2004-10-03

By Ryan ClearyThe Independent

The province’s largest salmonfarming company issued layoffnotices to its entire140-strong

workforce late last week after theGuelph, Ont.-based feed supplier can-celled its line of credit.

As of Saturday, North Atlantic SeaFarms Corp. of St. Alban’s had run out offeed for the more than 700,000 Atlanticsalmon it has penned in marine cages offGaultois and Pool’s Cove on the island’ssouth coast.

A company representative says unlessthe feed supplier — Shur-Gain, a divi-sion of Maple Leaf Foods — reestab-lishes the line of credit or the provincialgovernment steps in to save the day, thesalmon farming business on the island’ssouth coast will go under.

“The immediate problem right now isfeed for the fish,” says Brian Rogers,chief consultant for North Atlantic SeaFarms.

“The industry is being threatened bythe major supplier … who’s cutting off

credit at a time when we’re most vulner-able,” he tells The Independent.

“The fish will live, but we will not beable to feed them and from a businesspoint of view we will have to lay off allthe staff, maintaining a skeleton crewjust for security.”

Since 2001, Shur-Gain has forwardedfeed from its Truro, N.S., plant to thesouth coast aquaculture operation usinga line of credit.

Payments were consistently madeonce the fish were sold to market, a rela-tionship that reportedly worked welluntil last December when Shur-Gainunexpectedly cancelled its $6-millionline of credit to North Atlantic SeaFarms.

At that point, the company owed over$5 million. Feed is the most expensivepart of a fish farming operation, repre-senting up to 80 per cent of productioncosts.

“They (Shur-Gain officials) said it wasa corporate decision that they no longerwanted to be bankers for the industry,”says Rogers.

“And we were in default of nothing.We had laid this plan out with them sev-eral years prior and we had lived up toeverything we said we were going to do.We had provided them with everythingfrom monthly financial statements, in

some cases weekly statements. Theywere intimately involved with us in thegrowth of the company.”

The move was a devastating blow toNorth Atlantic Sea Farms, consideringtraditional financiers such as bankswon’t lend a dime to the province’s

aquaculture industry.Early this year, Rogers says Shur-Gain

officials agreed to a plan whereby ifNorth Atlantic Sea Farms paid back halfof its outstanding $5-million debt itwould add $1 million to the company’sline of credit, bringing it to $3.5 million.

The company did just that. Shur-Gain, however, kept changing

the cap on the line of credit until earlierthis summer when it once again can-celled the credit outright.

For use of the line of credit, Rogerssays Shur-Gain charged North Atlantic

Sea Farms 28 per cent above the goingmarket price for feed. Despite the factthe company paid its bills and the extracosts associated with the line of credit,Rogers says Shur-Gain still pressured

‘No such thing as an unsinkable ship’

But questions of stability on vessels such as Ryan’s Commander have been raised by the feds for years

By Jeff DucharmeThe Independent

Astudy four years ago by theCanadian Coast Guardexpressed grave concern over

the stability of fishing boats similar indesign to the ill-fated Ryan’s Comman-der, The Independent has learned.

Boat builders, designers and fishermenhave blamed the Sept. 19 accident thatclaimed the lives of two fishermen onfederal regulations that force them tobuild and operate vessels less than 65feet in length. Builders contend they’reforced to construct vessels wider andhigher, making them unstable.

According to the Department of Fish-eries and Oceans report, “transport safe-ty surveyors” described the vessel-sizeregulations and how they’re enforced as“accidents waiting to happen.”

“Installations of heavy fishing gear onvessels whose design is fundamentallytoo small, have created too many ‘topheavy’ situations where stability prob-lems could lead to potential accidents,”reads the report.

Another report by Transport Canadaset off alarm bells in 1999 when it stat-ed that the “effect of heavy shrimp gear”

on stability was a “major consideration.”Snub-nosed vessels such as Ryan’s

Commander, which was fishing shrimpwhen it went down, have been criticizedbecause of their box-like construction —almost vertical bow, extreme width andheight. Fishermen and builders blamefederal regulations for creating the ves-

sels, known as snub nose 64-11s. Mid-shore vessels are between 65 and 100feet in length, with anything over thatlength considered offshore.

Capacity, which has long been a con-tentious issue between the feds, fisher-men and industry, is also what has driv-en the design of the snub-nose boats.

“Examples exist where current 65-footCanadian fishing vessels actually havemore hold capacity than American swordfishing vessels that are in excess of 80feet,” reads the coast guard report.

The report goes on to criticize the fed-eral bureaucracy, noting a 1987 coastguard study. “While it noted that humanerror was a principle cause of most acci-dents, it was clear in its view that cir-cumstances, often beyond the control offishermen, set the stage for accidents tohappen.”

The same report went even further,saying “arbitrary rulings in the pursuit ofDepartment of Fishery and Oceans goalsoften had an adverse effect on safety.”

The 2000 coast guard report repeatsmany of the same concerns.

Transport Canada, the TransportationSafety Board, coast guard, and the Fisheries

Cause for alarmConstabulary policing levels need an immediate boost: union

By Alisha MorrisseyThe Independent

The new president of the RoyalNewfoundland ConstabularyAssociation, Tim Buckle, isn’t

afraid to admit Newfoundlanders andLabradorians have every right to be con-cerned for their safety.

Crime is up and police resources aredown.

“Well there isn’t the volume of policeofficers available out there like it oncewas,” he tells The Independent. “Peo-ple’s fears in that regard are not illegiti-mate, they are very legitimate.”

Buckle says the likelihood of an offi-cer actually catching a person in the actof committing a crime is remote becauseConstabulary officers are too busyresponding to complaint calls.

Constabulary Chief Richard Deeringagrees.

“We are publicly funded — there’sonly so much money to go around —policing is a priority in the community,but so is education and health … so myjob as the chief of police is to apply myresources in the most efficient manner Ihave,” Deering says.

The Constabulary currently has 306officers on the force, whose jurisdictionincludes the greater St. John’s area, Cor-ner Brook and Labrador West. Thirtynew recruits are currently in training atMemorial University.

Buckle says the biggest issue facingthe Constabulary and its association is alack of staff.

“And while we commend the (Danny)Williams government for finding newmonies to train new officers, the earliestthose officers will be able to work is Sep-tember, 2005.”

Even then, Buckle says the recruitswill need some on-the-job training.

“To give an officer a set of keys,firearm and send him out to do his job —he’s going to need at least six monthstraining to gain some exposure to the realworld.”

There are new graduates of policetraining programs currently in theprovince looking for work. Buckle saysthey should be hired immediately.

“We have our chief who’s saying wedon’t have the staffing level to respondto alarm calls, we have an increase inproperty calls, and armed robberies …and we concur with the chief of policethat it’s very likely related to the drugtrade of prescription drugs,” Buckle says.

Deering recently stated the Constabu-lary would not be responding to anymore alarm calls if a key holder isn’t onsite. “The problem with the alarm busi-ness in this province is all these entrepre-neurial spirits went out and sold all these

VOL. 2 ISSUE 40 ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3-9, 2004 WWW.THEINDEPENDENT.CA $1.00 (INCLUDING HST)

BUSINESSSecurity is more thana sharp uniform

5

IN CAMERAAt home and schoolwith young Johnny

Page 11

SPORTSMichael Ryder to takeSweden by storm

Page 25

OPINIONIvan Morgan on winningBeth Marshall back

Page 5

QuoteOF THEWeek

Losing the farm

Ontario feed supplier cuts off credit to south coast’s largest salmon grower

Continued on page 2

Continued on page 2

Courtesy of Jim Wellman/Navigator

The shrimp trawler Ryan’s Commanderwent down Sept. 19 off Cape Bonavista.

“One of the memberssaw him at a distance.From there, the rumour

went that he (ChiefRichard Deering) wasrunning in the halls in

his underwear.”— Staff-Sgt. June Layden

Paul Daly/The Independent

The Atlantic salmon farming industry on the island’s south coast has been jeopardized with the decision by a Guelph-based feed company to cancel a line of credit. Officials withShur-Gain reportedly say they’re no longer interested in bankrolling the industry. Atlantic salmon is popular in restaurants around the world.

UPWARDS OF 140 LAYOFFSISSUED; 700,000 FISH LEFT INWATER WITH NOTHING TO EAT


The union representing Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers says the forceis desperately short of manpower.

Continued on page 8

North Atlantic Sea Farms,although he has no idea why.

“You’d have to ask them thatquestion,” Rogers says. “My per-sonal belief is that there has beena corporate directive out ofMaple Leaf Foods to get all ofthese lines of credit … from ourpoint of view we told them exact-ly what we were going to do andstuck to it. There was an excel-lent relationship.”

The Independent placednumerous calls to Jerry Vergeer,Shur-Gain’s president, but thepaper’s messages weren’treturned. Scott McCain of MapleLeaf Foods, Shur-Gain’s parentcompany, also failed to returncalls.

LARGEST EMPLOYERNorth Atlantic Sea Farms —

the largest employer on the southcoast — employs about 60 work-ers at its processing plant in St.Alban’s, with another 80 employ-ees at its hatchery just outsidetown and two marine farms. Allbut 20 employees are full-time.

Last year, the company pro-duced four million pounds ofsalmon, worth an estimated $7.2million. This year’s product levelof 5.8 million pounds wasexpected to fetch more than $11million.

Rogers says North Atlantic SeaFarms had asked Shur-Gain to

extend its feed credit until thisDecember so the company canharvest the salmon it has in thewater and pay its outstandingbill. Shur-Gain officials refused,however, and North Atlantic SeaFarms has — since August —been cutting back on the amountof food it feeds the salmon it hasin the water.

OUT OF CASHThe company is now com-

pletely out of cash, and the feedran out completely Saturday.

Rogers says Shur-Gain offi-cials have been advised theycould harvest the salmon as ameans to cover the moneythey’re owed.

“That’s not necessarily a goodthing to do, but we have toldthem that,” says Rogers. “But ifthey come in and harvest itaggressively, if they come in anddon’t grow the crop out foranother month they will basical-ly put the death nail in NorthAtlantic Sea Farms.”

Rogers says the company hasbeen working with the provincialgovernment on a way it couldpossibly help. The province, forits part, isn’t commenting.

A spokeswoman for the Fish-eries and Aquaculture Depart-ment says Minister Trevor Taylorisn’t prepared to comment“because negotiations are takingplace between the two compa-nies.”

NEWS The Independent, October 3, 2004

From page 1

THIS WEEK

In Camera . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Business & Commerce . . 15

International News . . . 18

Life & Times . . . . . . . . . 20

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Crossword . . . . . . . . . . 22

Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

FOUR-DAY WEATHERInformation provided by Environment Canada

NewfoundlandSunday 12ºMonday 13ºTuesday 14ºWednesday 13º

LabradorSunday 16ºMonday 15ºTuesday 13ºWednesday 7º

‘Minister doesn’t feel it’s a time for politics’


Premier Danny Williamsmay not be drawing asalary from taxpayers, but

the provincial government is foot-ing the bill for his travel.

Between January and mid-August, the premier took 16 tripsthroughout Europe, Canada andthe province – all work relatedmeetings and conferences – rack-ing up expenses totaling $30,245.

The most expensive trip —coming in at $8,600 — involved aMay excursion to Italy, Germany,France and Belgium for a host ofmeetings on subjects ranging

from the promotion of 5 WingGoose Bay and tourism, to educa-tion and foreign overfishing onthe Grand Banks.

A July trip to Ireland where thepremier signed a memorandum ofunderstanding cost taxpayers$7,000. Three cabinet retreats,held in Corner Brook, Plum Pointand Port Union, cost $1,600.

Ken Morrissey, spokesman forthe premier’s office, saysWilliams’ wife, Maureen, seldomtravels with the premier. If shedid, the province wouldn’t pick upthe tab.

“The government does not payfor Mrs. Williams when she trav-els,” Morrissey tells The Indepen-

dent. “There’s no spousal travelallowance — whatever the policywas there, it’s still in place.”

The policy suspending spousaltravel was instituted by formerLiberal premier Roger Grimesand banned all MHAs, the speak-er of the House and party leadersfrom using taxpayers’ money topay for their spouses to travel withthem.

The travel information, ob-tained by The Independentthrough the province’s Freedomof Information Act, was sparsebecause, according to Morrissey,Williams pays for all his expens-es except travel and the meals heeats while on business.

Bon voyagePremier spent $30,000 in travel since JanuaryProvince may

lend a hand

Department, because of its“process and structure,” is “seri-ously lacking” in its ability tobalance marine safety with con-servation and commercial viabil-ity.

The 1987 coast guard reportvoiced similar concerns. Trans-port Canada and the Departmentof Fisheries signed a memoran-dum of understanding to “pro-vide for safety in fisheries man-agement practices.” But by 1990,“there had been little progressmade.”

NUMBERS DECLININGIn 1993, there were 100 search

and rescue operations involvingfishing vessels 45-65 feet inlength. By 1998, that numberpeaked at approximately 175.Since then, the numbers havebeen on the decline.

The Ryan’s Commander wasthe first fatality in the Newfound-land fishery since 2002, accord-ing to a DFO spokeswoman.

Federal Fisheries MinisterGeoff Regan declined comment.

“The minister doesn’t feel it’s atime for politics right now,”spokesman Steve Outhouse tellsThe Independent from Ottawa.“The department is obviouslygoing to follow closely the resultsof the investigation that (will) bedone and we’re open to hearing ifthere’s anything that needs to bechanged within the department.”

Transport Canada also sayschanges are in the works.

“There is numerous areas ofthe regulations that are beingreviewed,” says spokesman Mau-rice Landry. “That includes vesselconstruction and inspection, life-saving and personal protectiveequipment as well as operatorcertification.”

Landry says one of the majorchanges being considered is amove towards a “risk-basedapproach to the regulations, ratherthan a focus on the size of thevessel.”

Stability data, the point atwhich a vessel will capsize, is

currently not required on shrimpvessels such as Ryan’s Comman-der.

Landry says that may change asnew regulations are brought intoforce.

“Stability data does not ensureimmunity against capsizing,”Landry says. “There’s no suchthing as an unsinkable ship.”

But he says stability is a “pri-mary consideration” of the newregulations.

“I mean ultimately the safety ofany vessel depends greatly on thejudgment of the master, on deci-

sions made on when to leave orreturn to port given specificweather conditions or weatherforecasts and on decisions onhow to operate the vessel in aspecific area and weather condi-tions,” says Landry.

IMPOSSIBLE TIME FRAMEWith approximately100 pro-

posed changes to current regula-tions, he says it’s impossible toput a time frame on when they’llbe enacted. Fishermen, unionsand industry are still being con-sulted.

According to the 2000 coastguard report, previous attemptsto make such changes fell flat.

“Consequently, the issues keeprevolving and the problems refuseto disappear, threatening in manycases, to get even worse,” thereport read.

David Ryan, 46, and his broth-er Joseph Ryan, 47, died in thesinking of Ryan’s Commander,which capsized in heavy seas offCape Bonavista. Four other mensurvived.

From page 1

“Stability data does not ensure immunity

against capsizing. There’s no such thing

as an unsinkable ship.”

— Maurice Landry, Transport Canada

Ihad hoped to write my inau-gural column to address,specifically, our plans for The

Independent and our commitmentto giving Newfoundlanders andLabradorians a unique perspective— a Newfoundland and Labradorperspective — on what’s happen-ing in and outside of our province.

Unfortunately, I must use thisspace to explain how 140 New-foundlanders are losing their jobsin an aquaculture industry collapseon the island’s south coast.

Almost 10 years ago I put a sec-ond mortgage on my house, soldmy car, and cashed in my lifeinsurance policy to create a com-pany called Newfound Develop-ers. The idea of the company waspretty simple: to gather the exper-tise required for business successhere, at home, and raise risk capi-tal from outside the province. Wehad a long-term vision to grow anindustry here that had a real future— simple, but not easy.

That started an odyssey that hasled me around the world andincreased my belief that we haveone of the most beautiful environ-ments on the entire planet in whichto live. My commitment for invest-ment in the province has also beenreinforced — creating jobs here sothe people who want to stay, can

stay.This year Newfound Developers

employed — through its compa-nies and contractors — approxi-mately 1,000 Newfoundlanders innew industries ranging fromtourism to technology.

Of all the struggle and successrequired to make this happen, Ibelieve the aquaculture industryholds the greatest promise for thepreservation of our rural culture. Alot of people are afraid to say that— not wanting to create falseexpectations — but after seeing

with my own eyes the industryboom in places like China andChile, in my mind it’s crazy not torecognize and invest in its potentialhere.

In the last 20 years this industryhas gone from producing less thanfive per cent of the world’s dailyseafood consumption, to over 45per cent in 2004.

Still think it’s not the future? Given the fact that the new

species being chased in the world’saquaculture industry is cod, youwould rightly surmise that fishfarming in Newfoundland shouldboom in the next decade.

How is it then that 140 peopleare losing their jobs in places likeSt. Alban’s and Pool’s Cove? Keepin mind the company laying themoff is one of the few (if not only)companies in Canada that can bragabout being profitable (albeit mar-ginally) over the last three years insome of the worst salmon marketsin history.

Let me explain …In order to hatch a fish, you need

a big investment in research andequipment, and then the realmoney is required. That little fishtakes three years to get to marketand 80 per cent of the cost to get itto market is feed.

In our case, we took over a bank-

rupt company four years ago thatproduced 700 tonnes of fish a year.After investing over $16 million ofprivate money, we have grown thebusiness so that it’s now producing3,200 tonnes of fish — with nextyear’s crop expected to tip thescales at more than 4,000 tonnes.

By now the problem should beclear: how do you harvest a salmoncrop with a small profit and pay forthe bigger crops that are still in thewater? You need financing, andtherein lies the problem with beinga Newfoundlander.

Rightly or wrongly, Newfound-land and Labrador is perceived byCanada as being an economic sink-hole. What the rest of the worldsees as normal financing is often animpossible task in this province.We are limited to getting loans andinvestments from a Canadianestablishment that has no interest inputting money to work here.

Add in a large Canadian feedsupplier (McCain’s) that has decid-ed to get out of the business in thisprovince, 28 per cent interestcharged for credit on top of theirfeed cost, and in my opinion somebad legal advice from a St. John’slaw firm, and 140 people are out ofwork when they shouldn’t be.

Our provincial government isaware of this situation, and to their

credit have been working feverish-ly to provide a program to help theindustry — as has been done inevery other successful aquacultureregion in the world.

After paying $5 million directlyto McCain’s this year to reduce afeed credit line that was arbitrarilycut off in January, our coffers areexhausted for this business. Evenmore painful than the loss of thesalmon operations is the halting ofthe cod expansion, which we haveplanned for many years and areready to commence.

I would love to talk about thegreat successes that we are enjoy-ing on other fronts and what we seein the future for The Independent,but I will save that for anothertime.

All I can do now is apologize tothe people who will likely be los-ing their livelihoods in the imme-diate future.

But we can do no more. Theaquaculture workers on the southcoast do not deserve this, andalthough we will be takingMcCain’s and their lawyers to thecourts for a remedy, it is of littlecomfort to those who are seeingtheir company destroyed over cor-porate greed and a disdain forNewfoundland and Labrador as anormal place to do business.

The Independent, October 3, 2004 NEWS Page 5

Danny, Danny, Danny …You sure seem to keepputting your foot in it. It

never ceases to amaze me howyou blow the no-brainers. I’mbeginning to get the distinctimpression you aren’t reading. Ialready had this week’s columnwritten, but thanks to you I had toput it aside and write another onejust for you explaining the basicsof effective management. To behonest, it’s getting a little tire-some. Please try to follow whatI’m saying.

MANAGEMENT TIPSManagement: getting people to

do what you want them to do. It’san art. I’m no expert, Danny, butI have learned a few things overthe years. Looks to me like I needto share them with you.

Let’s take my relationship withRyan Cleary as an example.Cleary is my managing editor. Hehas a lot of others working forhim. While I am only responsiblefor this column, Cleary is respon-sible for the whole paper. This, Iam sure, you can relate to. I knowit’s not quite the same as yourCable Atlantic experience, asCleary has to deal with competi-tion with other newspapers, butbasically he has the same in-housemanagement challenges you’refamiliar with.

Cleary, like you, has a lot onhis plate. So he makes his jobeasier by letting me do my job.Cleary and I have an understand-ing. He likes his job and I likemine. If and when Cleary has aproblem with me, he has a partic-ular management technique youmight want to take note of: hephones me and says “I have aproblem with this.” If he’s makinga big decision that affects me, hecalls and tells me. That’s called“managing people.” It isn’t rock-et science. The Independent isn’t

successful enough yet for him tohave “people,” but if and when itis, Cleary won’t get his “people”to call me. Why? Because heknows that would really, reallypiss me off. In fact, he would onlydo that if he wanted to piss me off.Being an effective (dare I saycompetent?) manager, he knowsthat sort of behaviour would pissme off.

Beth Marshall has recentlytaken a lot of time and trouble tolead us all to believe that youdon’t have this oh-so-necessaryskill. Not very nice, is it? Whydid it happen? Where did youlearn this management style? Idon’t know how you treated thepeople that helped you bring usthe miracle that is cable TV, but Ibet Marshall expected to be treat-ed as an equal. That might havebeen a good idea, in retrospect.

The problem with disasters likethe one you’re currently weather-ing is that people see what theywant to see. Optics is everythingin politics. A few short monthsago, a lot of people saw you as asaviour. Now some people thinkyou have a dictatorial manage-ment style. Now some peoplethink you have a problem withpowerful women who can thinkfor themselves. Now some peoplethink you have micromanagementissues. Now some people thinkyou like to surround yourself withtoadies and yes people. It doesn’tmatter if it’s true — it’s what theysee.

And it doesn’t stop there. IfMarshall is a highly competentand capable woman, and she quits

in a snit over your “managementstyle,” what does that say aboutall the other — frankly — less“stellar” members of teamWilliams? A number of them werefalling over each other in theirrush to get to the cameras and telleveryone how much they sup-ported you and how great youwere. One day after her resigna-tion, and all you could see was thetips of their loafers, if you get mydrift.

That didn’t need to happen.Marshall seems to be gonebecause you can’t play well withothers. You know what I wouldhave done if I was lucky enoughto have the likes of Marshallworking for me?

I would have had the sense tolet her do the job I gave her. It’steam members like Marshall whowould ensure that I slept peace-fully at night.

It’s easy to criticize (one of thereasons I love this job). Here’ssome advice: show us the humanDanny. Win her back. Here’s ahint — not with a dozen rosesand a cruise. Marshall has alwaysstruck me as a professional. Lether sit in the backbenches for awhile, then tell her you werewrong. Apologize. Eat a littlepublic crow, say a few wordsabout “new to the job” and “GeeWhiz, this was tougher than Ithought it would be” and give heranother portfolio. Maybe she stillwants to play ball.

You are the one who holleredabout the mess we’re all in.Aren’t we going to need compe-tent people to fix it? Take a hardlook at what’s left in your caucus.Not much of a talent pool to pickfrom. Looks to me like you reallycouldn’t afford to lose her. Moreto the point, neither could we.

Ivan Morgan can be reached [email protected]

How to win Beth backRant &Reason

MORGANIVAN

Letters to the Editor

Dear editor,I would like to script a few lines

regarding the out-migration fromthe marine vineyards of ruralNewfoundland and Labrador tothe employment oasis of mainlandCanada. Is there a possible solu-tion to slow this continuous hem-orrhage?

Possibly, but sporadic visits toselective towns in the province bycaucus or cabinet just wont jive.

I would recommend that abrain-trust committee — drawnfrom both the public and privatesectors of this province, includingleaders, and government officials— be assembled immediately toaddress this Newfie Diaspora. Anovel, forward-thinking agendafor rural prosperity — especiallythe poorest regions — must be thepivotal focus of social policy. Dubthis committee what you wish, butin the name of compassion, initiateit immediately in an attitude ofsincerity and accountability.

Stage one of this committeemust be mandated to circuit thepoor regions of this province, andsearch out job possibilities.

Stage two should spark radicalmeasures to stimulate privateinvestment to fund the work. Pri-vate/public partnerships may, attimes, be the solution to ruralemployment strategies. Govern-ment-funded projects should besomewhat frowned upon.

Such an approach may not be acurative approach to our out-migration problem, but at least itmay prove palliative.

In my personal repertoire ofplausible solutions to our mam-moth rural out-migration and thedecimation of our rural outports,there is only one true solution, andthat is one that provides economicopportunities for rural Newfound-landers and Labradorians.

Harold HaywardMusgrave Harbour

The problem with being a Newfoundlander

Addressing the ‘Newfie Diaspora’

Brian Dobbin, publisher.

Dublin - October 2004San Diego - January 2005

1.800.321.1433579.8190 www.arthritis.ca/nl

Define your world.Make a difference in someone elses.

Walk or Run aMarathon orhalf marathon onbehalf of someoneyou know livingwith arthritis


Four of Newfoundland andLabrador’s seven MPs notonly agree that a proposed

10 per cent raise was out of line,some even question the systemthat ties their salary increases tothat of federal judges.

Prime Minister Paul Martin hasalready rejected the 10 per centraise, sending politicians back tothe drawing board searching for anew process to decide pay raises.Former prime minister Jean Chre-tien tied increases for MPs andjudges together in 2001 after apublic furor erupted over MPs vot-ing themselves a 20 per cent raise.

Under the old system, punditssaw the process as the foxeswatching the hen house.

“It would end up in a big fiascoin the House and between the pub-lic embarrassment and greed and a

whole lot of factors, there’d benothing but a war, and it was unfairentirely,” St. John’s South Conser-vative MP Loyola Hearn tells TheIndependent.

The 10 per cent raise recom-mended by the Judicial Compen-sation and Benefits Commissionwould have meant a $14,000increase to an MP’s base salary of$141,000. That increase alonewould have been almost half of theaverage wage in the province.

According to Martin, MPsalaries will now be linked to thatof the “average Canadian,” but hehas yet to release details on thenew scheme.

“I mean whether it’s tied in withthe public service or with judges,the bottom line is I don’t thinkthere should be an unreasonableincrease at any point in time nomatter what the scheme,” saysLawrence O’Brien, Liberal MP forLabrador.

O’Brien says the 10 per centhike for judges should also betaken off the table and a new sys-tem of determining salary raisesput in place.

Bonavista-Exploits Liberal MPScott Simms calls even the thoughtof an increase “very insensitive.

“… the labour strife and the sit-uation that PSAC (Public ServiceAlliance of Canada) is in and Imean we have to be sensitiveabout this,” he says.

The federal Treasury Board hasoffered PSAC members a 5.75 percent increase over three years — afar cry from the 10 per cent rec-ommended for MPs. More than120,000 civil servants could taketo the picket lines on Oct. 6 and allbut bring the federal governmentto its knees.

Conservative MP Norm Doyle,who represents St. John’s North,calls the issue of how to determineraises for MPs a classic case of

“hung if you do, and hung if youdon’t.

“I really don’t know what thesolution is to it,” says Doyle.

While the topic has once againraised the ire of the Canadian pub-lic, he says an issue like this wouldnever bring down Martin’s minor-ity government.

That said, the Tories and theirleader, Stephen Harper, say theOct. 5 Speech from the Thronecould bring Martin’s minority gov-ernment tumbling down.

“This (raise) is a sidebar issuekind of thing, but one that’s impor-tant and should be dealt with.”

The Independent made repeatedattempts to contact NaturalResources Minister John Efford,Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte MPGerry Byrne and Burin-St.George’s MP Bill Matthews aboutthe salary issue, but calls weren’treturned. Efford’s staff said theprovince’s regional minister wastravelling and unavailable to themedia.

My people come from theOttawa Valley — a stillhearty, but wavering

farming region. The valley is nowa commuter community for the bigcity of Ottawa and farming justisn’t that romantic anymore, notthat farming ever was.

Dad was from a little town in theheart of the valley called Renfrew,or as the locals call it, the Frew.

As the Great Depression beganto take hold of the simple farmersand storekeepers of the Frew, lifeturned from what was always astruggle into a downright, all-outbattle for survival. Farms wentbankrupt and shops closed at analarming rate.

My grandfather, Claude, owneda grocery store and my grand-mother, Marie, owned a hair salon.The hair salon was amongst thefirst shops to close its doors. Hair-styling was a luxury that peoplesimply couldn’t justify anymore.Part of the Ducharme financialempire was gone — well, as muchas anything can be called anempire in the Ottawa Valley. Butthe grocery store remained open.Grandfather wasn’t going to allowa minor inconvenience like theGreat Depression rob his family oftheir livelihood — a livelihood hehad spent most of his life toiling tocreate.

As the Depression began to tearapart lives and families, keepingthe doors open to the grocery storebecame an almost impossible task.Grandfather continued to run tabsfor people and accept payment inthe form of various livestock.Grandfather knew his chances ofever getting paid real money wereslight, but he wasn’t about to letpeople starve. The store, after all,was just four walls and these peo-ple were his friends and neigh-

bours.Parents would send their chil-

dren into the store and they wouldsay “Please Mr. Ducharme, couldwe have a loaf of bread or a quartof milk?”

(And no, I didn’t just read Oliv-er Twist.)

Years later grandfather wouldsay, “How could you say no tothose angelic faces?”

The parents of those angelicfaces sent them to see grandfather— instead of going themselves —for just that reason.

The livestock some offered inpayment fed his family, but grand-father’s creditors just didn’t seemto like taking chickens or goats aspayment. Eventually, suppliersdemanded payment and cut offgrandfather’s credit, leaving thegrocery store shelves bare and thefamily store with nothing to sell.What had taken decades to buildcrumbled in a matter of months.

My father says the one sighthe’ll never forget is walking intohis grandmother’s shed and seeinga binder crammed full of carboncopies of unpaid bills — bills that,for the most part, remain unpaid tothis day.

One would think that theDucharme name would have beenheld in high esteem in Renfrew,but such was not the case. Formany years to come, we rarelyreturned home and if we did it wasonly to take in the Renfrew fall fair— a purposely low-key tradition.

People had a hard time looking usin the eye when they found out youwere a Ducharme. When mybrother took a job at a radio stationin Renfrew, he changed his lastname to that of my mother’s maid-en name just to be on the safe side.If they stopped listening to theradio station because he sucked atspinning disks — that was onething. But he didn’t want to bepushing a boulder up a hill simplybecause of a last name and peo-ple’s misguided guilt.

With six children to feed,Grandfather Claude even took tobootlegging. My father doesn’tlike to speak about it, saying sim-

ply “it’s not something you’re veryproud about, but I guess when youhave six mouths to feed …”

Claude wasn’t a legendary boot-legger to the extent of an AlCapone and you won’t find anytrace of him on the islands of St-Pierre-Miquelon, but he did sellbootleg booze to put food on thetable. Too bad, because I’vealways wanted to have that type ofinfamy running in my family. Itmakes for great conversations atthe local pub.

Grandfather took the fall of hislittle financial empire in stride. Hemoved the family to Ottawa wherethey lived on the wrong side of the

tracks while he joined the army asa cook. But grandmother had aharder time with the family’sdownfall and she never really for-gave the people of the Frew.

“When you lose your money,you’ll know who all your friendsare,” she would always lament.

Sometimes, it’s not about friendsor riches. It’s about being able tolook at yourself in the mirror.Grandfather never had a problemlooking at the reflection he foundstarring back at him.

Jeff Ducharme is The Indepen-dent’s senior [email protected]

Page 6 NEWS The Independent, October 3, 2004

Mirror mirror on the valley wallOpinions Are Like...

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By Clare-Marie GosseThe Independent

With the resettlement ofas many as 300 smallcommunities through-

out Newfoundland and Labradorbetween 1954 and 1975, morethan just buildings were leftbehind and forgotten.

At least 600 crumbling cemeter-ies are gradually disappearing intothe earth, destined to either vanishforever or be dug up by developersbuilding resorts.

“There’s no organization thatactually preserves these things,”says Gerald Pocius, a folkloristwith Memorial University.“They’re being trashed all the timeand lost.”

Pocius says there’s also noprovincial organization for keepingtrack of cemeteries — whether incurrent use or not — and, he says,churches rarely have good records.

So much history is sinking awaythat in 2000, a visiting Americanresearching his family genealogy,decided to do something about“the alarming deterioration.”

With a group of friends heembarked on a mission to photo-graph and transcribe every singleheadstone in the province. Theinformation gathered on his web-site — stonepics.com — makesNewfoundland the first in NorthAmerica to have a comprehensivedatabase for finding cemeteriesand headstones, and although theyhave yet to reach Labrador, they’rescheduled to begin work there by2006.

StonePics has visited 1,730cemeteries in Newfoundland andestimate that number to represent99 per cent of those still in exis-

tence. The oldest legible gravesphotographed were from 1709:one from St. Luke’s Anglicanchurchyard in Placentia, andanother in Port Kirwan, a smalloutport community on the South-ern Shore.

Although abandoned cemeteryland still technically belongs to theorganization (usually a church)that established it, William Power,business manager for the catholicarchdiocese on the island’s eastcoast, says upkeep is rarely main-tained, especially in the case ofresettled communities.

“There’s very little done withthem unfortunately,” he says.“Once the community moves …there moves all the people thatwould normally help the churchout with maintenance and so on.So basically they do become aban-doned now.

“In some particular cases formerresidents have established groupsthat go in every summer and cutthe grass and clean up and so on assomething voluntary to do, but thechurch per se doesn’t have a main-tenance crew that it sends out to allthe islands in Placentia Bay.”

Martha Drake is the provincialarcheologist called in to supervisethe recent accidental discovery ofan old cemetery in Portugal Cove-St. Philips, which was unearthed asa result of development.

The building project was subse-quently put on hold.

“It was abandoned and no com-munity or church or group werecaring for it,” she says. “Underthose circumstances humanremains are protected under thehistoric resources act.”

Drake says no active excavationhas been carried out and although

they have five individual gravesopen, outlines in the soil indicate atleast 20 more. She estimates thecemetery is probably well over 100years old.

Because the development does-n’t need to branch out as far as the

perimeters of the cemetery site,Drake says the bodies will simplybe returned after tests are conduct-ed, and the remaining graves willbe left untouched.

She says human remains can beremoved under the ExhumationAct, however, and anyone inter-ested in doing so would need toapply to the Justice Department,giving reasons and presumablyconsulting the council and churchin the community.

“In most cases people will try toavoid it,” she says, “especially in

Newfoundland and Labradorwhere there’s so much open space… although sometimes you comeacross a burial and you’ve got yourmajor project on the go and it mustbe removed. That’s an accidentaldiscovery yet again and under ourlegislation, under those circum-stances, we have the grave profes-sionally excavated and thenreturned for reburial.”

She says it’s unlikely theprovince would allow a develop-ment to override a clearly existingcemetery — even a small, dilapi-dated site in resettled community.

“It would be protected under ourlegislation,” says Drake, “and onewould have to assume that evenethically, people would not want toknowingly interfere with a ceme-tery if it could be avoided.”

She says that in this day and age,cemeteries are moving further andfurther out of towns as old sitesbecome full.

Power says establishing a newcemetery is just like beginning anybusiness development, involvingan application to the relevantmunicipal authority and a subse-quent environmental health check.

Potentially anyone could estab-lish their own private cemetery,regardless of any church affilia-tion.

“It would be just a straight busi-ness development application,”says Power, “because a privatecemetery would be run as a busi-ness where they would charge feesand pay taxes.”

Peter Howe, manager of Crownlands administration with theprovince’s Government, Servicesand Lands Department, says theremay well be plots of land in New-foundland with private familycemeteries attached.

“I’m sure there are probablyincidents where someone has beenburied on their own private prop-erty,” he says. “I’m sure it proba-bly does exist somewhere in theprovince, it’s just we’re not awareof it.”


A grave matterMore and more cemeteries in the province fading away; efforts ongoing to maintain records



Axel Meisen, president ofMemorial University,makes no apologies for

the board of regents’ recent deci-sion to lobby government to liftthe tuition freeze for under-grad-uate students.

In a July meeting, the boardconcluded the freeze — whichhas been in place since the late1990s — could not realisticallycontinue without increased gov-ernment assistance, especially inthe wake of this year’s $2-millioncut to the university’s operatingbudget.

“The university sets the tuitionfees in the context of the govern-ment grant,” Meisen tells TheIndependent, “because our twoprinciple incomes are the govern-ment grant and the revenue thatcomes from tuition fees.”

Meisen says Memorial is wait-ing to see what governmentdecides.

“So we don’t know what thegovernment’s approach will be tofunding in the future, other thanwe know that the government isvery interested to make sure thatwe have a good, high-quality uni-versity,” he says.

Budget discussions usually startin November, continuing Januaryor February in time for the

province to announce the resultsby its annual March budget.

Should the government chooseto reduce the current $150-milliondollar grant, Meisen says the uni-versity would almost certainlyhave to raise fees. He mentionsbuilding maintenance and upkeepas just one area needing immedi-ate financial consideration.

“For example, we do have sig-nificant problems with agingbuildings. They can only be let gofor so long,” he says. “Right nowwe have a deferred maintenanceprogram under way that the gov-ernment is funding. Were it tostop, we still would have to attendto the buildings and that moneywould need to be raised.”

MEMORIAL CRITICIZEDMemorial has been subject to

criticism as a result of the board’sdecision, most notably through anews release submitted by theCanadian Federation of Students,which suggested the fees wouldbe rising by as much as 76 percent. The release also claimed theuniversity intended to lobby for anactual decrease in its governmentgrant as a means of justificationfor fee increases.

The claims were instantly refut-ed by the university. The minutesfrom the July meeting outline the76 per cent figure solely as anexample of the difference between

Memorial University’s rates andthose of the University of NewBrunswick.

Meisen says the suggestion theboard is considering lobbying fora reduction to the university’sgovernment grant makes nosense.

“At no time has the board madesuch a request or recommenda-tion,” he says.

The minutes stated thatincreased fees would “be offset bya financial assistance scheme forneedy students” and “tuitionincreases would also have to bephased in over a number ofyears.”

Memorial’s finances have beena concern in the past in that theprovince’s auditor general wasn’tallowed access to the university’sbooks under the grounds an inves-tigation would challenge MUN’sacademic freedom.

The matter was taken to courtand resolved by the House ofAssembly, which, in turn, madean amendment to the UniversityAct, ruling that the auditor gener-al could have access.

An official audit has never beencarried out, however.

Meisen says under the revisedact, the auditor can get direct anddetailed access to the university’sfinances at any point in time, pro-vided he has reasonable cause todo so.


Happy Valley-Goose BayBy Bert PomeroyThe Independent

Lake Melville MHA JohnHickey says he’s not inter-ested in seeing any Lower

Churchill project that doesn’t pro-vide maximum benefits to thepeople of Labrador.

“The Lower Churchill has toprovide opportunities for industri-al development, for training, andcreate employment for Labradori-ans first and foremost,” says Hick-ey, Labrador’s lone Tory MHA.“It’s important that we ensure weget the most we can from thisdevelopment.”

Premier Danny Williamsannounced last month the provin-cial government plans to call forexpressions of interest in anattempt to further develop thehydro potential of the lowerChurchill River. The process willbe directed at companies, consor-tia or other parties with the tech-nical and financial capacity toenter into negotiations with thegovernment on the developmentof the hydro project. The premieralso made public the proposeddeal hammered out with Quebec

by the former Liberal administra-tion in the fall of 2002.

As mayor of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Hickey says heopposed the proposed 2002 dealbecause it failed to ensure maxi-mum benefits for the region.

“There were many things aboutthat deal that was not acceptable,”he tells The Independent. “This isa very important project forLabrador and the province as awhole, and we have to make surewe do it right.”

Hickey says he would like tosee at least 500 megawatts ofpower set aside for industrialgrowth in Labrador. That wouldrepresent roughly one-quarter ofthe power expected from GullIsland, one of two proposed gen-erating stations on the river — theother 800-megawatt project wouldbe located downstream at MuskratFalls.

“We need to have a block ofpower for recall, that’s availablewhen we need it … (not) yearsdown the road as would have beenthe case under the Grimes deal,”he says. “We need more power for5 Wing Goose Bay, and we’regoing to need more power ifLabrador is chosen as a site for

(U.S.) missile defence.” A deal needs to ensure procure-

ment and construction of keycomponents is done in theprovince, by provincial companiesthat are capable of carrying outsuch work, Hickey adds, notingit’s also imperative the region’sthree aboriginal groups play anactive role in any development.

“Our aboriginal groups need tobe consulted in all aspects of theproject.”

The Combined Councils ofLabrador, the umbrella organiza-tion that represents Labrador’scommunities, has also entered the

debate, releasing a position paperrecently outlining several keydemands it says must be metbefore it gives its stamp ofapproval on any Lower Churchilldevelopment.

“If we don’t get a fair deal, thenit’s not going to be developed,”says Art Williams, the councils’central vice-president and mayorof North West River. “There’s stilla very sour taste in people’smouths from the Upper Churchill,and I don’t think the people ofLabrador will accept a LowerChurchill deal unless it provides(maximum) benefits to theregion.”

The combined councils’ condi-tions for any further developmentof the (Grand) Churchill Riverinclude adjacency legislation, giv-ing Labradorians first priority onall employment and procurementopportunities; a designated her-itage fund specifically for thedevelopment of Labrador; accessto power for Labrador communi-ties; an energy plan for the region;and a transportation fund toupgrade the Trans-Labrador High-way.

The mayor of North West Riversays the demands of the combined

councils are not unreasonable.“Not one of the demands is

unrealistic,” Williams says.“We’re seeing all of our resourcesgoing out, and there’s not muchcoming back. If they can’t devel-op it and meet our needs, then thewater should continue to flow overthe rocks.”

He points to the fact that manycommunities in Labrador stilldon’t have paved roads or suitabledrinking water.

“We may not get everything weask for,” he says, “but we shouldget our fair share.”

Still, Williams says he’s encour-aged by the latest attempt to devel-op the project.

“It’s very positive and we’requite impressed with the premierand the position he’s taken.”

Meanwhile, Hickey says hesupports many of the demandsbeing put forward by the com-bined councils.

“I would be willing to enter intoany agreement that ensures jobs,training and power for industrialdevelopment,” he says, addingthat he’s excited with the approachbeing taken by the premier. “Ithink we’re going to have suc-cess.”

Maximum benefitsLower Churchill wish list released by Labrador’s combined councils

“This is an importantproject for Labradorand the province as awhole, and we have to make sure we do

it right.”— John Hickey,

Labrador MHA

Find it allin



Available at the following fine locations:

Old Placentia Road

Topsail Road

Ropewalk Lane

Churchill Square

Elizabeth Ave. East

Cabot Square (Stavenger Dr.)

Newfoundland Dr.

CBS

Bay Roberts

Tuition talkMemorial mulls over finances, considers a hike in student fees

alarms, well meaning, but neverconsulted the police. What theysaid is ‘Don’t worry the RNCwill respond right away,’ but noone ever came and talked to us,”says Deering, adding the Con-stabulary has no idea how manyalarm systems are out there.

He says it is cause for publicconcern.

“It has a cumulative affect inthat priority two and prioritythree calls don’t get investigatedor don’t get the attention thatthey need and we don’t get thetime to do the pro-active thingsthat we need to do,” Deeringsays.

Buckle says there’s such alarge volume of false alarms thatlegitimate ones are not answered.

At the end of the day, the alarmsystems do more harm thangood.

“And the reality is, over thelast two decades the police bud-get has been cut… we just don’thave the staffing levels availableto respond to those types of callson a daily basis.”

Large volume of false alarmsFrom page 1


RNC Const. Tim Buckle



Newfoundland andLabrador isn’t exactlyknown for its millionaires,

but there have been 19 million-dollar lotto winners in theprovince over the past 10 years.The latest additions to the ranksare Dean and Judy Park of CornerBrook, who, in late September,won $17.7 million on Lotto 6/49

The west coast has had morethan its share of winners in recentyears, including 10 employees ofthe College of the North Atlanticwho split $10 million. Karen Mac-Donald, from Corner Brook, won$2 million in April, and Carla andBrad DiCeaser won $1 million inAugust.

Former politician Chuck Fureywon the lottery in the spring of1996. He laughs at the memory ofit, saying he wishes he still had hishalf of the $2.5 million jackpot.

Furey tells The Independent hewas bewildered, as anyone wouldbe, when he was told he had wonthe lottery.

“It’s a great thrill to win,” saysFurey, who was a provincial cabi-net minister at the time of his win.He says everyone expected him toretire.

Lotteries began in Canada in1969 and the Atlantic Lotto Cor-poration, owned by the fourAtlantic provinces, has, to datethis year, made $586 million fromthe sale of tickets — not includingthe $464 million pumped intovideo lottery terminals.

In 2003-2004, the corporationgave away $331 million.

Furey was touring the NorthernPeninsula for a series of meetingswhen he learned of his win. Infact, he was staying at the homeof a religious family in Port auChoix.

After shouting some expletives— which may have included theLord’s name (Furey says he can’tremember) — he had plenty ofapologizing to do.

“I had to humble myself toexplain why I swore.”

Furey says he spent the nextfew days in “agony” and “torture”as he had to complete the series ofmeetings before collecting hiswinnings.

“On the last night I pouredmyself a glass of rum and coke …

and fell asleep, but not reallysleep,” he says.

Approximately 75 per cent ofadults in Atlantic Canada play thelottery, pick up a scratch card orpump cash into a video lottery ter-minal at least once a year.

Surveys done by the lottery cor-poration show that 78 per cent oflotto winners bank their money, 60per cent pay off debts and 57 percent share with friends and fami-ly.

Many spend it on themselves,buying cars, appliances, furnitureand renovating their homes.

Furey says he spent the moneyon family and donated to charities.He even lost a little in the stockmarket, although he won’t sayhow much.

“The stock market is almost like

the lottery,” he says of the crashthat took a chunk of his winnings.

According to the surveys, 15per cent of winners invest in thestock market.

Furey says there were no short-age of letters, phone calls andinquiries for some of his cash topay for mortgage payments andwheelchairs.

“If you tried to fill them allyou’d have to win 50 lotteries.”Furey says he doesn’t play the lot-tery anymore, before quicklyadding, “It wouldn’t be fair for meto win again — I’m just kidding,I play from time to time.”

Does Furey have any advice forthe province’s most recent mil-lionaires?

“If you’ve got a good bit of for-tune you’ve got to share.”

Millionaire rowRanks of province’s lotto winners 19 deep since 1994

Job satisfaction


Premier Danny Williams carried out a mini cabinet shuffle Oct. 1 to fill a vacancy left by Elizabeth Marshall, who quit her post earlier in the week. John Ottenheimer (left) moved fromeducation to health, while backbencher Tom Hedderson took over the education portfolio.


The practice of politicianssetting up charitable foun-dations is becoming more

fashionable, but some are moreopen than others when it comes tolaying out where the money goes.

St. John’s North federal Conser-vative MP Norm Doyle has beendonating his provincial MHA pen-sion for almost seven years, hand-ing out almost $170,000 to variousorganizations. He regularly pub-lishes the names of the charitiesand the amounts donated.

Premier Danny Williams, on theother hand, is tight-lipped, direct-ing all inquiries to Don Johnson,executive director of the Williams

Foundation. Johnson, however, refuses to tell

The Independent which charitiesand organizations have receiveddonations or even how manydirectors (the people who decidewhere the money goes) are on thefoundation’s board.

“All I know is that he gives methe money and minds his ownbusiness,” Johnson says of hisdealings with the premier.

Williams, a multi-millionairewho made his fortune in the cableTV business, does not collect asalary as premier, choosing insteadto donate the money to charity.

Williams earns about $95,000 ayear as an MHA and an additional$66,800 as premier. He’s also enti-tled to another $20,000 for home

expenses, although he doesn’tclaim the amount.

Liberal Opposition leader RogerGrimes has been fighting an on-going battle with Williams, accus-ing him of using the foundation tocurry favour with voters.

It’s a refrain that Doyle hasheard before.

“It was criticized during the(federal) election campaign thatwe made (the donations) public,”says Doyle. “But I mean it was acommitment we made that it wasto be made public to people.”

Johnson won’t give anyspecifics. “The truth of the matteris I like Roger Grimes,” says John-son. “I’m a hockey man. He’s ahockey man. I mean he doesn’tmean any harm.”

But Johnson does admit theaccusations Grimes has levelled atWilliams are “unfair” consideringthe good the foundation does.

Doyle says he prefers to makedonations to organizations such asfood banks, but a partial listingincludes a wide cross-section ofcharities and organizations, includ-ing the AIDS Committee of New-foundland and Labrador, ArthritisSociety, Association for NewCanadians, Girl Guides and Chil-dren’s Wish Foundation.

Three directors make the deci-sion on where Doyle’s moneygoes. Unlike the Williams’ Foun-dation, Doyle hasn’t registered as acharity. Since his pension is stillpart of his salary, he says he onlydonates to registered charities.

“I have to have at least that ben-efit to it,” says Doyle.

According to government docu-ments, the premier’s foundationhas three directors that includeJohnson and the premier’s wife,Maureen.

Johnson says they’ve givenmoney to send parents of sick chil-dren to the mainland to be by theirside during serious operations, aswell as saved Christmas for under-privileged families.

The work, while rewarding, canbe heart breaking at times.

“Most of the time I just can’thelp but admire the parents theway they love these children andthe way they’re there for them,”says Johnson. “They just give upeverything for them.”

Where exactly does premier’s salary go?Norm Doyle puts it in his glossy brochure

Keeping an eye on thecomings and goingsof the ships in St.

John’s Harbour. Informa-tion provided by the CoastGuard Traffic Centre.

MONDAY, SEPT. 27No report

TUESDAY, SEPT. 28 Vessels departed: ASLSanderling, Canada, to Cor-ner Brook.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 29

Vessels arrived: LykesHunter, Bahamas, fromCape Town, South Africa;Maersk Chignecto, Canada,from White Rose oil field;Cape Fortune, Canada,from Arnold’s Cove.Vessels departed: MaerskNascopie, Canada, to TerraNova oil field; LykesHunter, Bahamas, to Mon-treal; Maersk Chignecto,Canada, to White Rose.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 30 Vessels arrived: Cicero,

Canada, from Montreal;Maersk Chancellor, Cana-da, from Terra Nova;Shoshin Maru #60, Japan,from sea.Vessels departed: Cicero,Canada, to Montreal.

FRIDAY, OCT. 1Vessels arrived: Sauniere,Canada from MagdaleneIslands; Maersk Nascopie,Canada, from Hibernia;Emma, Norway, from sea.Vessels departed: ShoshinMaru #60, Japan, to sea.


Poor Dean Park. Now, youmight find it funny that Idescribe a multi-millionaire

as poor. But there is nothing funnyabout what lies in store for Mr.Park: a lifetime of “I told you so.”

For those who aren’t familiarwith Mr. Park, he and his wife,Judy, are the Corner Brook couplewho won $17.8 million on Lotto6/49.

Actually, it was Mrs. Park whowon the lottery.

You see, Dean bought anAtlantic 49 ticket on the way homefrom moose hunting on Saturday— not a Lotto 6/49 like he wassupposed to. When he arrivedhome without the Lotto 6/49 tick-et, the missus was not impressed.So, she stormed over to Vi’s Con-fectionary to buy what turned outto be the winning ticket.

Now I’ve only been marriedfour years, but it’s been longenough for me to know that thewife is always right. I don’t knowhow long the Parks have been mar-ried, but it’s been long enough forthem to have a 17-year-old daugh-ter. Apparently, Dean’s a slowlearner. Maybe this’ll learn him.

Wow, talk about your mother of

all I-told-you-sos. It sends a coldshiver right through me to thinkabout it. If Dean Park thinks that$17.8 million can buy peace ofmind, he’s got another thing com-ing.

But I suppose there’s anotherway of looking at it. If Dean hadnot so brazenly defied his wife’swishes, he would have bought alosing 6/49 ticket and Judy wouldnot have ventured into Vi’s at suchan opportune time.

Hmm, wait a minute. Now thatI think about it, Dean is actuallythe hero of this story, an icon to allhusbands who can’t seem to fol-low instructions. He gives solaceto the rest of us. Of course, that’sjust a man’s perspective. I mightbe wrong.

•••You would think Elizabeth Mar-

shall would be happy.After all, her government recent-

ly announced a new pilot projectfor palliative care in Corner Brookand, in so doing, ended the eight-week-old strike at the VictorianOrder of Nurses (VON).

The pilot project, which will be

administered by the VON, gavethe not-for-profit agency themoney it needed to give its work-ers a much deserved 50-cent per

hour raise and an extra three dayssick leave.

Premier Danny Williams wasable to broker the deal thanks tonew health-care money arisingfrom the recent deal struckbetween the federal governmentand the provinces.

The new program will hopeful-ly ease the suffering of people whoare dying.

Equally as important, it willallow the VON to resume its goodwork in offering home care, respitecare, and senior’s day programs onthe west coast.

Yet, Marshall was unhappy. Notso much with the resolution aswith the fact that Williams did notpersonally inform her of the solu-tion while she was out of theprovince, even though he didapparently inform her officials.

She was so unhappy sheresigned.

Marshall criticized Williams’“management style” and said thiswas not the first time he had goneover her head. I guess it might begrating to have a boss who makesdecisions about your departmentwithout talking to you directly.

But you know what? The public

doesn’t care as long as the job getsdone.

In this case, Williams got the jobdone. Much along the lines of aFrank McKenna, he’s a veryhands-on premier. He saw anopportunity to address a problemand he seized it.

Marshall’s timing was not sogreat. She resigned at a time ofgreat upheaval and great opportu-nity in the health-care system.

The government is currently inthe process of merging healthboards. With an influx of newhealth-care dollars, it has an oppor-tunity to reduce waiting times forMRI tests and cancer treatment.The government is also awaiting areport from a consulting companythat may well determine the fate ofcommunity clinics, obstetricswards and surgical units in ruralwestern Newfoundland.

I hope the new minister, JohnOttenheimer, understands some-thing.

It’s not about you.

Frank Carroll is a journalisminstructor at the Stephenville-cam-pus of the College of the NorthAtlantic.

Of rebellious husbands and cabinet ministers

Marshall criticizedWilliams’ “management

style” and said this was not the first time he had gone over herhead. I guess it might be grating to have a

boss who makes decisions about yourdepartment without

talking to you directly.

WestWords

CARROLLFRANK

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Photo by Paul Daly/The Independent

Japanese fishing vessel, Shoshin Maru #60, tied up in St. John’s harbour.

By Stephanie PorterThe Independent

Colleen Fitzpatrick says “the lastbig scare” came exactly a yearago last week. That night, her

son, Johnny, had a cluster of 50 seizureswithin three hours. She was at the hos-pital through the wee hours of themorning, watching her child knock ondeath’s door yet again.

Johnny was born with a severe caseof a rare syndrome called Trisomy 18.Simply put, every cell in his body has anextra chromosome. After he was born,he was given a week to 10 days to live.Every day longer than that would bebeating the odds.

This February, Johnny turns 16. Very few children with Trisomy 18

like Johnny’s survive past infancy —there is virtually no medical informationavailable past the first year. As far asFitzpatrick knows, Johnny is one of twoboys — the other is in Italy — to sur-vive those early years.

At 37 pounds, Johnny is currently lit-tle more than an armful. He can’t walkor talk; for the past year he’s had to befed through a tube, directly into hisstomach. He’s got dark, shiny hair andeyes to match.

“The doctors told me he’d never haveteeth, now I think he’s on his third set,”says Fitzpatrick with a laugh. “Theysaid he’d never smile — but his smile ishis trademark.

“Now the doctors just look at me andsmile and shake their heads when theysee him. There’s an exception to every-thing.”

The 16 years of Johnny’s life havebeen far from easy, but they have beenrewarding.

“There’s always the risk of him aspi-rating … he could seizure and die. So,no I don’t really sleep, ever. But onesmile and it’s all good.”

Fitzpatrick says she’s found her life’spurpose as an advocate for the rights ofdisabled children, and as one of theleaders in an on-going fight to save thedevelopmental units in two St. John’s-area elementary schools — specialclassrooms designed for severely men-tally and physically challenged chil-dren.

Fitzpatrick has two children: Johnny,and 19-year-old Krystal, an English stu-dent at Memorial. “Krystal has alwaysbeen my courage and strength,” shesays. “I’ve always said I don’t know ifI would have gotten through havingJohnny if I hadn’t had her first.

“She’s my courage and strength andhe’s my fighter and hero.”

Weekdays begin for Johnny at 7 a.m.,when Fitzpatrick, already dressed andready for work, wakes him. The familyhad to move recently into a wheelchairaccessible house — though Johnny iscertainly small for his age, the active

boy wears on his mother’s back. Hisbedroom is painted ocean blue, with fishdecals on the walls, and a bed raisedabout four feet off the floor — again, tomake moving him about easier.

“Johnny loves his bedroom,” saysFitzpatrick, and it’s easy to believe.Dressed in cozy pajamas, Johnny wel-comes early morning visitors with asmile that reaches his eyes. He likes tocuddle; when there’s not a human handto cling to, he curls around his blanket.The youngster also enjoys the familypets, especially Lexie, a small, protec-

tive dog.Fitzpatrick undresses her son and

brings him to the adjoining bathroom,where a warm bubble bath is waiting.He sits quietly in a specially fitted chairwhile his mother uses a facecloth togive him a wash.

After a quick towel-dry, the pairmoves to the bed. Fitzpatrick fits himwith a clean diaper, and gets ready tofeed Johnny a liquid breakfast. Sheadmits the time since Johnny’s birth hasbeen one long learning curve for her,particularly when it comes to meeting

her son’s medical needs. “This is what his life is — his life is

being tube fed, his life is being givenseizure medication, life is having a shotof Valium put up his little bum if hegoes in a seizure that doesn’t stop,” shesays. “His life is me giving him enemastwo or three times a week because hecan’t use the bathroom. And to fight likethe dog sometimes to get things done.”

On most mornings, Johnny goes tohis caregiver’s house by 8 a.m., where

October 3, 2004 Page 11IN CAMERA

‘One smile and it’s all good’When Johnny was born, Colleen Fitzpatrick was told her son had a week to live.

Today, 16 years later, she’s been through joy and pain — and wouldn’t change a thing.

Photos by by Paul Daly / Story by Stephanie Porter

Continued on page 12

IN CAMERA The Independent, October 3, 2004

he’s picked up by a mini school bus and taken to school. John-ny is in class at St. Matthew’s elementary from about 9:30 a.m.to 2:30 p.m. There are two classrooms in the developmentalunit; each currently has three students, one teacher, and oneassistant.

For Fitzpatrick — and she says she speaks for the other par-ents of the children in the classes — the unit has been a bless-ing.

“Johnny does not belong in a mainstream classroom, theydon’t have the resources to care for him there,” she says. “I havea child who went through the mainstream, I know what it’sabout.” She points out that Johnny has had the same teachersfor a decade; people she trusts and who have learned to care forand read Johnny’s ups and downs and warning signs — knowl-edge that could save his life.

There used to be more students in the developmental unit. Butthe Education Department has decided these specialized class-rooms are on the way out — perhaps because they’re expensive,perhaps because of the belief that all children, no matter theirabilities, belong in so-called regular classes.

At the moment, provincial policy states that no more childrenare admitted to the classes; those currently there are permittedto stay until they “graduate” at age 21. Fitzpatrick smiles as shereports the unit succeeded in taking in a new student last win-ter for the first time in five years. It was a battle, she admits,but it’s a good sign that the policy may someday change forgood.

“It’s a battle we shouldn’t have to fight every year but there’schildren that should be in the mainstream and there’s childrenthat shouldn’t … we’ve had children die in the classroom.

“In the mainstream, there’s only a part-time teacher and a dif-ferent student assistant every time you turn around, they’re notgoing to know the kids.”

Fitzpatrick says she had a positive meeting with then-educa-tion minister John Ottenheimer last June. But “it means noth-ing to me unless the policy is officially changed on paper thatnew children are accepted. Because as it stands, until that pol-icy is changed school board officials are not allowed to recom-mend the developmental unit to anybody.”

According to Nora Daly, a communications specialist withthe Education Department, there is nothing currently on thebooks to change the situation for St. Matthew’s: current studentscan continue; no new ones are to be admitted.

Fitzpatrick sighs. “The people on the Hill, making the deci-sions, have no idea what it’s like. I would really like for that tobe settled and for this to be changed so I can focus on the nextbattle.”

That will include finding resources for Johnny — and others— once they reach age 21 and are no longer permitted to be partof the school system.

These days, after school, Johnny is taken by bus back to hiscaregiver’s home. After work, Fitzpatrick returns to pick him up.The evening involves another meal, some television — Johnnyloves TV, his mother insists — and then to bed around 7 p.m.

Fitzpatrick, who just returned to work last year after years asa full-time caregiver and mother, says she feels alive these days.

“I’m totally different when I’m working. But if Johnny hada crisis tomorrow I’d quit. It’s very hard because there’s moreto life than being home taking care of a child. I wouldn’t changeit for the world; I wouldn’t allow anybody else to do it. But youneed that part where you get away from it too.”

Fitzpatrick has example after example of times when John-ny has brought smiles to the faces he encounters; he gets morerecognition, she says, than anyone else when he’s in publicplaces like the mall. She threw him a big birthday party a fewyears ago and more than 100 friends showed up.

“You know, everybody should have one. If everybody had (achild like Johnny) it would be a much nicer world. What I’velearned and what Johnny has helped mold me into, how couldI want it any different?

“Before Johnny I had no patience — he’s taught me empa-thy and he’s taught me that people handle things in differentways. It doesn’t mean you’re weak if you can’t handle some-thing the same way as another person.”

But for all the joy, there is also heartache — the illnesses, thesurgeries, the uncertainty.

“Every single day of his life I wonder if it’s his last,” she says.“I don’t know if you can be prepared for that … I have John-ny’s funeral planned in my mind, I have all the songs, all thereadings … at one point I would freak out thinking about thesethings, wondering if that meant I wanted him to die. But I knownow it’s normal, I would want it all to be perfect.

“I mean, I’m a very strong person but I could crack up. Or Icould fall down and thank God for the years He gave me withhim.”

‘It’s a battle we shouldn’t have to fight’From page 11

The Independent, October 3, 2004 IN CAMERA Page 13

IN CAMERA The Independent, October 3, 2004

The Gallery is a regular feature in The Independent. For further information, or to submit proposals, please call (709) 726-4639, or e-mail [email protected]

Ran Andrews

Although Ran Andrews has deeproots in Newfoundland, and he’slived here full-time the past three

years, he says his work isn’t accepted as“Newfoundland art.”

It might be because he was born inOntario, or still has an American accentfrom his years living and working there.Or because, as he says, he doesn’t “pro-duce the same kind of work others do.”

Andrews says his work has beendubbed “expressionist” because of thebright colours he sometimes uses, theabstract images, or the compositions hechooses. It’s difficult, though, to find alabel that accurately encompasses hisrecent work, currently on display atChristian’s Pub on George Street, St.John’s.

If there’s anything tying the paintingstogether, it’s a tendency towards low-light images — a challenge he’s chosento tackle in recent months.

“My stuff … really one doesn’t looklike the other. I try to keep each as com-plete pieces, a lot of people try to tie themtogether, but I don’t generally do thetheme thing. Paintings for me are morelike songs, they have a beginning, middleand end, a story and a point.”

Andrews has spent much of his lifeworking with computers and graphicdesign, working on books, advertisingcontracts and other projects (includingfor Troma Entertainment, a New York-based company known for its over-the-top, low-budget horror films).

“I’ve been painting pretty much allmy life. I started way back when I wasyoung,” he says. “I found (computerwork) really cold, I would paint for bal-ance. I made most of my living fromcomputer stuff … but as I got back intopainting I realized how much I loved it.”

These days, Andrews is painting (andselling) full time. He says it’s impossibleto survive from the local art market. He’shad representation in New York City andhere, but is currently going it alone —with a lot of help from the Internet, “thething that has allowed me to exist.”

Andrews says he’s trying to “move

from the underground to the mainstreamin a businesslike fashion.” His way ofdoing that is to hit the road, living part-time in St. John’s, spending the rest of thetime — at least half the year, he hopes —visiting art shows and markets around theworld. He’s written his first arts grantapplications, ever, in the hopes of cover-ing some of his costs.

“I’ve come to the realization if I’mgoing to play again in the art circles I’mgoing to need that,” he says. “ Shippingpaintings alone is expensive — over$2,000 to get two to New York safely.

In the near future, Andrews will beshowing pieces in New York City, Dubaiand Florence, Italy.

“I want to get in the game and play it.It is business, but there is a game … I’mlucky, my thing, expressionism or what-ever my style, is coming back into fash-ion. I’ve been getting invitations from alot of places into this kind of art.”

www.freewebs.com/ranandrews/

— Stephanie Porter

Visual Artist

Gallery


‘Security isn’t a uniform… it’s a strategy’

There are more security guards manning grocery stores and malls these days to combat escalating crime


There hasn’t been a markedincrease in the number oflicenced security guards

working in the province in recentyears, but more and more busi-nesses — and even homes — areusing private security to protectthemselves.

Rick Fifield, owner of Spec-trum Security and Private Investi-gations, says his business is grow-ing. When his firm first opened in1996, he employed one person —today, he employs more than 100.

He says his employees respondto household alarms, install secu-rity systems, help business ownerscombat internal theft and evenmake arrests — though they haveto wait for a police officer torespond to the scene beforesearching a potential shoplifter.

“Shoplifting is a huge problem— internal theft is worse,” Fifieldtells The Independent.

Internal theft is most commonamongst low-paid employees,with the higher-ups stealing larg-er amounts.

“Sweet-hearting,” when anemployee gives free items orcharges less than the purchaseprice for an item, is a commonpractice.

“Lower-paid employees, that’stheir way of thinking … ‘I don’twant to work here anyway,’ they

don’t care if they get fired,”Fifield says. Management, mean-time, have keys and cash at theirdisposal. “This is where the worstdamage occurs, people withpower and knowledge.”

Sue Freake, general manager ofthe Avalon Mall, says the shop-ping centre has security guards tomaintain peace and order.

“To ensure that there’s a pleas-ant shopping environment for ourcustomers, I guess. Another rea-son we havesecurity is toobviously secureour property afterhours. Also, todeter from anycriminal activitysuch as vandal-ism and to offer… assistance toour customers.”

Freake saysstores in the mallhave seen anincrease inshoplifting overthe past year. Atthe same time,shoplifting insideof a store isn’t the responsibilityof mall security.

She says many stores have theirown security, although she wasreluctant to talk about it.

“You’re writing a story for pub-lic viewing and it’s a securityissue itself.”

Organized shoplifting is themost pressing issue for privatesecurity and the province’s policeforces.

Fifield says he’s seen caseswhere $10,000 worth of merchan-dise has been ripped off in lessthan an hour.

One shocking statistic, Fifieldsays, is that St. John’s has thehighest number of organizedshoplifters in the country.

He says the same people com-mit the samecrimes overand over, get-ting lightpenalties whenthey getcaught — butmostly gettingaway scot free.What’s mosts t a r t l i n g ,Fifield says, isthat policeknow many ofthese individu-als by name orto see them.

S e c u r i t yguards are

licenced with the provincial gov-ernment. There are currently 25private security companies and520 security guards licenced inthe province. Those figures are onpar with recent years.

Still, more uniformed guardscan been seen these days, espe-

cially at grocery stores.The difference between polic-

ing and private security, saysFifield, is that security companieshave resources, but no authority— the police have authority, butnot enough resources.

There’s been a sharp increaserecently in drug abuse and associ-ated crime to support the habit.Property crimes, police say, are up105 per cent.

“A lot of the theft that is asso-ciated with violence … is causedby people who need somethingquick,” Fifield says.

He says the private securityindustry is limiting opportunitiesfor organized shoplifting, whichis, unfortunately, causing a rise inbreak and enters.

The problem with stolen goods,Fifield says, is there’s a market foreverything.

“We followed one individual,who we believed had a kit bag fullof health and beauty supplies,” hesays. “He went to a beauty shopand came out with the kit bagempty.”

Fifield is currently spearhead-ing a group trying to bring a newlaw called “flea market legisla-tion” that would allow suspiciousconsumers the right to demand toknow where goods came from, tosee the receipts and vendor’slicence.

“Security isn’t a uniform, not acamera, it’s a strategy.”

October 3, 2004 Page 15BUSINESS & COMMERCE

“We followed one individual, who webelieved had a kit

bag full of health andbeauty supplies. He

went to a beauty shopand came out with the kit bag empty.”

— Spectrum Security owner, Rick Fifield


Assistant site manager Sheldon Goudie with a colleague at the Avalon Mall.


Newfoundland may be cov-ered in forest but pulp andpaper mills in Corner

Brook and Stephenville areimporting wood to keep theiroperations going.

An estimated 50 per cent ofwood processed and turned intopaper at the Stephenville mill,owned by Abitibi Price Consoli-dated, is brought in from “over-seas” — off the island, includingPrince Edward Island, Nova Scotiaand Labrador. Abitibi Price alsoowns the mill in Grand Falls-Windsor but that operation has asecure supply of wood.

Officials with Corner BrookPulp and Paper’s mill in the westcoast city say seven per cent of thewood processed there comes fromaway.

Roger Pike, spokesman forAbitibi Price, calls Stephenville’slack of resources an “Achilles’heel.

“Every year that we operate thatmill we do so with a degree ofuncertainty,” Pike tells The Inde-pendent. “Some years we makemoney and some years we loosemoney.”

‘RARE AND EXPENSIVE’Pike says the practice of import-

ing wood is “rare and expensive.“Most mills have a secure fibre

supply — Stephenville, unfortu-nately, does not — and so it’s anongoing problem,” he says. “Andas offshore wood becomesunavailable or dries up it’s quiteexpensive to bring wood in fromoffshore.”

The Stephenville mill, original-ly built in the 1970s as a liner-board operation, was convertedinto the most modern pulp andpaper mill on the island at a cost of$80 million.

Finding a reliable wood supplyfor the mill has been a concern forsome time.

“We have a task force that’sbeen working to identify somelong-term potential sources ofwood for that particular opera-tion,” says Pike, “and how we canwork with other stakeholders andother users of the forest resourcesto maintain a strong, viable, long-term pulp and paper industry inNewfoundland.”

Small quantities of wood thatare taken from Labrador help toproduce the 185,000 tonnes ofpaper made in Stephenville eachyear.

“That mill was designed to oper-ate with wood from Labrador,”says Pike. “We’re working withgovernment to develop actionplans and trying to find out whatrole does the Stephenville millplay in the future of Labrador andwhere do we go in the future to getthat mill the resources that itneeds.”

‘NOT IN DIRE STRAITS’George VanDusen, spokesman

for Kruger International, the com-pany that owns Corner Brook Pulpand Paper, says some wood isbrought in to help with the pro-duction there, but the operation isnot in dire straits like theStephenville mill.

The imported wood brought intoCorner Brook originates mostly inNova Scotia, although some alsocomes from Prince Edward Island.The company also ships in recy-cled fibre.

VanDusen says the Trans-Labrador Highway, once it’s com-pleted, isn’t expected to have a bigimpact on the province’s pulp andpaper industry.

“Whether it would be a biggerproportion of wood (used in themill) I don’t know,” he says.

A single day’s production at theCorner Brook mill could make aroll of paper one metre wide and20,800 kilometres long — enoughto span the moon’s circumferencetwice.

Back in Stephenville, the optionof closing the mill has been tossedaround for the past few years, butPike says the town’s economywould likely collapse.

“It’s not an option we want tolook at because of the 350 highlyskilled paying jobs in thenewsprint industry in that commu-nity, and the economy in westernNewfoundland is very dependenton that newsprint mill,” says Pike.

“We purchase over $50-millionworth of goods and supplies —everything from toilet tissues tolight bulbs, oils and lubricants —so you know the spin off effectfrom that industry is enormous,”he says.

“That mill has been a corner-stone of that economy.”

Page 16 BUSINESS The Independent, October 3, 2004

Find it allin



Available at the following fine locations:

Beaver Plaza, Bay Roberts

Merrymeeting RoadOld Placentia RoadRopewalk LaneLong Pond, Manuels

Topsail RoadTorbay RoadAvalon MallHowley Estates

Or get your copy at anylocation on the Northeast Avalon

Knock on woodProvince’s sawmills importing wood to keep mills going


The final product goes through the rollers at the Abitibi Price mill in Grand Falls-Windsor.

Briefs

Rutter subsidiaryto Brazil

ST. JOHN’S

Marine technology firm RutterInc. says a subsidiary has

won a two-year contract fromPetrobras, the Brazilian national oilcompany, worth at least $1.3 mil-lion. Unicontrol International, partof the SEA Systems division, willprovide technical services andtraining, St. John’s-based Ruttersays.

Initially, the company will pro-vide training to 160 Petrobrasemployees who will operate thecontrol systems, engineered andinstalled by SEA/Unicontrol staff,on two Petrobras offshore energyplatforms.

Systems support services willalso be provided for the first twoyears of operation and performrequired modifications andupgrades.

“This is another strategic win inthe rapidly expanding offshore oiland gas sector in Brazil,” RutterCEO Donald Clarke said in arelease.

“With oil prices approaching $50per barrel and Brazil’s stated intentto be self-sufficient in oil by 2008,we are very fortunate to have sucha strong position in this market.”

— Canadian Press

Second N.B. mill closes

MIRAMICHI

New Brunswick’s forestryindustry was hit with more

bad news last week when a Helsin-ki-based company announced itwould close a pulp-making mill innortheastern New Brunswick,eliminating 400 jobs.

The closure is the second involv-ing a New Brunswick pulp millthis month. Two weeks ago, about400 people lost their jobs when theSt. Anne-Nackawic mill closedabruptly.

On Wednesday, UPM Kymmenesaid it will close its Miramichi kraftmill early next year and restructurethe rest of its operations in NewBrunswick.

The company said the changesare needed to secure the operation’slong-term viability.

The measures include the per-manent closure of the 50-year-oldkraft mill on Jan. 31, and changes atthe paper mill and the company’swoodlands division, which man-ages and operates Crown forestlicences.

The mill complex currentlyemploys almost 1,300 employees.

Jyrki Ovaska, president ofUPM’s magazine paper division,says the kraft mill has outlived itstechnological lifespan and wouldrequire a large investment to con-tinue operating within NewBrunswick’s environmental stan-dards.

The closure will cost the compa-ny $62 million Cdn during thefourth quarter of 2004.

It will also result in a write-off of$123 million Cdn within the nexttwo quarters.

The company said it wants tofocus its attention on its magazinepaper operations.

UPM Miramichi’s annual paperproduction capacity is 450,000tonnes of lightweight coatedpapers. The kraft mill’s capacity is240,000 tonnes of kraft pulp.

— Canadian Press


If passenger numbers don’tclimb skyward, WestJet maystop touching down in Gan-

der someday soon. Numbers areat a more comfortable level at theairport in St. John’s.

Meantime, further west atDeer Lake airport, officials arewelcoming yet another directflight from across the pond.

THRIVES ON VOLUMEWestJet, a low-fair airline,

thrives on volume, but passengernumbers flying into and leavingthe capital city and Gander havenot lived up to expectations.WestJet doesn’t release actualpassenger numbers.

“We have been looking at theloads and the number of peoplethat are flying on the flights andMoncton and Halifax are verystrong,” WestJet spokespersonSiobhan Vinish tells The Inde-pendent. “St. John’s is a levelthat we’re currently comfortablewith and Gander is a market thatcontinues to need our effort.”

WestJet sent its marketingteam on a tour of Atlantic Cana-da recently to see how they couldboost numbers. The team metwith Gander and St. John’s Inter-

national Airport Authority offi-cials to drum up a plan.

“We’re trying to work with thecommunity (of Gander) in hopesthat we can continue to buildsome load factor on those flightsand continue to grow that marketfor us.”

WestJet has become one of theleading airlines in the country bypicking and choosing its marketscarefully and marketing to spe-cific groups. Slightly more than ayear ago, WestJet introduced aflight to Gander from FortMcMurray that was aimed at theestimated 30,000 Newfoundlan-ders and Labradorians workingthere.

“What we’ve been trying todo is to look for natural draws ina marketplace,” Vinish says in aninterview from Orlando, Fla.WestJet was celebrating its inau-gural flight to the city.

“You kind of look for thosenatural synergies wherever youcan … those are the best ways tobuild a route.”

But flights designed to bringhomesick, oil-rich Newfoundlan-ders and Labradorians homehaven’t really taken off.

“It isn’t the success we hadhoped it would be, but we arecontinuing to do things to tryand improve it. The community

is certainly 100 per cent support-ive of us and have done every-thing that they can to try to buildthe loads and continue to workon that business.”

Vinish says WestJet is always

tweaking flights and routes in aneffort to keep seats full and fareslow.

“Some markets are more sea-sonal than others … but whatyou have to do is find a way tomake it consistently strong for365 days of the year and Ganderis more of a challenge from thatperspective and I think New-foundland, for example, is aquite splintered market,” saysVinish referring to airports in St.John’s, Deer Lake, Stephenvilleand Gander.

Vinish says that as far as West-Jet is concerned, they’re notready to pull the plug on Ganderor St. John’s just yet.

“We’re not ready to step awayyet, but unfortunately we are anairline that, as most airlines are,has to operate routes that areprofitable,” she says. “We’regoing to do everything that wecan to try to build that market …in hopes that it will strengthenand we’ll be able to keep flyingthere and keep serving those twofabulous communities.”

While WestJet may be forcedto make some tough decisions,Deer Lake will see increasedtraffic. Humber Valley Resorts,in conjunction with the U.K.-based travel firm BarwellLeisure, has announced a charterflight from Gatwick, England.The first flight is slated to touchdown Dec. 22 and will continueweekly service until April 6,2005.

The charter flights will carrypassengers that own property at the resort, as well as vaca-tioners.

“This regular charter routesimplifies the travel to HumberValley Resort so that clients canget here and start enjoying west-ern Newfoundland,” says BrianDobbin, the resort’s CEO.

The Independent, October 3, 2004 BUSINESS Page 17

GARY PERRY 753-3030

Less than full planes make WestJet landings bumpy

“We’re not ready to step away yet, but

unfortunately we are an airline that, as most

airlines are, has to operate routes that

are profitable.”

— Siobhan Vinish, WestJet spokesperson

Tobin hired by law firm

TORONTO

Former Newfoundland premierBrian Tobin, who suddenly left

his job with the Magna group ofcompanies last month, is rejoininga Toronto corporate law firm heworked for after leaving politics.

Fraser Milner Casgrain LLPannounced that Tobin will join thelaw firm as a senior business advis-er.

Tobin was a senior adviser toFraser Milner on public-privatepartnerships and emerging busi-ness trends from May 2002 toMarch 2004, when he left tobecome chief executive of MIDevelopments Inc., a real estatecompany that’s part of the Magnagroup.

In late August, Tobin resigned asCEO of MI Developments andfrom senior positions with MI’ssubsidiary Magna EntertainmentCorp., North America’s biggesthorse racetrack operator.

He gave no explanation for hisdeparture.

The companies are all part of theMagna auto parts group controlledby Frank Stronach, one of Cana-da’s best-known executives and awealthy horse owner.

— Canadian Press

Jeb Bush praisesHydro Quebec

MONTREAL

Gov. Jeb Bush praised Hydro-Quebec crews who went to

his state to help out in the wake ofhurricanes that battered Florida lastmonth.

The 122 workers who left thestate Friday were recognized byBush in Florida as “some of thebest crews in all of the effort.They’ve been awesome.’’

He said he appreciated theefforts of the utility crews, whowill be back in Quebec Tuesday.The crews, which include lines-men and mechanics, have been inFlorida since Sept. 9.

Hydro-Quebec also said Fridaythat six workers will leave for Haition Monday to see what help can beoffered to that troubled country inthe wake of Hurricane Jeanne anda devastating flood.

— Canadian Press

Briefs

Rhetoric and realitySpeeches by leaders taking the podium at UN’s General Assembly

don’t always reflect honest, responsible governments at home

UNITED NATIONAS, New York

“What we say here,”President AlejandroToledo of Peru was

saying at the United Nations recent-ly, “needs to be connected to the realworld.”

Spare a moment’s sympathy forToledo. He won his presidency threeyears ago on a platformthat promised an end toPeru’s endemic corrup-tion. Now the corruptionallegations swirlingaround his office —though fiercely denied —have got some punditscalling him “LatinAmerica’s least popularpresident.”

But he seemed oblivious to thatas he joined the annual fall parade ofleaders addressing the U.N. GeneralAssembly. On the theory that thebest defence is a good offence, heused a press conference to appeal forinternational support for Peru’sefforts to extradite his predecessorAlberto Fujimori from Japan to facecorruption charges at home.

And that’s when he made hisintriguing point that national leaderswho are given the privilege of theextraordinary U.N. podium need toset an example to the world in theirown conduct.

If only we could believe they werelistening.

This year’s gathering offered astark glimpse of the real divide in theworld today. Not the ones portrayedin the headlines, such as the riftsover terrorism policy, or betweenmuch of the world and PresidentGeorge Bush.

It’s between those who respectlaws — or value legal obligations —and those who don’t.

Bush is easy to criticize— obviously many have —for a foreign policy doc-trine that runs roughshodover the concepts of multi-lateralism that underpin theU.N. and its efforts to breaknew ground in internation-al law.

We’re not talking aboutIraq here, but about, for

instance, the International CriminalCourt or improving the BiologicalWeapons Convention — both ofwhich Washington has opposed.

OK, but what about those otherleaders who also used the podium tolecture the world on righteousness,while ignoring their domestic sins?

Best example of that in recentdays was Robert Mugabe, Zimbab-we’s president, whose regime is con-demned around the world for harass-ing opposition parties, intimidatingthe free press, and using violence toundermine democracy.

Did Mugabe bother to acknowl-edge that? Not a chance. Instead, hegot a smattering of unparliamentary

applause for his tirade against Wash-ington and its allies for pursuing a“new political-cum-religious doc-trine in which there is but one polit-ical god, George W. Bush, and TonyBlair is his prophet.”

Great line, but no one laughed atthe next one, in which he called theU.N. Charter “the most sacred doc-ument and proponent of relations ofour nations.”

That’s the same document whosepreamble commits member states“to reaffirm faith in fundamentalhuman rights, in the dignity andworth of the human person, in theequal rights of men and women andof nations large and small.”

U.N. Secretary-General KofiAnnan tried to bring the debatedown to reality. He was widely quot-ed for his apparent criticism of theU.S. venture in Iraq, noting “everynation that proclaims the rule of lawat home must respect it abroad.”

Less widely noted was his secondline: “and every nation that insists onit abroad must enforce it at home.”

The General Assembly debates area yearly ritual of international diplo-macy. And the ritual requires every-one to listen politely — if they listenat all.

These speeches, after all, arelargely aimed at impressing an audi-ence at home with the leader’s abil-ity to rub shoulders with powerfulstates and, if necessary, tell themoff.

Brazil’s President Luiz InacioLula da Silva railed against the“powerful and all-encompassingcogwheel” that runs the world sys-tem. Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez con-demned the “unjust, exploitative andunsustainable world economicorder.”

But it would be nice if leadersunderstood — as Toledo said — thateven the most stirring rhetoric has tobe measured against actions.

South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki puthis finger on the problem. “Everyyear many of us … make an annualpilgrimage to this great and vibrantcity to plead the cause of the poor ofthe world, hopeful that this time ourvoices will be heard,” he said in hisaddress.

“Every year, after a few days, wepick up our bags to return to the real-ity of our societies, whose squalorstands out in sharp contrast to thesplendour of New York.”

He’s right, but the solution to thegrowing global gap between rhetoricand “reality” doesn’t always lie inconcentrating on the world’s darkgeopolitical forces.

It has a lot to do with setting anexample of good, responsible, andhonest government at home.

Stephen Handelman is a seniorcolumnist for TIME CANADA. Hecan be reached at [email protected]. His next column for TheIndependent will appear Oct. 17.

October 3, 2004 Page 18INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

HANDELMANSTEPHEN

Graham Hughes/Photocall IrelandU.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan

By Stephanie PorterThe Independent

In a few short years, Lucy Fitz-patrick has gone from a “shystudent” at an all-girl Cath-

olic school, to the director of anEnglish-language school in HoChi Minh, the largest city in Viet-nam (formerly known as Saigon).

“I’ve done a complete turn-around,” she tells The Indepen-dent. “It’s changed, my way ofthinking has changed. I’ve had toaccept certain things; I’ve chosennot to accept certain things.”

And after so much time away,Fitzpatrick says she feels like moreof a foreigner when she returns toCanada than she does in Asia.

After graduating from highschool in Carbonear, Fitzpatrickattended Memorial University,majoring in German. As part of herlanguage studies, her professor gotthe students to re-learn Englishgrammar. Soon after, Fitzpatrickbegan to volunteer tutoring inter-national students at Memorial —improving her own skills along theway. That got her thinking aboutgoing overseas.

“I went to university for twoyears and quit,” she says. “I wentto university, dropped out, wenthome, worked for a family lookingafter their children and I realized I

didn’t want that kind of life. Iwanted to be independent.

“And I’ve become very inde-pendent living overseas.”

In 1997, Fitzpatrick moved toSouth Korea, with the plan to stayfor one year and make some

money. She stayed for six.“I felt at home in Korea, which

some people think is strange. Butfamily is very important in Koreaand that’s the same in Newfound-land. There are actually many sim-ilarities, I’m used to having peoplearound me — like Newfoundlandextended families — but there Iwas used to being surrounded by alot of Canadians and other peopleas well.”

The last two years she was inSouth Korea, Fitzpatrick workedfor the Canadian Education CentreCultural and Language Institute(CEC) in Seoul as an Englishinstructor, program co-ordinator,and, for six months, as actingdirector.

When CEC decided they wouldopen a language centre in Viet-nam, they offered Fitzpatrick theposition of director. She accepted,and moved to Vietnam, leavingher colleagues and acquaintancesbehind.

“When I came to Vietnam it wasjust me. I came here, to an emptybuilding and had to turn it into aschool. It was a challenge,” shesays. “I found Vietnam very diffi-cult at first. In fact, if I hadn’t goneto Korea first — the first city Ilived there was fairly quiet — Idon’t think I would have been ableto survive.”

Fitzpatrick located and contact-ed another Newfoundlander inVietnam through the newfondlan-dersabroad.com website. Whenshe met up with the woman, shesays she “just wanted to cry” —she was so relieved and delighted

to be able to talk about things andpeople they had in common.

Fitzpatrick has been in Vietnamfor a year now.

“On my first day, I wasamazed,” she says. “The traffic inHo Chi Minh City was absolutelycrazy. Everyone was driving amotorbike and there appeared to beno traffic rules. I thought that I wasgoing to die, get run over trying tocross the street. So for the firstweek or so I didn’t go outside, Iwas too afraid.

“I have been living in and trav-elling around Asia the past sevenyears, but I was still amazed at thecraziness of life here in Ho ChiMinh City. I was living and work-ing in the same building for thefirst three weeks. At lunch time thestaff would go home and returntwo hours later, I wondered whysuch a long lunch hour … then Iwas told that it’s normal to take atwo-hour lunch break: one hour toeat and one hour to rest.

“God, what a concept. But theweather is so hot here, that youtend to get very tired aroundnoon.”

Fitzpatrick has adjusted sincethen, in many ways. She’s metplenty of people, Canadian andotherwise. Used to eating meat andpotatoes, she now craves vegeta-bles and rice. She’s also gottenaccustomed to a different way ofdoing business.

“When I want things done, Iexpect them done immediately, butit’s not always possible — youhave to wait,” she says. “Forexample, I ordered furniture for

the school, I was told two weeks,it was about three months later itshowed up.

“And waiting for the license forthe school. They rushed me here inAugust, but we never actuallyreceived (the paperwork) until theend of October, so that was frus-trating to me. I learned that’s theway it is, so accept it.”

The school officially opened inJanuary, and the number of stu-dents has been steadily increasing.There are Vietnamese students,Korean, Italian, Japanese — HoChi Minh is a very internationalcity (Fitzpatrick enjoys that allvarieties of food seem to be avail-able — even poutine).

Fitzpatrick has just returnedfrom a vacation in Canada, whenshe spent a week in Newfound-land. “I felt strange being home,”she says. “When I went back it wasas if nothing changed, except me.”

Although she’s gearing up forthe annual Terry Fox Run in HoChi Minh, and looking forward tocelebrating Canadian events at theConsulate — including a monthlyhappy hour — Fitzpatrick says shefeels more at home in Asia thanshe does in Canada. She’s got noplans to return to her home coun-try for work.

“I’ve always been proud to be aNewfoundlander, and I’m moreproud now to be a Canadian,” shesays. “I’ve been promoting Cana-da, but people think of Canada asVancouver and Toronto, so I try topromote Newfoundland as muchas possible.

“But to move back to New-foundland? I don’t know.”

Wherever people choose to set-tle, Fitzpatrick has one piece ofadvice: “I would recommendteaching overseas. Everyone, whenthey graduate, I recommend peo-ple travel at least.

“There’s such a big world andwe’re very lucky because wespeak English. Take advantage ofit.”

Do you know a Newfoundlanderor Labradorian living away? E-mail [email protected]

The Independent, October 3, 2004 INTERNATIONAL Page 19

‘A complete turnaround’From a shy girl in Carbonear to director of an English-language

school, Lucy Fitzpatrick has made a life for herself in Vietnam


Life on the streets of Danang, Vietnam.

Voice from awayLucy Fitzpatrick In Vietnam

Our carriers earn the highest sales commissions in Newfoundland and Labrador

Due to rapid growth and expansion, The Independent is in urgent need of adults and youths

interested in home delivery of our newspaper

Carriers Wanted


Husband and wife team Paul and JoyRose are living lives any outdoorenthusiast would kill for.

Their mid-sized wooden house sitsamong natural, spacious grounds and theirbackyard slopes down to the Exploits Riverin central Newfoundland. Two horses andtwo huskies roam freely around the proper-ty, and a rack of kayaks and canoes — notto mention a couple of large inflatable rafts– sit, waiting for action.

This is the home of Red Indian Adven-tures, an apt name for an adventure tourismbusiness set in an area of the province sorich in Beothuk history.

Paul tells The Independent how theExploits, once one of the most densely pop-ulated areas of the province, was the maincorridor for the natives’ migration inland tohunt caribou in the winter.

“There are (Beothuk) campsites alongthis river where you can still see the tentrings where their houses have been,” hesays, adding there are still pieces of coal andbone left behind in the ancient fire pits.“I’ve never shown them to anyone on atour. It’s kind of a sacred place and I don’twant them to be excavated.”

Growing up in nearby Grand Falls, andliving and working in the Exploits valley,

has made Joy and Paul experts on their sur-roundings. Red Indian Adventures has beenoperating for eight years. It’s still the onlycompany in Newfoundland to offer riverand whitewater rafting and kayaking, pro-viding daily tours and overnight campingexpeditions.

The company is a smallone — Joy and Paul arethe only employees — butthe couple is constantlybusy over the summermonths.

“Mostly our business isa lot of people from theAvalon, St. John’s area,”says Joy. “We’ve gotten alot more locals this yearthan in the past.” Althoughadvertising attracts mostpeople, she says word ofmouth plays a big part.

“We get a lot of people,from beginners to somethat raft all over the world.They come here, theywant to do rafting and they don’t care whereit is really. You get to meet so many nicepeople and so many interesting people, youknow?”

Joy and Paul have a passion for what theydo, and it really has become their lives. Thecouple even met through river canoeing

and married on the Exploits.“We intended to leave 12 o’clock or so

that evening,” Paul says, remembering theirwedding day reception. “We had arrangedfor a ride up to the top of the river and wewere going to paddle down that night in the

dark and then camp. Butwe ended up getting waytoo intoxicated and wecouldn’t go anywhere andended up crashing therewhere we were. We wokeup in the rain.”

Now they have an 11-and-a-half month-olddaughter named Heidi,who’s already venturedout onto the river andseems destined to followin her parent’s footsteps.

“I was rafting right upuntil the end of August(2003) and I had her onOct. 9,” says Joy. “Andthen I was back to workagain in June.”

Joy wasn’t the first family member togive birth. Two years ago their huskyNakeah produced eight pups.

In keeping with her outdoorsy upbring-ing, Nakeah ignored the comfortable, insu-lated doghouse the Roses provided for thebirth, and disappeared after going into

labour. She turned up two days later andproudly showed off her litter, safe andwarm in a self-dug den just 100 yardsfrom the house.

“We didn’t have to do any cleaning, did-n’t have to do any feeding or anything,”says Paul. Nakeah would even lead her lit-ter down to the Exploits when they neededa drink. The Roses kept one of the pups —Nanook — and Nakeah herself trained thepup to follow the house rules and the humancommands.

Paul admits their lifestyle is unusualgiven that no one else in either his or Joy’sfamily shares their enthusiasm for outdoorpursuits to the same degree. They say noth-ing could persuade them to move awayfrom their home, even though they say, interms of funding, the province often ignoresthe tourism potential in parts of centralNewfoundland.

Just over a week ago, the couple returnedfrom kayaking in the United States andOntario. Among other activities, Pauljumped a 60-foot waterfall.

But that wasn’t his most memorableadventure to date.

“I guided a raft down the Grand Canyonlast year on a 19-day trip (down the Col-orado River),” he says.

Was it fun?“Oh yeah. A mile deep in the earth for 19

days? It was actually wonderful.”

October 3, 2004 Page 20LIFE &TIMES

Up the riverPaul and Joy Rose and their two huskies are living an adventure-tourism dream

“We get a lot of people,from beginners to some

that raft all over theworld. They come here,they want to do rafting

and they don’t carewhere it is really. You get to meet so many nice people and so

many interesting people,you know?”

— Joy Rose

A year of Independent thinking

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Clare-Marie Gosse/The Independent

Two kayaks rest on a wharf by the Exploits River in central Newfoundland.

Abig deal needs to be made ofRick Mercer’s magnanimousgesture. Last week the St.

John’s actor was conferred one ofeight prestigious Governor General’sAwards for the Performing Arts. Henow occupies a pantheon shared byseven other 2004 winners, includingrowdyman Gordon Pinsent anddancer Veronica Tenant. Past hon-ourees include Donald Sutherlandand Cirque du Soleil. Given the dis-tinguished nature of the acknowl-edgement, the $15,000 Cdn awardmoney is not all that exciting, but weall know that the real capital of theprize lies in the enhanced reputationattending to the recognition. DonaldSutherland undoubtedly loved theattention but he probably spent hisown modest coin flying to an Exposgame one weekend (may they rest inpeace).

That said, $15,000 is still a lot ofmoney to grassroots arts organiza-tions, and so when Mercer announcedhe was donating the sum wholly tothe Resource Centre for the Arts atthe LSPU Hall a lot of people wentnuts. There is something at once soobvious and so rare about such a ges-ture.

Your first guilty thought might be,well, Mercer must be making a lot ofmedia money to be able to hand over$15,000 without so much as a wince.But surely that grudging if humanreflex quickly yields to a warm surgeof appreciation.

Every now and then you read aboutsomeone on the mainland leaving afew million dollars to a university ora museum, and you can’t help butwonder — why not me or why nothere? It just doesn’t happen. It’salways been a bit of a mystery whythe local rich don’t share more oftheir holdings with struggling siteslike the Hall, or with causes that cryout for but are never able to receiveenough public funds. Perhaps it takessomeone who feels he owes hiscareer to the place, like Mercer, tomake a personal contribution. And

he’s not even dead yet. If he spent thatmoney on good wine surely we’d allunderstand. Elsewhere, however, therich give their money away all thetime.

You can’t help wonder if theannouncement of Mercer’s gift gen-erated at least a twinge of guilt insome of the crowd now toolingaround town in Jaguars and BMWs.To be fair, it is possible they don’texperience normal feelings of socialresponsibility like the rest of us.

The most notable exception to thetight-fisted merchants and idle rich issurely Paul Johnson and his JohnsonFamily Foundation which has madeso many contributions to Newfound-land history and culture over theyears they deserve a monument. Thestunning showcase that is the GEOCentre is by itself testimony of John-son’s understanding of the termbenevolence. Oddly, Johnson and hisfamily constantly set examples noone else seems inclined to follow.Don’t the rich want to get into heav-en like the rest of us?

It was easy to think of charitableacts the other night over at theMasonic Temple, where several hun-dred people gathered first to hear apanel about, and then to show soli-darity with, the several hundredSudanese refugees who have fortu-itously — for us and for them —landed on our shores. The event wascalled Darfur After Dark and it waspart of a Canada-wide effort to raiseawareness of the political and human-itarian crisis in the region and toshame the federal government intotaking a more active role of protest onthe international stage.

In cities across the country writers

and musicians not only gatheredtogether to perform their works, butthey actually staged the event in thefirst place. In Toronto it was MichaelOndaatje, Dionne Brand, and otherswho made things happen. Here it waswriter Lisa Moore and friends, withthe full assistance of Oxfam.Actor/writer Mary Walsh — who hasquietly donated money to the LSPUHall and, no doubt, many other orga-nizations in the past, hosted the live-ly event, giving freely of her time andtalent. Tables were lined with dona-tions from artists who had alsooffered their works for silent auction.Oxfam is to distribute the earningswhere they are most needed.

Hundreds of people crowded theMasonic Temple hall but, interesting-ly, almost none of the big-ticketitems, such as beautiful prints, framedand ready for hanging, saw any seri-ous bids. This had something to dowith the fact that most of the assem-bled crowd do not carry the kind ofpocket money it takes to plunk downseveral hundred dollars just like that.The paradox seemed so obvious:

writers and artists had helped bringthe event together, but this isn’t thegroup who can or ought to be makinglarge financial gifts. Maybe the localrich are quietly donating large sumsto various philanthropic causes anddon’t want the attention, but then youdon’t see them organizing fundraisingevents for refugees or, for that matter,calling publicly on their fellowwealthy dinner partners or clients tothrow money at cultural sites.

And so why do the writers andartists usually end up being the onesto donate time and money they don’treally have to the hurricane relief ben-efits, the flood fundraisers, the refugeerelief measures? It is no surprise toanyone who follows these trends, butit is worth repeating that the New-foundlanders (and Quebeckers) arethe least philanthropic people inCanada, according to the annual Pri-vate Charitable Generosity Index.Manitoba, not exactly a haveprovince, ranks highest. The Gen-erosity Index measures three vari-ables: the proportion of taxpayers whodonate to registered charities, the per-centage of after-tax income donated tocharity, and the number of per-capitahours of volunteer time donated tocharities.

There are probably some good his-torical and social reasons why New-foundlanders rank so low on theindex, confounding the myth of beinga generous and giving and big-heart-ed people, but the statistics are hum-bling. Even Paul Johnson’s continu-ing generosity can’t offset the pitifulcontributions Newfoundlanders maketo the not-for-profit sector. And RickMercer’s $15,000 to the charity that isthe LSPU Hall certainly won’t makea centimetre difference to the scalesof giving. Still, Mercer is owed a bighug, at least. Let’s hope he inspiresothers to similar gestures.

Noreen Golfman is a professor ofliterature and women’s studies atMemorial. Her next column appearsOct. 17.

The Independent, October 3, 2004 LIFE & TIMES Page 21

StandingRoom Only

GOLFMANNOREEN

You can’t help wonderif the announcement

of Mercer’s gift generated at least a

twinge of guilt in some of the crowd now

tooling around town in Jaguars and BMWs.To be fair, it is possiblethey don’t experience

normal feelings of social responsibility like the rest of us.

Charity begins at homeSandor Fizli/PDI Photos

Rick Mercer donates his Governor General Award money to the LSPU Hall in St. John’s

LIFE & TIMES The Independent, October 3, 2004

What’s in a name?

In her second chapbook ofpoetry, Vancouver-born poet— and until just recently, res-

ident of St. John’s — Anna Swan-son writes on the nature of sick-ness and the self, through the lensof her own experience with debil-itating illness. Though this illnessis never named, the symptomsdetailed throughout the collection(uncharacteristic exhaustion fol-lowing physical activity, difficul-ty in concentrating, memory loss)seem to point toward ChronicFatigue Syndrome.

Swanson’s experience of herillness, bereft of the poetry shemakes of it, is only one unfortu-nate serf in the wide realm ofhuman suffering. After all, weturn to literature not for consola-tion (leave that to books of theChicken, Beef or Tofu Soup forthe Soul variety) but for enlight-enment. It is propitious, then, todiscover that Swanson has poetictechnique in spades.

“Because I was afraid I mightnever sleep again / Because Ithought I might sleep for the restof my life” the opening poem, AnArgument for Remembering,begins:

Because I lost my short termmemory during exams

Because I couldn’t remember aquestion long enough to find

an answerBecause I dropped all my

courses but one so I’d have something to say when people

asked me what I didBecause people told me to try

getting more exercise

The poem continues in a simi-larly structured list of reasonsuntil the crucial last line:“Because I never realized thatwhen people ask us who we/are,we answer with what we do.”Obviously, the nature of identityis a central concern of the collec-tion. And nowhere is this themat-ic occupation more obvious thanin Swanson’s Sestina for myName.

The English sestina, derivedfrom its French ancestor, is aform poem based around a selec-tion of six key words. Thesewords are used at the end of eachof 36 lines grouped into stanzasof six. The six words are intro-

duced in the first sestet and thenrecur in varying end-positionsover the course of the next fivestanzas. There is a formula to theorder of appearance of these endwords (123456 in the first stanza,615243 in the second…) that Iwon’t get into here. Furthermore,a closing three-line stanza fol-lows the sestets with the end-words now appearing two perline. Suffice it to say that in thesestina, technique is everything.

With such constraints, suchcompulsive repetition, it wouldappear exceedingly difficult forany writing to break free of merelanguage experiment and blos-som into actual poetry. Yet in Ses-tina for my Name, form and senseare perfectly married. The poembecomes dreamily obsessed by itsauthor’s six end words: “aspara-gus”, “student”, “name”, “intro-duce”, “forget” and “Anna.” InSwanson’s capable hands, apainfully self-conscious and dif-ficult form is the perfect vehiclefor meditation on the nature ofidentity:

… A theatre studentamused us with memory games,

told us the reason we forgetnames

is that we don’t listen whenother people are introduced.

We don’t pay attention, shesaid, because we’re scared we’llforget

our own names. Instead of lis-tening – Hi, I’m Anna. Anna. –

we practice in our heads. Niceto meet you, I’m Anna.

“(T)here was something under-neath even Anna,” the poem laterasserts. That something is thenotion of the self, the template weenvision as being our Being. It is

this self and its necessary revisionafter the experience of sicknessand, later, healing, with whichSwanson struggles throughout thecollection.

While there are a scant fewpassages in Where a Name WouldBe that are of more clinical thanpoetic interest, of more use to afellow sufferer than a reader ofpoetry, largely, its pieces evidencea strong and varied style. Swan-son can sing in many registers.My hope is that this small chap-

book of poems will soon find itsway into a collection that is longenough to fully showcase itsauthor’s talent.

Where a Name Would Be isavailable at Bennington GateBookstore or by contacting theauthor:[email protected]

Mark Callanan is a writer cur-rently living in Rocky Harbour.His next column appears Oct. 17.He can be reached at [email protected]

Where a Name Would BeBy Anna SwansonRubber Boot Rodeo, 2004. 28pp

On TheShelf

CALLANANMARK

Swanson’s experience of her illness, bereft

of the poetry she makes of it, is only one

unfortunate serf in the wide realm of human

suffering. After all, weturn to literature not for consolation (leavethat to books of the

Chicken, Beef orTofu Soup for the Soul variety) but

for enlightenment.

ACROSS1 Her lover was a swan5 Related9 Steps down to the

Ganges13 Seize17 Terrible tsar18 Albacore ___19 Shower20 Nearly extinct21 Flashy July 1 show23 Decree25 Neon or silver, e.g.26 Home28 Awry29 Impersonal pronoun30 “Don’t ___ the door!”31 Acapulco aunt32 Beach on L. Winnipeg

(one of the world’s top 10freshwater beaches)35 Angler38 Treat with a Taser41 “When I fall in ___ ...”42 Milieu of erns and

terns43 Catch44 Soft drink45 Foofaraw46 Movement for reli-

gious understanding50 Actor Paul (“Men With

Brooms”)51 Winter mo.52 Add volume53 Boy54 Opportunely56 Not up58 The Song Beneath the

___ (Joe Fiorito)

59 Apiece60 Sheila McCarthy, e.g.63 “Caught ya!”64 Like a fox65 Prov. with most smoke

or haze68 Weeps69 Universally valid val-

ues72 Hudson’s ___73 Puss’s plaint74 Asian leader, once75 Observe76 Take your ___77 Bard’s time78 Clambers82 Easily split rock83 Sweet potato84 Not nude85 Shortened alias86 Tree with catkins89 More pleasant91 Apart (lit.)95 Flamenco form97 Having an effect99 At a distance

100 St. John’s lake: Quidi___101 Put on the payroll102 Keats’ feats103 Coop layers104 Unsigned, in short105 Coup d’___106 Death in Dieppe

DOWN1 Kind of insurance2 “Hear no ___”3 Venture4 Sea creature

5 Make amends6 Skater Browning7 What squid squirt8 Some French vowels9 First commercial pilot

in Canada: Roland ___10 Like rock11 Adjutant12 Radio & TV network of

Arctic Quebec (Nunavik)13 Blue ___ grass14 Royal in a sari15 Curved lines16 The birds and the ___22 ___ one’s way (go)24 Labrador Inuit com-

munity27 Scrooge’s word30 Thailand, once31 Bill32 Kind of tidings33 Went by horse34 Non-career calling35 Quarrel36 ER professionals37 Papa’s mate38 Fear of animals39 Too40 Decline to bid42 Oodles44 Swamp menace46 Fencing item47 Site of world’s largest

non-polar ice field: St. ___Mountains, Yukon48 Tortilla chip with top-

pings49 Standard of perfection50 Classic anatomy text-

book

55 National Park on L.Erie: Point ___57 Make ale60 Pinnacle61 Indigenous language62 German river64 Some Fr. martyrs66 Table salt (chem.)67 Youngster70 Python cousin71 Secondhand74 Letters of 1900

76 “The ___ of theOpera”78 Performed an aria79 N.B. frozen food

founder80 French wheat81 Jean Vanier’s organi-

zation82 Antarctic bird83 Ten Lost ___, 1929-

1939 (Broadfoot)85 Valuable quality

86 Asian nanny87 ___ and sound88 Scheme89 No (German)90 Subcontinental prefix91 Subtle emanation92 Carthage’s founder93 Of all time94 “Let the ___ of the

world ...”96 Ultraviolet rad.98 Small river island

INDEPENDENT CROSSWORD Solutions on page 26

The Independent, October 3, 2004 LIFE & TIMES Page 23


People, especially New-foundlanders, think they know a lot about Great

Big Sea.But from obtaining restraining

orders for stalkers to getting cozywith a certain Hollywood gladia-tor, life for Newfoundland’sfavourite music celebrities is farfrom predictable.

Band member Bob Hallett,singer and player of multipleinstruments — from fiddle tobouzouki — sits down with TheIndependent for a chat about theband’s current nationwide tour andupcoming extended break.

“It’s been one of our busiest(years) ever. I mean we work a lot,but this year we’ve worked stupidamounts,” he says.

“We’re definitely taking a longbreak next year and you know, thelast two years in particular havebeen a pound of work and allkinds of problems. Darrell(Power) left the band, our originalbass player, and we had somedeaths in our immediate friendsand families.

“You come home from a tourand you go to the hospital for threehours you know, and then go backon the road thinking about it.

We’re really just tired. Not tired ofplaying, not tired of performing,we’re tired of the process, youknow?”

As well as replacing Power withMurray Foster in 2003, the rest ofthe group — Alan Doyle, SeanMcCann and Hallett — brought inKris MacFarlane on drums. Workhas been steady ever since, in stu-dio and out.

Close on the heels of their plat-inum-certified album, Sea Of NoCares, the band released Some-thing Beautiful in February of thisyear. They recently finished a hec-tic American tour, are beginningan extensive national tour andhave an album of traditional New-foundland music poised and wait-ing for release.

“We had a big bulk of (pop)songs we’d written and this bigpile of traditional music and wewere having a really hard timemaking the two gel,” says Hallett,explaining why the band decidedto compile two albums in thespace of one year. He calls them“two sides of one coin.”

The band also released theirGreat Big DVD in late 2003,which turned out to be “one of themost successful things” they’veever done.

“There’s a ton of stuff on it,”says Hallett, describing the com-

pilation of band and concertfootage, interviews and 14 musicvideos. “It’s the best selling musicDVD in Canada this year; it’s soldtriple platinum for a DVD. That’snot widely known; another Great

Big Sea thing that nobody knowsabout.”

Apparently there are a few.Hallett says he’s surprised at

how the band’s fan base is oftenmisjudged: people seem to assumetheir only fans are ex-patriot New-foundlanders.

“Certainly there are a lot of ex-patriot Newfoundlanders in ouraudiences,” he says, “(but) wenever would have been able to

become anywhere near as widelyknown, or sold as many records ifthat was our primary audience.We play massive shows all overthe States and certainly, you know,there’s not enough Newfoundlan-ders in any city in America…”

But it seems the band has beenresponsible for bringing some fansback to the province with them, inthe form of Great Big Sea stalkers.

“There’s been a few restrainingorders,” Hallett says. “You knowyou project a very open andfriendly persona on stage and ourmessage deliberately has a verypositive approach. A lot of peoplefind solace in that and then thatbecomes something else, youknow?

“And then they move here andcamp in front of your house.”

Russell Crowe — a less crazed,more high profile fan of the band— could probably give the musi-cians some tips on dealing withadmirers.

When asked if rumours that leadsinger Alan Doyle will produce arecord for Crowe’s b, 30 Odd FootOf Grunts, Hallett smiles and justsays, “Russell Crowe is a friend.

“He’s a fan of the band andAlan is certainly a close friend ofRussell’s. He’s a very busy manand I’m not sure how serious Rus-sell is about his musical career, his

band is essentially on hiatus rightnow.

“I think he would like to domusic again, but whether or nothe’ll turn down 50-million dollarmovies to go play clubs is a ques-tion I’ve never asked him, eventhough I suspect I know theanswer. He’s a long time fan of theband and he’s performed oursongs live from time to time.”

With the Great Big DVD, theband is getting their own cameratime, and Hallett says they’ll betaping another live concert duringthis Canadian tour. With addition-al footage from the DVD shootsleft over, he says they might putanother video package together ifthey “get bored doing nothing”during their time off.

With 27 concerts scheduled anda large expanse of land to cover intwo months, the “extended break”should be much needed.

“We’re taking a week off in themiddle of it but essentially we’llwork most days,” Hallett says, “Imean, we don’t play every nightbut that’s the nature of drivingacross Canada. It takes a longtime.”

Great Big Sea flew to Nanaimo,B.C., last week and they won’tstop pounding the pavement untilthey reach home for a show Dec.4 at Mile One Stadium.

“You come home from atour and you go to the

hospital for three hoursyou know, and then goback on the road think-

ing about it. We’re reallyjust tired. Not tired of

playing, not tired of per-forming, we’re tired of

the process, you know?”— Bob Hallett

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By Marie-Beth Wright

During my childhood, thefederal governmentresearch ship, Acadia, did

cartographical work out of Val-leyfield, Bonavista Bay. Theship’s middle-aged engineer,Aloysius Cyr from Pictou, N.S.,spent much of his free time at ourfamily’s general store intriguingmy parents with his pronunciationof my name.

And that was my first contactwith the Acadian culture and theFrench language, a link thatwould instill a life-long passion.Until university, my conceptionof Acadia was of a boat, but thatchanged with my subsequent vis-its to Grand Pré and CountyClare.

I admire the Acadian tenacity,resiliency and co-operation exhib-ited throughout original coloniza-tion, especially after the GrandDerangement of 1755-63. WhileHenry Wadsworth Longfellowgave a special soul to the Acadiantragedy, the true heroes and hero-ines have been the millions ofAcadian descendants fostering

Acadia, a country of the heart,without frontiers, a virtual land ofpride and hope transcending cen-turies and politics. All subsequentethnic cleansing campaigns sincethe 18th century demonstraterevolting cruelty towards its vic-tims, yet Acadians stand apart intheir ability for acceptance andrenewal.

Fast forward to summer 2004and the third Acadian World Con-gress at Pointe de l’Église. Atsuch events, Acadiens return fromthe four corners, reassembling inlarge numbers to announce to theworld that they still exist, a dis-tinct people. I have visited Cham-plain’s Habitation and a portrait ofthe Expulsion of the Acadianshangs in my living room, but I amnot a true Acadian, only an adop-tive one. In 1995, my family hadvisited Pictou in hopes of findingour Acadian friend, but arrivedtwo years too late. We did, how-ever, reconnect with Acadia, thevessel — moored in all its formerglory on the Halifax waterfront —and stood on its deck reliving thepast.

In this 400th anniversary of

French settlement, I set out on apilgrimage to the Acadian Penin-sula of New Brunswick for twoweeks of linguistic and culturalevents while becoming reac-quainted with L’Acadie. In 1864,the late prime minister WilfredLaurier commenting on English-French relations, stated: “Unity ofthe people is the secret of thefuture.”

The young Wilfred Laurier, sentat the sensitive age of 10 to theEnglish school in New Glasgow,Qué., stayed for three years (apartfrom a monthly holiday home)

with an Irish Catholic family, per-haps the first planned immersionepisode in Canada.

I, too, lived “en famille” with,Irène and Gilbert Losier of Ship-pagan, who have spent manyyears welcoming students intotheir home and their culture.

The musical and cultural epi-centre, Caraquet’s annual festival,offered the benediction of thefleet, carnivals, tri-coloured light-houses and the Historical AcadianVillage, while hundreds of artistsinterpreted the culture. I was pre-sent at Carrefour de la Mer cul-tural centre for the launching ofthe signature album, L’Acadie enChanson, where Sandra Lecou-teur sang the emotional hymnGrand Pré and 2,000 spectatorsrose in ovation. Never will I for-get the moment when NewBrunswick’s Carole Daigle joinedBriand Melanson of GrandDérangement to present the themesong from the Acadian WorldCongress.

The region also boasts theBaroque festival of Lèmequeestablished by Dr. MathieuDuguay in 1976, a festival that

attracts choirs, directors and musi-cians of the first order. Throughthe Beliveau and Burke families,Nova Scotia songstress AnneMurray’s maternal side is 100 percent francophone.

Back home, I continue to reflecton the grace, determination andsense of heritage demonstrated bythe Acadians who, like us New-foundlanders and Labradorians,use music and other cultural ele-ments to forage an identity whengeographically dispersed. Indeed,the Acadians hold an annual Tin-tamarre — a big parade withinstruments and noisemakers —as they challenge a destiny ofdivision, despair and injustice.They have earned a position ofhonour in Canada and throughoutthe world after 250 years of dis-placement.

We, like them, will continue tolive and prosper in the face ofadversities.

Marie-Beth Wright is a St.John’s writer with experience insmall business and teaching. Shealso loves to travel.

[email protected]

Page 24 LIFE & TIMES The Independent, October 3, 2004

Acadiens — a distinct people like us


The deans from fine arts schools at col-leges and universities across Canadamet in St. John’s this past weekend

and the general consensus was that New-foundland and Labrador — specifically St.John’s –— has an arts scene, and a healthyone.

Some raved about the enthusiasm of localartists, others questioned the one-year delay inthe opening of The Rooms. All seemedimpressed.

All around the Duke of Duckworth pub indowntown St. John’s, where the delegationmet for lunch after a tour of the empty Rooms,there was talk of returning to the province fora longer, more vacation-like stay. The delega-tion complained about the excessive time theyhad to spend in meetings.

Ira Levine, from Toronto’s Ryerson Univer-sity, says he was surprised by The Rooms andgave it rave reviews. He was more excited,however, about T-shirts sold at a Duckworth

Street shop where local artists’ designs areprinted and displayed.

Lionel Walsh, from the University of Wind-sor, says a visitor can’t help but be inspired onthe island. Walsh may be a tad biased, howev-er. His parents are from here.

“I think this is one of the most vibrant artscommunities in North America, but I cheat, Ilived here in the ’80s,” Walsh says.

The topic on most of the deans’ lips was whythe opening of The Rooms was put off.

“It’s in boxes … the art that’s there that rep-resents your culture and heritage and it’sclosed,” says Marion Brinkley from DalhousieUniversity. Brinkley was also unimpressedthat the provincial archives, used by manytourists to trace genealogy, are locked away inThe Rooms.

Cecil Houston, with the University of Wind-sor, says the provincial government needs topay more attention to the arts. He says a cul-ture’s humanity is judged by its creativity.

“There’s something you have to value hereand that’s humanity, it’s refreshing and inspir-ing.”

A mainland view of The Rooms

In this 400th anniversaryof French settlement, I

set out on a pilgrimage tothe Acadian Peninsula ofNew Brunswick for twoweeks of linguistic andcultural events while

becoming reacquaintedwith L’Acadie.

Paul Daly/The IndependentThe Rooms

‘Escape clause’Bonavista’s Michael Ryder takes to the ice in Sweden this month, but he’ll be home in a flash if the lockout ends — then it’s only his Canadiens contract to worry about

By Darcy MacRaeFor The Independent

The National Hockey Leaguelockout couldn’t have come at aworse time for Michael Ryder.

The pride of Bonavista finally sawhis boyhood dream of playing in theNHL come true last season when hespent the year playing right wing for theMontreal Canadiens.

Ryder used sound positioning, a will-ingness to battle for the puck in thetrenches and a lethal shot from the slotto score 25 goals — first among allMontreal skaters, despite the fact it washis rookie season. His hard-nosed stylealso helped the team return to the play-offs after a two-year absence from post-season competition and aided in theirfirst-round upset of the Boston Bruins.Although the Canadiens were eventual-ly eliminated by Stanley Cup champi-ons Tampa Bay, it was obvious to fol-lowers of the game that both Ryder andthe Habs were on the road to bigger andbetter things.

When Ryder ponders all he and histeammates accomplished last season,it’s no surprise he’s saddened by thepossibility the NHL lockout could wipeout the entire 2004-05 campaign.

“It will be disappointing, especiallyafter finishing off on a good note,”Ryder tells The Independent. “We wereexcited about this season and thoughtwe could go a little further in the play-offs. We would have had pretty muchthe same team, so if it starts up againwe’ll have to pick things up where weleft off.”

Ryder’s on-ice intensity and creativ-ity were evident last season, when heeither went around or through his oppo-nents en route to the net. He used hismuscled physique to fight through traf-fic and create space for teammates —qualities that endeared him to both fansand fellow Canadiens.

His strong play also caught the atten-tion of the rest of the NHL, whichresulted in Ryder finishing second invoting for the Calder Trophy, givenannually to the league’s top rookie.After spending thethree previous seasonsin the minors, it wasobvious Ryder wasjust getting his NHLcareer on track, whichis another factor in hisdisappointment overthe labour dispute.

“It was exciting toplay my rookie yearand then I was lookingforward to playingagain,” he says. “But Ican’t affect what’sgoing on. I’ve just gotto make sure I’m readyto play when hockeystarts again.”

At just 24 years of age, Ryder fit inperfectly with Montreal’s youth move-ment. Along with fellow youngstersMichael Komisarek, Jason Ward andMike Ribeiro, Ryder was seen as part ofthe next generation of Canadiens’ stars,a group whose excitement and energycreated a buzz in the hockey-mad citynot heard since the early 1990s.

While he too marvels at the talent ofhis teammates, Ryder insists that thegroup of up-and-comers is a close-knitteam.

Whether it be joking around in theweight room or talking strategy beforepractice, the friendships and cama-raderie that existed in Montreal arethings he fondly discusses from his par-ents’ home in Bonavista.

“I can relate to a lot of the guysbecause we’re around the same age,” hesays. “I played with a few of the guys

in Hamilton (of theAHL) the year before,which made it possibleto ease into things. Theguys on the team weregreat, we all got alongwell.”

Just when the NHLseason will get under-way is anybody’s guess.The unrest between theplayers and ownerscould drag on well intothe new year, and couldthreaten not only thisseason, but the 2005-06campaign as well.Ryder realizes that atthis stage in his career,

sitting out an entire year is simply notan option.

For that reason he has singed a con-tract to play with Leksand of theSwedish Allsvenskan League, a pro cir-cuit ranked just below Sweden’s EliteLeague. Leksand has brought in provensnipers such as Ryder in an attempt toget back to the elite league, the level

they have traditionally played at beforebeing relegated to the nation’s second-best hockey circuit at the end of lastseason. Like many of his NHL coun-terparts who have chosen to play inEurope during the work stoppage,Ryder’s contract includes an escapeclause that allows him to leave Leksandshould the NHL labour dispute come toan end.

But regardless of when the NHLstarts again, Ryder is still in a state oflimbo with Montreal, as he has yet to besigned to a contract and is a restrictedfree agent. He says with certainty thathe expects to be in the Canadiens line-up if the labour dispute is settled, point-ing out that contract negotiations rarelyget worked out overnight.

As he prepares to make his Swedishhockey debut in mid-October, Rydercontinues the same training regimenthat helped get him to the NHL. He’s onthe bike and in the weight room almostevery day of the week, where constantchest, back, shoulder, arm and leg exer-cises help maintain his 6’1, 200-poundframe. He also takes to the ice at leasttwice a week, all in preparation forwhat he hopes will eventually be hissecond NHL season.

“It’s tough to say how long the lock-out will last. Bob Goodenow and GaryBettman have different opinions onwhat’s going to happen,” Ryder says.“They’ve got to find something theycan agree on, so I’m not sure how longit’s going to take. I just hope they even-tually work something out.”

[email protected]

October 3, 2004 Page 25SPORTS

“It was exciting to playmy rookie year and then

I was looking forward to playing again. But I can’t affect what’s going on. I’ve just got to make sure

I’m ready to play when hockey starts again.”

— Michael Ryder

Matt Stajan/Getty Images

Hockey’s rising star Michael Ryder of Bonavista heads to Sweden in October as a result of the NHL lockout.

SPORTS The Independent, October 3, 2004

If Madagascar had a hockey league …I tem: Nearly 200 NHLers

have found employment inEurope. When (or should that

be if?) the NHL returns, will theseplayers come back?

Comment: A majority of theseplayers, who make up roughly 25per cent of National HockeyLeague rosters, are European. Theleagues they now play in are solid,have been in existencefor years and would beoperating this seasonwhether they had theseplayers or not. Europe’seconomy is muchstronger these days,especially in hockey-playing countries.

What’s more, theEuros available to thesepuckmen are not chump change.In fact, the salaries for some —especially big names like Fors-berg (Sweden) and Jagr (CzechRepublic) — would rank high onany NHL list.

And therein lies a problem: ifand when Gary Bettman irons outthis North American mess, willNHL dollars be that much betterthan Euros? What, then, wouldpersuade Europe’s finest to leavefor Loonies and American smack-ers as they have, year after year,for decades?

GRETZKY EXPERIMENTThe Great Gretzky experiment

proved a couple of things abouthockey, hockey players and theworld’s top league: money rulesand money ruins. Players, like theNHL, will go where they think themoney is. If Madagascar had aleague and had the dough, you’dsee NHLers there by now. Afterthe Gretzky trade to L.A. in 1988and the proliferation of teams inthe U.S. Sun Belt and desertlocales, the NHL was poised toclimb to the same level as otherNorth American pro sports.

But, the heads of hockey forgotsomething: money rules and prosports get rich by fat TV contracts.The NHL never got that. It’s beensaid that the NFL could gothrough an entire season withoutone fan showing up to any gamein any city, and the league wouldstill make money.

All because of TV money.Maybe, just maybe, the NHL

will return one day and manifestitself in some form that liesbetween the Original Six and theNHL circa the early 1980s, whenWinnipeg and Quebec, Edmon-ton, Calgary and New Jersey werenew to the scene.

I’m sure Canadians, howeverpeeved by this strike, would stilltune in even if players were mak-ing half of what they have been

earning (a likely scenario). With or without Europeans, of

course.•••

Item: The Montreal Expos aregoing, going, gone to Washington.Yeah, I know it’s another Canadi-an team gobbled up by the southmouth that roars, but do we real-ly care?

Comment: This isnot really news. We’veknown for some timeLes Expos were gettingan intentional walk after35 years at the plate. Noone really seemed tobalk at this develop-ment, though. Sad? Per-haps.

It is sad Montrealersnever had the chance to celebratea World Series, something thatcould have happened if not forMajor League Baseball’s laststrike of 1994-95. Poised for aserious run with a great youngteam, the Expos never reallyrecovered from that time ofpromise-turned-doom.

Unlike their northern cousins— the Blue Jays — the Exposnever had the luxury of buying aWorld Series title (make that two).Would the Jays be faced with thesame fate if they never won thosetwo championships? It’s hard tosay, but if the Montreal Expo-rience has taught us anything, thefolks in Hogtown had best be alertor they might get caught stealinghome.

•••Item: Almost a year ago,

Toronto GM Glen Grunwald toldfans at Mile One the Raptorswould return in two years to makeup for the wet-floor fiasco of2003. Can we count on the Rap-tors heading back to rock the rimson the Rock in 2005? Will VinceCarter, he who badly wants out ofToronto, be with the team?

Comment: Well, let’s see.Grunwald is gone, fired afteranother woeful season where theRaptors played as if they hadadded a capital C to the beginningof their name.

GREENBACK PASTURESThe Raptors, like the St. John’s

Maple Leafs, are owned by MapleLeaf Sports and Entertainment.The Baby Leafs are going the wayof the Expos, not down southmind you, but off to pastures withmore greenback.

It is difficult to figure why theRaptors (meaning Maple LeafSports) would want to risk anoth-er debacle when all they have atstake is, well, nothing. Grunwald,I’m sure, is a man of his word, buthis words are meaningless now.

Vince Carter’s words, however,have stung Maple Leaf Sports inthe worst way.

Yes, injuries have plagued thisonetime franchise player, but hon-ouring his trade demand, at thisstage, would be a major blow tothe Raptors.

His value has never been lowerand it’s tough enough to attractbig-name free agents to Canada as

it is. This won’t help.I lived in Toronto during one of

Carter’s, and Toronto’s, best NBAseasons. Back then, the buzz sur-rounding the team was amazing.To witness the state of the Raptorstoday is puzzling.

Could this be the beginning ofthe end for Canada’s NBA team?I’m sure folks in Vancouver,Montreal, Winnipeg and Quebec

City would tell you strangerthings have happened.

But, hey, that’s OK. We’ll allstill be heading to Mile One.Though I’m not quite sure whatwe’ll be watching.

Bob White, a sports writer liv-ing in Carbonear, can be reachedat [email protected]

Christine Muschi/REUTERS

Montreal Expos Brian Schneider greets fans as he walks off the field following the team's final home game everagainst the Florida Marlins at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Sept. 29. The Expos will play their 2005 season inWashington, D.C. Montreal lost the game, 9-1.

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The Independent, October 3, 2004 SPORTS Page 27

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OCTOBER 3• Echoes of Erin concert, D.F.Cook Recital Hall, MemorialMusic School, 8 p.m.• Avion Players present Commu-nity Idol Finals, Gander Arts andCulture Centre. • Canadian Breast Cancer Foun-dation’s CIBC Run for the Cure,St. John’s. For more informationor to register, call 579-8777 ext.229. • Public meeting of AlcoholicsAnonymous will be held in con-junction with fall convention, 3p.m. St. James United Church,Elizabeth Avenue, St. John’s.

OCTOBER 4• Writer’s Alliance monthlyreading series, with poet Tom Henihan and short storywriter Ramona Deering, LSPUHall, 8 p.m.• Big Brothers/Big Sisters Vari-ety Show, Stephenville Arts andCulture Centre. • Echoes of Erin concert, D.F.Cook Recital Hall, MemorialMusic School, 8 p.m.

OCTOBER 5• Newfoundland and LabradorCentre for Health InformationAnnual General Meeting, 2p.m., Airport Plaza Hotel St.John’s. • Peter Pan presented by PeterMacDonald Productions, St.John’s Arts and Culture Centre, 8p.m., continues until Oct. 9, 729-3900.• Crush with guest Nathan Wiley,Gander Arts and Culture Centre,256-1081.

OCTOBER 6• Folk night with Jean Hewsonand Christina Smith at the ShipPub, St. John’s.

• Scott Goudie plays The Base-ment, Baird’s Cove, St. John’s.• Andrew and Barry LeDrewplay the Fat Cat, George Street, St.John’s.• Crush with guest Nathan Wiley,Grand Falls-Windsor Arts andCulture Centre. • W.E.S.T.: Wendy Woodland,Elaine Clarke, Shirley Montague,Tina Dolter, Corner Brook Artsand Culture Centre, 637-2580.

OCTOBER 7• Chamber music performed byKristina Szutor, D. F. CookRecital Hall, Memorial’s musicschool, 8 p.m., 737-4455. • 3 Dogs Barking, by Frank Barry,opening night at the LSPU Hall, 8

p.m. Continues until Oct. 17. 753-4531.• Crush with guest Nathan Wiley,Corner Brook Arts and CultureCentre, 637-2580.• Canadian Society for Educa-tion Through Art national con-ference: Faces of Aboriginality,Happy Valley-Goose Bay, 896-6211. Continues until Oct. 9. • MUN Cinema Series presentsBefore Sunset (USA, 2004) star-ring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy,7 p.m., Avalon Mall Studio 12.

OCTOBER 8• Wayne Hynes plays The Base-ment, Baird’s Cove, St. John’s.• Theatre Newfoundland andLabrador presents Robert Chafe’s

Tempting Providence, CornerBrook Arts and Culture Centre,637-2580.• Dave Panting plays Erin’s Pub,Water Street, St. John’s.• Crush with guest Nathan Wiley,Stephenville Arts and CultureCentre,• ADD Central workshop on non-verbal learning disabilities, 8:30a.m.-3:30 p.m., Mount PeytonHotel, Grand Fall-Windsor, 292-5727.

OCTOBER 9• Theatre Newfoundland andLabrador presents Robert Chafe’sTempting Providence, CornerBrook Arts and Culture Centre,637-2580.

• Crush with guest Nathan Wiley,Labrador West Arts and CultureCentre,• Dave Panting plays Erin’s Pub,Water Street, St. John’s.

IN THE GALLERIES:• Near and Far, presented by theArt Gallery of Newfoundland andLabrador, Discovery Centre,Woody Point.• Water flowing to the sea cap-tured at the speed of light, BlastHold Pond River, Newfoundland,2002-2003 by Marlene Creates,Eastern Edge Gallery, St. John’s.• St. Michael’s Printshop Portfo-lio, featuring work by-Tara Bryan,Boyd Chubbs, Di Dabinett, ScottGoudie, Elayne Greeley, ChristineKoch, Will Gill and Anita Singh atthe LSPU Hall.• Magdalena: Desert Pilgrimage,Irish photographer, Maeve Hickey,The Leyton Gallery of Fine Art,Baird’s Cove off Water Street.• Present Miss, a look at educa-

tion in the province, Cupids Muse-um, Cupids, Until Oct. 15.• Ed Loves Kelly and Other SadStories, a solo exhibition by ClemCurtis. Opening reception, LeytonGallery of Fine Art, 3 to 5 p.m.,Oct. 9, 722-7177.• Dusk, new paintings by DavidMarshak, at James Baird Gallery,Duckworth Street, St. John’s.• The Rhythm of Our Land byCathy Driedzic, Gander Arts andCulture Centre gallery.• Contemplating Re-Tox, new oilsby Ran Andrews, Christian’s Pub,George Street, St. John’s.• Les Terre Neuvas d’Anita Contiphotographs by Anita Conti, New-foundland Museum, DuckworthSt., until Jan. 16.• Bridging Sea and Sky, by LindaSwain, Pollyanna Gallery, Duck-worth Street, St. John’s.

Events


The St. John’s Folk Art Council celebrated International Music Day at the Masonic Hall last Friday.

2004-10-03

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