Top Fuel chase a ‘63 Corvette Pro Modified. He struggled cars are skeletal, skin-and-bones lightweights, the early in 2004 but was coming on like gangbusters by Pro Modifieds are meat-and-potatoes muscle cars the end of the year, setting the stage for his 2005 and people just love them. breakout season.

In fact, the IHRA markets the cars as the “world’s Which brings us to March, 2006, and the first race fastest door slammers,” in that they capture the true of the season in San Antonio, Tex. He had a terrible spirit of hot-rodding. crash and destroyed the Corvette. He just about

TRACK TALK

We Race.

destroyed himself in the process.

“I had some broken ribs but I healed up real well,” he said.

“I was treated at the Brooks Army Medical Centre there and what normally would take up to six months to heal was OK after four-five weeks. The army people talked to my doctors up here and made some suggestions for medication — dietary supplements, that sort of thing — having to do with growth and the mending of bones.

“I’m fine now.”

Spiering thanks his lucky stars he did something else before that first race: he attached a HANS device to his helmet and credits it with saving him from severe head and neck injuries.

“I only got it (the HANS) the day before the accident,” he said. “I decided at the end of last season to get one — no particular reason, it was just time — and I can tell you this: if I hadn’t been wearing it, none of this would have turned out the way it has; we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

“I hit the wall a ton — 19 Gs is the estimate (a force of one G is needed to stand on the Earth) — and that can kill people. But other than the ribs, I had no internal injuries so I was very fortunate. And, of course, my head and neck are fine because of that restraint system.”

Spiering says the best thing that could happen to him would be to win the IHRA Pro Modified Championship.

“That’s my dream — to win the title,” he said. “It would allow me to do positive things for drag racing in Canada. It would give me a platform from which I could make a contribution.”

Like lobbying governments to build those drag strips, perhaps? He’d sure have the legitimacy, because he’d be a champion.

Which is something not too many politicians can claim.

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C

arl Spiering is one of Canada’s fastest drag racers who’s dead set against drag racing — on the street.

The Jordan Station hot shoe, who’s in action this weekend at Toronto Motorsports Park where he’ll be shooting for his second straight Pro Modified title at the fifth annual IHRA Canadian Nationals, is “absolutely 100 per cent against street racing.”

But Carl Spiering is as angry at just about every level of government in this country — because of what he considers sheer hypocrisy — as he is at the jerks who choose to do their racing in environments where people — innocent people — are being killed.

“You know,” he said during a conversation we had a few weeks ago while he was driving home from a meet in Michigan, “we live in a world that’s pretty much driven by the auto industry. And the auto industry is driven by horsepower.

“What 16, 17 or 18-year-old kid who sees a commercial about one of the cars on the market these days isn’t going to want to race it? Or see how fast it will go, anyway?”

He feels strongly about this subject.

“Governments allow us to buy these cars,” he said. “They allow the companies to make them and to advertise them. But they’re not thinking the process through, because although they allow people to have these cars, they won’t allow them to use them the way they’re designed to be used, which is to go fast.

“They’re fast cars that the government says you can’t drive fast.”

Spiering says he has the answer to this contradiction: public drag strips (most in Canada are privately owned commercial strips).

“When there’s a social problem, governments try to solve it by spending money on programs,” he said. “So if governments think street racing is a

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JULY 23, 2006

INDEPENDENTSHIFT • 27

Fuelling debate W

ho killed the electric car? Was it General Motors? The big oil companies?

The U.S. government? Was it Professor Plum in the library with the candlestick?

A new documentary released June 28 in New York and Los Angeles, appropriately titled Who Killed The Electric Car? tries in Clue-like fashion to figure out why GM pulled the plug on its EV1 electric vehicle program, which by most accounts was approaching success when the first prototype was introduced in the mid-1990s.

“It was a revolutionary, modern car, requiring no gas, no oil changes, no mufflers, and rare brake maintenance,” according to a synopsis of the film, directed by Chris Paine and distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.

“A typical maintenance checkup for the EV1 consisted of replenishing the windshield washer fluid and a tire rotation,” the synopsis continues.

“But the fanfare surrounding the EV1’s launch disappeared and the cars followed. Was it lack of consumer demand as carmakers claimed, or were other persuasive forces at work?”

Thomas Edison built an electric vehicle as far back as 1890 using nickel alkaline batteries, and around that time many of the cabs introduced on the streets of New York City were powered by electricity, not gasoline. Within a couple of decades, however, the internal-combustion engine and all its nasty emissions and pollutants began to take over.

The Earth got warmer and the rest, as they say, is history.

Interest has emerged from time to time in electric vehicles throughout the 1900s. During the 1970s energy crisis, the wean-from-oil movement spurred innovation in electric cars, and in the 1990s a strict clean-air mandate introduced in California that called for zero-emission vehicles was what led GM to introduce the EV1.

Eventually that California mandate got watered down from “zero” to “low” emissions, and the automakers decided to literally blow up their EV programs and begin pursuing the longer-term dream — fantasy? — of fuel-cell cars powered by hydrogen.

GM, which leased out the EV1 cars it produced, called them all back after California changed its policy. The cars were crushed and shredded.

Who were the people leasing these vehicles?

Tom Hanks, Mel Gibson and Ted Danson, among others, many of whom appear in the movie and talk favourably about their electric cars.

Other commentators in the film include consumer advocate Ralph Nader, Frank J. Gaffney Jr. (deputy assistant secretary of defence under U.S. president Ronald Reagan), and Joseph Romm, a former assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy and author of The Hype About Hydrogen.

Actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr. is also shown in the movie poking fun at the auto industry.

“The electric vehicle is not for everybody,” he announces during some sort of outdoor gathering.

“It can only meet the needs of 90 per cent of the population.”

Scott Miller, a utilities consultant in California, attended a pre-screening and left this comment on my Clean Break blog (http://www.cleanbreak.ca): “The upshot for most viewers will be that it is naïve to think that the societal benefits of technological advances alone will mean that they will ever make it to market.

“If the implications of an advance means loss of future business to a paradigm, the key players of that paradigm will lobby to kill it,” Miller commented.

The paradigm? Big oil.

Similarly, the auto industry has an interest in perpetuating the manufacture of vehicles that require routine, costly maintenance.

“In a sense the EV1 was dead on arrival,” continues Miller. “If, in the future, a car is ever released for lease only, stay away. It’s a sure sign the manufacturer wants ultimate control and they think they can eventually crush it out of existence.”

Yes, the EV1 and others at that time were several times more expensive than a comparable car. The driving range was horrible. It took hours to charge up. And there was the question, which remains valid today, about merely shifting from one form of pollution (emissions from tailpipes) to another form of pollution (emissions from power generation plants that use fossil fuels).

All barriers to contend with, but are they good enough reasons to abandon the idea of electric cars altogether?

GM’s official response to the movie is that, despite cancelling the $1-billion EV1 program, it never completely abandoned research in the area. It blames lack of demand for the EV1’s demise, pointing out that of 5,000 people on a waiting list to buy the vehicle, only 50 followed through to a lease. Over a four-year period, only 800 vehicles were leased out. This low demand made it difficult to get replacement parts from suppliers, the company said.

“We did what we felt was right in discontinuing a vehicle that we could no longer guarantee could be operated safely over the long term or that we would be able to repair,” according to GM spokesperson Dave Barthmuss, adding that much of the technology behind EV1 has gone to support GM’s hybrid-electric and fuel-cell programs.

Wherever blame lies, there is a silver lining to this story. All evidence indicates there’s an electric car revival in the works, and it appears to be gaining momentum.

One spark has been the growing popularity of the hybrid-electric car. With their hybrid models, Toyota, Honda and Ford have raised the profile of battery technology and the role electricity can play in improving mileage and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

But more important, hybrids such as the Toyota Prius have served as a platform on which to build.

Groups such as the California Cars Initiative and Plug-In Partners Coalition, companies such as Concord, Ont.-based Hymotion Inc., not to men-

tion “hybrid hackers,” third-party companies or individuals who are modifying today’s hybrids, are proving that the cars can be enhanced to rely more on electricity and less on gasoline.

What we’re talking about here is the concept of a plug-in hybrid. They’re basically today’s hybrids with more powerful batteries that can, as an option, be plugged into an electrical outlet for charging.

The U.S. Congress is trying to support the idea through legislation, while President George W. Bush has embraced the concept and routinely touts it in his energy independence speeches.

Since most people have short commutes, the idea is that a person could drive their hybrid mostly in electric mode, with the gasoline component kicking in for longer highway drives. The car also wouldn’t have to rely on regenerative breaking to charge the battery, but rather could be plugged in overnight or “topped up” at a local charging station. A plug-in hybrid is essentially an electric car that, if necessary or desired, uses gas as a backup.

At first the big automakers turned up their noses

at the idea. Toyota bordered on hostile, dismissing the concept outright.

But heightened public pressure, which has entered the U.S. political arena (the issue hasn’t hit the radar in Canada), has the big carmakers singing a more co-operative tune.

DaimlerChrysler has already built prototypes, Ford Motor Corp. chief executive Bill Ford recently said he’s “keenly looking” at plug-in vehicles, and Toyota did a Uturn last month by announcing it would “advance its research and development of plug-in hybrid vehicles.”

The result over the past two years has been a flood of interest in new battery technologies, with a focus on advancements in Lithium-ion and nextgeneration ultracapacitors.

Companies such as Toshiba, A123 Systems, Altair Nanotechnologies, Eestor, Valence, and Canada’s Avestor and Electrovaya are leading the pack with new battery technologies that will improve the performance, safety, mileage and cost of hybrid or electric vehicles, as well as reduce the charge time from hours to minutes.

A POIGNANT NEW DOCUMENTARY ASKS WHO KILLED GM’S PROMISING ELECTRIC CAR PROJECT? REGARDLESS OF WHO IS RESPONSIBLE, LET’S HOPE THERE’S NO SEQUEL, SAYS TYLER HAMILTON

In the past 18 months, an unprecedented $175 million (U.S.) in venture capital has gone directly into battery technology companies that see plug-in hybrids as the future of automobile manufacturing.

And it’s not just plug-ins. Some entrepreneurs and even established automakers are putting big money behind the development of pure electric vehicles, such as the EV1.

Mitsubishi has said it will come out with an allelectric car by 2010 running on advanced Lithiumion batteries. A Toronto company called Feel Good Cars has started manufacturing low-speed electric vehicles and has licensed a new ultracapacitorbased battery system that could lead to highwaygrade electric cars within a few years.

Meanwhile, a Silicon Valley-based venture called Tesla Motors wants to become the next great “all electric” U.S. car company.

Last month it raised $40 million (U.S.) in financing from some of the highest-profile names in the technology world, including Canadian and ex-eBay billionaire Jeff Skoll, PayPal founder Elon Musk and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Tesla is named after Nikola Tesla, the Croatianborn Serb who invented alternating current and other electricity-related innovations. Given that Tesla’s 150th birthday will be celebrated today, it’s no coincidence the company is expected to release details soon of a high-performance electric sports car it plans to manufacture. Its long-term vision is to produce low-cost family vehicles based on the same technology.

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28 • INDEPENDENTSHIFT

JULY 23, 2006

I

f you’re like me and lucky enough which will be the largest, start gatherto have a garage, you’re probably ing garbage. Rakes with no tines, worn also stupid enough to keep every- out brooms, mouldy hockey gear, bins thing but a car in it. Even though I live of rusty hinges (don’t ask), the driver’s in a “nice” neighbourhood, the guy manual for a ’76 Pinto, wet sidewalk across the street had a car stolen a cou- chalk, broken baby swings (the baby is ple of months back.

11) and bungee cords with no bungee The only thing worse than having left in them. Separate but in this pile are your car stolen is getting it back. Like a the old paint cans and oil containers mate who goes on a bender and has and leaky things that go to the special some lost weekend, you don’t know collection place. where it’s been, what it’s seen or who The second pile is the eureka pile. did what to it. I knew someone who had It’s where you say “Hey, I’ve been a vehicle stolen and had it looking for this!” It’s the four returned right at the 30- day mm socket you thought was point. One more day and the missing from the set, the insurance would have bicycle pump, six needles for declared it officially gone. the pump, the fielder’s mitt, She was inconsolable. the Bee Mop bucket, the new My father used to put our can of WD40 the kids took, 4 car in the garage. I don’t half rolls of duct tape and the know how he fit a station hamster cage. Put this right wagon in there, but I do into the garbage pile, before LORRAINE remember having to scooch the kids decide they want a SOMMERFELD across to whichever side had new hamster. the most room, and squeezThe third pile is stuff that is ing through the door like going back in. Think long and toothpaste. hard about what makes it into My mother refused to put this pile. My father had 13 the car in the garage; my dad took that snow shovels, some dating back to the as some kind of woman driver weak- Civil War. Nobody needs 13 snow ness, but I knew she just didn’t want to shovels. get her coat dirty. I once read that to The fourth pile is better than garbage, aim the car properly, you park the car but nothing you need to keep. You can where you want it, then tie a tennis ball have a yard sale, but that’s a lot of from the ceiling to hit at the centre of work. That little crowd of kids will cart the windshield. That never would have everything away for you like army ants worked when I was a kid; we would at a picnic. Let them. Your kids probahave taken down the bly brought half the ball to play with it. stuff they’re taking I’m never going to home from their put a car in my garages. garage, but it would Sweep all the leaves be nice to not have to and dirt and bugs out send in a search party of the whole garage. If whenever the kids go you don’t already have in to find something. them, put up lots of This weekend is hooks. The less on the Taking Back the floor the better. Hose Garage time. out your garbage cans No matter what and blue boxes. This is your reasons are for the worst time of year reclaiming your for bugs and gross garage, this is the critters; no, that’s not time of year to do it. rice under your There is only one way garbage bags. to clear a garage. Take everything out With all this newfound space, you and pile it on the driveway. Everything. may even be tempted to use your This will take a couple of hours, and garage for its original purpose. Not me draw a crowd of little kids from all over though. Even with it all spanky clean, if the neighbourhood. Don’t chase them I put the car in there, I’d look outside away. You are about to give them all and be convinced the car had been kinds of junk to take back to their own stolen. garages.

Start four piles. In the first pile, www.lorraineonline.ca

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NO MATTER WHAT YOUR REASONS ARE FOR RECLAIMING YOUR GARAGE, THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR TO DO IT.

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JULY 23, 2006

M

y pre-teen friends and I almost always caught more trout when we dared venture further from the beaten path. The heightened sense of adventure was a bonus, both in the sense of being in the wilderness, and in pushing beyond what parental permission allowed.

In our own minds we were explorers and expert anglers. In actual fact we were very lucky not to have gotten lost — and worm-drowning tanglers would better describe our fishing skills. But we had wholesome fun, learned stuff you could never learn in a classroom, and discovered sweat equity.

When I was old enough to get a hunting licence I, naturally, went hunting. Over the summer I read The Duck Hunter’s Bible and few more borrowed titles that time has erased from my memory. The Duck Hunter’s Bible still holds a prominent position on my shelf, but for nostalgic reasons only.

Although the author was a fountain of knowledge on hunting the main waterfowl flyways, with huge spreads on decoys and duck boats, the slim pickings here on the Rock were way outside his worldview. We are just a little too far east of the Atlantic flyway.

My first September and October of duck hunting taught me three important lessons: take theoretical hunting knowledge with a grain of salt; don’t attempt to feed your family on ducks; and buy the best boots you can afford.

I rambled everywhere ducks were rumoured to be hiding. I recall a particular late October morning vividly.

My intelligence gathering and eavesdropping had produced enticing suspicions of a pond far from civilization where ducks frolicked and played while awaiting departure for the sunny south.

I knew enough about map and compass to get from A to B in parts unknown, so I planned a route. It was a horrendous hike through soupy bog, thick woods and around rocky, flooded shorelines. After four hours of trudging, my hunting buddy and I topped a ridge overlooking the secret pond.

There were ducks, lots of them, more than we had ever seen in one place … sweat equity.

Twenty-five duck seasons have passed since that day. There’s a berrypicking road that goes very close to the pond and an ATV trail finishes the job.

Somebody has a nice tidy cabin at water’s edge. The ducks don’t gather anymore. People don’t even bother to pick berries there anymore. It’s getting harder and harder to earn that sweat equity.

I first fished for salmon on the Great Northern Peninsula in the early 1990s.

I abandoned the crowded pools of Big Falls and the Exploits in search of sweat equity. My quest guided me to

INDEPENDENTSPORTS • 29

Sweat equity It’s hard to get off the beaten path these days, laments Paul Smith

Rod Hale having a cast at Spruce Pool.

PAUL SMITH

The Rock

Outdoors Castors River.

Castors River flows from the pristine hills of the Northern Peninsula into Castors Pond, which meets Route 430 (Viking Trail) at its run-out. The river continues its journey, meeting the sea at a small picturesque fishing community that bears its name. Thirty minutes of vigorous canoe paddling across Castors Pond gets you to the run-in.

Castors is one of those wonderful rivers that holds fish everywhere, not just in crowded holding pools. It’s a

Paul Smith/The Independent

midsized wadeable river that causes you no fear for your life even in high water; a wonderful place to introduce children and beginners to wilderness salmon fishing.

Anglers might wade and fish for hours with little or no human contact.

The river is lined with old growth spruce and fir, mixed here and there with a dash of hardwood. The further you wade upriver, the more remote and isolated the experience becomes.

About three hours wading takes you to Spruce Pool, so named for a huge overhanging spruce that shades a deep channelled turn in the river. The salmon gods must have had a hand in this one — a more perfect salmon resting area I have yet to discover.

Backpacking a tent and sleeping bag

up to Spruce Pool is sweat equity at its finest.

At least, that’s the way it was.

There’s now a forest access road that goes within less than a kilometre of Spruce Pool and an ATV trail that shortens the walk to 15 minutes. I was there just last week. The place is like Pippy Park. Somebody even cut down the salmon-shading spruce tree. No more sweat equity at Spruce Pool.

I have to question the value of what I suppose is well-meaning economic development. People earn dollars cutting wood fibre for the paper mills.

That’s fine, but the mills are downsizing and might pull out of Newfoundland altogether. Castors River is blemished forever as a wilderness river!

Are our environmental and econom-

ic strategies short-sighted? I recently fished in Ireland where there is zero sweat equity. Irish anglers were intrigued by my stories of wild wilderness rivers. They asked me how they might fish here. I’m guessing that in our urbanized and digitized world, wilderness might be worth far more than paper and blueberries.

And shouldn’t sweat equity be a birthright when you live on a big rock out in the North Atlantic with only a half million other brave souls?

Paul Smith is a freelance writer living in Spaniard’s Bay, enjoying all the outdoors Newfoundland and Labrador has to offer. flyfishtherock@hotmail.com

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

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30 • INDEPENDENTSPORTS

JULY 23, 2006

Regatta Rings W

hen you hear the name Ring and the St. John’s Regatta, you probably think of Paul, Randy or the famous “Skipper” Jim. You can add Bernadine to

the list.

Bernadine Ring may be new to you but not to the shores of Quidi Vidi Lake. This year Bernadine will participate in her 25th Regatta, set to line up to the stakes with her Central Dairies crew for the first ladies’ race on Regatta morning, slated for Aug. 2 (weather permitting).

Bernadine, granddaughter of “Skipper” Jim Ring (see below), started rowing in 1979.

“One day my cousins said they were going for a spin so I thought I would join them,” Bernadine tells The Independent.

Few people could have predicted that the rookie oarswoman would have such an impact on the sport.

Celebrating her silver anniversary this year, Bernadine has had tremendous Regatta success and is a familiar face in the ladies’ championship race. What’s so special about Bernadine is not only the fact that she had so many appear-

New rowing shells

T

his year sees 11 new shell sponsors come onboard for the Regatta. Six shells will race this year: Smith Stockley II (Smith Stockley), Stroke of Power (Newfoundland Power), Miss India (Molson Canada), NTV Network (Stirling Communications), Catherine M (Alec G. Henley and Associates) and The Ranger (Neville & Butler). Other sponsors with shells yet to be named: Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Corby Distilleries Ltd., and The Telegram.

Rower Bernadine Ring

Photo by Paul Daly/The Independent

ances in championship races, but that she has never won one.

The sacrifice, dedication and hard work that goes into a single year of competitive rowing is enormous but to continually do so for 25 years without a championship is phenomenal. Bernadine has been close to winning a championship. “Too close,” she says, most recently with Jungle Jim’s in 2003, losing to OZ FM by three seconds. She has also missed championships due to factors beyond her control. Bernadine had a respectable showing with OZ FM in 1987 (the first year OZ FM rowed), but due to a wrist injury stood lakeside in 1988 to watch OZ FM win their first of nine championships.

Although she says that was “very hard,” it didn’t affect her love for the sport. If anything, it made her hungrier for a win. She also learned never to let an injury get in the way

of her dreams. For three weeks in 2003, she rowed with a full-length cast on her leg, the same year she was runner up for the Kim Stirling Memorial Trophy.

“Just being involved and the great people I have met make it worthwhile,” Bernadine says of where she finds the motivation year after year. New and younger crewmembers always make for a challenge, she says. Bernadine’s crewmates reflect those feelings and Bernadine is labeled as one of the hardest workers on the lake. Unfortunately, Bernadine says this may be her last year rowing, but she won’t be too far from the lake. She’s considering coxing and may return at the master’s level.

Bernadine Ring is a class act. She may have plenty of silver medals around her neck, but she will always be a champion in the eyes of her fellow rowers and coxswains at Quidi Vidi Lake.

‘Skipper’ Jim Ring

“

Skipper” Jim Ring’s involvement with the St. John’s annual Regatta began in 1929, when he rowed in the Intermediate Race with a crew from his beloved Quidi Vidi Village. In 1981, his Smith Stockley crew rowed 9:12:04, beating an 80-year-old record set in 1901 by Outer Cove fishermen.

Ring’s crew won gold medals that had been presented to the Regatta Committee in 1910 by Lord Warden,

to be awarded to the crew beating the 9:13:80 record.

Skipper’s last race (at the age of 75) was a championship win in 1987, a fitting way to end a remarkable career.

From 1938 to 1987 he steered in a total of 61 races, including 29 first places (7 championships). He was inducted into the Regatta Hall of Fame in 1988.

— Source: www.stjohnsregatta.org

Harbour Grace Regatta

S

aturday, July 29th, will see the 144th running of the Harbour Grace Regatta. Both local and outof-town crews will be out for good showings as it is just four days shy of the Royal St. John’s Regatta. Check back for highlights! The Placentia Regatta was to take place on July 22, but results weren’t available prior to The Independent’s press deadline. Check back next week for news and results.

JULY 23, 2006

INDEPENDENTSPORTS • 31

Betting the Open is a British tradition

Xtreme: a fun league

HOYLAKE, England

By Dave Perkins Torstar wire service

Two of his Peterborough teammates, Steve Downie and Jordan Staal, are also at the national junior camp and Ryder would love for all three to make the grade.

Ryder played a couple of games in the Xtreme hockey league in St. John’s before leaving for Alberta. When he gets back to St. John’s, he plans to rejoin his local mates on the ice. Brother Michael, as well as other standout players from the province, are playing in the league, set up to give high-calibre hockey players a good game in the summer.

“It’s fun to play in that league. The talent is great and

I

t is said, and almost surely true, that when Roberto De Vicenzo won the British Open here at Royal Liverpool in 1967, his purse was less than his legal gambling winnings.

De Vicenzo earned £2,100 for winning the Claret Jug, more than $10,000 in Canadian money back then if memory serves and it occasionally does. But he also had wagered on himself in the legal gambling shops that proliferate and the most commonly agreed upon amount is £60 at 50 to 1. Or maybe it was £50 at 60 to 1. Either way, he won 3,000 quid, so the story goes, a lot of money in those days.

All of which makes this one more reason to love and honour the Open Championship more than any other golf tournament. The golf course may be brown and dried out and absolutely nothing like the lush, trimmed jungles back home with their soft, shot-catching greens and precision yardages and so on.

You either get it or you don’t when it comes to links golf and the world’s great links courses and lots of North Americans don’t get it, obviously. That’s their problem.

Ah, but the betting, all entirely legal, adds another welcome element of sporting chance for spectators we don’t get back home. Why, at the 2002 Ryder Cup at The Belfry outside Birmingham, a bookmaker paid for rights to set up a betting shop on the golf course and customers were betting matches almost shot by shot.

Every Open town has a bet shop or two. Or six. So, a couple of betting stories, if you please, the first from Royal Birkdale eight years ago, where the hot news a night or two before the Open was that former champion Tom Lehman had damaged his shoulder while doing a handstand with his children. Lehman said it skewed his swing, but he’d do his best and, as a recent champion, he didn’t plan to skip the world championship of golf.

Fair enough, except a man strolling through Southport an hour later, poking his head into the bet shop because the early evening greyhound races were beckoning, noticed Lehman still favoured in a two-ball match. The bookmaker hadn’t reacted to the news about Lehman’s shoulder. The wanderer did, though, emptying his wallet on Lehman’s opponent.

Lehman naturally made what seemed a miracle recovery and shot a first-round 71, but just when the banking-assistant email was about to be sent home, he went south, shot 79, missed the cut. The bet was won.

Inside information, though, isn’t always as good as you might think. A couple of years later, in Lytham, that same man and another Canadian journalist followed a prominent PGA Tour professional, and former Open champion, into a bet shop. The player in question (who shall remain unnamed) hadn’t been playing well, but there he was at the windows, pushing banknotes at the clerk.

Well, the Canucks thought, this is our lucky day. He must be feeling good and look at his odds. He’s 100 to 1. We’ll be rich. So we bet him in a two-ball game, bet him in his three-ball game, bet him to win the tournament and saved each way, as the lingo describes place and show money. Then we went out and watched him shoot 74 and eventually finish 80th.

Honk.

A few weeks later, here came our hero to the Canadian Open and, on the practice range and off the record, we replayed things to him. “We saw you pounding away and thought you knew something.

What happened?”

“Oh, hell, I wasn’t betting on myself,” he said. “I couldn’t beat anybody, the way I was playing.

“But there were a couple of other threeball games I liked and I thought I’d take a shot, just for fun.

“I love taking a little action at the British Open.”

He isn’t the only one.

Solutions for crossword on page 24

From page 32 it’s nice to play with the boys.”

FLAMES CAMP Ryder heads to the Petes’ training camp the first week in September, followed by the Flames’ camp. While he won’t be sulking if he has to play another season in the OHL, his goal is to earn a job with the Flames.

“I’ll go to the Petes’ camp first and then to Calgary’s and hopefully that’s where I’ll stay.

“If not, it’s back to Peterborough because I can’t play in the AHL because I have one year left of junior.”

“ ” The accommodations are magnificent. “ Canada’s best kept secret. ” ” “ You have to see it to believe it.

Solutions for sudoku on page 24

1.866.686.8100 humbervalley.com

INDEPENDENTSPORTS

SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, JULY 23-29, 2006 — PAGE 32

Brothers Daniel and Michael Ryder.

Paul Daly/The Independent

What it’s all about Bonavista’s Daniel Ryder, currently training in Calgary, hopes for a spot with the Flames this season

By Bob White For The Independent

I

f Daniel Ryder was even a little superstitious, he might think the stars have aligned for him at this week’s training camp with the national junior team in Calgary.

First, he had the opportunity to whip himself into game shape last week at the Calgary Flames development camp, where Ryder and several other Flames draftees, including fellow Bonavistanative Adam Pardy (who was sidelined with a foot injury), were evaluated by Calgary coaches.

Ryder, who was picked by the Flames 74th overall in the third round of the 2005 NHL entry draft, is hoping to make the Calgary club this September, and he feels he has a good crack at it.

The last time a player from

Newfoundland and Labrador played for Team Canada at the World Juniors, it was in 2000 in Sweden — the same country that will host the 2007 event. And that player from 2000 happens to be Daniel’s older brother, Michael, who helped Canada to a bronze medal.

“It would be cool for that to happen,” says Daniel Ryder from Calgary. “I mean, I’m excited to get this chance and it would be great to make the team. Not many people get the opportunity to represent their country and it would be sweet for both of us to do that.”

When asked if his sibling passed on any advice prior to the junior camp, Ryder says there were words of encouragement, but nothing specific. Suffice to say, he knows what’s at stake and understands hard work will pay off, just as it has throughout his blossoming career.

Ryder is coming off a superb season

with the Peterborough Petes, whom he led to the Ontario Hockey League championship and a trip to the Memorial Cup. The Petes’ top scorer in the OHL playoffs, Ryder won the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the league’s playoff MVP with 15 goals and 31 points in 19 games. He hopes the attention his team earned, and the awards bestowed upon him, will bring added attention to his game from both the national team and the Flames.

Ryder says he was a little bit rusty when he arrived in Calgary, but after the first two days of the Flames’ camp, he’d regained his stride and touch, and expects to leave a good impression with Calgary’s management.

He participated in the same camp last summer, but didn’t get invited to Calgary’s main pre-season camp in the fall. This year, Ryder expects to attend the main camp and would love nothing

more than to make the big club.

“I’m hoping to get my foot in the door and show them I can play,” Ryder says.

“I’m back in the swing of things now and hopefully this summer will be a good one for me. All the coaches are here and the management so this is a good time to show what you got.”

Ryder is staying at a university dorm with the rest of the Flames’ prospects, sharing a room with Pardy, and he’ll stay in the same place for the Team Canada camp.

He says he’ll have an edge, focus obtained from the Flames’ camp, and he hopes to use it to make the junior squad.

“These two weeks will be pretty hectic, but they’re also going to be very important,” Ryder said. “This is what it’s all about.”

See “Xtreme,” page 31

All-season sports

S

occer is growing in popularity across the country, and this province is no exception.

Numbers are up, new fields are being created, and our provincial teams from all age groups are competitive at the national level.

And we do all this with the disadvantage of short summers, long winters and poor year-round training facilities.

Other provinces — Nova Scotia, for example — have several first-class indoor facilities where athletes can train 12 months of the year. It’s tough to compete with that, although our teams have a reputation for overcoming these challenges and giving opposing provinces a tough match on the pitch.

And it’s so darn expensive to take a team off the island to national and international competitions — another constant challenge.

Still, minor soccer is a relatively

BOB WHITE

Four-point play cheap sport and volunteers from associations across the province do a great job letting kids have fun, no matter what caliber of athlete they are.

One recent project that should help develop players , at least on this side of the province, is a so-called metro league for youth teams in several different age groups, from 16 and under down to 10 and under.

Just about every association that plays soccer on the Avalon (St. John’s, CBS, Paradise, Mount Pearl, Goulds, Torbay, Bay Bulls and CBN) has entered teams in each age group, and the plan is to have associations take turns hosting the different age groups

on rotating weekends.

As one who has been involved in the league, I admit it has not been a smooth ride so far.

However, the idea is great and I encourage all participants — no matter how frustrating it is when games are cancelled, teams pull out at the last minute, referees fail to show up and the weather wrecks schedules — to remain patient and let the growing pains teach all of us how to best proceed with this idea.

••• Having two kids in soccer, as well as other sports, I’ve travelled to virtually all parts of the island and Labrador many times over the past few years.

I’ve met many parents just like me who spend a lot of time (and money) on their kids.

And no matter what sport it is, I see many of the same parents. Same faces, different season and different

arenas/fields/courts.

It’s a far cry from when I was younger, when a trip to St. John’s for a game was as big as a trip to Nova Scotia is these days. Now there’s regular travel back and forth to St. John’s (and many other locales both near and far) for practices and games.

Most sports these days have either fully transformed into 12-month operations or are on their way there. Back in the day, sports had seasons, and that was it. It was virtually unheard of to play hockey in the summertime.

These days, it’s weird if a player doesn’t lace them up at least a couple of times through the warmer months.

It’s not uncommon for players to be on skates as much as they were during the winter.

It’s great for kids to play them all and have some fun with the different sports. But there comes a time (and a money crunch) when, like it or not, kids have to choose to concentrate on

one sport — especially those young athletes who have the ability to play at a more advanced level.

Then you have different sports competing for the same athletes. The inevitable clashes between schedules becomes all the more prevalent when a summer sport plays through the winter and a traditionally winter sport keeps on trucking through the summer months.

And remember, outside of the capital city region, there are declining populations, meaning there are fewer kids to make up teams.

In the end, our kids have lots of opportunities to play sports, stay fit and make new friends. We, as parents, have lots of opportunities to spend money on gas, food, hotel rooms, equipment, registration fees and miscellaneous items.

Now that’s a good balance. whitebobby@yahoo.com