VOL. 5 ISSUE 43 — ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR — FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 1, 2007 — WWW.THEINDEPENDENT.CA — $1.50 HOME DELIVERY (HST included); $2.00 RETAIL (HST included)
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Fashion and food at St. John’s farmers’ market
Roots of Empathy brings baby into the classroom
Institutional neglect
Waterford patient says psychiatric facility unfit; Eastern Health says concerns legit STEPHANIE PORTER
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ate Dyke says she’s finally come to terms with her mental illness. What she can’t accept are some of the conditions she and other patients of the Waterford Hospital are living in. And, on most counts, a director for Eastern Health tends to agree. Dyke (not her real name), 47, says she’s
struggled with depression for much of her life. She was diagnosed as bipolar about a year ago, and has been staying in a locked, acute-care unit at Waterford Hospital in St. John’s for a month. Dyke says she’s been injured in an attack by another patient. She complains about lack of privacy — she shares a room with four other women and there are no dividers or curtains between the beds, nowhere to lock up her personal items. She says there aren’t enough activities for residents in her wing to take part in. At
least in her case, there are no walks outside, no exercise programs, and little to do except hang out in the smoking room or chat with other patients. She also says the hospital is old and unfit. “The building is 150 years old and there’s big problems.” Colleen Simms, Eastern Health’s regional director of mental health and addictions, has no problem acknowledging much of the facility is less than ideal. “The building was built in 1855,” she says. “It’s an old, Victorian-era psychi-
atric institution, left over from a different era. We are challenged to provide care in the facility, no doubt.” Simms says there are plans in place for improvements — to redevelop and renovate facilities for services that will not soon be moving out of the building, and to move other services, such as acute care, into a general hospital. “We are trying to downsize services at the Waterford and increase services in general hospitals and the community.” But for the time being, Simms says
changes come slowly to some of the units. “There used to be rooms with eight beds; we’ve managed to cut that down to seven and then cut them down to six,” she says. “The fact there’s no dividers there, that has been a concern for us … but if we put the dividers up, it obscures the observation levels for the nurses. “The rooms themselves are actually quite large, but you know what? I could never defend it. You can imagine, being in a hospital, trying to get well, trying to See “Treated,” page 4
Cabinet making Peckford and Grimes talk about the challenges Danny Williams faces — or doesn’t face IVAN MORGAN
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wo former provincial premiers have plenty of advice for Premier Danny Williams when it comes to naming a new cabinet. Contacted by The Independent, Brian Peckford, Tory premier from 1979 to 1989, and Roger Grimes, Liberal premier from 2001 to 2003, weigh in with their thoughts on how Williams could build his new executive. Williams went into the recent provincial election with a 16-member cabinet out of a caucus of 34. With 43 — and possibly 44 (depending on the results of the upcoming byelection in Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans) — MHAs to choose from this time around, Williams may have to make some difficult decisions. In 1985, Peckford had a similar task, winning 44 of a possible 52 seats and facing a large caucus with a lot of expectations. “People forget. And I had no money,” Peckford tells The Independent from his home in Qualicum Beach, B.C. “I was fighting for what he (Williams) can now use for his election.” In 2001, Grimes inherited a cabinet from Brian Tobin. (Grimes automatically became premier after winner the leadership contest in the wake of Tobin’s resignation.) When Grimes went to the polls in 2003, he had an 18member cabinet. The province’s largest cabinet was Peckford’s in 1988, with 23 members. The smallest was Joey Smallwood’s 11-person 1955 cabinet. See “People expect,” page 18
QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Now, they’re going off to the cabin for the weekend and don’t even think about going to Mass.” — Archbishop of St. John’s Martin Currie. See page 6.
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Elliott Leyton drives Cadillac his dad always wanted Voice from away . . . Paper Trail . . . . . . . . Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . Nicholas Gardner . . . Crossword. . . . . . . . .
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Ghost cars, mystery ladies and The Solomon Burin Peninsula storyteller spins tales from a time when ghosts walked alongside the living By Pamela Pardy Ghent For The Independent
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eorge Richard Scott barely uses his cane as he rises from the sofa to sit at his kitchen table. A marathon of memories runs through this 89-year-old mind and he’s eager to begin, as if he knows time is short and these tales must be shared. The cane finds a place in his lap, but refuses to stay put. This walking stick travels far in the hands of a gifted storyteller. The cane points in the direction of hills, fences, homes and bodies of water that fill each tale. It jabs quickly in the air at critical points in one story, and waves frantically through space when its owner — however briefly — forgets a name in another. Scott grew up in a time when ghosts inhabited outports alongside the living. As long as you didn’t get in the way of the
spirits, things were fine, he says, and if you did, they let you know. Two spirits living in his outport of Little Harbour East were known as the Two Women Dressed in White. The two souls would “walk” the outport on dark evenings, passing fences and homes. While the sight sent a shiver down many spines, the women kept to themselves and caused no harm — until one night. Lucy Rideout never wound her clock past dark, but that night it went off at exactly midnight. She sat up in bed in time to hear her freshly stacked woodpile fall against the house. She was poisoned by the thought of the work she’d face in the morning, and slightly embarrassed as well. She dreaded having to call from her window for help — the way the wood had fallen would leave the door pinned shut. “She got up in the morning, but the wood was not started at all,” Scott says. Meaning, the woodpile was untouched
and hadn’t fallen at all. Scott says that went on for many nights. Rideout asked anyone willing to spend the night in her home to do so. Many did, and each spent the night upright at her kitchen table. Sure enough, at the stroke of midnight, the woodpile would fall against the saltbox — but be packed neatly in place again by morning. “Well,” Scott says, “it didn’t take too many nights before they called us boys together to move that woodpile.” The wood had apparently been stacked in the ghost’s path, keeping the women from enjoying their evening strolls. They pushed the pile out of the way at the stroke of midnight — or it sounded as if they did. Once the woodpile was relocated, it never floundered again, and the Two Women Dressed in White left Rideout alone. See ‘The angels came,” page 2
Pumpkin carving by Vince Jones. Photo illustration by Paul Daly/The Independent
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2 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
OCTOBER 26, 2007
‘We do it all on the Internet’
That may be true, so Randy Simms asks why we don’t vote on the web?
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had to order some blank cheques from the bank last month. That isn’t news; most of us have to do it from time to time. What surprised me was how long a time had passed between orders. The last time I ordered cheques was more than two years ago. It turns out I rarely write cheques anymore. My new order of 150 should last a long time. These days I do everything on the Internet. I pay my bills that way and I even have to get my pay stub by going in on a secure website and printing it off. Most of us never keep our pay stubs, but we always seem to think we should. Using the Internet means they are at my disposal whenever I want. I have even used the Internet to buy things. I have purchased books and music from the web, and I once used eBay to pick up a set of golf clubs from a guy in Denver, Colorado. I still have them. I can’t remember the last time I actually went to Motor Vehicle Registration to renew my car licence. It’s just too easy to go to the government website and do it. Standing in line or going to the post office is just a way of eating up precious time. With no need to write a cheque to pay my regular bills I now find little need for the paper product. All of my suppliers of services like the phone company and the power company want to send my bills to me on the Internet. I’m game to do it, but I’m refusing because they are not offering any kind of permanent benefit for doing so. Think about it for a minute. How much money is spent producing, printing and mailing out bills to customers? If a customer today would simply accept an electronic version it would save the companies millions of dollars. Up to now they will not discount my account for accepting electronic charges so I
RANDY SIMMS
Page 2 talk wait for my printed bill every month and then go to my computer and pay it. When they agree to share their windfall in reduced costs with me I’ll consider the electronic billing idea. My purpose in bringing this up is not to just extol the virtues of the Internet. It’s to point out how much we have come to rely on it in our every day lives. Paying bills, depositing money, transferring money, buying stuff — we do it all on the Internet. Some of us have been doing it for so long now we would protest if we had to go back to snail mail and postage stamps. Frankly, it’s nice to pay your bills in the late evening, with a cup of tea at your elbow, wearing fleecy PJs. (A visual you didn’t need, I know.) My real purpose in bringing this up is to pose a question: why aren’t we voting on the Internet? The last provincial election saw just 62 per cent of eligible voters take the time to go to the polls and mark a ballot. It means 38 of every 100 eligible people didn’t bother to participate. Wouldn’t Internet voting entice more people to cast a ballot? It’s time to consider it, and it’s surprising we haven’t heard more talk about it. Allowing people to vote using a secure Internet site would have some real benefits. At this time in our history we have the necessary technology to do it, and as I said we use the system for everything else these days and we seem to trust it. So why not vote on the Internet on election day? Consider the potential benefits. It would definitely increase voter
turnout. These days the number of people actually going to the polls is dropping like a stone. At the current rate we may soon be electing governments where less then 50 per cent of people actually vote. We have to do something about that. Voting using the Internet would attract the young. As we know, these days the young do not participate in voting in any large numbers. Using modern technology as a tool to engage youth would help. There are even suggestions that we should offer tax breaks, or some other kind of incentive to get people out to vote and I’m not opposed to such concepts, but first let’s make voting easier. There is no doubt the operation of an election would be more efficient and the results would be more accurate and provided more quickly. Governments could reduce the number of voting booths and reduce the cost of elections. There can be no downside to that. I know some people will express fear that such a system can be tampered with and results corrupted, etc. But think about it for a moment. Last year we used our credit cards on the Internet to buy over $7 billion in products. If we have lost our fear of using the Internet in this way, surely we need not fear that our vote might be corrupted. The current method of voting can also be corrupted so it doesn’t make much of an argument. Newfoundland and Labrador has had a lot of firsts over the years. It’s time we were on the cutting edge once again. Let’s develop an electronic voting system so people will find it easier to cast a ballot. Randy Simms is host of VOCM’s Open Line radio program. rsimms@nf.sympatico.ca
Eagle Fibreglas Oct. 25, the day after the fire began.
Nicholas Langor/The Independent
Fire fallout unknown
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he provincial Environment Department admits it’s impossible to say what long-term effects may arise from an industrial fire in Holyrood Oct. 24. The blaze, which burned out of control for several hours before being tamed, razed the Eagle Fibreglas plant and spread toxic smoke over the town and neighbouring communities. A state of emergency was declared, roads around the plant were closed, and about 70 people were evacuated from their homes as a precautionary measure. The alert was lifted early the next morning, about 16 hours after the fire broke out. Many different types of flammables were stored at the plant, including gasoline, paints, Fibreglas and a barrel of acetone acid. Officials at the scene initially breathed a sigh of relief, noting the dan-
ger was reduced because favourable winds blew the thick, chemical-laden smoke away from populated areas. But Environment Minister Clyde Jackman says the long-term effects of such poisonous smoke and particles are largely unknown. He tells The Independent officials will be on the scene to analyze and take samples from land and water to determine the effects on the immediate area around the plant. Jackman noted health officials are also analyzing samples to get a handle on what may have been ingested by anyone breathing the air during the fire and after it was extinguished. Four workers were inside the building when the blaze broke out, but no injuries were reported. It’s believed the fire was sparked by an overheated heating gun. brian.callahan@theindependent.ca
‘The angels came …’ From page 1 Scott has an unending supply of supernatural stories to tell. There are tales of cars that disappear in front of drivers’ eyes on Old Harbour Mille Road, and talk of travellers who walk the roads but vanish when you stop to offer them a neighbourly lift. There are balls of light that haunt homes until told, firmly, to “Git!” Even ghosts you can’t see let themselves be known around these parts, says Scott. Two old women spirits hang around Broad Cove saucily scuffing rocks at passers-by, making sure they’ll never be forgotten. And of course, there’s The Solomon. Solomon was a lobster fisherman who didn’t return one blustery fall day. The boat was found bottom up in Bay D’East, but Scott says there was no sign of him. Well, there was sign soon enough. Men who would hunt for ducks down by Cow House Point were always on the lookout for a nice fat loon for Sunday dinner — but sometimes, it just wasn’t worth it. Scott’s cane points the way towards the hunting grounds. “I seen one of d’em loons, and I figured I’d wait for he to come,” he begins. When the bird grew close enough to shoot at, up went the gun. “Just as I went to fire, up he comes and screeches like no sound I heard a’for nor since and where that loo was, stood The Solomon. “That Solomon stood, dressed out in his oilclothes and black sou’wester, his white mitts hanging down to his sides.” If you didn’t believe in ghosts before that, Scott says, you would after you met The Solomon. Some of Scott’s tales are of the lighter variety. There are the fairies that kidnapped Aunt Viney one day, dumped her
down in Yellow Cove and left her to walk home. The fairies must have felt bad, for they filled her abandoned berry bucket and, when she came upon it, she picked it up and continued on home. And then there’s the story of a shark that would circle the Gut at night, accompanied by female screams for help. “Everyone heard those screams and cries, sure the entire community would gather and watch the shark’s fin by the light of the moon, returning to their homes only after the shark left and the cries subsided,” Scott says. It’s said Sammy Rideout came upon that shark one evening, run aground. He killed it with his axe and tied it to the shores of his flake. Inside the shark’s gut was a wedding band, a gold locket, many small bones and a skull, snapped in two pieces. Rideout washed each piece of gold and bone and placed them in a wooden box he built in his shed. His wife crafted roses from pink and blue ribbons, and they wrapped the lot in a clean white cloth and carried it up on Big Brook Hill. The entire community followed and gave this unknown woman a proper outport burial. That night, after the dirt was placed over her coffin, a light came from the sky and grew brighter and brighter, grabbing the attention of everyone around. “We knelt down and said The Lord’s Prayer, t’was all we knew to do,” Scott says. They stayed on their knees, heads bowed, till a big cloud passed to the east and hid the light. What was it? The cane points the way, and the answer is obvious. “The angels came to take her to heaven,” Scott says. pamelamichpardy@yahoo.com
OCTOBER 26, 2007
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 3
SCRUNCHINS A weekly collection of Newfoundlandia
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begin this week by offering a sincere thank-you to each and every reader for picking up a copy of this week’s Independent. Oh, and thanks as well for reading Scrunchins. Very much appreciated. I hope you enjoy the read, and have a wicked day. We should all try extra hard to be polite after the release this week of the November issue of Reader’s Digest, which carried out a nationwide polite test. In a ranking of 15 cities across Canada, St. John’s came in tied for fourth. Moncton, N.B., came in first, with (surprise, surprise) Ottawa finishing rock bottom. Reader’s Digest set out to see “if the rumours are true: that courtesy is a thing of the past.” Pairs of undercover reporters — one man and one woman — were sent out to assess the behaviour of citizens based on three tests: the reporters walked into public buildings behind 10 people to see if they would hold open the door for them; bought small items from 10 stores and recorded whether salespeople said thank you; and dropped a folder of papers in 10 busy locations to see if anyone would help pick them up. One point was awarded for each positive outcome and nothing for a negative result, so that each city could score a maximum of 30 points. St. John’s scored 70 per cent. That said, Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital city was the only one to score 10 out of 10 on the door-opening test. Here’s the Most Courteous breakdown: No. 1 Moncton, 80 per cent; No. 2 Calgary and Vancouver tied at 77 per cent; No. 3 Edmonton, 73 per cent; No. 4 St. John’s, Victoria and Charlottetown tied at 70 per cent; No. 5 Montreal, 68 per cent; No. 6 Halifax and Winnipeg tied at 67 per cent; No. 7 Regina, 63 per cent; No. 8 Quebec City, 62 per cent; No. 9 Toronto, 60 per cent; No. 10 Saskatoon, 57 per cent; and No. 11 Ottawa 50 per cent. If there were a door to the next Scrunchin I’d be sure to hold it open for you … CHEERS … Of course, the friendliest people you’d ever meet — people guaranteed to sport smiles on their faces and goodwill in their step — are cheerleaders, and Memorial University has the country’s best. The Muse, Memorial’s student newspaper, published a story recently, Cheerleaders want a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T, on how the university’s team has won the Power Cheerleading Athletics national championships in the all-girl division for the past two years. Memorial had open tryouts this year and, for the first time, a guy made the team. Still, the cheerleaders have a continuous fight for more recognition as athletes. According to the article, the cheerleaders do not receive funding from the university like other teams for travel to attend competitions. Maybe stores around St. John’s should hire more cheerleaders as clerks. They’d be sure to smile and say thank you … AND JEERS The same edition of The Muse carried a profile on one of St. John’s newest rock bands, The Satans, a “theatrical, tongue-in-cheek” foursome. The headline on the newspaper page — ‘F—k that, worship Satan’ — spelled out the F-word, but then the university newspaper has a long tradition of pushing the authority envelope. The band’s founder and guitarist, Judas Revered (Gavin Chubbs), was quoted as saying that rock and roll is the Devil’s music … “what else are we going to play. We are the Devil.” Here’s a quote from the band’s front man, Chapel Ruin (Christopher Greene): “One of the things we have been saying for a long time is ‘F—k that, worship Satan,’ which pretty much encompasses our course of
Jerome Kennedy cleaned up in the Oct. 9 election in Carbonear-Harbour Grace, but it appears he still has some work to do from his 2006 by-election loss in Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi. Paul Daly/The Independent
action. It’s sort of like the equivalent of ‘What would Jesus do?’ but more. So if you get into any kind of situation, and you need to know what to do — f— that, worship Satan.” The other two band mates apparently go by the names Jesus Crust and Christian Demise. Nice to see how Memorial is shaping the minds of our best and brightest … HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN Martin Currie, the new Archbishop of St. John’s, hasn’t had much luck behind the wheel. The former Bishop of Grand Falls was driving near Springdale earlier this fall when his car struck a moose. The vehicle flipped end over end on the highway before landing on its four tires. Martin, who was wearing a seatbelt, limped away with a broken ankle. Last year he struck a deer on the road near his hometown of Sheet Harbour, N.S. He wasn’t hurt in that accident, although his vehicle sustained $3,600 in damages. According to the Environment Department, about 70 moose-vehicle collisions occur on Newfoundland and Labrador highways every year, causing more than $1 million in damages. Whistles, reflectors and odour repellents (including artificial wolf urine) to frighten big game from passing vehicles or keep them from roadsides have been tested in North American and Europe; so far none have proven to be effective or economically viable. Maybe Archbishop Currie should say a scattered Mass by the side of the road … NEWFOUNDLANDER STEAK The newfie debate is alive and well. The Ottawa Citizen published a letter to the editor recently by Madonna Agar, a resident of Ottawa originally from Dildo, Trinity Bay. Agar wrote that some Newfoundlanders have no difficulty recognizing the difference between the epithet newfie and the term of endearment newfie. “I mean, would you have us all sit
down to a ‘good old Newfoundlander scoff’ before dancing up a ‘Newfoundlander jig?’ Should we start referring to a slab of bologna as ‘Newfoundlander steak’ and inducting honourary Newfoundlanders with a hit of rum called ‘Newfoundlander Screech?’ And why not … VOTE OF CONFIDENCE Baymen may be in danger of losing their votes in federal elections. The Toronto Star reported this week that one million Canadians, mainly in rural areas of the country, are in danger of losing their right to vote in federal elections because their home address is a post-office box, which isn’t good enough under Canada’s newly toughened-up elections law. By Elections Canada estimates, this means that almost a third of the people in Saskatchewan, about a quarter of the people in Newfoundland, and 80 per cent of the people in Nunavut could be disenfranchised. No worries, Ottawa forgets we’re alive down here half the time anyway … CLUTCH HIT Fresh off an appearance last week on This Hour has 22 Minutes, Premier
Danny Williams turned up this week on The Rick Mercer Report. Danny and Rick went off-roading in a fourby-four out by Seal Cove. Off-roading was only fitting, Mercer pointed out, considering Danny is a Rhodes Scholar. (Get it — roads and Rhodes; Critch’s sketches were funnier.) Said Danny: “We came, we saw, we destroyed a clutch.” Danny is scheduled to speak at the annual Press Gallery dinner in Ottawa this Saturday night (Oct. 27). Sean Durkan of Ottawa’s Hill Times wrote this week how Prime Minister Stephen Harper isn’t expected to attend the dinner; likewise Gov.Gen. Michäelle Jean and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe. “A number of interesting stars will be showing up,” Durkan wrote, “including the never dull premier — maybe that should be Emperor? — of Newfoundland and Labrador, Danny Williams.” Speaking of the premier and his kingdom of Humber West, workers at the Corner Brook paper mill who were issued layoff slips this week are wondering where Danny has been all week. That’s easy, just turn on the TV …
PREMIER EVENTS Speaking of illustrious leaders, this week Brian Peckford was named chair of the federal Diabetes Policy Review Expert Panel. In other news about premiers who retired upalong, Brian Tobin got a glowing review in his former boss’s new book, Jean Chretien, My Years as Prime Minister. Chretien praised Tobin for his handling of the turbot wars, including his holding a press conference on a wharf outside the United Nations in New York with the captured nets from the Spanish turbot trawler, Estai, as a backdrop. Chretien wrote that Peter Jennings, the Canadian-born anchorman for ABC television news, later told him that Tobin’s campaign was “probably the best public relations stunt he had ever seen in politics.” “I’m very proud, I must say,” Chretien wrote, “of how the government solved this (turbot overfishing) problem.” What planet did he retire on … COURTESY CORNER Finally this week, thanks again for reading … ryan.cleary@theindependent.ca
4 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
OCTOBER 26, 2007
‘Treated like children’ From page 1 recover from an acute illness and being in a room with five other people, it’s very difficult. “These wards are left over from a different era; if we were building today, we would never have a six-bed ward.” Simms says there are activities and a gym within the hospital — but all patients may not be considered well enough to participate. (“That’s not to say that if a patient has time on her hands and feels she wants to do more … that’s something we have to look at.”) Dyke’s wing has a total of 24 beds, for both male and female patients. The walls and lighting are harsh, bleak and institutional. Room doors are never locked. “At night, anything can be happening, staff and people walk around,” says Dyke. Not that she’s blaming the staff or fellow patients. Dyke says the problems are much larger than any one individual. “It’s the system that doesn’t give enough consideration to us with mental illnesses. I don’t want to blame the people. I absolutely believe every staff person is doing the best they can at any time, and so are the patients.” Dyke pulls out a careful list she’s been keeping. “A broken Plexiglas window, filthy walls and windows, uneven floors, a nail exposed, dried urine in the men’s washroom,” she says. “The beds here are so old and cracked and small ….” Dyke says she saw one man, too tall for his bed, sleeping on the floor. “And it’s too disruptive. People are trying to get better; it should be kind of quiet, but there’s flare-ups every day.
Every day, depending on who’s here … it can be a dangerous place. “It’s fine to have people in a hospital to get better; it’s not fine to neglect stuff like that.” Dyke says patients are “treated like children” — they have to ask for a drink of water, for a snack, for almost anything. “Why can’t they put a cooler out there, and bolt it down if they have to?” Being diagnosed with a mental illness was scary at first, admits Dyke. “When I found out what I had over a year ago, I was very ashamed,” she says. “But I call my psychiatrist a healer, not a doctor. He figured it out, he asked the right questions. I don’t mind it now, I accept it.” She looks forward to being better, to getting back to doing the things she wants to do “on the outside. “I don’t plan on being in here forever … Whatever happened that resulted in me being here, happened, and it resulted in me being strong enough to advocate for patients and staff. To say this is how it is, this is what it is like.” After being informed of some of Dyke’s complaints, Simms reflects on perceptions on the Waterford — as well as the imperfect reality. “There’s a stigma attached to psychiatric institutions, so it’s very difficult for people to access services and coming in here, they feel intimidated, frightened, along with feeling ill,” Simms says. “And then when they have to go into a ward like that, it only compounds it. It makes it very difficult for people to recover from their illness. “I’m not surprised you’ve heard these things.”
Axel Meisen.
Paul Daly/The Independent
‘Rise to the surface’ With more ‘critical thinking,’ outgoing Memorial president says province will have a strong future
By Stephanie Porter The Independent
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s Memorial University President Axel Meisen clues up his tenure and prepares to move to Alberta, he has one major piece of advice for both his successor and the province: think ahead. Current discussion, says Meisen, focuses on ensuring Newfoundland and Labrador receives more money from its arrangement with the federal government. “That’s a very important pursuit, but it’s not enough,” he tells The Independent. “Very little attention is being paid to ‘What do we do with the money once we’ve got it?’ “People describe that there are many opportunities in various words without going to the next level, without saying ‘this is what the opportunity is, now this is what we should do, and if we did this, then this would follow …’ “That’s the kind of critical thinking that hasn’t yet been done to the extent we can.” Meisen is leaving the university — and the province he’s grown attached to — at the end of this year, eight months earlier than expected. After nine years at Memorial’s helm, he will move westward to become chair of foresight with the Alberta Research Council. Born in Hamburg, Germany in 1943, Meisen considers himself a “member of the global community.” He studied in England and the U.S. before moving to Montreal in 1966, and has been residing in Canada, more or less, ever since. Before moving from British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador in 1999, Meisen had only visited the province a handful of times. But he did his homework, he says, and liked what he found.
“My personal impressions right from the beginning were, and remain, very positive,” he says. “Particularly its people, their awareness of history, the landscape and the natural resources and what all that meant in terms of opportunities for people in the province. I really felt I wanted to be part of that.” He did so, making friends and acquaintances around the province. It was important to see as much of the area as he could, he says, through work and personal vacations every summer. Looking back, Meisen says the university, and the province, is in a “very, very different situation” than when he began his tenure. “Partly because it’s a very different situation financially, although it only became that way in the last two or three years,” he says. “The main difference, of course, is the Voisey’s Bay project, Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose were in operation and that (brought) … a sense of optimism and positiveness and not just a ‘yes we can do this’ but ‘yes we want to do this.’” Meisen’s main concern is, even when Newfoundland and Labrador is considered “have,” the proper plans may not be in place to capitalize on all the gains and drive the province to the next level. “It’s not always obvious what you do,” he says. “There are many regions throughout the world where suddenly financial constraints were no longer present and they haven’t seized the opportunity. It’s not something that happens naturally. “But I’m absolutely convinced the people of this province — average people as well as those in leadership positions — have the intelligence and basic desire to do this but, in this point in time, it is not the first priority … it has to move further up the priority list.”
Meisen mentions the “demographic” need in the province today. He takes pride in his actions to increase Memorial’s population, drawing largely from students outside the province and country (since 1999, enrolment has grown to 17,400 from 15,500 students). Welcoming students from abroad, he says, is a great way to bring in new, talented people, allow them to “acclimatize” to Newfoundland, earn well-recognized credentials and, in the end, “between 30 and 40 per cent of them would like to stay to work in the province and do.” During his presidency, Meisen also worked aggressively to attract more research and development funding, striving to “grow” the ocean technology sector and marine industries. In these areas and others, Meisen says, the future of the province is tightly intertwined with the health and direction of Memorial — and people realize it. “Even travelling to smaller communities, people see the university as not just an opportunity for their sons and daughters, but also as a place to help generate ideas that give them a future,” he says. As for rural Newfoundland, Meisen says he sees examples of the kind of clever thinking that will help certain communities survive all over the province. He mentions Trinity and Eastport as areas excelling in their efforts to build a future on culture and tourism, as has Cow Head on the west coast. He applauds the Humber Valley development, near Corner Brook. “Nobody has perfect answers for rural Newfoundland, but I think there are local answers and those cannot be duplicated in each and every locale,” he says. “There are some examples in the fishery, too that we fully haven’t taken advantage of … the great value in the world is for fresh seafood … A little side stream like that might be something for some of the smaller communities to focus on.” With all the ideas and considered advice, it’s no surprise Meisen doesn’t plan to sever ties with the province — he’s spent too many years doing his part to strategize, plan and plot for its future. “We very much wanted to stay in the province and we certainly are thinking of returning,” says Meisen. “I will do some partnerships from afar, I will maintain a connection that way. And I think that Newfoundland and Labrador will, in some areas, rise to the surface.” stephanie.porter@theindependent.ca
Hanlon to seek seat for Liberals Businesswoman Debbie Hanlon will seek the Liberal nomination in the federal riding of St. John’s East, The Independent has learned. Others rumoured to be interested in carrying the Liberal banner are former Liberal MHA and cabinet minister Walter Noel and businessman Paul Antle. Antle lost to PC Norm Doyle by almost 5,000 votes in 2006. Doyle has said he will not run again, leaving the race wide open for the first time in 10 years. Potential candidates for the Conservatives or NDP have yet to surface in the riding.
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OCTOBER 26, 2007
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 5
Not succeeding at reading Why does the province still struggle with low levels of literacy? By Ivan Morgan The Independent
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his week the province announced $6 million in adult basic education (ABE) funding for the College of the North Atlantic and $500,000 for community-based literacy groups. But hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent promoting literacy in Newfoundland and Labrador since the early 1990s when the cod fishery shut down. Programs like TAGS and NCARP pumped millions into upgrading, on top of billions spent in the province’s formal education system. Why do low levels of literacy still exist? Education Minister Joan Burke says literacy funding in the past has been unfocused, and her department has set aside $140,000 this year to develop a strategic plan for future literacy initiatives. “We need to know what’s working and what’s not, because if we are pumping this much money into it we need to get results,” Burke tells The Independent from her Stephenville office. The fact is the province has no hard data on literacy levels in the province, and has been relying on data from
national and international surveys, says Burke. Caroline Vaughan, executive director of Literacy Newfoundland and Labrador, says the results of one of those surveys show 54 per cent of people in Newfoundland and Labrador over age 16 show low levels of literacy. She says it’s not easy to say why low levels of literacy persist. She says two surveys, one in 1994 and another in 2003, completed by the international Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, found little difference in literacy levels in a 10-year span in Newfoundland and Labrador. That does not mean over half of the province cannot read, says Vaughan. “It’s a question of how well you read, how well do you use that material.” She says the results also don’t necessarily mean there has been no improvement in the province’s literacy rates. It is more a case of people having trouble keeping up with society’s demands. “Today’s society is not exactly the same as it was 10 years ago,” says Vaughan. Computer skills, for example, are more in demand in today’s workforce. Literacy is a skill you learn, says Vaughan, and then need to maintain.
Literacy class at Rabbitown Learners Centre.
“It’s not quite the same as riding a bicycle.” People understand children need to learn to read, and they understand that people fall through the cracks, says Vaughan. But many do not understand the maintenance aspect of literacy or its importance. Burke says she’s not sure national and international surveys properly test the literacy skills of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. She says testing for skills appropriate for urban Canadian living might not be applicable to rural Newfoundland and Labrador.
More jets at Goose
T
he Canadian Forces has beefed up its air force at CFB Goose Bay but deny it’s in response to suspicious Russian activity. Russian military officials confirm increased training flights over the Arctic but say it’s no threat to Canadian security. And Canadian officials say while a number of CF-18 Hornets were recently dispatched to Goose Bay, it was due to construction at their regular 3 Wing Bagotville, Que. base. They also say while there’s no indication of increased Russian bomber flights off Canada’s
East Coast, they must always be prepared. “You have to be ready, and this is what we’re doing,” acting wing commander Lt.-Col. Brian Bowerman told media. “We’re practising to be ready if we need to intercept (Russian) aircraft.” The half dozen Canadian jets, with a complement of 50 soldiers, are expected to remain in Goose Bay for about a week. Town officials, meanwhile, argue the increased activity is reminder of the strategic importance of CFB Goose Bay. — Brian Callahan
Cheque this out
Some incoming members to collect severance, pensions By Ivan Morgan The Independent
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he severance packages offered to the 15 outgoing MHAs may be at the front and centre, but some incoming rookie MHAs are also looking at severance packages from their old positions. Outgoing MHAs are entitled to one month of salary and benefits for every year of service, up to a maximum of 12 years. The current batch will be taking up to $900,000 from the provincial treasury with them when they go. A review of MHA severance packages is slated for this session of the House. Some incoming MHAs will also receive money from their former jobs. Former head of the Eastern School District, Darin King, elected for the district of Grand Bank, will be leaving his $125,000-a-year post to sit in the House. A spokesperson for the school district says King is entitled to a week’s severance for each year of service, plus reimbursement for unused annual leave, as is in accordance with the provincial government’s executive. King has been an employee for 17 years. Steve Kent, elected in Mount Pearl North, will relinquish his job of mayor of that city as of Oct. 30, and will be paid to that date, but will receive no severance, says soon-to-be mayor Randy Simms. If the seven-vote lead Derrick Dalley won over Liberal Leader Gerry Reid holds in the official recount for The Isles of Notre Dame district Nov. 7, he will resign as principal of Inter-Island Academy, and will be entitled to the standard severance package offered to Nova Central School District employees. Wade Verge, recently elected the MHA for Lewisporte, is a retired principal. Repeated calls to the district’s offices for details were not returned. Wesley Harris, chair of the board of Coast of Bays Corporation says executive director Tracey Perry, elected MHA for the district of Fortune Bay-Cape La Hune, will be resigning but he will
not comment on whether she will be entitled to a severance package, or what that package may entail, as the board has not yet met to discuss it. Perry has been employed with the board for 11 years. Darryl Kelly, newly elected MHA for Humber Valley, resigned his seat as mayor of Deer Lake. He is also a retired principal. According to a spokesperson for the Western School District, he receives a standard principal’s pension. The new mayor of Deer Lake, Barbara Ball, says Kelly received no severance when he resigned his position on town council. Ed Buckingham, elected in St. John’s East, has the option of taking a leave of absence. The Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers Association contract has a specific clause that provides for a one-term leave of absence for teachers who are elected to the House of Assembly or the House of Commons, says Ed Hancock, executive director of the NLTA. According to the clause in the contract, if a teacher is re-elected, the board then has the option of extending the teacher’s leave, or asking for the teacher’s resignation, he says. Newly elected Torngat MHA Patty Pottle is a businesswoman who operates several businesses. Jerome Kennedy operates a private practice law firm. In his comprehensive report on MHA compensation, Chief Justice Derek Green recommended MHAs be full-time employees, and “devote his or her time primarily to the discharge of his or her duties and responsibilities as a Member.” He does note a member is “not prohibited from carrying on a business or engaging in other employment or a profession,” provided it does not interfere with his or her duties as an MHA. The judge also recommends that if the speaker becomes aware that the member may not be devoting his or her time primarily to their duties as an MHA, the matter should be referred to the appropriate House committee for investigation. ivan.morgan@theindependent.ca
Paul Daly/The Independent
“I’m not as convinced that their numbers are our real numbers.” The province needs its own data, says Burke — solid evidence of how the province is doing — so that data can be used in a debate with international surveys. “This is not about spending money any more, this is about getting results, and I’m not satisfied that we have any effective means of evaluation up to this point. And that’s where we need to focus.” Burke says the province is not trying to scare groups who may think their
funding is in jeopardy. The plan is to identify gaps in services, and identify and adopt best practices. As an example, she says, it’s important to assess if a person with a learning disability returns for more training and that they get accommodation so their training is effective. If government is going to continue to invest in literacy programs, says Burke, it must make sure money is being focused and it is producing results. The minister says this has not been the case in the past. ivan.morgan@theindependent.ca
6 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
OCTOBER 26, 2007
‘God is still calling people’ New Archbishop of St. John’s ponders challenges of leading reorganized, reduced dioceses By Brian Callahan The Independent
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he Roman Catholic Church, much like government, has been forced to downsize and consolidate as the province’s population dwindles, acknowledges the new Archbishop of St. John’s. But there are far more deep and troubling problems facing the Church in Newfoundland and Labrador, Archbishop Martin Currie tells The Independent, not the least of which are issues of faith, economics and a lack of priests. “You’re asking me if I feel the pressure? Oh, certainly,” says Currie, 63, who was the Bishop of Grand Falls before the diocese was combined with the Archdiocese of St. John’s. Currie saw first hand the issues affecting priests in rural Newfoundland during his seven years in the central region. “I think some priests become frustrated that all they’re doing is maintenance. They’re maintaining these huge buildings and houses … and it’s less and less about going to church,” says the Nova Scotia native. Currie served as Vicar General and Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Halifax before moving to Newfoundland in 2000. “They weren’t meant to be maintenance men. They are there to preach the Gospel, to be missionaries.” He says the trend won’t change unless the financial position of the Church improves. “It does make it more difficult,” says Currie, sitting awkwardly in a chair at his official residence attached to the Basilica of St. John The Baptist. A recent collision with a moose near Springdale has left him with a large cast to support a broken left ankle. “As a priest you get frustrated when you’re trying to raise money and you worry about paying the bills and that sort of thing. “We can’t overwork our priests to the point where we make them sick. Some are getting burnt out and experiencing problems because we’re asking too much of them. We have to be very conscious of that.” The main source of funding in rural areas is the Catholic Missions in Canada (CMIC), which administers collections across the country. “The problem is the economics of it. The diocese of Grand Falls would receive about $200,000 a year from CMIC,” he says, noting local collection plates can’t cut it in towns where parishioner numbers continue to plummet. “Grand Falls, for example, used to have
Archbishop Martin Currie.
over 42,000 Catholics. Now it’s dropped below 35,000 … because of out-migration and these things. I have parishes in rural Newfoundland where they haven’t had a baptism in the last year. Not one. There’s a parish up in Baie Verte where only one child started school this year. And once they hit 18, they’re gone.” Currie was asked if it’s possible for the Church to grow and strengthen if the population continues to decline. “Let me put it this way: perhaps it may not grow in a numerical sense. But perhaps it will grow in the sense of more people being active. That’s our hope. And you may be surprised to hear me say this, but sometimes I think a smaller church may be a better church … for those who are faith-built. “The question is, how do we get our good people to be disciples and missionaries? How do we initiate people into the deep mystery?” During seven years in Newfoundland,
Paul Daly/The Independent
Currie says he has come to realize religious memory can be a good and a bad thing. While the idea of church and religion has positive and nostalgic meaning for some, others are haunted by the horrific abuse scandal that emerged from the former Mount Cashel Orphanage. “A lot of my life I think I was working for God, but I’m not sure I was doing God’s work. Because I wasn’t, perhaps, listening enough to what God was calling me to. Listening more than just doing. And I feel God is still calling people.” Meantime, Currie does not rule out the possibility that more churches may have to close in the face of lessened faith. “But how do we close churches? They have a personality of their own. And now, because of economics, we’re going into larger and less churches. That’s always very difficult. It’s very personal for many. You just don’t touch it! “And that’s why it’s very painful. When
you start talking about closing churches, it’s almost the same as death and dying. They bargain and they grieve and they’re angry until they come to an acceptance. It’s a very, very difficult and painful process. “But should people be prepared for it? I don’t know yet. I’ll be listening to everyone.” He notes fewer people are attending Sunday mass, which is troubling for many reasons. “When only 20 per cent are going, it’s not that important for them like it was years ago. Now, they’re going off to the cabin for the weekend and don’t even think about going to mass. People’s whole sense of right and wrong, sense of values, sense of sin, has changed tremendously. “The church feels the most important thing we do is the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. That the community gathers on Sunday to give thanks and praise to God, to be nourished, to be fed, and
strengthen their faith.” The fact can’t be ignored, however, that the four dioceses in the province have been “clustered” into two: the newly named Archdiocese of Corner Brook and Labrador, and St. John’s. “It reflects what school boards and health boards and everyone is doing — consolidating, or clustering, to make the best use of resources. “But I’m hopeful we can overcome this. The Church has had worse times in its history. People thought the Church was going to disappear in the past, but it rises up again. It always finds a way of renewing itself.” The Archdiocese of St. John’s has a Catholic population of 111,000 in 72 parishes and missions, served by 52 priests, 214 religious brothers and sisters and one lay pastoral agent. Currie will be officially installed as archbishop on Nov. 30. brian.callahan@theindependent.ca
OCTOBER 26, 2007
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 7
Liberals have candidate for byelection
What are we?
J
Are Newfoundlanders and Labradorians a ‘race’ or a ‘people’?
ohn J. Woodrow will be the Liberal candidate in the Nov. 6 Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans byelection, The Independent has learned. Woodrow, 59, filed his nomination papers two days before the party’s Oct. 26 deadline. Junior Downey is the NDP candidate while Susan Sullivan will carry the banner for the governing Tories. Woodrow, a retired international educator, has three grown children and lives in his home town of Buchans. The byelection became necessary after Liberal candidate Gerry Tobin died suddenly during the Oct. 9 provincial election campaign. brian.callahan@theindependent.ca
By Ivan Morgan The Independent
W
hile announcing a $1,000 baby bonus to boost the province’s declining population during the recent election campaign, Premier Danny Williams referred to the people of the province as a “dying race.” Is it accurate to refer to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians as a race? “I don’t like the word race because I don’t like racism,” Jim McGrath, the province’s former lieutenant-governor, tells The Independent. McGrath, also a former federal Fisheries minister, says a nation is defined by three qualities: culture, history, and language — all of which the province has, and has always had. McGrath says he prefers the term “people” to describe Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. There are only two distinct societies in Canada, says McGrath, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. “If Quebec can be a nation with a united Canada, why aren’t we a nation within a united Canada?” he asks. McGrath notes the province has a gene pool drawn almost exclusively from west England and Irish origins, and is of great interest to geneticists and other scientists. “And from that we have melded into a nation,” he says. Memorial University sociologist Stephen Crocker is also uneasy with the term “race.” He says there is no evidence Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have a common set of biological characteristics that would make them a race in the conventional sense. The premier, says Crocker, used “race” in a cultural sense. The more interesting question, he says, is whether Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are a “people.” He says historically Newfoundlanders are not a “people” in the sense of a group of people working together, who have a state formed to represent themselves. Before the then colony adopted representative government in the mid-1800s, Crocker notes, the population was a “scattered and chaotic mass.” No true people has ever emerged in Newfoundland and Labrador, he continues, because representative government — which
James McGrath
was late coming — failed in the 1930s, contributing to what he calls a “retarded colonization.” With Confederation, people in the new province were told they were part of the Canadian mosaic — which, Crocker says, they rejected. Instead, they chose to believe they were a people that existed in the past, “before Confederation in the good old days before Joey Smallwood.” Williams’ comments, says Crocker, refer to this “archaic sense of the people. “And it’s always something that happened in the past that you can’t get back to for some reason, or it’s something that’s going to come in the future when the next deal is signed,” he says. While he says there is a growing sense of nationalism in the province, he warns there is something fascistic about the idea of “a people,” because it requires some form of exclusion when having to decide “who is and isn’t one of “the people.”
Paul Daly/The Independent
Crocker says he’s always found the skepticism of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians towards nationalistic expressions refreshing. “I just can’t embrace those pernicious parts of ‘the people,’” says Crocker. By rejecting the Canadian identity, Crocker says Newfoundlanders and Labradorians realize they have heritage and culture — and don’t need them from somewhere else. McGrath says Newfoundland used to be a nation state, and the province’s younger generation — who didn’t know preConfederation — are beginning to consider themselves distinct. He says the emergence of the tri-colour flag — the Pink, White and Green, which appears on this newspaper’s masthead — “is no accident,” representing this new consciousness. “We’re different from the average Canadian,” says McGrath “And I would say ‘Vive la difference.’” ivan.morgan@theindependent.ca
Bailey fought for his town By Pam Pardy Ghent For The Independent
L
ou Bailey, 61, a former high-profile mayor of the Town of Burin, died Oct. 22. But the passionate, sometimes radical, hometown hero won’t soon be forgotten. In the winter of 1982, Bailey led the fight that forever changed the fate of the Burin fish plant, helping it become and remain one of the biggest employers in the area. At the time, Fishery Products International was going to close the plant down — but the community held it hostage until that decision was reversed. Natural Resources Minister Kathy Dunderdale was an active member in the community at the time. “The entire town became engaged and held over 600,000 pounds of processed fish and 15 trawlers inside, keeping it away from Fishery Products,” she says.
An around-the-clock protest line was set up around the plant, bringing parish priests, ministers, school principals, grocers, moms, dads and plant workers together. Dunderdale says it was everyone’s battle. One winter’s night a call went out. Fishery Products wanted their fish and sent a tractortrailer to get it, nearly running down a protester in the process. Dunderdale says there were almost 500 people there within minutes. “We held an emergency meeting to figure out how to prevent that truck from leaving with the fish,” she says. Someone mentioned that there might be a leak in a pipe in the area, so a state of emergency was declared and the road was closed. Bailey called in the municipal work crews, and the road was flooded, then dug up. “People even got down in that hole and stayed put,” Dunderdale says. The fish wasn’t going anywhere.
The plant opened in 1942, Dunderdale says, and the community had too much invested to let it go. “It just wasn’t good enough for Fishery Products to get up and walk away,” she says. Ultimately, the resolve of the people in the area won. “It was historical, innovative thinking at the time, asking what kind of role could that plant play, that really changed things,” she says. The plant in Burin became a secondary processing plant. Most agree Bailey played a critical role. “He would never agree that he did it on his own, but he certainly got people together and helped win the fight,” Dunderdale says. “He had a real strength of character and believed in the plant, and in the people of Burin, until the day he died. He was a wonderful man.”
8 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
OCTOBER 26, 2007
Bill Murray’s burden P
ity Bill Murray. At the very least you’ve got to feel for the guy and his family. The former bureaucrat at the heart of the political spending scandal has been tossed from his job as the House of Assembly’s director of financial operations, been barred from Confederation Building, spent time in the Waterford Hospital, been charged with six offences that could potentially put him behind bars for a long, long time, as well as a civil suit filed by the provincial government for breach of trust that could cost him untold thousands of dollars, went on the missing list for a few days back in August, only to be located after the Constabulary issued a missing-person bulletin, and been publicly disgraced. The pressure, the shame, must be insane. Bill Murray is the key to a story that could potentially rival Mount Cashel in terms of scandal. Make no mistake — it’s a monster, one that in many ways has yet to show its ugly head. Murray appeared in court earlier this month to face the charges against him, including a count each of fraud over $5,000, breach of trust and uttering forged documents, as well as three counts of fraud against the government. It’s alleged that Murray signed off on nearly $3 million worth of trinkets and keepsakes such as fridge magnets and
RYAN CLEARY
Fighting Newfoundlander gold rings. Murray is 53 years old, 210 pounds (according to the police bulletin), and balding with grey hair on the sides. I knew Murray, at least to see him, in the late 1990s when I covered the House of Assembly. He hung outside the legislature when it was in session, leaning against the window ledges in the main corridor of power. Murray was thin, not much of a dresser (certainly not as sharp as the politicians he catered to), wearing dress pants and open-collar shirts. He didn’t say much except to the scattered politician who passed him by. He appeared as a typical, run-of-themill public servant. Certainly not the bureaucratic criminal mastermind he’s made out to be. The big question is, if Murray was a puppet, who pulled the strings? The truth will come out in the court wash. Or will it? Not if Murray takes a plea bargain — not if he pleads guilty to one or more of the charges in exchange for a break on any eventual sentence. Murray’s defence team is waiting for the
Crown to show its hand in terms of the evidence it has gathered against him. That should happen soon. Until then, Murray and the media are in limbo. I know a politician or two who would dearly love for the scandal to go away. But that wouldn’t be good for getting at the truth; it certainly wouldn’t be good for Murray’s reputation, the little of it that’s left. So much of the spending scandal story has been told. Auditor General John Noseworthy has pointed out how millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money was misspent/overspent/stupidly spent/incompetently spent/possibly criminally spent. Four MHAs have been charged, two of whom — Ed Byrne and Jim Walsh — were to appear in provincial court this week, only to be no-shows, represented by their lawyers. Murray, for his part, faced the judge and the cameras during his Oct. 16 court appearance. Give him credit for that; he’s holding up. At least one of the charged former MHAs was spotted at a downtown bar recently loaded to the gills. Like I said, the pressure is intense. In the only media interview granted to date, Averill Baker, Murray’s lawyer, told The Independent in July 2006 that her client only did what politicians directed him to do. The one time Murray tried to dispute an expense claim he was shot
down. The story has taken its share of bizarre twists. Baker alleged the auditor general and an assistant visited Murray while was a patient at the Waterford, a meeting she described as inappropriate because of her client’s weakened mental state. Murray was apparently visited minutes after that meeting by Speaker Harvey Hodder and John Noel, clerk of the House. These are Baker’s words: “As the auditor general well knows, all of the money has to be approved, all of the claims have to be approved by the (internal economy) commission itself. Harvey Hodder is head of that commission, so I just found it odd that, you know, that Hodder was quick to blame someone given that all of these expenses are really his responsibility and the others on the commission. “I honestly don’t understand why Mr. Murray is, why anyone is pointing a finger at him. Why isn’t Noseworthy lining up people on the commission and asking them, putting them under the gun and asking them how could you have done this?” And that’s the crux of the problem with this story to date — no one has been lined up and put under that gun. MHAs have been charged. Noseworthy’s review has been completed. Chief Justice Derek Green has written a 1,300-page
report on legislative reforms. But not a single politician has been called to task for the decisions that led to the legislative rot. Who made the calls? What politicians ordered what money paid to whom? The scandal began under then-premier Brian Tobin. Will he ever be questioned? On June 28, 2006 a briefcase was stolen from Averill Baker’s car. That briefcase contained statements by Murray who wrote them by hand while a patient at the Waterford, and, later, the Health Sciences Centre. The papers were of such a sensitive nature that Baker asked Murray to write “to my lawyer” at the top of each and every page. Baker said the documents named names and there were dollar values. “Political names, past and present.” There are whispers these days of political payoffs that took place at the height of the spending scandal. Are you beginning to grasp the magnitude of the scandal? Will Murray take the fall? In the absence of a full-fledged inquiry — and the Williams administration has been reluctant to call one, even though every politician in the land is in a conflict of interest in this regard — let’s hope all the cases, Murray’s especially, go to trial. Hang in there Bill. The Independent is here if you need us. ryan.cleary@theindependent.ca
YOUR VOICE Mental discrimination Dear editor, Like most people I have had my share of hospital experiences, both as a patient and as a visitor. It is impossible to spend any amount of time in a hospital setting without noticing its many weaknesses. It’s a well-known situation that still makes the news today, the main focus of which is the quality of care for patients who are dealing with a physical illness. In recent weeks, I have had the opportunity to discover that when it comes to mental illness, the bar is set even lower. Just a short time ago one of my best friends found she was on a path that would lead to the Waterford hospital. Very quickly, upon arriving there, I realized that this was a different kind of “health care” all together. This is not about the workers who are doing their best within this damaged system. It is not even really about the old building with its faulty plumbing, leaky ceilings and dirty windows. What I am pointing to is the obvious discrimination that exists for patients with mental illnesses and its impact on their care. The bedrooms look like old army barracks (six beds in a room) with their narrow plastic mattresses often way too short for some of the taller patients. There is absolutely no privacy, not even a light curtain between the beds. And it seems to me that patients with varying conditions are placed together with little regard paid to the affects that their differing conditions
can have on one another. There is not one comfortable chair to be found. You either sit in the smoking room with a cheap radio constantly blasting in your ears or in the TV room with its benches along the wall and a constant stream of traffic since one must walk through the TV room to get to the smoking room. The only other option is to go to the bedroom, sit on the plastic bed surrounded by the other patients and the energy of their struggles. Why can’t there be a quiet room where my friend and I could have an actual conversation without the interruptions caused by the regular outbursts of other patients? How can anybody ever get better when it’s impossible to get a moment by yourself, when there is absolutely no privacy even when you are with your loved ones? I am sure that if I were to spend only one week in that sort of environment they would have to commit me as well! I understand that there are differing degrees of mental illness and that needs vary greatly. But that is exactly why putting everybody in the same basket will never work. It is also true that while some patients, like my friend, are very affected by this environment, others are not always aware of their surroundings, but that’s completely irrelevant because we know — we know and we let it happen. Lyly Fortin, St. John’s
‘Slap-in-the-face’ issue Dear editor, Thanks for the great article on the problem with the East Coast Trail and over-development in the province (Ours to lose, Oct. 19 edition, by Stephanie Porter). I found it a bit amusing that it took this long for an Independent reporter to write an article on the matter. I had mentioned this to Ryan Cleary about a year and a half ago. Then, like many, I was heading to Nova Scotia for seasonal work and was amazed at the level of development along the Humber River. It was at this time that many people in the Steady Brook, Pasadena/South Brook areas were complaining about the divisive problem of the level of devel-
opment in that area. The problem is still debated. I wrote The Independent and suggested an article should be written on this slap-in-the-face issue. Migration to the Avalon Peninsula must be at an all-time high to keep up with service industry employment, while outmigration from the rest of the province is at an alarming rate. I thought it was not only a problem with seascape on the Avalon, but a development model that is skewed. Mainlanders and others buying up local property while we continue to help fuel the economies of the west — part of a bigger picture me thinks. Fred Skanes, St. John’s
Undoing upper Churchill deal would be ‘great victory’ Dear editor, In his victory speech on election night, Premier Danny Williams quoted from former American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s second inaugural address: “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” Born into much, FDR believed in the nobility of public service. He sought a wide consensus of opinion on policy matters. He might value the opinion of the president of Harvard University, but would also seek out the opinion of, say, a White House cook or a groundskeeper. Roosevelt believed in democracy, which is literally rule by the ruled. He believed there was wisdom among the common folk because if there was not, why bother trying to make democracy work. The province’s energy plan says government will “explore opportunities for upper Churchill to make a greater economic contribution to the province.” What does that mean? Does it mean
that if anyone — executive or peasant — notices something left undone in our history that might get Quebec to the negotiating table on the upper Churchill contract then that citizen — from whatever stratum in our society he belongs — will be at least bid to say his piece? The energy plan states that this province will seek transfer of the federal government’s 8.5 per cent share of Hibernia to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. Yet, there will be no concomitant “repatriation” of Churchill Falls to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. Apparently we will stoically accept the 25-year renewal clause — which comes into effect on July 1, 2016 — and wait dutifully until the full contract expires on July 1, 2041. I have a question for the committee that prepared the energy plan. Suppose it is July 1, 2041 and the upper Churchill contract has just expired. Further suppose the hydro corporations in Quebec and Ontario have tried but failed to reach a deal on further sales, post 2041, from Churchill Falls to
Quebec. Quebec wants status quo. We say no. Here is the question: will Newfoundland and Labrador be allowed to wheel electricity through Quebec from Churchill Falls to new customers (new to us, old ones or former ones to Quebec) in Ontario, New York, and New England? The answer will be no, the transmission line will be disconnected (the switch will be flicked) just to the west of the height of land, just inside Quebec territory. Redress on the upper Churchill contract is attainable and assures a solid financial footing for Newfoundland and Labrador. If we could get rid of the imperialistic 25year renewal clause in the Churchill Falls contract, it would be a great victory. It can be done. Here is a simple but radical notion for the energy planners to wrap their heads around — pay for the building of the lower Churchill with the windfall profits from upper Churchill. Tom Careen, Placentia
Medical school didn’t fall from sky AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR
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Dear editor, In the interests of historical exactitude, I wish to draw your attention to recently published articles in reference to the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Memorial University Medical School. In some respects, they come perilously close to suggesting this signal event occurred virtually by accident — almost as if a facility to train physicians dropped suddenly from the sky to inhabit temporary quarters on a university parking lot. I suggest there was quite a bit more to it. The formal recommendation to establish the medical school is found in the report of Lord Russell Brain, prominent British health-care expert, appointed by the government of Premier Joseph R. Smallwood on Feb. 8, 1965, to inquire into “the whole situation with respect to medical services and facilities.”
The royal commissioner soon declared: “I have reached the conclusion that the provision of adequate medical services for Newfoundland in the future cannot be achieved without a medical school in the province,” thus giving legitimacy to what the government believed, but needed to convince the medical profession, among others. Lord Brain achieved that, as the premier later recalled: “He and a number of other authoritative voices advocated (it) and we went forward with the plan, at pretty shattering cost. The first medical doctors were graduated from Memorial in 1973.” However, for their own reasons, the Newfoundland medical establishment threw cold water on the idea, as they would again when Lord Brain proposed establishment of the Janeway Child Health Centre. “For a long, lonely time,” Mr.
Smallwood wrote in his memoirs, I Chose Canada, “the only supporter I had for my proposal to start the medical college was Dr. Gordon Thomas, chief of the Grenfell Hospital at St. Anthony.” The Brain report also called for a university teaching hospital, a degree program in nursing at Memorial, establishment of the Children’s Rehabilitation Centre and the Miller Centre for Adult Rehabilitation, and provided advice on participation in the national Medicare program, recommendations that were readily accepted and ordered to be proceeded with. In other words, the main elements of the health-care system as we know it were in place or well under way when the Smallwood administration left office in 1972, 35 years ago. William R. Callahan, St. John’s
OCTOBER 26, 2007
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 9
Obama-sosama-bobama O
K, so I have maturity issues, but that’s what I think every time I hear his name. Obama Barack is just one of the quirky characters in the race for the American presidency. Election day in the States is a little over a year away, on Nov. 4 of next year, and this battle promises to be one of the weirder in American history. Politics is my sports and American politics is my NHL, AHL, WFL or what-the-hell. To me the greatest battle, the best series, the ultimate four-year playoff, my World Stanley Superbowl PGA Admiral’s Cup, if you will, is now on. And it takes a year to play out. Thanks to the American constitution, which limits presidents to two terms in office, we should be clear of current president George W. Bush in just over a year. I say “should” as he and his nasty cohorts have an unsettling way of having their way with the old document. It hasn’t been the same since. But assuming he goes, who will replace him? The Republicans would dearly love to hold onto the presidency, and there’s a whole yaffle of them beating the stuffing out of each other in the
IVAN MORGAN
Rant & Reason race to what they think is the top, but which a Canadian observer could be forgiven for thinking is a race to the bottom, given their shameless behaviour. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Law and Order star Fred Thompson, former Vietnam War POW John McCain and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney are the GOP frontrunners, but it is a big field with at least five other contenders. For instance, a lot of Republicans are starting to show up — like Mike Huckabee, former pastor and current governor of Arkansas. A long shot for sure; he’s still one to watch. Remember, former president Jimmy Carter was a long shot, as was another governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton. The leading Democrat is now Clinton’s wife, Hillary Clinton. Other contenders for the Democratic nomina-
YOUR VOICE
tion are Obama, Joe Edwards and Bill Richardson. There is a lot of movement to have recent winner of the Nobel Peace Prize Al Gore toss his hat into the race, but why should he? He won the last time he ran, getting a half-million more votes than George Bush. Look where that got him. Hillary, as she is known, is way ahead of the pack. The senior senator from New York gets the most buzz, but is America ready for a woman president? Her husband was a fabulous president who, in light of the disastrous Bush administration, looks better all the time. If she wins, what will they call him, First Gentleman? I prefer First Dude, but am not holding my breath. Obama, impressive as he is, has no chance. America is not ready for a black president, heart-breaking but true. Most pundits like the idea of him for Clinton’s vice-presidential running mate. Maybe. As for Joe Edwards, I find it creepy that he is campaigning despite the fact his wife is dying of cancer, but that’s just me. This is going to be a very interesting campaign. Republicans are nasty, fight
dirty and get personal. They do this because it has proven to work big time in American politics. Ironically, it is often the right wing, so-called “Christians” that are the nastiest, questioning their opponent’s personal character instead of debating the issues. So the Democrats — Hillary — are going to get nasty back. They are going to have to. Early evidence shows Hillary will send party members into the political gutter, leaving herself above the fray. The latest example of this comes from congressman Charlie Rangel, a Clinton supporter, who recently took public issue with the fact Republican Giuliani and his wife have each been married three times. Shows a lack of commitment, says the dreadful Mr. Rangel. And all indications point to this being just a warm-up. Hillary, of course, has endured endless publicity surrounding rumours of her husband’s legendary philandering, but this might work for her, as it is hardly news and many Americans admire her for sticking with her marriage. America is a very strange place. Watch for the next year in American
politics to be rife with personal attacks, terrorist “warnings” and a lot of talk about who really loves America the most and who is “moral” and upstanding, and who is not. Substantive issues, which may take a back seat to personalities, will include the disastrous war in Iraq, the equally unsuccessful “war on terrorism,” immigration and “homeland security” the latest catchword for American paranoia that the Bush administration has so successfully harnessed in the past. If I had my way, and could call the outcome, I would have Republicans get so nasty and venal that the American public finally wakes up to the damage negative, personal political attacks can do to the system, and throws them out of office. A Clinton/Richardson ticket would then win the White House, and the Bush administration would go out on a massive scandal, just for good measure. I don’t think this will happen. If you do, e-mail me and I’ll set you straight on this, and on the Easter Bunny too. ivan.morgan@theindependent.ca
Golfman gets reader’s goat
Open ye House oh Danny boy Oh Danny boy the votes, the votes are calling, from shore to shore and down the mountain side. The election’s done and all the kudos dying, ’tis you ’tis you must come and open up. But if you ’knar come ’til March wind crosses meadow, or when Opposition’s down and white with snow. Shut we’ll be here in shamrock and in shadow, Till you open House and legislate again along with we. If you must come while kudos are still dying, and Opposition’s dead as dead they well may be. Come and find the place where we have sent you, as Lorraine will kneel and say an ave there for thee.
Dear editor, I read with interest Noreen Golfman’s Oct. 19 column, The eye of the beholder. Her column addressed the question what qualifies as art, but the sides on the debate are wide. I agree with Noreen that a viewer familiar with the history and trends of art is better able to have an informed assessment of what’s on the wall. But what got my goat was her argument that art such as Robert Bateman’s work does not qualify as art as it is only an excellent representation of what is already out there. Inspiration is missing and she gives a goose egg for creativity.
I saw the Bateman exhibit at the McMichael Gallery in Ontario. It was not planned; my partner and I were in the neighbourhood and she wanted to go. It was the day before the exhibit was trashed in a Globe and Mail review, so I believe that I was able to bring some objectivity. So there was Bateman hanging with the permanent collections of Emily Carr, Tom Tomson and the Group of Seven. Also there was a smaller exhibit of Mary Pratt. I enjoyed them all. Pratt’s work has been acclaimed by many art critics across Canada. Her photo-realist style is an excellent representation of what is
already in there (the kitchen that is). Why does it work? It works because she is able to convey to the viewer what is meaningful in her world, with a clear focus and the removal of the extraneous. Bateman is a successful artist. A lot of his paintings did not work for me, but many did leave an impression. Perhaps an opportunity for a deeper overall impression is diluted by his ubiquitous prints and calendars, but I’d still argue that his subjects are still more meaningful to him than his paycheque. As a photographer, I attempt to capture the inspiring drama of the Newfoundland landscape. Those
who have tightly gripped the safety chain along the Signal Hill trail might know what is meaningful to me. Ninety-nine per cent of my pictures are just snaps, but sometimes with the right light and composition I succeed. That happens when viewers of my prints get a feeling of how blessed we are to live in this beautiful country of pounding ocean and death-drops. Noreen asks us to appreciate more than the obvious and the banal. She might ask what could be more obvious to Newfoundlanders than our landscapes, or perhaps our kitchens. Andrew Collins, St. John’s
And we shall hear, tho’ soft you tread above us, and all our dreams will warm and Progressive be. If you ne’er open up and show that you still love us, we’ll go sleep in peace till Stevie beckons thee. So come you back as Gerry starts to ready, sit right here and watch him leave it be. He’ll go forth in sunshine and in shadow, for Danny boy he does love you so. Oh Danny boy the votes, the votes are calling, open up and legislate alone with we. Bill Westcott, Clarke’s Beach
Should Quebec have tolls on its bridges? Editor’s note: the following letter was sent to Premier Danny Williams, with a copy forwarded to The Independent. Dear premier, The Federal Bridge Corporation is responsible for bridges owned and operated by the federal government. Upon review, there are only three that I can see that are wholly within a province and not connecting to the U.S. or other provinces. That province is Quebec. Since they are a form of social benefits do you not think that that form of support should be included in the calculations of transfer or equalization payments? One of the bridges was built in 1930 and the other two not too much later. Since the present value of the construction and net maintenance costs would greatly exceed the total equalization payments that Quebec receives do you not think either or both should have some form of tolls that pay for maintenance? A knowledgeable senior member of the separatist party feels that many Quebecers believe tolls are appropriate, which I feel is a reasonable option. Marv Jason, Ottawa
Premier Danny Williams
Paul Daly/The Independent
Word getting out about Newfoundland and Labrador Editor’s note: the following letter was sent to Premier Danny Williams, with a copy forwarded to The Independent. Dear premier, Amidst the confusion of a hastily arranged press conference in Ottawa to announce the signing of a new offshore accord for Nova
Scotia that seemingly does not even yet exist on paper (nor whose terms are able to be reviewed by independent economists), I have neglected to pass on my sincere congratulations for your recent resounding election win. Equally impressive, however, is the feature article in The Economist that discusses the recent turn-
around of the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador under your leadership. Now, the fact that Newfoundland and Labrador is “open for business” will be transmitted to the intelligent investor from cities around the world Although it was not actually about Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, if you actually had the
misfortune, like I did, of reading the misinformation in a National Post piece headlined Re-electing a clown, you should take solace in the fact the province of Newfoundland and Labrador will turn a profit before the National Post ever does. Rob Miller, Halifax, N.S.
Premier should assemble expert panel to tackle fishery Dear editor, On Oct. 14 The Telegram published an opinion piece written by federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn headlined, Getting things done for Canadian fisheries at NAFO. The article was shocking and unbelievable, but if its description is correct of how NAFO operates and what grasp the
federal minister has on Newfoundland’s fishery it must serve to us as a gun going off! The collective solutions and management put in place by the federal government and their associates — DFO and NAFO — to solve the fishery woes is now the biggest part of the problem. This is an important and
opportune time to expose their rampant carelessness and fraudulent behaviour. I appeal to Danny Williams, as our leader, that this is the right time to initiate a funded fishery panel of experts — unbiased in position or politics. Their first duty would be to identify all the collective problems in the fish-
7e love celebrations too.
ing industry. This panel would then, on an on-going basis, be responsible for making recommendations, based on real information from fisher people, scientists, and others, and report to government and other managing teams. It is my belief and dream — regardless of the complexity and immensity
of the problem — that our northern cod stocks can recover if given a chance, but this can’t happen if illegal fishing by 22 nations on the nose and tail of the Grand Banks is allowed to continue. Phil Earle, Carbonear
OCTOBER 26, 2007
10 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
OCTOBER 26, 2007
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 11
IN CAMERA
Baby love Tracey Murphy and her son Alexander say hello to the class.
Teacher Leanne Hibbs looks on.
Alexander is stimulated with a colourful and noisy toy.
Alexander gets tired and fussy.
Roots of Empathy, an internationally recognized program started by Newfoundlander Mary Gordon, teaches kids compassion — and to say no to bullying. Photographer Nicholas Langor and reporter Mandy Cook took in one of the sessions at St. Teresa’s School in St. John’s.
Smiles for mom.
F
ive-month-old Alexander Murphy is too young to be a student, but on a beautiful sunny October day at St. Teresa’s school in St. John’s, he is a guest teacher to a class of enraptured Grade 4 school children. As participants of Roots of Empathy, a classroom program that teaches kids that essential human trait, Alexander’s mom Tracey holds her son at eye level to the children. As they sing in unison, “Hello Alexander. How are you?” the baby makes eye
contact around the circle with each child — some of them waving, some of them touching and all of them smiling. The brainchild of Newfoundlander Mary Gordon, Roots of Empathy has programs operating in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and beyond. Programs are currently being piloted as far away as New Zealand and Australia. The impetus behind the program is to explicitly link a child’s heart to their mind, and nurture them into kind and compas-
sionate human beings. As the welcome song winds down, the kids sit down on the floor, circling a bright green mat. Instructor Betty Lou Kennedy starts discussing this month’s topic (Alex will visit once a month for nine months to demonstrate his growth and changes): why babies cry. She asks Tracey what she does when little Alexander cries. “We go through the list — is he hungry? Does his diaper need changing? Is he bored? He cries the most when he’s hungry, though,” she says, bounc-
ing bright-eyed Alexander on her knee. The children offer helpful advice, too. Several of them suggest showing Alexander a toy and Kennedy asks for a volunteer. All hands shoot up. When the baby starts to fuss, student Emma helps out by quickly squeezing the toy to make an interesting crinkly noise, distracting the baby from his cries. “Emma has a baby in her house,” explains her friend, while Kennedy points out to the rest of the children how Emma has helped soothe
Alexander without shaking him — another important lesson. Last year, Roots of Empathy was practised in 38 classrooms and reached 950 students in Newfoundland and Labrador. This year, there are 52 programs in 31 schools, from the Avalon Peninsula to Nain, Labrador. Co-ordinators Hazel Clarke and Frances Cole say volunteers are clamouring to become involved and they are “only limited by funding.” Roots of Empathy credits the suc-
cess of teaching “emotional literacy” to children on the focus of the emotional bond between mother and baby and the baby’s first year of critical development — a magical time, making babies the perfect learning tool Children involved in the program exhibit increased emotional and social understanding and decreased aggression — particularly the type of aggression associated with bullying. However, the program’s aim is to reach children before their behaviour can become violent.
“This is not a program that targets the bully,” Cole says. “It teaches all children to be caring and inclusive. It also teaches children it’s just not enough to not be a bully yourself. You need to come to the aid of others. You have to stand up and be counted and try to diffuse situations.” After the 30 minutes are up, the children present Alexander and his mom colourful drawings with his name on them and a cassette tape of music they’ve compiled. After discussing bedtime songs, it is decided
that the French immersion class will make a tape of French songs for his next visit in a month’s time. This month, the children learned Alexander could roll over on to his stomach from his back, and are eager to find out what he will do next. By the looks of the excited class, his visit has left a positive impression. “He helps us understand other people’s feelings,” eight-year-old Rebecca says. “If we learn about things now we’ll learn how to act as teenagers.”
OCTOBER 26, 2007
12 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
Piranhas for Breakfast St. John’s native Nadya Bell writes about life in the Peruvian Amazon By Nadya Bell For The Independent
T
his morning, as the sun rose in the Amazon, the children crawled out from under their mosquito nets and began sweeping the dirt floor of the kitchen and yard, while a woman squatting in a hand-embroidered skirt did yesterday’s laundry in a bucket. The sun glowed low in the mist between the banana trees while Eba, 8, returned to the house with a plastic bag full of fresh orange-bellied piranha. She sat with her sister, 4, and cousin, 5, gutting the small fish with a chipped kitchen knife. As they grilled the fish over the family cooking fire, the girls looked
excited — breakfast for them is usually a watery flour porridge with sugar. I am nearing the end of my five months living in San Francisco, a native Shipibo community in the Peruvian Amazon. The village is quite literally off the map — google maps, that is. I arrived after travelling 24 hours by bus from Lima over the Andes to the frontier logging town Pucallpa, then an hourand-a-half by motorcycle carriage and collective taxi down dusty and dangerously muddy roads. The Shipibo are one of many original tribes that lived in relative isolation in the Amazon jungle for several thousand years, developing their own language, clothing and distinctive culture. They
have brown skin and round faces that look as though they were shaped by centuries of genuine smiles. The children still learn their language, also called Shipibo, from their parents. The sounds have no similarities to any language outside the region, and when they speak you can hear the elemental growls, bloops and bird cries that were the inspiration for their unusual vowels and letter R. I can honestly say I ended up here on a whim. I met two people who were coming to Peru at a party in Ottawa — they had a mission, as they called it. My friends, Shinobi and J.D. were interested in studying the Shipibo traditional spiritual practice of taking a powerful plant
medicine Ayahuasca (pronounced as Wass-ka by the shamans). They wanted help documenting their experiences and the knowledge of the shamans who administer the medicine in order to preserve the information for the world. As beautiful as the village and the Shipibo people are, their culture is going through the massive shock of heavy introduction to Latin American Culture and MTV. In the past two years, electricity was installed in the village, and now the yellow tailed parrots and other exotic birds are drowned out all day and most of the night by radios playing Latin American dance music. Many children spend their days
awestruck by the television in one of the two general stores. When their parents were that age they had never seen money. The environmental damage in the region is as obvious as the flatbed transport trucks that drive through town every night carrying illegally logged trees. Often one single trunk, six feet in diameter, will fill a whole truck. These trees come from further into the jungle as there is no virgin forest left anywhere in the area. I have yet to see one of these enormous trees alive. Much of the land between the village and town is taken up by cattle and horse farms, open and burning hot for all of the summer months I have been here.
Devonshire Executive: a new choice for travel W
ayne Grant enjoys his job as a chauffeur with Devonshire Executive. “I’ve been driving for 36 years and meeting new people and showing them around never gets tiring,” he claims. The people Grant has been driving around lately have been showering him with compliments. “The response I get when I show up has been fantastic, just overwhelming,” he laughs. Of course, it helps that Grant picks clients up in a new Chrysler 300. He admits the sleek and comfortable ride certainly has something to do with the overall experience. The positive feedback from those using the
new chauffeur service offered by Devonshire Executive is welcome, but certainly not unexpected, according to Paul Langan. “This is the best way to travel in this city,” says Langan, who only recently began offering the already popular service. Before he started Devonshire Executive, the only options for residents and visitors were taxi or limousine services. Both fill a need, Langan acknowledges, but there was room for an alternative. “We filled that space, and if the response so far is any indicator, then we certainly picked the right business to be in at the right time,” he says.
Langan moved to Newfoundland from England just over two years ago, and says coming here was a dream 15 years in the making. “I wasn’t born here, but I fell in love instantly,” he says, adding that living in St. John’s offers all the advantages of any urban centre wrapped up in the beauty of a national park. Langan says being a newcomer to Newfoundland and Labrador made his choice for a business easy. “I think I was able to notice what was missing more than someone who has been here and has just come to accept things for how they are,” he says. Langan put his business plan in motion almost immediately. Devonshire Executive offers their services for $60 an hour. Compared to the hundreds it can cost to rent a limo in the city, he says the savings should be warmly received by the business traveller. There are also executive tours, or rural scenic routes for those with more time to spare. “If you have three hours to spend, then we can design a tour that suits what you want to get out of a visit here,” he says. Grant claims clients first respond to the vehicle — which he never takes personally, he jokes. “It just is a classy way to present ourselves,” he says about the combination of luxury car and a driver skilled at providing all the extras.
“I look after our clients, everything from opening the doors and helping with luggage to providing newspapers and locally bottled water.” Grant is also well versed in the history of the city and surrounding areas and can help those new to the city decide what they’d like to experience on their visit. Langan says he is most proud that word of mouth has helped promote Devonshire Executive. “We have been getting calls from travel agents and businesses and hotels — just saying that they heard about us from someone we provided our services to,” he says. “Now that speaks volumes.” For Langan, just knowing his vision has become such a successful reality is a thrill — yet he understands there is more work to do. “I want everyone to realize that there’s a new choice for travel,” he says. “Devonshire Executive would be honoured to help expose you to what we have to offer here in Newfoundland.” For more information on Devonshire Executive, visit devonshireexecutive.com. For reservations, call (709) 757-7384 or (866) 840-4380 or email reservations@devonshireexecutive.com pamelamichpardy@yahoo.com
OCTOBER 26, 2007
INDEPENDENTNEWS • 13
YOUR VOICE Afghan mission must have human rights basis
Photos Nadya Bell
The several feet of water and wind erosion to either side of the road tell the future story here — the jungle is drying up and blowing away. Some weeks the only white woman I see is my own dusty face in the collective taxi’s rear window. It requires constant strength to travel as a foreigner, or “gringo” in Spanish slang. After being mugged in Lima the first week, I carry a large combat knife with me whenever I am alone, especially when grocery shopping in Pucallpa. People constantly whistle, hiss or yell nonsense English words when I walk in the large town, but now that I have learned a passing fluency in Spanish I find the people easier to han-
dle. To learn the language I went to the Grade 7 class in the village that is taught in Spanish for two weeks with one of my Shipibo sisters, Rebbecca. The school is very military and religious, with full uniforms, morning drills and dust-filled classrooms. Coming here after living in Newfoundland for most of my life, I was eagerly excited to taste the fish, but sadly the river has been heavily over-fished and contaminated with city waste. The villagers used to drink the water and feast from the river, but today I have not seen them catch anything longer than 10-inches from it. Aside from the dinosaur-like bottom feeders, the other fish taste mostly like
Paul Langan and Wayne Grant of Devonshire Executive.
Breathe through a straw for 60 seconds. That’s what breathing is like with cystic fibrosis. No wonder so many people with CF stop breathing in their early 30s.
Please help us.
1-800-378-CCFF • www.cysticfibrosis.ca
goldfish and their meat is grey, muddy and full of parasites. This is a beautiful and sad place. The bag of piranhas the girls ate for breakfast this morning could have cost hundreds of dollars to buy at a pet store in Canada, but they are sold for two sol or 60 cents a pound here. The mangoes sell four for 30 cents. The Ucayali region of Peru that I live in is expecting another indefinite general strike to begin next Monday. That means all car and river transport in the region will be impossible because of armed strikers. We have not decided whether we will wait the strike out or travel back to Lima early. Either way, we have plenty of mangoes to eat.
Nicholas Langor/The Independent
Dear editor, Earlier this month, the Canadian government established an independent advisory panel on the Afghan mission. In response, the Newfoundland-Labrador Human Rights Association has submitted a brief containing a number of objective human rights criteria for determining Canada’s future participation in Afghanistan. The association believes it is important that there be a human rights basis for Canada’s participation in all foreign interventions. Government and the people of Canada must agree to these objective standards. Interventions must therefore include a plan of action to implement the human rights standards with identifiable benchmarks based on local realities and input. Canada’s presence will then be tied to achieving these goals. This is not unrealistic. Whenever there is a foreign intervention such plans of action are regularly developed and implemented. However, they are usually only for such activities as economic development, creating revenue for the national government or creating a national army, rather than compliance
with human rights standards. There must be agreement by all local parties and the intervening states that the intervention is to promote human rights standards as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Conventions, and other relevant agreements. The intervention should be under a United Nations mandate and should involve participation by regional authorities such as the African Union or the Organization of American States. Where there is no such regional organization, there should be participation by forces of states that share cultural and social values similar to the area where the intervention takes place. The intervention should take a multifaceted approach — military, humanitarian relief, community development and reconstruction. The intervention must be carried out from the beginning with equally weighted and appropriately resourced local partners. This must apply to such areas as equipment, remuneration, medical care and other support services. Jerry Vink, Newfoundland-Labrador Human Rights Association
OCTOBER 26, 2007
14 • INDEPENDENTNEWS
‘Get ready for a long sleep’ I
thought the mood of politics in the wake of the PC landslide was best defined by Honourable Tom Rideout, the deputy premier, when he announced there would be no meeting of the legislature this fall. Some reports said it would reopen next spring, but what I heard him say was it would sit again “some time in the new year.” Why would there be no fall sitting? He had various reasons, one being the difficulty of putting together a throne speech; another being the lengthy process of putting together a cabinet. And there was nothing urgent to deal with anyway. These evasions evoked hardly a whiff of protest from politicians, apart from a mild comment by NDP Leader Lorraine Michael. In a few remarks made by Yvonne Jones of the Liberals, shutting the legislature was mentioned as an afterthought. Otherwise — pretty well a stunned silence. I’m not a regular listener to the Open Line shows, although I try to catch as much as I can of Bill Rowe on VOCM. Kevin Noble, one of the regular PC partisan callers, phoned in to say that most of the work of MHAs is done, in any case, outside the legislature, in the dis-
PATRICK O’FLAHERTY A Skeptic’s Diary tricts. I suppose he meant helping people, getting roads built, etc. He wasn’t alarmed about the legislature being closed. It was fine with him. The near annihilation of the opposition on Oct. 9 gives the PCs “overwhelming power” on the provincial scene, as John Crosbie said election night on NTV. We have ahead of us four years at least, and likely four more after that, of one-party dominance. Get ready for a long sleep. Less controversy and criticism, brief and infrequent sessions of the Assembly, abrupt decisions of the kind announced by Rideout — this is what we can expect. We’ve had periods like that before. It’s doubtful practice to give any party — Liberals, PCs, whatever — almost total control of the province’s affairs. But that’s what voters have done. And to Noble I say: the chief responsibility of elected MHAs is not to busy
themselves with the needs of constituents — getting Tom a job, Dick a wharf and Harry a horse. That’s a minor part of their work, any cat’s ass can do it; and in Newfoundland there’s too much babying of the electorate anyway. MHAs are legislators above all else. They are to overlook, amend and frame the laws of the province. That is done through inquiry first, and then debate in the Assembly. ••• One notable feature of the election was the Liberals’ inability to get a candidate in Placentia-St. Mary’s. It was not so long ago that a Liberal nomination in the district would have been fiercely contested. I recall from my own experiences the prolonged rivalry that existed between two leading Placentia Liberals — Bill Hogan and Anthony Sparrow, and others were in the wings looking for their chance to be a candidate. And now — no one came forward. Amazing! What happened? The failure to name a candidate there must have had an effect on Liberal chances all over. People could be forgiven for thinking that if they couldn’t get someone to stand in Placentia they must
be either incompetent or defunct. Another district that stands out is Bonavista South where the Liberal, Clayton Hobbs, dropped out for medical reasons and handed the seat to Roger Fitzgerald by acclamation. Again, this signaled that the Liberals were on the road to certain defeat. I don’t know what problem Hobbs had. But it seems to me that anyone who has a medical condition potentially so severe that it might compel him or her to withdraw at the last minute shouldn’t be in the game in the first place. For that matter, if someone is so anxious about a relative’s health that a worsening in the condition of the relative, or even the death of the relative, might cause a withdrawal, then that should also forbid an entry into politics. Politics is too serious a matter to be subject to such considerations. Hobbs’ action deprived the people of Bonavista South of their right to vote. In a similar case, Vince Withers’ withdrawal from the last mayoralty race in St. John’s effectively handed the victory to Andy Wells whom many, perhaps a majority, were in a mood to boot out of office.
••• Gerry Reid’s loss in the Isles of Notre Dame was a bitter blow to the Liberals. It is hard to tell from this distance what went on in that district during the campaign. I heard that the premier spent an inordinate amount of time there in a determined effort to defeat Reid, but I suspect the reports were exaggerated. I don’t see Williams stooping to such a tactic. Reid is an able and articulate man and I hope he stays in politics. People who say he was “negative” and “always critical” in his speeches don’t understand our parliamentary system. The mandate of the Leader of the Opposition is to oppose and criticize government policies. As for the voters in his district, they turned their backs on a fine representative, no doubt following the usual grubby rule, “to get on the government side.” The irony is they’d probably have done better, in terms of getting paved roads, bridges, horses, etc., if they’d stayed with the good man they had. Patrick O’Flaherty is a writer in St. John’s.
AROUND THE WORLD It is not only in Ireland, it is also in the colonial dependencies of this mighty empire, that Popery has begun to operate in a manner the most alarming. We have already seen a rebellion in Lower Canada, which is doubtless in a great measure to be traced to the influence of Popery which is there established. More recently we find, that in Newfoundland the Popish hierarchy are taking advantage of the present disposition of the O’Connell Government, and are doing all that in them lies to foment discontent, disorder, and ultimate rebellion. — The Star and Conception Bay Journal, Carbonear, Nov. 7, 1838 AROUND THE BAY A narrow escape from another fire at Harbour Grace, was experienced there on Wednesday evening last. About 7 o’clock, a fire was discovered in the garret of Mr. Pike’s house, but by the timely discovery and the active play of the engines, it was fortunately got under. It is strongly suspected to have been the act of an incendiary, for whose apprehension measures had been adopted. — The Star and Newfoundland Advocate, St. John’s, Oct. 17, 1844 YEARS PAST A correspondent asks us to explain the meaning of Mr. Claude Fraser’s advertisement which says “no animals or birds FERAE NATURAE can be pursued, killed or taken” without the permission of one of our English “Bailiffs.” Our Latin is not reliable but a graduate of Memorial College tells us it means that birds must be killed with their feathers on, a bear must not be pursued with his coat on, and no rabbit can be taken unless it is skinned. — The Newfoundlander, St. John’s, Oct. 27, 1934 EDITORIAL STAND Back in the dark ages before the Christian era, Hallowe’en was kept as an important
The Evening Chronicle, September 11, 1909
festival, a night of all the witches, when evil spirits were said to be abroad. So firm a hold had the keeping of this festival on a pagan people that those who sought to spread Christianity felt it wiser not to abolish the festival altogether, but to change it from being a night of witchcraft and evil doings, and establish it as a Christian festival, the Eve of All Saints. — Springdale News, Nov. 1, 1965 LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Sir — What I wish to do is to corroborate the letter of Watchman. His point is truly a vital one, and one that must be grappled with. Certain it is that at the present time we salt and cure too much of our Cod fish, and the result is that we are at the mercy of every reverse or fluctuation that may arise. If we could relieve this entire salt-curing process by a system of cold storage, such as Watchman suggests, then we at once establish a safer
financial footing than we can otherwise expect. If one fifth of our shore fish were disposed of as “fresh,” then we could not be confronted every now and then with the news that “the markets are congested.” For my part I believe that a vast change is one day to be adopted in the shipping and entire marketing of our great staple. Whether it be far or near I say not here, but a newer and better process is in store for our splendid food – Cod fish. Signed, L. C. Morris — The Enterprise, Trinity, Nov. 20, 1909 QUOTE OF THE WEEK “That is a good question. Right now, apparently, Peter is a Liberal, bent on bringing back the scalp of the Tory Solicitor General.” – Harold Horwood responding to a Memorial University student’s question of “Who is Peter Cashin?” — The Examiner, St. John’s, Oct. 22, 1960
INDEPENDENTBUSINESS
FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 1, 2007 — PAGE 15
Corner Brook paper mill.
Paul Daly/The Independent
Paper cuts Corner Brook mill workers fear second paper machine shutdown; calls for diversification By Mandy Cook The Independent
T
he president of the union representing mill workers in Corner Brook is trying to cope with the idling of the No. 1 paper machine, while fearing the same fate for a second machine. Bruce Randall, president of Local 242 of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers’ Union, says a second machine could be next on the chopping block for Kruger Inc., the Montreal-based parent company of the west coast mill.
That’s despite the amount of paper product he knows the pulp and paper giant needs to deliver. The No. 1 machine was the smallest of four at the Corner Brook operation, producing an estimated 80,000 tons of newsprint a year. “Yes, I’m worried about the No. 4 paper machine,” Randall says. “But to be realistic, you would believe Kruger as a business would drop one machine and then do an analysis in the long term to see if that’s feasible to keep three machines going … they do have orders they have to fill, and at the end of the day they wouldn’t want
to shut down a paper machine and then realize that they could’ve kept that machine operating and now the customers are gone.” Kruger Inc. cited the high Canadian dollar in its decision to indefinitely idle the Corner Brook machine. Natural Resources Minister Kathy Dunderdale told reporters earlier this week that Kruger officials recently raised the “very real potential” of closing two of Corner Brook’s four machines. In July, Kruger shut down one of the Corner Brook Pulp and Paper machines for two weeks,
again citing currency exchange problems. The company also temporarily closed its mill in TroisRivières, Que. In a statement this week, an official for Kruger said the Corner Brook mill remains an “important asset” for Kruger. Dunderdale says the province was able to convince Kruger to shut down just one machine, due primarily to a $30 million industry investment. Besides financial assistance in silviculture or tree replanting, cash was directed towards infrastructure, access roads and tax relief. Dunderdale
says the province’s support of the company should pay off in the long run. “In light of it all, we asked them to go back and reconsider what they were doing . . . while there are business losses associated with running three machines, they’re prepared to absorb that in the short term in the hope that things will even out over the next year or so,” Dunderdale tells The Independent. The paper machine shutdown will result 83 job losses, including woods cutters and Deer Lake See “A whole,” page 19
Canadian sovereignty threatened on Grand Banks By Bill Rowat, Scott Parsons, Bob Applebaum and Earl Wiseman
I
magine European Union fisheries patrol boats boarding Canadian vessels in Canadian waters. Think it can’t happen? Read the proposed new NAFO convention that the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has just negotiated. Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn talked tough during the 2006 election of Canada establishing custodial management on the nose and tail of the Grand Banks outside Canada’s 200mile limit. However, the proposed new convention that Hearn and his team just negotiated makes no mention of custodial management outside 200 miles. What’s worse, it does the opposite. It opens up the possibility of foreign management and enforcement in Canadian waters. What went wrong in the negotiations? Why, when the government is talking tough on sovereignty in the north, has it quietly opened the door to ceding sovereignty in the East Coast fishery? Over the last few months the undersigned, retired DFO officials, have drawn public attention to international developments that threaten to undermine Canadian sovereignty and Canadian efforts for the conservation of fish stocks off the coast of Newfoundland. The developments referred
to emerged from international negotiations between Canada and other countries to revise the international convention which, 30 years ago, established the Northwest Atlantic
Fisheries Organization (NAFO) to try to control foreign fisheries outside the newly-established Canadian 200mile zone. The foreign fisheries have, over the
ensuing years, depleted most of the trans-boundary stocks fished by Canadian fishermen inside 200 miles. Canadian proposals to reform the NAFO convention, to strengthen it
against foreign overfishing outside 200 miles, have been under discussion in NAFO for many years. These discussions culminated in full negotiations to revise the convention, against the backdrop of the promise by Hearn, when running for election, to establish Canadian custodial management outside 200 miles. Unfortunately, the opening of the negotiations was seen by the EU as an opportunity to weaken the convention in order to further its own interests. At the September meeting of NAFO in Lisbon, which adopted a proposed new convention subject to the approval of the NAFO-member governments, the EU succeeded. This proposed new convention — if allowed by the Canadian government to come into force — will be a major setback for Canada in terms of protecting Canadian sovereignty and pursuing conservation in the northwest Atlantic. Since October 2006 and in the period leading up to the NAFO meeting, we had done our best to inform the Canadian Senate, Hearn himself, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the public at large, about the main problems for Canada that had been exposed in the drafts of the convention. One was the provision in the draft See “A step,” page 20
16 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS
OCTOBER 26, 2007
Opportunities Personnel Policy Analyst
(Permanent) Human Resources Policy and Planning Division, Public Service Secretariat, Executive Council, Confederation Building, St. John’s DUTIES: This position is accountable for researching, developing, recommending and / or evaluating human resource management policies and terms and conditions of employment in the public service. The Personnel Policy Analyst provides advice to and consults with central agencies, departments, crown agencies and other external organizations on human resource management issues related to the interpretation and administration of human resource policies. The Analyst does extensive research on policy issues and monitors emerging HR management issues and trends provincially, nationally and internationally on an ongoing basis. The Analyst serves as the Secretariat representative on internal government committees dealing with a variety of human resource policy issues. The Analyst leads information and training sessions with a particular emphasis on the Harassment and Discrimination-Free Workplace Policy. The position requires extensive writing to prepare briefing notes, Treasury Board Comments, Treasury Board Submissions and Cabinet Submissions on policy-related items. QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates must possess exceptional research and analytical skills as evidenced by the capacity to view complex issues from operational, management and strategic perspectives. A sound knowledge of government=s existing human resource structures, policies, systems and programs is also required. Candidates must also possess strong oral communication, writing and consultation skills and be able to work on diverse priorities simultaneously and under tight time lines. The ability to work independently as well as in a team environment is also necessary. Candidates must be proficient in the standard computer software programs used within government for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. The ideal candidate will possess a degree with a specialization in human resources and have a minimum two years of relevant work experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Prior experience in policy development and interpretation is highly desirable. SALARY: Under Review COMPETITION #: EXEC.PSS.C.PPA(p).07/08.115-P CLOSING DATE: November 7th, 2007 Applications, quoting Competition No., should be submitted to: Mail:
Fax: E-Mail:
Recruitment Centre Public Service Commission 4th Floor, West Block Confederation Building P. O. Box 8700 St. John’s, NL A1B 4J6 (709) 729-6737 pscecresumes@gov.nl.ca
Applications should be received before the close of business on the closing date - late applications with explanation may be considered. This position is open to both male and female. For additional information on this position, please call 729-7350. October 18, 2007
Manager, Child, Youth and Family Services Department of Health and Community Services
(Temporary)
The Department invites applications for a:
Location: Department of Justice, Supreme Court, Estates Office, Steers Cove, St. John’s
Manager, Child, Youth and Family Services Temporary until March 31, 2008 with possible extension (Secondment may be considered) This position is located with the Children and Youth Services Division which is located on third floor of the Confederation Building, West Block, St. John’s, NL. DUTIES: This is a highly accountable, independent, professional and supervisory position responsible for management and leadership functions with respect to the provision of legislated programming and services, in accordance with the Child, Youth and Family Services Act (CYFS Act). This position provides input into defining and addressing strategic and operational issues in the Child, Youth and Family Services Program. The incumbent will provide support to the Director of Children and Youth Services, in achieving the five legislated accountabilities mandated by the CYFS Act. The incumbent will also lead a team of professionals in the development of policies, standards and programs; analyze proposed policies and programs to ensure congruence with the CYFS legislation; lead processes to ensure effective program monitoring and evaluation, as per legislated requirements; represent the Department on a variety of initiatives relating to servicedelivery improvement, with a view to improving outcomes for children, youth and families. QUALIFICATIONS: The position requires thorough knowledge of Child, Youth and Family Programs, including relevant legislation. The position also requires knowledge of the Newfoundland and Labrador Health and Community Services System at both the planning and operational levels. Strong oral and written communication, analytical and organizational skills are essential, as are leadership and supervisory skills. The ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships in a team context is crucial. The required knowledge and skills for this position would normally be acquired through a Master’s Degree in Social Work, combined with progressively responsible experience in Child, Youth and Family Programs. Registration with the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers is required. THE DEPARTMENT: The Department of Health and Community Services provides a leadership role in health and community services program and policy development for the province. This involves working in partnership with a number of key stakeholders, including Regional Integrated Health Authorities, community organizations, professional associations, unions, consumers and other government departments. Employees of the Department are eligible for enrolment in the group health and insurance plans, as well as the provincial government pension plan. The Department is proud to offer employees a scent-free work environment and the opportunity to request flexible work schedules. SALARY: HL24 ($60,225 - $78,292) COMPETITION #: H.C.M(t).07.08.209-P CLOSING DATE: November 5th, 2007
Fax: E-Mail:
Recruitment Centre Public Service Commission 4th Floor, West Block Confederation Building P.O. Box 8700 St. John’s, NL A1B 4J6 (709) 729-6737 pscsocialresumes@gov.nl.ca
For additional information on this position, please call (709) 729-3067 Temporary until March 31st, 2008 Tax Policy Division, Confederation Building, St. John’s DUTIES: The incumbent will be responsible for: conducting fiscal and economic policy research and analysis for the province; planning, organizing and participating in research and analytical projects, economic development initiatives and development of provincial programs and policies; conducting financial and economic analysis to assess the impact of the above on businesses, the provincial economy and upon the provincial and federal treasuries; and providing support and advice to the Tax Policy Division of the department, on impacts of fiscal and taxation proposals. The incumbent will also represent the province on, or accompany senior management to committee meetings and senior government meetings to explain recommendations and provide interpretation of results of research and analysis. For additional information on the Department of Finance, please visit our web site @ www.fin.gov.nl.ca/fin/. QUALIFICATIONS: This is an advanced and responsible professional position encompassing a broad range of duties and responsibilities requiring proven analytical and problem solving ability. Knowledge of fiscal policy, tax legislation and related issues are required, and knowledge of project management and computer based financial modelling techniques would be considered assets. Candidates must be able to take initiative, work independently, stay current in their responsibility area, and have exceptional analytical and communication skills. S/he must also be able to establish and maintain effective working relationships. The required skills and abilities would normally be acquired thorough progressive levels of academic study and work experience, including an undergraduate degree, preferably in the field of economics, business, statistics or political science. A graduate degree or professional accounting designation would be considered an asset. An equivalent combination of education and experience may also be considered. SALARY: $50,577.80 - $56,583.80 (GS-40) COMPETITION #: FIN.C.FPO(t).07/08.097-P CLOSING DATE: November 7th, 2007 Applications, quoting Competition No., should be submitted to: Mail:
Fax: E-Mail:
Recruitment Centre Public Service Commission 4th Floor, West Block Confederation Building P. O. Box 8700 St. John’s, NL A1B 4J6 (709) 729-6737 pscecresumes@gov.nl.ca
Applications should be received before the close of business on the closing date - late applications with explanation may be considered. This position is open to both male and female. For additional information on this position, please call (709) 729-2983. October 19, 2007
DUTIES: Administers the estates of deceased persons, mentally disabled and minors. Reviews the petition to court, letters of probate, letters of administration as well as inventory filed and takes immediate action to protect assets. Prepares and publishes statutory notices. Collects all funds and inventories all assets of the estate. Pays all outstanding accounts against the estate. Arranges for investment of estate funds. Arranges for inspection of all estate properties, ensures adequate insurance protection and proper maintenance. Arranges for sale of real estate and chattels were necessary. Ensures all benefits due to the estate are applied for and received. Prepares and forwards income tax returns, estate tax returns and requests income tax clearance certificates. Calculates and charges fees. Prepares proposal of final distribution to all beneficiaries, obtains proper releases and distributes in accordance with the Will, or Intestate Succession Act. Deals with beneficiaries, lawyers, claimants, creditors and answers all correspondence and enquires throughout the estate administration. Attends court. Reviews monthly bank reconciliations and reports. Acts as a signing officer for the office. QUALIFICATIONS: Knowledge and experience with estate/ trust administration including the Intestate Succession Act, Trustee Act, Mentally Disabled Persons Estates Act, Adoption of Children Act. Experience in the preparation of tax returns; Good verbal, organizational and analytical skills supported by sound judgement; strong communication skills are essential to this position. The successful candidate must be a decision maker and team player who can establish and maintain effective work relationships in the estates office and with other court employees, clients etc. These qualifications are normally acquired through at least 5 years of experience in administration of estates; graduation from a university or college with major course work in business or an equivalent combination of experience and training. Successful candidate shall be required to take the Banker’s Institute courses in Trust Administration. Candidates must clearly demonstrate in their resume that they meet all of the above qualifications. Failure to do so may result in a candidate being screened out. Positions within the Department of Justice are considered “Positions of Trust” and as such successful candidates will be subject to a background check through police/court banks and other sources. SALARY:
$32,905.60 – $36,418.20 per annum (GS 27) COMPETITION #: J.C.EOII(t).07.121 - P CLOSING DATE: November 5, 2007 INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS: Applications should be forwarded to: Mail:
Applications, quoting competition number, should be forwarded via mail, fax or email: Mail:
Fiscal Policy Officer Ii
Estates Officer II
Applications must be received before the close of business on Nov 5th, 2007 – either by e-mail, mail or fax. Late applications with explanation may be considered. Candidates must clearly demonstrate in their applications that they meet the above qualifications; only those applicants who demonstrate such qualifications will be considered for further assessment. This position is open to both male & female.
Fax: E-mail:
Recruitment Centre Public Service Commission P. O. Box 8700, 4th Floor, West Block Confederation Building St. John’s, NL A1B 4J6 709-729-6737 pscjusticeresumes@gov.nl.ca
* This position is open to both male and female. * In order to ensure your application/resume is processed appropriately, the job competition number MUST be indicated. * Applications should be received before the close of business on the closing date, either by e-mail, postal mail or fax. (If faxing, DO NOT send a duplicate copy). Late applications with acceptable explanation may be considered. * For additional information on this position, call (709) 7294504 2007 10 24
Tender DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION INVITATION TO TENDER
Tender DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION INVITATION TO TENDER Tenders will be received up to the dates and times indicated below for the following projects: A/PROJECT # 400347006 – Roof replacement & repairs, Prince of Wales Collegiate, St. John’s, NL. PURCHASE PRICE: $22.80 CLOSING DATE: NOVEMBER 05, 2007 @ 3:00 PM B/PROJECT # 400349008 – Roof replacement & repairs, St. Andrews Elementary, St. John’s, NL. PURCHASE PRICE: $22.80 CLOSING DATE: NOVEMBER 06, 2007 @ 3:00 PM Upon receipt of the purchase price indicated above, (NON REFUNDABLE, HST INCLUDED) plans and specifications may be obtained from Tendering and Contracts, Ground Floor, East Block, Confederation Building, P.O. Box 8700, St. John’s, NL. A1B 4J6, Ph# 709-729-3786, Fax# 709-729-6729, and viewed at the offices of the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Association. Tenders addressed to the Deputy Minister of Transportation and Works must be delivered to Tendering and Contracts at the address above and be submitted on forms and in sealed envelopes provided, clearly marked as to the contents. Tenders will be opened immediately after the tender closing time. The Department does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender. Hon. Joan Burke Minister Dept. of Education
Tenders will be received up to the dates and times indicated below for the following projects: PROJECT # E050018 – Science laboratory equipment installation (fume hoods, drench showers & chemical cabinets), Western School District, NL. PURCHASE PRICE: $22.80 CLOSING DATE: NOVEMBER 07, 2007 @ 3:00 PM Upon receipt of the purchase price indicated above, (NON REFUNDABLE, HST INCLUDED) plans and specifications may be obtained from Tendering and Contracts, Ground Floor, East Block, Confederation Building, P.O. Box 8700, St. John’s, NL. A1B 4J6, Ph# 709-729-3786, Fax# 709-729-6729, and viewed at the offices of the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Association. Tenders addressed to the Deputy Minister of Transportation and Works must be delivered to Tendering and Contracts at the address above and be submitted on forms and in sealed envelopes provided, clearly marked as to the contents. Tenders will be opened immediately after the tender closing time. The Department does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender. Hon. Joan Burke Minister Dept. of Education
OCTOBER 26, 2007
INDEPENDENTBUSINESS • 17
Cash hasn’t put military at ease By James Travers Torstar wire service
H
ow much happiness does big money buy the military? A lot less than it hoped. Even after Liberal and Conservative cash injections, the forces are struggling to rebuild and renew while fighting a very different and difficult 21st century war. Equally worrying for the department, the consensus that led successive governments to boost spending to modern highs is cracking as other political priorities emerge. Senior government officials and academics confirm entrenched problems aren’t evaporating with a budget that will top $18 billion next year, some 27 per cent higher than before 9/11,
according to a report released this week. Conflicting visions and trouble balancing recruiting, procurement, logistics and combat readiness still plague a military that needed an international timeout even before the Afghanistan mission. This is complex stuff made refreshingly simple by Douglas Bland, author of Canada Without Armed Forces? and chair of the Queen’s University defence management studies program. “The shiniest new destroyer tied up to a dock is not a capability.” His point is that making the military an effective foreign policy tool demands more than buying modern “kit.” It also means, among other things, attracting and training more people willing and able to serve at a
time when higher numbers are leaving, and finding common ground between the Conservative Canada First platform plank and a future holding more missions to failed and failing states. Squaring that circle was a prime source of public tension between chief of defence staff Gen. Rick Hillier and Gordon O’Connor, the Conservative defence policy architect and the minister shuffled this summer after becoming a political liability. But instead of disappearing with O’Connor, the stress continues as the trickle-down implications of government purchases grow more obvious. Two multi-billion-dollar decisions stand out, both politically driven. Neither the giant C-17 heavy lift transport aircraft nor the so-called Arctic
slush breakers were top of the shopping list for Hillier’s modern expeditionary military. While each has operational uses — the planes are more multi-purpose than the ships – the common value that makes them more attractive to politicians than generals is that they wave the flag. If the cost-to-benefit ratio seems high to taxpayers, it’s stratospheric to an armed forces that knows these good times won’t roll much longer. Bland and insiders agree that the political and military communities are now exhausting most of the mutual benefits of rebuilding the armed forces. Or, as Bland puts it, politicians have fulfilled their defence promises and are anxious to move on. A new order is evolving, one that will
limit spending increases as well as the unusually large political space Hillier now fills. That’s subtly evident in defence headquarters staff changes that increase bureaucratic control and will eventually decrease the visibility of an institution that, in the jealous eyes of some here, has grown too bigs. Those signals are being sniffed carefully in a capital sensitive to the smallest wind shifts. But what’s far more important to Canada and to its ability to forcefully express its foreign policy is finding equilibrium between the attention-grabbing purchases politicians want and the operational spending flexibility the military needs. Instead of happiness, money only buys the military more chances to make tough choices.
Opportunities Tender
Tender
Legal Secretary
Tenders will be received up to the dates and times indicated below for the following projects:
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION & WORKS INVITATION TO TENDER
Three Positions - Various Locations Criminal Division, Department of Justice
A/PROJECT # 114-07PHC – Replacement of timber bridge with a 3650 mm span 2280 mm rise pipe arch at Norris Road, at R70-56 km 2.3, Red Head Cove, NL. PURCHASE PRICE: $22.80 CLOSING DATE: NOVEMBER 08, 2007 @ 12:00 NOON
Tenders will be received up to the dates and times indicated below for the following projects:
DUTIES: Acts as Secretary to Crown Attorneys. Performs specialized legal secretarial duties in support of solicitors engaged in complex work of a professional, technical and confidential nature. Prepares various legal forms and documents with considerable typing accuracy; researches and obtains specialized information from a variety of sources including law libraries and the Internet. Transcribes dictation through the use of recording and dictating equipment. Receives, screens or provides information in response to inquiries. Maintains hard copy and electronic filing systems and accesses related databases. Maintains appointment schedules. Liaises daily with clients, solicitors, witnesses and the general public. Performs other general administrative and secretarial work as required.
B/PROJECT # SNLS08122 – Snow clearing former Janeway Hospital site, Pleasantville, St. John’s, NL. SITE BRIEFING – OCTOBER 31, 2007 @ 10:00 AM. PURCHASE PRICE: $ N/A CLOSING DATE: NOVEMBER 07, 2007 @ 3:00 PM C/PROJECT # SNLS08123 – Snow clearing former Grace Residence site, Bennett Ave., St. John’s, NL. SITE BRIEFING – OCTOBER 31, 2007 @ 9:00 AM PURCHASE PRICE: $ N/A CLOSING DATE: NOVEMBER 07, 2007 @ 3:00 PM D/PROJECT # CLEA10202 – Cleaning services CONA, Clarenville Campus, Clarenville, NL. SPECIFICATIONS AVAILABLE AT THE SITE BRIEFING ONLY ON NOVEMBER 06, 2007 @ 10:30, CLARNVILLE CAMPUS MAIN OFFICE. PURCHASE PRICE: $ N/A CLOSING DATE: NOVEMBER 14, 2007 @ 3:00 PM Upon receipt of the purchase price indicated above, (NON REFUNDABLE, HST INCLUDED) plans and specifications may be obtained from Tendering and Contracts, Ground Floor, East Block, Confederation Building, P.O. Box 8700, St. John’s, NL. A1B 4J6, Ph# 709-729-3786, Fax# 709-729-6729, and viewed at the offices of the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Association. Tenders addressed to the Deputy Minister of Transportation and Works must be delivered to Tendering and Contracts at the address above and be submitted on forms and in sealed envelopes provided, clearly marked as to the contents. Tenders will be opened immediately after the tender closing time. The Department does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender. Hon. John Hickey Minister Transportation & Works
Support Applications Social Worker
Permanent Programs and Client Services, Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment Springdale, NL DUTIES: Provides assistance to clients who are experiencing difficulties obtaining financial support and/or custody and access as a result of family conflict and breakdown; accepts and evaluates referrals from Client Service Officers and/or Program Supervisors on behalf of clients who have potential for financial support; interviews clients to assess support potential; provides mediation services in the negotiation of private agreements between clients and the non-custodial parent’s ability to pay; provides mediation services in the negotiation of custody and access agreements; assesses adequacy of existing agreements/orders; assists with court applications, advises clients of application and court process; liaises with and appears in court to present evidence; makes referrals to appropriate community and support agencies; provides follow-up for clients of provisional orders obtained in other Provinces. QUALIFICATIONS: Knowledge of professional social work practises, counselling, mediation and assessment techniques and the court system; candidates must possess effective management, analytical and communication skills; the required knowledge and skills would normally have been acquired through completion of a Bachelor of Social Work Degree and progressively responsible related experience. Proof of registration with Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers must be attached to applications. The use of a private vehicle is a requirement of this position. SALARY: GS 39 ($ 49,012.60 - $ 54,836.60) COMPETITION #: HRLE.C.SASW(p).07.08.180-P CLOSING DATE: November 4, 2007 Applications, quoting specific competition number, should be forwarded via mail, fax or email: Mail:
Fax: E-Mail:
Manager, Corporate Services, Dept of Human Resources, Labour and Employment 42 Hardy Avenue P.O. Box 559 Grand Falls-Windsor, NL A2A 2J9 (709) 292-4383 robertturner@gov.nl.ca
Applications must be received before the close of business on November 4, 2007 – either by e-mail, mail or fax. Late applications with explanation may be considered. Candidates must clearly demonstrate in their applications that they meet the above qualifications; only those applicants who demonstrate such qualifications will be considered for further assessment. For additional information on this position, please call (709) 292-4580.
A/PROJECT # 115-07PHO – Construction of shoulder rumble strips on the Trans Canada Highway between R2 Interchange and Thomas’ Pond, km 9.3 to km 20.6; Holyrood Interchange to Salmonier Line Interchange, km 43.1 to 52.1; Argentia Access Road and Goobies, km 87.5 to km 163.0; Glovertown Interchange to Gambo River bridge, km 275.5 to km 291.5; Gander towards Glenwood, km 334.5 to km 354.7; Sir Roberts Bond Bridge to Grand Falls-Windsor km 408.3 to km 423.9; Crooked Feeder Bridge to Sir Eric Hinton Bridge in Deer Lake, km 621.4 to km 639.1; Pinchgut Lake to Burgeo Road Intersection, km 703.3 to km 747.6; and east of River Brook Bridge towards North Branch Bridge, km 817 to km 835, NL. PURCHASE PRICE: $22.80 CLOSING DATE: NOVEMBER 13, 2007 @ 12:00 NOON B/PROJECT # 116-07PHR – Removal of retaining wall on R204-12-4 at Hodges Cove; widening of rock cuts on R20116-3 at Little Heart’s Ease; Upgrading R204-17 & R204-18 at Butter Cove; widening of rock cut on R204 at km 30.4 near the Wharf in Southport; and widening rock cut and turnaround construction on R231-16-1 at km 1.7 near the wharf in Hickman’s Harbour, NL. PURCHASE PRICE: $22.80 CLOSING DATE: NOVEMBER 13, 2007 @ 12:00 NOON C/PROJECT # 113-07PMQ – Two month rental of a front end loader to be stationed at the Department of Transportation and Works Depot at Renews. Rental for a two month period with an option for an additional month. Front end loader with front one way snow blade also including loader bucket; quick connect system required. CAT 938G model or equivalent size. Rental period will commence January 23, 2008. Operator not required. PURCHASE PRICE: $N/A CLOSING DATE: NOVEMBER 13, 2007 @ 12:00 NOON D/PROJECT # 430705001 – Siding, roofing & exterior repairs, Steel Mountain Forestry Garage, St. Georges, NL. PURCHASE PRICE: $22.80 CLOSING DATE: NOVEMBER 13, 2007 @ 12:00 NOON Upon receipt of the purchase price indicated above, (NON REFUNDABLE, HST INCLUDED) plans and specifications may be obtained from Tendering and Contracts, Ground Floor, East Block, Confederation Building, P.O. Box 8700, St. John’s, NL, A1B 4J6, Ph# 709-729-3786, Fax # 709-729-6729, and viewed at the offices of the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Association. Tenders addressed to the Deputy Minister of Transportation and Works must be delivered to Tendering and Contracts at the address above and be submitted on forms and in sealed envelopes provided, clearly marked as to the contents. Tenders will be opened immediately after the tender closing time. The Department does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender. Hon. John Hickey Minister Transportation and Works
Request for Proposals The Department of Health and Community Services in conjunction with the Women’s Policy Office is requesting proposals from qualified agencies to develop a provincial public awareness campaign that will focus on the legislative duty to report child maltreatment, and the programs and services provided by Child, Youth and Family Services (CYFS). This will involve development of promotional materials and media campaign as well as a subsequent two year marketing plan. To obtain a copy of the detailed Request for Proposals please contact: Department of Health and Community Services at (709) 729-2888 Four (4) copies of the contractor’s proposal must be received at the Department of Health and Community Services no later than noon on Wednesday, November 14, 2007.
QUALIFICATIONS: Knowledge of the province’s legal sector; legal terminology and documentation; recording and dictating equipment; and general office practices is required. Candidates will possess advanced computer skills (particularly WordPerfect, MicroSoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). Candidates will be required to demonstrate strong organizational skills; verbal and written communication skills; and the ability to work independently. A high level of confidentiality, accuracy and self-motivation is essential. The above would normally have been acquired through extensive secretarial and administrative experience (preferably in a legal setting) and completion of an Office Administration or related program. Candidates must pass OPAC testing with minimum of 55 nwpm (net words per minute). Equivalencies may be considered. Candidates must clearly demonstrate in their résumé that they meet all of the above qualifications. Failure to do so may result in a candidate being screened out. Positions within the Department of Justice are considered “Positions of Trust” and as such successful candidates will be subject to a background check through police/court banks and other sources. SALARY: $31,722.60 – $35,089.60 (GS-26) COMPETITION #: J.C.LS(p).07.122 – Permanent (half-time), Corner Brook J.C.LS(p).07.123 – Permanent, Happy Valley – Goose Bay J.C.LS(p).07.124 – Permanent (half-time), Gander CLOSING DATE: November 9, 2007 INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS: Applications, quoting competition number, should be forwarded to: Mail:
Fax: E-mail:
Recruitment Centre Public Service Commission 4th Floor, West Block Confederation Building St. John’s, NL A1B 4J6 709-729-6737 pscjusticeresumes@gov.nl.ca
These competitions are open to both male and female applicants. In order to ensure your application/résumé is processed appropriately, the job competition number MUST be indicated. Applications should be received before the close of business on the closing date either by postal mail, fax or e-mail. (If faxing, DO NOT send a duplicate copy). Late applications with acceptable explanation may be considered. For additional information on this position, please call (709) 729-2868 A separate application must be submitted for each competition. 2007 10 24
18 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS
OCTOBER 26, 2007
Ten tips for haggling By Rita Zekas Torstar wire service
F
inance Minister Jim Flaherty has failed to wrestle retailers to the mat. His recent meeting with retail execs over the raging loonie got him nowhere fast. They refused to lower their prices to make Canadian goods fall in line with American products. So Flaherty advised Canadian consumers to suck it up and look for discounts. Well that just sucks. We’re going to haggle, and here’s how. 1. NEVER LET THEM SEE YOU SQUIRM. When my father once asked for a
deep discount for paying cash at Holt Renfrew for a winter coat for me, I turned crimson and rolled my eyes in excruciating embarrassment. He claimed I blew the deal. Offering to pay cash seldom works in department stores. It sometimes works during end-of-the-season final blowout sales at chain stores. Approach a manager type; they are the only ones authorized to make such transactions. 2. PICK YOUR BATTLES. I harangued the poor smoke shop owner up the street over the usurious price of The New York Times Sunday edition, which is printed in Toronto and costs $5 U.S. and $8.40 Canadian. He
bought it for the higher cost. I told him to stop buying it. It’s better to pick on the biggies, though some bookstores are selling their wares at the U.S. prices. 3. DON’T BE INSULTING. Be realistic about your offer. If the asking price is $15, don’t offer $3. And don’t denigrate the merchandise, saying it’s only worth $3. 4. DON’T BE ABRASIVE OR CONDESCENDING. Play nice. Asking, “What is your best price?” is a good opener. Have a sense of humour about it. If the seller is put off by your haggling, you can always say, “Hey, there’s no
harm in trying.” 5. DON’T HAGGLE JUST FOR THE SPORT OF IT. Haggle over something you want. I was chased all over the Rome flea market by an angry purveyor of fake Rolex watches because I got him down to a ridiculous price just for the exercise. 6. GO FOR QUANTITY. “How much if I buy two?” often greases the deal. You can always use a spare and it’s one less for the seller to flog. 7. RESIST URGE TO DAMAGE THE GOODS FOR A DISCOUNT. We’ve known hagglers to surrepti-
tiously dent items like lampshades and demand a discount because the goods were defective. 8. BE A GOOD WINNER. Don’t gloat within earshot of the seller because you scored such a deal. 9. DON’T TRY TO INTIMIDATE SELLER BY TELLING HIM YOU CAN GET IT CHEAPER ELSEWHERE. He’ll tell you to go elsewhere. 10. BE SURE TO HAVE SMALL BILLS. After you have gotten the seller down from $20 to $12.50, don’t peel off a roll of bills and ask if he can break a $50. That’s plain cheesy.
‘People expect Danny to do it’ From page 1 Grimes says Williams’ biggest challenge will be whether to take someone out of cabinet. No matter how it is spun, says Grimes, a removal will be seen as a demotion. Peckford says putting together the right cabinet is a tough job. An MHA’s ability trumps other qualities, he says, but geography, gender and political power also factor into ensuring a cabinet reflects the population. “It’s not an easy task. It is a very, very difficult task, and of course his task is very difficult indeed.” Grimes doesn’t agree. Under normal circumstances building a cabinet is problematic, he says, but the people of the province “trust so ultimately” in what Williams does that Grimes sees no real pressure. “He can do whatever he wants to do, and if he says why he did it to the people, that will be accepted. That’s the lay of the land in Newfoundland and Labrador,” says Grimes. Williams’ “recipe for success,” has been his strong control over his cabinet, he continues. No one expects there to be strong, independent standalone ministers in the Williams administration. “The ministers don’t really matter anyway, because there were no press releases coming out of any department unless they were vetted by the premier’s office.” With government cleaned up in his first term, and with plans in place for energy, the fishery,
Brian Peckford.
rural Newfoundland and other initiatives, Grimes says this is Williams’ action term. “And people expect Danny to do it. They don’t expect Trevor Taylor to do it. They don’t expect Kathy Dunderdale to do it.”
Paul Daly/The Independent
Peckford says the premier is going to have to weigh candidates not only by their paper qualifications, but on their political skills. The art of politics is above academic measurements, he says, and how a person communicates with the public,
the media and his or her ability to be a team player involves skills that may not be reflected in a resumé. In fact, Peckford suggests Williams may already have a good idea who to choose — one excellent way to get the measure of a candidate is to campaign with him or her. “You can sense right away whether they really have what it takes in the raw political sense, versus their capabilities in other areas,” he says. Both agree the time might be right for Williams to make his cabinet larger. Grimes says cabinet seats are a good way to show the government is serious about an initiative, perhaps making aboriginal affairs or seniors a separate portfolio. With Newfoundland and Labrador about to become a “have” province, Peckford says the pressures on government for the next four years are going to be “unbelievable.” (“One day the sun will shine and have not will be no more,” he says, laughing). Adding a few new cabinet seats might be a good idea. “I think the times might demand it.” But as Grimes says, “It’s Danny’s show, Danny is doing it. He’s doing it the way Newfoundlanders and Labradorians approve of at this point in time, and I think they voted for him for more of the same. “So carry on, my son.” The Independent contacted the premier for an interview. A spokeswoman for the premier says he will not be discussing the new cabinet. ivan.morgan@theindependent.ca
OCTOBER 26, 2007
INDEPENDENTBUSINESS • 19
Evaluating your housing options T here’s no doubt almost everyone has a positive view of this province’s financial future these days, particularly in light of new and exciting oil developments offshore. While the general view is this is a good thing, many people have already placed some of their own financial priorities on fast-forward, especially in the area of housing. They fear a prospective boom in the housing market will make the elusive dream of homeownership much more expensive and consequently less likely. However, jumping full throttle into getting a house now with fear as the chief motivator, is not necessarily a sound financial plan. In many circumstances, it has the potential to wreack financial havoc in the future. A sound, reasoned and practical assessment of your needs, ability to afford, and an evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of your choice are essential. If you’re currently renting, look hard at what’s both good and bad about the current arrangement. By renting, you have few, if any,
‘A wake up call’ From page 15 Power employees. Randall says his local will lose 25 positions, but hopes a meeting with the company and the provincial government will result in a satisfactory retirement package for 11 of them. He says employees will be laid off Nov. 5, and will receive six weeks pay in lieu of notice. They will then receive a maximum of three per cent of their overall earnings. Although Shawn Woodford, president of the Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade, says the area will rebound, he’s banking on new business opportunities instead of relying on the pulp and paper industry to keep the area alive. He points to the Centre for Environmental Excellence, a provincial centre that will hopefully attract research money by specializing in areas such as forestry and environmental tourism. “Through that research we hope to develop more into a commercial relation to create new employment opportunities,” Woodford says. “That linkage is very important. With a major blow like this, it certainly is a wake up call for the entire community to look at diversification. We can’t really sit back and think the mill is going to be there forever.” In 2005, Kruger competitor AbitibiConsolidated closed its Stephenville mill, throwing about 300 full-time and part-time employees out of work. More recently, Abitibi has been demanding concessions to keep its plant in Grand Falls-Windsor at regular production. mandy.cook@theindependent.ca
iPhone contest a failure
C
all it the fog of iPhone. Molson Canada has become a casualty of the hype swirling around Apple Inc.’s coveted iPhone and the hot topic of a Canadian launch date. The brewer promised to deliver an iPhone to one of the winners of a Molson Export “Twist and Score” contest that wraps up in early January, claiming on the contest’s website that the device will “only be available starting from January 2008 on the Rogers’ network.” That left some with the impression Molson and Rogers Wireless Inc. planned to launch the iPhone early in the new year. But while Rogers is widely expected to be the launch carrier for the iPhone in Canada because of its compatible GSM network, the country’s largest wireless carrier said yesterday that it doesn’t have any iPhone-related announcements to make yet. Rogers spokesperson Odette Coleman says the cable giant isn’t involved in any promotion with Molson or its marketing agency. “I don’t know where they got it from,” she says. “It’s not from us.” She adds that Rogers won’t launch the iPhone “inside a beer case.” Speculation about the iPhone’s arrival in Canada has been rampant since Apple launched the device in the United States in June to huge media fanfare. Apple says it sold 1.12 million iPhones in its first full quarter of sales, bringing the cumulative total to 1.39 million since the product’s debut on June 29. — Torstar wire service
AL ANTLE
Your Finances
maintenance and upkeep costs. Your financial commitment is limited, usually to the term of your lease, and if you decide to move out and move on, it’s a relatively uncomplicated process. But there are some down sides to consider too. Rented accommodations often don’t allow tenants to show off their artistic or decorating flare through remodelling. We’re also limited in the style, size and quantity of our household goods and, in many cases, landlords don’t allow pets in their rental units. We often can’t host parties and sometimes parking is an issue. And while we’re not bound to stay in one location forever, frequent moves can be expensive. There’s also the question of a rented house versus a rented apartment. The only real and measurable advantage of one over the other is the addi-
tional space a house provides. That said, a house also usually comes with higher utility costs. Home ownership, in terms of exactly what’s best to acquire, should be a consideration too. Do we purchase a new house or one that’s been previously owned? One completely positive aspect of either option is the fact capital gains — the net amount your property grows by between purchase and sale — is exempt from taxation if the house is your primary residence. A new house purchase allows you to avoid acquiring someone else’s problems. You feel a real sense of pride if you build yourself or hire a contractor, and you get exactly what you want. Quite importantly, you also have fairly well-regarded warranty for a number of years. New homes are also energy efficient and all the whistles, gadgets and technology can usually be built in, thereby limiting future costs for upgrades. On the negative side, you’ve now got a long-term financial commitment and chances are you’ll have additional living costs which were not there during your renting days — municipal
taxes, homeowner’s insurances, mortgage insurance and grounds maintenance to name a few. If you choose to acquire an existing property, you may or may not get a warranty depending upon the age of the house. On the up side, you’re likely moving into an established area and will be spared the din and roar of construction equipment daily. You might also be facing some serious costs with existing property if you choose to repair or renovate. These costs are often worse again if you’re forced to repair an older property. In either choice, your future mobility is limited. If you choose to move, maybe because you’ve bought into the mindset that after buying and selling five houses you’ll own the sixth, remember you’ll also part company with a significant amount of your equity by the payment of real estate and legal fees. Selling five houses for $100,000 each, for example, will cost you about $35,000 in associated fees unless you’ve got a very generous real estate agent and a favourite uncle (or aunt) who’s a cheap lawyer.
No matter what your decision, remember the place you call home will have to be maintained. It’s always a good idea to anticipate these costs will run about one per cent of the purchase price of the property each year. I’ve never been able to argue against the logic that by renting, we’re simply paying someone else’s mortgage. Just the same, we need to remember there’s more to paying for a house than just paying the mortgage. So don’t let that kind of logic get too ingrained or be a major factor in your final decision. The real benefit in owning real estate, be it the house we live in or property acquired as an investment, is the fact that our purchase is an appreciating asset. Vehicles are worth less today than they were yesterday. But our houses, for the most part, are worth more — and judging from this new and generally held enthusiastic view, they could be worth much more. Al Antle is executive director of Credit and Debt Solutions.
20 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS
OCTOBER 26, 2007
A step in the opposite direction From page 15 convention to change the voting rules in NAFO from the current simple majority system to a two-third system, which would make it more difficult for Canada to obtain restrictive conservation decisions, catch limits in particular. The minister steadfastly refused to protect the simple majority system, with the result that the twothird system is in the proposed new convention. The minister has called this “improved decision-making” and has stated that this will provide some protection for Canada’s current allocation percentages. Perhaps it will, at least in the short term. The cost to conservation is, apparently, an acceptable casualty to improve our chances of maintaining our allocation percentages. Canada could have demanded both, a twothird system to protect the existing quota shares, and a simple majority system to promote conservation, but this did not happen. Another main problem in the draft convention was a provision that was to allow NAFO to intrude on Canadian sovereignty, by establishing by consensus, meaning with Canadian compliance, catch and quota regulations, including foreign quotas that would apply inside Canadian waters, up to and including the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Under the current NAFO convention, NAFO cannot meddle in management of Canadian waters under any circumstances. Under the draft convention Canadian compliance could, of course, be obtained in future by coercive pressures, which the EU understood in insisting on this provision. In his public statements leading up to the Lisbon meeting, Hearn seemed to be quite clear in stating he would not accept a provision of this kind: “Canada will only accept a NAFO convention that clearly defines that the regulatory authority of NAFO is only on the high seas.” In his news releases after the Lisbon meeting Hearn stated he had not conceded on this point. In fact, he did. The provision in the draft convention that allowed NAFO controls to apply inside Canadian waters “by consensus” has been changed so that the language now requires a Canadian request. The difference is minor,
There is no provision in the proposed new convention for any form of custodial management by Canada. and does not change the basic effect, which is to open the door to international management, i.e. custodial management, inside 200 miles. There is no reciprocal provision allowing NAFO to request Canadian custodial management outside 200 miles, which, during the last election, was Hearn’s stated overriding objective. Instead, for no reason we can fathom, Hearn has opened the door to incursions into Canadian sovereignty. Astoundingly, the new provision allows a much greater intrusion on Canadian sovereignty than the previous intrusive draft provision. The draft provision allowed NAFO intrusion only into catch limitations and quota allocations. The new provision, in addition allows NAFO, in response to a Canadian request, to establish foreign enforcement inside Canadian waters, in fact, to establish virtually total foreign control throughout the East Coast. It’s important to note that this new idea of providing for NAFO controls, of any kind, inside 200 miles was never a Canadian initiative to strengthen the NAFO convention. How could it have been? Canada has, since the establishment of the 200mile zone, always had full control to protect the fish stocks inside 200 miles, with no need for international intervention. There is no conceivable need, nor will there ever be, from the Canadian point of view, for a Canadian request to NAFO to apply its management and enforcement rules inside the Canadian 200-mile zone. The need would only arise, under the proposed new convention, if another NAFO member threatens to overfish outside 200 miles in the absence of a Canadian request to NAFO to have its measures apply inside 200 miles. At that point the Canadian government
would have to consider major concessions, in the interests of conservation. The province of Newfoundland, and the fishing industry, will, presumably, get used to international custodial management inside 200 miles, and, over time, people will come to wonder how this ever came to pass. Hearn has stated that as a result of his accomplishments “Canada is now the custodian of the fisheries resource.” There is no provision in the proposed new convention that can provide a basis for this statement. There is no provision in the proposed new convention for any form of custodial management by Canada. If Canada wishes to consider itself the custodian of the resource, the proposed new convention — which will weaken Canada’s ability to promote conservation in the future, and opens the door to international custodial management inside Canadian waters — is a step in the opposite direction. It is still open to the Government of Canada to refuse to ratify this proposed new convention, and to stop the process of bringing it into force. With regards to the sovereignty issue, the prime minister has made clear his concern to protect Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic. What the federal government does now, regarding NAFO, will provide a signal regarding Canada’s commitment to protecting Canadian sovereignty in other areas. (Bill Rowat is a former deputy minister of Fisheries and Oceans, served as NAFO commissioner, and led Canada’s negotiations during the 1995 “turbot war” with the EU. Scott Parsons, PhD, was successively DFO’s assistant deputy minister of Atlantic fisheries, science, and oceans, served as president of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas and is author of A Review of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (March 2005), and the 1993 book, Management of Marine Fisheries in Canada. Bob Applebaum served as DFO’s directorgeneral, international, and participated in the negotiation of the original NAFO convention and the more recent United Nations Fish Agreement. Earl Wiseman also served as director-general, International, and co-ordinated Canada’s ratification of the U.N. Fish Agreement.)
INDEPENDENTLIFE
FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 1, 2007 — PAGE 21
Fish Power Craig Francis Power, artist/writer and winner of this year’s Fresh Fish Award, talks about his novel, his art career and the difficulties of being an art critic in St. John’s
SUSAN RENDELL Screed and coke I thought I knew what life was about. And it wasn’t about winning, it was about losing as slowly as you could. — Craig Francis Power, Blood Relatives
I
’m in a building somewhere on Water Street, high up over the harbour in a big room full of paint and bottles, tables and chairs, ashtrays and art — and an eclectic variety of odds and ends. One of the odds (or ends) is a seven-foot tall Newfoundland dog made of chicken wire and fun fur, with a heart-shaped window in its chest. Someone has inserted what seems to be a steer’s skull in the dog’s mouth; the horns make it look like a canine vampire. “Or a walrus,” says Craig Francis Power, who shares this studio with three other visual artists. The dog, which used to have a video running inside its “heart,” was the star of Power’s last show (Salty Dog, at Eastern Edge; his next show is slated for The Rooms in January). Power, 33, is this year’s recipient of the Fresh Fish Award. Sponsored by Brian O’Dea, drug smuggler turned businessman, author and born-again Christian, the annual award offers $5,000 to a local unpublished author for a book-length manuscript. This year, Power bagged it with Blood Relatives. I ask him to tell me about the book. “The main character’s named Charlie; he’s a janitor, he’s 31, so he’s getting up there. And there are a few things going on in his life that have got him kind of f—-ed up in the head,” Power says. “His father was an alcoholic and was estranged from the family, and has just died. His relationship with his girlfriend is coming apart. He has a brother who has recently come out of the closet and is in a relationship with a transgendered person.” Charlie begins an affair with a chip truck employSee “Rites,” page 23
Craig Francis Power Paul Daly/The Independent
Newfoundland’s ‘abrogation of human rights’ St. John’s author reflects on history of education of students in the province
O
n Aug. 17, 1875 an article appeared in the St. John’s Morning Chronicle describing an exceptional event that had taken place the previous evening in the Drill Shed at Fort Townsend. The principal of the School for the Deaf in Halifax, J. Scott Hutton Esq., had drawn together dignitaries and members of the city’s educated classes to witness a demonstration by some of his school’s deaf pupils. The province of Nova Scotia had for some time been providing education for the deaf, in most cases without charge, and Hutton was aiming to attract recruits from the “sister colony.” Evidently, the trip was a success — in his annual report published
PAUL ROWE
Guest column the following year the principal noted, “We returned to Halifax on the 23rd of August, bringing with us two deaf mutes from St. John’s to enjoy the benefits of the Institution, the fruits, it is hoped, of a future harvest of blessing to the neglected deaf and dumb (sic) of Newfoundland.” More Newfoundland students did follow, and, as in the case of Nova Scotia, the government agreed to assume the cost of sending those stu-
dents whose families hadn’t the means to do so. Thus began a relationship between the Government of Newfoundland and the Halifax School for the Deaf which would endure, with one regrettable interruption, until the 1960s, when Newfoundland began to provide for the education for her own deaf citizens. In those early days especially, an education at the Halifax School for the Deaf represented a rare opportunity for children who might otherwise have grown up without hope of becoming literate, and without links to a deaf community that could help provide an important sense of belonging. In modern times, the crowning achievement of Newfoundland’s en-
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deavours in this regard was the opening of the School for the Deaf on Topsail Road in 1987. Unfortunately, the Newfoundland government’s long-term record of service to the deaf is besmirched by a singular, though largely unrecorded, abrogation of human rights which needs to be acknowledged and which rightly carries its burden of shame. It is generally well known that in 1932, the Newfoundland government was reeling from the immediate effects of the Great Depression and the long-term impacts of runaway debt incurred mostly from the railway and the war effort. What is not generally known is that in August of that year, letters from the government went
out to the families of 22 deaf children informing them that the funds were no longer available to send their children to school in Halifax. At a cost of $500 per child, this amounted to $11,000 — hardly an extravagant sum, even for a cashstrapped government in those days, considering the good the money was doing and the devastation the decision would wreak in those children’s lives. Of the 27 Newfoundland children who had attended the School for the Deaf until June of that year, only three returned in September, paid for by their parents. The principal at the time, George Bateman, bemoaned the fact in See “Our silence,” page 22
OCTOBER 26, 2007
22 • INDEPENDENTLIFE
GALLERYPROFILE
HEYD FONTENOT Visual Artist
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fter meeting a Newfoundland art curator in Austin, Texas native Heyd Fontenot was left with a slightly skewed sense of what a three-month art residency would be like in Pouch Cove, Newfoundland. “James (Baird) told me that there were icebergs in the cove and whales, so I kinda thought it was going to be like SeaWorld where they were just jumping and frolicking and I’d be tired of it, like ‘There’s another whale,’” Fontenot jokes in his southern drawl. The tall, wide-eyed and joyful artist is one of six artists-in-residence currently living and producing new work at the
Pouch Cove Foundation on Gruchy’s Hill. Culminating in an exhibition with Toronto artist Patrick DeCoste Oct. 28, Fontenot says his visit has been a productive and enriching experience. He says he’s the “psychedelic sheep” of a rice and beef farming family. “My family is so clustered — nobody has left for hundreds of years. When I chose to go to school in northern Louisiana, which is four hours north, my father called me a Yankee. People from the farm are so tied to the land. “I knew my future wasn’t there. I was looking for like-minded individuals, people who were interested in talking about a variety of subjects and not just cattle.” Raised in the American South, Fontenot says his focus on the nude figure is an attempt to define his own
morality — an attempt to portray the human body in a reverential and natural way. In a culture of unattainable Hollywood ideals clashing with Puritanical dogma, Fontenot prefers to illuminate and delineate the soft curvature of real bodies with his brush and oils. The floating figures of Fontenot’s subjects lounge and recline in various poses — some even partially inverted — and are obviously comfortable in their vulnerable state. There is a hint of discordance, however, in the lack of direct eye contact between the artist and the models. Perhaps it is due to Fontenot’s uneasiness in his own skin that so few of his subjects venture to look out from the canvas, while the audience is free to view all. “My politic is personal,” Fontenot says. “I feel like there’s a direct threat to
my personal freedoms (in the U.S.), so I feel like growing up Catholic and having a really oppressive environment to grow up in and being sexually repressed as a teenager and a young adult I feel like I’ve always had an interest in sexual content — like a little kid. “You’re drawn to it naturally, but I think the taboo can add fuel to the fire. It doesn’t kill your interest. It just conflicts your interest.” The ideas of sameness and universality apply to Fontenot’s work as well. He says the lack of context or background — as well as clothing — in his pieces lends itself to “the great equalizer” of the naked human body. “These people are participating in this thing and they’re nude and none of them are models and none of them are perfect, but they’re all beautiful in that
way if you spend time with anyone you’re going to see that, and that’s part of my work, is about spending enough time with people and seeing them in a best light,” says Fontenot. Next, the artist is off for a show in the Philippines. Facilitated through another artist-in-residency project, Fontenot marvels at the unique opportunities that come from the intensive arrangements between artists and art collaborators. He has painted several local models and says the works would never have happened if he hadn’t have stumbled upon this little corner of the world. “It’s like baking or chemistry,” he says. “I would not make these exact paintings in Texas because just as stars align, as inspiration hits, it just wouldn’t be exactly the same.” mandy.cook@theindependent.ca
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
‘Our silence on the subject has been deafening’ From page 21 his 1933 annual report and expressed the hope that the following year would see the return of at least the younger pupils. The hope was in vain. His last year at the school 1938-39, Mr. Bateman expressed his now oft-repeated regret with these words: “I am sorry to say that the deaf children of Newfoundland are still being allowed to grow up without any special education or training whatsoever …” He added, “the Commission of Government … assures us that the education of the deaf is very much on the mind of that department …” In September 1939, the government
finally did send three students to the school, five the next, six the year after that, and so on until the numbers were gradually restored. This event, to my knowledge, was unrecorded in the press of the day and went unobserved in the proceedings of the House of Assembly, which had met one last time in 1933 to disband itself. It has remained unrecorded, (again, to my knowledge) in any writing on Newfoundland education since. One might well say our silence on the subject has been deafening. This historic precedent, however, should urge the government to caution when it ponders the future of the Newfoundland School for the Deaf that
performs such a vital function in our province today. How strange it is to hear reports of deaf students, as of old, beginning to seek their education in other places. We must be careful not to turn back the clock too far nor, finding ourselves motivated by a financial imperative, to repeat a historic wrong with the stroke of a pen. Paul Rowe is the author of The Silent Time, a novel inspired by his mother’s experiences as a student at the Halifax School for the Deaf in the 1920s and ’30s. Mark Callanan’s book review will return.
OCTOBER 26, 2007
INDEPENDENTLIFE • 23
The big sellout On the eve of MUSICNL’s annual conference weekend, Sean Panting looks for the magic bullet of commercial success
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his weekend, musicians from all over the province will gather once again in St. John’s for the annual MUSICNL conference and awards show. It’s an opportunity to get together and talk about common concerns, share information and strategy and, of course, pat deserving souls on the back for whatever they collectively deem pat-on-the-back-worthy. As with any professional conference, there’s going to be a great deal of shoptalk. The surprising thing about the talk at these weekends is how little of it is about music. That’s because gatherings of this sort aren’t so much a celebration of the music itself as they are a celebration of the music industry. The distinction is crucial. Music is about thoughts and feelings and notes and sounds and all that other touchy-feely hippie stuff. The music industry is about taking the resulting products and making money off them. It’s a necessary part of the equation,
SEAN PANTING
State of the art but for some reason the idea of having an industry dedicated to making cold hard cash off the creative endeavours of musicians bothers some people. Not musicians, naturally, but other people. Obviously these folks have never tried to pay Newfoundland Power in artistic integrity. (For the record, it doesn’t go over well). Music is an art form with the power to provoke thought, evoke feelings and change lives, but the music business isn’t concerned with artistic worth. It’s concerned with making money. That’s why it’s the music business. Whether you’re communicating with the listener or putting a point across is inconsequential.
In fact, once somebody has put down the cash to buy a CD, or paid to download your masterpiece online, it really makes no difference if they listen to it at all. I know it sounds crass put like that — and in many ways it is — but that’s how it works. Many performers take it personally when they see someone who’s clearly less talented but more ambitious getting further ahead. While it’s a bitter pill to swallow sometimes, it’s important to realize that sometimes it’s about more than talent — more than music, even. Sometimes it’s about business sense. And you can hardly fault your arch enemies, talent-starved lumps of mediocrity though they may be, for being good at making money. When you choose music as a job, there has to come a point where you stop thinking in terms of art and start thinking in terms of commerce. That means looking at marketing yourself
‘Rites of passage’ From page 21 ee/prostitute he meets through a friend of his father’s. The friend, “delusional sometimes, and at other times incredibly articulate and intelligent and astute,” puts Charlie through a series of “rites of passage,” including a séance and a lunatic and dangerous fire ritual on top of a cliff. “So that’s what it’s about,” Powers says, laughing — a kind of shriek of delight at the bizarre implications of what he’s just said, and the impossibility of describing what a book is “about.” It took Power two and a half years to write Blood Relatives. During that time, one of the jobs he worked at to support his writing and art habits was bartending at the former Spur. Kind of a cross between the interplanetary bar in Star Wars and the one in New York that inspired Coyote Ugly, the Water Street bar with the infamous oral history has recently been acquiring a literary one. Joel Hynes set his last book there (The Awl and Hatchet); a fair bit of the action in Power’s book takes place in the bar’s squalid interior, the flotsam of humanity comprising its clientele barely distinguishable from the peeling paint and what’s floating around in the clogged-up toilets. Yet Power’s writing displays reverence for — well, everything and everyone. It’s like filigree made of barbed silver wire. Beautiful and painful. Power is having a hard time accepting his win. “I can’t believe it. I was the guy at art school (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design) who was, like, I’m not really an artist, I’m a writer. And after art school, I was an artist. And when I came back here I was a writer again.” He says he was a terrible student. “In high school I was … really mediocre in everything I did.” Bored? “I was bored a lot but I wasn’t bored because I was smarter than everyone else or anything. I was really immature for my age … What I really concentrated on was vandalizing my schoolbooks and caricaturing my teachers and caricaturing other students. And thus began my artistic career.” Rebel without a clue, I say, provoking a big laugh from Power. “Exactly, that’s exactly it.” After high school, Power went to work at Sobeys in the Avalon Mall; at 21 he entered Memorial University with the intention of majoring in English. “I decided I was going to be a writer, so I thought I had to go to school to do that. It was really dull.” He started a writing society with some other students, which was “the outlet that made going to MUN as an English student bearable. But anyway, I dropped out or flunked out…and I went to Europe with a girl and lived in Oxford. And I was still going to be a writer.” Power says he and his girlfriend “were going to museums and galleries like people do when they’re travelling in Europe, and I decided that I was going to apply to art school when we got back to Canada.” Power chose NSCAD “because Halifax had a really vibrant music scene. And a lot of great stuff had come out of there (NSCAD) and continues to come out of there. “After I graduated I stayed in Halifax bartending … then I went back to Europe after that — I was still going to be an artist. Well, I guess I am an artist. I’m a video artist primarily, and that is not the same thing as making films. It’s different; it has its own kind of history outside the history of film.”
Power tells me his art is driven by “class struggle. When I was in art school I got introduced to Marxism, and Marist theory. That began to feed into my art practice. I began to realize that, more so than before, that the world was a very unjust place.” After working on organic farms in Spain for eight months, Power came back to Newfoundland with the girl who’d gone to Europe with him. When she left for Montreal, he started writing again. “I was totally depressed and heart-broken. I wrote a short story, which became this book. The very beginning I had actually written in a notebook when I was in Spain, the first paragraph. That short story came out of a binge — I wrote it in a day, the day of the deadline (for the Arts and Letters Competition, 2004).” The story was a winner. “But still I hated St. John’s, hated it. I felt like I was an alien or something.” Although Power had made a couple of friends in the arts community, he couldn’t find his fellow writers. But one night in a bar, he was introduced to the winner of the 2004 Percy Janes First Novel Award, Sarah Tilley. “She was — and is — the coolest chick that I have ever met.” (No feminist worth her or his salt would jump on that one — Power’s tone is deferential, his face radiant.) About to move to Toronto “with all my artschool hedonist friends,” Power abandoned that idea in favour of pursuing a relationship with Tilley. “I’d have to have been crazy not to see where that would go. I hoped we could be co-conspirators — which we are.” (Looks that way: Tilley’s novel, which won last year’s inaugural Fresh Fish, will be published by Pedlar Press next spring.) Since returning to the province, Power has written for The Current and The Scope. He also created and maintained a blog called Art in Newfoundland, which he gave up on last June. “What I intended was for there to be a dialogue … the opportunity for people to go on and have a frank discussion. But the last going off, people were slagging me … I didn’t want it to be about me, I wanted it to be about the art that I was talking about. “It’s the same thing that’s always baffled me about the visual artists in St. John’s. I compare it to Halifax and that community there, where people are supportive and people are allowed to disagree, but it’s not a personal thing.” Here, Power says, a statement about art is often followed by “‘I think you’re a f—-ing asshole,’ and no debate can come out of that.” He’s more generous, however, about the local writing community. “With a few exceptions, the writing community is really supportive.” Power says he was particularly touched when well-known writer Helen Porter mentioned him in her acceptance speech (she received a lifetime membership in the Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Lab-rador on the same evening he received his Fresh Fish award). “I took a writing course with her when I was 17, and extremely fragile … she was really important in my figuring out that I wasn’t just some wanker … I didn’t even think she remembered me. It was kind of a beautiful sort of moment.” He smiles, and I hear a wing brush the window behind me. srendell@nf.sympatico.ca
and your music, touring, distribution and a host of other non-musical concerns, to say nothing of finding a way to pay for it all. It’s enough to make you want to say shag it all and (wait for it) sell out. The sell-out myth is a popular and powerful one. Artists get accused of selling out all the time — usually by formerly rabid fans who are miffed at a change in sound or direction. Often you’ll hear about a band going for a “more commercial” approach (whatever that means) as though anyone in the industry had a clue what was going to be commercially viable ahead of time. No one, and I mean no one, can accurately predict what songs the public at large is going to respond to, and so the idea that there’s a magic formula out there to become stinking rich and insanely famous — provided you’re unscrupulous enough to sell out and make use of it — is pure bunk. If there were, you’d see a hell of a lot more
bands lining up to cash in. Heck, you might just see me elbowing my way to the front of the line. After all, I’ve got kids to feed and expensive taste in cars. The fact is there is no magic bullet. You can chase a trend or get a certain kind of haircut or use the studio gadget du jour in attempts to cash in, but I have yet to meet anyone for whom that worked. All you can do is write the best stuff you can and work like a dog to sell it. In the best of all possible worlds you’ll have a brilliant song that becomes a successful product as well. Ultimately people listen to what they like, take a pass on what they don’t and those of us who make music for them have to deal with that. Sean Panting is a musician, writer and actor living in St. John’s. His column returns Nov. 9. seanpanting@yahoo.ca
24 • INDEPENDENTLIFE
OCTOBER 26, 2007
MUSIC OF THE YEAR
The annual MUSICNL conference and awards show — a weekend to celebrate the year’s best music in Newfoundland and Labrador — runs Oct. 26-28 in St. John’s. The event culminates in the 2007 award show at the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre, 8 p.m. Just a few of the many nominees, clockwise from top left: The Art Stoyles Band (nominated for folk/roots artist of the year); Ian Foster (up for male artist, new artist, pop/rock artist and songwriter of the year); Craig Sharpe (vying for entertainer and new artist of the year); Blair Harvey (male artist, album, pop/rock and songwriter of the year); Damian Follett (male artist and country artist of the year); Chris Andrews of Shanneyganock (the band is up for entertainer, album, songwriter, group and folk/roots group of the year) and The Cormiers (group, album and songwriter of the year.) Photos Paul Daly/The Independent
INDEPENDENTSTYLE
FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 1, 2007 — PAGE 25
Elayne Greeley wears one of her knitted hats on Middle Cove beach.
Paul Daly/The Independent
Make it, bake it or grow it From cozy hats to organic eggs, farmers market a hidden hotspot for this season’s needful things By Mandy Cook The Independent
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nyone who has experienced the rowdy bartering of fish sellers at the hundred-year-old Pike Place Market in Seattle, or the glorious labyrinth of the Halifax Market can appreciate the cultural credibility a producer-meets-consumer gathering place lends to a capital city. Despite the lack of co-operation and/or vision from City Hall, our very own fledgling farmers market has burst upon the scene at the Masonic Temple in St. John’s. After a successful initial trial run, a second market will be held Sunday, Oct. 28. And while you pick up your fall veggies or cookies and pies to serve with free trade coffee for sale by Oxfam, you can also invigorate your wardrobe with unique and locally handcrafted accessories.
“I usually start knitting Aug. with chenille tufts and eyelash 30,” says Elayne Greeley, a wool or darling elf hats for kids visual artist and craftsperson. tie in a bow under the chin “It’s a matter of organizing the supply. that “I sew in the summer, then I make for vibrant and weatherhave to knit. It’s a seasonal appropriate additions to the It’s about attracting more producers thing — a part of the cycle of family closet. my year.” Tina Riche, a local jewelry and it has to be co-operative. Greeley says she typically maker and vintage accessory The buyers are sells hats, flannel hankies and collector, is another craftsperhandmade kids’ toys under her son taking advantage of the already there, lined up.” Split Pea Project label at the low-cost, low-overhead opporAnna Templeton Centre tea and tunity of the farmers market. Elayne Greeley bake sale prior to Christmas. Also selling in low volumes — But when the farmers market at the market and out of opportunity came up she was Victoria Manor, an antique, immediately onboard. craft and bookstore in Harbour “I think really why the farmers marGreeley says she can’t make her hats Grace — her one-of-a-kind earrings ket works is because you’re not expect- fast enough to enter a large craft fair — are delicate and inventive. Each pair, ed to have a big booth. You can have a she estimates she would need 100 or so including the silver looped drop earlittle production or a big production. If — so she makes a limited number out rings with suspended yellow leaves, someone wants to sell five soups or a of alpaca wool, raw silk, linen and cot- sell for $14. “I was on maternity leave and started table of African food or a box of soap, ton to sell casually. you can.” Selling for $45 a piece, cozy toques making jewelry. I had an attraction to
beads and was gathering them for no specific purpose until I made a pair for my friend’s birthday. I just looped a bunch on some wire and got a fantastic reaction,” she says. Besides fabulous knitted accessories and shiny jewelry, shoppers can peruse handmade soaps and candles, sturdy felted mittens and slippers, Nigerian food and silk-screened T-shirts and cards. But in order for the farmers market to survive, Greeley says, there must be a will by the public to participate in the event. “There’s lots of demand,” she says. “It’s a matter of organizing the supply. It’s about attracting more producers and it has to be co-operative. “The buyers are already there, lined up.” mandy.cook@theindependent.ca
OCTOBER 26, 2007
26 • INDEPENDENTSTYLE
DRINK
When old and new worlds collide
There are new, exciting and well-priced South African wines on liquor store shelves
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o into any local liquor store and you’ll be immediately struck with the great wall of Australian product. They are sturdy choices, if not blue-chip investments to bring to the table. In my house, Australian lines have their place in the wine rack as trusty backups when you can’t think of anything else to serve. Choosing an Australian wine is like buying a Honda Civic: it looks boring on the outside and everyone you know has one, but they’re so darn reliable you can’t help but want one too. Like the mighty VTEC engines Honda has been pumping out for more than a decade, Lindemans has been pumping out the Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot in such a consistent manner that they have always been the safe bet. Buy one of any of their best varietals and you won’t be disappointed. I will say I’ve been keeping away from Australian wine for the last couple of years for just that reason — they are predictable, boring, plain and too much like a wine suitable for the demographic who put soup cans on
NICHOLAS GARDNER Off the Eating Path their Civic’s exhaust and whose music I can hear long before they ever arrive. But recently, while searching through the wine racks, I spotted something new — the wine label was the same but the country of origin was different. Lindemans was breaking out of being dull. Lindemans has just released a product out of South Africa, and this is a different beast than its Australian wines. It’s as if they bashed off all the bits that were rough and softened the edges. Instead of installing racing seats and low-profile tires, they added a LaZ-Boy recliner and air bag suspension. This is a soft wine. But don’t be fooled; it is not soft in flavour. It still has that “fruit forward” taste we all know and enjoy, but it’s like velvet. When you look at the price point, at just under $13.50 a bottle, it makes for a good deal. I have enjoyed several
bottles over the last little while, and I have not found a better and more consistent drinkable wine. There’s a good reason that this happens, as it’s made by one of the most consistent brands in the market. South Africa is once again becoming a hot market for wines and we are beginning to see the benefits of that hot market in our own stores. The country conjures images of an older world, characterized by raw, elegant beauty, where wild beasts roam free on dusty plains. Some still imagine South Africa to be rather antiquated — although nothing is further from the truth, and certainly not where wines are concerned. South Africa is well known for its production of the five chief varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The country is also a famed producer of the floral Chenin Blanc. Lindemans has taken the safe route and concentrated, like they do in Australia, on the big three — Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay. They’ve also added Shiraz as another contender in the value priced market.
TASTE
The last several decades have seen a change in the way South African wines are marketed. During apartheid, many countries imposed strict trade embargoes, closing the large markets of North America and parts of Europe to South African wines. Now these markets have reopened, and South African wines are enjoying a resurgence in the
global market. North American and European consumers are tasting, for the first time in decades, well developed and generally well manufactured wines from South African producers. Another good buy is The Wolftrap (NLC $14.44), a red wine full of South African varietals. The blend is a good mixture of other good grape types including the South African engineered Pinotage. It creates a dense, fruit-filled wine with lots of red berry acidity. However, after some time in a decanter, the soft tannins come out finishing with an aristocratic smoke and leather. While it comes in a screw-top, don’t despair — it won’t sit on your shelves long. It is a good drinker right off the shelf. I’m glad we’re seeing new investment in South Africa. Its old culture and stature is what the wine world really needs — an injection of sophistication in a sea of mediocrity. Nicholas Gardner is an erstwhile chef and freelance writer living in St. John’s. nicholas.gardner@gmail.com
Clotheshorses to clothes hooks
Rail-thin, cookie-cutter models on today’s catwalks no role models at all By Antonia Zerbisias Torstar wire service
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Bring New Orleans to your kitchen By Susan Sampson Torstar wire service
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his classic Cajun shrimp is smothered in spicy, creamy sauce.
SHRIMP ÉTOUFFÉE This can be tricky to cook unless you keep fiddling with the heat on your particular stove: too high and the stuff stuck to the bottom of the pan burns; too low and you won’t get proper browning. The result is worth the care it takes. You can use seafood stock instead of the chicken stock. • 2 tsp thyme leaves, chopped • 1 tsp paprika • 1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper • 1/4 tsp or more sea salt • 1/8 tsp cayenne
• 1 lb (450 g) large shrimp, shelled, deveined • 1 tbsp vegetable oil • 2 tbsp butter • 1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour • 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped • 1 small onion, chopped • 1/2 small green bell pepper, seeded, coarsely chopped • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 1 cup chicken stock • 1 bay leaf • 3 tbsp whipping cream • Chopped parsley to taste In small bowl, stir together thyme, paprika, pepper, salt and cayenne. Put shrimp in medium bowl. Add half of thyme mixture. Stir gently to coat. Heat oil in large skillet on mediumhigh. Cook shrimp, stirring constantly, until barely pink, one to two minutes.
(Do not overcook.) Transfer to clean, medium bowl with its juices. Return skillet to medium-high heat. Melt butter. Stir in flour. Cook, stirring, until golden-brown, with nutty smell, two to three minutes. Turn heat to medium. Add celery, onion and green pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened and coated, about two minutes, but be careful not to burn coating on bottom of pan. Stir in garlic and remaining thyme mixture. Cook, stirring, one minute. Stir in stock and bay leaf. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in cream. Simmer five minutes. Discard bay leaf. Adjust salt. Stir in shrimp. Heat through gently, one minute. Place in serving bowl or divide among plates. Sprinkle with parsley. Makes four small servings.
his is no model moment. Not with the girls now striding down the designer runways. There is a scary sameness to these very thin, very young women who parade the prêt-a-porter and haute couture in Paris, London and New York. Pale and as expressionless as porcelain dolls, they have similar heart-shaped faces, wide eyes, bee-stung lips and Slavic cheekbones. See one and you’ve seen them all. Which is precisely the point. They are as interchangeable as wire hangers. Unlike in previous decades, when models ruled not only the runways, but also the red carpets, magazine covers, ad pages, cosmetics counters and club scene, these are stick figures, stripped of power over even their own bodies. They no longer have weight — in any sense of the word. “The current taste in models is for blank-featured ‘androids,’” noted The New York Times last week, in a story on the absence of black and “ethnic” models. Why? Models should be seen but not noticed. A black woman would stand out too much. New York magazine hit it earlier this year with The Incredible Shrinking Model. As author Emily Nussbaum noted, the girls have “dwindled in stature — from bodacious superstars to nameless, faceless manual labourers.” Now they’re often high school dropouts, imported from poor eastern European or Latin America, so desperate for work they’ll subsist on lettuce and cigarettes to get it. “One of the interesting things about these models today is that they get used and spit out so quickly,” industry veteran Magali Amadei tells Nussbaum. “These girls come into the business young, and they are disposable.”
Models have gone from clotheshorses to clothes hooks. As a teenager, I envied Seventeen’s perky Colleen Corby, wished I looked like leggy Londoner Jean Shrimpton and wore my hair and makeup like Twiggy. Then came Lauren Hutton, the gaptoothed force of nature, and Beverly Johnson, the first black model to grace a U.S. fashion magazine cover. They were followed by Karen Graham, Rene Russo, Carol Alt, Kelly LeBrock, Iman, Rachel Hunter, Paulina Porizkova, Claudia Schiffer, Elle Macpherson, Stephanie Seymour, Amber Valletta, Tyra Banks, Shalom Harlow… “Those were the days when models took up space,” writes Nussbaum. “They were stars. They made demands. And their faces were everywhere.” The “old girls” were the stuff of Sports Illustrated layouts, Victoria’s Secret catalogues and fantasy. They had muscle, and they had curves. Now Hollywood movie stars get the cosmetic and clothing contracts. And stylists such as Rachel Zoe, who gives her celebrity clients her signature cookiecutter look, dominate the fashion business. And the designers? They get the spotlight to themselves. What’s more, as the shrinking models squeeze into ever-smaller sample sizes, celebrities follow suit, dieting to fit into the designs they wear at openings and premieres. So, as little girls grow up, they see skinnier and skinnier women being celebrated. They see bony arms and knobby knees as desirable, prominent ribcages and shoulder blades as sexy. They see gaunt as gorgeous. They also see nameless, voiceless girls who are valued only for their vacant looks and empty stomachs. But what they don’t see is that this is no role model at all.
OCTOBER 26, 2007
INDEPENDENTSTYLE • 27
Come for a visit … but mind the ghosts
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usually pay attention to the side of the road as I drive — always on the lookout for moose or a darting fox — but on this day I damn near ran a poor fella down. I got such a shock when he dashed out of the woods in front of me I didn’t realize I was screaming till I stopped and gave my vocal chords a rest. The young fella looked terrified, and at first I feared he was going to pass out on the hood of my car. I wondered, for a few agonizing seconds, if I had actually struck him, and for a moment I thought the terror in his eyes was actually pain. I got out of the car. I hadn’t been back here for long and while I had seen this buddy before, I didn’t know him well. “Are you alright?” I asked. He stammered something before jumping into my car — uninvited, but certainly not unwelcome. This was, after all, outport Newfoundland and there was no cause to fear your neighbour. Still, I tried to see past the trees that lined the road, but saw nothing. I wasn’t afraid as such, though I do admit my upalong senses were all a tingle. I gave him a run up the harbour. We didn’t speak as I drove and he caught his breath, but before he got out he turned to me and gave a little laugh. “You don’t know me well, but ask anyone ’round here that do and they’ll tell you I’m an alright fella,” he began. I waited. “Do you believe in ghosts?” he inquired. I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess,” I answered. “Then I’ll tell you what I saw another time,” he said as he got out, closing the door and walking up towards the Point and his home. When I got to know him a little better, he told me what happened. He had been checking his snares, enjoying the solitude and the late afternoon fall sun. Used to wandering the woods alone, he had been spooked once or twice before, he admitted. “You know what that’s like, eh?” he asked with a laugh. And I did. Some shadow or sound can cause the hair on
PAM PARDY GHENT
Seven-day talk the back of your neck to stand straight up, but then it goes away, and everything’s alright again. You have a little laugh at how foolish you were to be scared at all. Yes, I admitted, I knew that feeling. Well, he continued, that sense of being watched didn’t pass, making him more and more uncomfortable. He looked around, saw nothing at first, then movement caught his eye. “I swear on this day, I was chased out of them woods by something like what I’ve never seen before,” he said. I believe him, for when I saw him he was like a man out to save his soul as well as his skin. What chased him out of those woods, he says, was like a bear — but not. It was like a wolf, only it wasn’t. It was something unlike anything that exists, in this world anyway, and he was terrified. As I prepared to write this column, I reminded him of that day and asked him if time had changed his take it. “Nope,” was his immediate response. “It was too real to be not real is the only way I can explain it.” I know that feeling too. Brody and I had our own encounter with a ghost out here, although I admit I was too terrified to experience it in its full gory glory. I pitched a tent for a makeshift camp out one night two summers ago, and I placed it near the back road leading to our local graveyard. I was told I was foolish but, as usual, I paid no heed. Sometime during the night my son breathed my name. Something about the way the word “Mom” hung in the air made me shut my eyes even tighter. This was not good. “Don’t open your eyes,” my son whispered into the dark night. There’s no
chance in hell of that, I thought as I felt a chill pass through our tent, and literally right on through us. We were too terrified to move, and remained stiff as two boards until daylight came and we took off for home — tent left for my father to take down and cart on out of it. It was days later before we spoke of what happened, we were that spooked. Brody said he woke with a feeling of being watched. He opened his eyes. The only way he could describe what he saw was that there was a floating white head outside our tent. That’s when he breathed my name. I wondered why he had asked me not to look. He wasn’t sure, he said, only that he knew no harm was meant to him, but he feared what would happen if I saw this thing and reacted. This being passed into our tent, through us, and on out the other side. While I didn’t see it, I certainly felt it and knew it had been there. No one had much of a reaction to our tale around these parts. This was, it seemed, just one of those things. Much later I realized we had put our tent up in an area known to be a ghost’s path and, well, I suppose that bodyless being had places to go and people to see that night. We live in an area with few streetlights, and there are many dark places for spirits to lurk. The dead are waked in our community church and our children play ball overlooking the old graveyard where long ago once-living souls were laid to rest before they ran out of room. The more recently deceased found eternal rest on the outskirts of town. Outports like this one still have their ghouls and ghosts. We don’t need to wait for Halloween for our tricks, treats and night terrors. So, come for a visit. Just watch the woods ’long the sides of our dark, winding road. You never know who, or what, might dart out at ya. pamelamichpardy@yahoo.com
Jarvis Hynes, service manager of Tire Mart.
Prepare for winter driving
T
ake your vehicle to a qualified service centre before facing the dangers of winter driving, says Gary Ball of the Newfoundland Labrador Automotive Services Association. “Give it the once over, paying particular attention to the brakes,” he says, as any defect in the brakes can make tricky roads downright dangerous. He adds the majority of people who drive with ABS brakes simply do not understand how they work. “Don’t wait until you’re faced with dangerous driving conditions to figure it out,” he says. Instead, take a drive with someone who does know and run through some scenarios. Having a good set of brakes — and knowing how to use them — is crucial, especially when it comes to winter driving in Newfoundland and Labrador, he says. Ball encourages everyone to make sure all lights are working as the daylight hours grow shorter. It’s critical to be seen. “Perhaps you make a mistake out there on the road, but if someone sees you, maybe they can make an adjustment and save some lives,” he says. And there’s something else too many overlook. “You lose your judgment if you can’t see properly,” Ball says. “Most people check their wipers and stock up on windshield washer fluid, but the main reason people can’t see properly is because they don’t clean the inside of their windshield.” Monty Tucker, a mechanical instructor at College of the North Atlantic on Prince Philip Drive in St. John’s, says it’s time to change your tires. “When you have front-wheel drive, make sure whatever tires you put on the back you put on the front and check your tire pressure regularly,” he says. Winter tires should be installed by Nov. 1. While Ball says the type of tire you choose
depends on the type of driving you do, there is one point he is firm on. “I wouldn’t put all-seasons on for winter driving,” he says, adding they’re just not safe enough. Ball says studded tires are the best assurance for safety, and in rural areas Nov. 1 is the best time to install them. For driving on the Avalon, he suggests any time before the end of December is fine for switching to a studded tire. He’s got other winter hints: always carry extra windshield washer fluid. Double the amount of gas needed to get anywhere. Take a cell phone — charged and with a car charger. Bring emergency candles, have a tow rope, woolen blanket, extra clothes and a set of jumper cables. “Check your battery and make sure it’s at full capacity,” Tucker adds. “There are all-season, summer and winter wiper blades, so make sure you have the ones you need.” Being stuck on a highway and not having a clear view is not good for anyone. Ball advises all drivers to think ahead, and expect the unexpected. “Think about where you’re going and what could happen on the way,” he says. It never hurts, Ball says, to have a “Help” sign made and ready to use. Tucker agrees. “I know it sounds simple, but please clear lights and all windows before moving your vehicle. Make sure the window is defrosted and you can see,” he stresses. When you do hit the road on a blustery day, Tucker’s advice it to just take it easy. “If you really just can’t stay home, then just drive according to conditions.” To contact The NL Automotive Services Association call 682-1191
Cinemas feeling the pinch on popcorn By Judy Gerstel Torstar wire service
I
t’s like rubbing salt in a wound when people at the country’s largest movie theatre chain start complaining about how much they have to pay for popcorn. That’s what’s happening now that use of eco-correct ethanol made from corn is exploding. “The demand for alternative fuel is causing huge increases in the price of corn,” says Cineplex vice-president Pat Marshall. The increase in the wholesale price of popcorn is in the “high double digits,” she says. Moviegoers at Cineplex theatres haven’t yet felt the crunch of soaring popcorn costs because “we have a long-term pricing contract in place with our popcorn supplier,” explains Marshall. “But it’s coming up for negotiation next year.” And yet, the chief executive of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board insists it’s unreasonable to blame ethanol or farmers for any rise in popcorn prices at the cinema. Craig Floss points out there’s only about two cents’ worth of corn in a tub of popcorn that sells at the cinema for $5. So even the increase in the price paid to farmers over the last year — from nine cents to 13 cents per pound, or about 40 per cent — doesn’t amount to all that much for each tub sold at the cinema. “If you’re talking only about the price of corn,” says Floss, “the theatre is justified in raising the price a half cent. But let’s let them go up a whole cent … Anything more than that is price
gouging.” Of course, there’s a lot more that goes into a tub of popcorn munched at the movies than the kernels purchased from the farmer, including the rising energy, transportation and labour costs of the food wholesalers and distributors. Popcorn, grown from a different seed than field corn or sweet corn, is the elite of the corn world. “When you buy other seed, you pay by the bushel,” says Marg Jones, wife of a Leamington farmer who grows several crops. “For popcorn seed, we pay by the pound.” Plus, explains Jones, “You can’t get certified popcorn seed in Canada. No one grows it in Canada.” With market prices for field corn increasing with the demand for ethanol, more farmers eschew the finicky popcorn crop, which requires hot weather and a late frost; it has to dry in the field but if it suffers a freeze, it won’t pop. That’s why, in Canada, popcorn can only grow in the southernmost tip of Ontario. Popcorn, along with other snacks and drinks, pays the bills and fuels the profit margin at movie theatres, Marshall explains. “The concession area is a highmargin business for us,” she says. “It is the portion of our business that supports all of our staffing and new theatre development and operating costs.” And because, as Iowa’s Floss points out, even with corn itself costing 13 cents a pound, for $5, you can produce 256 tubs of popcorn.
OCTOBER 26, 2007
28 • INDEPENDENTSTYLE
EVENTS
Submit your events to Kayla Email: kayla.joy@theindependent.ca Phone: (709) 726-INDY (4639) Fax: (709) 726-8499
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26 • Baby’s day at the library for parents and children, newborn to 12 months old, register baby for his/her first library card, receive a free Books for Babies tote bag with goodies, A.C. Hunter Children’s Library, Arts and Culture Centre, St. John’s, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Story sessions at 10:30, 11:30 and 2:30. • Dancer/drummer Awal Alhassan from Dagomba tribe, Ghana, working with Dzolali Drum and Dance Ensemble in concert, LSPU Hall, St. John’s, 8 p.m. Workshops on dance and drumming to be hosted at The Dance Centre, Queen’s Road, St. John’s, 10-11 a.m., and 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Oct. 27. • The Invisible Girl presented by Green Thumb Theatre, Gander Arts and Culture Centre. • George Canyon, In a Quiet Room tour, Stephenville Arts and Culture Centre. Also performing at Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre, Oct. 27, Grand Falls-Windsor’s Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts, Oct. 28, Gander Arts and Culture Centre, Oct. 29, and St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre, Oct. 30.
6465.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27 • Wesley United Church’s fish cake sale orders can be picked up between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., 5793682 or 368-3941. • Alzheimer Society Halloween Gala, Knights of Columbus, 49 St. Clare Ave., 7 p.m., 576-0608 ; tickets, Alzheimer_eventsplanner@nf.aibn.com. • Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra Big Ticket Gala, hosted by Mark Critch with guests Crush, Heather Bambrick, Shelly Nelville, Barry Canning and Isabelle David, St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre, 8 p.m. • Ocean Net beach and underwater cleanup, St. Philip’s Beach, 11:30 a.m. • MUN Boo-tanical Garden Halloween Howl, family fun with arts and crafts, story time, puppet shows, face painting, and special Halloween nature hike, Mt. Scio Road, St. John’s, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. • First Look, studio series of local work in progress presented by Neighbourhood Dance Works, The School of Dance, 163 Water St., 8 p.m. • Book launch, boys, by Kathleen Winter, with short reading and live music, Courtyard Mariott, port room, 131 Duckworth St., St. John’s, 7 p.m. • The Jeff Dyer Band at The Ship, 10 p.m.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2 • Canada Live presents Newfoundland Songbook Vol. 1 & 2 featuring Anita Best and Pamela Morgan, LSPU Hall, St. John’s, 8 p.m., until Nov. 3. • Stick with it literacy tour, co-creator and series illustrator, Chuck Temple, performance of live illustrations before Fog Devil’s game, Mile One Centre, St. John’s, 6 p.m., Nov. 2. For kids 10 and under. • Big Band Dance, Jazz East Big Band with vocalist Katie Hopkins and Julia Halfyard’s Cabaret with Brian Way, Majestic Theatre, 390 Duckworth St., St. John’s, 8 p.m.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28 I• ndian music concert, Sitar and Tabla, PetroCanada Hall, MUN School of Music, St. John’s, 6 p.m. • CBC/MusicNL Songwriters’ Circle, featuring Ron Hynes, Amelia Curran, Blair Harvey and Damhnait Doyle, Delta Hotel, St. John’s, 2 p.m. • Les Ms. and Friends Sing for Care, in aid of Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Centre, hosted at Cochrane Street United Church, St. John’s, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. • St. John’s Organic Farmers Market, veggies, food, bath products, stationary, arts and crafts and more, Masonic Temple, Cathedral Street, St. John’s, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. For additional information or if interested in selling your wares, contact Sarah Hansen, hansen@nf.sympatico.ca. • Afternoon of ghost stories and poems with Tom Dawe and Carmelita McGrath, The Gerald Squires Gallery, 52 Prescott St., St. John’s, 2-5 p.m. Refreshments will be served. MONDAY, OCTOBER 29 • Grow With Me, parent and tot playgroup, Salvation Army Citadel, 21 Adams Ave., 364-
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30 • The Invisible Girl, presented by Green Thumb Theatre, Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts, Grand Falls-Windsor. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31 • Halloween party hosted by the Schizophrenia Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, Waterford Lions Club, St. John’s, 7 p.m. • St. Michael’s Printshop invites submissions from printmakers to apply for a one-month residency at St. Michael’s Printshop, 72 Harbour Dr., St. John’s, application deadline today. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1 • Psoriasis Connections, free information session on psoriasis, The Battery Hotel and Suites, 7-8 p.m. • Breaking Barriers: Jews, Christians and Muslims Reading Each Others’ Scriptures, free public lecture, engineering lecture theatre, MUN, 8 p.m.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3 • Women on Wheels, workshop for women on learning the necessary information to build the confidence needed in visiting the garage for vehicle repairs or buying or trading a vehicle, 1-5 p.m., 693-1624, www.lifeonfire.ca. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4 • Flattering the Masters IV exhibition, RCA Visual Gallery, LSPU Hall, 3 Victoria St., St. John’s, live auction, 2-5 p.m. • Persistence and Passion in the Prints of Albrecht Dürer, a lecture by St. John’s native Dr. Andrea Bubenik, The Rooms, 2-3:30 p.m. UPCOMING • Janeway Jeans Day, The Monday Blues, Nov. 5. Buttons available at all RBC Royal Bank and Mark’s Work Warehouse locations. • Franz Schubert: Mass in E-flat Major, performance by international award-winning Quintessential vocal ensemble, Basilica of St. John the Baptist, St. John’s, Nov. 9. • The Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador Fine Craft and Design Fair: Come and Meet Your Maker, St. John’s Convention Centre, Nov. 9-11, opening gala Nov. 8, 7-10 p.m. • For the Fallen, Cantus Vocum Chamber Choir’s annual concert of remembrance, Cochrane Street United Church, 81 Cochrane St., St. John’s, 8 p.m., Nov. 11. • MUN Dialogue on Advancing Global Sustainability with lecturer Dr. Diana Liverman, director of the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University, Inco Inovation Centre, room IIC-2001, Nov. 13-15. • Just Try It, lifelong learning symposium for the 50+, day of photography, gardening, fitness, gen-
George Morgan’s latest CD, Knockturns, will be celebrated in a concert Nov. 18, 3 p.m. at Petro-Canada Hall, Memorial University’s School of Music. The CD, a collection of eight original pieces played by Morgan (piano) and Alison Black (violin), is already available in local music stores.
ealogy, tai-chi, computers, and more, Holiday Inn, St. John’s, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Nov. 14, 737-2333 to register, seating is limited. • Gerald Squires celebrates 70 years, night of Newfoundland magic, music, storytelling and poetry, 7 p.m., Majestic Theatre, 390 Duckworth St., St. John’s, Nov. 17, 579-3023 to reserve tickets. • Monte Carlo Charity Gala, St. John’s Convention Centre, 7 p.m., Nov. 24. Organized by first- and second-year students of the MUN Faculty of Medicine. All proceeds go to the selected charities in Newfoundland and Labrador. For more information contact Jessica, 722-1827. • St. John’s downtown Christmas parade, Water Street, Nov. 25., still in need of volunteers, contact Gaylynne, 726-8244, gaylynne@downtownstjohns.com. • Miracle on George Street, hilarious and touching dinner and show based on the classic Miracle of 34th Street, opens Nov. 29, Majestic Theatre, 390 Duckworth St., St. John’s. • Bishops College Christmas Gala, unforgettable evening of food, entertainment and activities in aid of graduation activities, Dec. 1, 579-4107, bridgetricketts@esdnl.ca. • Corner Brook Christmas Bird Count, Saturdays, Dec. 15-Jan 5. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Lois Bateman, 6347206, lbateman@swgc.mun.ca. ONGOING • Extension of operating season of the Visitor Centre at Signal Hill National Historic Site of Canada, open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., regular admission fees apply, 772-5367 to book tour. • Chant and drumming, Lotus Centre, 52 Prescott St., Sunday nights, 7:30 p.m., everyone welcome, donations accepted. • Historical Walking Tours, Tuesday and Friday mornings until Nov. 30, 75 minutes, 364-6845, www.boyletours.com. • All ’Round the Circle dinner theatre, The Collonade, 6 East Dr., Pleasantville, every Wednesday through Friday, 690-9929. • The Rooms, St. John’s, free admission Wednesday nights, 6-9 p.m., www.therooms.ca. • Occupied St. John’s (book), wartime St. John’s oral history project, sponsored by the Paul Johnson Family Foundation, interviewees needed, contact 747-4113, or email k_ohare@alcor.concordia.ca.
• The Anna Templeton Centre for Craft Art and Design now offering a variety of adult evening classes and weekend workshops, registration also ongoing for Young Artist Program, 278 Duckworth St. Pre-registration required. Call 7397623, annatempletoncentre@gmail.com. • The St. John’s Women’s Centre is in need of women’s and children’s outdoor coats and jackets, shirts, pants, underwear and socks, children’s and babies snowsuits and winter wear, winter footwear in all sizes, and blankets and towels. The clothing bank items are given to clients free of charge as needed. Call 753-0220 for additional information. IN THE GALLERIES • New works by Anita Singh, Michele Stamp and Louise Sutton, The Leyton Gallery of Fine Art, reception 3-5 p.m., Oct. 6, show continues until Oct. 27 • Speaking Out of Turn, Upstarts on the Make, Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador display of the fine quality of art and craft emerging from the under-30 demographic, 59 Duckworth St., until Oct. 27. • Expressions of the Gardens, collection of abstract photographs embracing an early fall theme by local photographer Nicholas Langor, MUN Botanical Garden, until Oct. 28. • Defiant Beauty: William Hind in the Labrador Peninsula, The Rooms, St. John’s, until Nov. 10. • John MacCallum’s exhibition of fine furniture inspired by Newfoundland themes, created in a style using both traditional and contemporary methods and decorated with inlay and woodcarving, Craft Council Gallery, Devon House Craft Centre, 59 Duckworth St., St. John’s, exhibition until Nov. 10. • Deux Terroirs, collection of new jewelry by Don Beaubier, exploring the nature of two distinct landscapes, opening in the Annex Gallery, Craft Council Gallery, Devon House Craft Centre, 59 Duckworth St., St. John’s, until Nov. 10. • The Prints of Albrecht Durer, 53 works from the National Gallery of Canada’s fine collection of Durer prints, The Rooms, St. John’s, until Nov. 25. • Hot Wax, The Rooms, St. John’s, until Jan. 6. • Melancholia by Annette Manning, first project of the Space-Based series, The Rooms, St. John’s, until Jan 6. • Tilting: Rugged Landscape, Strong People, Fragile Architecture, The Rooms, St. John’s, until Jan. 13.
OCTOBER 26 NOVEMBER 1, 2007
What’s new in the automotive industry
FEATURED VEHICLE
Malin Enstrom
‘A Caddy for Dad’ D
2007 SUBARU OUTBACK DELIVERS If the word boredom isn’t in your vocabulary, you’re looking at the right vehicle. Whether it’s touring city streets with bikes in tow, or a trek around the countryside with your family, the 2007 Subaru Outback delivers. With innovative styling, a spacious and modern interior, and state-of-the-art 241hp Horizontally-Opposed Turbo-Charged engine, this go-anywhere vehicle is not only rugged and tough, but extremely versatile as well. Embracing the latest in safety and performance technologies, the 2007 Outback, with Subaru’s symmetrical full-time All-Wheel Drive, delivers unprecedented traction and control over all kinds of surfaces, in all sorts of conditions. With an Outback, the freedom to follow your own path is well within your reach. Visit one today at Capital Subaru, 37 Elizabeth Ave, St. John’s. Nicholas Langor/The Independent
ad always wanted a Cadillac: from the 1920s through the 1960s it was the symbol of luxury and success. But Dad’s thriftiness was honed in the ruinous Great Depression, and he paid the fees for his medical school by riding the rails to toil in the wheat fields at seeding and harvest. Later, in his rural Saskatchewan practice, he sped a succession of Ford sedans down country dirt ELLIOTT roads to visit his LEYTON injured patients, totalling a series of GUEST cars by hitting stray COLUMN horses or slipping off muddy roads into ditches. Did I mention that he drove like a maniac and that the sound of a police siren pulling us over was as much a part of my childhood as screaming in terror in the back seat when he’d pass on the shoulder or race a train to the railroad crossing? By the 1950s, when Dad had moved to Vancouver and established a practice there, he could have afforded a Caddy but his modesty would not allow him to take the plunge. Instead, Dad danced around the edge of the luxury market, buying solid middle-class conveyances like an Oldsmobile or a Mercury, and putting them through so many latenight house calls and Christmas trips to L.A. that their motors would burn out from sheer exhaustion. Once, we were stranded for days in a Nevada ghost town called Goldfield, where a schoolof-hard-knocks waitress with lipstick smeared just a quarter inch out of alignment with her lips passed us our grease burgers while we waited for a new engine to be trucked in from Las Vegas. But Dad died with the Cadillac still out of his emotional grasp, and now that I’m older than he was when he passed to his reward, it’s my task to pick up the keys. So here it is, the 2007 Cadillac DTS, direct descendant of the great General Motors luxobarge, the weighty Coupe de Ville, replete with every electronic gizmo and doodad that America can throw at us. In some ways the old de Ville was a relic of ancient automotive America, but it was also the fullest expression of this See “Stylish,” page 31
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30 • INDEPENDENTSHIFT
OCTOBER 26, 2007
Want the U.S. price? Ask for it By Ellen Roseman Torstar wire service
W
ith the Canadian dollar worth more than the U.S. dollar, retailer Christopher Smith has a popular promotion. He’s letting customers pay the U.S. price on anything he sells that has both prices printed on it. Suppose a book, greeting card or toy sells for $19.95 (US) and $24.95 (Cdn). His customers can buy the product for $19.95 in Canadian dollars. “People have been saying to me, ‘When are the prices going to change?’ I’ve been patiently educating customers that it takes a while,” says Smith at his Ottawa bookstore, Collected Works. “But you get to the point where you stop educating consumers and begin boring them. It became inexcusable when our dollar approached and then hit par with the U.S. dollar. Their eyes would glaze over.” Store traffic has doubled since he started the promotion, which runs till the end of this year. “With books, it’s so easy to sit down before your computer and buy online. What could I do? It was better to sell a little of something than nothing. Books are an easy target, with both prices printed on them in advance of sale. But cars have also drawn fire because of huge disparities — even on models made here. Vik Sabharwal was getting ready to buy a new Toyota Camry hybrid. Then, he noticed the car — assembled in Canada — had a retail price of $32,000 here and $25,200 (US) across the border. A difference of $6,800 (Cdn) seemed excessive to him, as was the cost of predelivery inspection — quoted at $1,540 in Canada and $645 (US) for American buyers. Sabharwal called a Toyota dealer in
Buffalo, N.Y., to ask about buying the car, but was rebuffed. “As soon as I identified myself as calling from Toronto, the manager said there is a treaty between Toyota Canada and Toyota U.S.A. that they cannot sell new vehicles to Canadians for personal export use.” Melanie Testani, a spokesperson for Toyota Canada, couldn’t comment on his complaint. She hoped to get answers shortly. Toyota was not named in a classaction lawsuit launched last month against the Canadian and U.S. divisions of General Motors, Honda, Chrysler and Nissan. The class action, which alleges collusion to inflate car prices in Canada while inhibiting cross-border shopping, was initiated by a Toronto law firm, Juroviesky & Ricci (www.jruslaw.com). Canadian car shoppers should support local dealers, says Phil Edmonston, author of the Lemon-Aid buyers’ guides. His advice: Show the U.S. price to a sales agent and ask how close the dealer can come to meeting it. If your request is turned down, go elsewhere. When faced with Toyota’s cross-border price disparity, Sabharwal drove a hard bargain with a Toronto dealer. He got a nominal discount on a 2008 Camry hybrid, but also got an Extra Car Protection warranty for six years or 120,000 kilometres thrown in by Toyota Canada. Meanwhile, he’s filed a complaint with the federal Competition Bureau. Edmonston has filed his own complaint about anti-competitive practices in the car industry. He urges others to do so at www.competitionbureau.gc.ca. He also refers people to the North American Automobile Trade Association (www.naata.org), which has a directory of cross-border motor vehicle specialists.
BRAZILIAN BANG-UP
Spyker Formula One driver Sakon Yamamoto of Japan crashes against Renault Giancarlo Fisichella of Italy during the Brazilian Grand Prix, the final F1 race of the season, at the Interlagos racetrack in Sao Paulo on Oct. 21. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker
BMW mulls fourth car brand
B
ayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s largest maker of luxury cars, is considering buying an automobile brand as well as creating one, said chief financial officer Michael Ganal. “We’re thinking about everything,” Ganal says. “The Japanese have had some success building up a brand from scratch and there are other companies that have bought brands. There are examples of both.” BMW said last month it’s looking at a fourth brand, in addition to its Rolls-Royce and Mini divisions, under a strategic review that includes cutting six billion euros, or $8.26 billion Cdn, from spending over five years. CEO Norbert Reithofer, who took over at BMW a year ago, said in September BMW wouldn’t rule out acquisitions to establish a fourth brand, but any new division would need to “at least make the same positive contribution to earnings” as existing businesses. — Torstar wire service
OCTOBER 26, 2007
INDEPENDENTSHIFT • 31
Do you really need to drive that SUV? I
f I have learned anything after writ- consumption is questioned. ing about driving for nearly two Well, this week has been just one years, it’s that you mess damned thing after another. I with someone’s vehicle watched an Expedition being choice at your peril. effectively wedged in a driveIn spite of the Nobel thru as an overmatched driver Peace Prize being handed to tried to talk on her cell phone an environmentalist — and dig out a loonie at the again — I’m still not same time. As she threw it into allowed to ask why people reverse, I could practically drive giant SUVs. Apparhear the Saturn behind her LORRAINE ently, I’m supposed to shrug yelp in fear. SOMMERFELD and realize it’s none of my We’ve had months-long business, and that people construction in our town now, can drive anything they can which is admittedly getting on afford, or get the credit for. It everyone’s nerves. But it’s is not polite to question why now down to some raised North Americans consume manhole covers and uneven like pigs, and then squeal like them pavement. So tell me why the guy in when their right to that conspicuous the Murano ahead of me needed to slam
POWER SHIFT
to a full stop, and gingerly step his way through the obstacles like a princess in a prom dress crossing a puddle. Here was the closest chance he was going to get to actually need the clearance he’d paid for, but instead he was angry at everyone around him, including a little Ford Focus, that expertly navigated without a hitch. He was yelling with his window down; if I’d been a little closer, I would have informed him that once you choose to drive something the colour of a peeled banana, you gave up “tough” a long time ago. Big pickup trucks if you work in the trades? That makes sense to me. SUVs for cottages and off-road pursuits? Sure. But if you’re scared to get it dirty, you may have chosen the wrong vehi-
cle. Years ago I drove bigger vehicles, believing I needed the space for my kids. A decade on, I’ve finally realized it’s for those very same kids that I need to not be over-vehicled, and I was being careless about my purchases. I was wrong. I use every square inch of the minivan I drive now, but I can’t wait until I don’t need it. Of course I have been informed rather tersely by a couple of readers that until I give up cars totally, I’m still a part of the problem. Maybe they’re right. But hopefully my thinking is headed in the right direction. I read an article recently about Hummer abuse. Apparently, owners are subjected to tirades, vandalism and insults based entirely on assumptions. I will cop to many of those assumptions,
though I would never stoop to vandalism and my tirades are confined to my home, except this one, which I will be roundly clobbered for. I’m not sure if the article was trying to garner some sympathy, but one of the owners quoted laughed that he purposely drove like an idiot “because he could.” Are some of us really so wrong in wondering why someone needs to drive something the size of his or her living room? I want to tell the guy who capped my week by driving his Navigator up my arse in the right lane on the way home from the cottage that taking up more room doesn’t give you magic powers. These super-sized road bullies just give me a headache. www.lorraineonline.ca
Auto buyers drive retail sales higher By Madhavi Acharya Torstar wire service
C
anadians hit the stores — and the car dealerships — in August, pushing up retail sales by 0.7 per cent after two months of declines. Auto sales picked up by 2.3 per cent in August, driving the largest gain for the month, though there were healthy increases in other areas, economists said. Furniture and electronics, pharmacies, clothing and general merchandise sales all posted gains of about 1.5 per cent. Sales increased to $34.5 billion, Statistics Canada said this week. “Even in the heart of the August credit turmoil and equity market swoon, Canadian consumers kept right on going,” says Doug Porter, an economist with BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. The strong report, showing that the economy and consumer sentiment held out against worries in the financial markets, helped give the Canadian dollar a boost. Consumer spending is likely to remain strong through the rest of the year, thanks to steady wage gains and historically low unemployment, economists say. But one big question mark remains — cross-border shopping. “We have a pretty good outlook for consumer spending overall, but we’re not sure where Canadians will be spending that money,” says Carolyn Kwan, an economist at Merrill Lynch in Toronto. “With their purchasing power augmented by the strong dollar, it could very well be that there’s an increase in cross-border shopping in the coming months.” Since the dollar hit parity with the U.S. greenback in late September, Canadian retailers have come under pressure to close the U.S.-Canadian price-gap that exists on many products. “We’ve seen what appears to be a standoff between consumers and retailers. It will be interesting to see if the anecdotal reports of people cross-border shopping and waiting for better prices actually plays out in the retail sales numbers,” Porter says. “It’s possible we’re getting enough price cuts by retailers that that will smooth the waters and we’ll see sales rebound in the last couple of months in the year.”
Elliott Leyton with the Cadillac DTS.
Photos by Malin Enstrom
Stylish and intuitive From page 29 continent’s concept of how a lucky man should cruise through life. Personally, I like imperial grandeur, not speed: I do not understand all those car “enthusiasts” who worship stiffly sprung Euro-Japanese cars and pound their spines into their brain stems as they bump and crash along some leafy lane. Now that my pulpy body is wracked with arthritis, that famous “Cadillac ride” sounds mighty good — “it wallows,” say its adrenalin-junkie critics; “deliciously soft,” say its advocates. 10:08 a.m.: Hickman Motors’ charming salesman, Tom Lambert, greets me at the door, shows me the car. “My heavens, it’s svelte and gorgeous,” I think to myself. Tom gives me the most informative talk on a new car I’ve ever received, hands me the keys and sends me off. The stylish Caddy is big and you can’t see any of its corners, but everything is intuitively laid out and you feel as if you’re in a normal-sized car, just an especially handsome one. But holy high tech! Everything is electronic — your seat moves in and out while a woman in
Detroit checks your oil (via the OnStar communication system), the dashboard beeps if you’re close to anyone else, and you jabber on the hands-free cell phone that’s built into the roof while music from the 1950s pounds through the satellite radio, reminding you of the time when your back didn’t hurt and every body part worked according to its original design specifications. Heavens, this is comfort city! I’ve been buying new cars for 50 years, but no car yet sampled can match the combination of smooth ride, compliant suspension, good seats with proper lumbar support, and your own private electronic masseur that works just like those on Air Canada’s business-class seats. After an hour’s drive, you step out of the car in the same condition as you entered it, maybe better. And you’ll step out in one piece thanks to the car’s six air bags, front-wheel drive and traction control. And holy quality control! General Motors seems to have finally got the message after the continent’s buyers defected en masse to the well-assembled likes of Honda, Toyota, Mazda and VW. The whole car feels like one piece, with proper fit and finish and a welded-together tautness that’s unmistakable. Even Consumer Reports magazine, no
fan of GM, admits GM’s reliability has improved to half decent. As for the Caddy’s allegedly “clumsy” handling, well, all I can say is that if you use your car for slalom events, drug smuggling or roadracing you might want to look elsewhere, but if you just want to be wafted in safety and comfort to your destination, take a long hard look at the Cadillac DTS. Elliott Leyton of Paradise recently backed into a friend’s parked minivan.
32 • INDEPENDENTFUN
OCTOBER 26, 2007
WEEKLY DIVERSIONS ACROSS 1 Judge 7 “ ___, Natural British Columbia” 12 Smells 18 Go very quietly 19 Old enough (2 wds.) 20 Collapse (2 wds.) 21 Mug’s genteel cousin 22 Kind of bear 23 Common threat (2 wds.) 24 Rainbow 25 Couple 27 Big fibbers 29 Wind dir. 30 Language from which “Saskatchewan” was derived 32 Idles 35 Econ. indicator 36 Like some grapes 37 “Papa ___’s dead and gone ...” 39 Marriage 41 Famed quintuplets 43 Dung beetle 45 Morse Robb’s invention: electric ___ 47 Eggs 48 Aftershave, once (2 wds.) 51 White heron 53 Frosting 57 Toogood ___, Nfld. 58 Streetcar 60 “Oui” and “si” 62 Leg joint
63 Piece of bread dipped in liquid 64 Seraglio 66 Strap 68 Container 69 Black eyeliner powder 71 Lawful 73 Peter Pan pirate 74 I have 75 Sask. license plate: “Land of living ___” 77 Group of eight 79 ___ du Québec (Quebec Police) 81 Buddhist temple 83 Book of maps 85 Relieved (of) 86 Please 90 Resume (2 wds.) 92 B.C. athletes 96 “Ah, me!” 97 Age 99 Font feature 101 Verifiable 102 Beaver or fox young 103 Save for a ___ day 105 About: prefix 107 Devoted follower 108 Spotted feline 110 Mussel harming Lake Erie 113 Tearjerkers 115 Tone deafness (2 wds.) 116 Land units 117 Not abundant 118 Clothes
CHUCKLE BROS
119 Fellows 120 Passed DOWN 1 Glue 2 Mountain range 3 Absent-minded 4 List ender 5 Liquid food 6 Flower part 7 Measha Brueggergosman, for one 8 ___ Data Centre and Landing Pad, St. Paul, Alta. 9 Friend 10 Equal (Fr.) 11 Fix up again 12 Fall sign 13 Traffic units 14 Twilight, for short 15 B.C. Kootenays city 16 Paper hanky 17 Scoffs 26 Debt chit 28 Besides 31 Reverse current 33 Arsonist’s delight 34 All wet 36 Nosh 38 Where to find ice (for now) 40 Nostrils 42 Geisha’s sash 44 Belonging to the country 46 Avian homes 48 Small stream
49 Around: comb. form 50 Hockey’s Lemieux 52 Periods in office 54 Native group famous for its art 55 “Of all the ___!” 56 DNA part 57 Requests 59 Muslim pilgrimage site 61 Cécile’s sister 65 Winter handwear 67 Jeopardy 70 First black woman mayor in Canada: Daurene ___ (Annapolis Royal, N.S., 1984) 72 Anklebone 76 Show signs of overuse 78 Lady (Fr.) 80 Polish a manuscript 82 Where the play’s the thing 84 Exceed 86 If North, it borders on Sask. 87 Bring out 88 Hidden 89 Pod or corn starter 91 Easy as ___! 93 Quebec ski venue 94 Subtlety 95 Intuited 98 April 25 in Australia: ___ Day 100 High-school begin-
ners 103 “We’ll rant and we’ll ___ ...”
104 Word of disgust 106 People of the Andes, once
109 Floral neckwear 111 Lingerie item 112 Salesperson
114 Journalist Hanomansing Solutions page 34
Brian and Ron Boychuk
WEEKLY STARS ARIES (MAR. 21 TO APR. 19) The pitter-patter of all those Sheep feet means that you’re out and about, rushing to get more done. That’s fine, but slow down by the weekend so you can heed some important advice.
CANCER (JUNE 21 TO JULY 22) Congratulations. You’re about to claim your hard-earned reward for your patience and persistence. Now, go out and enjoy some fun and games with friends and family.
TAURUS (APR. 20 TO MAY 20) You’re in charge of your own destiny these days, and, no doubt, you’ll have that Bull’s-eye of yours right on target. But don’t forget to make time for family events.
LEO (JULY 23 TO AUG. 22) The Big Cat might find it difficult to shake off that listless feeling. But be patient. By the week’s end, your spirits will perk up, and you’ll be your perfectly purring self again.
GEMINI (MAY 21 TO JUNE 20) Be prepared for a power struggle that you don’t want. Look to those helpful folks around you for advice on how to avoid it without losing the important gains you’ve made.
VIRGO (AUG. 23 TO SEPT. 22) A problem with a co-worker could prove to be a blessing in disguise when a superior steps in to investigate and discovers a situation that could prove helpful to you. LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 23 to
OCTOBER 22) This is a favourable time to move ahead with your plans. Some setbacks are expected, but they’re only temporary. Pick up the pace again and stay with it. SCORPIO (OCT. 23 TO NOV. 21) Your creativity is recognized and rewarded. So go ahead and claim what you’ve earned. Meanwhile, that irksome mysterious situation will soon be resolved. SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22 TO DEC. 21) A new associate brings ideas that a wise Sagittarian will quickly realize can benefit both of you. Someone from the workplace makes an emotional request. CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 TO JAN. 19) It might be a good idea to ease up on that hectic pace and spend
more time studying things you’ll need to know when more opportunities come later in November. AQUARIUS (JAN. 20 TO FEB. 18) A relatively quiet time is now giving way to a period of high activity. Face it with the anticipation that it will bring you some welldeserved boons and benefits. PISCES (FEB. 19 TO MAR. 20) Go with the flow, or make waves? It’s up to you. Either way, you’ll get noticed. However, make up your own mind. Don’t let anyone tell you what choices to make. BORN THIS WEEK: You like to examine everything before you agree to accept what you’re told. Your need for truth keeps everyone around you honest. (c) 2007 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 34
INDEPENDENTSPORTS
FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 1, 2007 — PAGE 33
Triathletes begin their day with the swim at the Ford Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on Oct. 13.
REUTERS/Lucy Pemoni
Ground control Triathlons allow Marty Bulcock to push the envelope in the air, in the water and on pavement
By Brian Callahan The Independent
O
ne might say it was a natural progression for Marty Bulcock to pursue flying, what with running, swimming and biking already mastered. The transplanted Newfoundlander, who also happens to be a WestJet pilot, recently topped his age group at the Ford Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on Oct. 13, finishing first out of 244 entrants in the 40-44 age category. And before you lose your enthusiasm because it’s not an “overall” result, know this: Bulcock, 41, finished 53rd out of 1,800 competitors with a time of nine hours, 12 minutes, 35 seconds. (Swim: 1:01:41; bike: 5:01:01; run: 3:03:31). The winner, incidently, was San Diego’s Chris McCormack, 34, a professional triathlete who finished in 8:15:00. Bulcock does this part time. “It was definitely a tough day,” says Bulcock, who spent most of his school years living in St. John’s but moved to Alberta after high school. “The temperatures down there probably made it the hardest. It was very warm.” The world ironman championships are considered the ultimate test of endurance for any triathlete. We’re talking a 2.4-mile (3.8 km) swim, 112-mile (180 km) bike ride and then a 26.2-mile (42 km) run (a full marathon). There’s a sense of exhaustion just typing those numbers. “The swim was probably the toughest part for me,” Bulcock tells The Independent from his Calgary home. “I’m used to triathlons
where there’s not as many good swimmers as there are down there. “So, usually in these triathlons I can get in a group that’s up front in the swim, but this time I was stuck in a pack — yeah, kicked, punched and knocked — and they’re such quality athletes down there that … well, I just couldn’t get out of that pack. “So, that was a very frustrating swim.” Marty Bulcock It was a different story back on land, however. “Once I got on the bike, it was good. There’s enough air flow on the bike from the speeds you’re goin’ that I never felt too hot. But you really have to pace yourself. I did, and had a good bike ride.” There was improvement again after the transition from pedals to hot pavement. “The difference for me, what made that race the best ever for me, was the run. I changed my training a little bit and went for some longer running sessions, and it seemed to really pay off. “When I got off the bike and began the run, I felt really good.” Bulcock, married with daughters aged six and 10, caught the triathlon bug growing up in St. John’s while attending Booth Memorial high school. The swimming component was the result of hours at the Aquarena, where he quickly took to the sport of water polo.
“We had a junior program at school … and I went to the provincial team after that. And then my friends and I used to do some of the short triathlons around St. John’s.” He stayed with the provincial program until university, when he moved to Montreal to train with the national team’s water polo program, attending university part time. “I did that for three years before having to finally give up the water polo dream. Well, it wasn’t really much of a dream,” a humble Bulcock says with an easy laugh. “I was too small, really, to get good at that sport, so … I decided to pursue flying.” He got his pilot’s licence and flew small planes for two B.C. companies before landing a job with WestJet and moving to Calgary. He’s been with the major commercial carrier for more than nine years. In Calgary he took up mountain biking. “I did a lot of different bike races — then decided to try a marathon in Winnipeg. It was a challenge I hadn’t tried. So after doing that, I decided the next challenge was to put all three (of the sports) together. “I really like the sport (of ironman) and I’ll keep doing it. I’ve been told by friends that I could probably get a pro card, but for me that’s not what it’s about at all. I’ve already got a career …” Fortunately, that career gives Bulcock the time and opportunity to travel to ironman com-
petitions around the world. “I can get up to 15 days off a month. If you want, you can try to get two weeks in a row, but it’s usually five days on, five days off. “It does take a lot of time and can get expensive. Luckily, I can travel to most of these races (at minimal cost) but the bike especially can be a very expensive investment. I’ve talked to a few bike reps since my race, and I think I may be able to start getting some equipment at a good price.” Bulcock usually trains when his daughters are in school and, like the Hawaii event, he takes the family with him when he competes. “I’ve been married 14 years, and would never be able to do this without the support of my wife, Anette,” he insists. Bulcock was born in Grand Prairie, Alta., but travelled continuously with his parents, Mona and Jeff, both retired university professors. They settled in St. John’s more than 30 years ago, when Marty was almost 10. “Out here, I’m a Newfoundlander. But back home I’m a mainlander I guess.” He says his parents have been renovating their downtown St. John’s home with plans to sell and move permanently to their place in Heart’s Content. Bulcock is buoyed by his strong finish in Hawaii, but has no definitive plans for his next race. “Because I won my age group, I automatically qualify for next year. So I will be doing that for sure because it’s a fight to get a spot in the worlds,” he says. “But I’ve heard about this new race from Cape Spear to Cabot Tower, so I think I’d like to give that a try.” brian.callahan@theindependent.ca
Revenge rocks
Korab, Noseworthy on a collision course with Gushue as both chase provincial championship
G
ander, as anybody who has traipsed through there knows, is not a big town. Avoiding someone is a talent. The town shrinks in size considerably when a number of teams from outside descend on the town for a sporting event. So if you play on one of these teams, there’s a good chance you’re going to run into an opponent somewhere during the weekend. (To be fair, the same holds true for St. John’s, especially when the sport is small in numbers, like curling.) Recently, Gander hosted the Don Bartlett Curling Spiel, featuring many of the top curlers in the country. If you were
DON POWER
Power Point a curler, chances are you were in Gander. One of those curlers was Jamie Korab, one of only five Olympic gold medal winning male curlers in the country. Brad Gushue’s team was there, (Gushue wasn’t; he stayed home with his pregnant wife) but Korab didn’t play on it. Korab was unceremoniously dumped from Brad Gushue’s gold medal winning
team in April of this year, and played with Mark Noseworthy’s rink. While Korab and Gushue didn’t have the opportunity to bump into each other in Gander, they’ve had many chances to see each other during the months since the decision to part ways. For whatever reasons, they haven’t. And while high level sports teams often change personnel, sometimes friendships are damaged. This is one of those times. From all accounts, Korab and Gushue haven’t spoken since April, and don’t appear to be on a collision course to talk any time soon. While the friendship (such as it was)
may have been damaged, Korab’s reputation wasn’t. This year he’s playing with two teams. In local and provincial play, Korab joins Noseworthy. He’ll also curl on the World Curling Tour with Guy Hemmings and Pierre Charette out of Quebec. For those not too familiar with local curling circles, there’s not a lot of love lost between Mark Noseworthy and Brad Gushue, either. The two skips faced each other numerous times early in Gushue’s men’s career and have had some heated battles. To say there’s a rivalry would be an understatement.
Now Noseworthy has a huge ally in Korab. Neither man would state the obvious: that both want revenge against Gushue. They agree they both want to beat him, but only because that should help them reach their stated goal of getting to the Brier. Revenge, Noseworthy said correctly, can be misguided. You focus so much on one opponent that you lose sight of the other worthy competitors. Korab cited an example about Colleen Jones and the breakup of her team, causing her to see nothing but revenge and See “Teams to square off,” page 34
34 • INDEPENDENTSPORTS
OCTOBER 26, 2007
Last-minute moose
Two new friends and a successful hunt. What more can one ask from a Saturday?
L
ast Saturday I couldn’t find a buddy to accompany me in the woods. Robert had to work and Matt had been acquisitioned to help shingle the roof of his niece’s new house. I was on my own. Goldie and the kids don’t like me hunting by myself, although I’ve certainly punched my share of solo woods time over the years. Actually, I like to hunt by myself every so often. It’s tranquil and helps tune and develop those stealthy hunting skills. So without the family blessing, I arose an hour before daylight, packed a lunch and headed out in the garage to ready my quad. There was quite a frost on the ground and it glistened under a bright half moon. The morning star, Venus, was shining brilliantly and rising in the east over Spaniard’s Bay Harbour. The bed had been warm and cozy, but now I was happy to be out in the cool and fresh morning air. I had a panoramic view of Conception Bay, with the lights on Bell Island twinkling in the distance as I rode east on the old rail bed high above Spaniard’s Bay, heading towards Harbour Grace. Although I grew up in Spaniard’s Bay, the hinterland of Harbour Grace has been a favourite hunting area since my teenage years. At Riverhead I left the rail bed and drove in Glover Road toward Marky’s Hill, one of my favourite lookouts for moose and ducks. It’s a bald protrusion of solid rock, a navigation aid and platform for those inclined to viewing the country. I remember my father telling me about Marky’s Hill before I ever saw or stood on it. Woodsmen of old, trudging behind sleighs laden with firewood felled by axe or bucksaw, would steer their Newfoundland ponies towards it on many a cold winter’s evening. In those days there was no GPS or chainsaws. The hill has a human history, although quite brief, I’m sure, by its own standards. I parked my quad halfway up the hill amidst a patch of boulders and climbed to the top, just as wisps of daylight began streaking across the sky. Both the moon and Venus lost their prominence as the sun neared the horizon. The moose
would want to dry themselves after suffering several days of rain. It would be a splendid morning to see moose. I had no licence. Matt had a licence, but would soon be on a roof nailing down squares of asphalt. Nevertheless, I would enjoy watching for a while before heading further in the country in search of ducks. It didn’t take long. Just as the first rays of sunlight turned the marsh from black to yellow, a fine cow, followed by her calf, emerged from a line of thick spruce. I was watching them walking and browsing the marsh’s northern edge when I heard a truck rumbling in over the road. The truck parked beside my hill and two hunters soon joined me. Shawn Merrigan and Rod Reynolds from Harbour Grace were looking for a moose and carried a rifle. They must have wondered what I was up to, armed with only binoculars. Not a lot of people go moose watching before daylight with no deadly intentions. It turned out Shawn had moose tags and this was his last opportunity to fill them. He was scheduled to return to Ontario and his heavy equipment job on Sunday at noon. I pointed out the cow and calf that I had been watching. “Too bad they’re so bloody far back in the woods,” was Shawn’s immediate observation. “No trouble to get back there and get a moose out,” says I. “There’s a quad trail going all the way in there.” I offered to hike in with Shawn while Rod manned the hill with cell phone and binoculars. The plan was for Shawn and I to set up for a shot on a small knoll that overlooked a well-used crossing place the pair of moose were apparently headed for. I had seen moose cross there many times before. The plan unfolded to a tee until something turned the wary critters on their
Solutions for crossword from page 32
Solutions for sudoku from page 32
PAUL SMITH
The Rock
Outdoors
Shawn Merrigan and his moose.
heels and urged them in a direction directly away from us. I’m not sure whether the culprit was our sweaty scent hanging in the still morning air, people talking up a storm out by the road, or an electronic moose call that Shawn and I felt compelled to try. (We pressed the lonesome cow button and a tinny shrieking wail erupted that half frightened me to death. I suspect the wise old cow wasn’t too impressed.) We tracked the moose a ways, but abandoned the trail as a futile waste of energy. Shawn was clearly disappointed and suspected he would be returning to Ontario mooseless. I encouraged him but doubt was setting in. With heavy rain forecasted to start in the early afternoon we needed luck, a real good plan or both. To make matters worse, Robert, my moose-calling buddy, was working.
Paul Smith photo
Rod phoned and said he suspected a moose was feeding near the hill but was hidden by the thick juniper that had grown up over the past 10 years. He had heard twigs cracking and branches breaking. “You never know,” I said. “Luck has a way of rearing up at the darkest moments.” We returned to the hill and scanned with binoculars and naked eyes for the better part of an hour but saw or heard nothing. Morale was sinking. Then, as I glassed a nearby treeline I picked up a dark shadow amongst the juniper and spruce. Sure enough, it was a moose, looking right at us out through the trees. Contrary to the popular myth, moose have very good vision. Shawn readied his 30-06 Savage by chambering a round and removing the scope covers. By now
it was a little windy on the hill and steadying aim for a 300-yard shot was challenging. Finally, he wedged himself in a rock crevice with the rifle resting on two leather work gloves atop a round boulder. It worked. When the cow finally turned and presented a clear shot at its fore-shoulder, Shawn was calm and ready. The 30-06 split the silence and the moose dropped instantly to the ground. Shawn was a relieved and happy moose hunter. For my part, I had a great day — two new friends and a successful moose hunt. And I thought I’d be hunting alone. Paul Smith is an outdoors enthusiast and freelance writer living in Spaniard’s Bay. flyfishtherock@hotmail.com
Teams to square off in Labrador in February From page 33 getting it, but ultimately losing the big prize. No doubt the road to the Brier runs through Brad Gushue’s rink. (Gushue, Mark Nichols, Chris Schille and new lead Dave Noftall are on another busy schedule that will hopefully see them end up as Canada’s representative at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.) He’s without question the top curler in the province, and anybody wanting to get to the national championship is going to have to deal with Gushue somewhere along the road. That’s where Korab is this year. After playing among the best teams in the country for years, and competing at Olympics and Briers, he’s looking to get back there. Korab figures Noseworthy can help him get there. Noseworthy — who was talked out of a one-year retirement to get back skipping — loves his new team, which also consists of Ryan Ledrew and Mike Adam, another former member of Gushue’s rink whose fierce competitive nature is often hidden behind that wide smile.
Jamie Korab
The good news for Korab is that he’s back at his favourite position, second. The good news for Noseworthy is that he has a front end of two Olympic gold medalists. The great news for curling fans is that this should provide some interesting story lines to follow this
REUTERS/Shaun Best
winter, as the teams prepare to square off in Labrador in February. And no matter what anybody says, when — or if — these teams meet at the provincial Tankard championship — revenge will be part of the equation. donniep@nl.rogers.com
OCTOBER 26, 2007
INDEPENDENTSPORTS • 35
Beckham brand purrs on By Cathal Kelly Torstar wire service
F
rom a sporting standpoint, there is only one way to judge David Beckham’s recently completed first year in Major League Soccer — an abysmal failure. Beckham and his L.A. Galaxy meekly slunk out of the MLS playoff picture last weekend with a 1-0 loss to Chicago. After arriving in July, Beckham managed only two starts in 19 league games. Injury slowed and clearly depressed him. To add insult to his aching tendons, England has had to do without him and are now on the verge from being bounced from Euro 2008 qualifying. And at MLS headquarters in New York, they’re all smiles. Or at least they should be, what with all that new money and interest floating around. Now that Beckham’s spent his first summer hiding in the trainer’s room, the MLS suits get to roll him out all over again next year. “Seriously folks, here’s the real David Beckham, the 100 per cent full fit David Beckham. We know you bought tickets last year and were disappointed, but now we promise, promise, promise you’ll get what you came for. While you’re here, you’ll notice we’ve released a whole new L.A. Galaxy kit and rejigged the merchandising stands. Have fun!” In a strange, unintended and utterly shambolic way, Beckham’s embarrassing absence in his first year has actually prolonged his honeymoon period. Now he gets another year of reintroductions. The hype will not be quite so deafening. But there is no more motivated consumer than one who has been denied the thing he or she wants. This strange attraction really only works with Beckham, who is so different from any other world-famous athlete in circulation today.
When he arrived, it was with notification that MLS was buying a brand, not an athlete. Paparazzi interest, magazine spreads, even the reforming of the Spice Girls, has kept Beckham’s face front and centre. All the while, he did the right thing — talked up his new team, seemed intent on regaining fitness and looked suitably chagrined at not being able to play. This week, Beckham was ranked first in an online poll asking who was the “manliest man” on earth. Undertaken as it was by a website — askmen.com — that advises its readers on moisturizers and yoga, “manliest” should be repeatedly referred to in quotations. But one million of the sort of fan MLS wants to attract — young, male, moneyed — voted in the poll. The only other athletes included in the top 20 were international glamour boys: Roger Federer, F1’s Lewis Hamilton and, er, Peyton Manning. However he’s doing as an athlete, the Beckham brand seems to be purring along. This reinforces something we’ve known since the day the Beckham landing was announced. Beckham was never going to sell soccer by playing the game. He was here to lend it glamour, to attract coverage and to serve as its spokesmodel. It was the job of other, hungrier, more-reasonably-paid players to prove the game’s worth with the ball at their feet. Witness what Danny Dichio’s done in Toronto. The English journeyman is already a cult hero because he is exactly the sort of player Beckham never could be — hard-charging, camera shy and occasionally brutal. Beckham’s still just a name to many North American soccer fans. Next year, they get to decide if they’re interested in the player. Major League Soccer reaps the benefits of the double dip in interest.
INDEPENDENTCLASSIFIED FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 1, 2007 — PAGE 36
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