2005-04-10

Government has 25 proposals from parties inter-ested in developing the lower Churchill, butsome contend the province should develop the

hydro-electric project itself. Experts say the provincecould reap maximum benefits going it alone, but otherswarn the potential windfall also carries financial risk.

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro would be themost likely choice to take the lead, but neither PremierDanny Williams nor Hydro officials will say if theCrown corporation has any interest in developing theproject. The Ontario-Quebec-SNC Lavalin consortiumhas been the only group to go public with its interest.

Direct capital costs for developing the project andtransmitting power from Muskrat Falls and Gull Islandis estimated at $4.8 billion.

The Gull Island project is expected to take about sixyears to build, and will provide 2,000 megawatts ofavailable power. Muskrat Falls, expected to take justunder five years to construct, will generate 824megawatts.

Because of the cost, and that it takes years to see areturn on the initial investment, Alex Faseruk, a profes-sor of business at Memorial University in St. John’s,says the province financing the lower Churchill projectis not impossible, but it brings considerable risk.

“A bank has to protect the integrity of their depositorsand investors so something like a hydro-electric project,which takes a great many years, has a certain amount ofrisk and payback,” Faseruk tells The Independent.

‘My first battle’At age 70, former screen starlet Brigitte Bardot still fighting the seal hunt

The media hype surrounding thedeath of Pope John-Paul IIcould well be deflecting some

bad press for Canada overseas, particu-larly in Europe.

Brigitte Bardot, screen icon and ani-mal rights activist, says until last weekgory images of the 2005 seal hunt offthe coast of Labrador had been domi-nating the news.

In a telephone interview from herhome in the south of France, the reclu-sive, retired actress talks to TheIndependent about her passion for ani-mal welfare, and reflects back on herfirst high-profile protest visit to the icefloes off the Strait of Belle Isle in 1977.

“My first battle, my first fight, thefirst was very important,” she says. “It

was the first international affair.”Today, at 70 years old, Bardot con-

ducts most of her business fromFrance, through her foundation(Fondation Brigitte Bardot), which shebegan in 1986 to fight for the protec-tion of animals across the world.

As part of an international coalitionthat includes organizations such asGreenpeace and IFAW (InternationalFund for Animal Welfare), Bardot’sfoundation has joined with its sisterorganizations to call for a boycott on allCanadian seafood products in protestagainst the hunt. She is leading the callin Europe.

“In Europe we find this to be verydisgusting; really,” says Bardot.“People are scandalized, horrified,ready to vomit. So, yes, I called for aboycott. It has to be about more thanmoney, that this is an important issue in

By Jamie BakerThe Independent

Plant worker Warrick Randellhas been busy doing mainte-nance to ready the processing

plant in La Scie for the crab season,but recent quota cuts could mean hiswork has been for naught.

“If we lose the crab, we can’t makeit up … it’s scary for us,” saysRandell.

On April 7, the Department ofFisheries and Oceans unveiled its2005 crab management plan. Besidesa shorter fishing season — two tofour weeks shorter — the overall totalallowable catch(TAC) is 49,943tonnes for this year,compared to 53,740tonnes in 2004. Thehardest hit areastretched along thecoast from St.Anthony toMusgrave Harbour,which had its 2005quota cut to 12,680tonnes from 15,593tonnes. Labrador’ssouth coast was alsoreduced to 1,425tonnes from 1,780tonnes.

The cuts were negligible in otherareas.

La Scie is in an area that will seeone of the largest cuts. The recentquota cuts are just the latest blow tohit the 1,240 plant workers at the ninefacilities in the region. The controver-

sial raw materials sharing programled crab fishermen to vote over-whelmingly to keep boats tied to thedock this season.

“It’s a no win situation for plantworkers,” Randell tells TheIndependent. “Crab is usually aboutsix weeks work for us, but this year,with the cut, I’d say we’ll be down tofour or five weeks. A week or twomay not seem like a lot, but it’s a bigloss for us. It will affect us a lot herein La Scie.”

This year, government grantedanother crab processing licence to St.Anthony Seafoods, whose stapleproduct has always been shrimp.

General manag-er Carolyn Davisdoesn’t knowexactly the effectthe cuts will haveon her operation,but she says thequota cuts —although neces-sary given thestate of the stock— will have animpact on the 150seasonal workersemployed at thefacility.

“It is going tobe tough, but we were prepared for aquota reduction, so we’ve been look-ing at other ways to help the work-ers,” Davis says. “I wasn’t surprisedwith the (crab quota reduction)because the stocks are said to be in

‘A big loss’Plant workers fear impact of quota cuts and fishermen’s pledge to keep boats tied up

QUOTE OF THE WEEK“People who do not understand each other …are communicatingthrough prayer and musicand everything — it’s justfascinating.”

— Sarah Foley, a St. John’s native visiting Vatican City

See “Princess,” page 13 See “A chance,” page 2

See “Taking into account,” page 2Brad Crann of the Conception Bay North CeeBee Northstars and Mark Robinson of the Deer Lake Red Wings battle for the puck during second period Herder Memorialaction at Mile One. The CeeBees won the game 6-4. Paul Daly/The Independent

VOL. 3 ISSUE 7 — ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR — SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 10-16, 2005 — WWW.THEINDEPENDENT.CA — $1.00 (INCLUDING HST)

OPINION PAGE 9 AND 19John Crosbie on Paul Martin’s nerve;Siobhan Coady fights an epidemic

FILM SCORE 15Tim Conway spends sometime in the alleys of Sin City

Power billExperts debate whether provinceshould go it alone on lower Churchill

Paper Trail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

BUSINESS 21The delicious story ofthe best legs in town

IN CAMERA 16Behind the scenes of thegreen routine

CLARE-MARIEGOSSE

Brigitte Bardot Benaroch/SIPA

WORLD 9Gomery: the ban lifts,the plot thickens

CHASING THE HERDER

JAMIEBAKER

A week or two may not seem like a lot,

but it’s a big loss forus. It will affect us a lot here in La Scie.”

Warrick Randell

desperate condition and there’s someresource management that needs to

take place.” Provincial Fisheries Minister

Trevor Taylor says the pain of the cutsin certain regions will be shared

across the province’s overall catch asa result of the new raw materials shar-ing system.

“The RMS system has no negativeimpact on them relative to the quotareduction — it doesn’t exacerbate thesituation,” Taylor says. “It doesn’tnecessarily improve the situation, butit doesn’t make the situation anyworse.”

Taylor acknowledged the short-term negative impact the cuts willhave on plant workers, especiallythose in Labrador.

“In the longer term, I think it’s theironly hope to maintain a crab fisheryup there ... if not, we can probablyhave a one-year fishery up in Lab-rador and nothing beyond that.

“By implementing the measuresthat have been announced, I think itgives Labrador a chance at a longerterm future in crab.”

DFO’s management plan also callsfor a shorter season to combat thesoft-shell mortality issue.

Randell worries the changes makefor a small window of opportunity toget good quality crab. While he sayshe understands the fishermen’s con-cerns about the plan, as a plant work-er, his biggest concern is getting thematerial to process before time runsout.

“Once we pass May month, we startto get into soft shell — after that,nobody’s going at it and they’re goingto close it down anyway,” he says. “Ifwe’re behind starting the year — nodoubt the fishermen got a reason towhat they’re saying, I’m not disputingthat — for us to lose May month,we’ll be in for trouble.”

— with files from Jeff Ducharme

“It’s not just like walking into a bankto get a car or house.”

Although Ontario looks like a guar-anteed customer for the power, andpossibly the eastern seaboard of theUnited States, Faseruk says having abuyer is only part of the equation. Hesays the lower Churchill, in particular,still faces numerous hurdles, includingenvironmental issues, fluctuating elec-tricity prices, and even concerns sur-rounding aboriginal land claims.

“There’s a lot to take into accountand these are things people in thefinancing business worry about.”

Faseruk says while Newfoundlandand Labrador Hydro could potentiallyfind ways to finance the project, having

a joint proposal — using clients andtheir reputation as leverage with finan-ciers - would be more beneficial interms of acquiring the necessary capi-tal.

“It’s a lot easier if you have a Quebecand/or an Ontario on-stream becausethen you’d have three potential entitieson the hook. That way, other corpora-tions will be jointly liable,” saysFaseruk.

“If we get the notion we have to goahead and do it ourselves, then thatcould actually be to our detriment.”

Engineer Tom Kierans is an ardentsupporter of building a fixed linkbetween the island and Labrador, andone of the key parts of his project pro-posal is the transfer of power, by wayof the fixed link, from Labrador to the

island.When it comes to actually financing

the project, he has a different idea —sell Newfoundland and LabradorHydro’s assets (Holyrood, BayD’Espoir, and the province’s share ofthe upper Churchill) to a provinciallyregulated private investor’s group andlet that entity assume all the risk fordeveloping the lower Churchill.

The province, he says, could becomethe regulatory body and take proceedsfrom the sale of assets — which he fig-ures would amount to about $2 billion— and put it on the provincial debt.

“This is not the best way to do it, it’sthe only way to do it,” Kierans says. “Ihave talked with senior people whowould be involved in such an investorgroup and they’d love to do it – that’sthe kind of risk they’re taking all overthe country. When you buy BayD’Espoir, Holyrood and the upperChurchill, you’re not buying pigs in apoke, you’re buying productive busi-nesses.

“This investor group can go to thebank and borrow the money.”

Opposition Liberal leader RogerGrimes was on the front line the lasttime the province tried to get a lowerChurchill project off the ground in2002. He agrees funding is the biggeststumbling block affecting theprovince’s ability to develop such ahuge project.

The only way the province coulddevelop the project on its own, he says,is with a guaranteed, long-term con-tract from a power purchaser.

Grimes says many purchasers arereluctant to sign on for 30 or 40 yearcontracts.

“Any banking institution will lendyou the money provided you have along enough contract for the sale of thepower to pay off the mortgage,”Grimes says. “Nobody wants to tie intoa sales contract for any more than threeyears or five years, and that’s notenough to finance the project, so as aresult, you have to get other finan-

ciers.”During the 2002 negotiations,

Grimes says the province had a long-term customer lined up to buy power,Quebec, and a financier, Hydro-Quebec. The reason Hydro-Quebecwas lined up to bankroll the project,Grimes says, is because the companycould give a better lending rate thanany of the banks.

Dealing with Quebec has alwaysbeen a contentious issue in the provincebecause of the upper Churchill deal thathas seen Hydro Quebec net $23.8 bil-lion since 1972. The province has made$680 million.

“The basic principles we were tryingto accomplish – and we almost did –was for the project to be owned 100 percent by the province. Any and all prof-its from the proceeds of sales of powerwould accrue to Newfoundland andLabrador,” says Grimes.

“All you needed was a customer,which we had – it just happened to beQuebec.”

2 • INDEPENDENTNEWS APRIL 10, 2005

From page 1

Exclusively at

Main Floor, Terrace on the Square, Churchill Square.Store Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00am to 5:30pm

Phone: 754-9497 www.diamonddesign.com

Petro-Canada is proud to support the development of Petro-Canada Hall, a new rehearsal and

performance facility at Memorial University’s School of Music. Combining arts and education

is more than good business – it’s music to our ears.

Part of your community.

stories from here

www.petro-canada.ca

stories from here

Provincial Fisheries Minister Trevor Taylor. Paul Daly/The Independent

‘A chance at a longer term future in crab’

From page 1

‘There’s a lot to take into account’

Charles Bungay saw somegarbage bags bobbing in thewaters of Fortune Bay, and fig-

ured it was the cargo of a smuggler run-ning from the authorities. He and afriend raced their 19-foot boat towardsthe floating debris.

Everything changed when thegarbage reared out of the water andlooked their way.

“I almost turned the boat bottom uptrying to get awayfrom it,” Bungaytells The Indepen-dent about the 1997encounter.

The beast with acamel-like headmade no noise.

“We were goingaway the secondtime he looked, buthe dove the sameway we were steam-ing. We thought hewas coming afterus.”

Dr. Jon Lien isnot surprised bysuch reports. Head of the WhaleResearch Group, Lien says “usually, allthe calls for anything weird” come tohis desk.

“Your imagination, and I think this istrue of all perception, we sort of fill inthe detail whether we’re looking at atree or a cloud or whatever,” says Lien.

The bays and coves that dot theisland portion of the province have

always echoed with tales of sea mon-sters. Fishermen tell stories of giantbeasts wrapping squirming tentaclesaround their ships, attempting to dragthem to a watery grave — or makethem a quick meal.

In the 1930s, a Norwegian tankerwas said to be regularly attacked by asea creature because it resembled awhale and a possible meal.

In Bungay’s case, some suggest heand his friend saw a giant squid.

“I knows it wasn’t a giant squid and Iknows it wasn’t a shark and I knows itwasn’t a seal,” says Bungay. “I’ve seenall this before. I mean I’ve never seen a

giant squid, onlypictures of it, but Iknows that wasn’tno giant squid.”

But the giantsquid could easilybe mistaken for asea monster. Thecreatures reachnightmarish pro-portions — 60 ft.long with eightarms, two tentacles,eyes the size of vol-leyballs and mas-sive parrot-likebeaks. They canweigh in at as much

as a tonne. Believed to dwell in depthsof 700 to 3,000 feet, a giant squid hasnever been seen alive in its habitat.

In 1997 and 1999, two underwaterexpeditions were launched to seek theelusive giant squid in the deep watersoff New Zealand (scientists believe thedeep canyons there are the creatures’breeding grounds), but the oceandepths yielded only frustration.

Earl Dawe of the Department ofFisheries and Oceans in St. John’s saysthe first real evidence of the existenceof a giant squid was in 1873 when oneattacked a minister and a young boy ina dory near Bell Island.

“The little boy hacked the arm off ofthe giant squid and this became proofof its existence,” says Dawe.

The piece of arm was sent to theBritish Museum of Natural Historywhere, says Dawe, it probably stillresides today. He says a scientific paperwritten on the find is “why it was thenvalidated as a species.”

In December 2004, a male andfemale were found within weeks ofeach other.

Bob Richard brought the 20-footlong creature home from Colliers in theback of his Honda hatchback.

For the natural resources instructor atAcademy Canada in St. John’s, it was a

bit of a coup. Richard was an hour latefor class that Monday after travelling toColliers. He walked into the principal’soffice and asked him if he’d heard ofthe giant squid.

“It’s in the back of my car,” Richardnonchalantly told his boss.

Dawe says approximately 65 speci-mens have been found here — one-fifthof all the giant squid ever found.

“It’s an impressive concentration ofknown records,” says Dawe.

Dawe and his colleagues believewarmer water draws the giant squid upthe Continental Shelf and to the island.

The Colliers squid, after it was dis-sected, eventually ended up in a freezerat the Department of Fisheries andOceans in St. John’s. The second spec-imen, found near Triton, is also in DFOfreezers.

“It was certainly a thrill because Iknew how rare these animals are and

the opportunity of seeing one in mylifetime I knew, an actual fresh speci-men, was unlikely at best,” saysRichard.

Richard, who took biology courses atMemorial University in St. John’s fromthe late Fred Aldrich (a world expert ingiant squid at the time), understands theintrigue of the species.

“Certainly the monster and the myth-ical aspect of it certainly has to do withits size, it’s pretty intimidating,” hesays.

“And to have reports of it attackingboats, well again, it’s going to strikefear in the heart of every man.”

At the Memorial Sciencefare in1990, Aldrich spoke about the uncer-tainty surrounding the giant squid: “It isof such that Homeric duels are made.As Hamlet said, there are more thingsin heaven and earth, Horatio, than aredreamt of in your philosophy.”

APRIL 10, 2005 INDEPENDENTNEWS • 3

Setting their sights elsewhereNurses struggle to find full-time permanent nursing positions; graduates heading overseas for jobs

By Clare-Marie GosseThe Independent

The approximately 150 nursing students grad-uating across Newfoundland and Labradorthis month have more reasons to set their

sights on work outside the province than everbefore.

Not only is a starting nurse’s salary here lowerthan anywhere else in Canada, the health boards —St. John’s in particular — are offering few, if any,full-time, permanent positions.

Out of the 75 to 80 current vacancies at theHealth Care Corporation of St. John’s, only 10 arenot casual (on-call) positions. Those 10 are eitherfull-time temporary positions or part-time perma-nent.

“We’re certainly hearing this year that the num-bers of permanent full-time positions are scarce,”Debbie Forward, president of Newfoundland andLabrador Nurses Union, tells The Independent.

Forward says without a permanent job, necessi-ties such as benefits and even the ability to secure abank loan become a challenge.

Faced with sizeable student loans and a need forthe financial independence that comes with a regu-lar salary, many nursing graduates are turningtowards health care institutions in the U.S. for work.

‘LOVE TO STAY HOME’Melissa, who asked to have her last name with-

held to avoid reprisals, is a 23-year-old graduatefrom the Centre for Nursing Studies in St. John’s.She says she plans to head to a position inCalifornia in September after she lands a temporarynursing job for the summer.

“I kind of knew for the last while that there was-n’t a whole lot here,” she says. “I would love to stayhome and be able to work, but when you’ve got astudent loan and those things, it’s not really feasi-

ble.”Melissa says Canadian nursing graduates are

“highly wanted” in the U.S., a fact reflected by theAmericans’ aggressive recruitment efforts in theprovince, as well as large salaries and other perks.

Many U.S. health institutions provide relocationpackages of as high as $15,000 and some offer topay student loans and give additional specializedtraining, which is hard to get in Canada as a newgraduate. In addition, salaries are double those in

Newfoundland and Labrador and hours are oftenflexible.

Melissa says despite the “amazing” differences insalary between the province and the U.S., the mainattraction California holds for her and her friends isthe chance to receive specialized ICU (intensivecare unit) training on the job.

She figures as many as 50 per cent of this year’sgraduates will leave to work outside the province.

Stephen Dodge, vice-president of human

resources and corporate services at the Health CareCorporation of St. John’s, says although casualposts are hard to fill, the board isn’t currently in aposition to offer fulltime permanent jobs. He saysthis is partly due to a low turnover rate, as well asfinancial constraints.

“Right now we are in a position that we are com-fortable with the positions we have,” says Dodge.“We can recruit the number of nurses we need.”

Health officials are predicting that the provincewill face a serious nursing shortage due to an agingpopulation and retirements.

“With respect to any forecast,” he says, “it is aforecast and it is something that we certainly pay alot of attention to, but our ability just to over-hire isnot there.”

Although the numbers of new nursing studentsentering the province’s education system are stillhealthy, Forward expresses concern about thoseleaving.

‘DEPRESSING AND DISAPPOINTING’“Many of our graduates are young and unat-

tached,” the union leader says, “and when they trav-el, they meet partners and they quickly become partof communities elsewhere. So I don’t think we caninvest a lot of our hopes that when they leave,they’ll come back.”

Melissa says for herself and many of her friendsand colleagues, the local employment options are“upsetting.

“You think nursing is a profession where younever really have to worry about getting a job … it’skind of depressing and disappointing,” saysMelissa.

“I eventually want to come home and I’m won-dering how soon it’s going to have to be before I’mable to get home and get that fulltime, you know,permanent job; stability, instead of sitting by thephone and waiting for a call.”

‘Strike fear in the heartof every man’The elusive giant squid is what nightmares andlegend are made of — and it was first found here

“I knew how rare theseanimals are and the

opportunity of seeingone in my lifetime I knew, an actual

fresh specimen, was unlikely at best.”

Bob Richard

A few of this year’s graduates from the Centre for Nursing Studies, left-right: Leanne Gosse, Sara Evans, Amanda Barrett, KellySpurrell, Mary Anne Phillips, Kelly King, Rebecca Ryan, Jo-Anne Barker and Stephanie Bursey. Paul Daly/The Independent

JEFFDUCHARME

Talks between the 52 striking Labatt’s workers in St. John’s (represented by NAPE), and the company broke off late Friday with the two sidesunable to reach any tentative agreement. NAPE spokeswoman Judy Snow says the union and the employees would meet April 9 to discuss,“where we are going from here.” Rhonda Hayward/The Independent


AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR

P.O. Box 5891, Stn.C, St. John’s,Newfoundland & Labrador, A1C 5X4

Ph: 709-726-4639 • Fax: 709-726-8499Website: www.theindependent.ca

GENERAL MANAGER John [email protected]

OPERATIONS CONSULTANT Wilson [email protected]

MANAGER, SALES & MARKETING Andrew [email protected]

PRODUCTION MANAGER John [email protected]

[email protected] • [email protected] • [email protected]

By Alisha MorrisseyThe Independent

After months of hedging, offi-cials at MCP offices in St.John’s have confirmed

Newfoundlanders and Labradorianswill be re-registering for a differentMCP card this year.

Tony Maher, executive director ofMCP (Medical Care Plan), says he’swaiting for the provincial TreasuryBoard to give the go-ahead. Once hegets the green light, residents canthen begin to register for the newcards.

In his 2003 auditor general’s report,John Noseworthy recommendedrevamping the MCP program — hun-dreds of thousands of dollars in hospi-tal billings couldn’t be accounted for.

In 2004, the province earmarked$900,000 to revamp the cards and reinin the system.

Maher says those earmarked fundsare burning a hole in his department’spocket and he’d like to see the pro-gram implemented.

“The funding for the MCP re-regis-tration is carried forward to this fiscalyear. It’s there, we have the money toproceed with the project and weintend to do it,” he says.

When that process begins is anoth-er question.

“I simply don’t know,” Maher says.“It’s approved to proceed.

“My problem with a date is I don’thave total control over the project. Iam going to carry out the project, butthey (Treasury Board) have to put thegreen light on it.”

SCATHING REVIEWA supplier for the new cards will be

found through a tendering process.Noseworthy wrote a scathing

review of the MCP program in 2003.He found that $4.6 million was paid inout-of-province medical bills —including $320,000 to terminated orinvalid cards.

Under reciprocal billing arrange-ments, the Health Department in thisprovince is required to pay for themedical services of Newfoundlandersand Labradorians requiring care else-where in Canada.

Noseworthy says the losses for2004 were likely along the same lines,but he won’t review his findings againuntil 2005’s audit.

In February, Noseworthy told TheIndependent he has no influence over

MHAs or the policy that’s made oncehis report is released. In other words,he can’t force government’s hand.

In his 2003 report, he found thereare more than 81,000 MCP cards thanresidents in the province.

Some of the MCP cards in questionmay be attributed to deceased card-holders whose deaths haven’t beenreported to the Health Department, aswell as residents who have left theprovince.

It’s also possible that medical serv-ices are being purchased by ineligiblebeneficiaries.

Approximately 50,000 of the morethan 600,000 cards in circulationhaven’t been used to bill a service inthe past 10 years.

Recommendations in both the audi-tor general’s report and a cost-benefitanalysis of re-registering, completedin December, suggested MCP cardsshould have expiry dates, and the fullname and birth date of the card hold-er, as well as other unique identifiers.

NO PHOTO“The most important data field will

be the expiry date — that’s the gist ofit,” says Maher of the new cards. “Thebirth date won’t be there — the name,the MCP number, the effective date,the expiry date (will be).”

The MCP office has flirted with theidea of a photo ID, but Maher says thecost is too high.

MCP is currently working on agraphic for the card, but its finaldesign hasn’t been decided yet.

“That is a process that I’m not toosure how long it will take,” he says.

“We’ve made some suggestions andTreasury Board has made some sug-gestions, but we have not finalized thegraphics.

“We’ve got the fields figured out,but the design — the look of the card— will it be red, will it be blue? Whattype of picture will it be? That’s beingworked on.”

In 2003, then-Health ministerElizabeth Marshall saidNewfoundland and Labrador spent$3,018 per person in health care thatyear — compared to $1,713 in 1995,or about $336 more per person thanthe average Canadian.

“I can tell you that the project is ago. I can tell you that the money isthere,” says Maher.

“I can tell you that we’re workingon the new card design … that’s basi-cally where we are right now.”

MCP cards stillbeing shuffledRe-registration will go this year, but launch date remains sketchy


Just like some Newfoundlanderscomplain over how they’re treatedby Ottawa, many Labradorians say

they’re treated just as badly by St.John’s.

Happy Valley-Goose Bay MayorLeo Abbass, for one, says Labradorisn’t being given the same considera-tion as the rest of the province when itcomes to funding commitments. Hesays people are getting tired of not get-ting their fair share of the provincialpurse.

During a recent cabinet visit toHappy Valley-Goose Bay, theprovince announced $56 million infunding for various Labrador initia-tives, but many within Labrador dis-missed much of that investment asbeing “old” announcements or federaldollars.

“Government has to listen to theirown words,” says Abbass of how theprovince complains about the raw dealit has received from Ottawa in the past.Labradorians, he says, feel the sameway about how the province treatsthem.

“We see the wealth of our naturalresources going elsewhere to providethe basic essentials we need to otherparts of this province – we feel we’rebeing cheated.

“Until they actually open their eyes,they’re not going to understand whatwe’re saying up here.”

Abbass says his community is“extremely disappointed” with theway some issues have played out. TheMealy Mountain auditorium project,which was deferred in the 2004 budg-et, wasn’t mentioned in the 2005 budg-et — a fact Abbass finds dishearteninggiven the throne speech was heavy onarts and culture.

“The budget ripped the heart out ofthe arts community here in central andcoastal Labrador … to not have thisissue addressed, it is demoralizing,”Abbass tells The Independent.

“An auditorium is for the youth —they need a facility to come togetherand share their ideas. These people arenow made to perform in hangars …it’s just not acceptable.”

The minister responsible forLabrador, Paul Shelley, recently toldThe Independent he has met with min-

isters in Ottawa to lobby federal dol-lars for the auditorium.

The idea of going to the feds doesn’timpress Abbass.

“That’s government saying ‘yes,there is a need for this, but we’ll getthe money somewhere else.’ I don’tbuy that.”

Another key project for the commu-nity is a long-term health care facility.The Paddon Home was originally builtto handle Level I occupants, but cur-rently handles patients needing 24-hour, Level III and IV care. The facili-ty and the staff, Abbass says, arepushed way beyond acceptable limits.He says the only other option familieshave is to send loved ones outside ofLabrador to receive care.

The facility did get $200,000 in therecent budget to begin planning anddeveloping conceptual drawings, butAbbass says that means little without acommitment to construct the facility.

“The Paddon Home was constructedfor seniors in good health that simplyneeded a place to stay,” says Abbass.“They’re in cramped quarters, and asfar as I’m concerned, we’ve strippedthem of any dignity they had.”

Abbass says he understands theprovince faces a tough financial situa-tion, but says all Labradorians want isequality in terms of available servicesand infrastructure.

“We’re not looking for any conven-iences here ... I guess they’ll keep call-ing us a bunch of whiners and criers,but we just want what we believeevery other citizen in this province hasat their disposal.”

Graham Letto is mayor of LabradorCity and the Conservative candidatefor the upcoming federal by-electionin Labrador. He says it really dependson what part of Labrador you’re inwhen it comes to the levels of discon-tentment with the provincial govern-ment.

“While some areas of Labrador arereceiving some good news from thisprovincial government, others arenot,” says Letto.

In Labrador West, he says many arepleased with some of government’sinitiatives, but as you get into centraland coastal Labrador – with issues likethe lack of an auditorium, kidney dial-ysis and long-term health care facilityin central Labrador, as well as snowclearing worries on the south coast —he says he’s been seeing more angercome to the surface.

“It is there, and I am aware of it asthe Conservative candidate — but I’mfighting a federal campaign, I’m notfighting the provincial government.You need the federal and provincialgovernment onside to get thingsaccomplished.”

One of the keys to improving therelationship, Letto says, is ensuringgovernment is more aware ofLabrador’s requirements.

“A lot of it is a lack of education andknowledge of the needs in this area,”he says. “We need to do a better job ofselling that to government and lookingat things from a total Labrador per-spective.

“It won’t happen overnight, buthopefully it will happen over time.”

ON THE LINE

Out in the coldLabradorians say province still treating them like second-class citizens

Inuksuk near Grand Lake, North West River. Jamie Baker/The Independent


SHIPPINGNEWS

Greenpeaceto challengetrawlersEnvironmental group taking to high seas afterfishing conference; Taylor welcomes move, sort of

By Jeff DucharmeThe Independent

T he Independent has learnedGreenpeace will take to thehigh seas after the federal

government’s international fishingconference here, in a bid to haltdragging and overfishing.

Provincial Fisheries MinisterTrevor Taylor says it might not be anentirely bad thing.

It’s high time environmentalgroups turn their sights away fromthe plight of the seals, Taylor says,and towards the destruction of thefish stocks on the Grand Banks.

“The bottom line is, it’s time theywake up to what the priorities are asit relates to ocean conservation,”Taylor tells The Independent.

Greenpeace has been invited tothe conference, entitled TheGovernance of High Seas Fisheriesand the UN Fish Agreement —Moving Words into Action, runningMay 1-5.

“The meeting is supposedly aboutmoving from words to action,” saysKaren Slack, who will represent theenvironmental organization at theconference.

“As (non-governmental organiza-tions), we have a key role to play inmaking sure that governments stoptalking and start acting.”

Slack would only say Greenpeacewill be taking to the high seas to bat-tle trawlers and overfishing not longafter the conference wraps up.

She wouldn’t give an exact loca-tion and wouldn’t confirm or denythe Grand Banks would be targeted.

However, she did confirm Zodiacswill be involved in the protest. In thepast, protesters have taken to thesmall boats in dramatic confronta-tions with ocean trawlers.

The Grand Banks should be abusy spot this spring. Paul Watson’sSea Shepherd Society plans to droptrawler traps — train rails made intoX-shapes — on the ocean bottom toshred nets.

Greenpeace is part of an environ-mental coalition pushing the UnitedNations for a moratorium on deep-sea trawling.

Taylor would only support the banin certain, sensitive areas.

“I’m not sure I’d particularly wantto see any environmental group run-

ning around on the Grand Banks inZodiacs, but Greenpeace is a power-ful organization,” says Taylor.

“If they want a cause that’s worth-while and just, then take up thecause of overfishing.”

After pressing the federal govern-ment, Greenpeace and five otherenvironmental groups will attend theconference. They won’t be allowedto take part in the roundtable meet-ing of 22 government ministers fromvarious fishing nations.

The Department of Fisheries andOceans wouldn’t release the list ofcountries attending.

DFO spokesman Phil Jenkinsdoes say the conference is the firststep in halting foreign overfishingoutside the 200-mile limit.

“Our hope out of the St. John’sconference is that this is going tolaunch a protest that leads tostronger governance and updatedhigh seas fisheries management,”says Jenkins.

But for groups such asGreenpeace, the voices protesting atsuch conferences aren’t loudenough.

“It’s not just a question of shout-ing from the rooftops about oceanbio-diversity,” says Slack.

Jenkins says the details are stillbeing worked out, but next month’sconference will include workshopson ecosystem-based considerationsand fisheries management; compli-ance and enforcement; decisionmaking processes of regional fish-eries management organizations;balancing fisheries capacity andfishing aspirations; and addressingnew areas and gaps.

“I think governance encompassesall the sort of administration and sortof compliance issues that have to dowith making sure that these stocksare not overfished,” says Jenkins.

“We just got $15 million of ongo-ing money (to battle overfishing) outof the federal budget, so it’s not justanother conference,” says Jenkins.

The money will allow theCanadian Coast Guard to increaseits at-sea days to 625 from 445, andhire an additional six fisheriesinspectors.

“Obviously there are some gaps incertain areas and we’d like to closethem up so that we can combat thisoverfishing.”

Keeping an eye on the comings and goings of the ships inSt. John’s harbour. Information provided by the coastguard traffic centre.

MONDAY, APRIL 4No report

TUESDAY, APRIL 5Vessels arrived: Maersk Chignecto, Canada, from WhiteRose.Vessels departed: Atlantic Eagle, Canada, to Terra Nova;Asl Sanderling, Canada, to Corner Brook; George R.Pearks, Canada, to Sea.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6Vessels arrived: Jim Kilabuk, Canada, from Halifax;Burin Sea, Canada, from Terra Nova; Maersk Norseman,Canada, from Hibernia.Vessels departed: Burin Sea; Canada, to Terra Nova.

THURSDAY, APRIL 7Vessels arrived: Gesmer 1, Canada, from Halifax.Vessels departed: Atlantic Kingfisher, Canada, to

Bull Arm.

FRIDAY, APRIL 8Vessels arrived: Cabot, Canada, from Montreal; AtlanticEagle, Canada, from Terra Nova; Maersk Placentia,Canada, from Bull Arm.Vessels departed: Maersk Norseman, Canada, toHibernia; Atlantic Eagle, Canada, to Hibernia.

Paul Daly/The Independent

‘The people who are left behind’

A simple legal document saves pain and grief when loved ones can’t make the final call

People in this province can avoidthe public battle that swirledaround Terri Schiavo by drawing

up a simple legal document.Under the Advanced Heath Care

Directives Act, Newfoundlanders andLabradorians can communicate healthcare wishes if they are incapacitated.

Schiavo’s husband fought to have hiswife’s feeding tube removed after aheart attack left her in a coma. Heclaimed that was her wish, though hehad nothing in writing. Her parentsfought a fierce battle to keep theirdaughter alive, but the courts upheld theposition of Schiavo’s husband. The 41-year-old died on April 1 after the feedingtube was removed.

The fight sent people across the worldin search of a living will.

While lawyers here say they haven’tbeen overwhelmed with inquiries, theyhave been fielding questions from thepublic since the Schiavo case explodedin the world’s media.

Mark Pike, a lawyer with the St.John’s firm Benson Myles, says he pre-pares about a dozen such documentsevery year.

“I always recommend them, advancehealth care directives, to my clients any-way – ever since the legislation cameinto force a few years ago,” says Pike.“Whenever I do one, I recommend themto my clients and they invariably takemy advice.”

He says such a directive would havebeen helpful in the Schiavo case as the“husband was pulling one way” and the

family “were pulling the other” way.“I think that the Schiavo case raised

this issue in the public’s eye and I sus-pect that people will be asking about itmore often than before,” Pike says.

An advanced health-care directivegives people options based on fourissues: how their remains will be used— including if they plan on donatingorgans or allowing their body to be usedfor scientific research; what sorts oftreatment they will or won’t allow ifthey are incapable to make a decision;resuscitation if they were near death;and where or how the individual is caredfor – be it in a personal care home, hos-pital or at home.

However, Pike says it’s often aboutwho will be left behind to make the deci-sion rather than how the client will beaffected by any treatments.

THE BURDEN“They’re concerned about their hus-

band or their wife, or their children whoare going to have to make this decision,”Pike says. “What the advanced health-care directive really does is relieves therelatives … of the burden of making thedecision without the help of the personwho is in this state.”

He says the most typical request isthat clients not be kept alive by artificialmeans, but that definition can covermany aspects of health care from antibi-otics to feeding tubes. He recommendsclients be specific in their wishes.

“It gives some help to the decisionmaker, basically mom doesn’t want tobe there on a machine when she’s braindead with the machine breathing for herand feeding her,” he says.

A lawyer isn’t needed to draw up anadvanced health-care directive and it

doesn’t need to be filed with courts orhospitals, making the numbers of peoplewho have such a document in placeimpossible to gauge.

Ken Hollett, a lawyer at the St. John’sfirm Duffy and Associates, says while adirective can help clients, they are oftenviewed as a burden to prepare becausepeople would rather not deal with death.

“It’s hard enough getting people to doa will sometimes,” says Hollett. “I thinkin our society we tend to avoid issues ofdeath when we can.”

He says it’s possible the Schiavo casehas made people think about suchissues.

“We had very little interest from thepublic until recently,” says Hollett. “AndI think the media reports have taken it alittle bit more to the forefront and I thinkpeople have taken a little bit more inter-est in it, but it’s still something peopleprefer not to think about.”

Hollett says his firm recommends apower of attorney, which allows theclient to include specific instructions toa person who will be responsible fortheir affairs.

“People probably should get the formand run through it with their lawyer, justso they have a clear idea what they areagreeing to.”

The Schiavo case, Pike says, wasblown out of proportion by Americanmedia – especially after politicians andthe United States Supreme Court gotinvolved.

“Terry Schiavo, to me, was remark-able only because the same thing is hap-pening everyday in Newfoundland andLabrador,” says Pike. “Those issuesaren’t new - it’s just that they wereseized on for political reasons in theStates.”

Mark Pike Paul Daly/The Independent

ALISHAMORRISSEY


OURVOICE

Toil and traditionWe wanted to get out on the

ice. Our plan was to send aphotographer, maybe a

reporter too, out on a sealing boat, tocapture the real story of the hunt —away from other media, protesters andcelebrities. We wanted to publish aphoto essay to show sealing exactly as itis: a difficult, dangerous job. A job,deserving of respect.

Animals would be killed, but thatwouldn’t have been the focus of thestory. It would have been about the peo-ple, the characters, the toil, the tradition.To show, as most Newfoundlanders andLabradorians know, that the seal hunt isnot a sport, not a laugh, not about skin-ning animals alive or crushing youngskulls.

It never was a likely proposition.Sealers have been burned by the mediafor three decades now, ever since PaulWatson first took to the ice and BrigitteBardot cuddled her first pup.

The hunters are less than eager tofacilitate further criticism. The starkvisuals — red blood, white ice, animals

with big brown eyes — don’t work inthe sealers’ favour, no matter how harda person would try to shoot pictures,and report, objectively. Animals beingkilled is never a pretty sight.

Our story idea wasn’t going to be aneasy sell to the harvesters (think of thedanger, the insurance concerns, theexploitation). And it became a whole lotless likely after the scene on the Gulf ofSt. Lawrence earlier this month.

According to reports, three helicop-ters full of media and protesters landedand unloaded on the ice near a sealingvessel. Shots were fired, there wasshouting, shoving, and at least one seal-er, brandishing a small gaff, cametowards some of the protesters.

Caught on film, the sealers werenailed again in the world press.

Unable to control the media, or 30years of sensationalism, those workingon the ice let their guard down about theonly thing they could control — theirown actions.

So, though we asked very nicely, theCanadian Sealers’ Association said no

— no more media trips, no way. The world’s media spotlight waxes

and wanes when it comes to the sealhunt. This year’s been a big one — per-haps brought on bythe perceived heftyseal quota handedto harvesters(319,500 in 2005).

Paul Watson’sback and Holly-wood’s fashionableoutrage has revvedup. Globe and Mailcolumnist MargaretWente, Newfound-land and Labrador’sfavourite sister, haschimed in with herannual attack: “Ourblack eye: most ofthe seal hunt propaganda is true,” shetitled a recent piece.

This year, the U.S. Humane Society iscalling for a ban on the import of allCanadian seafood — they banned sealimports years ago. The BBC has a mes-

sage board, with people from around theworld chiming in — and, wouldn’t youknow it, 90 per cent are vehementlyagainst the “brutal,” “unnecessary,”

“cruel” hunt. Somethreaten to never setfoot, or spend a dol-lar, in Canada again.

And sealers are,naturally — onceagain — hurt, frus-trated and angry.

Defensive, fieryNewfoundlanders andLabradorians, alwaysready to stick up forour rights, traditions,quotas.

Try to take thoseaway, try to say theo n c e - h o n o u r a b l e

work of hunting seals is “barbaric,” andincite the (photogenic) wrath of thosewho count on the seals for income. Thesealers’ reactions become the news, andthey become their own worst enemies,playing right into the hands and needs

of protesters and certain animal rightsgroups.

Maybe it’s too late now, 30 yearslater, to talk about taking the high roadand not giving protesters the visuals fortheir fundraising campaigns. There arealready enough bloody images outthere.

Can anything be done to ease theharsh scrutiny? Perhaps finding a mar-ket for more parts of the seal (the furand blubber are commodities, the meat,not so much), more inspections or regu-lations, faster deaths of older seals —and absolutely no skinning alive?

And how about finally, once and forall, sealers taking control of their ownactions. No running at protesters withgaffs, no firing intimidating shots in theair.

To prove to the world sealing is asnoble a profession as fishing, or farm-ing, those working in the field have toprove it, to act every bit the profession-al.

The media can only cover whatstands in front of its lens.

To a newspaper editor, there’snothing worse than holding astory, especially a good one. On

second thought, there is: holding astory only to see it broken by anothermedia.

Then, not only do you get beaten,but beaten with your writing handripped from your arm, red ink spurtingaround the newsroom, reporters (whocan’t stomach the sight of an editor’sblood) diving for cover.

Not having the story isn’t even sobad. At least then you avoid the frus-tration of not being able to run it.There’s always a story around any-way; this is Newfoundland andLabrador, with more colour and con-flict in any given day than an Irishwake.

And there will most certainly be oneof those soon — a political wake forthe Liberal Party of Canada, to be heldonce all the news is out.

But we, the media, can’t tell you allthe news just yet. We’re dying to, butwe can’t, because a court order sayswe can’t.

Recent testimony before the Gomeryinquiry was banned from publication.On Thursday, that ban was partiallylifted, and the public started to realizethe testimony is explosive, simply that,explosive — news that could turn theCanadian political system on its head.

Justice John Gomery, head of theinquiry looking into the federal spon-sorship program, had slapped a publi-cation ban on the testimony of threewitnesses: Jean Brault, president of thead agency Groupaction; Charles Guité,an officer of the Public WorksDepartment who worked on the spon-sorship program; and Paul Coffin,head of the ad agency CoffinCommunications.

Brault’s testimony is wicked. TheCanadian media can tell you it’swicked, but we can’t tell you all thedetails.

All the while, though, the mediacould report the name of a website inthe United States that published sup-posed details of the banned testimony.It’s just a matter of punching in theweb address and filling your boots.

Publication bans these days are as

effective as laws governing foreignoverfishing outside the 200-mile limit.On paper, and in practice, they’reutterly useless — a sham. Given thecomputer age, publication bans don’twork — not when it comes to big-tick-et news.

Testimony before the Gomeryinquiry is considered so devastatingthat political parties are scrambling toprepare for the possible collapse of theLiberal minority government and anelection call. But nobody wants toappear too eager for an election, forthey will surely be blamed for dissolv-ing the minority government.

Notice the use of the word appear— as in appear too eager. Behind thescenes is another, more sinister story.

There’s a theory making the roundsthat Bill C-43 — the same one thatincludes the new Atlantic Accord deal,that’s our $2.6 billion over eight years— may have been purposely loadedwith a Kyoto accord measure sure tobe opposed by the Tories as a way forthe federal Liberals to force their owndefeat.

In other words, the Grits may havebeen orchestrating their own demise inParliament so they can rush into anelection campaign now, before addi-

tional revelations spring from thesponsorship inquiry.

So, not only was the Atlantic Accordincluded in a bill that would have trou-ble making it through the Commons,but the intention may have been for thebill to send us back to the polls andsquare one in terms of a deal on off-shore oil revenues.

Remember that promise former pre-mier Roger Grimes made just prior tothe 2003 provincial election, that hewould compensate west coast chickenfarmers for the collapse of their indus-try if he was reelected?

Well, he wasn’t reelected and thepromise died with his government.The poor chicken farmers were out ofluck. The same could happen to thenew Accord deal. Scott Reid, PaulMartin’s right-hand man when itcomes to communication, said thisprovince would pay for the Accordhassle the prime minister had to put upwith.

He wasn’t kidding.The one thing in the Liberal’s favour

heading into an election is their com-petition.

“Who am I going to vote for —Stephen Harper?” is a common enoughquestion. While MPs such as LoyolaHearn and Norm Doyle, competentmen both, are popular enough on thehome front, Canadians overall seemsomewhat squeamish about the newConservative party.

They may have no choice, but tohold their noses and get past that.

If the testimony given before thesponsorship inquiry is on the mark, thefederal Liberal Party of Canada is rot-ten to the core. It will have to bedefeated for the good of democracy,for the good of Canada.

That leaves just one question: whatwould be best for Newfoundland andLabrador? The simple fact of the mat-ter is this place just can’t seem to getahead in Confederation.

For a newspaper editor, the onlything worse than not telling a story, isnot telling it like it is.

Ryan Cleary is managing editor ofThe Independent.

[email protected]

The story we can’t tell

All material in The Independent is copyrighted and the property of The Independent or the writers and photographers who produced the material. Any use or reproduction of this material without permission is

prohibited under the Canadian Copyright Act. • © 2005 The Independent • Canada Post Agreement # 40871083

RYAN CLEARYFightingNewfoundlander

If the testimony givenbefore the sponsorship

inquiry is on the mark, thefederal Liberal Party of

Canada is rotten to the core.It will have to be defeated

for the good of democracy,for the good of Canada.

YOURVOICELiberal government stands on guard — for itselfDear editor,

I’m writing regarding the responseof the prime minister and the Liberal

Party of Canada to explosive testi-mony of Jean Brault before JusticeGomery’s inquiry, some of which isstill under a publication ban.

On Monday, April 4, the LiberalParty of Canada, acting on its ownbehalf, not on behalf of Canadians asthe federal governing party, applied towin standing before the inquiry inorder to cross examine Brault, formerhead of Groupaction, on his testimony.The Liberals have also filed a com-plaint with the RCMP claiming theyare the victims of a fraud. If there wasa complaint to be made, why was itnot made last week, last month, or lastyear, if the Liberals indeed believethemselves — and not the Canadianpeople — to be the victims in this mat-ter? Can Brault really have revealedinformation previously unknown tothose involved with him in the spon-sorship program’s activities?

On Monday, Paul Martin told theHouse of Commons that the majorityof members of the Liberal Party ofCanada “... should not have to bear ...

the burden of the activities of a verysmall few who have colluded againstthe party.” This sorely conflicts withthe prime minister’s previous positionon accountability. In 1995, Martin wasa key member of the Liberal govern-ment when it succeeded in premature-ly shutting down Justice Morin’sinquiry into the activities of Canadiansoldiers on UN deployment inSomalia. This was done as high-levelcivilian witnesses were about to becalled to give evidence widelybelieved to be damaging to the Liberalgovernment and its activities.

By the Liberals’ own standard, thisis the time to ensure, beyond all doubt,that justice is done. Make it swift.Make it very public.

The prime minister himself hasacknowledged in the Commons thathis party now suffers the same fate ofpossessing a few “bad apples.” Why ishe now changing the standard ofaccountability? What exactly does theLiberal government and the LiberalParty of Canada stand for — if notthemselves?

Edward B. Ring, Halifax

AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR

P.O. Box 5891, Stn.C, St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, A1C 5X4Ph: 709-726-4639 • Fax: 709-726-8499

www.theindependent.ca • [email protected]

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

independent newspaper covering the news, issues and current affairs that affect the people of Newfoundland & Labrador.

PUBLISHER Brian DobbinMANAGING EDITOR Ryan ClearySENIOR EDITOR Stephanie PorterPICTURE EDITOR Paul Daly

The Independent welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be 300 words in length or less and include full name, mailing address and daytime contact numbers. Letters may be edited for length, content and legal considerations. Send your letters

in care of The Independent, P.O. Box 5891, Station C, St. John’s, NL, A1C 5X4 or e-mail us at [email protected]

‘All in this together’Dear editor,

Oh man (and woman), I’m boiling.The nerve of DFO. I can’t even accom-pany a friend, who has kept up his pro-fessional sealing licence, to the hunt.First Rick Bouzan, and now this.

Look, I’m a retired guy who justwants to do some of the activities thatmy grandparents did for a living. It’seven guaranteed in the Terms of Union.We all have the right to pursue a con-sumptive food fishery. DFO’s bureau-cratic rules and regulations are pre-venting me and many others fromdoing this.

Bouzan was charged for not havingall of his codfish tagged when he wasaccosted. He had more tags than cod-fish yet they still snarled him up in use-less regulations formulated by main-land bureaucrats. Bouzan will win hiscase in the Supreme Court because theTerms of Union protect a Newfound-lander and Labradorian’s right to aconsumptive food fishery. I think thesame applies to the seal fishery.

Unfortunately, until the citizens ofthis island stand together to protect ourrights, we will continue to have our tra-ditional lifestyle eroded. It’s the nature

of a bureaucracy to take as muchpower as it can until it’s reined in. Thelatest sealing regulations prevent anynew licences or even observer permits.Why? We, the citizens, have not had aninput, nor have our politicians. Yet ourhunt is hampered and misrepresentedby protestors who make a better livingthan we do. Many of us are barred fromthe water (the reason our ancestorscame in the first place) so that ourresources can be plundered from afar.

Let’s not fight amongst ourselves.Every citizen of this province has aright to propagate a traditionallifestyle. Retired persons and otherswho wish to go on the water a fewtimes a year are not the competition forprofessional fishers. We are continu-ously divided and conquered. Let’sband together — recreational fishers,professional fishers, politicians, andothers interested in preserving cultureand resources — to protect our tradi-tional way of life. We’re all in thistogether. Let’s take control of our des-tiny. Speak up.

Brian Taylor,Grand Falls-Windsor

To prove to the world sealing is

as noble a professionas fishing, or farming,those working in thefield have to prove it,

to act every bit the professional.


Rorschach was a guy with a ter-rific grasp on the obvious. Hewas a psychiatrist who lived in

the last century. He figured out thatpeople see what they want to see, andif you ask them nice, they will tellyou.

Rorschach is the famous inkblotguy. He developed a treatment wherehe would show his patients a series ofrandom inkblots and ask them whatthey saw in them. From this exercise,he could get people to talk on and on,and would listen to them and try andpick up on any psychiatric issues.

As is true in psychiatric disorders, sois true in politics (a related field).People see what they want to see.Allow me to illustrate.

This week past I came across threenews items on the same day. On theface of it they were just three more inan endless stream of articles.

Yet I thought I saw a theme. Thatmade me think of patterns real andimagined, secret agendas and axescarefully ground.

The first news item related to the

explosive but secret details at theGomery inquiry that threaten to bringthe Liberal government down.

Nothing makes something moreinteresting than when it is a secret. Tofind out this secret you had to go tosome blogger’s site in the States toread about it. It was fun. What I readwas pretty bad. The Liberal Party isstarting to look more and more like abiker gang. The Opposition, smellingblood, is howling.

Then I read Brian Tobin is beingpaid over $2 million in “retirement”payments for a seven-month job (plus,one would assume, also getting hisstamps). Is this a big news story on itsown? Or are folk in the media trying toget the electorate to interpret theinkblots a certain way? Interestingtiming, the appearance of that story.

The third story I read claimed theAlberta Liberal Party is thinking aboutchanging its name to distance itselffrom their federal counterparts. Mademe think about Sid Vicious, the formerSex Pistol, on trial for murdering hisgirlfriend. His attorneys thought at thetime that it might be a good idea tochange his last name. You think?

Three inkblots. Depending on whoyou are, you might see different thingsin these inkblots. Let’s stare at them.

Stare long enough and you mightsee the Liberal Party as a cabal ofmoney-grubbing, dishonest, greedyself-promoters who exist as an organi-zation solely to hijack the political sys-tem with one thing in mind — the per-sonal advancement and enrichment ofthemselves.

You might see a cesspool of corrup-tion so widespread and endemic thatthe few who are left — the next waveat the trough, you might say — areseeing their own aspirations in trouble,and think a rose by some other namemight not smell the same.

Someone else might see something

completely different. They might seethe overwhelming irony in the fact theLiberals, under the guise of saving thecountry, have so ruined themselvesthat a mean-spirited, cynical andregressive force will now win politicalpower and start imposing their intoler-ant beliefs on the rest of us.

Whenever I see Peter McKay on thetelevision in high moral dudgeon, Iinstantly recall the video clip of himlying to David Orchard. In colour.What do people need? He is not to betrusted. Ever. I have the proof in digi-tal format. I can e-mail it to you.

Some might see this large blue bot-tle of strong medicine as a cure for thecountry. I fear it might very well turnout to be worse than the disease —although the disease is pretty awful. IfJoe Clark was Leader of the Oppo-sition right now, we would be going tothe polls and he would be headed to 24Sussex again.

That’s the thing about perspective. Itreally is all the way you see it. Therewill be some who stare at these blots— or stains, if you will — on our polit-

ical landscape and earnestly try andtell us this is the price of honest gov-ernment. They will try and convinceyou (and I mean you — they ain’t sell-ing me) that Paul Martin and his poi-sonous little band initiated the Gomeryinquiry for our own good.

Rorschach would have smiled. Hewould have been the first to tell youthere are all kinds of crazy.

And finally, there is one other littleblot we should all consider. Not even ablot. More a splat — the splat madewhen our own Atlantic Accord fallsthrough the legislative cracks onto thecold stone floor of a defeated govern-ment

If you consider these stories asinkblots — not too great a philosophi-cal stretch — then we have the begin-ning of an interesting exercise. Overthe next few weeks, put yourself in theplace of good Dr. Rorschach, and lis-ten to what people see in these blots.There is a lot more craziness to come.

Ivan Morgan can be reached [email protected]

There are all kinds of crazyIVAN MORGANRant & reason

YOURVOICE

Dear editor:I read with interest Siobhan

Coady’s comments in TheIndependent (March 27) on RawMaterial Sharing (RMS) proposed bygovernment for the crab fishery.

Ms. Coady is right in her sugges-tion that there is opposition in variousquarters of the fishing industryagainst the two-year pilot project. It isworth pointing out there is also sup-port that doesn’t make the headlines.But she is far from accurate in herposition that the sharing system isunworkable. The RMS trial is contro-versial, but then all substantialchanges to the management of ourfishery in the past 20 years have metopposition.

I understand Ms. Coady is in-volved in the ownership of two fish-ing vessels, for crab and shrimp. Ms.Coady opposes sharing betweenplants and advocates a free market in

the fishery. These may be worthwhile sugges-

tions and I understand her point ofview.

The irony is that while she pro-motes a free market, Ms. Coady doesnot advocate the removal of the fed-eral government’s individual quota(IQ) system that shares crab andshrimp between harvesters.

She probably didn’t advance thisnotion because it allows people likeher, who are involved in the owner-ship of fishing enterprises, to plantheir business with the full knowl-edge of what their revenue will befrom year-to-year.

As is so often the case, some indi-viduals maintain two diametricallyopposing views on the same issue inthe fishery.

Trevor Taylor, MHAMinister of Fisheries and

Aquaculture

A STORM’S BREWIN’

For the record

Michael McBride of Storm Brewing shows off the St. John’s brewery’s newest brand – Irish Red. The pink, white and green is front and cen-tre on the brew’s label. Rhonda Hayward/The Independent


Pushing the envelopeIt’s hard to recall the last time a

handwritten letter appeared inmy mailbox, short of a few lines

scrawled on a Christmas or birthdaycard.

E-mail has robbed us of tear-stained letters from heartbrokenlovers or the cat scratches of infuri-ated friends. It’s also taken away thethought that used to go into writtencorrespondence — most letter writ-ers would go through more than onedraft before stuffing a letter into anenvelope and sealing it with a lickof the tongue. The thought behindthe written word, the ramificationsof it and the joy evoked by it, are nomore — killed by technology.

Not having a hard copy makes anegative reaction that much lessrewarding. With a letter, you cancrumple the paper into a ball andthrow it against the wall, reduce it toashes with the flick of a match orspit on the paper. While you may getaway with spittingon your computer,throwing it againstthe wall or setting iton fire will result inyou needing a newcomputer; not tomention explainingto the landlord whythere’s a computer-shaped hole in yourapartment wall.

I miss letters. Imiss the peoplewho wrote them. Imiss the compas-sion of the peoplewho take the time toput pen to paper.

The smell of thepaper, the sound ofit as you run yourfingers over certainphrases on the page, all these thingsseem to bring you closer to the per-son who wrote the letter. Touchingwords on a screen or sniffing a key-board pales in comparison.

There are people in this worldwho have never, will never knowthe joy of receiving and revelling inreading a handwritten letter. Hand-writing is a telling talent — theswoops of the letters and the pres-sure of the pen on the paper belay awriter’s thoughts and emotions.

Long after e-mails have beenreduced to unreadable bits andbytes, handwritten letters live on tobecome part of history. There isnothing for the ages between thehard returns of an e-mail.

A gentleman in the United Statesjust released a software programcalled the Instant Letter Writing Kit.Using templates, it will supposedlyhelp writers compose 99 per cent ofthe letters one could ever conceiveof. In other words, your-name-goes-here writing.

“This kit will help you writeevery kind of letter you’ll ever needto write,” reads the sales pitch onthe website.

Throw your creativity and emo-tions out the window because in thisday and age of technology they’re

obviously not required. Beyond learning how to speak in

complete sentences, learning how towrite is one of the most importantskills any human can command.

Accuse me, if you will, of being aluddite. Luddites were a group ofBritish textile workers in the early1800s that rose up and destroyed thetextile machinery that was takingtheir jobs.

Computers may well be the mod-ern-day papyrus that replaced writ-ing on stone tablets, but it just seemsmore insidious than that — some-thing precious is being lost here.

Something is being lost amongstthe keyboard clicks and flickering

screens.As I was walking

to work earlier thisweek, I found anenvelope. It wasn’ta letter, but anenvelope of pic-tures lying on thesidewalk. At first, Istepped over it likeso much othergarbage that littersthe sidewalks ofdowntown St.John’s, but a voicein my head mademe turn around andpick up the enve-lope. It was a differ-ent voice (not thevoice that causesme to considerthings best not dis-

cussed with members of the localConstabulary).

This voice wondered what memo-ries someone had left behind. Itquestioned whether the recollec-tions were thrown on the sidewalkbecause they were no longer goodmemories, or simply because theyhad fallen out of a pocket.

But the images in the yellow, redand black envelope looked harmlessenough: a picture of a young girlsmiling; two women mugging forthe camera while enjoying a mealon a balcony; pictures of a streetscene with signs in a foreign lan-guage; and a medieval jester posingwith one of the women for a snap-shot.

Each looked like a happy memo-ry, moments in time one wouldn’twant to forget anytime soon.

Just like the dozens of people whohad probably stepped over thatenvelope in their daily rush, nevergiving a thought as to what beautifulmemories were contained inside,technology’s rush has also trampledsomething beautiful — writing let-ters.

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

JEFF DUCHARME

A savagejourney

‘An amazing man’

PAPERTRAIL

LIFESTORY

Lloyd GeorgeNov. 1, 1917 – Sept. 14, 2002


Asingle parent who worked tire-lessly for his church and thepreservation of history, Lloyd

George was widely acknowledged asthe foremost authority on just about anyhistorical event in the DiIdo area untilhis passing in 2002.

His collection of antiques, documents,photos and film was unmatched in thearea. His knowledge and research ofevents and people was equally thorough.

Even his family home, now known asthe Lloyd George House, is a provincial-ly recognized heritage structure, built byGeorge’s grandfather, at a cost of$1,200, in 1885.

“I can’t even list all the things he wasinto, there was just so much,” George’sson Albert tells The Independent.“Whenever he got interested in any-thing, he just took it and ran with it.There was always somebody coming toour house to talk to him or interview himabout any number of things.”

George was born in DiIdo, TrinityBay, in 1917. He went on to become ateacher, first in Battle Harbour, Labradorthen later in Norris Point, on the westcoast of the island. In 1952, he took ajob with the Department of Highways,which he held until his retirement in1977.

George returned to his family home

when he retired to raise his family.Tragedy struck a short time later whenhis wife, Virginia, passed away, makinghim a widower and a single parent.

“Mom died when I was nine and hewas 64. Looking back now, and havingkids of my own, I can’t imagine havingto raise them by myself … he didn’thave much money, but he kept every-thing going.”

George was an active Anglicanchurchgoer, doing everything from play-ing the organ and lay-reading toresearching the church history.

Father Douglas Barrett worked besideGeorge through his six years as the rec-tor at All Saints Parish. Barrett wasamazed at George’s energy and determi-nation.

“He knew history was important, heknew his family was important and heknew his church was important and heworked hard at all those things,” Barrettsays. “Here he was, an older man, hav-ing to keep a household going and raisea teenaged son by himself … I kind ofadmired him because he was doing whata young parent would be expected to do.

“I thought he was an amazing man.” When Albert moved to St. John’s in

1991 to complete post secondary train-ing, his father came to St. John’s withhim.

He says George wasn’t a hard man tofind in those days.

“He was at the archives every day. Heactually used to walk there all the time— and he was in his mid-70s then.”

One of George’s favourite research

projects was the codfish hatchery onDiIdo Island in the 1800s, likely the firstaquaculture project in the province.

George was also a foremost authorityon the German Do-X passenger aircraft,which made a surprise landing in DiIdoand Holyrood en route to New York in1929. He managed to get original reel-to-reel documentary footage fromDonier, the company that owned the 12-engine aircraft.

An avid follower of politics andissues, George was called on to speaknationally when an attempt was made tochange Dildo’s name. Havingresearched its origins, and being a strongtraditionalist, he was adamant the namenot be changed.

“If he knew something was right, hedidn’t mind saying so — he had verystrong opinions,” Albert says.

“He could speak very passionately onan issue, sometimes you’d almost thinkhe was angry, but he was righteouslyangry,” Barrett says.

George suffered a stroke in 1994, buthe didn’t let it slow his insatiable desireto learn about the history of the area.

The family continues to hang on tomuch of his collection of work anditems, and some of George’s researchlives on in the DiIdo and area interpreta-tion centre. His home is currently a bedand breakfast.

“There wasn’t a historical topic con-cerning the area Lloyd George couldn’tspeak on with authority,” Barrett says. “Iwould have to say every word said goodabout him is certainly true.”

By Alisha MorrisseyThe Independent

Sealing in Newfoundland andLabrador has always been newsin the province, but not for the

same reasons.In 1946 — before anyone had ever

heard of Greenpeace or theInternational Fund for Animal Welfare(IFAW) — front-page news consistedof a ship docking in St. John’s, loadeddown with seals.

The Fisherman’s Advocate, pub-lished by the Fisherman’s ProtectiveUnion in Port Union from 1910 to1980, regularly ran stories about theseal cull in the spring months —including an insert wishing sealersgood luck on March 7, 1930 (openingday), to a two-page spread on the his-tory of the seal hunt on March 28 thatsame year.

On the front page of the Advocate onApril 27, 1946, the headline ravedabout the return of the Swile from theice.

Capt. Fred Tulk told the paper he’dnever seen the ice so thick, in all his 45trips to the sealing grounds. The crewof 26 men, who shipped out on March6, all returned in good health and werepaid between $141.54 and $220 each.

“The Swile, grimy, but with flagswaving, steamed into Port Union,where Capt. and crew received anenthusiastic welcome,” the story read.The ship docked in St. John’s andunloaded 2,966 seals to be processedand sold.

The Advocate announced the arrivalof most sealing and fishing vessels, butthe story of Capt. J.H. Blackmorereturning on May 25, 1946, showedthe determination of some sealers toget the best return for the huge invest-ments made to go out on the ice.

After getting only 1,900 seals,

Blackmore’s boat had mechanicalproblems and returned home. His sec-ond run got him another 4,300. Peopletold him he had a “stubborn courage”for going back, but the Advocate pub-lished congratulations “to a New-foundlander whose faith and initiativehas been rewarded with success.”

Almost 40 years later, the perceptionof the seal cull as a job that providedfor families had greatly changed.

In 1983, celebrities and animal con-servationists like Capt. Paul Watson ofthe Sea Shepherd ConservationSociety were making headlines, ratherthan the dangerous and difficult workdone by sealers from around the

province. The March 10, 1983 edition of The

Daily News reported the annual Gulfof St. Lawrence seal hunt had still notbegun, despite sightings of more than100,000 adult seals in the area.

In the same edition, Watson wasdescribed setting up shop outside thenarrows in St. John’s harbour. Hethreatened to use a water cannon orram the first sealing vessel to leave theharbour.

Eleven days later, the seal hunt offi-cially began. The March 21, 1983 edi-tion of The Daily News ran two pagesof stories related to the cull. In one,sealers threatened to dump one ton ofchicken manure on the Sea Shepherd II— Watson’s boat — if a helicopterpilot could be found to drop it.

Another story said the FisheriesDepartment offered $500,000 toprocessors who would hold pelts untila market could be found for them.

In yet another story, sealer JohnMelindy told the paper the successfulIFAW campaign in Europe had puthim close to bankruptcy.

“The bank is going to take my boat,that’s crazy,” he said.

To the ice

Long after e-mailshave been reduced tounreadable bits andbytes, handwritten

letters live on to become part of history. There is

nothing for the agesbetween the hard

returns of an e-mail.

Lloyd George (right) at the official opening of the new post office in DiIdo. Photo submitted by family.


Cost of seals by the pelt in 1946

Young harps: $10 per quintal (112 lbs.)Young hoods: $12 per quintalBedlamers (one year old): $6 per quintalOld harps: $4.50 per quintalOld hoods: $4.50 per quintal

In 2004 seal pelts were worth between $45 and $50 each and it’s now prohibitedto take seals younger than 12 days old.

INDEPENDENTWORLDSUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 10-16, 2005 — PAGE 9

View from a loopholeIt’s hard to blame companies for doing what Paul Martin did too

Why do the federal Liberals so oftenbehave as though they no longer mustaccept responsibility or accountabili-

ty?A case can be made that they think they can

get away with anything because they witnessedPaul Martin — as federal Finance minister —get away with not only being in a conflict ofinterest, but using his position to his and his fam-ily’s benefit through his ownership and controlof Canada Steamship Lines (CSL).

Consider: Martin is the master of the Barbadostax haven, but his conflict position has neverbeen seriously investigated.

Politicians who become ministers in govern-ment normally solve their conflict-of-interestproblems through the creation of a blind trust. Aminister must sell all his private investments orconvey them to a trustee empowered to sell themand invest the proceeds in stocks, bonds, invest-ments and assets about which the beneficiaryminister is to know nothing.

The minister then cannot be tempted to favour,through decisions in government, whateverassets are in his trust, since he does not knowwhat they are. If he does, the trust is not “blind.”

Martin, however, did not enter into a genuineblind trust when he became minister of Finance.Rather, it was a “blind management agreement,”which removed him from the normal manage-ment of day-to-day decision-making but didnothing to avoid the possibility of conflicts ofinterest.

This was permissible because Howard Wilson,the ethics counsellor under Jean Chrétien, agreedthat in exceptional circumstances a publicoffice-holder might need to be informed about abusiness situation under a blind managementagreement.

Wilson permitted at least 12 meetings betweenMartin and CSL officers when they said theyneeded his advice!

Not only was Martin permitted to advise CSLbut his formal agreement allowed him to revoke

the appointments of trustees. Joe Clark at thetime accurately described this as “a blind trustwith a seeing-eye dog that has unusual capacityto smell, to hear and to hold meetings.” A vene-tian blind trust?

Canada had signed a double taxation treatywith Barbados in 1980 when the corporate taxesof both countries were roughly comparable. Butin 1991, Barbados created a new class of off-shore company, the “Barbados internationalbusiness corporation,” whose tax rate would be1–2.5 per cent. This created for Canadians, ifthey routed their business through a Barbadoscompany, a 10-fold savings in taxes.

The auditor general of Canada, in her report ofDecember, 2002, noted that $1.5 billion in taxeswas being lost to the Canadian economy annual-ly as a result of this agreement, and she calledfor a rewriting of the rules. She noted that all ofthese concerns had been present since 1992 —throughout the period when Martin was Financeminister, but he made no changes.

Martin’s hypocrisy again was shown by hisannouncing in his first budget of February 1994that he would tighten the regulations allowingCanadian companies to bring dividends of for-eign affiliates back to Canada, tax-free from anumber of countries.

But Barbados remained exempt. This allowed

JOHN CROSBIEThe old curmudgeon

See “Canadian cash stash,” page 12

Now, time to face the falloutLiberals scramble to blunt fallout before veil liftedMONTREALBy Chantal Hébert The Toronto Star

From day one, the Liberal Party ofCanada had been the unspoken ele-phant in the room of the sponsorship

scandal. In the wake of the testimony ofthe former president of Groupaction, JeanBrault, that is the case no more.

Over six gruelling days, Brault filled inmany of the blanks that had puzzled theauditor general, painting in the process theugly picture of a governing party plunder-ing public funds to advance its partisangoals.

He alleged there was a “miracle recipe”at play in landing a winning ticket in thesponsorship lottery; it involved divertingmoney to the Liberal party.

By Brault’s accounting, the secretLiberal takings from Groupaction aloneadds up to more than a million dollars.

In his mind, it was clear the orders thatcounted to be a player in the sponsorshipprogram were those not of the governmentof Canada, but of Liberal operators.

Some of the people he named as benefi-ciaries of his sponsorship-motivatedlargesse still hold key positions within thegovernment. A case in point is JohnWelch, who has now stepped aside as thechief of staff to Heritage Minister LizaFrulla, and who was for a time nominally

on Groupaction’s payroll while he workedfor the party.

Others — whom Brault described ascalling the shots in the trading of secretpolitical donations in exchange for futuregovernment commissions — were key fig-ures in the Quebec organization over thecourse of the Jean Chrétien era.

Benoît Corbeil was the director generalof the Quebec wing ofthe federal Liberalparty.

Jacques Corriveau isa confidant of the for-mer prime minister.

Tony Mignacca was aclose associate ofAlfonso Gagliano,Chrétien’s chief Quebecorganizer.

Joe Morselli is a well-known figure in Liberalcircles in Quebec.Former premier Robert Bourassa oncerewarded him with a patronage appoint-ment.

A published picture of Morselli andMignacca features Jean Charest in thefront row and Gagliano in the second one.

These are the people that Paul Martin’sQuebec lieutenant Jean Lapierre describedthis week as a group of political plumbers,acting behind the back of an unsuspectingparty.

If that is true, they were operating underthe very nose of the leadership of the day,as was for that matter Chuck Guité, thecivil servant in charge of the sponsorshipprogram.

All week, a panic-stricken Liberal partyscrambled to blunt the inevitable hit it wasbound to take once Brault’s revelationswere made public.

It asked the RCMPto look into whether ithad been abused byits former officials.

It tried to deflectattention on to allega-tions the PartiQuébécois hadreceived illegal dona-tions fromGroupaction (in amatter unrelated tothe sponsorship pro-gram).

It instructed its counsel to subject theinquiry’s star witness to an exhaustivecross-examination (only to have him standdown quickly when Brault ended up scor-ing points at Liberal expense).

In the end, the attempts at a pre-emptivestrike probably did the Liberals moreharm than good.

Their efforts did paint the picture of agovernment taken by surprise by the mag-nitude of the revelations heard at the

inquiry. And that plays to the Liberal strat-egy of portraying Martin as one who waswell out of the sponsorship loop.

But if some Canadians had doubts as tothe explosive nature of Brault’s allega-tions, the frantic body language of thegovernment probably dismissed them.

When Brault left the Montreal federalbuilding where he had been testifying forthe last time Wednesday, it was to theapplause of a small crowd of die-hardinquiry watchers.

Given that his testimony had hardly casthim in the role of an innocent bystander —he will be undergoing a trial for fraud laterthis spring — this warm reception fromthe few members of the public whowatched his performance on the stand wasa jarring sight, but then no more so thansome of the other events of this bizarrepolitical week.

Rarely has a cart been put before a horsein quite as stunning a fashion as over thepast few days, as pundits and party strate-gists set out to dissect the fallout of a storymost Canadians were not even privy to.

Now that the veil has been lifted on themost damaging testimony heard by theGomery inquiry to date, Martin can onlyhope the election fever that has seizedParliament Hill over the past week doesnot spread to the country at large.

Reprinted with permission.

Rarely has a cart been put before a horse in quite as stunning a fashion as over the

past few days.

Former Groupaction head Jean Brault at the Gomery inquiry. Justice John Gomery’s publication ban on Brault's testimony was partially lifted late last week. Shaun Best/Reuters

Paul Martin Paul Daly/The Independent

Pope tomb closed to visitors VATICAN CITY (Reuters) — Italian authoritieshave asked the Vatican to keep Pope John PaulII’s burial site closed to visitors for a few days,fearing that crowds, which have paralyzed Romewill not leave.

The Vatican says the crypt where popes areburied below St. Peter’s Basilica would remainshut at least until April 11.

Rome is trying to recover from a week ofparalysis caused by the millions of people whohad come from all over the world first to see the

Pope’s body and then to attend his funeral, whichwas held on April 8.

The crypt where a number of popes are buriedis open to visitors to the basilica, which is usual-ly open every day from from 9 a.m. to about sun-set.

Africa’s streets stand stillVICTORIA (Reuters) — Normally teemingstreets in Africa emptied as Roman Catholicsgathered around televisions to watch the burial in

Rome of Pope John Paul II, a manmany on the struggling continentconsidered a friend.

“This was a pope and a half, therehas never been another like him,”Wanyiri Gitonga said in Seychelles’capital Victoria as he watched thefuneral on television.

“The whole world seems to havecome to a standstill. This man wasgreat.”

State television broadcast thefuneral live in Nigeria, Ivory Coast,Senegal, the Seychelles, Cameroon,South Africa, Rwanda, theDemocratic Republic of Congo andMadagascar.

Africa has the fastest growingRoman Catholic population in theworld.

Since the Pope’s death on April 2,many on the continent have been inprayer and mourning for a religiousleader whose own suffering throughfailing health was seen as an inspira-tion for those whose daily life is astruggle for survival.

As in other places in the well-trav-elled Pope’s path, many in Africafelt a personal connection with him.

“He helped very much. He foughtfor the rights of the weak. We willmiss him,” said Omar Samad, atechnician who had set up televisionscreens outside the Holy FamilyBasilica in Nairobi.

10 • INDEPENDENTWORLD APRIL 10, 2005

VATICAN CITYBy Alisha MorrisseyThe Independent

Two St. John’s women were hoping for aRoman holiday — they didn’t expect toattend a wake for the world’s most powerful

religious leader.Jayne Andrews, now living in London,

England, and Sarah Foley, a St. John’s resident,waited in line for six hours last week before beingallowed into St. Peter’s Basilica, where a reported300 people per minute viewed Pope John Paul II’sbody.

On April 2, the two friends were in Florence onthe last leg of their vacation together, when thepontiff’s death was announced.

They decided to visit Vatican City.Andrews and Foley spoke to The Independent

from Rome, a day before the pope’s funeral.Andrews said the mood in the city was sombre,and despite the number of people that continuous-ly arrived throughout the week, there was a quietcalm in the way the city was running.

“It’s getting busier by the second,” Andrewssaid. “With the traffic and the police it’s just get-ting more intense by the second.”

Foley agreed.“The city is bustling. The amount of people

pouring into Rome is expanding every day, butagain, it’s very calm and really peaceful.”

The women were among the first in line for thepublic viewing.

“We were actually (two) of the first people toget in,” Andrews said. “Yesterday the line up toget in to see the pope was amazingly long, it was11 hours so what they’ve had to do now, is they’vehad to cut the line … people who were lined upyesterday are still lined up today and they proba-bly won’t get in to see until this evening.”

MINI-PILGRIMAGEFoley said she complained during the wait, but

was surprised by the dedication of many of thepeople — including the elderly — who waitedpatiently for such a rare, spiritual experience.

“We were, at so many points, just thinking ofgetting out of the line up,” she said.

The pair met a man from Hungary — one of thefew there who spoke English — who encouragedthem to stay in the line. Foley said it was an amaz-ing experience; she felt like she was on a mini-pil-grimage herself.

There were few services going on at smallerchurches around the city, Foley added, since therewas a continuous service going on in and around

the basilica.“There are small gatherings everywhere. Even

outside the basilica right now we’ve noticed thereare a lot more people camping and living outsideand different priests and nuns doing the rosary andthat out in the square,” she said. “It’s just sort ofan open-air service out there.”

Foley said most people were talking about thepope’s upcoming funeral.

“Just waiting to see what will happen — againthe knowledge of what is actually going on is solimited to us because we don’t have access to TVlike everyone else would at home.”

As many as four million people were expectedfor the funeral. Not surprisingly, the women sawsecurity increase as more people arrived.

“It’s very calm, it’s a European way of security,

we were commenting on how it would have beenif it were in the States and how it would have beena lot bigger,” Andrews said.

Roman airspace was shut down, and forFriday’s funeral, almost 1,500 Italian police offi-cers protected motorcades for the world leadersattending. The Italian Air Force set up anti-missiledefence systems and nuclear, biological andchemical weapons squads were on alert.

“We’re seeing a lot more security now,”Andrews said. “But when we got in to see thepope there was hardly any security at all, actuallyteenagers were on the doors to the St. Peter’sBasilica letting us in. Whereas now there’s policeeverywhere.”

The travellers had seen dignitary cars withpolice escorts.

Andrews and Foley stayed in an over-crowdedhostel during their visit and reported seeing manypeople sleeping in the streets.

The pair said they will travel by train to anotherprovince to catch a flight back to London for a fewdays before Foley heads home to Newfoundland.

“It’s just so interesting that so many people, dif-ferent races and different ages and not Catholicare just wanting to see this man. That’s the mainthing we keep saying,” Foley said.

“And people who do not understand each otherfrom different languages are communicatingthrough prayer and music and everything — it’sjust fascinating.”

Do you know a Newfoundlander orLabradorian living away? Please e-mail [email protected].

‘There are gatherings everywhere’Two St. John’s natives altered their Italian vacation to pay respects to Pope John Paul II

A mourner cries as others applaud in respect during the funeral for Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square, April 8. Reuters/Katarina Stoltz

If you do, you may be at the age when you begin to notice that things justdon’t sound the way they used to. Some forms of hearing loss are common –they’re also easy to fix. We can get your hearing back to its full potential.Call to book a test today – you’ll feel right at home.

www.beltone.nl .ca

For more information about clinics in your area, contact us:

ST. JOHN’S:Paton Medical Centre

Call 726-8083Toll free: 1 800-563-8083

Remember that party?

GRAND FALLS-WINDSOR:27 Hardy Avenue

Call 489-8500Toll free: 1 866-489-8500

POPEBRIEFS

VOICE FROM AWAY

APRIL 10, 2005 INDEPENDENTWORLD • 11

12 • INDEPENDENTWORLD APRIL 10, 2005

U.S. coverage hurtsAfrica, ex-leaders sayJOHANNESBURG (Reuters) —American media coverage of Africa

concentrates on bad news to the exclu-sion of more positive developments,hurting investment and aid, Africanleaders say.

A survey of African coverage in fiveprominent U.S. publications between

1994 and 2004, found little mention ofthe fewer civil wars, South Africa’seconomic growth or increased access toeducation.

“Negative perceptions lead to nega-tive outcomes — lower levels of aid

and lower investments,” says formerMozambican president, JoaquimChissano, who led the country out ofdecades of civil war.

Disasters in Somalia, Rwanda andWest Africa dominated, while transi-

tions to democracy in Nigeria, Ghana,South Africa, Namibia, Mozambiqueand elsewhere were ignored, they say.

“Coverage of Africa ... is, at best, dis-missive of the continent' progress andpotential,” Chissano says.

Canadian companies, including CSL, to avoid hundredsof millions of dollars in Canadian taxes by moving theirforeign affiliates to Barbados.

Martin’s action did close certain tax havens, such asLiberia: CSL subsequently moved seven Liberian-regis-tered ships to Barbados, where the tax haven continued.

The fact that Martin has since transferred his control-ling interest in CSL to his sons did nothing to prevent thisconflict-of-interest situation continuing.

Canadian companies are now stashing more money intooffshore tax havens than ever. Between 1990 and 2003,the amount soared from $11 billion to $88 billion, accord-ing to a Statistics Canada report last month.

Tax haven countries accounted for more than one-fifthof all Canadian direct investment abroad in 2003, doublethe proportion of 13 years earlier. Among the most popu-lar is Barbados, which ranked No. 3 with $24,690 billionof direct Canadian investment assets, investors perhapsfollowing the example of our leader.

Canadians had $4.5 billion invested in tax haven coun-tries in 1988; by 2000, that had climbed to $44.1 billion,the Canada Revenue Agency estimates. Martin’s sons pre-sumably still enjoy the Canadian tax savings from CSL’susing the Barbados tax haven, which exists in large partbecause of Martin’s decisions.

Where is the independent investigation? Where is themedia attention? When will there be some accountabilitydemanded?

John Crosbie’s column appears in The Independentevery second week.

Canadian cash stashFrom page 9

WORLDBRIEFS

Germans use helicopters to catch graffiti artistsBERLIN (Reuters) — The German government says it hasstarted deploying police helicopters equipped with infraredcameras to catch graffiti artists at night despite criticismthey are grossly over-reacting.

Spokesman RainerLingenthal says thenew operations tocatch vandals in theact has been success-ful. Graffiti cost bil-lions of euros in dam-age in Germany everyyear, he adds/

But a leader of theGreens Party, Hans-Christian Stroebele,says the James Bond-style manhunts aretotally over the top.

In a recent incidenta motorcyclist waskilled when he was hitby a police car chasinga graffiti artist.

“We’ve got to stopthe graffiti hysteria,”says Stroebele, amember of parliament for Berlin. “We need prudent meas-ures against graffiti, which is annoying and illegal. But wedon't need wild manhunts in central Berlin with scenes froma James Bond film.”

Fend off dementia with crosswords and a runCANBERRA (Reuters) — Sex, cryptic crosswords and agood run could help ward off dementia and other degenera-tive conditions by stimulating new brain cells, an Australianresearcher says.

Perry Bartlett, a professor at the University ofQueensland’s Brain Institute, said mental and physical exer-cise helped create and nurture new nerve cells in the brain,keeping it functional and warding off diseases such asAlzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

Alaska starts kill of grizzly bears to boost moose ANCHORAGE (Reuters) — For the first time since Alaskabecame a U.S. state, hunters will be allowed to use bait tolure and kill grizzly bears under a program intended to boostmoose populations in parts of interior Alaska.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game began issuingpermits last week for a predator-control program aimed atclearing out the majority of grizzlies in a 3,000-square-milearea of brushy terrain and tundra near the Canadian border.


LIVYER

Following her heartHappy Valley-Goose BayBy Bert PomeroyFor The Independent

Alove of photography has taken MichelleBaikie from the floors of one of Canada’slargest hospitals to Scotland’s Orkney Islands,

but her love of Labrador keeps bringing her backhome.

“My heart is here,” says the Happy Valley-GooseBay native. “Whenever I board a plane and fly out ofLabrador, I really don’t want to leave. Whenever I amaway, I’m always thinking about home and doing what-ever I can to promote the region and my cultural her-itage.”

After high school, Baikie attended Sir WilfredGrenfell College in Corner Brook to pursue an educa-tion degree. Partway through, she decided to apply tothe College of Imaging Arts and Science at theRochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in New York.There she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree witha major in Biomedical Photographic Communications.

“My studies specifically focused on taking medicalphotographs — like the ones you see in medicalbooks,” she says.

Baikie, who is hearing impaired, was able to securea seat at the institution through the National TechnicalInstitute for the Deaf (NTID).

“I received all the support I needed, including beingprovided with an FM listening system so I could hearwhat the teacher was saying,” she says.

Baikie concentrated in ophthalmic photography, andupon graduation was qualified to work in a variety ofsettings, including medical schools, hospitals and labo-ratories. “This is similar to X-rays, but without radia-tion. You use special cameras and dyes to help diagnosepatients with potential eye diseases.”

She also has experience in photomicrography, or tak-ing pictures of images through a microscope.

While Baikie enjoyed developing her talents in thescientific world, her real passion is artistic imagery.

Baikie completed her studies in August 1994 andreturned home. A year later, she established MRBPhoto Communications, specializing in biomedical,scientific, traditional and digital photography.

In 1997, she accepted a position as an ophthalmicphotographer with the Toronto Hospital. Her timethere, however, was short-lived and she was soon on aplane to Labrador.

“It just didn’t work out there for me,” she says. “Idecided to come back home and try and make a go ofit here.”

Baikie accepted a part-time position with HealthLabrador Corporation as a telemedicine co-ordinator,while continuing to operate her own business. In July2000, she decided to share her work and passion withthe people of the Orkney Islands.

She mounted an exhibition, entitled My OrcadianRoots: Going Home, a collection of images she hadgathered on an earlier visit to the islands. She says theshow complimented one she had done while in school.

“That one was called Footprints of my Ancestors,and focused on my Labrador Inuit roots, as well as trap-ping, hunting and so on,” she says.

In 2001, Baikie decided to finish where she had leftoff more than 10 years earlier, and went back to univer-sity to complete her education degree.

While she hasn’t been able to secure a full-timeteaching position in Labrador, she has held substitutepositions at a number of schools in the region, includ-ing a five-month stint at Jens Haven Memorial in Nain.

“In June 2002, the day I finished teaching there, Ireceived a call from the Labrador Inuit Association andoffered a position as a research assistant … to write areport on the reasons why teachers leave Labrador;why it’s hard to recruit teachers and why there is a highnumber of students dropping out of school.”

Looking back on the project, Baikie says she finds itironic she’s considering leaving the region to pursueher teaching career.

In the meantime, Baikie will continue to promote herartistic talents through photography.

“It’ll always be a big part of my life,” she says.

Canada, for the Government ofCanada.”

Bardot was the first majorcelebrity to publicly oppose the sealhunt, earning her legendary statusamong animal rights activists asthey began to realize the power ofusing a famous face to promotetheir cause.

“I thought, since I have celebrity, Ihave money as well, since I didn’thave to continue to work for the lastpart of my life, that I’d use this moneytowards protecting the animals,” shesays.

In 1977, Bardot flew with a smallteam to stay in Blanc Sablon on theborder of Quebec and Labrador.

Originally her intention had been to con-duct press conferences about the cause, but

she met several members of Greenpeacewho convinced her to fly with them to the ice. Although Bardot refused to witness the hunt

firsthand, she agreed to visit the seal mothers andtheir pups. During that trip, the now-famous photo-

graph of Bardot cuddling a baby harp seal was taken.“I got to see the beauty of all the baby seals with their

moms. It was marvelously beautiful. I got to see that,understand that, it was extraordinary.”

Bardot’s visit to Blanc Sablon was fraught with difficul-ties and strong opposition from those in the sealing indus-try as well as politicians.

“Conditions were very, very difficult; obviously I was-n’t received like a princess. We … lived for two days onpieces of chocolate which we had on the private plane.”

At one press conference the outspoken Bardot calledthe sealers “Canadian assassins,” but she fled the room in

tears after a sealer countered her comment and held up thebody of a skinless pup in a plastic bag.Despite the Canadian outrage her protest caused, the pub-

licity Bardot attracted was powerful, particularly in Europeand the United States. The US already had a ban on importing

seal products, the French government soon placed a ban on the importof seal pelts, and in 1983 the European Union set a ban on importing harp and hood-

ed seal pelts. Soon after, Canada prohibited the slaughter of newborn (white-coat)seals.

Many high-profile celebrities have since followed in Bardot’s footsteps. This year,Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (and one of theGreenpeace members to visit the ice floes with Bardot) travelled to the Gulf withMacGyver star Richard Dean Anderson.

Watson also took along a film crew, to document and research the hunt for anupcoming movie based on the Greenpeace co-founder’s life. The film is slated tostar another celebrity seal hunt protester, Sean Penn.

Hundreds of famous faces from Martin Sheen to Mick Jagger have spoken tothe cause. At last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Paris Hilton was seen sportinga sweatshirt that read “club sandwiches, not seals.”

Two years after Bardot’s first visit, a group of Newfoundlanders andLabradorians supporting the sealing industry as an important means of incomedecided to fight back by stealing some media attention for themselves.

Named “Codpeace,” the group claimed to be fighting for the rights of “thevoiceless codfish” who were being torn apart by the jaws of seals. Adoptinga tongue-in-cheek approach to defend the sealing industry, Codpeace flewout to the ice floes to protest alongside the protesters.

They used elaborate costumes and spoof names such as “Miss CodLips Squid” — which was to counteract celebrity activist Loretta Switof MASH fame — and chained themselves to helicopters.

Miller Ayre was the instigator of the group, which garnered exten-sive media coverage across Canada. He says Codpeace gave themedia someone else to focus on.

“The government had a scientific kind of response that dealtwith the facts,” says Ayre. “But of course a lot of what was hap-pening was emotional and it was of a nature that was difficultto counter with facts.”

For Bardot, who says she now lives her life for her animals,husband and the people in her foundation, the facts thesedays appear bleak. Seal hunt quotas have doubled since the1970s, and she says despite enlisting the help of major, topmodels to fight against the fur industry, “still, you see it morethan ever.

“Listen, there is no good,” she says. “For all things that Ihave fought for, the results, there have been no results,because of the insanity of man to kill animals for profit, formoney.”

— French translation of Brigitte Bardot’s comments by Gillian Fisher.

‘I wasn’treceived like

a princess’Brigitte Bardot remembers her first trip to the ice well

From page 1

INDEPENDENTLIFESUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 10-16, 2005 — PAGE 13

Michelle Baikie Bert Pomeroy/For The Independent

Woe betide the book whosereview consists of anappraisal of its physical

characteristics, but I feel I shouldmake this the first thing I say, simplybecause it is so striking: it’s not toooften in our paperback age that youcome across a book as aestheticallyperfect as Stan Dragland’s StormyWeather: Foursomes.

From its attractive hardcover to itstextured, woven endpaper, this is abook you just want to hold and beheld by. Divided into four sections,each composed of an introductoryepigraph and three short pieces (andeach of these latter subdivided intofour stanzas), Stormy Weather takesas its inspiration, the dissolution of aromantic relationship.

It falls somewhere between autobi-ography and cultural commentary …or maybe self-directed psychoanaly-sis and Catholic confession or pro-tracted personal ad and … well, onething is certain at least: it escapeseasy definition.

This is especially true insofar asgenre is concerned. Title informationtells us Stormy Weather is a book ofprose poetry. Prose poems are exactlywhat they sound like: part prose, partpoem. To assist its definition of theprose poem, the Dictionary of PoeticTerms quotes Baudelaire: “Which oneof us, in his moments of ambition, hasnot dreamed of the miracle of a poet-ic prose, musical, without rhythm andwithout rhyme, supple enough andrugged enough to adapt itself to thelyrical impulses of the soul, the undu-lations of reverie, the jibes of con-science?”

It’s the phrase “lyrical impulses ofthe soul” that particularly interests mehere because it is an apt description ofhow Dragland’s loves, doubts andobsessions progress on paper. Whenhe writes:

I’ll be a watcherin Newfoundland. Ahesitation of my ownis what

keeps me outside.I’ll be an observer inand of life. Too lateto pretend otherwise.

[…] I suddenlyremember whatsis-name walking allaround and throughthe epic battle inWar and Peace, fas-cinated, appalled[…] Is it the Battle of Borodino?I read War andPeace in high school […]

Ursula Leguin mentions the Battle ofBorodino in an essay on fiction asprevarication. The novelist, she says,is bonkers […] “Bonkers.” UrsulaLeguin is American; what drew her tothat British word?

in Evil Days, Dragland is following

Baudelaire’s lyrical impulse to con-nect vagrant thoughts to more vagrantthoughts in an almost stream-of-con-sciousness fashion, the narrativeunbroken by poetry’s most recogniza-ble feature: the line break.

Reading this sort of thing is a littlelike watching an episode of Columbo:you’re rarely certain of where you arebeing led (nor, it would appear fromtheir bumbling theatrics, does our TVdetective or our author — “I followmy nose into form,” Dragland con-cedes in Best Ball) and the routeseems circuitous, but you’ve gottatrust everything will come to a satis-factory conclusion; the solving of themystery, or as is the case with StormyWeather, the achievement of somekind of emotional and artistic closure.

It’s telling, then, that a bookinspired by the breakdown of a rela-tionship should end by challengingthe need to have written about it in thefirst place: “Would I be better offgone to pieces, locked in my house,staring goggle-eyed at zip? Or wan-dering the streets unshaven,unkempt?”

This raises an interesting question:is there literary value in writing asantidote to pain, shoring Eliot’s frag-ments against one’s emotional ruin, oris it just a lot of self-pitying, self-absorbed nonsense?

The answer is a little from columnA, a little from column B. Dragland’snarrative persona can be funny (“Irose to answer a call of nature, carry-ing with me, by way of improving theshining moment, A Snail in MyPrime: New and Selected Poems”),maudlin or mournful (“when youmoved out in stages […] I wentfiercely at the furniture, shifting andshifting to cover gaps just as they

appeared, because,pathetically, thehouse is my heart”).Sometimes his wan-derings are successfulin plugging readers inas emotional equals,sometimes not. Oc-casionally he crossesthe line into the self-indulgent, where fewcan follow him.

Generally though,Stormy Weather:Foursomes is aninteresting journeythrough the emotion-al wasteland thatattends the failure ofrelationships and a

map of the landmarks — literary,musical and otherwise — that onemind follows in picking its waythrough such turmoil; “the pulse of[…] love for this life” that makeshealing conceivable.

Mark Callanan is a writer andreviewer living in Rocky Harbour. Hisnext review appears April 24.

14 • INDEPENDENTLIFE APRIL 10, 2005

MARKCALLANANOn the shelf

The blues walked inStormy Weather: FoursomesBy Stan DraglandPedlar Press, 2005

By Stephanie PorterThe Independent

Back in 1978, The Reaction gotquite a reaction. At the time, thegroup was one of only two punk

bands (the other being Da Slyme) play-ing the St. John’s music scene. Whensinger Mike Fisher, clad in spandex,and guitarist Rick Harbin, wearing aDominion bag held together with gaffertape as a shirt, took the stage they got“instant attraction.

“We were sort of a novelty at thetime, people didn’t know how to react,”says Fisher. At the time, theNewfoundland-born singer and bassisthad just returned from a “bad coverband experience” in Toronto.

“We did a lot of shows out of town,Trinity and Old Shop and that area …We had this group of guys following usaround called the Old Shop Army.

“We were at one show at Whit-bourne, and accidentally broke a toiletso they would come to shows andsmash porcelain, we’d do a show at theuniversity and they’d go in and wreckall the washrooms …

“Out of town, I’m actually surprisedwe never got killed … playing songs noone’s ever heard, they’re used to coun-try, or Trooper on the outside.”

The band’s sound evolved into newwave and progressive rock. Theywould sell out three nights straight inSt. John’s bars, and released 500 copiesof one single — which now go for $170on eBay, reports Fisher.

They recorded over 50 more minutesof music, in Toronto and St. John’s, butit was never released — though thelocal radio stations would play the tapefrom time to time.

Although the band had some interestfrom April Wine’s label for about a year(they later signed Cory Hart), by 1981,with the departure of their regulardrummer and “no investment and nodirection,” the group disbanded.

Fast forward to summer 2004. Fisher,now an employee with Roger’s cable, isinterviewing Canadian singer KimMitchell, backstage at the KlondykeFestival, when “all of a sudden, a voicecomes out from nowhere, and asks:‘When are The Reaction getting backtogether?’”

That question, from a former devotedfan, got the wheels turning. Fisher con-tacted his old bandmate and co-writerRick Harbin. Over the next fewmonths, the pieces — investment,musicians, production team — fell intoplace.

Fisher and Harbin went to Toronto inJanuary, and reunited with drummerDan Ralph — who Harbin hadn’t seensince a gig 22 years ago.

“The energy was fantastic, it’s likewe never stopped,” says Fisher. Theylaunched into an intensive five-day stu-dio session (three days recording eightnew tracks, two days mixing).

The studio was teeming withCanadian celebrities like Rush, theBarenaked Ladies, and Bubbles ofTrailer Park Boys, in town to work on

CBC’s tsunami benefit concert. “Butthe star thing wears off quickly, wewere so intense into our work,” saysFisher.

The band decided to release a dou-ble-CD package — one disc of remas-tered old tracks, and one of new songs.The Reaction – Old and New is now onstore shelves, and one track is in rota-tion on local radio.

Fisher has no plans to dig out thespandex, but says the band intends todo “periodic mini-tours” through therest of the year.

Fisher says in 1980 he wouldn’t havebelieved he’d be releasing a double-CDin 2005. “I thought I’d be dead bythen,” he says, laughing.

As the years went on, Fisher playedin a number of blues and rock bands,moved around Canada, and started afamily (his 16-year-old son is in a bandof his own).

“But I always hoped (The Reac-tion’s) music would be released some-time,” he says. “I always felt it wouldgo to waste and no one would hear it,and it was very good.

“A lot of people were appreciative ofit; what you hear on the radio is sort ofwhat we were doing 20 years ago,SUM 41 and all that.”

The new songs are more guitar-rockthan punk, but the energy and overallsound are similar to those recorded inthe early years.

“I’m really happy it’s out. If it does-n’t go any further, that’s fine, if it does,it’ll be real fun.”

Reviving the ReactionLocal punk band reunites 25 years later — and releases debut CD

www.whscc.nf.caPRIMEThe new standardfor determining your workers’

compensation assessments

PREVENTION WORKSHOP SERIESCommunication

Location

�

plus much more...

St. John’s ........................April 18 .......The Capital Hotel ........8:30 am - 12:30 pm

St. John’s ........................April 19 .......The Capital Hotel ........8:30 am - 12:30 pm

Corner Brook ..................April 22 .......Holiday Inn..................8:30 am - 12:30 pm

Grand Falls-Windsor .......April 27 .......Mount Peyton Hotel .....8:30 am - 12:30 pm

Labrador City .................April 29 .......The Carol Inn ..............8:30 am - 12:30 pm

To register please call Michelle MacDonald at (709)778-2926, toll-free 1-800-563-9000

or e-mail: [email protected].

This practical workshop will provide OH&S professionals and other stakeholders with an

overview of communication processes as it relates to the management of occupational health and

safety programs. Participants will gain knowledge of:

the legislative requirements for communicating health and safety issues in the workplace

the role of communication in building an effective OH&S program

a strategic, effective communications policy/procedure

PRIME requirements for communicating to workplace parties

the communication team – who should be involved and what are their roles

what should be communicated and documented

�

�

�

�

�

Registration is free!

Spreading the Word:Effective OH&S

Communication inYour Workplace

Mike Fisher of The Reaction Paul Daly/The Independent

Two weekends ago, with the helpof two badly needed poles, Istood on top of Marble Moun-

tain. I realized very quickly I had noidea what I was doing, and that gettingoff the chair lift was nothing in compar-ison to how you get down a hill.

I took a deep breath and remindedmyself that I used to be a good skier. Icould manage/survive moguls when Iwas 10. I’ve seen pictures of myself asa four-year-old, purple snowsuit and all,flying down the bunny hill.

But that was a long time ago, and Ihadn’t had a pair of skis on in years.Katie, my best friend, promised me wewould stick to Old Country Road, abeginner’s hill, with nothing too trau-matic for my first run since childhood. Ilet gravity start me down the hill, andsaid a prayer.

“If all else fails,” I told myself, “I’m

not too proud to snow plow.”By the end of Country Road, I was

disappointed in myself, but not defeat-ed. I have a certain amount of naturaltenacity, which a lot of the time trans-lates into senseless persistence. Even so,I hopped back on the lift, took a quickpicture of the amazing view, and triedmy best to make it down the hill withoutsmacking into a tree or taking out anylittle kids.

Second time around — not so bad.Slowly, my skies started to feel lessalien and were finding ways of workingtogether. I figured out how to turn and

stop without just hoping for the best.Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a greatskier. One thing I learned during myweekend is the ski-definition of a yardsale: when a skier wipes out and loosestheir gear, leaving it all “on display.”

To be honest 10-year-old-skier-mewould have kicked my ass. Still, skiingcame back to me fairly quickly, and Isoon remembered why I was soobsessed as a kid. Skiers (and snow-boarders) don’t have speed limits.Towards the end of a run, I love to pointmy skies down the hill and see how fastI can go. I get a rush sort of like the oneI get from roller-coasters. I don’t knowwhat it is, but it feels good. I tried snow-boarding once — it was hilarious. Icouldn’t stay up for a minute and myinstructor gave up on me almost imme-diately. I guess I’m just not balancedenough for boarding, which is too bad

because snowboarder chicks are reallyhot.

What really blows my mind are thesefour-year-old super kids on the hills.

First of all, they have skis and boardsabout the length of my forearm. Andthey are absolutely fearless. If you’reafraid, you hold back. If you aren’tafraid you head anywhere, at anytime,at any speed. They zoom down trickyslopes with no control and have a ballthe whole time.

I saw one little guy, who towered attwo and a half feet, flip over twice,loose all his gear, and smack into hisfriend. I panicked a little, wonderedwhere his parents were, and got down tohim as fast as I could.

Silly Victoria.When I got within earshot I heard him

laughing hysterically. He jumped up,assembled his gear, and repeated the

whole process — including the laugh-ing part. Apparently, you can’t feel painuntil you’re three feet tall. I guess some-times it helps to forget all the bad stuffthat can happen to you.

I ended up having a perfect weekend.It was sunny and relatively warm bothSaturday and Sunday and the conditionswere great. I met some cool people onthe bus my friends and I took out toCorner Brook and we had little hotelparties. It was a really nice surprise thatmy cell phone didn’t work out there, soI got to avoid my real life for an entirethree days. I went to Jungle Jims andordered those jumbo hurricane drinks… two nights in a row. The entireweekend, and especially the skiing,reminded me of how easy it is to havefun in Newfoundland. Aren’t we lucky?

[email protected]

Ihave no idea what George Lucashas in store for his upcoming StarWars installment, but with six

weeks to go he’s already facing a seri-ous contender for the title of this year’smost memorable motion picture.

Adapted from Frank Miller’s seriesof graphic novels, and produced on abudget fairly close to what Lucas willspend on advertising his film, Sin Cityis a landmark destined to remain on ourcollective radar for a long time, and it’sdifficult to imagine anything else thisyear overshadowing it. If you don’tremember the fuss when Pulp Fictiondebuted over a decade ago, get readyfor a replay.

Sin City is the nickname of BasinCity, more or less a fictionalized LosAngeles, created in the image of vari-ous movie incarnations of one of themost filmed metropolises on the planet.In this case, however, any of the good-ness that normally could be found therehas been ripped out, leaving a grittyworld of seedy characters wallowing intheir respective vices.

Three stories are told during the film,one involving a dedicated police detec-tive trying to stop a serial killer, anoth-er focused on a hard-bitten, almostindestructible ex-con out to avenge thedeath of a lover, and the third finds adetermined do-gooder caught up in apotential war between the police andthe inhabitants of a city section knownas Old Town.

There are no messages here, nor sub-tle examinations of the human condi-tion. Sin City is all plot and style, albeitseamy, brutal plot and style. As violentand raw as it is, it’s likely the film isless gory than its source, and that thecharacters slightly more clothed, ifonly to make things easier for ratingsboards. Make no mistake, however,this is the kind of picture that justifiesratings boards. It’s entertainment foradults.

Shot on high definition video andpresented in black and white, Sin Cityplays out like the offspring of PulpFiction and The Man who Wasn’t There(or substitute your favourite film noir).

The actors slip into their variousroles with ease, although MickeyRourke, under prosthetic make-up, cre-ates the most memorable of the film’scharacters and with any luck will enjoya career revival equivalent to Mr.

Travolta’s following Pulp Fiction.With fans of the graphic novel series

singing the praises of RobertRodriguez in his attention to detail andfaithful recreation of the material, wecan expect that many of the uninitiatedamong us are soon to be found in thebook stores, looking for Miller’s publi-cations.

The rest of us, meanwhile, can bideour time until the inevitable sequel, bygoing back to catch this one more time,more than likely with at least one soonto be delighted companion in tow.

The story goes that during an awardsfunction, aspiring filmmaker Rod Luriegot to present an award to Joan Allen,and while doing so, promised to write ascreenplay with her in mind.

That film, The Contender, providedAllen with a best actress Oscar nomi-nation, and the opportunity to approachfellow actor, occasional filmmakerMike Binder, with a request that hekeep her in mind when casting one ofhis comedies. So it is we find JoanAllen in the feature role of Binder’sThe Upside of Anger, and likely on herway to another nomination.

Distraught at her husband leavingher with no warning or explanation,Terry Wolfmeyer leans on the bottleand a simmering rage to help getthrough the day. With four daughters tocare for and bills piling up, Terry’s hav-ing more than a little trouble coping.

Her next door neighbour, DennyDavies, enters the picture, availing ofthe convenience of a drinking buddyand the occasional free meal. A retiredstar baseball player, Denny is some-what jaded about the sport that madehim his money, and although he hosts aradio chat show that’s supposed to beabout baseball, he refuses to discuss thegame on the air.

While The Upside of Anger aspiresto something more heady, along thelines of examining the facets of angerand its effects on our lives, it falls shortof the mark, but lands in fairly fertile

territory. We find ourselves amidst a bunch of

hurtin’ humans who are brought to lifein brilliant performances all around,playing their situation for laughs. Thestory is clunky at times, but the filmmanages to walk that fine line betweencomedy and drama where the circum-stances of the characters are presentedseriously, while many of the things thecharacters do and say are played out

comically.Intelligent and witty, The Upside of

Anger is a delightful surprise, that reaf-firms Joan Allen’s place as one oftoday’s most talented leading ladies,while effectively reminding us why wecame to like Kevin Costner in the firstplace. In addition, the young actressesplaying the daughters hold their ownagainst their more experienced castmembers, and we hope to see great

things from them in the future. While the film does have its prob-

lems, it is the combined work of thecast, under Allen’s leadership, that rais-es The Upside Of Anger out of theranks of mediocrity where we wouldotherwise have found it.

Tim Conway operates Capital Videoin St. John’s. His next column appearsApril 24.

APRIL 10, 2005 INDEPENDENTLIFE • 15

TIM CONWAYFilm score

Sin CityStarring Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke

1/2

VICTORIAWELLS-SMITHHip

All downhill from here

The Upside of AngerStarring Joan Allen, Kevin Costner

Original comic panel of Dwight, in FrankMiller's graphic novel Sin City.

SinCity agritty, gorylandmark


INCAMERA

Recycling andother environ-mental initiativeshave been rollingout from the

provincial government in 2005 — as theprovince chugs towards its goal ofreducing waste sent to landfills by 50per cent in the next five years. For alook behind the scenes of an establishedrecycling operation, photographerRhonda Hayward and senior editorStephanie Porter visited Ever Greenrecycling to talk about the successes,and challenges, of their work.This is their report.

REDUCEREUSE

RECYCLE

REDUCEREUSE

RECYCLE

APRIL 10, 2005 INDEPENDENTLIFE • 17

Last year, Ever GreenRecycling collected 19.7 mil-lion tins and bottles at theirthree depots in St. John’s —almost one-sixth of all bever-

age containers returned in the province.The organization also took in tonnes of

paper-fibre products, offered work experi-ence for more than 100 clients of the men-tal health system — at least 10 of whommoved on to employment in the commu-nity.

Not bad for a program that startedalmost 14 years ago, with a handful ofdedicated staff and clients of theWaterford hospital, a neighbourhoodrecycling group, and a trend only begin-ning to take off.

“We did it because we thought it wouldbe a good thing environmentally,” saysSusan Duff, an occupational therapist andone of the program’s founders.

“We wanted a connection with the com-munity — and the other thing was, this isa great opportunity, from a business per-spective, to be involved with somethingthat’s really going to take off.”

And it has.The provincial government’s En-

vironment Department has announcedseveral major recycling and conservationinitiatives already this year — curbsiderecycling in Mount Pearl and CornerBrook, a paper and cardboard diversionplan for Lewisporte, a new plan for tirerecycling, more collection events forhousehold hazardous waste.

New regulations will require all officesand institutions in the St. John’s area to recycle paper products by March 2006.

“This is an exciting business … you’llhear much more from us over the nextyear,” says John Scott, chair and CEO ofthe Multi-Materials Stewardship Board, aCrown agency created in 1996 andreporting directly to the Environmentminister.

“Minister (Tom) Osborne is a championof waste diversion and recycling, he’s tak-ing a real leadership role and equipping usin doing the job.”

While there are more than 80 greendepot or satellite stations accepting recy-clables, and bottle deposits have spurredthe public to make returns (there was a 68per cent recovery rate last year), and sta-ble markets have been found for mostused paper and cardboard, some plasticsand other products recyclable in otherareas of Canada are not taken here.

With each Newfoundlander andLabradorian generating an estimated twokilograms of waste each day — and some160,000 beverage containers still fillingthe trash cans daily — there’s still workahead if this province is going to reach thegovernment’s goal of diverting 50 per centof waste headed for disposal sites by2010.

“We’re looking at markets, establishingmodern standards of waste management,creating a regional approach to wastemanagement, establish infrastructure onthe ground, public awareness …” listsScott.

He says the much-touted recycling pro-grams in Halifax are a model for the gov-ernment and his organization when look-ing forward to 2010.

“We’ve launched a major effort to cap-ture fibre products (in a number of munic-ipalities) … and they will be well-posi-tioned to capture additional recyclableproducts over time.”

•••On a weekday, the Ever Green depot on

Water Street in St. John’s is relativelyquiet — not like the hubbub of activity ofa Saturday. But there’s a full complementof workers: a couple of people wash bot-tles in one room; lunch is prepared in thekitchen.

In the spacious warehouse room, bot-tles are sorted into bins, large containersof sorted paper are rolled in and emptied,recyclables are packed into huge squarebags, ready for transportation to market.

The sound of clanking bottles fills theair; the mechanical screech of the indus-trial cardboard compacter cuts throughfrom time to time.

The workers smile for the camera, chatcheerfully about the work, keep busy asthey wait patiently for the next truck(office and institutional pickups createmost of the activity through the week) orenvironmentally conscious member ofthe public, to arrive.

Ever Green Recycling started in 1991as a small-scale partnership with theVictoria Park neighbourhood recyclinggroup in the west end of St. John’s.

Then, there were 22 clients of the men-tal health system working, plus three orfour staff, says Duff. That first week, theylost half the participants because theycouldn’t bear to be away from their regu-lar schedule and surroundings at theWaterford hospital.

“It’s really grown and developed sincethen,” Duff says. “I didn’t realize it wouldbecome so big.”

There are now 90 consumers in theWater Street west depot — taking care ofrecycling, the kitchen, and working inthe wood and textile shops — and prob-ably that many again, in the other twodepots.

While Ever Green was designed toreduce stigma attached to mental illness,and build useful work and social skills for

those who work in the depots, chief oper-ations officer Mike Wadden makes itclear the organization also “plays a majorrole in recycling and environmental ini-tiatives … and we want to play an evenbigger role.”

He points to their new, expanded paperprogram. “We take just about all the fibreyou can produce,” he says.

Wadden goes on to detail expansionplans for the Cowan Avenue depot —dramatically increased space, with moreprograms of the Waterford Foundation,and the creation of an environment cen-tre, all set to open in early 2007.

“We’re investing to make this as effi-cient and convenient as possible,” he saysin regard to their recycling collection.“We can play a larger role in terms of ourvision and willingness to invest in thisprovince.”

There have been, and continue to be,hurdles in the way of offering the servic-es the public wants, and sometimesdemands. Certain products, like plastic,and food cans, are not taken currently —though some used to be.

“We get 600-800 customers a week atthis one depot and these aren’t the samepeople every week … can you imagingtelling that many people that we nolonger take No. 1 and No. 2 plastic?”says Duff.

“It causes so much confusion, and somuch frustration with the public.”

Wadden agrees. “If you’re going to take another prod-

uct, you’d better be able to find a consis-tent market for it, for the long term.People don’t want stops and starts … itmakes it seem like people don’t knowwhat they’re doing.”

From the MMSB’s perspective, findingthose stable markets nationally and inter-nationally is first and foremost in theirminds while looking at new opportunitiesfor recycling and waste diversion.

“At this point in time, on plastic front… even assuming we could capture all ofit, markets are a challenge,” says Scott.

“And not just for Newfoundland, butthroughout North America.”

•••Wadden, a longtime promoter of com-

munity health and development — andconservation — says the public has toremember recycling is just one part ofwaste management.

“As culture, we want convenience,” hesays. “But it’s reduce, reuse, and thenrecycle. It’s everybody’s responsibility toreduce the amount of packaging we use,to make different choices. Sometimesrecycling can take place at home, that’swhat people have to understand.”

While every consumer has an individ-ual duty to be more respectful of the envi-ronment, Scott says government isaccountable too.

“Government’s role with municipali-ties is to ensure the infrastructure is inplace to make it convenient and costeffective for consumers to take advantageof,” he says.

Waste management is the responsibili-ty of municipalities, but Scott says theMMSB is offering “all kinds” of support,encouragement, and advice. It’s up to citycouncils to decide to invest the time andfunds to the program. While Mount Pearland Corner Brook have hopped on thebandwagon, St. John’s hasn’t yet made ita priority.

“Having curbside programs is criticallyimportant to moving forward and neces-sary for us to look at on a regional basis… so it’s not a financial burden on con-sumers; it becomes practice and part ofour day-to-day routine.”


WEEKLYDIVERSIONSACROSS1 Affectedly refined7 Inoculation10 Angry growls16 Polar cover17 Legitimate19 Computer fixer20 Spots21 Musical treasure22 “The ___ leaves ...”23 ___-life crisis24 Seller26 Homeless child28 Business deg.29 Each and ___ ...31 Not hers32 Totem painter33 Drive the getaway car34 Longtime caretaker ofhomeless cats onParliament Hill: “the cat-man” ___Chartrand35 City of SW France36 Corgi’s cousin37 Alarm38 Vessel (anat.)40 N. Zealand native42 ___- jong43 Mohawk holywoman: ___ Tekakwitha46 Pop’s Sexsmith47 Painter/author of APrairie Boy’s Winter51 Italian love52 Small nail

54 Ship deserters55 Bard’s time56 Two-wheeler57 Oil or coal58 Left59 Biblical weed60 ___ among many61 Canadian-born actor(“Gilda”): Glenn ___62 The ___ of a GoodWoman (Munro)63 Understanding ___(McLuhan)64 ___ d’Occasion(Gabrielle Roy)66 Carnival city67 Swore68 WWW address69 Short time71 Epoch72 Maritime wildflower75 A McGarrigle76 Toogood ___, Nfld.78 Skewer82 Part of a whole83 Flaky mineral84 Elec. unit85 Boreal forest area86 That woman87 Nfld. island oncehome to Great Auk88 The ___ of MyAmazing Luck (Toews)90 Convent dweller91 First publisher of TheCanadian Encyclopedia

(1985)93 Icon95 Japanese inn97 Making a mistake98 Keen99 Tincture for cuts100 Stable101 For each102 Make beloved

DOWN1 Group of Seven artist2 Getting exercise3 Numb4 ___ on parle francais5 Word of approval6 Cathedral part7 Largest hydro-electricpower development inCanada: ___ Bay8 Wing-like9 Took the bait10 Step11 Nine (Fr.)12 Play a part13 Cuban dance14 Agile15 Upper House17 “Take a ___!” (relax!)18 Hindu festival oflights25 “Now I see!”27 Bark30 Venerate32 ___ kernel33 Throb35 Greek letter

36 World Heritage Site:___ Buffalo NationalPark (Alta.)37 Epidemic of 200339 Have being41 Inland sea of Asia42 Mongrel dog43 Meat on a skewer44 Type of acid45 Memento47 Golfer from P.E.I.48 Guides49 Causing goose bumps50 Work at dough52 Actor Raymond(“Ironside”)53 ___ as a beet54 Gun it in neutral57 Rotten58 Canine comment59 Stratas of opera61 Fiddlehead, e.g.62 Get a ___!63 Coffee cup65 Eight (Fr.)66 A MacNeil67 Machine part69 Actress Burroughs70 Grumble72 ___ Bight, Nfld.73 Not injured74 Saint ___ etMiquelon75 Cousins77 LP speed79 Little finger80 Pet lizard

81 Leather maker83 Humid84 Montreal crime

reporter shot in the back(2000)85 Check for fit (2 wds.)

87 Discover88 Dressing herb89 A Great Lake

92 Spanish aunt94 Guide to getting there96 Eccentric

ARIES: MARCH 21/APRIL 20You must look for compromises,Aries, otherwise you’ll be buttingheads with everyone who crossesyour path. Cool your temper to getthrough the week.

TAURUS: APRIL 21/MAY 21You may not be getting the sup-port you need on the work front,but there is no point in making ascene about it, because that willonly add fuel to the fire. Ride itout; it won’t last long.

GEMINI: MAY 22/JUNE 21You may be a bit impulsive thisweek, Gemini, but it’s not neces-sarily a bad thing. Spontaneity issometimes needed to break up thehumdrum. Enjoy living.

CANCER: JUNE 22/JULY 22It’s likely to be an emotionalweek for you and loved ones,Cancer. Rely on each other as asupport group, and you’ll be able to rally through this tough

time together.

LEO: JULY 23/AUG. 23You will find plenty to laugh andbe happy about this week, but noteveryone will share your positiveview of the world, Leo. Don’t letthem get you down.

VIRGO: AUG. 24/SEPT. 22This is not a good time to takerisks with money, Virgo. You maythink that because you’ve beenfrugal you can let loose. Recon-sider, and continue to watch yourpennies.

LIBRA: SEPT. 23/OCT. 23You may get irritated this weekby people who can’t make uptheir minds about things, Libra.Rather than getting flustered,why not help them solve theirproblems?

SCORPIO: OCT. 24/NOV. 22Don’t let your disappointmentover something that goes wrong

early in the week ruin the rest ofyour plans, Scorpio. Stop sulking,and get over it fast.

SAGITTARIUS: NOV. 23/DEC. 21Not everyone agrees with the project you’ve chosen to focus on, Sagittarius. But that’s not for everyone to decide. Continueto do what you think is best.

CAPRICORN: DEC. 22/JAN. 20Before you get involved withsomething you believe will have a beneficial effect on yourcareer, do the research. It may notbe all it’s cracked up to be,Capricorn.

AQUARIUS: JAN. 21/FEB. 18Don’t take anything you hear atwork too seriously, Aquarius.What you’ll discover is it’s mostlygossip and deliberate. Tune out thenegative and focus on your work.

PISCES: FEB. 19/MARCH 20Someone close to you will make

life difficult for you this week,Pisces. Don’t be too concerned —it’s for no apparent reason.

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS

APRIL 10Mandy Moore, Actress

APRIL 11David Letterman, T.V. Host

APRIL 12Andy Garcia, Actor

APRIL 13Linda Moulton, Writer

APRIL 14Loretta Lynn, Singer

APRIL 15Emma Thompson, Actress

APRIL 16Martin Lawrence, Actor

POET’SCORNER

April

the buds are fatter on the treesthe shrubs hold up their headsand underground the wispiest soundof stirring in the beds

as flower bulbs begin to swelland bugs their lives renewwhile above the ground the land’s still crownedwith snow, thick frozen dew

it stills the land and keeps our hopesfor warmth and green at bayas round and round, mound after mound,we pick through every day

but though we walk for now through snowwe know the worst is pastfor the sun will hound into the groundthe frozen banks at last

Bobbie Brennan,Mount Pearl

WEEKLYSTARS


Newfoundland and Labrador has a lot toboast about, but cutting-edge styleisn’t usually high on the list.

Perhaps it should be. Trish Molloy and her hair salon and spa, The

Head Room, on LeMarchant Road in St. John’s,have been making waves in the beauty industryon a national level for years.

Aside from a loyal customer base, however,Molloy tells The Independent, media recogni-tion has been minimal in this somewhat fash-ion-reserved province.

Last year, the salon appeared on the frontpages of both the National Post and the TorontoStar in one week, after a sweep of Canadianstyle awards.

In a feat rarely achieved by any one salon,The Head Room won five prestigious ContessaAwards, including Canadian Salon of the Yearand Canadian Hairstylist of the Year.

On April 9, the team headed to Toronto with22-year-old stylist Kendra Loder for her nomi-nation as Atlantic Hairstylist of the year at theCanadian Hairdresser Mirror Awards. In May,Loder will fly to Montreal to attend the L’OrealColour Trophy awards, a 50-year-old, interna-tionally-recognized award show.

The Bishop’s Falls native is nominated as oneof Canada’s top 10, for a young colourist awardand a stylist award.

“It’s amazing for her age,” says Molloy.“She’ll be competing against a lot of seniorteams.”

Dressed head to toe in black, the owner ofThe Head Room relaxes on a leather couchtucked into a bay window at the front of the oldVictorian house, home to 28 employees, a bou-tique, several separate rooms for styling hair,and a full spa.

“We’ve been in this building for 12-and-a-

half years and I’ve had my own salon for 17-and-a-half years,” she says. “It’s what I’vealways wanted.”

Molloy has the confident air of a woman whoisn’t afraid to try anything once — and theunusual layout of her salon reflects that.

Classic high ceilings, dark wood and intricatemouldings intermingle with contemporarydécor, gothic fixtures and elaborate mirrors.The house, with its winding stairs, three floorsand maze of rooms, makes a surprisingly effec-tive salon space.

“Rather than the open concept, you feel likeyou’re a little more private,” says Molloy. “Youdon’t feel as rushed, I think, if you’re in small-er areas, different floors — rather than 20 peo-ple cutting hair on the same level. That must becrazy.”

BUSY SEASONSCertain days at The Head Room are crazy

nonetheless, particularly on weekends, duringthe summer and leading up to Christmas.Molloy says up to 500 customers can passthrough the doors during any one week andannual revenues are in the area of $1.5 million.

Molloy pitches in with the rest of her hair-dressing “family,” styling and colouring hair sixdays a week.

She gives two main reasons for the salon’ssuccess: training and recruitment.

Eight specialists from the salon regularlytravel across North America to receive trainingin current trends and to teach classes and semi-nars themselves. They keep their colleaguesback at The Head Room updated through class-es, held every two weeks.

Molloy has the pick of the crop when itcomes to young, newly trained stylists — andshe makes them work for a job, through extend-ed interviews and live demonstrations.

Controlling the epidemicThere’s an epidemic sweeping St.

John’s — one that causes eco-nomic loss, employee turmoil

and concerns about safety. It’s an uglyepidemic that if not stopped will contin-ue to spiral out of control and will havean even greater impact than the multi-million dollar loss it’s already caused.The epidemic can be traced to the rootcauses of drug abuse, failure and lack ofresources. Listen every day to the localnews and you’ll hear of the manyreports of the very serious problem.

I received the call at 11 p.m. from asenior manager. She was already at theoffice with the police. There had been anattempted break-in. It brought momen-tary relief to hear the word “attempted.”

Late one evening two people snuck by

my building and, as a busy street roaredby, cut the telephone wires. Then theyboldly stood in the lit parking lot andwaited. People in nearby buildings actu-ally watched them wait. Experiencedthieves know to cut telephone lines andwait, as not all alarms are monitored.Once they heard the police they ran onfoot. It had snowed that evening and thepolice followed the tracks … tonowhere. The thieves were much toosmart to get caught.

Our office is fortunate. We have a

dedicated line to the alarm companythat, once cut, immediately alerted thepolice.

As there had been numerous break-insin the area, police responded quickly,Eight officers responded, in hopes ofcatching the thieves.

In the meantime, my office did nothave an alarm and I couldn’t take thechance that once everyone left the scenethe thieves wouldn’t come back and fin-ish the job. Make no mistake, there isnothing in my building of any real inter-

est to a thief — save for some comput-ers — but any damage to them wouldput the company in serious jeopardy. Mycompany has sensitive equipment that’sonly of use to our researchers, and isn’teasily replaced.

Scrambling, I called several compa-nies to provide overnight, on-site securi-ty. On very short notice, Spectrum pro-vided security that monitored the build-ing overnight and helped put our minds

SIOBHANCOADY

The bottom line

See “Protect your business,” page 20

INDEPENDENTBUSINESSSUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 10-16, 2005 — PAGE 19

Heads upSt. John’s hair salon continues to pick up national awardsthanks to a fearless owner, a well-trained “family” — andphotogenic Newfoundland women

Hairstylist Kendra Loder and Trish Molloy, owner of The Head Room. Rhonda Hayward/The Independent See “Newfoundland women,” page 20

Stylists busy in the colour room at The Head Room Salon and Spa in St. John's. Rhonda Hayward/The Independent

20 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS APRIL 10, 2005

Stoggers’toggers’ Stoggers’PizzaPizza

579-STOG579-STOG579-STOG77 Ha77 Harvrvey Roadey Road

TheThe“best“bestpizzzzainintown”town”isisBACK!BACK!

at ease.I had a lot of help from my alarm-sys-

tem provider. They called the telephonecompany and ensured they would bethere first thing in the morning to rein-state telephone, computer and alarm sys-tems.

To give the telephone company cred-it, they were there bright and earlytelling me so many stories of the numer-ous times they’ve been called to do sim-ilar repairs. They advised it didn’t matter

where I had my wires, the thieves knowall the tricks and can get to them. Theygave me a few hints that I followed inhopes it would be more difficult nexttime. Moral of the story is, if you don’thave a dedicated line for your alarm —get one.

There have been numerous businessesaffected by break-ins in the area of myoffice over the last few months, includ-ing some repeat break-ins. The impactwas a loss of economic activity and pro-ductivity. Insurance rates go up. Securitycosts increase, as does anxiety.

The bottom line is, this type of crimeis on the rise. It’s not getting better. Infact, it’s getting far worse and while noone was in jeopardy or in harm’s waythis particular time, too often we hear ofhold-ups in corner stores and gas sta-tions where people are involved. Thereis too much personal, property andfinancial risk to just shake our collectiveheads to the matter.

Business needs to take the right pre-cautions and government needs to takethe right action to ensure our collectivesecurity.

From page 19

Protect your business from robbery

Terra Footwear under new ownership

In an attempt to put the boots to the world market, Kodiak Group announced the purchase of Terra Footwear last week. Terra, a leader in the manufacturing of safety shoes and boots, was started in 1972 in Harbour Grace by the Alevenfamily. There is now a second Terra plant in Markdale, Ont. In a statement, president of the Ontario-based Kodiak group, Kevin Huckle, assured the 300-plus employees of Terra that both plants would remain open, as operations in Asiawould be reduced. “We’re looking at ways to maximize production capacity at the Harbour Grace and Markdale plants by taking back some of our offshore manufacturing,” Huckle said. The financial details of the agreement were not released.

Photos Paul Daly/The Independent

Loder was one such hopeful two yearsago. After graduating from the VidalSassoon Academy in Yorkville, Ont. shecontacted Molloy on a weekly basis untillanding an interview.

Loder says she knew she wanted tostyle hair when she took part in a hairshow at age 14.

“I always did hair. I cut my friends’hair a lot when I was 14, 15, I used toalways want to do it. I used to do dread-locks for, like, 50 bucks when I was 15,”

she says with a smile. “And then I usedto take them out too when their parentswould get upset.”

AWARD PREPARATIONSTo prepare the award submissions,

Loder and her colleagues work on mod-els who are made up and photographedprofessionally by industry experts,which The Head Room often fly in fromthe mainland.

The nominations are given based onthe photographs, but for the L’Orealawards next month, Loder will take amodel and make-up artist along with her

for the live segment of the competition. Although they may look outside of

the province for fashion photographers,The Head Room often uses local ama-teur models, which they find throughtheir client base or simply by word ofmouth.

Molloy says the industry photogra-phers are always impressed.

“They’re astonished at the modelshere. How cooperative they are and pho-togenic and beautiful, they’re amazed.Every photographer we’ve ever had overhas said the same thing.

“Newfoundland women.”

From page 19

‘Newfoundland women’

BUSINESS INBRIEF

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The chiefexecutive officer of cigarette makerPhilip Morris USA told a federal judgelast week the company had changed inrecent years and is now open with thepublic about the dangers of smoking.

Appearing as a defense witness in thegovernment’s racketeering case againstthe tobacco industry, Philip Morris CEOMichael Szymanczyk said the companymade a business decision during the late1990s to ensure it was dealing with thepublic “responsibly, openly and honest-ly.”

Szymanczyk also testified that the

company spent generously on a programto prevent youth smoking.

But Szymanczyk faced tough ques-tioning by a government lawyer whoargued that the changes made by thecompany were really a “public relationsstunt” designed to blunt public anger andhelp defend it against sick-smoker law-suits.

The government charges that cigarettemakers conspired to lie about the dangersof smoking for decades.

The tobacco companies deny any con-spiracy and say they drastically changedtheir marketing practices as part of a

1998 settlement with state attorney gen-erals.

At the center of Szymanczyk’s testi-mony were a series of moves made byPhilip Morris’s parent company between1997 and 1999 in response to mountingpublic pressure.

The company decided to drop a long-held stance questioning whether smokingis addictive and whether its links to dis-ease had been fully proven. It has sincedeferred to public health authorities onthe health effects of smoking.

“We hope people will view us asrespectable,” Szymanczyk says.

Philip Morris takes the standPaul Daly/The Independent

U.S. delays missile test

CALGARY (Reuters) — The United States has postponed thelaunch of a missile that would have forced the shutdown ofHibernia.

Federal Defense Minister Bill Graham says the U.S.Department of Defense has agreed to delay the launch of theTitan IV rocket, which had been set to drop a 10-tonne boosterin an area near the offshore project on April 11.

Oil companies were preparing to evacuate 250 workersaboard the massive concrete platform and turn off output ofabout 200,000 barrels a day as a precaution for when theunmanned rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

A nearby drilling rig, contracted to Husky Energy Inc.’s WhiteRose development, was also to have been towed away, theCanada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board.

Officials in Ottawa and Newfoundland reacted strongly to themissile test creating a “hazard area” around Hibernia, 315 kmsoutheast of St. John’s, and quickly lobbied for an indefinitepostponement.

“We just need written confirmation, and once we have thatthen the rigs are free to resume their normal operations,” boardspokeswoman Simone Keough says.

Hibernia had not reduced production rates amid the uncertain-ty, said Alan Jeffers, spokesman for project partner Exxon MobilCorp.

Canadian beer with Wisconsin accentMILWAUKEE (Reuters) — When Manjit and Ravinder Minhasembarked on their mission to shake up the Canadian brewingindustry, they turned to Wisconsin.

Their fast-growing business is luring beer drinkers from someof Canada’s biggest companies, and creating jobs at two brew-eries Stateside.

The Minhases, a pair of 20-something siblings, own MountainCrest Brewing Co., which in 2002 entered the beer business intheir hometown of Calgary, Alberta.

Mountain Crest quickly won a following throughout Albertaby marketing its self-proclaimed “damn good beer” at priceswell below Molson Canadian and Labatt Blue. The company isnow entering Ontario.

All of Mountain Crest’s beer is made at Joseph HuberBrewing Co. in Monroe, Wis., and City Brewing Co. in LaCrosse, Wis.

By farming out production, Mountain Crest can limit its costswhile selling a high-quality brew, said Manjit Minhas, MountainCrest president. Her brother, Ravinder, is vice president.

$16M US terror drillNEW YORK (Reuters) — The largest-ever U.S. terrorism drillwas staged last week in New Jersey and Connecticut with a castof thousands and a cost of $16 million.

The five-day exercise replicated a bioterrorism attack in NewJersey and a chemical blast in Connecticut, setting in motionmore than 200 government agencies and local organizations andbusinesses poised to respond.

First responders rushed to the scenes, dummy victims weretaken to hospitals, medicines were rationed and more than10,000 people acted out roles in the operation.

All that was missing was the element of surprise and the panica real attack would trigger.

Robert McCrie, professor of security management at John JayCollege, questions the focus of the exercises.

“The assumption has been there are atomic, biological, chem-ical and nuclear risks that put society on edge,” he says. “Afuture attack might be much different.

“People that hate government or hate America are likely to turnto something cheap and surprising … like an attack on our poor-ly protected technology infrastructure. That would be symbolic.”


As the longest-running fran-chisee for Mary Brown’s inNewfoundland and Labrador,

Ed Whelan from Harbour Grace canaccurately reel off the chronologicalhistory of the company.

He’s seen owners come and go,trends change, and new stores spreadfrom Labrador City to St. John’s.Today, 39 of the 70 Mary Brown’s inCanada are located in the province(Whelan owns three) — even thoughthe company’s owners are now based inOntario.

“I live in Harbour Grace,” Whelantells The Independent. “We have thereal old store we opened. It will be 34years in May, so you know, we haven’tgot the modern Mary Brown’s store,but I have in Bay Roberts and I have inCarbonear.”

PRIORITY PIT-STOPMany Newfoundlanders and Labra-

dorians have grown up with the famousfried chicken and taters at MaryBrown’s. For those living away, the yel-low-and-orange restaurants are often apriority pit-stop when visiting home.

It all started in 1969 when business-men Pat Tarrant from St. Lawrence, andCyril Fleming from Allan’s Island,decided to team up and secure a fran-chise.

“They went looking and they wentdown to Richmond, Va. and they metwith a Mr. Guthrie,” says Whelan. “Hehad developed this recipe; it was called‘Golden Skillet.’ So they got the rightsfor Canada. They came intoNewfoundland and right downstairs inthe Avalon Mall, where Sobey’s is now,was the first Mary Brown’s store thatopened.”

The team ran into a conflict over“Golden Skillet,” because Zellers had arestaurant chain with a similar name.They ended up changing to “MaryBrown’s,” the maiden name of

Guthrie’s wife.Mary Brown’s in Canada —

although now independent and havingswitched owners a couple of times —still maintains ties with the GoldenSkillet company in the US.

Whelan’s restaurant in HarbourGrace (once known as Ruby’s Drive-In) was the fourth store in the province.He says staying ahead in the large fast-food market of today is tougher than inthe 1970s — although there was alwaysa (“friendly”) rivalry with KentuckyFried Chicken.

To give the Colonel a run for hismoney, Whelan says Mary Brown’sstarted purchasing fresh, local chickenyears ago, although it didn’t take longfor KFC to follow suit.

Jeff Sears, regional manager forMary Brown’s in the province, says thecompany still uses local distributorsand suppliers.

“It’s important for us, wherever wecan, obviously we want to keep ourmoney in Newfoundland; it’s as simpleas that.”

Sears has been with the company for16 years. He says whenever he travelsto Alberta to open a new restaurant it’slike a “come home year,” with so manyloyal Newfoundland and Labrador cus-tomers out west.

He names Alberta and Ontario as tar-get growth markets, and the companyalso hopes to eventually expand ontheir current solo store in Nova Scotia.

There are no plans yet to add to the39 stores in Newfoundland andLabrador. As Sears says, the province isalmost at “saturation point,” although“there are always people interested inbuying.”

Business is healthy — particularly atthe highway restaurants during thesummer — and Sears says at peaktimes of the year as many as 500 peoplemight be employed with the company.

Although market competition isalways an issue, he says increases in theprice of products and fuel — as well asout-migration — pose the biggest busi-

ness challenges.Oil prices aren’t about to stop this

Newfoundland and Labrador institutionfrom flourishing, however, or from giv-ing back to the community.

To date, Mary Brown’s has donated$140,000 to the Children’s WishFoundation, thanks to customer dona-tions.

“We’d like to say a big thank you toour customers … and as well, thank ouremployees,” says Sears. “We’ve hademployees now that have been with us25-plus years. It’s amazing how manypeople come up to us in restaurants andsay, ‘Oh, I worked here back in ’71 and’69,’ you know, ‘I started when thisplace first opened,’ sort of thing.

“My response is, ‘As long as the

APRIL 10, 2005 INDEPENDENTBUSINESS • 21

‘As good as it was back then’Mary Brown’s still got the best legs in town; 35 years later, rising costs, out-migration challenges for franchisees

Centre for Management DevelopmentSt. John’s, NF A1B 3X5Ph. (709) 737-7977 Fax: (709) 737-7999http://www.mun.ca/cmd/

Faculty of Business Administration

Professional

Development

Seminars

2005

MARCH17-18 Financial Interpretation & Analysis

Judy Cumby $390

21 Working With Different Personalities: Using Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to Improve Workplace Relationships & ProductivityAda Shave $220

22 Technical Report WritingLynn Morrissey $220

29 Hiring the Right PersonTravor Brown $195

30 Risk Assessment & The Financial Health of the FirmPaul Walsh $195

APRIL4 - 8 Supervisory Management Skills Program,

Module I: Supervision and the OrganizationVarious Facilitators $895

13 - 15 The Professional Facilitator Certification Program,Module I: Facilitation Process,Tools, and Techniques $2500Lynn Morrissey Program Cost

14 Conflict Management and ResolutionTom Wiseman $195

18 - 19 Developing an Effective Marketing PlanDonna Stapleton $390

19 Human Resource PlanningLynn Morrissey $195

21 Planning and Goal-settingSudhir Saha $195

MAY9-10 Problem Solving & Decision Making

Sudhir Saha $195

12-13 The Professional Facilitator Certification Program,Module 2: Simulated Facilitation $2500Lynn Morrissey Program Cost

17 Effective Meeting ManagementLynn Morrissey $195

18-19 The Fundamentals of Project ManagementEric Davidson $450

25 Project Evaluation in a Project Management EnvironmentPaul Walsh $195

25 Priority Time ManagementTom Wiseman $195

26 Communicating for Results: Tools & Techniques for the WorkplaceLynn Morrissey $195

27 Employment Law for ManagersDenis Mahoney $195

27 Understanding Workplace Dynamics: How Interpersonal Relationships Impact Leadership,Team and Personal EffectivenessDonna Phillips $350

30 - Supervisory Management Skills Program,June 4 Module II: The Human Side of Supervision

Various Facilitators $895

Seminar descriptions available at www.mun.ca/cmd

Executive Development ProgramApril 24 - May 6, 2005

The Centre offers client-specific seminars on these and many otherbusiness and management related topics. For registration or furtherinformation, please contact Jackie Collins ([email protected]).

Penny Rideout and Bonnie Kane at work at the newest Mary Brown’s restaurant, now open in Conception Bay South. Paul Daly/The Independent

BUSINESS INBRIEF

22 • INDEPENDENTSPECIAL SECTION APRIL 10, 2005

APRIL 10, 2005 INDEPENDENTSPECIAL SECTION • 23

24 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS APRIL 10, 2005

EVENTSAPRIL 10• The Resource Centre for the Arts Gallery hosts an open discus-sion on Complementary roles of public, private and artist-rungalleries in our community, LSPU Hall, Victoria Street, 753-4531, 3 p.m.• Concert under the Dome with Shelley Neville and Peter Halley,3 p.m., Cochrane Street Church, $10.• Shambhala Newfoundland presents stories and slides fromTravels in Buddhist Lands, starting 7:30 p.m., Brother T.I.Murphy Centre, St. John’s, free, 753-5156.

• Melville Music Festival in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, until April13, 896-8542.• All Fool’s Day with Beni Malone at the LSPU Hall, $15, 753-4531. Mature themes.• Bombardier Ski-doo tradeshow at the Grand Falls-WindsorArts and Culture Centre.• The Quintessential Vocal Ensemble in concert at the Basilica ofSt. John the Baptist, St. John’s, 7:30 p.m. Free; donations accept-ed.• Bless the Child at the Stephenville Arts and Culture Centre, 643-4571.

APRIL 11• No Man’s Land by Kevin Major, Directed by Donna Butt, theCorner Brook Arts and Culture Centre, tickets $18, school mati-nees available. Until April 12, 637-2580.

APRIL 12• Canadian Idol auditions, 8 a.m. at the Holiday Inn in St. John’s,eligible ages 16-26.• College of the North Atlantic’s visual art class Art Exhibit open-ing at the Stephenville Arts and Culture Centre.• Youth 2000 Centre open house, 7-9 p.m., free. 34 Bond St.,Grand Falls-Windsor. Call Lori 489-7648.

APRIL 13• Pushed Through and Second Chances: Stories About the Rightto Read at the Longside Centre, 41 Shaw Street, St. John’s. Free.Continues April 14 and 15, 7:30 pm. Call Ed Kavanagh 722-6386. • A.C. Hunter Children’s Library St. John’s offers a free story-time,11-11:30 a.m. for children between the ages of three and five.Call to register, 737-3953.• High school drama festival, LSPU Hall, St. John’s. Schoolsfrom the Avalon east region compete to represent their region at theprovincial drama festival. Three schools a night. Until April 16.754-4531.• Tai Chi Chih classes at The Lantern, eight-week course taughtby Sheila Leonard, 747-1820.• No Man’s Land by Kevin Major, Directed by Donna Butt at the

Stephenville Arts and Culture Centre, tickets $18, school matineesavailable, 643-4571.

APRIL 14• Bound for Boston pledge day: support Snook’s marathon forCerebral Palsy. Visit rightonsnook.com or call 753-9922. Snookruns the Boston marathon April 18.• Fairmont Newfoundland wine club meeting with wines fromaround the world to be tasted, from 5:45-7 p.m. Admission $25,758-8194.• Jazz vocalist Kate Hammett-Vaughan performs at the bar abovePeddlers on George Street, St. John’s. Call 739-9810.• Gonzaga High School presents Wonderful Town at the St. John’sArts and Culture Centre, until April 16. Tickets $18, 729-3900

APRIL 15• No Man’s Land by Kevin Major, Directed by Donna Butt at theGrand Falls-Windsor Arts and Culture Centre, tickets $18, schoolmatinees available, 292-4520.• Atlantic String Quartet performs Quartet No. 8 in C minor byShostakovich at the D.F. Cook Recital Hall in St. John’s, tickets$17.50, call 722-4441.• Andrew and Barry LeDrew at Erin’s Pub, St. John’s.

APRIL 16• Ballet Recital, Bishop’s Falls and Botwood ballet school at theGrand Falls-Windsor Arts and Culture Centre, 292-4520.• 8th annual St. Matthews’ Spring Bazaar and Morning Coffeefrom 9:00 a.m. to noon. $3 for adults and $1 for children withbreakfast included.• Andrew and Barry LeDrew at Erin’s Pub, St. John’s.

IN THE GALLERIES• Tangible – the sculpture exhibit at the RCA Visual Gallery,LSPU Hall, St. John’s until April 18.• In Full Bloom, gallery artists celebrate spring, Red OchreGallery, St. John’s, until April 18.• Newfoundland work by David Marshak, new work by VladGrospic, James Baird Gallery, St. John’s.

BUSINESS BRIEFSNO MAN’S LANDOffer moreto vaccinemakersWASHINGTON (Reuters) —Companies might be coaxedinto making much-needed vac-cines if governments and pri-vate donors teamed up to buythem in advance, officials witha Washington think tank says.

The plan would give thedonors an option, obligatingthem to pay the manufactureronly if a vaccine was actuallyproduced.

The Center for Global Dev-elopment believes the plancould help draw companiesback into making vaccines — abusiness many have fledbecause of difficult regula-tions, liability and becausevaccines are not especiallyprofitable.

The crisis in the vaccineindustry was illustrated for theUnited States last year whenone of only two major manu-facturers, Chiron Corp., lost itslicense to make the annualinfluenza jab.

The loss cut the anticipatedU.S. vaccine supply in half andforced health officials toscramble to find extra doses.

Rising Tide Theatre’s Kevin Woolridge, Philip Goodridge, Doug Ballett, John Ryan and Mark White are embarking on a cross-island tour. The performance’s of Kevin Major's No Man'sLand kicks off Rising Tide’s season . Paul Daly/The Independent

By Darcy MacRaeFor The Independent

Darren Langdon’s 2004-05 hockey sea-son was unlike any he had enjoyed inrecent years. For starters, he wore a

Deer Lake uniform for the first time since1991, and secondly, he became the type ofplayer he spent the past 12 years protecting.

Langdon is this province’s best-knownhockey player, having spent 10 years as a left-winger in the NHL. He has played more NHLgames (507) than any other Newfoundlandand Labrador-born player, and has calledNew York, Vancouver and Montreal home.

He’s long been one of the NHL’s topenforcers, using a thunderous right hand andan uncanny ability to take a punch that wouldtopple many men who are superior in size.

Left without a place to play when NHLowners locked out their players in September,Langdon joined his hometown Deer Lake RedWings in the fall as player/coach, helpingguide the team to a West Coast Senior HockeyLeague championship. The change in scenerysuited the 34-year-old just fine, as he and hisfamily took in a Newfoundland winter.

“It was nice to be home for a change. Thekids liked it, they had a lot of snowmobilingto do,” Langdon tells The Independent.

Langdon and his Deer Lake Red Wingstook to the ice at Mile One Stadium for gamesthree, four and five of the Herder MemorialTrophy Finals April 8-11. According to RedWings’ general manager Andy Brake,Langdon’s presence has been noticed by play-ers and fans alike.

In previous years, Brake says, his team waspushed around by the likes of Corner Brookforwards Todd Gillingham and Terry Ryan, afact fans were quick to pick up on. But withLangdon and his 1,229 career NHL penaltyminutes in the lineup, the problem wassolved.

“In our league, we have been intimidatedfor the past three or four years and that madeit tough for guys to stand tall,” Brake says.“Darren has certainly taken that factor awayfrom the other teams. That’s an important fac-tor when it comes to becoming a champ.”

Despite his reputation, Langdon did findthe odd opponent who was willing to drop thegloves with an NHL heavyweight. He twicebattled Corner Brook’s Ryan (a Mount Pearl

native who has also seen action in the NHL)— but just because the two traded blows onthe ice doesn’t mean Langdon dislikes Ryanaway from the rink. In fact, he says it was justa case of two guys playing hard.

“He thought I hit somebody dirty and cameto help out his teammate,” says Langdon.“It’s just part of the game. He does his job andit’s just the way I do my job.”

But the Red Wings counted on Langdonmore for his offensive production this season.He may have only 16 career NHL goals, butduring his days with the Summerside Capitalsof the Maritime Junior ‘A’ League and duringhis brief stint in the ECHL, Langdon wasknown to light the lamp with regularity. Thistouch around the net had been ignored duringhis 10 years in the NHL, mainly becauseLangdon was too busy protecting some of thegame’s biggest starts like Wayne Gretzky,Markus Naslund, and Saku Koivu.

“For the past 10 years, when I got the puckI dumped it in. I play differently now, and ittook me a little time to get used to it. But it’sbeen fun doing what I used to do 12 to 15years ago,” Langdon says.

Fans on the west coast appreciated

Langdon’s efforts this season, as many whowere not regulars at the rink made sure tocome out on nights the former Ranger,Canuck, Hurricane and Canadien was play-ing.

“Our attendance was up 30 per cent and Icredit it all to having Darren Langdon beingin the lineup,” Brake says. “We’ve done wellhere in the past in regards to attendance, butto jump 30 per cent in one year is phenome-nal. He’s not only helped us, he’s also helpedthe other teams in the league.”

Langdon insists the fans have also left afavourable impression on him. The passionand dedication of senior hockey followers inthis province has him pushing just as hard forthe Herder as he would, were he in theStanley Cup playoffs.

“It’s a little different, but when you see howthe fans react, it makes it fun,” says Langdon.“It’s not hard to get excited when the fans areso excited. Mile One was sold out, so it’s easyto get up for it.”

Langdon also had to get used to travellingto games via long bus trips this season,instead of the luxury airplanes used by NHLteams. While a seven-hour drive from DeerLake to St. John’s is not everybody’s idea offun, Langdon says it brought back memoriesfrom his junior and minor pro days.

“I had a bit of fun. I really never minded thebus anyway,” he says. “I started off riding thebus, and I’m going to end it riding a bus.”

With the NHL lockout continuing well pastthe cancellation of the 2004-05 season, thereis a strong possibility the 2005-06 campaigncould also be affected. While many NHLerstook their games to other pro leagues inEurope and North America, and promise to dothe same in the fall, Langdon has no suchplans. In fact, he promises that should thelockout drag on, he will remain a Deer LakeRed Wing until it ends.

“I don’t feel like going anywhere likeSweden,” Langdon says. “They’re too fast forme over there anyway.”

[email protected]

INDEPENDENTSPORTSSUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, APRIL 10-16, 2005 — PAGE 25

Afew of my friends and I hadthe pleasure of hosting theNewfoundland and Labrador

Basketball Association’s Ed Brownemasters provincial championships inCarbonear and Harbour Grace.

A total of 17 teams, with teams andplayers from all over the province,headed to Conception Bay North thefirst weekend of April for hoops,laughs and a meeting of old friends.

Essentially, it was a convergence ofbasketball’s past and, because so manyof these players have contributed (andstill are contributing) to the develop-

ment of the sport in this province, itsfuture. Many of these guys are coach-es, or have been at some point. Theyare committed to the sport and todeveloping better players.

On the other hand, it was a time fora bunch of grown, hairy-arsed men torekindle their youth and act like they

were back in high school or college.But the legs are no longer leaping,

the cross-over dribble is more of a cut-under, and the first step has sloweddown so much it’s still waiting to betaken. For some it doesn’t matter howexpensive or how good the sneakerslook, they can’t even see their ownkicks because of a protruding rectusabdominus (in simple terms: gut).

There are those who look a lot likethey did 10 or 15 years ago, but mosthave added a few pounds. And eitherlots of grey hair or bigger foreheads.

What hasn’t changed for any of

them, however, is once the ball istipped off to start the game, it’s allabout playing the best you can, theway you’ve played for years.

For those rough and tumble guyswho always knew how to give a foul,those extra few pounds allow them toreally lower the boom on any unsus-pecting fool who might think he canstill sky to the rim.

Gravity works wonders for thosewho are firmly planted on the court.It’s a necessary skill that all veteransadd to their repertoire. It usually getsadded to their game around the same

time they lose any gravity-defyingtricks of the past.

The rims at St. Francis andCarbonear Collegiate gyms werenever in danger on this weekend, butthe twine was tickled with shootingtouches still sweet after all these years.

It was my first time playing in theEd Browne masters, a tournament forthose 35 years and older. As a 36-year-old it was great to share the court withmen who were 20 years and moreolder than me.

Keeping those hoop dreams alive

See “No real,” page 26

‘Not hard to get excited’Darren Langdon enjoys playing for province’s top senior hockey prize

BOB WHITE

Bob the bayman

Darren Langdon suits up for Friday night’s game at Mile One. Paul Daly/The Independent

Armstrong backs Big Apple bidLONDON, (Reuters) - Six-times Tourde France winner Lance Armstrong haschanged his mind and thrown his fullsupport behind New York’s bid to stagethe 2012 Olympics.

The Texan’s New York endorsementcame just a month after he said rival cityParis deserved to stage the Games.

Armstrong appeared in New York’sCentral Park with bid chief DanDoctoroff to boost New York’s chancesahead of the July 6 vote.

New York is up against London,Madrid, Moscow and Paris for the rightto stage the sporting extravaganza.

Armstrong told French newspaper LeParisien in March.

“They (Paris) had the best bid for2008 and it eventually went to Beijing,probably for some other reasons. But theParis bid is great, that’s for sure,” hesays. “Paris is a legend city on this plan-et.”

Armstrong, who has always been afan of France despite the fact the Frenchpublic has never given him the supporthis performances in the Tour havedeserved, did also tell the French daily

that New York would also deserve towin the Games.

U.S. Congress seeks pardon for JohnsonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. law-makers are seeking a presidential pardonfor Jack Johnson, the first black heavy-weight champion, convicted more than90 years ago in a racially motivatedmorals case.

At the height of his career in 1913, theboxer was convicted and sent to federalprison for one year and one day for vio-lating the Mann Act by transporting awhite woman across state lines forimmoral purposes.

“No one should be punished forchoosing to go their own way,” saysArizona Republican Sen. John McCain,the leader of the congressional effort for

a pardon. “A pardon would be a strong and nec-

essary symbol to the world of America’scontinuing resolve to live up to the nobleideals of freedom, opportunity and equaljustice for all,” says McCain.

“Mr. Johnson’s conviction was moti-vated by nothing more than the color ofhis skin, as such it injured not only Mr.Johnson, but also our nation as a whole,”McCain wrote in a letter to PresidentGeorge W. Bush last month.

Johnson died in an automobile acci-dent in 1946.

Sanchez won’t appealsteroid suspension ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (SportsNetwork) - Tampa Bay Devil Rays out-fielder Alex Sanchez has decided not toappeal the 10-day suspension he

received after violating Major LeagueBaseball’s new steroid policy.

“After consulting with the players’association and my agent, I have decid-ed not to pursue this matter any further,”Sanchez said in a statement released bythe Devil Rays. “At this point, I willserve the remainder of my suspensionand then return to the field where I willwork as hard as I can to help the DevilRays organization enjoy a successfulseason.”

He had initially decided to fight thesuspension, saying he had never takensteroids.

“I recently failed a Major LeagueBaseball drug screening because I usedan over-the-counter supplement that Ipurchased before the laws banning cer-tain substances changed on January15th,” Sanchez’s statement continued.“If I am guilty, I am guilty of not takingthe initiative to learn more about thecontents of what I was taking.”

26 • INDEPENDENTSPORTS APRIL 10, 2005

Once you get to this stage of yourbasketball career, it doesn’t matterif all your team is 40ish and you’replaying against guys 50ish.

You’d think there would be anadvantage with those “young” legs,but really there’s not. Especially forthose crafty veterans who knowhow to play the game, or better still,keep you from playing the gameyou want to play.

The games were fairly clean, andI say that while admitting therewere a few hard fouls throughoutthe tournament. Hard, in that therewas no mistaking what the intentwas — to stop a player from scor-ing.

Some guys, including me, hit thefloor hard, but it was an old schoolkind of thing that put me there.There was a certain payment fordriving to the basket and that wasusually paid in full. Most times,though, you were quickly picked upby the guy who knocked you down.

I’m not sure if that was doneapologetically, or just to reinforcethat it was nothing personal and willmost likely happen again, so wemight as well get used to it.

In the meantime, some of the bestaction took place far away from thegym, where players were still get-ting hammered on their way to thebar. Oops, I mean basket. No, Imean bar.

Getting the chance to have a brewor two with an old friend, or some-one you played against for years,but never really had the chance tomeet, was more important thanwhatever happened on the court.

There are many players who havebeen to every one of these masterstournaments since they began yearsago.

I heard there was one guy whoeven flew home from down south toplay in the tournament, only to flyback after it was all over.

Now, that’s a dedicated basket-baller, and I would love to have thatkind of dedication. Or, at least themoney to have that level of alle-giance to the game.

I’m proud to be an active basket-ball player in this province. Myhope is to keep playing the game,and maybe, just maybe, one daymake it to the NBA.

Bobby White writes fromCarbonear.

[email protected]

From page 25

SPORTS INBRIEF

BOSTON Reuters

After waiting 86 years for theBoston Red Sox to win base-ball’s World Series, some die-

hard fans resent Hollywood’s “Soxploi-tation” of their triumph in the newromantic comedy Fever Pitch.

The film, which opened Friday andstars Jimmy Fallon and DrewBarrymore, tells of a romance betweena long-suffering Red Sox fan and hisgirlfriend during the team’s improbablerun to the championship last season.

So far, so good. But the pivotal sceneat the end of the movie in which thecharacters played by Fallon andBarrymore embrace and kiss on thefield after the Red Sox’s World Seriestriumph has led to cries of foul.

Directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly,New Englanders and lifelong Red Sox

fans, shot the movie’s final scene - withpermission from the Red Sox and MajorLeague Baseball - on the field in St.Louis after Boston defeated the St.Louis Cardinals in the final game of theWorld Series.

Bill Simmons, a Red Sox fan andcolumnist for ESPN.com, calledHollywood’s intrusion into Boston’scelebration offensive to all Red Soxfans who had waited their entire lives tosee the team win its first championshipsince 1918.

“It was like cutting the umbilical cordof your first baby while Fallon andBarrymore were inexplicably makingout 5 feet away,” Simmons wrote in anonline column.

“I hope the movie bombs because ofit,” he added.

Boston Globe film critic WesleyMorris says while the movie was heart-

felt about the life of a die-hard fan, itreeked of “Soxploitation.”

“The sight, last year, of Fallon andBarrymore hopping onto the field andmaking out ... after the team won theWorld Series smacked of Hollywoodopportunism at its most nauseating,”Morris wrote in his review.

At the film’s red-carpet premiere atBoston’s Fenway Park, the Farrellybrothers said the team’s success forcedthem to re-shoot the movie’s originalending, which had the Red Sox disap-pointing their fans again.

“When the fans see the movie, they’llunderstand why we had to (be on thefield),” Peter Farrelly said.

More than 2,000 fans packed Fenwayfor the premiere, which was attended byRed Sox players Johnny Damon andDavid Ortiz, but some fans were hesi-tant to throw their full support behind

the movie. “I took my girlfriend to see the

movie, because I felt I owed it to her,”says Chris Ruettgers, a devoted RedSox fan.

“But I’m not a fan of the behaviour ofthe movie’s makers.”

Some have also taken umbrage atcasting Fallon as the Red Sox-obsessedleading man because Fallon supportedthe New York Yankees, Boston’s archri-val, growing up.

Nick Hornby, whose memoir abouthis life as a supporter of Britain’sArsenal soccer club was adapted for themovie, said the film would not changeanything for true fans.

“The fans will still be here, this sea-son and the season after that,” Hornby,who attended the premiere, says.“Movies do have quite a short life com-pared to the life of a sports club.”

In Boston, Fever Pitchsmacks of ‘Soxploitation’

Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon star in Fever Pitch.

No realadvantage to“young” legs

APRIL 10, 2005 INDEPENDENTSPORTS • 27

‘Made in Canada, enjoyed in Cedar Rapids’St. John’s native Ted Purcell earns scholarship to Maine by excelling in United States Hockey League; has celebrity status in Iowa

By Darcy MacRaeFor The Independent

Ted Purcell has chosen the roadless travelled. While manyyoung hockey players from this

province enter the major junior ranksin hopes of making it big in hockey,the 19-year-old St. John’s native isinstead focused on earning a degreewhile he progresses in the game heloves.

For this reason, Purcell found him-self in the United States HockeyLeague (USHL) this year, an 11-teamcircuit serving as the country’s top jun-ior league. Alumni from the USHLinclude NHLers Jason Blake of theNew York Islanders, Erik Cole of theCarolina Hurricanes, Ty Conklin of theEdmonton Oilers and Brian Rafalskiof the New Jersey Devils. The calibreof play is somewhere between MajorJunior and Canadian Junior A, withmore than 100 players earning schol-arships to NCAA Division 1 schoolseach year.

Basically, if a player wants to earn afree ride playing hockey at a majorAmerican university, the USHL is theplace to be.

“It’s just an awesome league,”Purcell tells The Independent. “Theorganizations are run really well. It’srun really professionally.”

Purcell made a name for himself inlocal hockey circles two seasons agowhen he starred for the St. John’sMidget AAA Maple Leafs. He led theteam to a third-place finish at theNational Championships and wasnamed Most Valuable Player. Offersfrom major junior teams followed, butPurcell declined, choosing instead topursue a university scholarship.

“That was one of the toughest deci-sions I’ve ever had to make,” he says.“I figured if I went to major junior, Icould end up playing three years, notmake it professionally, and have noth-ing going for me. But here, I can playa couple of years of junior and havefour years of school paid for. Thatgives me six years to develop. If Idon’t end up playing pro, I’ll have agreat education to fall back on.”

Purcell’s first step was heading toWilcox, Saskatchewan in the fall of2003 where he played Junior A for the

Notre Dame Hounds. He entered theUnited States Hockey League entrydraft over the summer and soon foundhimself suiting up for the RoughRiders of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

With his soft hands, hard, accurateshot, offensive instincts and speed,Purcell became one of the top snipersin the USHL. He finished the regularseason with 20 goals and 47 assists in58 games — first on his team andfourth overall in the league. Despitebeing a goal scorer almost from thefirst day he laced up a pair of skates,Purcell says his point total was some-what of a surprise.

“This league is so highly regardedthat I was nervous going down there,”he says. “I started off slowly but endedup with 67 points.”

Although the Saskatchewan JuniorA Hockey League was strong, it didn’t

offer the same challenges as Purcell’snew competitors south of the border.

“It’s a lot faster and a lot more com-petitive,” says Purcell. “It’s a lot likethe college game — really quick. Inthe Saskatchewan League, the playersare a little bigger and a lot slower. Inthis league, everybody is playing for apurpose — to play college hockey.”

While the majority of Purcell’steammates are from the United States,he has two Canadian linemates in RobRicci (from Ontario) and JordanPietrus (Manitoba).

The trio have developed great chem-istry on the ice and a cult following inthe community.

“Throughout the town they haveposters up saying ‘Made in Canada,enjoyed in Cedar Rapids,’” saysPurcell. “Our teammates give us ahard time because we’re from Canada,

but it’s all in good fun.”Scouts quickly took notice of the

skills Purcell brought to the rink, andby November, he was courted by theUniversity of Maine Black Bears.Recruiters flew him to Orono, Maineto tour the campus and take in a BlackBears’ hockey game.

“A couple of days later they offeredme a full scholarship,” he says. “It waspretty hard to turn down.”

Although he surely would havereceived more offers had he held outlonger, Purcell says Maine’s history ofhockey excellence probably wouldhave won out regardless of who camecalling.

“The thing about Maine is thecoaches want their players to go pro.They feel I have the height (6’2) andthe skill; it’s just a matter of gettingstronger and bulking up a bit. One of

their goals is to have me playing prowhen I’m done at Maine.”

Purcell will spend one more seasonin Cedar Rapids before joining theNCAA ranks in the fall of 2006. TheBlack Bears think another year in theUSHL will further prepare him forDivision 1 hockey.

There are certainly worse things toendure than another season in CedarRapids, an industrial town with a pop-ulation of 120,000. Purcell and histeammates are the community’sbiggest celebrities, a role that is prov-ing to have many benefits.

“It’s pretty cool when you go out toeat breakfast and the waitress asks foryour autograph,” he says. “It was kindof weird at first, but it’s nice to knowthey like you that much.”

[email protected]

Ted Purcell plays in Cedar Rapids. Brian Lavelle photo

28 • INDEPENDENTARTS APRIL 10, 2005

Walter Pinsent says he was alwaysinvolved in art, even as a child. Hestarted painting as a hobby about 40

years ago — and stuck with it, through a 25-year career with the RCMP, through years liv-ing on the Prairies, in Ontario, and back homein Newfoundland.

“Always had that side to me, I never let go,”Pinsent says. And now, “the older I get, the lessof a hobby it is.”

In 1991, Pinsent moved to Eastport, openinga bed and breakfast and art studio. He was afounding member of the Eastport PeninsulaHeritage Society and the Eastpen Players (the-atre troupe).

Although still involved with these groups —he was given an Ambassador of TourismAward by Hospitality Newfoundland andLabrador for his work — Pinsent is focusingmore and more on his artwork and gallery.

His love of nature, culture and heritage con-tinues to show through.

“You paint what’s around you, that’s all,” hesays. “Most of us (painters) try and somehow,try and let other people see the world weappreciate.”

Pinsent’s works generally featureNewfoundland scenes: wildlife, homes, peopleand the water. The images are presented withmuch attention to detail and mood, to person-ality and the peace of nature.

These qualities, Pinsent says, are all gath-ered through experience.

In the spring and fall, Pinsent works in fly-in camps in the wilderness. In the spring, hemanages a trophy trout lodge in Labrador; inthe fall, he cooks for hunters in a hunting campin central Newfoundland.

“They get me outdoors, get me out innature,” he says. “And I get a lot of inspiration,I’ll go out in the boat and go across the lake,and zero in on certain things like old trees, youknow, the things I’m looking for. Caribou areroaming around a lot …

“A lot of nice things can happen whenyou’re put on a lake and watching the sun godown.”

Pinsent says he always tries to “leave a mes-sage” with his work, whether it be an insight

into Newfoundland’s history or culture, or astory from yesterday or today.

He picks one painting, of an Eastport-areabeach, with sunbathers, seagulls, and a kiteflying. On the beach, in the foreground, ayoung boy plays in a saltwater pool with ahandmade boat, sand castle behind him, and acrow perched on a rock just a few metresaway.

“This is a place for a kid’s imagination to gowild and nature is around him, there’s a little

bit of peace in the corner there,” Pinsentdescribes.

Pinsent’s philosophy of painting is simple:“It’s one of those things you can enjoy, no mat-ter what kind of business you’re in, just to getout and study what’s around you. Painting is aform of escape.

“Your journey takes you places you don’teven know about.”

— Stephanie Porter

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

GALLERYPROFILE

WALTER PINSENTVisual Artist

2005-04-10

Documents

Transcript of 2005-04-10