2004-06-27

Vol. 2 Issue 26 St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador Sunday, June 27-July 3, 2004 www.theindependent.ca $1.00 (including HST)

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Quote of the Week

“The question is, whatever the (election)outcome, will they live up to their promises?”— Eric Mintz, political science professor at SirWilfred Grenfell College

In CameraFederal leaders

1

InternationalCanada/U.S. comparisons

Page 18

BusinessNo liquor increase

Page 15

Thirty days noticeConcerns over Danny Williams’ personal

finances come down to the wire: commissioner

Making the callFrom the theatrical stage to the political arena, The Independent gathers election predictions

By Independent Staff

With the election only a dayaway, The Sunday Indepen-dent has asked pundits from

various walks of life to go out on a limb,get out their crystal balls, tea leaves andOuija boards and predict how the voteswill fall Monday evening.

Teachers, politicians, theatre folk,artists, business people, communityactivists and journalists were all asked tothrow caution to the wind and make aprediction.

Paul Martin’s Liberals and StephenHarper’s Conservatives are neck andneck in a horse race the likes of whichhasn’t been seen in years. The NDP sitsa distant third behind the two major par-ties and the Bloc Quebecois is onceagain expected to maintain the statusquo in la belle Province.

The NDP or Bloc could swing the bal-ance of power in a minority government.

Here are the predictions:

ROBERT CHAFEPlaywright, actor

“I’m so depressed about this electionI can’t even talk about it. It’s such a sit-uation of the devil you know and don’tknow. I fear that the Conservatives aregoing to win … they’re the only party tostate their mandate on culture — in thatthey don’t have one … I think, as muchas you’re angry, voting out of anger canproduce really scary results. I fear aConservative government for many rea-

sons: They don’t represent the Canada Iwant, don’t represent a bilingual Cana-da, a multicultural Canada.”

BILL BUDGELLPresident of the

St. John’s Board of Trade

“I think we’re in for a minority gov-ernment for a period of time. I suspectthat if we do have a minority govern-ment, it won’t last two years and we’ll

be back at this charade again. But rightnow it probably looks like it could be aLiberal minority … you’ve probablyheard a lot of people say ‘I’m going tohold my nose and vote a certain way.”

NOREEN GOLFMANMemorial professor and

Sunday Independent columnist

“I say a minority Liberal government… The tide has turned back somewhat

on the Conservatives because of theirconspicuous silence and waffling aboutissues that are important to Canadians:Health care, war/Iraq, bilingualism, cul-tural sovereignty … and so a suspiciouselectorate will incline towards the befud-dled Martin over the helmet-hair stiff-ness of Harper. The NDP will inchtowards about 14 per cent of the popu-lar vote and the Bloc will hold the bal-ance of power in Quebec. What a coun-try! A little bit of everything fornobody.”

PRISCILLA BOUTCHERMayor, Corner Brook

“I think that we’re going to have aLiberal government again but I think it’sgoing to be close … Harper is theunknown. What comes to mind withsome people I’m hearing around iswhere are we going to be with ourmedicare. It’s the unknown about himand they’re nervous.”

WAYNE LUCASPresident of CUPE

“Overall I think it’s going to be a Toryminority government but I also thinkthere’s going to be a lot of (New)Democrats that are going to winthroughout the country. Unfortunately,people in Canada vote between tweedledee and tweedle dum and I consider ittweedle dumber to be voting for eitherone of the (main) parties.”

By Jeff DucharmeThe Sunday Independent

Danny Williams’ summer may bethat much hotter if firms hiredby the premier don’t respond to

concerns over management of his per-sonal fortune within the next 30 days.

“I’ve indicated as much to them that Iwon’t be at all happy if this process has-n’t concluded by the end of July,” WayneGreen, commissioner of members’ inter-ests, told The Sunday Independent.

Williams has met all the province’sconflict of interest guidelines as far asdisclosure of assets go, but Green hasvoiced concerns over how the wealthiestpremier in the province’s history is man-aging his holdings. Williams has a per-sonal fortune estimated at well over $150million, primarily from his sale of CableAtlantic to Rogers Cable for $282 millionseveral years ago.

All members of the House of Assem-bly are required to disclose all financialholdings to Green’s office to avoid pos-sible conflicts. All MHAs, includingWilliams, met the April 1 deadline, butGreen has asked the premier to take cer-tain steps, including setting up a blindtrust or disposing of assets.

Considering the extent and complexi-ty of Williams’ holdings, Green says thedelay may be frustrating, but understand-able.

“Because of the time that’s alreadyelapsed, if we go beyond the end of July,

then it raises questions of credibility interms of willingness to work within theframework of the legislation,” saysGreen.

Williams, a lawyer, couldn’t bereached for comment.

“I can say that he has been vigilantabout seeing this process through to itscompletion and everything possible isbeing done to ensure that any deadlineswill be met,” says Elizabeth Matthews,the premier’s communications director.

Green says he doesn’t think the pre-mier is trying to pull a fast one in anattempt to circumvent the legislation, buthe has concerns over the foot-dragging ofan Ontario firm that’s dealing with some

Continued on page 2 Continued on page 9

Newfoundland’s changing faceEditor’s note: This is the final installmentof The Sunday Independent’s six-partseries, The New Newfoundlanders.

By Stephanie PorterThe Sunday Independent

When Lloydetta Quaicoe and herhusband moved to St. John’s22 years ago, they began a

small African association with a totalmembership of five families. In fact, shesays they quickly named themselves anAfrican-Canadian association, hoping toattract enough members to make it worth-while.

In those days, she says, visible minori-ties seemed to be few and far between.

“If I was driving along the road and Isaw someone who looked African, Iparked the car and ran over, excited,”says Quaicoe, a native of Freetown, Sier-ra Leone, in western Africa. “But thenumbers, even within our small organiza-tion, the numbers have really grown.”

At recent count, Quaicoe says the Mul-ticultural Women’s Organization of New-foundland and Labrador — of which sheis currently president — listed membersfrom at least 25 countries.

There are more than 170 students in thepublic school system currently receivingEnglish as a Second Language (ESL)training. Just as is the case for other chil-

dren needing support beyond the main-stream curriculum, Quaicoe says currentprograms aren’t quite enough.

At recent count, MacDonald Drive ele-mentary in St. John’s (which has one ofthe few full-time ESL elementary teach-ers) had 70 students, out of a total studentpopulation of 450, who were born outsideCanada. Having done work at the schoolfor years, Quaicoe knows that’s a signifi-cant increase.

“We need to develop that. Becausemany people ask me, why don’t the immi-grants stay here? And they think it’sbecause we don’t have the community,and that’s part of it,” she says.

“But it’s changed … I think that thepeople who come here really want to stayhere. And our history is now that the chil-dren and families do stay. It could be theeconomy, people are finding work, peoplesee that this is a beautiful place.

“And now we need the services.” According to Statistics Canada’s 2001

census, 8,030 immigrants were living inNewfoundland and Labrador — 6,015 ofthem immigrated before 1991, and 2,010between 1991 and 2001.

Citizenship and Immigration Canadareports a consistent number of newarrivals during the first three years of thiscentury. In 2000, 415 immigrants came to

Continued on page 20

EU President Bertie Ahern

Page 3

EXCLUSIVE

Immigrant population growing steadily; support and services must follow suit

Photo by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independent

Premier Danny Williams


Wayne Lucas doesn’t know who to vote for: Tweedle dee or tweedle dum.

Sierra Leone-native Lloydetta Quaicoe, living in St. John’s since 1982, is an advocate for new Newfoundlanders. More and more, immigrants to this province are adopting thisplace as a permanent home, as The Independent’s six-part series, concluding today, points out.

Photo by Paul Daly/The Sunday Independen

By Ryan ClearyThe Sunday Independent

Acoalition of Inuit fishingcommunities in Nunavuthas asked Ottawa for per-

mission to allow two foreign fish-ing vessels and their crews to fishits quota of turbot and shrimp offBaffin Island, TheSunday Independenthas learned.

One of the vessels,the Estonian-flaggedSalles, has been fish-ing for years on theGrand Banks andreportedly has arecord of poor fishingpractices. The othervessel, the Norwe-gian longliner West-Freezer, and its own-ers and managers,were charged last year with one ofthe largest violations of fishingregulations in Norwegian history.

Regardless, industry insiders sayNunavut’s quotas should not befished by foreigners when Canadi-an fishing vessels and crews —including those from this province— are up to the job.

John Efford, the province’s rep-resentative in the federal cabinet,told The Independent in late Maythat a request had been made by a

Nunavut group to hire foreigntrawlers to catch a 4,000 tonne tur-bot quota and smaller quota ofshrimp, less than 2,000 tonnes.

At the time, Efford says he madesure the request was denied.

“There’s absolutely no way willany foreign vessel come into ourwaters and harvest our fish when

we have Canadianvessels in thereand they’re outthere raping thestocks on the noseand tail of theGrand Banks,”Efford said.

Now the BaffinFisheries Coali-tion, the group of11 fishing commu-nities, is said to betrying to dothrough the back

door what it couldn’t do throughthe front.

After the request was denied,the fisheries coalition went back tothe drawing board and is currentlyattempting to reflag the same ves-sels in Canada. Officials of thecoalition couldn’t be reached forcomment, but they’re said to beseeking approval from Ottawa toallow foreign crews to operate thefishing vessels until the reflaggingprocess can go through.

Those requests are madethrough either Transport Canada(ticket exemptions) or Immigra-tion (work permits).

The general industry position isthat there’s no need to use foreignworkers when there are sufficientqualified workers in Canada.

Steven Outhouse, spokesmanfor DFO in Ottawa, says the Baf-fin Fisheries Coalition has signaledits intent to buy foreign fishingvessels and bring them up to Cana-dian standards.

“They will have to get them reg-istered … they will have to beowned by a Canadian companyand they have to meet all sorts ofsafety standards and what not,”Outhouse says. “Nunavut doesn’thave the capacity basically at thispoint in time yet to go out and fishthis quota.”

As for the use of foreign crews,Outhouse says the request involv-ing the Estonian trawler wasturned down, while the requestinvolving the Norwegian longliner

is still outstanding and no decisionhas been made.

Turbot currently sells for $4,000US a tonne, and the fishery is amuch more lucrative one thanshrimp, which sells for an estimat-ed $1,100 US a tonne. The watersoff Baffin Island are said to be anursery area for turbot, whichmove further south on the GrandBanks as they mature. The fisherylasts about five months betweenJuly and December, when thewaters freeze.

Keep foreign vessels out;

domestic boats in

NEWS The Sunday Independent, June 27, 2004

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of Williams’ mainland assets.“… if they don’t have enough

people to do it, then they should getmore people assigned to it so it canbe done a little faster. That’s theissue I’d have to grapple with atthat point in time,” says Green.

“It’s more or less a case of therehas to come a time when you justcan’t continue working on this. Ithas to be brought to a conclusion.”

The conclusion could be a harshone. While Green can’t disciplineMHAs who try to sidestep the

guidelines, he has the power tomake recommendations to theSpeaker of the House (HarveyHodder). The speaker determineswhat, if any, penalties will beimposed on a member.

“In an extreme case, the mem-ber’s seat can be declared vacant.So it’s fairly serious stuff.”

According to William’s 2003/04filing to Green’s office, the premierhas an investment portfolio of 12companies that include well-known firms such as BCE Inc.,Torstar Corp., Gillette Co., Wack-enhut Correction Corp. and Cana-

dian Imperial Venture. His wifeholds a portfolio that includes suchgiants as Barrick Gold, TD Bankand the Bank of Montreal. The pre-mier also holds “significant andcontrolling” interests in a numberof numbered companies, The Wil-lows Golf Course, The Wilds atSalmonier River, Fantastic Realityand Lex Holdings.

He also remains a director withRogers Cable and with some of thecompanies he still retains a vestedinterest in. His wife draws anincome form Lex [email protected]

From page 1

‘It has to be brought to a conclusion’

“Nunavut doesn’thave the capacitybasically at thispoint in time yet

to go out and fish this quota.”

— Steven Outhouse,spokesman for DFO

in Ottawa

Cable shipThe Veritas Vantage, a Norwegian seismic survey vessel, left St. John’s harbour early Friday morning. Thetour boat Scademia, in the background, leaves port with a load of tourists.

Photo by Paul Daly/ The Sunday Independent

The Sunday Independent, June 27, 2004 NEWS


Bertie Ahern has spent muchof 2004 on the road. Lastweek alone he was in

Japan, then London for NorthernIreland talks, then back home forthe European-U.S. summit on Fri-day. Being the prime minister ofIreland is a big enough job, letalone carrying the added title ofpresident of the European Union.

“This past six months … I havebeen abroad at meetings and sum-mits for a combined total of almosttwo months,” Ahern says in anexclusive interview with The Sun-day Independent.

This week, Ahern’s six-monthturn at the rotating presidencywraps up. If all goes as planned, hesays the European Council couldchoose a permanent president — achange from the way the presiden-cy currently rotates between theEU’s leaders. “The remainder ofthis year I need to catch my breath,”he adds, “and spend most of mytime home in Ireland.”

Then, he says, he hopes to “final-ly realize” his ambition to visitNewfoundland and Labrador, awish he says he’s had for decades.“My father was farm manager atone of the main Catholic seminar-ies in Dublin, where priests for theDiocese of Newfoundland werethen trained … Many returned onvisits and, in my youth, I often lis-tened with fascination to their sto-ries.”

When Ahern took power in 1997he was 45 years old and theyoungest taoiseach (Gaelic forprime minister) Ireland had everhad. He was reelected in 2002, andbegan his tenure as the 25-nationEU president Jan. 1 of this year.

Ahern’s reasons for visiting thisprovince have evolved beyondchildhood fantasy. In his currentposition, he has come to see New-foundland as an economic, tradingand business partner, as well as aplace for cultural and educationalexchange. To that end, he re-affirmed a memorandum of under-standing (originally signed by hispredecessor) with then-premierBrian Tobin during his first year inoffice.

Ahern lists the tangible results ofthe MOU: Three trade missionseach way, two Irish job recruitmentfairs in St. John’s, five co-produc-tions in the film and televisionindustry (“There was a Newfound-land-made film on our TV a weekago as part of the centenary cele-brations of James Joyce’s Blooms-

day,” he says), student exchanges,technology transfers …

To hear Ahern tell it, the co-oper-ation is alive, a source of pride, andmutually beneficial.

Then there’s the fishery. While in St. John’s recently,

Prime Minister Paul Martin said hedelivered a message earlier thismonth during G8 meetings in theUnited States. “…. I said it to thepresident of the European Union, Isaid it to every European I couldfind down there, I said, ‘Enoughwas enough, overfishing by Euro-pean vessels off our coasts muststop.’”

Ahern says he shares thatadamancy. “Overfishing, whereverit occurs, in either European, Cana-dian or international waters is in thelong-term not sustainable,” he says,

He echoes many of the senti-ments voiced by politicians on thisside of ocean when he says, duringhis presidency of the EU, he’splaced sustainable fishing at thecentre of his workload.

“Our task is to protect and allowendangered stocks to recover whileat the same time managing theindustry to sustain jobs in what areremote and sometimes disadvan-taged areas,” he says.

There is an urgent need, he con-tinues, to examine the introductionof financial or other incentives toencourage fishermen to movetowards environmentally friendlyfishing. He mentions the fishingconference on exactly that topic theIrish government hosted last Aprilas further evidence of his commit-ment.

When former taoiseach JohnBruton (Ahearn’s direct predeces-sor) visited St. John’s last fall, hesaid the city reminded him ofDublin 20 years ago, that it almostseemed more like home thantoday’s Dublin. There is no doubtthat Ireland had one of the besteconomic performances in theworld in the 1990s, and has devel-oped quickly as a result.

When asked if he has any adviceto offer Newfoundland based onhis country’s own success, Aherntakes time to reflect back over thepast decade.

“Investment in education waskey to raising the productive poten-tial of the labour force, which isvital in an economy focused onexport-led growth,” he says, recall-ing the abolition of post-secondarytuition fees in the 1990s as one ofthe major education initiatives.

“The plentiful supply of a high-ly-skilled workforce played animportant role in creating and thensustaining the high growth rates ofthe 1990s. The rise in labour forceparticipation of women and theending of net emigration were sig-nificant.”

Ahern next mentions the“restoration of sustainable publicfinances,” which he says were apre-condition for the developmentof foreign investment in Ireland (in1987 he cites a debt to GDP rationof 115 per cent; that now stands at32 per cent, the second lowest inthe EU).

Then, there’s what he calls“social partnership.” The govern-ment met with representatives fromorganizations of employers, tradeunions and community and volun-tary organizations to plot the wayforward on pay, taxation and eco-nomic and social policies.

“That was another factor inexplaining Ireland’s growth,” saysAhern. “In return for moderatewage demands, successive govern-ments delivered reductions inincome tax and improvements insocial welfare.

“This created industrial peacewhich encouraged companies to

locate here … such national part-nership agreements have enhancedthis country’s competitive advan-tage in the global marketplace.”

Tentatively, Ahern says he mightlike to come to Newfoundland inSeptember 2005 — perhaps for the150th anniversary of the buildingof the Basilica in St. John’s by anIrish-born Bishop, largely withIrish craftsmen, materials andarchitects.

“Sustaining active Ireland-New-foundland co-operation was one ofthe two special requests my prede-cessor, John Bruton, put to me,” hesays. “I was happy to accede to thatrequest because of boyhood linkswith your province.”

Further underlining his interest,earlier this year Ahern moved theresponsibility for the Ireland/New-foundland partnership into his owndepartment.

The taoiseach first met PremierDanny Williams in Ottawa duringan EU-Canada summit in March.

“We had positive discussion onfurther strengthening our links andI invited the premier to visit Ire-land,” he says. “I am very happythat he will be leading a delegationhere this July, and I look forward toour meeting then.”

Old friendsThe prime minister of Ireland and EU president Bertie Ahern

reflects on his ties with Newfoundland — and offers some advice


Ireland's Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern takes time out of his hectic schedule to sit down with The Sunday Independent at the Gresham Hotelin Dublin.


Letters to the Editor

As a young bayman, therewas no more welcomesight in all of Newfound-

land. Not the breach of a whale,saunter of a moose, or glow, nowand again, of northern lights.

Nothing, absolutely nothing inthe entire world compared to thesight of the golden arches of theold McDonald’s restaurant onKenmount Road.

The ride to town on the Con-ception Bay North Highway, whateveryone called the “old wayaround the bay,” was long anduneventful.

Six kids might have floppedaround like trout in the back of thestation wagon, wrapping seat-beltsaround each other’s necks, jabbingelbows and ankles out the win-dows, but there wasn’t much moreto do on the drive than that.

One outport was the same as thenext when you lived in one. Fish-ing boats bobbed acknowledge-ment to passing cars; underwearwaved from backyard lines; hous-es blew birch smoke from kitchenlungs; fish plants burped the smellof cod fillet.

Churches, old and wooden, tookit all in.

“How much longer mom beforewe get to town?” the younger chil-dren would start asking themoment home hid behind us.

“Can we stop at McDonald’s?”was the very next question. Onlystop, mind you, never actually go

in, sit down, and eat — whichwould have been presumptuous.Poor bay kids (was there any otherkind?) definitely weren’t that.

“Maybe if you’re good,” thechauffeur, who wore tight rollers inher blond hair, replied for most ofthe way. The message and tonealways changed by hour two whenthe chauffeur, rollers swingingwildly from the constant twist ofher neck, would threaten to pullover and murder the insanitysquirming on the vinyl seatsaround her.

The threat never worked half aswell as warning to drive pastMcDonald’s without stopping, atruly awful thought.

The lines to the cash registersmight have been a dozen baymen(and their children) deep, but thewait was part of it. One baymaneyed another, wondering if theywere in the presence of a townie,who, more often than not, stayedhome and ate fish, chips, dressingand gravy from Ches’s.

The StyroFoam containers theBig Macs came in looked as goodon the Kenmount counter as theydid on the only two televisionchannels, 6 and 8, that existedaround our bay. Townies had cableTV long before baymen, so manyof whom did without the luxury ofgood Saturday morning cartoonsuntil the early 1980s.

The No. 1 draw of St. John’s, byfar, was McDonald’s. Only once a

visit to the restaurant was donecould the big city (otherwiseknown as the food court at theAvalon Mall) be appreciated. Ourfamily was lucky in that the Mud-der (said chauffeur) was a towniewhose own Mudder still lived inthe heart of the city. Our Muddermarried an out and out bayman,which made the children half-breeds, or so we saw ourselves.

All six of us got to see the cityfrom a townie’s perspective, theseat of a Metrobus, where wewould be sent for a few hours aday to see how many times wecould circle the city on a quarterbefore the driver kicked us off.

The six and eight storey sky-scrapers on Water Street were asimpressive as the endless string ofnew cars (ones that weren’t hand-painted anyway) and traffic lights.Confederation Building was as tallas four or five legion halls piledend on end. Signal Hill was justthe ticket for finding the word sexspelled out in the streetlightsbelow. The sound of the organ atthe Roman Catholic Basilica onSunday morning was part of theexperience, as was the revelationthat a church could actually warmup on a winter morning longbefore mass was over.

There was money in St. John’swhen we were kids. The townieswent to work in outfits other thanhairnets, rubber boots and oilskins.They had jobs close to home.

Every third or fourth father didn’thave to go to the mainland forwork; they toiled in buildings withfiling cabinets and paved parkinglots. There were movie theatresand swimming pools and hairsalons and bars and restaurants.

For the longest time there wasonly one McDonald’s, on Ken-mount Road, 10 minutes drive infrom the overpass. The buildingtoday is gone; home now to a usedcar lot. The city has grown andchanged.

Every now and then we take aSunday drive the old way aroundthe bay, only the highway takes usaway from the city where we live,towards the outports where wecome from. And that’s not thesame either; the arches are every-where now.

Ryan Cleary is managing editorof The Sunday Independent.

[email protected]

A break from politics

Dear editor,I am a Newfoundland nation-

alist. Some call me a separatist,but I take it in stride. I believe inthe same country my ancestorsbelieved in.

I grew up with Canada Daycelebrations going on, Canadian

flags and provincial flags flying.I hate to see the pink, white andgreen left out.

It is the thought of not gettingEmployment Insurance or thebaby bonus that seem to troublea lot of our people. If we were ina country of our own we would

have the same services (socialsafety net) that Canada or someother country has or maybemore.

We need to control ourresources. We are a race of peo-ple just like some other national-ity, we are not stupid.

On July 1 fly no maple leafs,be united as a people and fly thepink, white and green becausethe pink white and green meansunited Newfoundlanders.

Ron Durnford,Stephenville Crossing

United Newfoundlanders

The Sunday Independent welcomes letters to the editor.Letters must be 300 words inlength or less and include full

name, mailing address anddaytime contact numbers.Letters may be edited forlength, content and legal

considerations. Send your letters in care of The SundayIndependent, P.O. Box 5891,

Station C, St. John’s, NL,A1C 5X4 or e-mail us at

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The Sunday Independent is published by The Sunday Independent, Inc. in St. John’s. It is an independent

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people of Newfoundland & Labrador.

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© 2004 The Sunday Independent

Dear editor,I’m the author of an article

published in a local paper onJune 6 (Is the time ripe for anindependent party?).

The article expressed dissatis-faction with current representa-tion on the federal scene, advo-cated reform of the political sys-tem, predicted not much willchange for the good fortunes ofNewfoundland and Labradorafter the June 28 election, andlaunched a campaign to gaugeinterest for a grassroots organi-zation to put the province first sothat our MPs aren’t bound bymainstream party lines. The sen-timent exists in the media andthe responses to date have beenencouraging.

For us, as with The SundayIndependent’s launch, some peo-ple immediately came to theincorrect notion of separatism— instead of nationalism. We

observe the success of the BlocQuebecois party in Quebec. Thedifference between our develop-ing organization, Newfoundlandand Labrador first, and the Blocis we are not separatists, or sov-ereigntists. We simply focus onissues at the political level thatwill put people in this provincefirst, especially when dealingwith Ottawa and their continuingunacceptable treatment of thisprovince as not much more thana colony of Canada.

Will we run candidates in afuture election beyond June 28?We believe that opportunity mayhappen soon, given the currentforecast of a minority govern-ment in Ottawa. Dependingupon feedback, we may. Never-theless, we will support anypolitical party within the currentsystem that takes positive actionto renew and strengthen ourplace in Canada.

We believe a solid foundationexists for our way forward with-in the findings of last year’sroyal commission on our placein Canada. Readers have to con-clude our federal candidatesconveniently overlook thesefindings because it requiresaccountability to this province’sissues first and foremost. I havemore articles submitted for pub-lication to media elaborating onthis.

We look forward to the sup-port of The Sunday Independentfor an independent and overduevoice devoted to the advance-ment of truth affecting the valueof Newfoundland and Labradorand gaining its proud place with-in Canada. In the interim, wemay be contacted at [email protected]

Fred Wilcox,St. John’s


Dear editor,Every major economic blow that

has befallen Newfoundland since1949 has been delivered at thehands of a federal Liberal govern-ment. To wit, the appropriation ofour historic fisheries and our off-shore oil and gas as national ratherthan provincial resources; also theupholding, in support of Quebec,the obscenely unjust ChurchillFalls contract.

John Efford is, unquestionably, agood man, but as our minister inthe federal government he epito-mizes everything that is wrongwith Confederation insofar as itrelates to our place in it. A dis-penser at elections time on behalfof the Ottawa mandarins: A littleextra EI; a license to catch a few ofthe last remaining cod; an orches-trated charade of strong armed tac-tics to drive foreigners off our fish-

ing grounds; a bit of extra cash formore make-work; and now, at the11th hour, while in danger of beingbrought to bay, he makes a furtherpromise to correct some of theinequities in the application of theAtlantic Accord. This is a ministerwho boasted publically that hecould be re-elected here even if heran for the Green Party. What doesthat comment by Efford say abouthis concept of who we are and ourplace in Canada?

In political terms it matters littleto us which party wins the elec-tion, for our representation in theCanadian parliament is so trivial asto be nothing more than a whimperin the wind. What does matter isour own survival as a people,which is contingent upon ourrejecting the status quo. A vote toreinstate the Liberal regime is avote to endorse the injustice we

have endured for so long under itsaegis. In a land so blessed bynature, must we be content toremain the Cinderella sibling inthis confederate family, to returnonce again to our place amongstthe cinders when midnight closeson the elections revelry and thefairy godmother has once moreput away her wand. There is noassurance that an alternative feder-al government will be any better,but we will never know unlessthey are given a chance.

What we do know with a cer-tainty is that it is time for a change,time to stand up and declare thatwe have had enough of being sec-ond-class citizens in this land,enough of being taken for granted,enough of being tossed the scrapsfrom our own table.

Lloyd C. Rees,Manuels

Idon’t like it. My spidey senseis tingling something awful.It’s one of those times when I

hope I’m wrong. I have a veryuneasy feeling about tomorrow,election day.

I’ve felt this way before. I feltthis way 20 years ago when theJohn Turner Liberals were outpounding the streets, thinkingthey were going to win. I wasn’tso sure. At the time I was aprovincial organizer for the NDP.My father thought I had takenleave of my senses, and was onlyslightly mollified by the fact thatat least they were paying me.“You’ll never even come close togetting anyone elected,” hefumed.

At 22, I knew better. “I’d showhim,” I thought to myself. And Idid. I showed him he was right.

Several years later another elec-tion found me in a different stageof my life, lugging around tod-dlers, changing diapers, and thelike. I recall thinking the KimCampbell Tories were flounder-ing. During the election I men-tioned it to a political aide I knewwho worked for the Tories. Smil-ing a thin smile of condescen-

sion, and seeing the wrigglingchild in my arms, he blew me off.He pointed out that he was cer-tainly in a better position than I(granola NDPer that I was) toknow what was going on. Hewasn’t worried about the cam-paign or the riding.

We learned 10 days later that hewas wrong on both counts. Ohboy, was he wrong. Eight monthslater I ran into him in the mall.He was not quite so condescend-ing. He told me in quiet despera-tion that his UI stamps were aboutto run out, and he still couldn’tfind a job. As for me, I was stillputting granola on the table.

And here I am again, my gra-nola days behind me. Ahead liemy scotch years. Tomorrow isthe big day, and I feel that nastyold feeling again. I think the PaulMartin Liberals have blown it.Blown it big time.

In any large organization thereare two types of people — thosewho are good at what they do,and those who are good at gettingahead. Sometimes both qualitiescan be found in the same person.But when the organization getstaken over by those who are only

good at backroom games andoffice politics, you have prob-lems.

I think the Martin team is over-populated with the latter type.When it came to shivving JeanChretien while he tried to run thecountry, they were up to the job.When it came to actually runningan election? Not so much.

The Liberals are in troublebecause a lot of hard working,dedicated Liberals are sitting athome in this election — the Mar-tinites (if you can believe this)didn’t want their help. The Lib-erals are in trouble because Mar-tin has been receiving the worstadvice money can buy. I can only

surmise that Roger Grimes is sit-ting somewhere watching this onTV and thinking “been there,done that.”

I worry about what might be avery new regime on Tuesdaymorning. I worry that theHarperites are going to sweepOntario. Margaret Wente, theGlobe and Mail columnist I loveto hate, was positively gushingover Stephen Harper last week.She wrote a column excusingsome of the more disturbing ofhis remarks. Her tone was that hewas misunderstood. For exam-ple, she wrote, Harper’s remarkabout Atlantic Canada’s culture ofdefeatism might have been inju-dicious, but wasn’t it really whatmost Canadians think (winkwink)?

My reply to Ms. Wente is —and I mean this in the true intel-lectual sense — get bent. But sheis probably right, which worriesme.

I fear a lot of people who think“it’s time for a change” don’tknow what they’re in for, espe-cially people here in Newfound-land who think that way. Thecalm assurances of Norm Doyle

and Loyola Hearn don’t make mefeel any easier. I suspect StephenHarper with a majority govern-ment won’t be long purging redTories, who will by then certain-ly have outlived whatever useful-ness they ever had for theAlliance.

I hope there aren’t any Liberalsout there who will wave thisaround as a last minute endorse-ment. It isn’t.

I have never voted Liberal inmy life; I am not sure I am phys-ically capable of doing so. Ihaven’t the slightest idea who Iam going to vote for tomorrow.A lot of people don’t, and that isnot good for the Liberals. I havespoken to lots of people who haveall told me “how it’s going to be”Monday night — some of them ina slightly condescending tone.

I just wonder who’s going to besnotty to me Tuesday morning?

Ivan Morgan can be reached [email protected].

Day after the months beforeRant and Reason by Ivan Morgan


Day in courtDavid Nagel appeared in provincial court June 23 to plead not guiltyto charges of assault against Danny Williams Jr. (above), the premier’sson, following an incident on George Street in St. John’s in late March.Bob Buckingham, Nagel’s lawyer, says police handled the case in a“special way.” He refused to comment on his client’s expected defence.The Crown prosecutor’s office insists the charges were not political-ly motivated.

In any large organization there

are two types of people— those who are good

at what they do, and those who are

good at getting ahead.

Letters to the Editor

Whimper in the wind

Dear editor, In the article that appeared in the

May 30 edition of The SundayIndependent (‘Free Newfound-land,’The Truth about nationalism— is it alive and well or a gimmickto sell T-shirts?), Peter Boswellsays that the republic of New-foundland printed on T-shirts withthe old pink, white and green flagis an attempt to claim that thisplace was once a republic.

It is no such thing. No one but

Mr. Boswell has ever suggested it.Icoined the phrase in 1982 when Idesigned a T-shirt for the HarbourCity General Store on DuckworthStreet in St. John’s. The designwas a circular crest with a flyingpink, white and green in the centre,surrounded by the words, “Repub-lic of Newfoundland.”

I was not imagining a past. I wasimagining a future.

David BensonTors Cove

‘Put people in this province first’

Imaging a future

We all have that bestbuddy who lived up theroad.

My buddy lived on the corner lotin one of the larger houses on thestreet.

His parents were a caricature ofa bickering Jewish couple. If youweren’t ducking verbal assaults,you were ducking flying house-hold items. They were a pricelesscouple and each visit to their homewas an adventure, not to mentionhighly entertaining. But duringelections, visits were all that muchmore of a riot.

My buddy’s father was a Liber-al; his mother was an NDPer.

The front lot of the house wouldhave the biggest possible Liberalsign available and the side lot ofthe house would have a slightlymore modest (as one would expectfrom a socialist party) NDP sign.

God forbid there was a mentionof the election when visiting thathouse; those who did took theirlife in their hands.

They didn’t discuss politics, theyfought over them. More than oncethe contents of a box of Sugar Popswent flying across the kitchen aftersomeone dared mention anythingremotely to do with the election.

It was bizarre. If you were on thefront lawn, you were Liberal. Andif you were on the side of thehouse, you were for the NDP.While there’s no proof, I’m prettysure my buddy’s parents gaugedsupport for each party dependingon where the kids hung out — onthe front lawn or side lawn. Wevery quickly adopted a non-parti-san approach and began hangingout on the rooftop patio just tomaintain family peace.

My buddy’s home was a minor-ity house — a house divided.

What we faced every time wevisited there is what this countrywill face — minority rule.

Canadians will elect a minority

government come voting day —tomorrow, June 28. The $64,000question is who will be at the helmof that minority government?

The problem with electing aminority is that they are oftenlame-duck governments. Sincethey have to rely on building coali-tions, the Liberals or Conservativeswill have to look to the Bloc Que-becois or NDP to swing the bal-ance of power. The NDP have asocial agenda that isn’t popularwith big-business Conservatives orLiberals. The Bloc Quebecois’ alle-giance will come with a price of aconstant flow of bobbles to Que-bec.

Minority governments are allabout if you scratch my back, I’llscratch yours. Even getting themost innocuous legislation past theHouse of Commons proves a chal-lenge in minority governments. Butit does offer a higher level of trans-parency because legislation and therationale behind it must be dis-cussed with the other parties more.

Rather than MPs falling in behindthe prime minister and cabinet, thegovernment in power must listenmore to the views of its own MPsand the opposition.

Every vote counts.And then there’s the dreaded

vote of non-confidence. Minoritygovernments are often broughtdown by such votes. Oppositionparties will gang up on the govern-ment of the day and put the coali-tion to the test by calling for a voteof non-confidence. If governmentloses the vote, it’s defeated andmust resign. But that doesn’t meanthat there will be an election. Thegovernor general could ask theparty with the next largest numberof seats to form a government.

Prime Minister Paul Martin —even if he wins fewer seats thanStephen Harper’s Conservatives —could try to form a coalition andask the governor general to allowthe Liberals to maintain their graspon power. Losing the election doesnot spell the end of the Grits, Mar-

tin must resign and until he plunkshis resignation on Adrien Clark-son’s Rideau Hall desk, he can con-tinue to hold onto power. It’sunlikely, but it can and has hap-pened.

Minority governments dare notbring any controversial legislationinto the House for it could spelltheir demise. Former ProgressiveConservative prime minister JoeClark and his minority governmenttried to govern like a majority andwere defeated in a vote of no con-fidence over then-Finance MinisterJohn Crosbie’s belt-tightening bud-get in 1979.

There have been eight minoritygovernments in Canadian historyand the average time before theelectorate was forced to trudgeback to the polls was 17 months.The shortest lived government wasTory Arthur Meighen’s govern-ment in 1926 — two months and26 days.

Minority governments are allabout compromise, which can

often lead to an inconsistency inparty policy. The constant negotia-tions also means that legislationpasses at the pace of a sloth.

But possibly the most ironicthing with a minority governmentis that it can easily sidestep blame— easier than normal, that is. Thefinger pointing in a minority gov-ernment often rivals that of a groupof crayon-wielding third gradersblaming each other for drawingstick men on the living room wall.Caught red-handed, they’ll stillpoint the crayon at the person nextto them and deny any wrongdoing.

Just like Chinese food that leavesyou hungry an hour after eating it,after this election the Canadianelectorate will soon feel that gnaw-ing sensation in the pit of theirstomachs as they are forced back tothe polls within the next 24months.

Jeff Ducharme is The SundayIndependent’s senior [email protected]


Hungry an hour later Opinions Are Like... by Jeff Ducharme



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By Ryan ClearyThe Sunday Independent

Newfoundlanders call itcaplin weather: Wet,foggy days at the end of

June that coincide with the caplinspawning season.

The same, sad weather camearound as usual this year. It’s justthe caplin that are late — again.

Caplin traditionally roll on theprovince’s beaches during thesame week that school lets out.It’s a fantastic sight, thousands ofsmall, silver fish, each one littlemore than a sliver of scales andmuscle, flipping for dear life as itspawns, then dies.

In recent years caplin have beenrolling later in the summer —early to mid July. Fishermen havea hard time predicting their arrival.

Pity the government scientist.“I wish I could say ‘Yes, they’re

going to spawn earlier,’ or ‘No,they’re not,’ because we reallydon’t know,” says Fran Mowbray,a caplin biologist with the federalDepartment of Fisheries andOceans (DFO) in St. John’s.

“I don’t have much evidencethat they’re going to spawn earlierthan they did last year.”

Mowbray worked on a 20-dayoffshore survey in April thatrevealed a caplin stock size of200,000 tonnes — more than dou-ble the estimated size in 2003 and2002.

“Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?”asks Mowbray, who answers herown question by pointing out thatthe stock measured at up to fourmillion tonnes in the 1980s.

She says scientists don’t believethe continued commercial caplinfishery is what’s keeping the stockdown and out.

The total allowable catch forcaplin has been fairly steady overthe past 10 years, peaking atalmost 51,000 tonnes in 2002. Thequota was slashed to 30,000 tonneslast year, although it was mostly apaper cut in that the total quotahasn’t been caught in years.

Case in point: 23,000 tonnes ofcaplin were harvested last year —10,000 more tonnes than in 2002,even though the quota had beencut.

The number of caplin fishermenis down substantially. According toDFO, more than 1,700 fishing ves-sels were active in 1993’s caplinfishery — compared to 150 in2002. The caplin fishery here is buta fraction of other caplin fisheriestaking place around the world,including the Barents Sea north ofRussia or off Iceland where annu-al quotas have reached one milliontonnes.

“I really think we take so little inthe fishery itself that it doesn’treally make much of an impact onthe stock, period,” says Mobray,adding that seals alone take an esti-mated 300,000 tonnes of caplinout of the ecosystem every year.

Scientists aren’t sure why caplinstocks haven’t rebounded since the1990s when huge decreases instock size were first reported.Mobray says budget cuts are partof the problem.

“No doubt about that,” she says,adding it’s not enough just to studycaplin, but the entire ocean ecosys-tem. Caplin feed on plankton; mostfish, from cod to turbot, feed oncaplin.

“It’s the key fish that deliversenergy from the plankton up into

the commercial fisheries,” Mow-bray says.

“You need to know how manyfish are there and how many codare there and how many caplin arethere and then you also need some-body to link these numbers togeth-

er and try to make sense of it all.”DFO officials weren’t able to

provide figures on the caplin sci-ence budget prior to The SundayIndependent’s press deadline. DFOofficials are still putting togetherfigures on the salmon science bud-

get from a story raised in lastweek’s edition of the Independent.

Mowbray, who’s been a biolo-gist with DFO since 1999, saysshe’s encouraged by the fact thatcaplin seem to be feeding moresuccessfully. “This is the first year

that I’ve seen caplin with fullstomachs,” she says. “If anythingthey might be a little fatter whenthey spawn this year. I’m reallyexcited about what I’ve seen.”[email protected]

Caplin weather (without the caplin)Sure it was wet and foggy on the island’s northeast coast for what seemed like most of June,

but caplin are late again. Just don’t look to science for an estimated time of arrival.


Fran Mowbray, a caplin biologist with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans in St. John’s, says the stock size has been estimated at 200,000tonnes, well below 1980s levels when they peaked at up to four million tonnes. Scientists aren’t exactly sure when caplin will roll on the province’s beach-es this season. Probably any day now.


By Jeff DucharmeThe Sunday Independent

The Newfoundland Association of Publicand Private Employees (NAPE) is slash-ing programs to pay for the almost $9

million it borrowed from its national union totop-up its dwindling war chest.

Just days before NAPE hit thepicket lines, The Sunday Indepen-dent broke the story that the25,000-member strong union wasin dire financial straights becauseof overspending.

During a June 2003 meeting,NAPE’s then-secretary treasurerCarol Anne Furlong warned unionleaders that finances were onshaky ground.

“I repeatedly alerted the board of directors tothe overspending,” Furlong said at the meeting.“NAPE cannot continue to spend over its limits.The options are to either reduce spending orincrease dues.”

NAPE already collects $7.7 million a year inmembership dues. It isn’t known whether dueswill increase as a result of the union’s moneytroubles.

NAPE will reportedly drop the educationcommittee’s budget to $50,000 from $250,000and the women’s issue committee will see itsbudget slashed by $30,000.

When contacted by The Independent, NAPEspokeswoman Judy Snow refused comment,saying president Leo Puddister was attending aconference in Western Canada and wouldn’t beavailable until later this week.

NAPE’s annual operating budget is $8 mil-lion, almost half of which goes towards salariesand expense accounts for its 33 staff and elect-ed executive officials. Puddister and secretary-treasurer Cynthia Burke were budgeted to col-lect almost $351,000 between them this year.According to NAPE’s own internal documents,

salary and benefits have risen morethan 18 per cent in the last twoyears.

NAPE was joined on the picketlines by the Canadian Union of Pub-lic Employees (CUPE). The oftenbitter strike began April 1 and lasted28 days until the workers were leg-islated back to work by DannyWilliams’ Tory government.

According to NAPE documents,in July 2003 the union approved

borrowing almost $610,000 from the “defencefund” to keep the union operating. That fund,which stood at $4.2 million in October, is usedfor strike pay and other costs associated with jobaction.

NAPE paid its striking members $200 a weekin strike pay, although slightly more if they hadat least three dependents. The salaries of essen-tial workers who remained on the job were paiddirectly to NAPE. The province has yet to pro-vide a figure on exactly how much was doledout to the union.

Even Puddister realized that the union was onless than firm financial ground during an Octo-ber 2003 meeting.

“In closing, finances continue to be an obsta-cle,” Puddister said. “We have to grind to a haltsoon or there won’t be a soon.”

NAPE confirms cutsAfter borrowing millions to finance public-sector strike,

province’s largest union forced to make changes

HEARN CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS — 835 TOPSAIL ROAD, SUITE 207, MOUNT PEARLTEL: 364-8288 FAX: 364-8282 — EMAIL: [email protected] by the official Agent for Loyola Hearn

In the last two sessions of parliament Loyola Hearnstood to speak before the House of Commons 449 times. Compare that to the combined total of 110 that Newfoundland and Labrador’sLiberal MP’s stood in that same time.

Loyola Hearn stood up consistently for the issues that matter most to the people of St. John’s South.

On Election Day, June 28, you have an opportunity to stand with Loyola Hearn by re-electing him as the Member of Parliament for St. John’s South.

By Jeff Ducharme The Sunday Independent

The recent 28-day public-sector strike cost the Cana-dian Union of Public

Employees (CUPE) as much as$4.5 million, The Sunday Inde-pendent has learned.

“All the bills aren’t in yet,” saysunion president Wayne Lucas.

CUPE’s 3,500 members stoodarm-in-arm on the picket lineswith members of the Newfound-land Association of Public and Pri-vate Employees (NAPE) this pastApril during the month-long

labour dispute. “Our national defense fund was

healthy before going into ourstrike here in Newfoundland andLabrador, and it’s just as healthytoday.”

CUPE’s strike defense fund isadministered nationally. Approxi-mately 1.5 per cent of a member’ssalary is paid in dues each year.That money goes directly to thenational union in Ottawa, althoughapproximately half is returned tothe locals to pay for such things assalaries, advertising or office rent.

“Our national executive boardwill look at our strike fund and if

our strike fund goes below a cer-tain point, what would happenthen is we would pull what we callthe trigger,” says Lucas. “Wewould put an assessment in onevery worker across the countryuntil our strike fund goes past acertain point again.”

The point where CUPE “pullsthe trigger” has been set at $10million. Lucas admits that maysound like a lot of money, but thestrike fund can evaporate quickly.

“If we had one of our largerlocals go out, that wouldn’t last acouple of days even.”

Each union member is paid

$200 a week in strike pay. “We will never have a member

that goes without strike pay. Wewill take some extraordinary mea-sures, if necessary, like calling thenational executive board …”

Lucas says the tact taken by theunions representing the province’snurses and teachers to continueunder their current collectiveagreements was a smart move.Both unions were slated to returnto the bargaining table with theprovince this year.

“I think it’s a good strategy onbehalf of the nurses and the teach-ers. I mean why would you lead

your members into slaughter, so tospeak, knowing full well that thepremier of this province woulduse the legislation against them?”

Lucas calls the NAPE andCUPE strike that saw both unionslegislated back-to-work as “oneof the most unselfish strikes inCanadian history.

“It was in defense of free, open,democratic, collective bargaining… we stood up to the schoolyardbully. I don’t think we lost by anystretch of the imagination, but wecame out battered and bruised.We’re a prouder union today thenwe were last year.”

Public-sector job action cost CUPE millions; finances in order again

“NAPE cannot continue to spendover its limits.”— Carol Anne

Furlong

When duty callsDog owners may have to clean up pet droppings but chips from the Royal Newfound-land Constabulary’s two horses can fall where they may. St. John’s Mayor Andy Wellssays the issue of horse excrement on downtown streets has come up before but the ben-efits overweigh the mess. “I understand that the horses are — all they eat is oats so it’svery solidius, it’s not like dog dirt.” Staff Sgt. June Layden says none of the mountedunits in the country have pooper scoopers for horses. “What happens is that within acouple of days with cars flattening it and that it basically dries up and blows away.”



ANDY WELLSMayor, St. John’s

“Your guess on that one is everybit as good as mine. All you cangather from reading the polls isthat the Liberals and Conserva-tives are in a dead heat. The dif-ference in the two parties is themargin of error within the polls …If I had to put any money on it, Iwouldn’t be inclined to bet on it atall but if I had to put any money onit I’d say it’s going to be a minor-ity government.”

DOUG LETTOCBC Television’s

legislative reporter“I’d have to say it’s going to be

a minority government. It’s reallyhard to base it on anything otherthan the polls. I’m thinking a Lib-eral minority. Harper may havepeaked too soon because the prob-lem when you peak is that peoplethen start looking at you seriouslyas a potential government and youbecome the target for a lot of polit-ical comment and commentary andinterrogation and all the rest of it.”

DENIS PARKERExecutive director, Music Industry Association of

Newfoundland and Labrador“I think Tony Blair is going to

win it hands down (laughs) … whoelse can we get? … if I was a bet-ting man, I’d probably bet on theLiberals. It’s difficult … I’ll belooking for a party that supportsthe music industry. Unfortunately,none of the parties seem to have aplatform that mentions the musicindustry, which is one of thelargest in the world.”

MICHAEL CRUMMEYAuthor

“It looks like it’s going to be

Harper, which terrifies me. I can’tfathom what people are thinking. Imean, I would never vote for PaulMartin either, but Harper isproposing changes for our countrythat are irreversible. Talk aboutvoting for the lesser of two evils. Iunderstand people being pissed atthe Liberals, but the last time Iremember voters voting out a gov-ernment as punishment was votingfor Mike Harris in Ontario, electedto punish the NDP and they torethe place to pieces.”

GERALD SQUIRESVisual artist

“My feeling is that Martin isgoing to win, but with a minoritygovernment, but it could easily goto Harper. I mean, I always voteNDP, but they never win … Myguess, Martin will just get in, theBloc will get a lot of support, andthe NDP are the ones that aregoing to gain the most.”

GUS ETCHEGARYLong-time fishery activist

“When people go to the ballotbox they’re thinking it’s time for achange. And if they’re thinking ithere in Newfoundland, where weshould be afraid of the Tories, thenobviously in Ontario they’re think-ing the same thing.”

BILL ROWE VOCM open-line host

“I’m with the latest poll. I thinkit’s nip-and-tuck between the two… with, I believe, the Liberalsnow able to take a small lead, sincethe Liberal campaign, which wastotally off the rails until the lastfew days — now is back on therails again with Martin talkingabout his accomplishments asFinance minister. It’s a changesince the debate where he lookedso demoralized. He looked like hethought he wasn’t worthy.”

PETER PENASHUEPresident of the Innu Nation“I don’t know; hard to call …

The polls are all over the place forone, what the polls are going tolook like on election day is anoth-er and I can’t predict that … somesay it’s going to be a minority gov-ernment and some say it’s going tobe Liberal and some say it’s goingto be Conservative. I don’t know.”

FRANÇOISE ENGUEHARDGeneral director,

Société 2004 Society“I would have to say, and it’s

very honest, it’s too close to call. Inall honesty I don’t see it clearly, Ireally don’t. I think it has to dowith, what did I see, 37 per cent ofthe people are undecided — Imean it’s huge — you could electpeople on 37 per cent. If youphoned me on the 29th I’d tellyou.”

EARLE MCCURDYPresident of the FFAW

“Pretty tough to call. The Liber-als have probably got a betterchance of getting support in theHouse on matters, but I really

don’t know. The Conservativespeaked a few days ago and nowthey’re hanging on and whetherthey can hang on long enough isdebatable.”

DANNY WILLIAMSPremier, Newfoundland

and LabradorWilliams isn’t making any pre-

dictions, other than to say that helooks forward to working in a “co-operative and consultative man-ner” with the next prime minister,whomever that may be.

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(Clockwise from top) author Michael Crummey, St. John’s Mayor Andy Wells, professor Noreen Golfman, VOCMOpen Line host Bill Rowe, journalist Doug Letto, and musician Denis Parker.

From page 1

OK gentlemen, this is your last chanceto win my vote. I’ve given it a lot ofthought, and I’ve boiled my decision

down to one issue — the sacred institution ofmarriage.

I’m not so concerned about the ceremony.It’s the sorry state of the wedding receptionthat alarms me. The wedding fête is morethan a mere party; it is a communal demon-stration of support for a new family, a much-needed morale boost as the bride and groomembark upon an often rocky and perilouspath.

Yet, the wedding reception has becomestale and predictable, primarily because of thesame old music. If something isn’t done soon,people will stop attending wedding recep-tions, and newlyweds will be abandoned totheir own fate. The social fabric will unraveland with it our nation.

So, I will vote for whichever party agreesto ban the following songs from all weddingreceptions. Invoke thenotwithstanding clauseif you must.

First, the firstdances:

Wonderful tonightby Eric Clapton. Inthis tender ballad, ahusband praises hiswife for lugging hisdrunken butt homefrom a party andputting him to bed.“Oh my darling, youwere wonderful to-night,” he gushes inbetween dry heaves.Substitute: Someonelike you by Van Morri-son.

My heart will go on by Céline Dion. Whywould any couple want to begin their voyagetogether by evoking images of the Titanic?Substitute: Cherish by The Association.

I will always love you by Whitney Hous-ton. In addition to being overplayed, thissong is actually about losing someone. But, ifyou insist, replace it with Dolly Parton’s ver-sion.

Unchained melody by the RighteousBrothers, Everything I do by Bryan Adams,Amazed by Lonestar, Lady in Red by ChrisDeBerg, and any other ballad that will makeme puke if I hear it one more bloody time.Substitutes: You send me by Sam Cooke, If Ishould fall behind by Bruce Springsteen, Formy wedding by Don Henley, Ribbon in thesky by Stevie Wonder.

As for the party…Old time rock and roll by Bob Seger.

Here’s an idea. Instead of playing a songabout old time rock and roll, why not actual-ly play some old time rock and roll? Substi-tute: Long tall Sally by Little Richard.

I knew the bride when she used to rock ‘nroll by Dave Edmunds. Not very comfortingto the groom when everyone knows the sub-text: “Yeah, I had her long before you did and

so did half the other guys here.” Substitute:Rock this town by the Stray Cats.

I’m too sexy by Right Said Fred. Again, thisprohibition would be for the benefit of thegroom. I once saw a drunken pack of olderwomen strip a young groom down to hiswaist while this song was playing. If hismother and the bride had not intervened, theywould have soon decided he was too sexy for

his drawers. Substitute: Hotstuff by Donna Summer.

A mother’s love’s a blessing:Nothing says party like a songabout your mother being buriedbeneath the clay. Substitute:Hey mama by the Black EyedPeas.

Brown eyed girl by VanMorrison, Here for a good timeby Trooper, Your mama don’tdance by Loggins and Messina,Down on the corner by CCRand any other oldie that makesme feel like I’m Bill Murray inGroundhog Day. Substitutes: Ican’t stand up for falling downby Elvis Costello, Don’t bringme down by E.L.O., I want you

to want me by Cheap Trick, and New sensa-tion by INXS.

The bird dance by God knows who, Themacarena by Who gives a damn, The Twistby Chubby Checker, The locomotion byKylie Minogue, Boot scootin’ boogie byBrooks and Dunn, and any other dance tunefavoured by the rhythm-challenged. Substi-tutes: Celebration by Kool and the Gang,Brick house by the Commodores, 1999 byPrince, and Kung fu fighting by Carl Douglas,if only for the pleasure of seeing your uncleCletus busting a few Bruce Lee moves on thedance floor.

He stopped loving her today by GeorgeJones, She thinks I still care by George Jones… Hell, anything by George Jones. Unlessyou plan on serving your wedding guests aJim Jones cocktail and you’re trying to getthem in the mood, steer clear of depressingcountry music. Substitute: Forever and ever,amen by Randy Travis.

So there’s my contribution to the electoralprocess and public mental health. I’ll expectmy Order of Canada shortly after the election.

Frank Carroll is a journalism instructor atthe College of the North Atlantic’sStephenville campus. He can be reached [email protected]


Keeping an eye on thecomings and goings of theships in St. John’s harbour.Information provided bythe coast guard TrafficCentre.

MONDAY, JUNE 21Vessels arrived: Emma,

Canada, from sea; Ste-naforeteller, Sweden, fromHalifax; Maersk Nascopie,Canada, from Hibernia;Atlantic Hawk, Canada,from Terra Nova.

Vessels departed:Atlantic Eagle, Canada, toBay Bulls.

TUESDAY, JUNE 22Vessels arrived: Irving

Canada, Canada, from St.John.

Vessels departed: Em-

ma, Norway, to FlemishCap; Atlantic Osprey,Canada, to White Rose;Maersk Placentia, Canada,to Hibernia.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23

Vessels arrived: AtlanticEagle, Canada, from BayBulls; Louis M Lauzier,Canada, from CornerBrook; Aquarius, Nether-lands, from Brownsville,Asia.

Vessels departed: IrvingCanada, Canada, to St.John; Aquarius, Nether-lands, to Norway.

THURSDAY, JUNE 24

Vessels arrived: Cicero,Canada, from Montreal;

Veritas Vantage, Norway,from USA; Bin Hai 512,Panama, from sea; KatrinaCharlene, Canada, fromfishing.

Vessels departed: AtlanticHawk, Canada, to TerraNova; Bin Hai 512, Pana-ma, to the south Labradorsea; Cicero, Canada, toMontreal.

FRIDAY, JUNE 25Vessels arrived: Maersk

Chignecto, Canada, fromHibernia; Atlantic Vigour,Canada, from fishing.

Vessels departed: Bin Hai512, Panama, to LabradorSea; Shamook, Canada, toTrinity Bay; Atlantic Eagle,Canada, to Terra Nova;Maersk Nascopie, Canada,to Hibernia.

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I

Melodies for marvelous marriages

West Words by Frank Carroll

The wedding fête is more than a

mere party; it is a communal demonstration of support for a new

family, a much-needed morale boost as the

bride and groom embark upon an often rocky and perilous path.

The Shipping News

June 27, 2004

The Sunday Independent

IN CAMERAMinority government or not,

the federal government is becoming even more regional

Tuesday morning Canadians willwake up to a very different politi-cal dish, one that may resemble

more of a pizza topped with western,eastern, central and Quebec representa-tion.

“Conservatives winning with no seatsin Quebec, that doesn’t bode very well, orthe Liberals hanging on with virtually nosupport in Western Canada, those aren’tvery desirable from the point of view ofCanadian unity,” says Eric Mintz, a polit-ical scientist with Memorial University’sCorner Brook campus, Sir Wilfred Gren-fell College.

Since the 1993 federal election whenthe Liberals took the reigns of power, fac-ing off against the former Reform Party ofCanada and Bloc Quebecois, politicalpundits have been bemoaning Canada’s“pizza parliament” — a term that refers topolitical parties being divided by geo-graphic regions.

Just what the federal government willlook like after voters cast their ballots onMonday is anybody’s guess.

“Unless the Conservatives were reallyclose to a majority, I think a minorityConservative government would havetrouble finding the support needed to gov-ern for a lengthy period of time,” Mintztold The Sunday Independent. “They’rejust too different on many issues from theNDP.”

Conservative leader Stephen Harperhas already gone on record saying that acoalition with the Bloc will never happen.

There have been eight minority govern-ments over the course of Canada’s politi-cal history. The average length of time inpower has been 17 months.

Harper, Liberal leader Paul Martin andJack Layton of the NDP have been criss-crossing the country, each visiting New-foundland twice since the election callwas made.

The most recent whistle stop came aweek before the ballots were counted andshowed just how desperate the parties areand how much of a horse race they’re in.

“They were looking for any type ofvote because there is so much volatilityout there and I think that they’re beingincredibly aggressive in terms of trying tobuild the coalitions that are required inorder to achieve power,” says SteveTomblin, a political science professorwith Memorial in St. Johnh’s.

Depending on what coalition forms, aminority government might not be allbad, says Tomblin. Minority governmentscan’t operate in the dim light of the back-rooms of Parliament Hill, which is what amajority government often does. Partiesthat make up a coalition government oftenopen wide the doors on caucus and cabi-net politics.

Tomblin says a minority governmentshould be taken as a stern message byway of the ballot box.

“The clear message for all of them …is that unless they do something signifi-cant in terms of improving our system ofrepresentation so that Canadians feel thattheir views matter, I think you will contin-ue to see this turning-off and the highlevel of cynism.”

Photos by Paul Daly / Story by Jeff Ducharme

Continued on page 12PIZ

ZA

PAR

LIA

ME

NT

IN CAMERA The Sunday Independent, June 27, 2004

Minority governments, often referred to aslame-duck governments because legislation can’tbe pushed through solely on the votes of the gov-erning party, can spell trouble when smallprovinces march up the hill in Otttawa with wishlists tucked under their arms.

“If there were certain deals that were made thatrequire a particular government to impose it onother parts of the country, maybe oil and gaswhere you have Alberta versus Newfoundlandand Labrador which has often been a division,imposing that kind of decision will be more dif-ficult under certain minority governments,” saysTomblin.

While Harper and Layton have made writtenpromises (Martin only made a verbal one) tomake this province the principle beneficiary ofoil and gas revenues, time will tell if it was, as thecynics have suggested, just election lip service.

“The question is, whatever the outcome, willthey live up to their promises?” asks Mintz.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty put it inwriting during the recent provincial election —no new taxes. Then, in McGuinty’s first budget,he raised taxes through the backdoor by levyinga $60 to $900 health premium on those earningmore than $20,000 per year.

“As the Ontario example indicates, here’s aclear written promise … no government isalways going to carry out a promise whether it iswritten or unwritten,” says Mintz, adding Martinis the “author of his own difficulties.”

Martin can’t be compared to former Toryprime minister Kim Campbell, who lit up thepolitical sky in Ottawa only to burn up in anatmosphere of anti-Tory sentiment.

The crash and burn 11 years ago of the Toriesleft them with only two seats, sent Campbell intopolitical obscurity and led to the merger of theProgressive Conservatives and Alliance/Reformparties.

“I think this time it’s more the leader’s (Mar-tin’s) problem. She (Campbell) was blown up (bythe media) and then blown apart, but here Mar-tin by his choices, particularly by pushing theChrétien Liberals aside, was trying to run an elec-tion campaign with a party divided and thatdoesn’t make a lot of sense,” says Mintz.

Politicos across the country have blamed Mar-tin’s fumble on his team of young and inexperi-enced handlers.

“The real story of the election campaign is theweakness of the Liberal campaign. I mean Harp-er hasn’t done anything fantastic, but Martin —despite his brilliant campaign to get chosen Lib-eral leader and push Chrétien out — the Liberalshave just fizzled.”

With Harper being compared to the late-JohnF. Kennedy after his appearance on the leaders’debate, Martin trying to be anything but thenational whipping boy for the last decade of Lib-eral rule, and Layton often behaving more like agame-show host than the leader of a left-wingparty, Tomblin says the issues have slipped awayfrom the electorate.

“People are talking about almost peripheralthings like the image of a particular leader asopposed to how this will shape (and) influencethe future of communities and change the direc-tion of the economy or make Newfoundland andLabrador a place that people have the resourcesto feed their kids and so on,” says Tomblin.

He calls it “reality politics,” comparing it toTV shows such as Survivor or Who Wants toMarry a Millionaire.

“This doesn’t connect with a lot of people andeven if they watch, it’s just because they are try-ing to see what happens and which bachelorchooses the right woman.”

[email protected]

From page 11

‘Will they liveup to theirpromises?’

The Sunday Independent, June 27, 2004 IN CAMERA

The Sunday Independent, June 27, 2004

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

Sarah Wallace

Sarah Wallace’s home is literally agallery of her work. Delicatelydetailed portraits of her children

hang in the stairwell, acrylics of vegeta-tion in Jamaica hang on the wall besidethem. Then there are watercolours, moreacrylics, and portraits of homes and gar-dens in ink and pencil.

‘There’s my first time painting therocks of Newfoundland,” she says, walk-ing towards her home studio and gestur-ing towards a large canvas.

Originally from Toronto, Wallace has abachelor of fine arts from the ParsonsSchool of Design in Paris. She’s lived inseveral countries and all over the place inCanada. “My children are getting prettygood at changing the colours of theirrooms,” she says.

A year ago, Wallace and her familymoved to St. John’s.

“Like anywhere, it takes some time toget known,” she says, adding that most ofher current commissions come from else-where in the country. But those — andresearching and completing drawings fora book on architecture in Canada — arekeeping her busy.

Although Wallace has participated in along list of solo and group exhibitions inthe past 15 years or so, she realized sheneeded to find some way to assure herselfa regular income. That’s when she start-ed doing portraits of houses, gardens,and other buildings — private, corporate,

and public. (“I do some portraits of chil-dren and animals … but they seem moredifficult to please,” she says.)

She works in watercolour, ink, oil andpencil.

“People want to see their homes in thebest possible light, and they want to haveit for longer than they might be in thehouse. I find in the Maritimes, maybemore than other places, peoples’ homesare really their homesteads,” she says ofher house work.

“Children have grown up there, andwhen they move away, they need a rec-ollection of, what it’s like, ‘Oh that’s myroom up there,’ or ‘I crawled out on thatroof when I was 16 when I met myboyfriends,’” she continues with a laugh.

Wallace, who has also done stints as acourtroom artist, seems to thrive on thevariety of her work.

“I guess I have always liked architec-ture, just like I’ve always like children orfood … I liked to look at space, and theway things move in space, take up space,and the proportions and geometry of it.”

For more information visit www.sarah-wallace.ca.

[email protected]

Visual Artists

Gallery

June 27, 2004


BUSINESS & COMMERCE


Liquor sales have increased since the end of the public-sector strike.

Not on the radarLiquor corporation has no plans to raise booze prices again this fall

By Alisha MorrisseyThe Sunday Independent

The Newfoundland LiquorCorporation likely won’t haveto raise booze prices again

this year to make up for losses dur-ing the 28-day public-sector strike,when profits were down an estimat-ed 50 per cent.

Sales have been up since the jobaction ended. In fact, the corporationis only three per cent behind where itwas last year.

“To be honest with you, and total-ly honest with you, there are no plansfor another price increase,” saysGerry Glavine, president of theliquor corporation. “… there is noplan on the corporation’s part at thispoint to generate more revenue byraising prices in the fall. That’s noton our radar at all.”

Liquor prices rose in early May asthe corporation struggled to raisemore revenue for the cash-strappedprovincial government.

Corporation officials suggested atthat time that yet another increase

may be warranted later in the fall tomake up for losses during the strike.Liquor store employees were amongthe 20,000 government workers whohit the picket lines. The storesremained open, but businessdeclined dramatically.

Glavine says strong sales through-out the busy summerand Christmas sea-sons could wipe thelosses clean.

“In September wewill sit down then andwe will have probablythe best idea becausewe’ll be through oneof the largest sellingperiods for the year,”Glavine told The Sunday Indepen-dent. “We’ll be in a better position tolook and see how sales have trended,how our volumes have increased andwhat our profit margins are and we’llknow better then exactly what stepswe need to take and so on.”

The liquor corporation was askedto come up with an extra $6 millionin revenue this year, on top of anoth-

er $5 million in savings over thenext four years. Total revenues thisfiscal year are expected to reach$105 million.

“I think our volumes are doingfine and the price increase will gen-erate some new money, that was inour budget originally, but aside from

that the real challengefor us is to make surethat we hit the targetsthat we have there,”says Glavine, addingvigorous marketingand healthy salesshould put the corpo-ration back on track.

“I just finished talk-ing to all our man-

agers, our directors and told themthat we’re optimistic that we can puttogether the best sales program that’spossible. We’re going to try to drivesales every way that we can,” hesays.

Glavine couldn’t say how muchthe corporation has saved since April.“All our department heads have beenasked to keep their budgets front and

centre, to work hard to identify sav-ings wherever we can and it’s anongoing process,” he says. “Anymeasure that can be a cost saver to uswe’re going to look at it.”

In an interview with The Indepen-dent during the strike MichaelClarke, vice-president of the liquorcorporation said everything from sta-tionary to electric bills would belooked at to see where reductionscould be made.

Galvine says that process hasbegun.

“So we have to make up that threeper cent and we have to come upwith merchandising marketing plans,we have to look at cost reductions.We have to look across our wholebudget,” he says. “We have a lot ofplans in our marketing and mer-chandising program, theme oriented,across all categories throughout thenext seven to eight months.”

Prior to May’s price hike, the costof booze hadn’t gone up since May2003. At that point, it had been thefirst hike in two [email protected]

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“We’re going to try to drive sales every way that we can.”

— Gerry Glavine, president of the

liquor corporation

BUSINESS The Sunday Independent, June 27, 2004

Tired outRecycler wants used tires processed in Labrador

Happy Valley-Goose BayBy Bert PomeroyThe Sunday Independent

Shipping used tires out ofLabrador for recyclingmakes very little sense,

says the region’s only licensedscrap dealer.

George Rodgers is the ownerof Rodgers’ Recycling in HappyValley-Goose Bay. He says acontingency plan announced bythe province’s Multi-MaterialsStewardship Board (MMSB) lastweek for the collection and stor-age of used tires would likely bea costly venture in Labrador.

“This plan will work in theshort-term, but it will cost theMMSB a lot of money if the tiresare shipped out of Labrador forprocessing elsewhere,” Rodgerstold the Sunday Independent.

“I want to see the tiresprocessed in Labrador with therecycled product shipped to mar-ket from here.”

The MMSB’s contingency planwas announced in response to thewithdrawal of Newfound Envi-rotire Shreds (NES) from theprovince’s tire-recycling pro-

gram. NES, which was contract-ed to run the program two yearsago, says weak markets for recy-cled tire crumb products in NorthAmerica hampered its ability tocontinue operating within theprovince.

Under the contingency plan,the MMSB has designated 35used tire drop-off sites in theprovince, including Rodgers’Recycling in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Rodgers says heagreed to allow the MMSB to usehis facilities to store the usedtires, at least in the interim.

“There has to be something init for me or I’m not going to con-tinue to do it,” he says.

Rodgers is in the process ofsubmitting a proposal to theMMSB.

“I would be willing to invest inthe necessary equipment to shredthe tires, box them and send themto market by truck,” he says.“Somebody has to do the work— there’s nobody doing it inNewfoundland right now, so whycan’t it be done in Labrador?”

Rodgers estimates more than30,000 tires are disposed of inLabrador each year. While he

admits it’s a small volume com-pared to what’s discarded on theisland, Rodgers says he’s con-vinced he can establish a viablerecycling program.

“I have everything that isrequired for the program exceptthe machinery for crumbing thetires,” he says.

More than 40,000 used tiresare currently stored in Happy Val-ley-Goose Bay, says Rodgers,

adding that this also represents asignificant cost.

“I haven’t determined whatthose costs are or whether or notit is even feasible for me to oper-ate the storage yard,” he says.“The MMSB wanted me to havemy yard available until they’vehad a chance to review my pro-posal.”

Rodgers says a lot of factorshave to be determined before hesubmits his proposal. The cost oftransportation, he says, will like-ly be the main one.

“It has to be economically fea-sible and a transportation subsidymay be required,” he says. “Nomatter how you look at it, at theend of the day there is going to bea cost associated with transport-ing those tires out of Labrador —whether they are processed ornot.”

Rodgers also questionswhether shipping unprocessedtires to the island or elsewhereposes a health risk.

“Tires provide a breedingground for mosquitoes and otherinsects.”

Despite Rodgers’ concerns,plans are in the works to ship the

tires to the island, says aspokesperson for the MMSB.

“The plan is to ship the currentstockpile to Newfoundland,” saysKaren O’Neill. “We’re going togo to public tender to have thembarged out of Labrador.”

Used tires stored at the munic-ipal waste disposal site in westernLabrador, says O’Neill, wouldalso be collected and trucked toHappy Valley-Goose Bay andplaced on the barge for shipmentto Newfoundland. A tender isexpected to be called and award-ed within the next two weeks,says O’Neill, and the tires couldbe shipped by mid-summer.

The used tire-recycling pro-gram is administered by MMSBon behalf of the Department ofEnvironment and Conservation.The program is paid for by a levysystem on the sale of new tires upto and including a rim size of21.5 inches.

It is estimated that approxi-mately 500,000 tires are disposedof in the province each year,which, prior to the used tire recy-cling program, were sent to wastedisposal sites throughout New-foundland and Labrador.

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“I would be willing toinvest in the necessaryequipment to shred the

tires, box them and sendthem to market by truck… Somebody has to do

the work— there’snobody doing it in New-foundland right now, sowhy can’t it be done in

Labrador?”

— George Rodgers


Construction of the mineand concentrator forVoisey’s Bay ore will be

the major employer in Labradorfor the next few years.

Bob Carter, spokesman forVoisey’s Bay Nickel Company(VBNC) Ltd., the firm that runsthe project, says employmentrates will peak during the sum-mer months at about 1,200 posi-tions — 95 per cent of which willbe filled by Newfoundlandersand Labradorians.

Carter says shift work will alsoincrease employment numbers.

“They (the workers) are onshift rotation. So employment inLabrador this summer will prob-ably be between 1,200 and 1,400people,” he told The SundayIndependent. Work on the pro-cessing plant at Argentia couldcause the figures to rise even fur-ther — up to 1,700.

The company is said to becommitted to the adjacency prin-ciple, meaning those who liveclosest to the site get the work.

First preference goes to mem-bers of the Labrador Inuit Asso-ciation (LIA) or Innu Nation.More specifically, those who areunion members. Second prefer-ence goes to LIA or Innu Nationmembers who are non-unionmembers, and so on.

“Our employment levels ofaboriginal peoples are very good,about 30 per cent of the work-force in Labrador are Innu orInuit,” says Carter.

Natan Obed, the LIA’s Voisey’sBay impact and benefits co-ordi-nator, praised the project.

“We do have well over 230employees involved in the projectright now and from a numbersperspective we’ve shown that’s

been excellent for not only thenorth coast of Labrador but forLabrador Inuit in general.”

The Sunday Independent maderepeated calls to Innu Nation rep-resentatives but they weren’tavailable for comment.

Obed says the Voisey’s BayNickel Company had a lot of par-ties to please in landing approvalfor the project.

“It only made sense that thepeople who were closest to theproject who had the skills to workat the site during construction andoperation got the first chance,” hesays.

The contract has given aborig-inals on the north coast ofLabrador an education in dealingwith big business.

“It’s been a great learningexperience for our associationand it’s been an excellentemployment opportunity for ourmembers. It’s provided goodopportunities for our Inuit busi-nesses and joint ventures,” saysObed.

Worth an estimated $670 mill-lion, roughly 92 per cent of con-

tracts awarded to businesses dur-ing the construction phase arealso based in the province.

Carter says the company alsogives preference to aboriginalcompanies or companies withaboriginal participation.

Aboriginal companies wereawarded $130 million worth ofcontracts in 2003 alone.

“That has been a very con-scious effort on VBNC’s part toidentify opportunities that workfor Newfoundland and Labradorand for aboriginals,” says Carter.

Approximately $40 million incontracts went to companies fromoutside the province — mostlyfor work that could not be pro-vided by provincial-based com-panies.

Asked the average salary ofeach employee, Carter couldn’tsay.

Obed says wages are verygood but the collective agreementhas its own pitfalls.

“The construction wages atVoisey’s Bay are excellent wages.They are wages that no employ-er on the north coast of Labradorcould compete with,” he says,adding employees are bound bycontract concessions. Strikeshave been banned during the con-struction phase.

Carter and Obed agree the pro-ject is about more than providingjobs to aboriginals.

“What we try to focus on isbusiness development and ensur-ing that there’s participation inthe business by the Inuit partner.It’s not our intent to have thesejoint-venture partnerships whereour role in the joint venture isonly for access,” says Obed. “Wewant the opportunities for largerscopes of work and we want tobuild business leaders in ourcommunities.” [email protected]

Nickel newsLots of work at Labrador’s Voisey’s Bay mine site

“What we try to focus on is businessdevelopment and

ensuring that there’sparticipation in

the business by the Inuit partner. It’s not our intent to have these joint-

venture partnershipswhere our role in

the joint venture isonly for access.”

— Natan Obed

Fishery Products Internation-al still has its gear in thewater in hopes it can net a

deal on its U.S.-based operation. The Sunday Independent broke

the story in late May that FPI waslooking at selling 40 per cent of itsU.S. marketing and value-addedarm.

“FPI is always looking foropportunities to generate sustain-able growth and increase share-holder value,” FPI spokesmanRuss Carrigan told The Indepen-dent. “At present, we are consider-ing a range of creative options andweighing alternatives to help usachieve these goals. Our current

process is in a very preliminaryphase, so it’s really far too early tohave any comment beyond that.”

A proposal to sell much of theAmerican operation has been lyingon the provincial government’sdesk for weeks. The FPI Act pre-vents the company from sellingsubstantial portions (no sharehold-

er can own more than 15 per centof the company) of its operation,including property or businessinterests that relate to harvesting,processing, and marketing ofseafood.

FPI employs more than 2,600workers, most of whom work ineight plants across the island.Without the American marketingarm, insiders worry that New-foundland plants will sufferbecause much of their access toforeign markets could be cut off.

Provincial Fisheries Minister

Trevor Taylor met with a group ofplant workers recently to discussthe possibility of early retirementspackages, although they weren’tspecifically tied to FPI employees.

The sale of the company’s Dan-vers, Mass. operation could raise$100 million. Much of the fishprocessed in Newfoundland andLabrador is shipped to the Ameri-can-based operation where it pro-duces a number of products. TheU.S. marketing arm markets theproducts across North America.

— Independent Staff

The Sunday Independent, June 27, 2004 BUSINESS

Customer dissatisfactionAliant customers complain about poor service more than two months into labour dispute


Customer service appearsslow for Aliant clients asjob action enters its ninth

week, showing no signs of relent-ing any time soon.

Brenda Reid, spokeswoman forthe Atlantic Canada telephonecompany, says delays were to beexpected, although Ervan Cronk,representative for the 4,300 strik-ing members of the Communica-tions, Energy and Paperworkers’union, says that’s not good enough.

Customers are waiting days, andin some cases weeks, for newinstallations. Music on the tele-phone help line is interrupted fre-quently by a monotone voicereminding customers about thelabour dispute and expecteddelays.

“It’s deplorable. It needs to beaddressed by the regulatoryagency. It’s not acceptable whetherthere’s a strike on or not,” saysCronk. “Nobody should accept

that kind of service from any-body.”

Aliant is regulated by the Cana-dian Radio-television andTelecommunications Commission(CRTC). Irate customers can makecomplaints there — a messagestrikers have been advertising tocustomers.

“We’ve been attempting toleaflet where we can, to let the cus-tomer know they don’t have toaccept half service for full pay sowe’re encouraging customers tocall Aliant to request rebates and ifthey’re not satisfied with that tocomplain to the CRTC,” Cronksays.

An estimated 500 complaintshave been lodged to date with theCRTC, says Reid. Once a com-plaint is filed, the CRTC reviews itand — if further action is required— passes it along to Aliant. Reidsays the company has dealt with85 per cent of the complaints sentits way.

“We take every complaint thatwe get from the CRTC quite seri-

ously, same as we do directly herefrom customers,” she says.

Cronk is concerned some of thecomplaints may be disregardedbecause the labour action is caus-ing the delays.

“I hope the CRTC is fulfilling itsmandate because it was establishedby the Canadian taxpayer for thatpurpose and if it’s not going to ful-fill its mandate then, what is itspurpose?”

Reid says it’s her understandingthat no complaint is ignored by theCRTC for any reason. She saysAliant has done its best to provideother options to its clients to avoidlong wait times.

“We have as many people as wecan dedicated to taking the cus-tomers calls and responding totheir requests, but delays areinevitable.”

For the most part, customershave not been adversely affectedby the strike, Reid says, but thosewho are dealing with long delaysshould be patient because it’s not“business as usual” at the compa-ny right now.

Bernie Johnson, a St. John’s arearesident, just moved into a newapartment and has been waitingfive days for telephone service tobe installed.

“They can’t seem to find whichswitch needs to be turned on orwhatever. They told me to godownstairs and look at the panelbox for an ID code but how in thehell am I supposed to know what

an ID code looks like,” says John-son. “As far as I’m concerned theyshould have been down to do that.I don’t work for the phone compa-ny.”

Johnson says he’s paying $46 toget the line hooked up and should-n’t be doing the work of paidemployees.

Johnson says he will be angry tosee his phone bill turn up with afull month’s charges.

Reid says the company can’thelp the fact it’s understaffed.

“Customers are experiencingdelays in getting new service,that’s unfortunate, but that’s some-thing we said all along that wouldhappen,” she says. “We’ve tried tohave customers understand.”

Johnson says he’ll likely com-plain about Aliant’s service if hesoon doesn’t have a phone thatworks.

His wait continues.“Now how long does that take to

hook up because I know it’s only aswitch, right?”[email protected]

FPI deal still on table; no action expected in the short term

“I hope the CRTC is fulfilling its mandatebecause it was estab-

lished by the Canadiantaxpayer for that purpose

and if it’s not going tofulfill its mandate, thenwhat is its purpose?”

— Ervan Cronk

June 27, 2004


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Political gender changeEDITOR’S NOTE: World renowned journal-ist Stephen Handleman is the latest to joinThe Independent’s rank of columnists. Hiscolumn will appear every other week.

NEW YORKBy Stephen Handleman

If there’s a goddess ofpolitics, she will besmirking if Canada

elects a conservativeleader just months beforethe U.S. throws one out.

There could still, of course, be surprises oneither side of the border. But current Amer-ican polls — combined with a run of partic-ularly bad news for President George W.Bush — suggest that the U.S. heartland is ina mood for change.

The possibilities implicit in a reversal ofthe political map of North America are head-spinning. Imagine Canada urging a suddenlyreluctant U.S. to take a more aggressive rolein world affairs, or pushing a newly protec-tionist Washington into expanding global freetrade.

Aside from the fun journalists might havein exploring the political equivalent of genderchange, there are several serious lessons to belearned here.

One is that there may be less to the sup-posed “Fire and Ice” differences betweenCanada and the U.S. than meets the eye.Those Canadians who pride themselves onbeing small-l liberal may have more in com-mon with large segments of American opin-ion than they assumed.

And those Americans who consider Cana-da a socialist swamp will have to think again.

Then again, do elections tell us anythingsignificant about national character? Is vot-ing behaviour a reliable clue to deep-seatedcultural change?

Here’s where we get into some dangerousground, particularly in the U.S.

A fierce debate is now underway about thefuture of American conservativism. One sideof that debate is captured by those whoargue, as one recent scholarly article put it,that the neo-conservative “moment” haspassed.

According to this argument, which alsohappens to be advanced by the side that pre-dicts political embarrassment for Bush andCo. next November (so it may be wish-ful-filling), the shattering of the “neo-con”attempt to remake the world in the name ofdemocracy — and national security — hasleft millions of ordinary Americans wonder-ing whether their government knows what itis doing.

The other side of the debate is just asinteresting. Even the defeat of the neo-cons(and the Republicans’ possible defeat), thisargument goes, doesn’t change the fact thatAmerica in general has become more conser-vative.

“Some 41 per cent of American votersidentify themselves as conservative,” claimsJohn Micklethwaite, U.S. editor of TheEconomist. “The election won’t change that.”

Mickethwaite and an Economist col-league, Adrian Wooldridge, have just pub-lished a book that makes, at first glance, suchan argument compelling. The book, cleverlytitled The Right Nation, argues that Americanpolitics has followed the rightward drift of

American cultural and religious values.The last two decades have seen the cre-

ation of an institutionalized right-wing cul-ture that blends intellectual and religiousactivism with political influence — and haseffectively altered the attitudes that shapedAmerican domestic and foreign policy sincethe 1940s, the authors claimed at a recentCarnegie Institute panel in New York.

But the American right has been makingthis argument for years, ever since RonaldReagan’s 1981 victory. More recently, KarlRove, Bush’s campaign strategist, wasreported to have boasted that the 2000 elec-tion would be the start of a permanent Repub-lican era.

So it would seem if you looked at some ofthe figures. For example, 1,500 Christianbroadcast channels and at least 200 right-wing think tanks now thrive in the U.S. “TheRight is not necessarily winning on everyfront, but it is making the political weathernow in the way that the Left did in the1960s,” the two Economist journalists claim.

Yet there’s no evidence that Americans insignificant numbers support the classic right-wing agenda. A majority, for instance, con-tinue to tell pollsters they back the UnitedNations.

What’s more likely is that the “Left” wasnever as powerful or as decisive as its advo-cates (and detractors) claim. It was merely, atthe time, better organized.

Here’s another explanation: Definitionsof conservativism and liberalism havechanged primarily in the minds of politicalobservers; but the electorate in North Amer-ica generally hews closer to the centre. Thereal shifts are on the margins, in Americansand Canadians’ fluctuating tolerance forsocial change.

Is there such a thing as a North Americanpolitical centre? You might not think so, lis-tening to politicians of the day. But, broadlyspeaking, the political values and cultures ofCanada and the U.S. are, arguably, closer toeach other than to Europe or Asia. (Mexicois a different case, but that country’s rising

middle class and entrepreneurial sector alsoshares many of the same attitudes.)

The truth is, a switch in the colour of gov-ernments may not be the kind of epoch-mak-ing cultural event that politicians in the U.S.— and Canada — enjoy frightening voterswith.

More importantly, any government thattries to make it so will not survive for long.

The authors of The Right Nation were hardpressed to explain how their analysis wouldsupport the revived strength of Canadianconservativism in a nation where substantialnumbers of the intellectual elite considerthemselves to be the antithesis of U.S. “val-ues.”

“That’s interesting,” Mickelthwaite saidwhen I told him the Canadian poll numbers.“We’ll have to examine that.”

Stephen Handelman writes TIME Cana-da’s 49th Parallel column on U.S.-Canadaissues. He’s also a frequent writer and lectur-er on international affairs.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

U.S. President George W. Bush, right, and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin shake hands before the start of the plenary session at theG8 Summit in Sea Island, Georgia, June 9. Bush, declaring that world leaders were "pulling" for Iraq's new president, discussed a possibleNATO role in trying to stabilize the country.

Refugees lowest in a decade

GENEVA, Switzerland The number of refugees world-

wide has fallen to 9.7 million, thelowest level in at least a decadebecause of increased internationalefforts to help uprooted people,the UN refugee agency says.

A key reason for the drop wasthe continued return of refugees toAfghanistan. More than half ofthe 1.1 million refugees repatriat-ed last year returned toAfghanistan; large numbers ofrefugees also returned home toAngola, Burundi and Iraq.

“Nearly five million people ...over the past few years have beenable to either go home or to find anew place to rebuild their lives.For them, these dry statisticsreflect a special reality; the end oflong years in exile and the start ofa new life with renewed hope forthe future,” says Ruud Lubbers,the UN High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR).

Lubbers says the latest figurefor refugees, compiled for the endof 2003, was down 20,000 fromthe previous year. Refugee num-bers were down in all the fiveworld regions covered byUNHCR.

Not all the news is good, how-ever. Six countries — Sudan,Liberia, Central African Republic,Congo, Ivory Coast and Somalia— each produced more than15,000 refugees in 2003. Some807,000 claims for asylum or

refugee status were submitted in141 different countries.

The United Nations appealedfor $236 million U.S. this monthto meet emergency needs ofSudanese facing “the biggesthumanitarian crisis in the worldtoday.”

— The Associated Press

Greek doctors on strike

ATHENS, Greece Doctors halted work for six

hours last week in the capital topress demands for Olympicbonuses and improved workingconditions during the SummerGames.

Public hospitals in Athens andits main port, Piraeus, were treat-ing only emergency cases duringthe strike.

The doctors were protestinggovernment demands that certainhospitals provide around-the-clockcoverage during the Aug. 13-29Olympic Games without addingnew staff, the doctors union says.

With emergency teams alreadyunderstaffed, the union says, itwas unsafe to ask doctors to pro-vide 24-hour coverage.

The doctors are also demanding

bonuses since they will be unableto take summer vacations. Thegovernment already has promisedbonuses of 2,500 euros ($4,100Cdn) for more than 40,000 police,

coast guard officers and firefight-ers that will be safeguarding thegames.

Government officials declinedto comment. But the government

has said it wants to control theOlympic budget, which has beenprojected to top 10 billion euros($16 billion Cdn).

— The Associated Press

The Sunday Independent, June 27, 2004 INTERNATIONAL

Cajun countryGlen Moores is reaping the benefits of the Gulf of Mexico’s booming oil industry

A Voice From AwayBy Stephanie PorterThe Sunday Independent

As a newly graduated mech-anical engineer, GlenMoores wanted to go to

the busiest place in the world —for offshore oil, anyway.

Moores finished up at Memori-al University in 2001. Not longafter, he says, he moved toLafayette, Louisiana.

“It’s the heart of cajun country,”he says over the telephone from hisAmerican home. A slight southerntwang creeps into his voice nowand then, though he laughs offquestions about his new accent.

“There’s very good food, peopleare very friendly, people are verylaid back.”

Lafayette also happens to be oneof the main centres for the offshoreoil service industry for the Gulf ofMexico.

“I was looking for a job in theoffshore oil and gas industry, andthis, the Gulf of Mexico, is full ofactivity, more than anywhere elsein the world,” Moores says. “Athome, the industry is on such asmall scale, with two offshore oilprojects producing. Here they liter-ally have hundreds, it’s a huge

industry here.”Moores qualifies that statement:

Though there are less active wellsoff Newfoundland, they “would bemega-projects” for the Gulf.Because the infrastructure — likepipelines, which Moores sayssnake across the ocean floor — inthe Gulf of Mexico are in place,it’s still economically viable todraw from a well that may onlyyield 100 or 1,000 barrels a day. Incomparison, Hibernia producessome 200,000 barrels a day. An oilproject on the Grand Banks has tobe on a massive scale to survive.

Moores, a technical profession-al with Halliburton Energy Ser-vices, says he sought a petroleumjob because it seemed the “hotindustry” at the time of his gradu-ation.

It’s his first time working in theoil field — he completed severalco-op placements while complet-ing his engineering degree, but inthe automotive industry, for New-foundland and Labrador Power,and at the Institute for MarineDynamics.

He tries to explain his job in lay-man’s terms.

“Basically what I do, I spendmost of the time in the office, oneweek a month off shore. On land,I service the product line,” he says.“When I go offshore … the firsttime you flow a hydrocarbon to thesurface, we go out there with theequipment, the temporary meansto separate it into its components… Based on that they can figureout the economical parameters andwhether it’s feasible to build a fullproduction facility on that particu-lar site.”

He says Lafayette and otherplaces in Louisiana fulfill the ser-vice side of the oil industry, whilethe major oil companies have theircorporate head offices in Texas.“If you took the oil industry andthe medical industry out ofLafayette, there wouldn’t be any-thing left,” Moores says of the“family-oriented town” he livesin.

He hasn’t run into many New-foundlanders, he says, though hisboss is from Alberta.

“When I go offshore, I run intoa lot of people who have been toNewfoundland,” he says. “Andwhere a lot of people (inLouisiana) don’t know whereNewfoundland is, if they’re in theoil industry they kind of do.”

Moores says there aren’t toomany cultural differences, besidesfood — gravy on rice with yourChristmas dinner? — and lan-guage. He remembers giving a pre-sentation at work and beginningwith a safety hint: “Be careful youdon’t squat your finger …”

The daily temperature is thebiggest change from the east coastof Canada. “It’s like you’re in anoven,” he says. “I keep thinkingit’s going to stop being hot, but no,it’s hot all the time. And some-thing else: People love to golf,and they golf all year ‘round.”

Moores says he may return toNewfoundland to live one day, buthas no immediate plans to do so,especially since his girlfriend —his high school sweetheart — ismoving down.

He also says he likes his joband, considering the company has100,000 employees, there are plen-ty of opportunities to change posi-tion or travel.

“I love Newfoundland. But Ilove here, too, the weather is great.But I look out the window, and it’samazingly flat. There’s no hills,no rocks … When I look out thewindow, it’s like I don’t belonghere. I can’t see the ocean.”[email protected]



$79ONE WAY + TAXES

from

EastmeetWest

“When I go offshore, I run into a lot of people

who have been to Newfoundland … And where a lot of

people (in Louisiana)don’t know where

Newfoundland is, ifthey’re in the oil industry

they kind of do.”— Glen Moores

Glen Moores

Mike Shuaghnessy

Honourary degreeDr. Garrett FitzGerald, Chancellor, National University of Ireland (and former Irish prime minister), Dr.John Mannion, Memorial University, and Professor Jim Browne, Registrar, National University of Ireland,Galway pose in Galway after a ceremony awarding Mannion with an honourary Doctor of Literature degreelast week. “(Mannion’s) work has come to have a profound effect upon how we understand the past and therelationships between Ireland and Newfoundland,” Browne said during the ceremony.

International Briefs

June 27, 2004


LIFE & TIMES

this province; 402 arrived in 2001;405 in 2002. About two-thirds ofthose arrivals settled in St. John’s.

The numbers don’t include for-eign workers (1,218 in 2002) orinternational students (a reported322 in 2002).

Then there are the newest New-foundlanders. Between 1993 and2002, 64 babies from countriesaround the world (primarily Asiaand eastern Europe) were adoptedby families from this province.

As the face of this provincechanges, as individuals fromaround the world adopt this placeas their own and new communitiesdevelop, awareness and educationmust also evolve, Quaicoe pointsout.

Although the province’s immi-grant population is proportionate-ly low when compared to otherCanadian provinces — 1.6 percent here, as compared to 26.8 percent in Ontario — there is a needfor more concrete direction onhow to help integration.

That’s exactly why the Multi-cultural Women’s Organization ofNewfoundland and Labrador, sup-ported by Health and CommunityServices, the Royal Newfound-land Constabulary and CanadianHeritage, decided to produce andpublish an information andresource booklet.

Our new-found land: Experi-ences of immigrants and refugees

will be officially launched thisweek after months of work bydedicated volunteers.

“We started thinking about par-ents who come here and have toraise their children in a culturethey’re not familiar with,”Quaicoe says of the origins of theproject. “At the same time, wewere trying to developsomething for the youthpart of our organization.”

So the organizationhosted a forum, a work-shop for youth during halfthe day, and for parentsduring the other half. Rep-resentatives from govern-ment and other interestgroups were also invited.

“During the first openforum we found they werehaving a lot of struggles,especially parents whowant to enforce their tradi-tions here, in a differentculture,” Quaicoe says.

“Like in some places they’renot able to date, not able to sleepover, but they’re attending classeswith people who can do all thesethings and they feel so restricted.

And more issues arose: Chil-dren trying to keep up their gradeswhen they’re struggling to learnEnglish; finding a physician thatwould take new patients; culturalconflicts; finding adequate hous-ing and transportation; trying tobreak into new social groups as ateen.

Most immigrants faced a com-plete lifestyle change.

“Some youth came from situa-tions where their families wereworking and had the means togive them a certain standard oflivelihood. And here, the parentsare learning a language and get-ting a meager amount of money

… and trying to cope with that, achange of status.”

After the forums, Quaicoe andher colleagues examined the sto-ries and concerns they heard, andmade recommendations that rangefrom better English training foryouth in the school system to amore accurate way of assessingthe qualifications and skills —skills Canadians could benefitfrom — of immigrants.

“Take, for example, those com-ing in a refugee situation. If warbreaks out everything’s closed,

you can’t go to the university andsay ‘Oh, can I have my tran-scripts?’ Nobody’s there.

“It’s such a problem across thecountry. There are PhDs drivingtaxis in Toronto, that shouldn’t be… The system works for somepeople, but not everyone, andwe’ve got to find the barriers and

break them down andmake this work.”

Quaicoe hopes theresource booklet is a goodfirst step in raising aware-ness, of helping everyonefrom top policy makers toteachers to social workersunderstand that there areall sorts of situations andhabits that may not beobvious to Canadian eyes.

She gives another exam-ple.

“If you come from a sit-uation where you couldn’ttalk to strangers, you had

to protect your child, you had torun for your life and hide in thebush for three months, your wholesense of the world is differentfrom someone who never had tolock the door a day in their lives.”

Quaicoe looks forward to deliv-ering the guidebook to govern-ment departments, opening newdialogues, and eventually estab-lishing ethnic representation onboards and committees.

As for herself, Quaicoe saysshe’s a “celebrated volunteer,” apresence on several committees

and projects, including theRefugee Immigrant AdvisoryCouncil, the Canadian Bible Soci-ety and the South African Associ-ation.

She’s got more on her plate thanmost people with full-time paidjobs. An effective, articulate advo-cate and speaker, Quaicoe is a fre-quent and passionate voice duringpanel discussions and forums.

She admits it took her a while toaccept Newfoundland as her home— she kept most of her belong-ings in boxes for a long time, fig-uring she and her husband wouldbe moving on before too long. Buta heartbreaking war has since bro-ken out in Sierra Leone, making areturn impossible. Meantime,she’s fallen in love with St. John’s— and has plenty of work to do.

“Sometimes people say I’m avisionary, but what I do is lookway down the road, for example,for these (immigrant) children, ifwe don’t provide for them now,and they start getting frustratedand they start dropping out …then it’s easy to say ‘Oh, look atall those immigrant children,they’re down there, up to nogood.’ They need a program now,to help them get where they needto be.

“That’s why we call it our new-found land, because it is. It hasbecome our land. This is home.And so I might as well do what Ican do.” [email protected]

‘They need a program now’

“If you come from a situation where you couldn’t talk to strangers,

you had to protect your child, you had to run for your life and hide

in the bush for three months, yourwhole sense of the world is different

from someone who never had to lock the door a day in their life.”

— Lloydetta Quaicoe

From page 1


Lloydetta Quaicoe and the Multicultural Women’s Organization of Newfoundland and Labrador are launching Our new-found land: Experiences of immigrants and refugees thisweek in St. John’s.


During Ocean Net’s mostrecent beach clean up, inAmherst Cove, volunteers

collected 215 wheels and 507plastic oil bottles.

“107 bags of you name it.Garbage stuff,” says RobertO’Brien, the organization’sfounder and chair.

Ocean Net is a non-profit groupdedicated to cleaning up thewaters and beaches of theprovince so future generationswill be able to go to a clean, envi-ronmentally-safe beach.

O’Brien says the organizationis about making a difference andworking together to make beach-es livable. More than 5,000 vol-unteers from across the provinceare involved in the group’s activ-ities.

“Taking stewardship of thecommunities, and showing pridein the environment … that couldbe whole families coming outwith their children, brothers and

sisters coming out, organizing aschool class,” O’Brien told theSunday Independent.

“They’re from all ages and all

sectors of business.”Since 1997, the organization

has cleaned up 550 communitiesand 521 beaches (51 so far this

year). Expecting to cleanse 160more shorelines by the end of2004, Ocean Net hopes to reachthe 1,000-beach milestone soon.

The waste found on the beach-es and in the waters off the coastof the province is not just ugly, butdangerous to marine life as well.

“You’d be absolutely shockedat the mortality rate that’s goingon throughout the world withwhales, dolphins, turtles and birdsgetting caught up in all kinds ofentanglements,” O’Brien says.

Ocean Net has found snowmo-biles, bicycles, shopping carts,boots, mattresses, tires and ovenson shorelines around the province.

“Discarded fishing gear is ahuge problem, a huge issue. Plas-tics — oh, my God — plasticbags of all sorts,” says O’Brien.“You could make up somethingand 99.9 per cent of the time youwould be right.”

This week, Ocean Net plans aclean up of Lance Cove beach.Afterwards there will be a hotdog roast and celebration for thehard work done.

“You can help the environmentand have a good day on the beachwith your family,” he says.

O’Brien says he’s an environ-mentalist at heart. He finds it dif-ficult to see people still throwinggarbage out of their car windows.

“I guess some people are morein tune with the environment thatthey live in and grow up in thanothers,” he says. “I guess somepeople are more aware of theenvironment and thank God.”[email protected]

The Sunday Independent, June 27, 2004 LIFE & TIMES

Made in CanadaLast Tuesday evening I

donned my Gap jeans andT-shirt, laced up my Nikes,

grabbed my Wal-Mart umbrella,and hopped into my Honda to seeThe Corporation. I grabbed aMcDonald’s small fries on theway and pocketed a bit of Tridentgum for oral emergencies.

The award-winning documen-tary was being screened at theEmpire Studios in the Mall, wherethe line-up for this one-off sold-out event snaked way past thefood stands and towards the(multi)national chain stores thatlitter the Sobey’s owned building.

For two and half hours those ofus with the foresight to havesecured tickets in advance weresubjected to a vivid barrage ofconnected dots. The Corporationtakes on the big bad guys with abit of wit and a lot of zeal. Mon-santo, Shell, Goodyear Tire, IBM,Fox News — these and manymore U.S.-based monsters comein for a good drubbing. Why?

Because these corporate bodiesare large rapacious machineswhose sole motive is profit, notthe public good, and whose mis-sion it is to devour the planet forits exhaustible resources, a job thefilm reminds us the corporationsare doing all too well.

Most of us are aware of theAsian sweatshops in which chil-dren toil and on which the Gap,Nike, and Wal-Mart depend fortheir cheaply-produced goods.Fewer can extend that knowledgeto the ways corporations havebeen polluting, defiling, and gen-erally exploiting every preciousinch of the planet.

As a filmic lecture, The Corpo-ration is too long and a bit tedious.It sometimes looks amateur and italmost always sounds didactic. Itcould benefit from tighter organi-zational principles and fewer talk-ing heads. But it does graphicallydemonstrate that the multination-als have been using up the planetand its human resources in cata-strophic ways. It is virtuallyimpossible to stay numb to itsrelentless message. If you were apessimist you would say theoceans are half polluted — andthere’s no way to get them fullyclean again.

The Corporation is defiantlyoptimistic, however: It has to be,because after viewing a garbagepile full of statistical and visualevidence the audience needs a lit-tle hope to crawl towards the Cokemachines. Anyone in a Newfound-land audience, watching imageafter image of dead fish, suspects

there’s something rotten in thestate of trademark.

The Corporation gives goodcausal explanation for those fish,and all the other countless exam-ples of a tragically contaminatedearth. Culminating in a montageof power-to-the people politics,the documentary finally urges allof us to get up off our corporate-clad rear ends and do something.But … what? Check the label?There is a David Suzuki earnest-ness to all this that makes onesquirm with an uneasy mix ofresolve and guilt.

Films are sometimes more inter-esting for what they don’t deliverthan what they do. Sure, a lot ofpeople were probably discussingthe film over their Starbucks for afew days but, let’s face it, the audi-ence was made up of the alreadywon over.

The Corporation might havedone a lot more to generate deep-er political action if it were morediscriminating in its analysis. Is acorporation by definition an inher-ently evil apparatus of capitalism?Are all corporations thereforegreedy and destructive? Many ofus have long assumed The BodyShop was a model example of anon-exploitative, planet-lovingallergy-free corporate entity. Not

so, The Corporation implies. Well,why not? We aren’t supplied withany explanations.

The film does focus on onealmost lovable converted CEO,Ray Anderson of Interface, theworld’s largest commercial carpetmanufacturer. Anderson had somesort of epiphany on the road to theBank of America and has beenpreaching sustainability eversince. That, in the words of afamously convicted CEO ofanother company, is a good thing.

But the weight of evidence inthe film is so heavily stackedagainst every other living corpora-tion that one wonders what onecould possibly do to break throughwhat Naomi Klein calls the fis-sures in the structure. Can we getsome benevolent models of corpo-rate behaviour, please? Is there acar manufacturer, T-shirt producer,or coffee-supplier we can take tolunch in public? Hello, is there acommodity producer out therewho can make me feel better aboutwhat I eat, drive, wear, or watch?

It is important to air the gripes:I don’t want to feel guilty, I wantto be motivated. It is also impor-tant to brag about the achieve-ment. The Corporation is based ona book by a Canadian professorand was made in Canada, the

country that helped dignify thedocumentary form. It featuresadopted Canadians Noam Chom-sky and Michael Moore, and itwas largely funded by Canadiantax dollars. In its opening week inthe U.S. the film ranked secondonly to Harry Potter and the Pris-oner of Azkaban. That’s amazing.It suggests a huge appetite notonly for meaningful stories of howthe world is shaping up but alsofor the documentary genre itself.

Here is the best news: Thescreening of The Corporation wasco-hosted by DOC NL, theprovince’s first professional docu-mentary filmmakers’ association.A lot of things are coming togeth-er here. Excellent documentarieshave been produced in Newfound-land and Labrador for some time.Perhaps the world is finally catch-ing up to their gloriously revealingpower.

Noreen Golfman is a professorof literature and women’s studiesat Memorial University. Her nextcolumn appears July 11.

Standing Room Only by Noreen Golfman

Cleaning beaches one bag at a timeOcean Net plans to tidy more than 200 beaches this year

“I guess some people aremore in tune with theenvironment that theylive in and grow up in

than others. I guess somepeople are more aware of

the environment andthank God.”

— Robert O’Brien


Ocean Net of all ages gather to clean up Topsail Beach. The non-profitorganizations has a base of 5,000 voluteers.

LIFE & TIMES The Sunday Independent, June 27, 2004

On The Shelf by Chris Collingwood

The Gates of Eden

Reading The Edge of Beulah,it was “Didymus on Fri-day,” the very first poem,

that hooked me. It is this samepoem from David Elliott’s collec-tion that I keep coming back to.Didymus, it becomes quicklyapparent, is a surname applied to“doubting” Thomas of the gospels,the apostle whose refusal to believein his saviour’s resurrection hasingrained his name (and its contex-tual implications) into our collo-quial speech.

“Except I shall see in His handsthe print of the nails, and put myfinger into the print of the nails, andthrust my hand into His side, I willnot believe,” Thomas says. Elliott’sdramatic monologue employs thevoice of Thomas in a reinterpreta-tion of that sentiment.

“I who have trusted only certain-ties, / Save for a three-years dream,wake at last,” the poem begins.“Now Jesus has his grave, Judas hisgold, / Peter his praise, he of theready sword.” But in Elliott’sThomas we find not one who cal-lously denies his faith, but rather

one who has been broken by it atthe last. He is a man who, havinggiven all of himself over to hisbelief to the man he consideredGod in life, is left with nothingonce that man is dead andentombed. The last stanza of thepoem sees Thomas leaving in astate of dark despair.

Tomorrow is the first day ofthe week

And I shall leave this grayJerusalem

Where he lies sleeping in thehollowed stone,

Never to come into his king-dom now.

The tomb and Thomas’ fateseem sealed. Yet the Christiantradition tells us that Thomaswas later granted his chance tobear witness to resurrection. It isa testament to the effectivenessof this poem that the realizationdoes nothing to allay our feel-ings of deep sympathy forThomas’ mental and spiritualanguish.

With poems that range from self-elegy to a long meditation on ariver, from a playful poem thatmimics the strange music of localdialect to a bitter condemnation ofthe seagull as a filthy animal (“Hiscleanliness is that of a well-tended

grave, / A whited sepulchre.”), TheEdge of Beulah is sometimes diffi-cult to get a grip on, thematicallyspeaking. This difficulty is mirroredby the obscurity of title. As it turns

out, the phrase comes from WilliamBlake’s “The Four Zoas.”

Now Man was come to the Palmtree & to the Oak of Weeping

Which stand upon the Edge ofBeulah & he sunk down

From the Supporting arms of the

Eternal Saviour; who disposdThe pale limbs of his Eternal

Individuality Upon the Rock of Ages. Watching

over him with Love & Care“Beulah” is the name applied

by Yahweh to the Land of Zionin Isaiah 62. It is the PromisedLand of the Jewish tradition, aparadise. The book then, situatesitself on the edge of Paradise forobvious reasons. Elliott’s worldis one in which death is oftenvisited on the weak at randomby the powerful.

In “Going Up Shore” a huntershoots a Beothuk woman in thestomach with his musket andimplores his friend to finish offher two children before they canescape. “Tacitus” turns ourattention to the Roman writerwho recorded “that whenSecundus was murdered / Hisfive hundred innocent slaveswere crucified.” Elliott’s is aworld of spiritual and physicalviolence.

Yet a suggestion of future pos-sibility exists in that same title, ajust order that awaits the human

race in the metaphorical Beulah.For Elliott, Beulah is found onlyin death. In “Talking to Trees” thespeaker tells the patient backyardpoplars of “what strange lives theunrooted undergo.” “This week Icut them down,” he declares quitebluntly in the fourth last line ofthe poem. “Someday, throughvarious stages of ashes and dust,/ We shall be back in earth togeth-er, / And resume our conversa-tion.” Elliott’s poems as a wholeamount to the text of this conver-sation.

The Edge of Beulah is a bookthat celebrates the human race inall its love and folly, a book that,despite its often dark, vision neverloses hope for mankind.

Mark Callanan’s next review willappear July 11. He can be reachedat callanan_ [email protected].

The Edge of BeulahDavid ElliottBreakwater Books, 1988

Following a wet, coolweek, the sun brokethrough in time for theannual Teddy Bear Pic-nic at the Arts and Cul-ture Centre in St.John's Friday after-noon. Two-and-a-halfyear old Chantal Mif-flin of St. John’s attend-ed the picnic, andwatched intently as herteddy bear is cared forby the doctors andnurses.


Picnic time forteddy bears


Agnes Walsh takes greatpride in saying there arethree counties in Ireland

that want to work with her, hertheatre troupe, and “a small com-munity like the Cape Shore of Pla-centia Bay.”

Walsh, a well-known New-foundland author, poet and play-wright, has been operating theTramore Theatre Troupe, based inCuslett, for six years.

Walsh has made connectionswith people in county Kerry andcounty Waterford, people interest-ed in the research, writing and the-atre she’s doing in Newfoundland.On Bere Island, one mile off thecoast of mainland Ireland, that rela-tionship has developed much fur-ther: The Bere Island TheatreTroupe, mentored by Walsh, iscoming to the Cape Shore to per-form.

Walsh, a Placentia native (shenow has a home in Patrick’s Cove)started researching and recordingthe oral history of the area shegrew up in several years ago, pri-marily as a basis for her own writ-ing.

In the late 1990s, actor PaulRowe approached her to bring herresearch to life in a play for Soiree’99. Out of that project evolved theTramore Theatre Troupe, whichstill consists entirely of actors fromthe Cape Shore — an area with analmost-exclusively Irish back-ground.

“That first play was so success-ful out there, six years later we’regrowing like mad,” Walsh says.“We keep to our mandate of oralhistory from the Cape Shore so wecan bring it back to the people (inthe area), and bring it to strangerstoo.”

Walsh’s work has inspired thoseon the other side of the ocean.

About three years ago Walshwas in Cork city and had gotten intouch with a professor of folklorethere to do some archival research.At the time, the professor was onBere Island teaching locals to usespecialized equipment to recordinterviews and create a record oftheir oral history.

“She let them know that I was intown and what I had done with theoral history on the Cape Shore,”Walsh says. “So I went down andmet with some people on theisland, and told them what I did,and they said ‘Oh, show us, teachus what you do, we want it.’”

The group on Bere Islandapplied for a grant, and receivedenough money to fly Walsh back toIreland the following year. Walshsays she got them on their feetinterviewing people, and producingtheir first piece of theatre.

“I suggested they not wait for awriter, but get on their feet with aplay that was already written,” shesays.

Walsh selected a piece by JamesSynge, a playwright from the area.She stayed on the island to directthe show and, within three weeks,it opened to a sold-out house.“Everyone on the island came out,”she says.

The Bere Island Theatre Troupeput in an application for anothergrant. This time, they wanted tocome to Newfoundland.

The group arrives this week toperform July 3 and 4 at the com-munity arts centre in Cuslett.

“They’re all coming over,”Walsh says, delighted. “They’renot professional actors, they’reteachers and fishermen and con-

struction workers — just peoplewho really wanted to act. It’s thefirst Irish theatre troupe in Placen-tia Bay, maybe the first to come toNewfoundland.”

Just as the Irish troupe will findthe Cape Shore Irish connectionfascinating, the actors on the CapeShore will similarly appreciate the

opportunity to mingle with thosewho share their heritage.

The local Tramore TheatreTroupe will also be performing aplay by Synge this summer, inaddition to a Walsh-penned piece.

“I wanted to introduce Irish play-wrights to the shore too — Ithought the Irish plays would fit

really well into the speech of thelocal people. The speech of thearea, as folklorists have said, theycannot not get over how much thespeech sounds like rural Ireland inthe 1700-1800s. You can still hearit in peoples’ speech.”

Although the language Syngeuses isn’t instantly familiar — it’sbased on how Irish would speakEnglish — Walsh says, after thefirst reading, the actors said thewords came naturally.

Besides a busy season of theatreon the shore, cultivating her con-nections to Ireland, and working onseveral pieces of writing, Walsh iscontinuing her study of the shore.

“I feel like the archival gatheringand research is far from completeon the Cape Shore. I keep at it, andI’d like to have the time to do moreof it,” Walsh says.

“What drove me over to Irelandin the first place wasn’t so muchthe playwriting I do as much as myown fiction and poetry; it justbranched out into this. I think thislink with Ireland is very strong.”

The Sunday Independent, June 27, 2004 LIFE & TIMES

Cuslett connectionIrish theatre troupe to visit the Cape Shore this week, thanks to Agnes Walsh

Story of a houseThe cast of Salvage: Story of a House, by Michael Crummey, when it opened last fall. Beginning July 1, the Artistic Fraud of New-foundland production will begin its summer-long remount, Thursday and Friday evenings, 8 p.m., at Commissariat House on King’sBridge Road in . The show includes selected pieces from Crummey’s Arguments With Gravity, Hard Light, and Salvage. Some of thecast members have changed for this summer: Jennifer Adams, Mary Lynn Bernard, Dick Buehler, Neil Butler, Michael Chiasson,Robert Chafe, Steve Cochrane, Bryan Hennessey, Joel Hynes, Leah Lewis, Steve O’Connell, Sean Panting, Berni Stapleton and Sher-ry White are scheduled to perform. Call (709) 739-5091 for reservations.

Submitted photo

A scene from J.M. Synge’s The Tinker’s Wedding, being performed nextweekend in Cuslett on the Cape Shore of Placentia Bay.

LIFE & TIMES The Sunday Independent, June 27, 2004

Super mom hits the snoozeNo one can ever accuse me

of being a morning per-son. I certainly don’t jump

out of bed and bid the day acheery “hello.” No, I’m definitelya hit-the-snooze-button-several-times kind of gal.

I make no apologies for the factthat I prefer the quiet of late nightto the tranquility of early morning,which probably accounts for howand why my mind was able totrick me that one morning a fewyears back.

The night before ended like somany of my mid-winter nights,writing e-mails into the wee hoursof the morning, making a list of allthe things I’d like to get to the nextday — knowing many of themwould probably go undone — andtaking the time to appreciate thesound of the telephone not ring-ing.

Like most moms I know, sleepis never far away once I hit the pil-low. Always as I drift off I thinkabout the next morning’s routine:The alarm sounds; I hit the snoozebutton. (10 more glorious min-utes.) The alarm sounds again; Ihit the snooze button again.

(Another 10 minutes, but not sosound.) The alarm sounds a thirdtime. Just in time for the morningschool report.

Listening to the morning schoolreport is a must any day but duringthe winter it’s critical.

“There’s a blizzard today. Allschools and most businesses areclosed.”

Wow, I hadn’t even heard thatwe were expecting a storm. Typi-

cally, I never seem to have a han-dle on the weather or my groceryshopping. Oh well, only one realoption, roll over and continue tosleep. I’ve learned to never arguewith the school report.

Another hour goes by and myson creeps into the room. “Mom,are you getting up? We’ll be latefor school.”

“There’s a snow storm andschool is cancelled,” I explain.“You go back to bed and we’llcheck the news again later, OK?”

What a welcome relief, a coupleextra hours of sleep never goastray.

Finally, time to face the day. Itake a quick peek outside. Strange,it doesn’t seem to be stormy, musthave died down.

Oh well, super moms who havean unexpected day off welcomethe opportunity to feed their chil-dren breakfast. Considering wehad the time bacon and eggs seemthe best choice. Why, this is atreat, a leisurely breakfast in themiddle of the week. I can onlyimagine what a whole bunch ofdays like this would be like. Let’sjust enjoy this one for a moment,

but only for a moment before thedarn telephone rings.

That’s strange, it’s the office.Who would be calling from thereon this blustery morning? “Areyou OK?” they ask.

“Sure, I’m OK, why wouldn’t Ibe OK?”

“You didn’t show up for workand you didn’t call,” they say.

Well, considering there’s a snowstorm, why was that so unusual?

No snow storm? No schoolsclosed? All businesses are open.No way. I listened to this morn-ing’s school report.

The children are hearing myconversation. No one is quite surewhat is going on, least of all me.I’m hearing the Twilight Zonetheme music in the backgroundand wonder if life hasn’t caught upwith me in a big way. Anothermore careful check outside con-firmed the obvious — there wasno snow storm.

So, what really happened? I canonly offer a couple of possibilities.I forgot to set the alarm and mymind went through my morningroutine without me. I think that’sonly fair, considering how many

mornings I go through my morn-ing routine without me. Maybe Idid set my alarm and turned it offinstead of hitting the snooze,allowing a runaway dream to takeover.

My children remind me oftenabout that very strange morning.They’re not shy about telling theirfriends about how they got to pipoff school because mom dreamedthere was a snow storm. Me, I justsmile at how my mind or maybebody got the better of me. Andmany mornings now when I hitthe snooze button I wonderwhether it be 10 more gloriousminutes or a morning of leisure?

Snow in July isn’t out of thequestion. At least I’m sure I canmake myself believe that at 7 a.m.on any given weekday morning.

[email protected]

I’se The Girl by Deborah Bourden

Cooper’s CrissCross is typical search-a-word puzzle except you must first decipher the word list based on the clues provided before searching.All of the clues will have a Newfoundland and Labrador flavour. Good luck!The word list and Answer grid can be found on page 26.

Created for The Sunday Independent by John Andrews

THIS WEEK’S THEME:

MEET THE CANDIDATES

Bonavista—Exploits

Rex ______________

————— Simms

————— McLean

Ed “ ————” White

———— Lannon

Labrador

Merrill _____________

———— O'Brien

Sean ______________

———— Martino

Ern ___________

St. John's North

Norman E. _________

————— Noel

Janine _____________

————— Vokey

So, what really

happened? I can only

offer a couple of

possibilities. I forgot

to set the alarm and

my mind went

through my

morning routine

without me.

June 27, 2004


SPORTS

Behind the benchSt. John’s native Brad Peddle begins coaching career in Maritime Junior A Hockey League

By Darcy MacRaeFor The Sunday Independent

Anew chapter is about tounfold in Brad Peddle’shockey story.

The St. John’s native has madea name for himself in both theamateur and professional ranksas a smooth, two-way defence-man since leaving home to playthe sport at the age of 18.

Twelve years later, Peddle ishanging up his equipment to jointhe coaching ranks. He will serveas head coach of the AntigonishBulldogs of the Maritime JuniorA Hockey League next season,his first tour of duty as a full-timebench boss.

“I’m excited about facing anew challenge,” Peddle told TheSunday Independent in an inter-view from Nova Scotia. “Being afirst-time head coach is going toprovide me with tests that Ihaven’t had before.”

Stepping behind the Bulldogs’bench will be a homecoming ofsorts for Peddle, considering hespent four years in Antigonish asa member of the St. FrancisXavier X-Men hockey team from1995 to 1999. Returning to thetown in which he spent his col-lege years is another reason Ped-dle is pleased to be joining theBulldogs.

“It’s like a second home tome,” he says. “I developed a lotof good relationships during myfour years there and I’m excitedabout getting involved with thosepeople again.”

Peddle’s history with the townand its university were lookedupon favourably by the Bulldogswhen he applied for the headcoaching position, according tothe team’s general manager,Danny Berry.

“The people here are prettyexcited that he’s returning. Theyremember the type of player andperson Brad was when he went toschool here,” says Berry. “Havingwon the Dr. Randy Gregg Awardfrom the CIAU (for combiningacademics with communityinvolvement) and twice beingnamed an academic all-Canadian,Brad is an excellent role model.”

Upon graduating from St. F.X.in 1999, Peddle embarked on apro career that took him to thesouthern United States, England,Austria and Germany. His manystops, which also included a stinton the Canadian national team

during the 1997-98 season, haveleft Peddle with a great deal ofhockey knowledge.

“My experiences playing fordifferent coaches at all kinds oflevels will definitely be an asset,”says Peddle. “Playing in NorthAmerica and Europe exposed meto different styles of hockey. Bycombining them, I think it willmake me a better coach.”

At 30, Peddle realizes he stillhas a lot of hockey left in himshould he choose to continueplaying professionally. However,he says the decision to join thecoaching ranks at this point in hislife had a lot to do with timingand the desire to start a newcareer.

“I thought taking a head coach-ing job at a young age was a greatopportunity. Had I played anoth-er year or two, I might have hadto take an assistant coaching jobsomewhere,” he says. “I want togo up the ladder. Hopefullyeverything goes well at the juniorlevel and I’ll be able to move upto university, major junior or pro-fessional hockey.”

The Bulldogs finished last sea-son with a record of 20-25-3-4,good for third place in the Mar-itime League’s Maurice BentDivision. The team hopes toimprove upon those numbers thisyear, and with 12 players expect-ed to return, Peddle is confidenthis club will do so.

“With the players we havecoming back and the talent we’veadded, I think it’s shaping up tobe a pretty good season,” he says.

Among the newcomers whowill audition for roster spots, Ped-dle hopes to see some youngNewfoundland hockey players.Having grown up playing in theCeltics Minor Hockey Associa-tion, he’s aware of the challengesplayers from this province facewhen hoping to catch on withmainland junior teams.

“I know that it can be hard toget noticed, so I want to help kidswho want to further theircareers,” says Peddle. “I’ve onlybeen the Bulldogs’ head coachfor a couple of weeks and I’vealready had phone calls fromNewfoundland about players.I’ve had a lot of names thrown atme.”

As far as his general manager isconcerned, having a coach withthe reputation Peddle will attracta lot of players to the Antigonishorganization.

“When you sell your coachusing the attributes Brad brings tothe table, it makes recruiting aneasier job,” says Berry.

Peddle and his wife, Susan,

will continue living in Halifaxnext season, although the formerpro defenseman will spend muchof the winter in Antigonish. TheBulldogs begin training camp in

September and will open the2004-05 regular season in Octo-ber.

[email protected]

To be successful in any business, you need an edge, a real competitive advantageThe biggest competitive advantage is leverage. Leverage is a position of advantage that allows you to accomplish your purpose with less effort, greater results -- or both. Leverage is the best way to get the job done. Yet what do most of us do in our lives? Go to school. Get a degree. Createa resume and pass it around. The problem is, there aren't enough units of time that can be exchanged for units of money to create real wealth.Where's the leverage? The majority do even worse. You exchange even larger units of time for smaller units of money. And then you go back anddo it again year after year for a five percent raise (if you're lucky!). There is no way to attain wealth by trading time for money.

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Photo by Bill Vaughan

Brad Peddle when he played with the Jackson Bandits.

SPORTS The Sunday Independent, June 27, 2004

I tem: Twin River Downs inthe Goulds announces whipsare not allowed at the track.

Comment: After pressure fromthe public, operators of the horsetrack in the extreme west end ofSt. John’s banned whips fromraces. The rationale is that thepractice is one of abuse and cruel-ty to animals.

On one hand, the operators ofthe track, which is slated to openfor racing July 1, knew the deci-sion would cause some contro-versy. They want the track to be aplace where families can enjoy aday at the races. The whipping ofhorses may be sending the wrongmessage to kids that this type ofbehaviour towards animals isacceptable.

On the other hand, the ownersof the horses are only partaking inan activity and a tradition that hasbeen around for centuries. Whip-ping a horse for performance hasbeen used in horse racing longbefore my time and is a part of thesport. The whip is a rider’s tool toboth encourage performance andhelp train the animal through plainand simple discipline.

The operators of the track pro-vide an arena for the owners tocome together and race their hors-es. Here in St. John’s, there are noalternatives for the owners, sothey must live with the decisionsmade by track operators. But thenis it fair for someone to dictatehow to run a race or treat an ani-mal? Although the treatment of ananimal is in question, the banningof whips is a ridiculous request tothose who enjoy the sport.

Changing a small aspect of anysport can have a major impact onhow the game is played or the out-come of the sport. It is unfair tohave the owners train their horses

in a specific manner only to betold that the rules have changedand your horse may no longer becompetitive.

Item: Baseball is making apush into the international sceneas talks of a world cup of baseballswarm.

Comment: Major LeagueBaseball commissioner Bud Seligsays a world cup could be a reali-ty as early as next spring, depend-ing largely on the InternationalBaseball Association and its abil-ity to work out the details.

A world cup could really bringback excitement to baseball.Nothing brings out the best in asport like international play. Cana-da would be one of the 16 com-peting teams with a host of major

league players. Oakland Athleticspitcher Rich Harden says hewould jump at the chance tospend time with fellow CanadianEric Gagne in the bullpen. Such atournament would be a greatopportunity for the Canadianplayers to wear their country’scolours and represent their nation.

Although it sounds like a greatidea, there are a few major hurdlesthat must be overcome. Drug test-ing would follow Olympic stan-dards, meaning strict rules andregulations that wouldn’t affectthe player’s status in the majorleagues. (How will that work?)Risk of injury right before the sea-son would also play a part in anathlete’s decision to represent hiscountry. The nationalities of cer-

tain players who can play formore than one country also repre-sent a hurdle.

This could be a stab by the U.S.to show the world they have thebest baseball players. Represent-ed by a host of college players, theU.S. was beaten by Mexico at theOlympic qualifier and will notparticipate in this summer’sOlympics in Athens. With profes-sional players involved, the Statesshould have a dream team andnot have to worry about missingbig events such as the Olympics.

Item: The Euro 2004 tourna-

ment has entered the quarter-finalstage with some big upsets andsurprises.

Comment: After a disappoint-ing loss to France in the opener,England rebounded to make thequarter-final leg of the tourna-ment. Unfortunately, the lossmeant they had to play the hostteam, Portugal, in the quarters.The match was one for the ages asPortugal outlasted England inpenalty kicks. It was an upsettingoutcome for England and its fansafter coming so close to gettingover the quarter-final hurdle. Eng-land’s captain, David Beckham,missed his penalty kick for thesecond time in the tournament,helping seal the team’s fate. In ret-rospect, if he had hit his penaltykick against France, Englandwould have played a weakerGreece squad in the quarters.

Big surprises after the openinground included two powerhousesbeing eliminated. Both Germanyand Italy failed to make the quar-ter-final round, and as a resultboth coaches have already steppeddown from their duties. With theirentire country watching, you canimagine the enormous pressurethese clubs feel to succeed.

[email protected]

This Sporting Life by Shaun Drover

Bring back the whip

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including some news dealer collections; • Monitor unsold copies on a weekly basis;• Help develop new circulation promotion strategies.

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Requirements:University degree in business or marketing would be an asset;Proven experience in print advertising sales; Ability to work wellin a dynamic environment; Working knowledge of the MicrosoftOffice suite

If one of these opportunities seems suited to you, then please forwardyour resume in confidence to:

The Sunday Independent, P.O. Box 5891, Stn CSt. John’s, NL, A1C 5X4

We would like to thank all applicants however only those selected foran interview will be contacted. No telephone calls please.

WANTEDThe Sunday Independent is growing and requires friendly, ener-getic, self-starting individuals to fill several new positions withour company. These people are strong team players who thrivein a fast-paced, changing environment. They rise to a challengeand are eager to take on new responsibilities.

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EPA/FILIPPO MONTEFORTE

Greek players celebrate after Angelos Charisteas (hidden) scored to make it 1-0 during the Euro 2004 quarter finalmatch between France and Greece at the stadium Jose de Alvalade in Lisbon on Friday.

The Sunday Independent, June 27, 2004

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Events

JUNE 27• Family day at Memorial’s Botan-ical Gardens, St. John’s, 10 a.m.-5p.m., 737-8590.• Craft Council annual members’exhibit opens, Craft CouncilGallery, 2-4 p.m., showing untilSept. 3. Eve Roberts will open theexhibit and awards for excellencewill be presented, 753-2749.• Book launch for Trial: The loss ofconstitutional rights in education inNewfoundland and Labrador, byLarry Dohey, Basilica Museum, 2-4p.m.• Foster and Allen, St. John’s Arts& Culture Centre, 8 p.m., 729-3900.• Turks Gut Heritage ConservationInc., Canada and family day cele-brations, Marysvale HeritageHouse Grounds, Marysvale, contactBride Power, 528-4520.• Newfoundland and LabradorAssociation of Directors of Educa-tion (NLADE) provincial confer-ence and AGM, Terra Nova GolfResort, Port Blandford, 753-3432.Continues to June 30.

JUNE 28• Foster and Allen, Labrador WestArts & Culture Centre, 8 p.m., 944-5412• 100 Proof Comix Jam, Ship Pub,St. John’s, 8 p.m.

JUNE 29• Weekly healthy garden work-shop series, facilitated by Dr. WilfNicholls, 737-8590.• Rum, Romance and Rebellion,cultural and literary walking tour ofSt John’s, Tuesday to Thursday, 6:45p.m., LSPU Hall, Victoria St., 364-6845.• Railway Coastal Museum’s fam-ily fun day, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., 495Water St., 724-5929.

JUNE 30• Folk night at the Ship Pub, St.John’s with Colin Carrigan andDaniel Payne, 9 p.m.• Central Labrador Economic Devel-opment Board Inc., women’s sectormeeting, North Star building,Hamilton River road, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, noon-2 p.m., 896-8506.

JULY 1• Salvage: Story of a House, writtenby Michael Crummey, presented byArtistic Fraud of Newfoundland, 8p.m., Commissariat House, St.John’s, (709) 739-5091. • Another Newfoundland DramaCompany Inc. summer theatre fes-tival begins, continues until Aug.24, Grand Falls-Windsor, contactJohn Thompson, 489-0435, [email protected]

JULY 2• Sara and Kamila perform songsfrom Chasing Fireflies during theirhomecoming concert, Masonic Tem-ple, Cathedral Street, St. John’s.• Seniors’ Day at MUN BotanicalGarden, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 737-8590.

JULY 3• Bere Island Theatre Troupe fromWest Cork, Ireland presents J.M.Synge’s The Tinker’s Wedding,Cuslett Community Arts Centre,Cuslett, Cape Shore of PlacentiaBay, 8 p.m., (709) 337-2087.• Cape St. Mary’s PerformanceSeries presents storyteller MaryPower, accordionist Stan Picket,Uileann Piper Rob Brown and flutistMichelle Brophy, 7:30 p.m., Inter-pretation Centre, Cape St. Mary’s.• Manuels River Natural HeritageSociety Manuels river watch yourbobber race, Manuels, ConceptionBay South, 834-2099.

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