2007-06-22

Cod damn Fifteen years after the moratorium, cod stocksare in dismal shape and rural Newfoundlandloses people by the day, but there’s still optimism

On July 2, 1992, then-federalFisheries Minister JohnCrosbie announced what

many already knew or feared: a mora-torium on the northern cod fishery.Effective that night, the ban on codfishing immediately put 30,000Newfoundlanders out of work.

Protesting fishermen hurled abuseand attacked the doors of the room atthe Delta hotel in downtown St.John’s, trying to get into the pressconference — angry they weren’tincluded, and insulted by the $225-a-week compensation they were offeredfor the first 10 weeks of the closure.

“Everyone thought our lives weregoing to end that day,” says MaryCoombs, mayor of Trepassey. Sheworked in the town’s now-defunctfish plant at the time, and realized herjob, and those of many of her neigh-

bours, was about to end. “I remember watching the news and

your heart was just pounding and ohmy goodness … it’s really hard, girl.”

Although the actual announcementwas an unparalleled blow to theprovince — economically, socially,culturally — it wasn’t a surprise.Many fishermen, already devastatedby poor catches, had been calling forserious action by Ottawa. In March1992, a high-profile flotilla of fishingboats went to the Grand Banks toprotest foreign overfishing; hundredsattended a provincial demonstrationin Toronto. There were reneweddemands for custodial management;then-premier Clyde Wells called onOttawa to establish a police force topatrol the Grand Banks.

In March, the province launchedthe now familiar And no fish swam…poster to raise awareness about thefragile state of a 500-year-old indus-try.

The province is preparing to suethe MHAs implicated in theprovince’s spending scandal

for constituency allowances theyoverspent, The Independent haslearned.

Finance Minister Tom Marshallsays a year has passed since the scan-dal broke, and he has met withlawyers in the Justice Department andtold them it’s time to bring the matterto a head.

He says lawyers with Justice havebeen in discussions with the lawyersfor former MHAs Ed Byrne, JimWalsh, Randy Collins, and WallyAndersen. Percy Barrett, saysMarshall, is representing himself.

“I have asked them to advise thelawyers for the MHAs and Mr.Barrett that unless this matter is set-tled in short order that the statementsof claim will be issued and the matter

will be determined by a judge,”Marshall tells The Independent.

The province filed a statement ofclaim this week against Bill Murray,the House of Assembly’s formerdirector of financial operations at thecentre of the spending scandal, stat-ing that he must repay money thatwas improperly disbursed by himwhen he was employed by the legis-lature.

Asked why the statements of claimare being filed with the court beforethe RNC criminal investigations arecomplete, Marshall says the policeprobes are separate from the civilactions.

“We have been advised by the audi-tor general these monies are owed tous. The comptroller general has indi-cated these monies are owed to us andwe’re simply suing to get the moneyback. That part has nothing to do withcriminality,” says Marshall.

“Here we are talking about moniesthat are owed. And if the monies are

MHAs to be suedMarshall says province will take politicians to court to get money owed

See “It’s a lifeline,” page 8

See “Criminality,” page 2

VOL. 5 ISSUE 25 — ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR — FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, JUNE 22-28, 2007 — WWW.THEINDEPENDENT.CA — $1.50 HOME DELIVERY (HST included); $2.00 RETAIL (HST included)

GALLERY 18A look at Labradorwith artist Scott Goudie

BUSINESS 13High-speed Internet reaching around province

Geo fabulousInternational fashion journalist Jeanne Beker to host rockin’ runway show

When local promotional guruSheilagh Guy Murphy met upwith her old acquaintance,

FashionTelevision host and FQ maga-zine editor-in-chief Jeanne Beker recent-

ly, she knew opportunity had comeknocking. Inviting Beker to a cocktailparty at her St. John’s home, she rang upher designer friend Barry Buckle andoffered him a once-in-a-lifetime chanceto show off his sewing skills to the fash-ion maven.

“I called up Barry and said ‘Look,why don’t you get a bunch of designerstogether and a few models and slap a bit

of your clothes together and comeover?’” she says. “Jeanne Beker had justcome from Paris from Karl Lagerfeld’sshow and she came in … I said ‘Wellyou think you saw something in Paris —wait till you get a load of this.’”

The resulting impromptu runwayshow made a lasting impression on

QUOTE OF THE WEEK“One of the joys in life is tormenting horse’s asses like LoyolaHearn ... that drives me.”

— St. John’s Mayor Andy Wells. See page 4.

Voice from away . 11Book review . . . . 21Woody’s wheels . 27Don Power . . . . . 31

SPORTS 31Daria Snow, 14, youngtennis champion

See “Beker’s rock,” page 2

IVANMORGAN

STEPHANIEPORTER

MANDYCOOK

Colleen Quigley models a dress by St. John’s designer Sara Hodder. Nicholas Langor/TheIndependent

Beker. In an e-mail fired off from her Blackberry en route toToronto from Ireland, she writes about the fun and fashion-filled evening.

“All these gorgeous models, in all these funky clothes, justmarched up the stairs and started strutting it. It was fab … andthe designers were on hand as well. I adored meeting them andwitnessing their wonderful energy. What spirit! Truly cre-ative.”

Encouraged by Beker’s response — telling Buckle that thelocal designs were as good as anything she had seen abroad —Guy Murphy approached Beker about hosting a future charityevent for the Anna Templeton Centre for Craft, Art and Design.

Beker jumped on board immediately. She is slated to hostthe Fashion That Rocks runway show at the GEO Centre in St.

John’s June 22, and is eager to witness the “future of fashion.“This is the heart and soul of what fashion’s all about (or

should be all about): Pure, unbridled, creative expression. Ican’t wait to take it all in … courage, fearlessness. I love theedge of these young talents.”

Beker’s connection to Newfoundland stems from threeyears spent in St. John’s during her “rock ’n‘ roll” days as anarts and entertainment reporter for CBC radio and a studentof mime. She says there weren’t many restaurants in the cap-ital city in those days so she would host “wild” dinner partiesinstead, dancing to Stevie Wonder cranked up on the stereo.

These days, she says she makes regular visits to a friend’ssummer home in Bauline, soaking up the local culture, hikingthe East Coast trail and puffin and whale watching.

As for her Newfoundland couture collection, Beker says hersweaters and socks from the Newfoundland Weavery are“tops” and their woven shawls “sublime.” She says the nowdefunct Wenches and Rogues was one of the first local storesto feature cool Canadian designers, but adds there are nowmany more inspiring shops cropping up.

Beker says fashion is a tough business and new, youngdesigners must be willing to stick to their vision and fight tosurvive in a sometimes ruthless industry. Perhaps the presenceof the sharp and incisive eye of one of the world’s top fashionjournalists can guide this province’s fresh talent in their futurecareers, says Guy Murphy.

“The quality of the designers coming out of the AnnaTempleton Centre can hold their own with anyone so to havean international fashion celebrity — a knowledgeable person— to come and appraise their work is more than we could askfor.”

Tickets for Fashion That Rocks available at the AnnaTempleton Centre’s temporary location, 152 Water St.

[email protected]

2 • INDEPENDENTNEWS JUNE 22, 2007

To fix, or not to fixThat is the question Randy Simms says we should ask ourselves about fixed election dates

I’m starting to have second thoughtsabout fixed election dates. I know, Iwas one of those people who

argued for a change in the way we dopolitics and, like most, I heralded fixedelection dates as a good thing. Manypeople have felt for years that allowingthe premier to do his polling and pick agood time to go to the polls is unfair tothe opposition and, by extension, unfairto the voting public. Danny Williamsput an end to that argument by passinglegislation that provides us with a fixedelection date. The parties will go to thepolls Oct. 9 whether they like it or not.

If the governing party is in a popular-ity tailspin come October it will notmatter and if the opposition faces com-plete annihilation than so be it. Mostpolitical pundits have praised thischange in our electoral process andhave applauded the governing Toriesfor making the move. Fixed dates forelections are considered a good thing,but it should be noted that such a movebrings with it a downside as well andit’s this downside that is causing me toreconsider my position.

For one thing, elections that wereonce three weeks in duration are now

going to run for about a year. If the pastseveral months are any example to goby all the political parties have been inelection mode since last Christmas.

The recent sitting of the House ofAssembly seems to confirm it. Therewas a lot more posturing, negativityand gamesmanship than we are used toand we have to conclude this is drivenby the impending election. Just look atall of the nominations that we have wit-nessed in recent weeks. Every time youturn around another nomination isbeing held.

The parties now view selecting theircandidates early as a positive and thoseparties without candidates in place longbefore Oct. 9 will viewed as weak andineffective. It’s as if the first party tohave 48 candidates in place is the win-ner and we know nothing could be fur-ther from the truth. Yet, I am almostsure we will see a news release from

one of the parties soon advising theelectorate that all of its candidates arein place for the October vote.

Do I need to mention the completedebacle we had this year with byelec-tions? It did seem to be overkill to runoff five byelections when we knew thatwithin months we would be going tothe polls in a general election. It costcandidates, political parties and theprovincial treasury hundreds of thou-sands of dollars to run the byelections.We did it so a district could have repre-sentation for a few months. Somehow Idon’t think our democracy is under anythreat and people could have well sur-vived for a few months without anMHA, but that’s an argument for anoth-er time.

Is it fair to say that fixed date elec-tions will mean more governmentspending then normal? It may be hardto say for sure. This is going to be ourfirst experience with it, but the recentbudget was the biggest spending budg-et in our history. No doubt one reasonfor this can be directed toward the rushof dollars the province saw this year,but one can’t help but think that whenthe budget was being written, Oct. 9

was on the minds of the writers. Maybe we have been influenced too

much by American politics, but “pork”,as it is called, is not unknown to us andprior knowledge of when your job isgoing to come under review has to be abig motivator to open the wallet. Is thatprudent?

Another concern with fixed electiondates could be voter burn-out. Withelection campaigns running for monthsinstead of three or four weeks votersmay be more apt to tune it all out. Theend result being even less people going

to the polls on Oct. 9 then ever.Increasing the level of voter apathyhere would be the worst thing thatcould happen. At least with the guess-ing game of When will be call it peoplewere kept interested. With the mysteryand suspense taken out of the picture itcould all become a big yawn.

Some people think it’s not fixed elec-tion dates that we should have, butfixed terms for members. You knowhow that works. You get two or threeterms in office and you are not allowedto run again. I disagree with that con-cept completely. If you want to run youshould be allowed to run and be electedas long as people want you. If I had tochose between fixed election dates orfixed terms, fixed dates would win outevery time.

Fixed election dates are now a part ofthe political process in our provinceand it’s not likely to change. But did itimprove our democratic process or didit cause it hurt? Voter turnout will tellall.

Randy Simms is host of VOCM’s OpenLine radioprogram.

[email protected]

It’s as if the first party to have 48

candidates in placeis the winner and we

know nothing could be further from the truth.

RANDY SIMMS talk

ANEVENINGSEMINARTHAT

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Wednesday, June 27, 2007Holy Heart Auditorium

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Beker’s rock and roll days in St. John’sFrom page 1

‘Criminality is a totally different issue’

lawfully owed to us then we’re goingto sue to get those monies back. Theycould be owed to us through inadver-tence; there could be no criminalityinvolved.

“Criminality is a totally differentissue.”

Marshall says those implicated mayowe the money through negligence orincompetence.

“It’s like if you drive a car drunkdown a street and you smash intosomebody’s house,” says Marshall.“That person, he wants money to paythe damages to fix the house, andpolice may feel laws have been bro-ken and they may lay criminalcharges: two different things.”

Asked if the province will be issu-ing statements of claim against thefive MHAs implicated, Marshall’sresponse is blunt: “Unless they payus.”

In all government is looking torecoup $4,408,618 — $2,651,644from Murray, as well as $170,401paid to Unique Keepsakes, a companyowned by Murray and/or his wife.

The five MHAs have been overpaida total of $1,586,573: Ed Byrne,$467,653; Randy Collins, $358,598;Wally Andersen $344,465; PercyBarrett $117,286; James Walsh,$298,571.

The severance packages for theretired MHAs and Murray are beingheld back pending the completion ofinvestigations by the RoyalNewfoundland Constabulary.

[email protected]

Finance Minister Tom Marshall (right). Paul Daly/The Independent

From page 1

Ed Byrne Paul Daly/The Independent

JUNE 22, 2007 INDEPENDENTNEWS • 3

A weekly collection of Newfoundlandia

In totally wicked news this week …Tara Oram, a 23-year-old singer fromHare Bay and one of 10,000 dreamchasers from across the country whoauditioned for this season’s CanadianIdol, made it to the Top 22. Tuey or T,as Tara’s known, has been a profession-al singer since the age of 18, splittingher time between Ontario andNewfoundland. Her sound is country— bay country, more specifically (thebest kind of country).

According to the Canadian Idol web-site, Tara’s favourite food is a coldplate. “It’s a Newfoundland dish thatconsists of salads, turkey, Jell-O, dress-ing, and lettuce,” she says. “It’s allserved cold in two paper plates tapedon top of each other! Mmm!” The firstperson Tara called upon learning shemade the Top 22 was her mother backhome in Hare Bay. Tara bawled onnational TV when her mother pickedup. (God love her — because the audi-ence will.) Move over Craig Sharpe,take a bow Sexy Rexy, there’s a newIdol in town and she’s quite a gal …

SQUID SQUAD Hare Bay, Bonavista Bay made the

news in November 1981 when a giantsquid washed up on its shores. The so-called “Squid Squad” — a team ofMemorial University academics led byDr. Frederick Aldrich, a marine biolo-gist — went to the outport and retrievedthe creature, which was almost eightmetres in length and weighed 120 kilo-grams. In his account of the Hare Baymission, Aldrich wrote that the giantsquid wasn’t long dead after his squadgot to the scene. “When I held the suck-er-armed clubs of the manal portion ofeach of the paired tentacles, the suckersclosed on my fingers and held.” He’s abraver man than me. I wonder if HareBay cold plates include giant calamari…

JILL PILLYoung Newfoundlanders are making

a name for themselves all over thesedays. Jill Mackey Coldwell, 31, of St.John’s earned a bronze medal recentlyin her “tall figure” class at the CanadianNational World Qualifier Body-building, Fitness and BodyfitnessChampionships in Toronto. I bet a giantsquid would have trouble keeping ahold of our champion Jill, who’s fromTown but lives in Sunnyside near Comeby Chance. “I guess that gives me duelcitizenship,” she says …

COMEBACK KIDThe National Hockey League gave

out its annual awards this week, withSidney Crosby walking away withmost of the hardware. The Toronto Starcame out soon after with a list ofawards it would like to see. Most valu-able player for the money, Crosby ofthe Penguins ($850,000 US); Leastvaluable player for the money, AlexeiYashin, Islanders ($7.6 million US);and Comeback player of the year,Riverhead, Harbour Grace’s ownDaniel Cleary of the Red Wings. The

Best excuse award went to ChrisPronger of the Ducks, who had this tosay after getting a one-game suspensionfor hitting Detroit’s Tomas Holstrom inthe head: “Of course I’m going to hithim in the head. He’s quite a bit shorterthan me. It’s just law of physics.”

FIRE AND ICE The book, Shooting from the Lip,

Hockey’s Best Quotes and Quips,includes a gem from long-time NHLenforcer, Deer Lake’s own DarrenLangdon. “I’m on fire,” said the one-time Canuck tough guy after getting anassist for his first point in 32 games.Langdon’s father is also quoted: “He(Darren) was mild-mannered and Idon’t know how he ever got into thetough-role business. He was not a roughkid. The rough stuff must have comefrom his mother’s side of the family.”

SICK, IN THE HEADAre fighting Newfoundlanders as

tough as they once were? Not accordingto the latest issue of The Muse,Memorial’s student newspaper.Students are apparently ready to revoltbecause the student health centre ischarging $10 for a sick note, which isrequired to be excused from labs andexams. A spokesman for the students’union says they plan to “fight” the sick-note policy. (Would that fight go aheadof the fight to end wars like the one

going on in Afghanistan or the fight toend starvation in Africa?) A spokesmanfor the health centre told The Muse thesick notes are legal documents and stu-dents won’t take them seriously ifthey’re free. (Next there will be acharge for a bathroom note, which rais-es the question what happens if studentscan’t pay.) A spokeswoman for the asso-ciation that represents the province’sdoctors says sick notes aren’t insuredunder MCP, and doctors, therefore,have every right to charge.

So much for free health care …

DEAD WEIGHTIn the news business we call this time

of year the silly season, a time whenstory pickings are slim indeed. of The Muse includes a story on how theQueen Elizabeth II Library apparentlyisn’t sinking under the weight of its 2.5million books. The building just looksshorter as graduates get older …

BUY LOCALHere’s a skill-testing question for the

provincial government, which recentlylaunched a “Buy fresh, buy local”advertising campaign. Why did theprovince choose not to include the onlylocally owned provincewide newspaperin the media buy? Couldn’t resist …

RIGGED AND READYSpeaking of ads, the Newfoundland

Ocean Industries Association, whichheld its annual petroleum conference inSt. John’s this week, recently releasedits membership directory. The 120-pagebook includes a Government ofNewfoundland and Labrador ad thatpoints out how more than 2.7 billionbarrels of oil and 10.2 trillion cubic feetof natural gas have already been discov-ered off our shores. At the same time,“geoscientific data” shows another sixbillion barrels of oil and 60 trillion cubicfeet of natural gas remain “undiscov-

ered.” The oil and gas won’t be much ofa surprise when it’s discovered …

CAKE WALKJohn Crosbie appeared before the

Senate finance committee in Ottawaearlier this week to ask Senators to passamendments that will force the federalgovernment to honour the AtlanticAccord. Crosbie said Ottawa is deliber-ately confusing the public and media bylinking the Accord with equalizationpayments.

“It’s very discouraging that it getsmixed up with equalization … we arenot trying to have our cake and eat ittoo. We haven’t had the frigging cakeyet.” Crosbie said he will continue tosupport the Conservative government,but he won’t accept “any codswallop”that the Accord is not being changed.(Codswallop isn’t in the NewfoundlandDictionary, but I’m confident to say it’snot eaten with cake.) A columnist withThe Record in Waterloo, Ont. gave histwo-cents worth this week on the equal-ization debate, writing that “have-not”provinces want to keep the “gravytrain” flowing from the “have”provinces. The columnist wrote thatformer Liberal PM Paul Martin cavedinto pressure not to have equalizationpayments clawed back because of off-shore oil revenues. “This was a coup forthe people of Nova Scotia andNewfoundland, effectively letting themhave their cake, eat it, and have itsmothered in whipped cream sent fromOntario and Alberta.”

Is there any more of that cake left,because I never got a piece …

[email protected]

SCRUNCHINS

This is Alison Black,

Concertmaster for the

Newfoundland Symphony

Orchestra, with her most

prized possession.

No, not the ring… the violin.

Alison Black. Diamond Design Ambassador.

Terrace on the Square, Churchill Square 754-9497 diamonddesign.com Store Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00am to 5:30pm

YOURTOWN

Berkley Reynolds took these pictures of Salmon Cove, Conception Bay, where he maintains an old homestead as a summer home.

Jill Mackey Coldwell of St. John’s at the Canadian National World Qualifier Bodybuilding, Fitness and Bodyfitness Championships in Toronto.

Darren Langdon

John Crosbie


Political heavyweightsStressful world of politics a challenge to health: politicians

By John RietiThe Independent

Kelvin Parsons still remembers theheavy time of 16- to 18-hour workdays, a hectic travel schedule, cabinet

meals of turkey dinner and oversized sand-wiches, a smoking habit and the morningswhen he would wake up feeling like he hadnever gone to bed.

When Parsons became a politician in 1999he was already a big man, but says he packedon the pounds while holding two portfoliosand the stress that comes along with them.

“It crept up on me … you tend to be eatingon the run, involved in your work, havinglong days … you forget about yourself,”Parsons tells The Independent.

The health of politicians has been in thenews lately. St. John’s Mayor Andy Wellsrecently had a stent, a wire-mesh insert tokeep arteries clear, implanted. And other pub-lic figures, including IntergovernmentalAffairs Minister John Ottenheimer, havedecided to retire, citing health as one of thereasons.

Two years ago, when Ottenheimer wasHealth minister, he collapsed on a plane fly-ing from St. John’s to Gander. He had to beairlifted to hospital in St. John’s where he hada pacemaker implanted during an emergencysurgery.

He says at the time he was “pushing to thelimit” in dealing with the many obligations ofhis job — from being an MHA to holding amajor portfolio. He says it’s not uncommonfor politicians to risk their health for theirjobs and that he has seen colleagues come towork physically unfit. Ottenheimer wasreported to have the flu at the time of his heartattack.

“Maybe at times we do not pay sufficientattention to our health and maybe we thinkwe can just live forever … the reality is thatwe have to keep ourselves in check and makesure there is a balance in our lives,” saysOttenheimer.

“That kind of event certainly makes a per-son more conscious of their personal health… you’re forever mindful of it.”

Wells has a more pragmatic view of his

health. “You can’t sit around wondering whatyou’re going to do, you just gotta get on withyour life and one day you’re not going to geton with your life,” he says.

For Wells, that meant attending the NOIAconference days after his release from hospi-tal and feuding with federal FisheriesMinister Loyola Hearn. “One of the joys inlife is tormenting horse’s asses like LoyolaHearn … that drives me on,” says Wells.

Since undergoing a by-pass surgery nineyears ago, Wells says he’s been a “poster-boy” cardiac patient and is planning on get-ting back to his workout regime at the YMCAnext week.

“I lift weights, I work out, I can bench press200 pounds, do a hundred sit ups, do work onthe bike, work on the rowing machine, walkmy dogs … but apparently if you got badarteries you got bad arteries.”

Wells says the stress of being a public fig-ure had nothing to do with the 95 per centblockage in his artery, but is happy to pointout he hasn’t suffered any lasting heart dam-age from his operations.

LIFESTYLE CHANGEParsons also managed to get his health

under control before it could do any damage.“I decided on Jan. 6, 2003 that I was going tomake a lifestyle change, so I quit smokingand joined Weight Watchers,” says Parsons, adecision he still keeps true to.

Once 273 pounds, he has lost 76 pounds.He now exercises an hour a day, either run-ning, weightlifting or swimming, and bringshis own lunches to work.

Parsons says health is a common topicaround the lunch tables of ConfederationBuilding, and he has encouraged many col-leagues to take on their health challenges. TheConfederation Building has a gym employeescan use, operated by the department ofTransportation and Works. However, manypoliticians continue to live an unhealthylifestyle and many are overweight, somethingParsons says can impact decision-making.

“I feel (being healthy) helps me be morephysically and emotionally acute,” saysParsons.

[email protected]

By Ivan MorganThe Independent

In his report on the province’s political spend-ing scandal, Chief Justice Derek Green didnot list the names of any of the people who

were members of the Commission of InternalEconomy, the group of politicians who governedthe House of Assembly and made key decisionsthat led to the scandal.

In his report Green wrote, “One of the dangersof describing something as a systemic failure isthat there is a tendency to ‘de-personalize’ thenature of the problem. We should never forgetthat a systemic failure is always, at its root, a fail-ure of people.”

Green says he was focussed on “the nature ofthe responsibility, the nature of the failure,”which is why he did not name names.

“It’s not hard to do the math, I suppose. Anyonewho wants to can do the research if they are inter-ested in that. But as I said it wasn’t the focus ofmy report, so I didn’t need to do it,” Green tellsThe Independent.

Listed below are key dates in the spendingscandal and the names of the people who weremembers of the Commission of InternalEconomy at the time. The committee normally satfrom one fiscal year to the next.

In March 2000 auditor general ElizabethMarshall decided to do a legislative audit of theHouse. She was prevented from doing so after thelegislature quickly changed the IEC Act in May2000. Members of the committee at that timewere:

Speaker Lloyd Snow (Liberal) Chair; DeputySpeaker Gerald Smith (Liberal); Robert Mercer

(Liberal); Beaton Tulk (Liberal); Tom Lush(Liberal); Paul Dicks (Liberal); Joan MarieAylward (Liberal); Kevin Aylward (Liberal);Loyola Sullivan (PC); Tom Rideout (PC); and EdByrne (PC).

This was the largest committee in some years,with 11 members, a far cry from the averageseven-member committee.

In 2001-2002, reports Green, the level ofexcess claims jumped to $280,000 from $80,000the year before. Members from April 1, 2001 toMarch 31, 2002 were:

Speaker Lloyd Snow (Liberal) Chair; RobertMercer (Liberal) Deputy Chair; Tom Lush(Liberal); Joan Marie Aylward (Liberal); KevinAylward (Liberal); Loyola Sullivan (PC); and EdByrne (PC).

Two years later, in 2003-2004, Green reportsthat the level of excess claims peaked at$480,000, and then declined significantly. Thecommittee was disbanded on September 29thwhen then premier Roger Grimes called an elec-tion. The members for that year were:

Speaker Lloyd Snow (Liberal) Chair; MaryHodder (Liberal) Deputy Chair; Tom Lush(Liberal); Robert Mercer (Liberal); Joan MarieAylward (Liberal); Kevin Aylward (Liberal);Loyola Sullivan (PC); and Ed Byrne (PC).

For the period from October 1995 to March of2006, the longest serving members of the com-mittee were former Speaker Snow (nine years),Ed Byrne (nine years), Loyola Sullivan (eightyears), Kevin Aylward (seven years) and PercyBarrett (six years).

All have since retired, although Barrett onlyannounced his retirement last week.

[email protected]

PAPER MILL FIRE

Naming namesAn aid to reading the Green report

A papermaking machine caught fire on June 19 at the Abitibi-Consolidated mill in Grand Falls-Windsor, taking firefightersfour hours to extinguish. The damage is expected to keep the plant closed for three weeks. Paul Daly/The Independent


The president of the province’steachers’ union hopes govern-ment is finally paying attention.

Kevin Foley says the upcoming schoolyear will be a critical “transitional”year in dealing with teacher frustrationsover workload.

The past year has been a tough onefor the Newfoundland and LabradorTeachers’ Association. Its relationshipwith government was strained by aseries of controversial television adsthe teachers produced and aired onlocal stations addressing issues — likeworkload — that teachers felt the gov-ernment were not addressing.

Foley says, for the first time in theassociation’s collective bargaining his-tory, money was not the primary issue.

“Workload was the No. 1 priority —by far — of teachers right through theprovince,” Foley tells The Independent.

There are focal points in the systemthat need fixing, says Foley. Specialservice teachers, speech pathologists,guidance counsellors, educational psy-chologists — the people who actuallysupport the classroom teacher — areoverburdened, many with twice the rec-ommended caseloads. They need sup-port, Foley says.

He says the union has spent severalyears trying to make that point to gov-ernment.

In February 2006, the Williamsadministration paid down $1.95 billionin outstanding debt in the teacher’spension.

While teachers appreciated the pen-sion payment, Foley says the unionmade it “very clear” that the No. 1 issuestill went unaddressed.

Hence the television ads, which ran

from mid-December 2006 to mid-February of this year.

“The ads came about because teach-ers had identified the workload, and theneeds of neither the teachers or the stu-dents being actually met.”

Foley said the public had a love/hateresponse to the ads.

“We’d show these ads to teachers andtheir initial reaction was to applaud,because they knew somebody wasactually interpreting what was actuallyhappening,” says Foley.

A union survey showed people in theprovince felt better informed on educa-tional issues than they were before theads ran, he says. The survey also indi-cated “a lot of support” for teachers.

Foley says even though governmentdecided this year to keep on teacherswho might have been laid off due todeclining enrolment, the fundamentalissue was still not addressed.

Teacher allocation and the newmethod of dealing with the individualneeds of the students — the ISSP-Pathways model — are major problemsin the system, according to Foley.

He says a commission was struck bythe minister to look at each of thesetopics. The NLTA is awaiting the rec-ommendations, and it appears govern-ment is seriously looking at basingteacher allocation on need.

Foley says the minister is saying thiscoming year will be a transition period“where we will lead into that.

“If that is the case, I have to say frommy perspective that would be a goodthing,” says Foley. “We would be verysupportive; we would be very muchwilling to work with whomever in thedepartment or government or whomev-er to allow that to occur.”

[email protected]


Off the payrollBill Murray resigns from provincial civil serviceBy Ivan Morgan The Independent

The man at the centre of theprovince’s spending scandal offi-cially resigned on June 1, The

Independent has learned. Bill Murray, thehouse of assembly’s former director offinancial operations had been on paidleave — his salary is estimated at morethan $70,000 a year — from the job hewas suspended from in June 2006.

As a long-time provincial employee,Murray is also entitled to a severancepackage, although that is being held backby government, says Speaker HarveyHodder, consistent with the govern-ment’s actions regarding the five MHAsalso implicated in the spending scandal.All are currently under investigation bythe Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.

“The same practice that applies to the

members applies to him (Murray) aswell. In other words, his severance isheld until there is a determination, andthat determination will depend on theprocess that’s being followed in conjunc-tion with the investigation that’s beingcarried out,” Hodder tells TheIndependent.

He says Murray has been treatedappropriately. “You have to look at therealities. That’s common in these kindsof matters.”

Murray was suspended when auditorgeneral John Noseworthy discoveredmore that $4 million in questionable dis-bursements issued by him. This week theprovincial government issued a state-ment of claim against Murray to recoupthose funds.

Five MHAs are also under investiga-tion by the RNC for their role in thespending scandal. Ed Byrne, Randy

Collins, and Percy Barrett have resignedtheir seats as MHAS.

Jim Walsh, a former MHA defeated inthe 2003 provincial election, wasappointed to the federal TransportationSafety Board. He was placed on paidleave from that position — which has asalary range between $104,900 and$123,400 a year — after the auditor gen-eral identified him as having overspenthis constituency allowance while he wasan MHA. Between 2003 and 2004,Walsh filed signed claims totalling$289,169, which is $228,169 in excess ofthe $61,000 ($30,500 per year) he wasallowed as a MHA.

Walsh also collects a provincial pen-sion for his time as an MHA and cabinetminister.

Wally Andersen is the MHA for thedistrict of Torngat Mountains.

[email protected]


Premier Danny Williams maysay the Green report into thepolitical spending scandal

will “usher in a new era ofaccountability,” but SpeakerHarvey Hodder is taking babysteps towards that goal, waiting forlegal opinions on how to proceed.

Hodder refuses to release infor-mation requested by TheIndependent, even after legislationtouted as making the House moretransparent and accountable waspassed late last week.

“It’s not that I am saying yes orno, I am just simply saying thatuntil these matters are addressed,it’s not appropriate that we do it onindividual cases,” Hodder tellsThe Independent. “We have todevelop a policy on it and while Iam committed to openness andtransparency we can’t do it piece-meal.”

In January The Independentasked Chuck Furey, then chiefelectoral officer and commissionerof member’s interests, to reveal thecharities where he was donatinghis MHA pension. A condition ofbeing hired to the $125,000-a-yearposition was that he donate hispension to charity to avoid “doubledipping” in the public purse.

Furey refused to turn over thatinformation, and The Independentrequested it from Hodder.

Hodder said he would look intothe matter. Contacted after Fureyabruptly resigned in May, Hoddersaid he had the information con-firming Furey donated his pensionto a registered charity, but wasunwilling to reveal the recipient,citing privacy concerns.

The Independent again requestedthe information this week. Hodderis still holding on to the informa-tion.

“I am not going to jump into adecision on these things until after

we have received all the advicethat we need to have before thereare decisions made.”

Hodder says he has spoken tolegal advisers and guidelines willbe developed over the next numberof weeks to give guidance to theHouse management on issues suchas The Independent’s request.

He cannot say what the timelinefor these guidelines will be.

“The act passed last Thursdayand it is only today that we aremaking actually a list of things thatwould have to be addressed andthe development of guidelines for-ward,” says Hodder.

“The matter has only been dis-cussed this morning between theclerk of the House and myself.”

Hodder says there are many fac-tors that are being looked at by hislegal advisers. Issues regarding theretroactivity of the legislation is aconcern, as are privacy issues.

“For example — the fact that thepremier donates his salary to char-ity. Is the fact that he chooses to dothat with his own funds, is that anissue that should be divulged to thepublic?” asks Hodder.

On the other hand, he saysGreen’s report says members ofthe House should not use con-stituency funds to make donations.Should members who have extrafunds not donate them to charitiesor to good causes or to groups intheir district either?

“These are the matters that thelegal advisors — both for the exec-utive branch and for the Speaker’soffice — are in the process of look-ing at now,” says Hodder. “Whatother legislation is in need ofamendment to facilitate the workof, I guess, the House and also toimplement the entire report of Mr.Green.

“That’s all being looked at and indue course we will do everythingthat is required to be done.”

[email protected]

Upcoming school year crucial: NLTA

Speaker not releasing information until legal opinions rendered

DOYLE BULLETIN

MP Norm Doyle was in St. John’s on Monday, June 18, to announce $1 million in federal funding for the Basilica of St. John the Baptist. Doyle says hehas been lobbying for funding for the cathedral, a national historic site, for three years. The cathedral’s conservation society will determine what themoney will be used for, but Doyle says it will continue renovations on the two towers and stained glass windows. Nicholas Langor/The Independent


Behind the maskFor this week only this column

has been renamed the FightingOoga Booga. I can’t help

myself, not with the wicked tribalmask The Independent got our handson recently.

Made of teak, the mask has greeneyes and fangs, and would come inhandy for Danny, who’s no doubttired of contorting his face into thedirty looks he gives for a living. Thepremier could dance around hiseighth floor office in the mask when-ever a vicious mood strikes him,dancing a jig and jabbing the air withan oar from a rotting dory at a like-ness of Steve, our evil mainlandnemesis.

No worry of the wind changingand a dirty look becoming permanentwith a mask on. Taxpayer moneywell spent.

The Ooga Booga mask wasimported from Asia by JASEnterprises, one of the St. John’scompanies tied to the House ofAssembly spending scandal.“Questionable payments” of morethan $2.6 million were made to threecompanies — JAS included — foruntendered trinkets like lapel pins,gold rings, and fridge magnets (my

favourite is the one with the pictureof the adorable Newfoundland dogand Labrador retriever) over a seven-year period.

JAS is owned by the family of citybusinessman John Hand, who’s afriend of Bill Murray, the House ofAssembly’s former director of finan-cial operations. The Independent hasbeen knocking on Mr. Hand’s door asof late, but no one’s answering.

Former associates of Hand say theOoga Booga mask, along withdozens of other mass-produced Asianknickknacks, were imported by JASover the years (no word on who paidfor what). Politicians were also out-fitted in the best cheese money canbuy.

Murray is on the hook for $2.6 mil-lion.

I wonder where he spent it all?Bill was in the news again this

week when the province filed a civil

suit against him to get its moneyback. Poor ol’ Bill not only allegedlymade questionable payments to com-panies owned by his buddy, $140,000was also allegedly paid to a companyowned by him or his wife. If thatwasn’t allegedly bad enough, Murrayallegedly “grossly overpaid” fiveMembers of the House of Assemblyin constituency allowances.

According to the statement ofclaim, Murray was responsible for“100 per cent” of the claims and, as aconsequence, was in “reckless disre-gard of the limits.” In fact, the state-ment of claim reads that Murray“failed utterly in the professional ordutiful discharge of his responsibili-ties as a trusted manager,” bringingthe House and public service into“disrepute.”

Murray is pretty much the spend-ing scandal’s whipping boy, which isconvenient considering there’s alooming provincial election. Daysafter the release of the 1,311-pageGreen report — which didn’t name asingle political soul — Murray’sname and picture were flashed acrossthe CBC supper-hour news.

More civil suits are reportedly tofollow against the five MHAs who

are implicated, just not right yet. It’sinteresting to note how the suitagainst Murray was filed days afterhe went off the government payroll, ayear after the scandal broke. (Ain’tgovernment jobs grand?)

It’s also worth noting the courtaction against Murray began whilethe police are still investigating him.The province may be guilty of pre-mature litigation.

Murray was represented last sum-mer by well-known lawyer AverillBaker, although not any more.Murray won’t do interviews; neitherwill his lawyer.

Speaking on behalf of her then-client, Baker told The Independentlast July that Murray is innocent ofthe allegations against him and onlydid what politicians directed him todo. Baker said Murray pointed thefinger of blame on MHAs on theInternal Economy Commission.Further, she said the one time Murraytried to dispute an expense claim hewas shot down. “I simply don’tunderstand about my client beingganged up on or blamed for this inthat the one time he did try to disputea claim he was told, ‘Look, who areyou to ask me about this? Who are

you to ask me what this is for.’”The auditor general even dropped

into the Waterford to see Murrayafter he checked himself in, a meet-ing Baker deemed as inappropriateconsidering her then-client was in aweakened mental state.

With no public inquiry, the mediais left to figure out what happened.Which is a tad difficult when noone’s talking. It’s almost a year sinceSpeaker Harvey Hodder told MHAsto keep their mouths shut about theirconstituency allowances. The wayHodder figured it, politicians had noway of knowing what informationpolice would need as part of theirinvestigation.

The thing about a Constabularyprobe is that if police don’t laycharges, the details of their investiga-tions are usually never made public.A hell of a lot of questions must beanswered before the spending scan-dal fades away. Politicians andbureaucrats must be held account-able. Either that, or they should all,each and every one, be issued anOoga Booga mask when they’reelected to office to hide behind.

[email protected]

Dear editor,Congratulations! I really enjoyed

Ivan Morgan’s May 15 column,Racism lessons from the Truxtun. Ialso applaud his writing style.

The story of Lanier Phillips, oneof the survivors, is such an inspiringone — every time he speaks hegives so much honour to our people.At the recent christening of the USSTruxtun DDG 103, he once againreferred to the humanity of our peo-ple in a special documentary pro-duced for the reception.

In conversations I had with verysenior officers while in Pascagoula,Mississippi, the U.S. Navy and thepeople of south Mississippi grate-fully acknowledged the characterand largesse of our people. I sin-cerely hope Lanier’s story willreach the Big Screen very soon. Tothat end, I thank you for keeping thiswonderful story of our history inprint.

Wayde Rowsell,Mayor of St. Lawrence

‘The character and largesse of our people’

RYAN CLEARYFightingNewfoundlander

YOURVOICE‘Wouldn’t it be nice if our families were intact?’

Dear editor,What is being done to ensure the

stability and survivability of familylife here in Newfoundland?

Yes, I am one of hundreds, perhapsthousands (and if you think I’mexaggerating, spend a few hours inSt. John’s airport) of Newfoundlandwomen who are tolerating life in thisprovince while their husband/boy-friend/significant other breezes inand out of their life “on rotation.”And yes, I mean tolerating — notenjoying, not embracing, and notcontent thinking about the moneytheir loved one is making in Fort Macor on an oil rig in Alberta or Nigeria.

“On rotation” — what does thatmean? Six and two? Twenty one andeight? Month on, month off? Theseterms have taken on a certain signifi-cance and understanding to New-foundlanders.

Whatever the “rotation,” it allmeans the same thing — livingalone, eating alone or raising kidsalone most of the time. Or maybethese women are like me — newlymarried, without any kids. And yes,since everyone keeps asking, we’re“trying for kids.” My husbandFedEx’s home his sperm periodicallyso I can try to reproduce. Sorry,you’ll have to excuse the sarcastictone.

Seriously, what effect is theabsence of a whole generation ofmen having on family life here in theprovince? Are divorce rates up? Arepeople unhappy? Are mothers frus-

trated with parenting alone? If it wasnecessary to do a socio-economicstudy in Labrador for the Voisey’sBay project, why is no one looking atthe impact of the absence of fatherson a whole generation of Newfound-land and Labrador children who seetheir fathers only periodically? Whyis no one concerned? I don’t under-stand. Instead, Danny Williams isobsessed with getting his own waywith the oil companies. If he weretruly concerned with this province,he would make a deal, even if it wasless than perfect, that would bringsome new opportunity to thisprovince and maybe bring some peo-ple home.

And what about new funding allo-cated to attracting foreign/interna-tional trades people and skilled pro-fessionals to the province? I think itis a wonderful idea. Maybe one ofthese newcomers we’re dedicatingmoney to (instead of trying to figureout a way to get Newfoundlandersback in the province) will bring me achild from their home country sincemy husband isn’t home long enoughfor us to try for our own.

No, I’m not about to break into acountry song about “my man” beinggone. I’m not high-maintenance andI don’t need hand holding. I can tol-erate this situation, but wouldn’t it benice if our families were intact?

Deidre Puddister (trying to be Deidre Williams),

Bay Bulls

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‘That really moved me’Dear editor,

I love The Independent — it is a fan-tastic newspaper. I wanted to drop youa short note to say how much I enjoyedPam Pardy Ghent’s June 15 column,Pop stopped to smell the roses. It was

beautifully written and very elegant. Iespecially liked the section where heasked to go back in for one final lookaround the house — that really movedme. It is writing like this that makes mebuy your paper every week. I also want

to say how much I enjoyed AmandaHancock’s article, Out of Africa, in theMay 15 edition. It was lovely to readand I learned a lot.

Ian Davidson,Clarenville

Lobster lessonsDear editor,

A recent piece appeared in theHalifax Chronicle-Herald newspaperby Dan Leger, director of news content,under the headline, The AtlanticAccords: Time for truth-telling, inwhich he arrived at a conclusion:“What we are demanding is unfair.Nova Scotia and Newfoundland andLabrador should be content to get theirfiscal capacities to the national averageand then allow sharing of their resourcewealth.” The piece reminded me of astory about Quebec lobsters andAtlantic Canada lobsters, which wentsomething like this:

It seems that a large group of Quebeclobsters and Atlantic Canada lobstersfound themselves caught in a large lob-ster pot. They noticed a hole at the top.The Quebec lobsters immediately tookadvantage of the hole and used theiringenuity to form a ladder with theirown bodies, allowing them to climb oneach other’s backs and escape the situ-

ation.The Atlantic Canada lobsters, on the

other hand, and in true Atlantic Canadafashion, saw a group of their own tryingto imitate what the Quebec lobsters haddone to save themselves, but instead ofmaking a ladder they grabbed theirleaders by the tail and pulled them backinto the pot. You see, they did not wantto offend anyone and were satisfied tostay in their place.

The article from an Atlantic Canadanewspaper essentially agreeing withStephen Harper and his new govern-ment’s broken promises sure looks tome that even after all these years weAtlantic Canadians haven’t learned asgood a lesson about politics in Canadaas the Quebec lobsters did about theirsituation.

Michael E Power,Paradise

‘What education is all about’Dear editor,

A June 15 letter to the editor(Canadian military sinks to ‘new low’)by Jean Dandenault of Holyrood, whodescribed himself as a “concerned andsaddened parent,” expressed concernabout the military’s visit to his child’sschool.

First, let me say that like manyCanadians I sometimes wonder aboutCanada’s role in Afghanistan. Our his-tory as peacekeepers sometimes seemsout of step with our involvement in theconflict. I’m also “saddened” every

time I see another young man orwoman being killed in any conflict.

The writer seems to suggest, howev-er, that the military should not visitour schools with this kind of presenta-tion as it might offend their children’s,or indeed their parents’ sensitivities.Perhaps it might expose them to anunpleasant aspect of life. I would sug-gest that children learn from this kindof presentation like any other. I wouldbe very surprised if a child makes adecision at nine years of age to join thearmy. Let’s get serious here — soldiers

and war are a part of life. We have aresponsibility as parents to guide anddirect our children and provide themwith information, as do the schools.This is what education is all about.

Maybe we should turn off our TVs orhide newspapers. To use the writer’slogic maybe we shouldn’t have thepolice or fireman or other dangerousoccupations make presentations incase the children may choose thosecareers down the road.

Paul Green,St. John’s


YOURVOICE

Dear editor,While I sympathize with parents in

Holyrood over the incident in whichyoung soldiers proudly showed kidsfrom Grades 4-6 the tools of theirprofession, I also sympathize withthe soldiers who have been accusedof promoting recruitment for theirranks.

The question is why should ourArmed Forces be regarded as an evilnecessity and not receive the praiseand admiration like those in any pro-fession?

Those young men and women areputting their lives on the line for us,and have every right to display thetools of their trade.

If we wage war, we should knowthe realities of it above and beyondthe pomp and pageantry of militaryparades.

The school made apologies forfailing to tell parents in advanceabout the military visit. One has towonder if a visit by a vet or a hairstylist would warrant advance notice.

War is a fact of life and warrequires soldiers and weaponry.Mankind has been at war since heleft the Garden of Tranquility.

But nothing will be solved by

making our dedicated young soldiersfeel as if they are somehowbesmirched, and may or may havenot allowed some student to pull thetrigger as he, the soldier, held theweapon.

If parents really want to create apositive learning situation for theirkids, teach them the differencebetween defensive wars and offen-sive wars, and the values of peace.Continue to teach them about worldpoverty, and the inequity across thisglobe as people of all ages die fromstarvation, disease and war whiletheir misleaders (sic), driven byfanatical egos, sacrifice everythingdecent to a god of destruction. Teachthem to share and love one another.Teach them to respect all people andcultures, and to wish the best forthose as for themselves.

We are the most creative life formon the planet with the greatest poten-tial for making our planet a greenone, environmentally and economi-cally, but we must learn to think ofothers, and to recognize that the earthand its bounties belong to everyone.

Aubrey Smith,Grand Falls-Windsor

Long ago I’d lie in my bed in myroom and fret over the troublesonly Grade 7 could bring. I was

12. My house was in what is now theAquarena parking lot, except then welived in the country — OK, not quitethe country, but we had cows.

I had left the safety of elementaryschool for a tumultuous junior highschool — half kids from the courts (thefew who were Protestant that is) andhalf from the ’burbs — except, ofcourse, the Catholics.

Being kids, we were still not too surewhat the difference was yet. We weren’tpaying attention.

For all the stress this school —Bishop Abraham Junior High — couldgenerate, I knew at day’s end my Momhad supper made, there was TV (we hadcolour on both channels) and I had thesafety of my room and my bed.

And as always, I would look out mybig bedroom window across the fieldsand over the ’burbs to Rabbittown. Iwould watch a set of traffic lights far off

in the distance, set in the middle of thetwinkly jumble of street lights, porchlights and warm yellow windows, doingwhat they did — red … green … yellow… red …

Unwavering. Predictable.Comforting. Eternal. Summer, winter,fall and spring. If I woke at three in themorning … switch, switch, switch andswitch again. They were so far off in thedistance. I’d wonder about the peoplewho lived near those lights. Who werethese mysterious adults out so late theyneeded traffic lights at two a.m.? Howdid they work — that eternal, preciseswitching?

I was 12. I was changing. Sweet JesusI was changing. Puberty? Like gettinghit by a bus in excruciatingly slow

motion. Not something you got overfast. Nope. It took a decade just for thephysical end of it. The emotional? I’lllet you know.

But always, late at night, red … green… yellow. Never changing. They shim-mered in the summer heat, disappearedin snowy February gusts. Good times,bad times, I could lie and watch them.The red was longer than the green by 15seconds; I learned that when I got afancy new watch for my birthday.

And as I grew, so did my freedoms.By Grade 7 I was sophisticated. I couldwalk to my new school, past the end ofRabbittown.

And here we were, my buddy and I,after school on a typically cold grey St.John’s afternoon — could have beenNovember, could have been June —following Cathy Murphy downMerrymeeting because … well because.That puberty thing again. (Sorry Cathy— I know that’s you real name. Wannasue us? Take a number).

Suave lads that we were, we followed

Cathy just because. We pretended wewere on our way somewhere, butblushed every time she turned her head.I pretended it was no big deal to be sodeep into the city on my own.

Cathy turned and laughed at us. Iremember the resounding clunk of herfront door closing behind her, leavingus cold in the street.

Standing at an intersection suddenlyfeeling foolish, I looked out over thecity, across the valley and I saw myhouse.

My house, behind the fields, set in thetrees.

Long bulldozed, it is a place sosecure in my memory the actual sticksand paint — now gone — seem irrele-vant.

And I remember wondering what wasfor supper. Young boys are not philoso-phers.

Then, above my head, I heard anelectric buzz-click. A bus lumbered by,flash image — old ladies in plasticheadscarves grimacing out of the grey

windows at the dreary shops — and twourchins standing on the sidewalk.

Green light. Cars whooshed by.And then it clicked. Green … yellow

… red. Here I was at the other end. Notthe end of the world. Nothing mysteri-ous, just a grimy St. John’s street.

And though my world was growing,at that moment it started shrinking.

My buddy shoved me with his shoul-der. “It’s a traffic light, dickwad.”

I laughed and grabbed him by thecoat, pretending to throw him in front ofa Mammy’s delivery truck. Teen boysnever show weakness.

The driver swerved and hollered aword I can’t use here, but it made uslaugh. My buddy hollered back hecould do it to himself. The truck skid-ded to a stop in the middle ofMerrymeeting.

And that was us, gone, laughing aswe ran.

I pretty much get the world now. Thatwas the moment it started.

[email protected]

The constancy of traffic lightsIvan Morgan remembers junior high — when the end of the street was no longer the end of the world

IVAN MORGANRant & Reason

ALEUTIAN DISEASESympathizing with soldiers

‘Please confirm that I am delusional’Editor’s note: the following letterwas written this week by St. John’sMayor Andy Wells to federal NaturalResources Minister Gary Lunn, witha copy forwarded to TheIndependent.

Dear Mr. Minister:On June 5-6, 2007, I attended an

oil and gas conference in westernNewfoundland and I was informed tomy extreme annoyance that appar-ently your department has funded aresearch programme in westernNewfoundland offshore/onshoregeological structures through theUniversity of Kentucky.

Please confirm that I am delusion-al and that this is not true. I will besitting at the head table with you at

the NOIA conference in St. John’sthis week and I want an answer fromyou regarding this matter. I find itextremely disconcerting that youhave not had the courtesy to respondto my letter of May 30. I can onlyconclude that you think you canevade your responsibilities as minis-ter.

In this, of course, you have muchin common with your colleague,(Loyola) Hearn, who also has refusedto respond to the same letter of May30.

To paraphrase Richard Nixon: “It’snot going to play in Peoria.” And, it’snot going to play in St. John’s. I lookforward to having lunch with you.

Andy Wells,Mayor

Newfoundland and Labrador fur breeders are currently battling Aleutian disease, which does not affect humans and can kill animals, in one ofthe province’s 24 mink farms. The provincial government does not yet know how the virus made its way onto the island. The fur industry isestimated to be worth $70 million annually, according to the CBC. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

Dear editor,I was never a hockey fan. My broth-

er-in-law informed me, young DanielCleary of Riverhead, Harbour Gracewas playing for the Stanley Cup thisseason. I became very interested in thesport and became a big Cleary fan.Every game he played I was sitting nextto my brother-in-law. Sometimes ourcheering became so loud the neigh-bours checked in to see if all was well.I was proud of Daniel as if he was myown son. Of course, most people inNewfoundland and Labrador feel proudwhen our own Newfoundland and

Labrador children work hard, give theirbest efforts, and make it to the top.

Daniel has also become an inspira-tion for today’s youth. What morecould our province ask from a boy?

After reading Don Power’s column(Wings clipped, thankfully) in the May25 edition of The Independent I shookmy head in disbelief. His article did notimpress me. It showed a lack of sensi-tivity to Daniel Cleary, Daniel’s familyand especially to the people of HarbourGrace, whom he called morons. It wascruel and rude. In my opinion, Mr.Power’s piece of writing did more dam-

age to himself than it will ever inflict onany member of the Cleary family or thepeople of Harbour Grace. It portrayedthe essence of jealousy. To me the arti-cle indicated Mr. Power is stuck in the1980s. At that time, young Daniel wasa boy who had just stepped into histeenage years.

It is not too late for Mr. Power togrow up. Maybe Daniel could give hima few tips to get started, although Istrongly feel that Daniel outgrew him along time ago.

Gladys McDonald,Holyrood

Power column ‘portrayed the essence of jealousy’

Dear editor,As a long-time resident of the

Pleasantville area of east end St.John’s, an area that is appropriatelynamed, I was invited to attend aninformation session on June 12 at thePleasantville Legion on plans to rede-velop a large part of the land inside theboundary of what was Fort Pepperrell.

The land in question is now ownedby Canada Lands Company and isused by National Defence as CFS St.John’s. While the meeting was short

on substance, it did generate a numberof questions dealing with issues suchas increased traffic flow in the area,and the need for adequate consultationwith neighbouring citizens.

From my point of view, however,the whole exercise was flawed fromthe beginning. National Defence hasalready decided to construct a majornew facility that ultimately will beright in the middle of a residentialneighbourhood. The decision evident-ly was taken without consulting any-

one, least of all the citizens, many ofwhom have lived in the area for 40years.

Ward Coun. Art Puddister, who waspresent at the meeting, stated that theCity of St. John’s has no jurisdiction toquestion the decision. If that is true,then I think that our city council hasfailed us once again. Surely a strongrepresentation by the city would beconsidered by National Defence?

The fact is that there are many othervenues where the department could

locate its facility other than on primeproperty in a residential neighborhood.

It would appear that nothing haschanged in 65 years. The U.S. militarycame here in 1942 and built an airportto the north of the city. Normally, themilitary base, of which the airport is apart, is located adjacent to the airport.Not here. Oh no, the U.S. military wasgiven permission to build on what isnow some of the best real estate in St.John’s and nobody questioned it.

Well, I am now questioning the deci-

sion to maintain a military presence inPleasantville. It is not necessary andall land that was once occupied byeither U.S. or Canadian forces shouldbe reclaimed for other uses.

I would urge all city councillors,members of the House of Assemblyrepresenting St. John’s districts, andour two Members of Parliament torequest a review of the decision.

Edgar Williams,St. John’s

Military presence in Pleasantville questioned

Retired Department of Fisheriesand Oceans scientist George Lilly hasstudied the northern cod for decades,and continues to, now as a scientistemeritus. He says he’s not sure whereJohn Crosbie’s two-year moratoriumplan came from — certainly not fromstudies done by DFO scientists.

“Nobody saw it anywhere else, itjust appeared attached to the minis-ter’s announcement on July 2, 1992.It’s hard to say why it was there. Itmay have been nothing more than apolitical necessity … they were allunder great duress at the time.”

Lilly says to imagine the stock’sreturn in two year would have been“quite a leap of faith.”

Today, the offshore cod stocks arein “dismal shape,” says DFO researchscientist John Brattey — the numberscontinued to decline even after 1992and have yet to show encouragingsigns of coming back.

Scientists now believe the offshorestock will take decades to rebound, ifthey ever do.

The inshore fish are faring slightlybetter — enough that a small inshorefishery was opened in 1998, only tobe closed in 2002 as the fragile stocksshowed signs of slipping away again.

“Then it looked like it started toimprove again, but hasn’t gotten tothe peak of 1998,” Brattey says. In2006, a very small fishery — 2,700tonnes — was opened again.

“We reckoned that removed abouteight per cent of the stock — while itdidn’t knock it down, it certainly wasnoticeable,” says Brattey. “It’s not forus to say whether it should havestayed closed … but there wastremendous pressure on Minister(Loyola) Hearn to open it, which hedid, and referred to it as a one-yearpilot.”

Brattey hasn’t heard if there will beany inshore cod fishery this year. Thisyear’s recreational fishery, which wasalso open last summer, has also yet tobe announced.

In 1991, the year before the mora-torium was announced, the northerncod catch was 123,000 tonnes, andwas worth an estimated $700 million.(By contrast, less than 16,000 tonneswere landed in 2005.)

There is no single or simple answerfor the collapse — or for the lack ofrecovery. It’s a complex issue, whichall stakeholders are still trying towork through.

Some are quick to lay the blame onOttawa for its mismanagement; ondomestic and foreign overfishing; onhungry seals.

As Brattey points out, there havealso been major changes in oceano-graphic conditions, including a cool-ing in the late-’80s.

“There are lots of theories but nodefinitive explanation that everyoneis accepting,” says Brattey. “Somebelieve the fish moved — there weresome changes in the oceanographicconditions … others believe therewas this very big increase in naturalmortality in the ocean — they simplydisappeared.”

Either way, says Brattey, very fewcod are surviving in the offshore to beold enough to reproduce — they mustbe at least four years old, but are mostproductive at six or eight years ofage.

“For some reason, the removal ofthe fishery wasn’t enough (for recov-ery), nature kept chopping away at it.It really fooled everyone.”

He points out the situation is notunique to northern cod — otherspecies in the area have been affectedas well. American plaice and caplin,for example, have also suffered seri-ous declines; whereas shrimp andcrab have increased. Arctic cod havealso increased in abundance, andmoved further south.

“For some reason, nature is trim-ming off all the excess that we used tocapture. And if we start fishing, evenat low levels, we’ll just knock itdown.

“There’s no end to this, not in theshort term. It’s going to take multiplegenerations to rebuild.”

Although Lilly says there needs tobe “a lot more review” of the under-standing of the science andeconomies of the fisheries, he saysthere has been a significant amountof work done, and knowledgegained.

“You have various fish harvestersthat say we don’t know what’s goingon with the science and we need a lotmore money … to some extentthere’s truth in that — you canalways do a lot more, and there areserious constraints in terms ofmoney and people and that’s verytrue.

“But for a time period there, therewas a lot of effort being put into thescience of cod and I think it was verywell understood. And people weresaying the scientists didn’t knowwhat was going on and were usingthat as an excuse for ignoring the sci-ence.”

learn any lessons from that? If youlook at what happened in the crabfishery since the moratorium, you’dhave to conclude that we didn’t … wewent off right, left and centre, licens-ing new plants, more capacity andputting new strains on the resource.

“From a management perspective,we’ve still got a lot to learn.”

Earle McCurdy, president of theFish, Food and Allied Workers’union, says he also sees more co-operation between fish harvesters andscience and management — henames the sentinel cod fishery as oneexample.

He, too, believes strongly in thefuture of the fisheries, including cod,in this province. Indeed, he says,

nothing else has yet to come along —with the “scattered exception” — toprovide any sort of basis for the sur-vival of communities off the AvalonPeninsula.

“In terms of the structure of theindustry, we have rebuilt it to a fairextent since then,” he says.“Harvesters have come up with otheroptions … though the processing sec-tor and plant workers haven’t recov-ered at all.”

In the end, he says, the demand forthe sea products of Newfoundlandand Labrador still exist — and aslong as it does, there will be a viableindustry.

“The world still needs our fish andwe have a lot of fish products out

there that are in demand and the con-sumption of seafood is still on theupswing — there is a future there,” hesays.

“But for how many, and what hasto happen, what has to change tocompete with the job opportunities inAlberta for example … but I thinkthat’ll find its own level over time.”

•••Ross Reid succeeded Crosbie as

federal Fisheries minister. Not onlywas he around for Crosbie’s 1992announcement, but he had to followup himself by closing a number ofthe remaining cod fisheries inAtlantic Canada, effectively handingout another 21,000 pink slips.

“I make no bones about it. I didn’tget very much sleep the nightbefore,” Reid tells The Independent.“You understand the impact, youknow … it’s communities and fami-lies and all that sort of thing.”

And the impact was immense backthen, and Reid says the province hasyet to recover fully, even today.

“We’ve gotten over it, to someextent economically, 15 years later,time deals with some of that,” hesays. “And some are much better off… not everybody, not by a long shot.But the psychological, the culturalimpact, that will be there for a longtime.

“It had a real impact on an awfullot of people in this province … itwas their culture, it was their history,it was their community. And maybepart of the problem was that wealways believed it would be thereanyway. Certainly it’s a kick in yourreality when all of a sudden you real-ize it’s not.”

Rideout himself has trouble believ-ing that a decade and a half has goneby, that already there “are teens outthere who will never know the fish-ery I knew.

“It seems like it was yesterdaywhen Crosbie made that fatalannouncement,” he says. “But a lothas changed in the province, a lot haschanged in the fishery, and the faceof rural Newfoundland I hazard tosay will never be the same as a resultof it.”

“Still, we knew that it was going toclose, but we weren’t believing it,”remembers Coombs. “You werehearing it, and you talked about it,but you just didn’t think it was goingto happen. Right up until the lastminute, the very last day, no onebelieved it.

“How could you? After years andyears and years, where was everyonegoing to go? What was everyonegoing to do?”

Fifteen years have partiallyanswered those questions. Once avibrant fishing community,Trepassey now relies on a handful ofbusinesses and a slowly growing sea-sonal tourism industry for survival.The town now counts about 750 res-idents, less than half of what it did adecade ago.

Indeed, the population ofNewfoundland and Labrador was atan all-time high of 580,000 in 1992.With the end of the cod fishery beganthe tumble that continues today —according to the 2006 census, thereare now 509,000 residents in theprovince. With the ready availabilityof well-paid full-time work inAlberta and elsewhere, the flow ofout-migration won’t likely slow anytime soon.

Fifteen years later, new species offish and new industries have becomeimportant to the province. Manyrural communities struggle; thenortheast Avalon, for one, is boom-ing. There is already a generationcoming of age that never knew thecod fishery the way it was — thataren’t waiting around for it to comeback.

In 1992, Crosbie said he was clos-ing the cod fishery for two years.

Few people believed the specieswould recover in such a short time —but fewer still imagined that, 15years later, the stocks would still bein such desperate shape.

•••“That was just plain stupid,” says

Leslie Harris, one-time president ofMemorial University and chair of the1990 independent task force into thestate of the northern cod stocks.

“No one ever thought — well, Isuppose someone might have beenfoolish enough — but very few peo-ple thought we were talking abouttwo years.

“The two years was just silly poli-tics, it meant nothing.”

Harris admits he thought the fish,even by his most conservative pre-dictions — “given some sort ofrestraint on our part and given somesort of careful management” —would have been on their way backby now, in spite of any environmen-tal changes.

As it stands, the offshore stock hasshown virtually no recovery; inshore,there are some positive signs.

Harris knows from his own experi-ence that fisheries science is not pre-cise and the ecosystem involved iscomplex and ever changing. “It justgoes to show, when we’re foolingaround with nature we don’t reallyknow what we’re doing and we’re asliable to do something that’s exactlywrong as we are to do somethingthat’s exactly right.”

He’s more pessimistic about thefuture of the codfish than he oncewas, saying he has “great difficulty”believing the stocks will be evenallowed to recover. He fears the man-agement and conservation lessons ofthe past 15 years are still not taken toheart.

“We will convince ourselves thatit’s abundant when it’s not and we’llbegin killing again as soon as indica-tions are there there’s something tokill.”

On that, retired fisheries scientistGeorge Lilly hedges his agreement.

“I would suspect that, even if wesee a small recovery in the offshore,there will be a very serious demandto get back at it,” he says. “The gen-eral take on this nowadays is that itdoesn’t matter what state the stock isin, as long as it’s on an upward trendwe seem to believe it’s OK to fish.

“Who knows? We could very wellget into it as soon as some fish startreappearing. It’s all a matter of poli-tics.”

Harris also questions Ottawa’scommitment to solving the crisis, cit-ing a lack of resources forresearchers and short-sighted man-agement.

“I don’t think Ottawa ever tookvery seriously trying … to reallyconserve the Newfoundland fish-eries,” he says. “I think they’ve had afeeling, as with the Newfoundlandoutport, that the sooner they weregone, the better.

“I think that’s still (the attitude). Ithink Ottawa generally has looked onthe Newfoundland fishery as thesource of poverty and misery andsomething to be gotten rid of as soonas possible.

“And I think they’ve done a verygood job, in that respect.”

•••

Andrew Shea, mayor of the Townof Fogo, says Fogo Island, off thenortheast coast of Newfoundland, isas reliant on the sea for its fortunes asever. But the demise of the cod fish-ery also brought about a fundamentalchange in the industry.

“Before, with the cod, everybodywas heavily involved on the samelevel,” he says. “But now we’ve gotthose with big quotas making bigmoney, and those who can’t surviveat it.”

Now crab is the mainstay of theisland, with shrimp pulling up a closesecond.

Although Shea maintains the fish-ery is the present and future of histown, he’s well aware there may be atime limit on that.

As in the cases of many outportsacross the province, the Fogo popu-lation is dropping — particularly theyounger population. And those thatstay aren’t showing much interest ina life tied to a fragile resource.

“When I taught school in the late-’70s, we had a drop-out problem,everyone would drop out to go towork at the fish plant,” Shea says.“Now nobody does, nobody see it asa career at all.

“You know, if you go to the plant,you’re struggling to get 14 weeks toget your unemployment and kidsdon’t want that anymore.”

Back in Trepassey, Coombs seesthe same thing. “When we wereyounger, we didn’t think about stay-

ing in school — we just thoughtabout getting out to go work in thefish plant or out in the boat.”

She says it’s already becoming dif-ficult to find people to pitch in whenwork does come up — in St. Mary’s,a 25-minute drive down the shore,there is still an operational fish plant.According to Coombs, the operatorshad to go to Harbour Breton to findpeople to work there this summer.

Even as she sees her communitygrow quieter, Coombs says she’llnever leave — in love with the place,the peace, and the life she’s built.

Shea, too, is committed to histown. But — as everyone learned alltoo well — he knows that the localfortunes could turn on a dime.

“After this many years, if the(moratorium) carried on muchlonger, there’s not going to be manypeople left to go at the cod fishery itdoes come back,” says Shea.“They’re going to be out of it andthen it’ll really be gone.

“But it’s got to be the fishery. Theonly reason we’re here is the fishery… if it ever goes, we’re in very seri-ous trouble. It’s a lifeline.”

•••Provincial Fisheries Minister Tom

Rideout says he has to be an optimist— his position demands it.

“Under every circumstance, onehas to believe that fish is a renewableresource,” he says. “Certainly the

recovery has been disastrous to thispoint in time … but yes, we believethe stock will at some point increaseand eventually back to historic levels.That’s certainly not happening in theshort term and nobody has a handleon when that might be.”

Rideout says lessons have beenlearned — he believes fishermen andharvesters are being listened to bymanagers and scientists more thanthey were 20 years ago. And he seesa better understanding of the need forsustainable practices within theindustry, and improved co-operationbetween the province and DFO.

Then again …“We went through this problem

with overfishing,” he says. “Did we

JUNE 22, 2007 INDEPENDENTNEWS • 98 • INDEPENDENTNEWS JUNE 22, 2007

INCAMERA

‘It’s a lifeline’

What happened?From page 1

Former federal Fisheries minister Ross Reid Leslie Harris, author of the 1990 report on northern cod stocks. Former federal Fisheries minister John Crosbie Earle McCurdy, president of the FFAWAll photos Paul Daly/The Independent

Moddox Cove Fisherman Sam Lee

I’ve been noting the number of times“guts” and “gutless” have been usedin columns and letters to the editor

in newspapers of late. My count is at 16, though I’m sure I

missed some in the out-harbour jour-nals. The words just about always referto Newfoundland’s Conservative MPsin Ottawa, all three of whom have nottaken what is seen as the proper pro-Newfoundland stance in dealing withStephen Harper and Jim Flaherty.

Brian Jones of The Telegram came astep closer, branding the LiberalOpposition in the House of Assembly as“gutless” too, although they in fact sup-ported the true doctrine. If they haddone otherwise, they would have beeneviscerated.

But in the main the gutless ones aresaid to be Loyola Hearn, NormanDoyle, and Fabian Manning. They weresupposed to resign from their party andsit in obscurity as independents to makea point to Harper. I can’t recall the MPsof the past — Liberals Bill Rompkey orGeorge Baker — being asked to resignduring the 1980s, when Trudeau made

his grab for offshore resources andNewfoundland was in a similar uproarto what it is now, but Hearn, Doyle, andManning have to make the “gutsy”move and jump ship.

It’s easy enough to type out a demandfor Hearn’s resignation, or get on OpenLine and prate about it, but how manycommentators would do what they’retelling him to do if they were in hisposition? With his limo, salary, influ-ence, perquisites?

Well, I can’t speak for them. I’d be out in a flash! (Wink, wink.) Just to keep to the “gut” theme, when

the Romans wanted to see into thefuture they consulted augurers, whotore out a beast’s entrails and examinedthem. If, say, no heart could be found,as happened on the day Julius Caesarwas murdered, that was a warning to be

heeded.We have different methods now. One

is to “crunch the numbers,” which iswhat Professor Wade Locke is continu-ally up to at Memorial before heinforms us where we will be in 10 or 15years time if we go this way or that way.The way will depend on the price of oiland a number of other economic vari-ables, some of which Locke can’t know.I actually envy Professor Locke and hisstyle of economics, i.e., the kind that isin the business of telling what is goingto happen. How much easier it is to saywhat will happen in 2032 than to saywhat happened in 1932. (Believe me, Iknow how hard the latter is.) And ifyour projections about 2032 are wrong,who will remember? But put in printwhat 1932 was like and generations ofstudents and readers will rightly ques-tion and revise it.

Then there is Gwynne Dyer’s systemof prognostication, which was on exhib-it June 16 in St. John’s. He simplyannounced what he thought the futureheld, one part of which was thatAmerica was “on a collision course”

with China — a gloomy scene to con-template. He did say, however, that hewas foretelling “what might happen, notwhat’s bound to happen,” to quote TheTelegram story. Everyone listening tohim must have been relieved to hearthat! Saying what might happen issomething we all can have a shot at, andwhen I was around the bay last weekHenry Butt and I killed an old goat andfound four kidneys. I hesitate to give adefinite interpretation, but if FourHorses of the Apocalypse were soon toappear on the Outer Ring Road I wouldnot be in the least surprised.

My final point today isn’t directlyabout guts, but a stomach does comeinto it. Some of my friends were sur-prised by the headline in the June 13Telegram, “Sir Robert Bond still ham-pered by ice.” I can’t say I was.Repeated attempts have been made dur-ing the past decade to get Sir Robert toleave The Grange, resume his place atthe head of the Liberal party, and savethe country. Hon. W.F. Lloyd and Iwent, oh, half a dozen times to get himto come out, but he refused, pleading

illness, the expected visit of his brother,or some similar pretense. A few monthsago his excuse was he was hampered byice. Now he’s saying he’s still hamperedby it! It’s true we’ve had icy weather oflate, but surely not enough to prevent aman coming in from Whitbourne.

I suspect the real reason he won’treturn is that he’s lost his customaryoptimism. The last time we saw him Mr.Lloyd spoke of “duty” and “public serv-ice.”

“Service!” Sir Robert roared, “Is thatwhat they’re calling politics now? Whowas that Andersen fellow in Labradorserving when he overspent his con-stituency allowance by hundreds ofthousands of dollars — not to mentionByrne in Kilbride and Barrett andCollins and the rest of them? Don’t talkto me of service.” He then headed off tohis grotto, saying “he turned his back onthe loathsome business … it all madehis stomach churn over,” or words tothat effect.

Patrick O’Flaherty is a writer in St.John’s.


Gut-founded PATRICKO’FLAHERTYA Skeptic’s Diary

Corporal Stephen Frederick Bouzane, of the Third Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, was one ofthree soldiers killed Wednesday when the vehicle they were traveling in struck an improvised explosive device on themain road on a supply route west of Kandahar City. Cpl. Bouzane was born in Little Bay, Notre Dame Bay. He was 26.

FALLEN SOLDIERYOURVOICE

Dear editor,I am writing in response to the June 15 letter to the

editor, Canadian military sinks to ‘new low’, by JeanDandenault of Holyrood. Like its author I amshocked and outraged, not at the Canadian Forces,but at the people who write in and criticize theirmethods, purpose and current actions.

In the letter the author was outraged that theForces showed up to his daughter’s school in arecruitment drive, and later asks how many moreNewfoundlanders will die due to this indoctrination.It’s not just the author, but it seems to me that a largenumber of people in our country seem to be gettingour mission in Afghanistan confused with aggressiveAmerican foreign policy in places such as Iraq. I donot support the war in Iraq, but I gladly support ourefforts to bring those responsible for 9/11 and othermass-murders to justice.

What do these people think Newfoundland sol-

diers die for? They die defending freedom, democra-cy, and to preserve the Canadian way of life, includ-ing our ability to write criticizing letters to the edi-tor. Would the author been equally as outraged if ithad been police officers or firefighters that hadshown up to his daughter’s school? Those profes-sions both get Newfoundlanders killed in the line ofduty, and for the same reasons — to protect the peo-ple.

There’s a nice quote I found on the Internet theother day concerning our troops overseas, and I’dlike to say it on behalf of all of us who are proud ofwhat our boys are doing, “If you don’t stand behindour troops, you can gladly stand in front of them”.

Ryan Woodford (A proud Newfoundlander and Canadian citizen),

Herring Neck

Dear editor,St. John’s Mayor Andy Wells is an intelli-

gent man, he knows how to get things doneand I believe that he really does care about ourcommunity.

But why does he waste so much of our ener-gy and money on his big bully show? Andwhy do we let him?

I’m sure it sells papers and it’s good for alaugh now and again, but it’s very expensiveentertainment if you ask me.

When we allow Wells to act so disrespect-fully, and to normalize bullying as the way toget things done, what message are we sendingto our children?

It’s time for us, the citizens of St. John’s, to

say no more. No more disrespect, Mr. Wells.No more wasting our community’s resourcesfor your own prestige and amusement. Nomore.

LEAVE THIS BULLYFellow citizens and taxpayers, it’s time for

us to leave this bully standing in the schoolyard for a while until he realizes that it’s timeto play nice, or he won’t have any friends. Mr.Wells, it’s time for you to live up to your truepotential as a leader and a force for positivechange in this city and this province.

Scott Morton Ninomiya,St. John’s

‘No more disrespect, Mr. Wells’

What Newfoundland soldiers die for


VOICEFROM AWAY

Under the rubbleSt. John’s native Rachel Guy volunteers to help rebuildingefforts in New Orleans; finds the soul of the city still survivesBy Rachel GuyFor The Independent

Driving into New Orleans late at night is likedriving through the television pictures ofAugust 2005, when Hurricane Katrina dec-

imated the city and most of the Gulf region. Twoyears later, New Orleans is still in ruins, and for thevisitor expecting to see a vibrant city full of jazzmusic, restaurants and bars, it came as a nastyshock.

I had come to volunteer with Habitat forHumanity, an organization that builds houses forpeople in need. The group operates across NorthAmerica, including in Newfoundland, giving loans,labour and materials to build decent housing.

Like many people watching the horrible picturesthat were broadcast from the Superdome andaround New Orleans, I wanted to do somethinguseful. Habitat provided food and board for volun-teers like me, as well as tools and instruction. As anarchitecture student, I was also interested to seehow the city was being rebuilt in the wake of sucha disaster.

On the cab ride out to Habitat for Humanityheadquarters in St. Bernard’s Parish, we passedthrough the Ninth Ward, one of the worst affectedneighbourhoods. My taxi driver was a 350-poundSierra Leonian named Joe, and he was nervousabout driving around at night. “The police give youproblems out here,” he said, checking the rearviewmirror.

Over a million people left the region after thehurricane, and in the aftermath, only half of thecity’s 400,000 people have come back. It shows.The streets were dark, the houses were empty, andthe city smelled like a warm swamp. Traffic lightswere twisted and blinking in the wrong direction.Shops were boarded shut, roofs sagged in, and theonly sign of life was the occasional cigarette buttglowing from a doorstep.

Joe told me thousands of GPS signals are stillcoming from cars and trucks that were washed intothe sea. As we drove further down the St. BernardHighway, the only places intact and operating werethe Murphy Oil refineries and the military base. Itwas an eerie introduction.

Camp Hope is a converted elementary schoolthat is now being used to house volunteers. Bunkbeds line the walls of former classrooms, and din-ner comes cafeteria-style. The volunteers in myroom were from all over the United States andCanada. There was Pat, a retired real estate agent,whose daughter had died of cancer, who was donat-ing musical instruments to a school.

There were Silicon Valley software designers,unemployed factory workers, Chicago blues musi-cians, Iowa farmers, evangelical church groups,and bus loads of students coming down afterexams. A group of navy cadets from Annapolis ranfive miles on the levees every morning before start-ing work. A guest actor on CSI: New York put intime hammering siding.

Everyone was happy to put on old clothes and

get dirty. What a lot of them had in common was afeeling of shame. As George, a retired philosophyprofessor, said, “The first people to arrive here sixdays after the hurricane were Mounties fromCanada. That’s an important point. We are sup-posed to be the most powerful country on earth, andyet we can’t help out our own people.”

The next morning with the thermometer hitting90, our work crew drove to the house of EricaLeJune and her family. Erica and 30 members ofher family escaped in two camper vans just beforethe hurricane struck.

When they came back, they found their houses,cars, trucks and fishing boats destroyed. Like manyCajun people in the area, the LeJune family areshrimp fishermen. Though they had insurance,without a boat, Erica’s husband Darren and her twosons couldn’t go to work.

Being from Newfoundland, I could appreciatehow tough it was for fishermen to be out of workand out of hope. Two years on, none of the insur-ance money had come through, and six members ofthe LeJune family were living in a small trailer pro-vided by the federal government.

Water and sewer still hasn’t been restored, soeveryone uses port-a-potties and water tanks intheir front yards.

It was easy to work hard for them, and it washard work. In addition to hauling bags of concreteand lumber, we had to watch out for black widowspiders, water moccasin snakes and fire ants. Thevolunteers didn’t complain.

By the end of the week, we had put down foun-dations, finished the framing and started with therafters and siding. The family helped out too.Darren brought over some catfish and crayfish, andErica cooked them up on a big grill in her driveway.The neighbours brought us cold drinks, and some-times played the fiddle to keep us entertained.

Over and over again, people in New Orleans toldus how much it meant to them that we hadn’t for-gotten them. At the checkout of Family Dollar, thecashier waved us through, saying “Don’t worryabout the money, y’all are helping us out.”Beigniettes, or French donuts, appeared at ourbreakfast tables, dropped off by a ladies’ churchgroup. In the bars and pubs, drinks were often free,and in restaurants like Casanova’s Seafood, we hadto argue to pay the bill.

During my last week there, the jazz festivalbegan, and musicians and tourists alike began toenergize the city. All of a sudden, marching bandsappeared on street corners, college kids were drink-ing oversized daiquiris in the streets, and middle-aged couples piled into Harrah’s casino.

The Voodoo tours were back in business, andmusicians like Harry Connick Jr. and WyntonMarsalis mingled with the crowds on BourbonStreet. The spirit of New Orleans was still thereafter all, buried underneath the rubble.

Do you know a Newfoundlander or Labradorianliving away? Please e-mail [email protected]

Dear editor,I thought it was more than a little amusing that

Ryan Cleary made reference to the Jean Poutineincident — yet again (Scrunchins, June 15 edi-tion) — on the next page after Randy Simmsincorrectly spelled the name of former U.S pres-ident Ronald Reagan. If you Google RonaldRegan you will get a response that says “did you

mean: Ronald Reagan” so I guess even intellec-tually superior Canadians sometimes make mis-takes. I guess we should keep in mind that “peo-ple who live in glass houses ...” Keep up thegood work.

Scott Hancock,St. John’s

Columnists and editors who live in glass houses …

YOURVOICE

Dear editor,When federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty

responds to a reporter’s question as to why a capshould be placed on the equalization paymentsto our province he smugly replies that whenNewfoundland and Labrador surpasses the fis-cal capacity of Ontario and Alberta the capshould apply.

I’m sure this sounds perfectly reasonable tomost Canadians and they question why theprovince does not accept this argument.

What they do not understand is that theFinance minister makes no distinction betweenfiscal capacity and wealth and I am sure heknows the difference just as Prime MinisterStephen Harper, who’s an economist, knows thedifference.

While our fiscal capacity is increasing westill remain with the highest unemployment rate

in the country — 15 per cent — and the secondhighest per capita debt.

We would be only too pleased to forego equal-ization payments if our unemployment rate andour per capita debt were the same as Ontario andAlberta, the two wealthiest provinces.

You would think the mindset and policy ofany federal government would be to develop aformula that would result in provinces no longerrequiring equalization payments. Instead, thepolicy of this government is exactly the reverseand designed to keep provinces dependent onthese payments

If we were allowed to keep the revenues fromour own — and I emphasis our own — non-renewable resources we would no longer requireequalization payments in a few years’ time.

Burford Ploughman,St. John’s

‘Good luck in the next election, Mr. Hearn’Editor’s note: the following letter was written toLoyola Hearn, the province’s representative in thefederal cabinet, with a copy forwarded to TheIndependent.

Mr. Hearn,I read an article on the VOCM website recently

stating that you plan to “stay silent no longer in theongoing dispute with the province over the AtlanticAccord.” The article went on to quote you as say-ing, “from now on if someone pushes me I willpush back.”

All I can say is that I have respected you and yourstand on issues for years. As an avid political junkieI have followed your career with interest. That said,I can only assume you are clutching at straws withthe current situation.

You and your counterparts have claimed that vot-ing for the federal budget was the only option.

Voting against it would cause you to be kicked outof caucus where you could accomplish nothing.This past week we saw Nova Scotia MP Bill Caseydo just that, with the result you predicted. All I cansay is did it ever occur to you or any of your fellowcaucus members that if the three Nova Scotia MPs,three Newfoundland and Labrador MPs and sevenSaskatchewan MPs had all shown the backbone todo what was right, your lord and master StephenHarper, with a minority government, could neverhave ejected 13 members? This is a situation where,as B. Franklin once said, if we do not hang togeth-er we will surely hang separately.

Good luck in the next election, Mr. Hearn. Fightback against your own people if you must, butremember, eventually you will have to face the vot-ers. Good luck with that.

Myles Higgins,Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s

What Canadians don’t understandabout equalization

Rachel Guy works with Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans.


AROUND THE WORLDThe brig Juliet, of Waterford, from Cadiz toBurin, out thirty-six days; on the 23rd May wasspoken to by the Caledonia steamer from Halifax,homeward bound. The Captain wished to bereported in St. John’s, stating that the day previoushe had taken from off an iceberg the crew of a ves-sel bound from England to Newfoundland. TheCaledonia was going at the rate of 11 miles anhour, and he could not distinctly hear the name ofthe vessel wrecked.

— The Royal Gazette, St. John’s,June 21, 1842

AROUND THE BAYIcebergs attract tourists, but cod-traps attract ice-bergs. This fishing season to date has seen a con-tinual menace by the impudent palaces of iceharassing the fishermen. Bramwell Sheppard ofStag Harbour and George Budden of LittleSeldom lost their valuable cod traps to the icymonsters. Strong tides prevented many fishermenfrom removing their nets from the water as thesilent moving mountains floated along the coast-line.

— Fogo Island Profile, July 3, 1969

YEARS PASTIn consequence of the prevalence of unfavorablewinds the great bulk of the Labrador fleet have notyet been able to start for the scene of the sum-mer’s operations. We trust that this detention willnot turn out to be injurious to the interests of thevoyage. We wish our friends a speedy start and agood fishery.

— The Morning Chronicle, St. John’s, June 17, 1880

EDITORIAL STANDI wonder what mischief is afoot on the Peninsulathese days? The big guns are noticeably silent allof a sudden. Ah well, as the old saying goes, “Nonews is good news,” so I suppose we can safelyassume that nobody is giving us the shaft or thatour jealously guarded rights are not being tam-pered with. Still, it is interesting when the pot boilsover into an old-fashioned controversy such as wehad this spring over the allocation of herring quo-tas — even if the pot is only a “teapot” as onewriter put it. So if anyone out there has any scrapsof info which may get us “in the limelight” again,by all means pass it along. We could sure use theattention — I’m beginning to think that all the fussover the Port au Port peninsula is passé and someother cause has been embraced by the media.

— The Reporter, Stephenville,June 18, 1980

LETTER TO THE EDITORDear Editor — We solicit your help in attractingsuitable students to our craft training program. Asthese courses are fairly new they are not yet wellknown. It is felt that all over our Province thereare potential craft workers who should knowabout these training opportunities. We are lookingfor students with artistic ability and aptitude forcrafts. Students who in future could earn their liv-ing by the proud work of their hands. Can youhelp us by directing this information to any suchtalented people who are under your care? Signed,Anna Templeton

— Fogo Island Profile, July 3, 1969

QUOTE OF THE WEEKThe dullness usually prevalent in our thorough-fares at this particular season, was somewhat dis-pelled last evening by the appearance of some“dancing bears.” The interesting animals referredto, created quite an excitement amongst ourtowns-folk, being for the time, the centre of attrac-tion, even to “children of larger growth.”

— The St. John’s Free Press and Semi-WeeklyAdvertiser,

June 21, 1877

St. John’s Free Press, St. John’s, 1877


The provincial government is looking atoptions for its fleet of six CL-215 waterbombers — replace, refit, or a combination

of the two. Almost $20 million has been set aside inthis year’s budget for the planes.

With aircraft stationed in St. John’s, Gander,Deer Lake, Stephenville, Goose Bay and LabradorWest, the fleet is 25 years old, and decisions haveto be made now on its future, says Cluney Mercer,assistant-deputy minister of Transportation andWorks.

“There has been no upgrading to this waterbomber fleet in probably 25 years,” he tells TheIndependent.

Of the six planes, Mercer says two are not candi-dates for a refit, and are nearing the end of theirlifespan. The other four can be upgraded by replac-ing the aircraft’s piston engines with new turbine-driven engines, which will extend the life of theplanes by upwards of 25 years.

The piston engines, he says, are nearing the endof their operating life, parts are harder to find(although the province maintains a $3-millioninventory), as is fuel for piston-driven planes.Mercer says turbines are also more fuel-efficient.

A new plane — the comparable model is called a415 — is a little larger, says Mercer, and costs up to$32 million.

A cabinet decision on how to apportion the $20million is expected “sometime this summer” inwhat Mercer says will be the first part of a largerstrategy. He says the decision may be to refit thefour that can be refitted, and replace the other two.

He says the CL-215 is still “the water bomber of

choice,” and many jurisdictions in Canada andother countries still use them.

Bombardier, the plane’s manufacturer, has start-ed the process of making upgrade “kits,” butMercer says they are 16-18 months away from hav-ing them ready.

“If you are going to commit yourself to upgrad-ing to turbine engines, then we have to make a deci-sion and we have to put a down payment in placethis summer to get ourselves in the queue to haveengines manufactured.”

If that decision is made, Mercer says theprovince will take delivery of the first kits in 2009-2010. The actual work would have to be done in theoff-season, so Mercer says the fleet may see its firstturbine-driven water bombers in 2011.

The fleet is operated by pilots hired on a season-al basis, working six months of the year. Theprovince’s average water bomber pilot has morethan 10 years experience, and is between 45 and 60years old. There are no female water bomber pilotsworking in the province.

Newfoundland and Labrador is part of a nationalco-operative group that loans out aircraft if there isa low risk of fire in the province and high risk else-where.

If another province needs the places, that govern-ment pays rent on the craft for the duration — theonly revenue the aircraft can generate. Other thanthat, Mercer says, the planes are a straight expense.

“It’s a price we pay to protect our resource andour communities from forest fires.”

Mercer says the last couple of years have beenquiet, with the average bomber seeing 100-120hours of flying time per season. A busy year, hesays, can see a plane spend 400 hours in the air.

[email protected]

Plane speakingProvince considers water bomber options

Luxurious tax break for resortsProvincial investors to get ‘piece of the action’: finance ministerBy John RietiThe Independent

Newfoundland is preparing tokick back and become moreluxurious with the addition of a

$32-million, four-star resort plannedfor Steady Brook in the Humber Valleyon the island’s west coast.

Humber Seasons Limited, the pro-ject’s developers, will be the first com-pany to take advantage of the provin-cial department of business’ provincialresort property investment tax credit.Finance Minister Kevin O’Brien says

the 45 per cent tax credit will encour-age developers to fill a gap in theprovince’s tourism industry — high-end resorts.

“(Tourism) is a big part of our econ-omy, so we see a big area we can devel-op,” O’Brien tells The Independent.

It’s not just the Humber Valley hotspot that could benefit from the credit.

“We have had a great response to theannouncement, we have other develop-ers now who have contacted theDepartment of Business for other juris-dictions and regions of the province …we see this spreading out,” says

O’Brien.To qualify, companies must agree to

several financial clauses and meetbuilding criteria such as size and num-ber of rooms. The resorts must alsoachieve a four-star rating from CanadaSelect, a national accommodations rat-ing program.

Currently, there are no four-starresorts in the province, although thereare several four-star accommodationslike bed and breakfasts.

Canada Select defines a resort ashaving four or more rooms under oneroof, each with a private three-piece

bathroom, at least one full service din-ing room and recreation services onpremises.

Humber Seasons Ltd. could not bereached for comment about its buildingplans. The company is a subsidiary ofFK Developments, an Irish company.

“They (FK Developments) have beenvery busy in the tourist industry andthese kind of developments in Ireland… I believe they have some develop-ments in Dublin,” says O’Brien.

He says the resort will be dividedinto condominium units, whichHumber Seasons will market to provin-

cial investors who can operate theirspace as a time-share.

“This enables Newfoundlanders andLabradorians to own a piece of theirown tourist industry, to get a piece ofthe action,” says O’Brien.

He says time-sharing is becomingmore popular in the province, and it’salso becoming big business.

O’Brien says the cost to the treasurywill depend on how much investors putinto the project, but he says govern-ment won’t spend more than $22.5 mil-lion per year on the project.

john.rieti@theindependent

INDEPENDENTBUSINESSFRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, JUNE 22-28, 2007 — PAGE 13


Rural communities in Newfoundlandand Labrador are connecting to theInternet faster than ever as service

providers Persona and Aliant expand theirhigh-speed coverage.

Kevin Peters, vice-president of marketingand sales, says Persona is spending $39 mil-lion to install fibre optic cable in small com-munities. He estimates over the next eightmonths 100 more communities throughoutthe province will gain high-speed access, adrastic improvement from dial-up Internetservice or none at all.

“The communities are the ones who canreally respond to that the best … it just bringsthem on par with the rest of the province, therest of the country and for that matter the restof the world,” Peters tells The Independent.

Persona is just completing work in theClarenville area, allowing towns likeNewman’s Cove, Deep Bight, Sunnyside and

27 others in the region to get high speed forthe first time. Peters plans to travel to theregion this week to meet with the local eco-nomic development board to discuss theopportunities fibre optics allow.

He says some towns have requested fibreoptic hookups that would allow call centresto operate there.

“The biggest thing I see is an opportunityto promote economic development in thesecommunities,” says Peters.

The company received $5 million fromIndustry Canada to help ease the installationinvestment. The provincial Department ofEducation also funded Persona, spending $5million to provide 70 schools across theprovince with Internet access.

High-speed Internet is also vital to the1,600 students who use the Centre forDistance Learning and Innovation to takehigh school courses like advanced math andworld history on the Web.

“Well over 100 communities will receivethese services and I don’t think Aliant, oranybody for that matter, is investing any-where near that type of dollar or infrastruc-ture or employment,” says Peters.

Aliant is also expanding their cable (DSL)Internet coverage in the province and the restof Atlantic Canada, says Brenda Reid, man-ager of communications and public affairs. In2007 the company has spent $80 million onexpanding its network and it has spent $360million since 2000.

“We think the importance of having broad-band access for everyone in rural and urbanNewfoundland and Labrador, through all ourserving territory, is incredibly important,”Reid says. “It’s good for economic reasons,for educational reasons, so that’s why wecontinue to expand the service into all of thecommunities that we serve.

“We’re not there yet, but we’ll continuewith our expansion plans for sure.”

eBayInternet service providers extend high-speed coverage to outports

See “Hooked,” page 14

Some rural Newfoundland and Labrador communities still do not have access to high-speed Internet service. Paul Daly/The Independent

14 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS JUNE 22, 2007

Exotic localesAdventure cruises make outports and Labrador coast ports of call

By Mandy CookThe Independent

Every fall, the residents ofFrancois on the island’s south-west coast start stockpiling par-

tridgeberry duff and molasses sconesin preparation for about 100 interna-tional visitors coming ashore, almostdoubling their population.

The tiny community of 135, and thehigh-spirited kitchen party they host,is a highlight on the itinerary for theEuropean, Australian, American andCanadian passengers travelling aboardone of the so-called “adventure cruis-es” specializing in the circumnaviga-tion of the island portion of theprovince and trips up the Labradorcoast.

Francois mayor Kim Courtney saysthe $10 they charge per head at the twoor three parties they host each fallwhen the cruise ships dock at the com-munity’s wharf results in a cash injec-tion the residents don’t have to raisethemselves.

“The cruises are very importantbecause what we do … whether it’s achurch organization or the communityrecreation centre or fire department

whichever … we take turns hostingthese cruise ships and by doing thateach organization gets profit from itand they put things into the communi-ty that’s needed here,” she says.

“The recreation centre needed newequipment so this is money that reallyhelps the community.”

Mississauga-based Adventure Can-ada is one of the cruise lines sailinginto Francois during its journey aroundthe island. Operations manager CedarBradley-Swan says the expeditioncruise has been gaining in popularitysince the company first offered it in1994.

She says in 2002 they averaged 50passengers per cruise and this yearthey’re maxing out around 100 ontheir small but comfortable charteredvessels. Specializing in the education-al and historical aspect of travel, shesays their cruises are more like“onboard learning programs.” Pas-sengers delight in provincially hiredexperts, such as Memorial biologistand birder Bill Montevecchi, to guidethem on the way.

“You can go around Newfoundlandand think it’s just beautiful,” saysBradley-Swan. “But there’s no actual

contact and that’s what really seems tomake it for people is that personalexperience with the staff and the peo-ple on shore and I think that’s whatreally helps people fall in love withNewfoundland when they go on one ofthese tours.”

Amy Flynn, marketing co-ordinatorat Cruise Newfoundland and Labra-dor, says 35 communities will be visit-ed by small adventure cruises this sea-son. Ships will call at communitiesranging from Nain to Red Bay to FogoIsland to Ramea during the typicaladventure cruise season of mid-September to October.

Halifax-based Polar Star Exped-

itions and Adventure Canada are soldout for this year, with fares rangingfrom $2,995 to $7,445 depending onoccupancy and choice of seven or 10-day cruise for Adventure Canada’sprograms.

Flynn says passengers are most sat-isfied with the level of interaction withthe province’s ambassadors: locals inthe communities who welcome thecurious visitors with open arms.

“The companies say people comehere for the wilderness and they hearabout L’Anse aux Meadows and GrosMorne, but they always walk awaywith a great appreciation for our peo-ple, especially when they visit some ofthe southcoast communities likeRamea and Francois — the wholecommunity opens up.”

It’s exactly what Courtney says shewants visitors to take away from theirexperiences at her proud and hos-pitable community. That, and a rip-roaring good time.

“There’s a time set (to return to theboat), usually one o’clock and there’snever a time when people don’t haveto pick up people lagging behind at thecommunity centre. You can safely saythey enjoy themselves.”

The Newfoundland Ocean Industries Association held its annual conference in St. John’s from June 18-22 in St. John’s. In an opening address June 18, Premier Danny Williams announced the provincial government has resumed talks withoil companies to get the Hebron project back on track. Federal Minister of Natural Resources Gary Lunn was expected to deliver a confrontational speech the same day, but his flight from Ottawa was diverted due to fog. Over 700 delegatesattended the conference. Paul Daly/The Independent

NOIA NO-SHOW

Aliant also received money fromIndustry Canada to develop Internetconnections in rural areas. Along withits cable Internet, Aliant offers satellitehigh-speed, which is the most expen-sive method of delivering the Web, butsometimes the only way to connectremote communities.

The main problem Aliant and Personaface is the cost of setting up networksfor relatively small markets.

Although the price of high-speedvaries based on number of services pur-chased, Peters estimates most pay about$40 per month for access. He saysPersona doesn’t raise the rate for ruralcommunities, despite the thousands ofdollars worth of fibre optic cable ittakes to link them to the provider.

These days it seems the Web can’tspin its way to rural communities fastenough. “The mayors and MHAs whocontact me on a regular basis wouldlike to have their communities hookedup tomorrow, if not yesterday,” saysPeters.

[email protected]

‘Hooked up tomorrow, if not yesterday’

From page 13“We take turns hosting

these cruise ships and bydoing that each organiza-tion gets profit from it...”

Francois mayor Kim Courtney

JUNE 22, 2007 INDEPENDENTBUSINESS • 15

16 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS JUNE 22, 2007

By Sheena GoodyearFor The Independent

Sarah Pyndji, 17, could not just sit by andwatch as poverty, violence and AIDSdevastated her home continent of Africa

— so she came to St. John’s.“I wanted to know what Canada’s doing

right that Africa’s doing wrong, or not doing atall, you know?” she says. “Because it seemslike here the youth are encouraged. But inAfrica, they have no hope at all.”

Growing up in the world’s poorest and mostAIDS-ridden continent, Pyndji had it betterthan most.

Her mother and father had the money to sendher to a good British school and they alwaysencouraged her to follow her dreams — whichis why she is now a grade 12 student at Princeof Wales Collegiate.

A year and a half ago, Pyndji told her parentsshe wanted to study in Canada. A family friendtold her Newfoundland was a safe provincewith a quality education system.

St. John’s proved to be a far cry from

Bukavu, the city in the Democratic Republic ofthe Congo where Pyndji grew up.

“When I came here I obviously got a cultureshock, like everyone who moves toNewfoundland from somewhere else,” shesays. “My life was not like every other teenagegirl’s here. I’ve seen things that other peoplehaven’t seen. I know stuff that other peopledon’t know, or even come close to knowing.”

Pyndji’s home was just 25 kilometres fromthe Rwandan border when the genocide brokeout in 1994.

In just three months, over 800,000Rwandans — about one-and-a-half times the

population of Newfoundland — were slaugh-tered.

Pyndji’s uncle was among the mostly ethnicTutsi victims killed by Hutu militia.

“The Rwandese would run to our housesfrom the border. They would run all the wayfrom Rwanda to Congo, walking for days tothe Congo, running away from all the turmoil.They would knock on our door asking for foodand shelter,” she says.

Soon after the genocide began, Pyndji’sfather took a job in Uganda, and her familymoved to escape the violence.

When Pyndji first came to St. John’s, she

was shocked to find many of her friends hadnever heard of the tragic events in Rwanda.

“I’ve paid witness to a lot of stuff, and youcome here and it’s like people don’t knowthis,” she says. “It’s amazing. It’s just different.It’s all different.”

Pyndji has made a lot of friends since shecame to Newfoundland. She has educated themabout the problems facing Africa. She hasgrown to love her host family, and her school.

She has even decided to pursue her post-sec-ondary education in St. John’s.

“I was going to go to Toronto, but I changedmy mind last minute, and I want to go to MUN.I think there’s a lot of opportunity for me herein Newfoundland. It’s a small place, but it’s agood place to start what I want to do. I think Icould get a lot of chances here,” she says.

Pyndji wants to study English and politicalscience at MUN, then pursue a humanitiesdegree in Ontario.

Armed with an education, she says she willreturn to Africa with a non-governmental

INDEPENDENTLIFEFRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, JUNE 22-28, 2007 — PAGE 17

New and improved?George Street may receive makeover moneyBy Mandy CookThe Independent

Although neither City Hall northe George Street Bar Owner’sAssociation know much about

a pot of money that may be invested inthe popular St. John’s party strip, a localrestaurant owner has plenty of ideas ofhow to spend the cash.

Chris Dunne, owner of MexicaliRosa’s on the west end of GeorgeStreet, says he would like to see the

renowned drinking destination steeredmore in the direction of a family-friend-ly and pedestrian-oriented thorough-fare. Unconcerned with competitionfrom other eating establishments, heencourages more restaurants to set upshop.

“At one point in time (George Street)was known more as a bar district and itwasn’t known so much as a place to goto eat,” he says. “Whereas (now) if peo-ple are going to go out to eat, they cansimply come down, park the car, walk

around grab a coffee until they comeupon a place they like.”

As far as a concrete plan goes, thereisn’t one. Municipal planning officialsaren’t prepared to talk about GeorgeStreet’s future yet, and Mayor AndyWells says the revitalization plan is allstill “very preliminary.

“There’s some possibility of relocat-ing the bandstand — I don’t think that’sa very good location anyway,” he says.“I can’t stand that stupid Stalinistic parkthat we put in there … that’s horrible.

That was a mess right from the start. Idon’t think that’s part of the plan but I’dlike to haul it out of there and put insomething a bit more aestheticallypleasing. It’s horrible concrete and steeland its neo-Stalinist, I call it.”

Ian Chaytor, of the bar owner’s asso-ciation, also says planning is in the pre-liminary stages. He says the associationrecently received the 130-page reportfrom the city and has yet to discuss itwith their executive, but says the planwill take an all-encompassing approach.

“This report is about the whole revi-talization of George Street right fromthe convention centre right to WaterStreet,” he says.

Dunne says he welcomes any kind ofinvestment in and around his restaurantand is keen to showcase the area as agathering place for tourists and localsalike, a destination where people knowthey will encounter a variety of shopsand attractions such as one would find

See “Modern face,”page 18

‘A good place to start’Grade 12 student Sarah Pyndji plans to use what she learns in St. John’s to help her African peers.

Meantime, she’s educating Newfoundlanders she meets about the continent she comes from

Sarah Pyndji, a Grade 12 student at Prince of Wales Collegiate in St. John’s. Paul Daly/The Independent

See “Africa’s,” page 19

Scott Goudie, a St. John’s-based visual artist and jazzand blues guitarist, has

been painting his longtime muse,Labrador, for the past 27 years— and sees no reason to stop.Indeed, he says he will continueto do so till the end of his days.

Asked about his preoccupa-tion with the Big Land, Goudieis ready with a studied response.

“Because it’s not ruled byhumans,” he says matter-of-fact-ly. “You don’t see people in myLabrador pieces because it’suntouched. It’s just the way whatearth was before humans dowhat they do — they just changeeverything, the landscape, andno matter how hard they trythere is pollution and waste andwhen it’s left on it’s own it’sfine. We’re the ones that kind offool it up.”

Goudie’s new pastels will beon exhibition at the ChristinaParker Gallery from June 21-July 12. The new works are onblack Arches paper importedfrom France, Goudie’s favouritesurface for drawing. He loveshow the colour “sits up on it andjumps at you,” an example ofwhich is Cape WhiteHandkerchief.

From the enviable position ina skiff on the open sea, Goudierenders the image of an icebergresting off, and dwarfed by,1,500-foot rock cliffs. The crys-tal of the ice is tinged blue, whilesun rays pierce the clouds, strik-ing the berg and radiating outfrom its centre position in theframe. The steep incline andpoint of the purple cliffs isinversely reflected in the glintoff the water’s rippling surface.

Goudie says water is almostalways featured in his work — acontinuous challenge to the artistwho says he is his own worstcritic.

“Landscape’s important ofcourse, so are the atmospheric

skies whether it’s daytime ornighttime,” he says. “But water,I’m fascinated with waterbecause it’s really hard to paintwater because it changes everysecond and I like that about it, soyou’ve got to try and freezeframe it in your mind and youcan only do that by being there.”

Being there is a top priority forGoudie. He says he was luckyenough to hitch a ride in a heli-copter over Labrador in order tosketch and photograph the spec-tacular mountain ranges and dra-matic fjords.

He says Labrador is one of theplanet’s last undiscoveredwildernesses and he has nowwitnessed everything from theLabrador Straits to the northerntip.

In August Moon, Back RiverPool II, Goudie returns to theisland at Salmonier, where hekeeps a studio on the river. Asthe eye readjusts from the pow-erful glare of the full moon, theimpenetrable woods materializein the night. The moon, trainedon the water like a cosmic spot-

light, illuminates a ribbon of lap-ping waves. Goudie, a devotedfisherman, has studied the scenecountless times.

“Back River Pool is where Icaught my first salmon when Iwas 10 or 11 years old. I wasfishing with my dad and mybrother. It’s a special pool for me— it has a lot of memories.Whether I catch a fish not, Idon’t care,” he says.

Goudie features another moonin Dawn, Big Island, SaglakBay. The sun is rising in the eastand the remnant of a crescentmoon remains in the sky, a sliv-er of nightlight in the awakeningsky. A tiny iceberg in theextreme right of the imagealmost registers as an after-thought — a blip compared tothe 3,000 feet of sheer rock but-tressing the ocean.

Goudie points out that the bergis big, 600 feet high big, butnothing close to the cliff. He putsit in perspective for the viewer.

“Everything in Labrador isbig.”

[email protected]

18 • INDEPENDENTLIFE JUNE 22, 2007

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“I really like the idea of daily entertainmentwhether it’s buskers or free entertainment overon the stage at central George Street but gen-eral entertainment features on the street,whether it’s kiosks or a little market perhaps,”he says.

“If George Street was shut off entirely totraffic and it was a market, people selling littletrinkets, gadgets, homemade things, New-foundland novelty items, I think that would bean excellent idea.”

Dunne says it would be “brilliant” to closethe street to traffic, limiting deliveries to a cer-tain time in the mornings, and lining the streetwith bricks and cobblestones, trees, grass andbenches. It would also increase his deck spaceso more of his customers could eat outdoors.

Wells says the aim is to put a “modern face”on the party destination and the effort will becost shared between the City of St. John’s andthe George Street Bar Owners’ Association.

[email protected] George Street in St. John’s Nicholas Langor/The Independent

From page 17

“Modern face” for George Street

SCOTT GOUDIEVisual Artist

It’s been a fun week or two in theglamorous and exciting world ofSt. John’s theatre. Was it a new

show opening? A big star in town? Noindeed. In fact the ripples of excite-ment (and frustration — and hot, blaz-ing anger) were emanating outwardfrom city hall.

When our illustrious mayor sug-gested the city reconsider its long-standing commitment to give half amillion dollars in renovation fundingto the LSPU Hall and instead pumpthat cash into Paul Madden’s newCapitol Theatre, you could hear thehowls of protest all the way toClarenville.

And with good reason. It’s a terribleidea.

First off, yanking the half millionthey’ve already committed to the Hallin favour of giving it to someone elseis pure stupidity, both practically andpolitically.

And handing half a million dollars

to someone who’s never built, owned,or run an arts-based business beforeseems like a bit of a stretch, no matterhow successful he is. It also ignoresthe enormous contribution the LSPUHall has made to the arts in thisprovince with its continuing develop-ment of talent and new work.

In addition to being the single mostimportant theatre we have in thoseterms — which should be quiteenough for anyone — the Hall is alsoa major historical landmark. There’smore to be considered in this situationthan which building brings in more taxdollars on paper, and Andy and Co.know it.

On top of all that, weaseling out on

a $500,000 commitment is just plainwrong. In the current political climate,councilors would be wise to rememberhow testy their constituents are rightnow about politicians making promis-es and failing to honour them.

Next, all this hullaballo assumes theLSPU Hall and the Capitol wouldsomehow be in direct competition withone another. That is simply not thecase. Having a 500-seater in the down-town is a great idea, and the two the-atres can coexist and thrive if they finda way to work co-operatively.

Right now, there is what you mightcall a venue gap here in Town, one aspiffy new 500-seater would fill nice-ly.

At the moment you can play to 50 or70 people tops at the Rabbittown.

Once you’ve outgrown that, you cantry to fill just under 200 seats at theHall. The next stops beyond that arethe Arts and Culture Centre or HolyHeart at 1,000 seats — lovely places to

put off a show presuming you can fillthem to capacity and pay your expens-es. For a company working on a shoe-string (pick one — they all do) that’s avery big, very risky presumption.

Speaking of risky presumptions,there have also been suggestionstossed around at City Hall that they getmore directly involved in the runningof the Capitol Theatre once there isone. You’d have thought the fiscalnightmare that is the Mile One wouldhave turned council off these sorts ofbusiness ventures forever, but what doI know? I’m just an artiste.

One thing I do know is that wouldcost a fair chunk of change. The figureyou hear most often is $300,000 ayear, but as the current problem verynicely illustrates, questions of fundingare always a little nebulous. Chalk itall up to speculation.

So we come back to the always-sticky question of who gets what at theexpense of whom. I don’t know if it’s

because we’re all so used to competingfor limited resources or city council’sadorable tendency to turn everythinginto a knock-down drag-out fight tothe death, but issues like these alwaysseem to get framed in an “us versusthem,” “artists versus capitalists,” “meversus you” kind of way. It’s unhelp-ful, it’s unnecessary, but unfortunatelythat’s how it always seems to get done.

The fact is, we don’t have to sacri-fice the Hall in order to get the Capitolup and running, and doing so would bepointless anyway. The best way foreveryone to survive this is for the Hallto form a relationship with the Capitolin the same way it has withRabbittown, the Arts and CultureCentre and all the other theatre venuesbig and small. Getting sucked into afurther war of words isn’t going to doeither side any favours.Sean Panting is a writer, actor andmusician living in St. John’s. His col-umn returns July 6.

JUNE 22, 2007 INDEPENDENTLIFE • 19

A funding fiasco?You don’t necessarily need to sacrifice one theatre for another

SEANPANTING

State of the art

Africa’s really goingto change

THE WORLD ACCORDION TO ART

The Art Stoyles Band (left-right) Len Penton, Hugh Scott, Art Stoyles, Bob Rutherford and Gayle Tapper played at the Masonic Temple in St. John’s June 19 to officially launch The WorldAccordion to Art. Stoyles has been a figure on the local music scene for close to 60 years and a one-time member of Figgy Duff. The CD offers a sampling of Portuguese tunes learned fromsailors of the White Fleet, as well as traditional Newfoundland and other tunes, which have found their way into Stoyles’ repertoire. Nicholas Langor/The Independent

organization to build centres aimed ateducating and encouraging Africanyouth.

“It’s not only me who wants tospeak. I know there are lots of otherAfricans who want to have the chanceto speak, so I want to give them thatchance and make sure that they cando it,” she says.

“I love human rights. I love to seepeople taken care of. I love to seepeople help other people. I know thatyou don’t have to be a big person; it’sthe small person in the communityand in society that makes a differ-ence.”

She also hopes to use the youthcentres to promote AIDS awareness.

In 2006, more people becameinfected with HIV in sub-SaharanAfrica alone than the rest of the worldcombined.

“AIDS is something else that theyouth can stand up against,” she says.“They don’t know how to protectthemselves. They’re very confused.”

Pyndji remains optimistic. She sayseducation will give young Africansthe strength they need.

“I think when the youth stand up,Africa’s really going to change.”

From page 17

ho

pe For every

questionthere is ananswer.

We’re here.

Hope through education, supportand solutions.

1.800.321.1433 www.arthritis.ca


You will be movedFestival 500 promises to be an event to remember

This will be the greatest show onearth, announces Peter Gardner,Festival 500’s executive director.

“Instead of seeing performing elephantsand pretty women on horseback whatwill thrill and amaze you is we havethese amazing choral singers sharingtheir voices in one grand performance.”

The grand finale of Festival 500 is theclosing ceremonies, and the show’sorganizers say they have outdone them-selves again this year.

“As it should, our closing ceremonieswill bring the entire event together,”Gardner says, adding he finds it difficultto express how “huge” the event actuallyis.

The closing celebration will be huge interms of the 1,400 participants scheduledto sing at the same time on stage in MileOne. The event is also huge in the quali-ty of acts it has attracted — Anuna, agroup of Celtic stars from Dublin, andNewfoundland ’s own Buddy Wasisnameand the Other Fellers will be on stage tobid adieu to the five days of celebratingthe art and joy of singing.

The event is a huge creative endeav-our.

“Imagine the choreography that has togo into a performance of this magni-tude,” Gardner says. There has been anincredible financial investment as well.“Mile One wasn’t built for choral singingso we needed to invest in equipment tomake it sound like a concert hall.”Gardner says the investment isn’t aboutmaking anything any louder — justclearer. “No matter if you are in the frontor near the back, the music will soundgreat. We needed to have everyone expe-rience the same exceptional concert, sowe made that investment,” he says.

Gardner stresses the grand finale willbe one stirring event after another.“While singing is the most natural thingin the world to do — we sing to sendchildren to sleep, sing when we are sad,sing when we are happy, hum becausewe are nervous, and whistle because weare worried — singing is also somethingthat can just grab you and affect you theway nothing else can.

“You just can’t put in print what itsounds like to hear music that movesyou, but we all know that feeling,”Gardner says.

He promises the people who attendFestival 500’s closing ceremonies will bemoved.

Kevin Blackmore of BuddyWasisname and the Other Fellers becameinvolved with Festival 500 simplybecause he’s a big fan of choral music. “Iliterally gave my services to the festivalso I could attend all the concerts andworkshops,” he says. “The most wonder-ful things happen at these festivals and itis a dream come true to have a week’sworth of this right here.”

Besides performing two pieces of theirown — including their popular SaltwaterJoys —Blackmore and the boys will pro-vide some lighter fair throughout the

show. “There will be some plannedthings, some improvised stuff — we willdraw on our ability to be flexible so younever know,” he chuckles.

On a serious note, Blackmore saysbeing involved with Festival 500 willlend some “sophistication” to BuddyWasisname and the Other Fellers. “Ourpublic image in the music community isnot taken as seriously as we would likeand being involved with this will give ussome desired legitimacy.”

Blackmore says the international repu-tation the festival enjoys — one of qual-ity and excellence — makes it an “easybandwagon to jump on.”

Gardner says the grand finale concert

of this year’s Festival 500 is the onlytime anything of this magnitude can beexperienced — not only here at home —but anywhere in the world.

“Hearing a choir of this magnitudesing and then joining in yourself for thesinging of the Ode to Newfoundland willmove you if nothing else ever has,”Gardner says.

Cheryl Hickman, an internationallyknown soprano from Newfoundland,will also be performing as a soloist at theconclusion of Festival 500. Gardnerencourages everyone to take advantageof the opportunity to hear one of our bestlocal performers sing — accompanied bya full symphony orchestra and hundreds

of singers from all over the world.The show will be a spectacle from the

moment you enter Mile One until thesecond you leave, he promises.

Gardner hopes the general public willbe moved to experience all that Festival500 has to offer. “I would hate to thinkthat anyone would miss this and thenhave regrets, because anyone who comeswill be moved,” he says.

“I want people to say, ‘Well now, thatsounds like it might be something so Ibetter come and see what all this isabout,’” Gardner says. “They won’t besorry they did.”

— Pam Pardy Ghent

Kevin Blackmore

JUNE 22, 2007 INDEPENDENTLIFE • 21

The Shadow Side of GraceBy Michelle Butler HallettKilick Press, 2006. 157 pages.

“We live in a nightmarewhere light plays on oureyelids,” Michelle

Butler Hallett writes in the Q&A sec-tion of her official website; the state-ment is intended as a justification forthe violence — both physical and psy-chological — that permeates her debutshort story collection, The Shadow Sideof Grace.

“A nightmare where light plays onour eyelids” is as apt a phrase as any todescribe the 13 stories that constitutethis collection, as well as the balanceButler Hallett strikes between morallydepraved and redemptive forces in herfiction.

Her characters often do horriblethings, to others and to themselves. InThe Mercy of His Means, the first storyin the collection, hospital orderlyKeefer Breen discovers his disturbingpotential for violence. “You’ve gotcapacities you don’t even know about,”his father’s friend warns him. Towardsthe end of the narrative, the observationproves true as Marsh reacts explosivelyto his perceived humiliation at thehands of his girlfriend and the class-based disapproval of her doctor grand-father.

It goes on: in Astigmatism, three 14-year-old boys sexually molest a younggirl; in Courtiers, a man confesses tohaving informed on his innocent coun-trymen in Stalinist Russia in order toprotect his lover from the police. “Thelist of names I’d spit to keep her safewas as long as my love for her,” hesays. Towards the end of the story, heyearns for a similar fate: “I dream thereis something solid to arrest, exile anddeath, something more to touch thanmy long respectable solitude.”

Characters recur throughout thesestories, appearing in roles of varyingimportance, weaving separate narrativestrands together, and pulling taut thefabric of the larger fiction: the shortstory collection itself.

Butler Hallett leaves no loosethreads. Her sentences have a chillingbeauty about them, gaunt and haunted-looking things from which we can notlook away.

In Late Lunch, for instance, a writerengages in surreal battle with her musewho comes in the form of a herring gullto haunt her every waking hour. The

effect is comical, yet at the sametime, menacing. Of the gull/muse,Butler Hallett writes:

“She hovered in front of myface, wings not blurred like ahummingbird’s but flapping inslow thought, and off her wingscame dead fish, salt air, untreatedsewage, high blue sky, bare water,sudden fog, corruption, blood.”

Trail Marks and the aforemen-tioned Courtiers are written asdramatic monologues. The formeris a stunning piece of ventrilo-quism in which Butler Hallettgives voice to a tough-talkingfemale journalist who, as a child,used to immolate herself withboiling hot teabags. The narratoris seated in a hotel bar, solicitingdrinks from some unknownstranger in exchange for a partialhistory of her life:

“I hid, and I caused a lot oftrouble. In the woods behind —Ireland?

Good God, no. Newfoundland.The accent only comes out whenI’m tired. I’ve worked very hardon that. Jet lag. You going to buyme another drink or not? I don’t give upmy stories for free, you know.”

One of the greatest periods of moraldepravity in the history of modern civi-lization, the political executions, Gulag

internments and ethnic deportationscommitted by Stalin’s Bolshevik gov-ernment, forms a chilling undercurrentin The Shadow Side of Grace. “I can’tintrude here. This is not my history.

These are not my bones,” theyoung Canadian teacher says tohis Russian friends in I May TellAll My Bones — they have justuncovered human remainsunder a house in Mtsensk.

Ultimately, Butler Hallett’spoint is that this is our history,these are all our bones. Everylast living member of thehuman race is implicated in theviolence of the whole; we areunited by our capacity for actsof brutality, either through ouractions or inaction. She does notattempt to explain suchinstances so much as providethem with a context, therebydemonstrating how frightening-ly close we all come, at times, todoing things antithetical to ourown sense of the good.

This is a truly chilling workof fiction — for what it saysabout the world we live in, forwhat it says about our own rela-tive sense of morality, and forhow it says these things: beauti-fully and convincingly. TheShadow Side of Grace is as

close to the bone as you’re likely to get.Just don’t expect it to be a comfortableread.

Mark Callanan writes from St. John’s.

These are not my bonesMichelle Butler Hallett’s short story collection beautiful, believable and chilling

MARKCALLANANOn the shelf

POET’SCORNER

By Bertille Tobin

It’s caplin season in Newfoundland,Silver is scattered on every strand,Grey fogs are stealing in from the sea —Gulls are crescents of ivory,As they wheel and soar and scream their joyO’er plenteous food stores the waves deploy,Whilst in gardens cloistered lilacs exhaleSweetest of scent through the misty veil.

Over the roads to the waiting fieldsIs brought the wealth that the ocean yields,And, e’en through the “wee sma” house of night,Carts rumble as if in furtive flight;Also in homes as meal-time nears

Silver transmuted to gold appears;The frying-pan being the magic vat,Where small fish sizzle in boiling fat.

It’s likely chilly, with wind from the East,But it brings an epicurean feast,As well as the fertilizing aid,Which Providence seems to have kindly madeAccord with the Newfoundland farmer’s need,In furthering growth of varied seed,So in waning June or early July,The caplin seines eager toilers ply.

This poem won an honourable mention for the 1945O’Leary Newfoundland Poetry Award. Appears in Poems of Newfoundland, edited by Michael Harrington.

Caplin Season


Amiel is standing by herhubby and her exCHICAGOBy Rosie DiMannoTorstar wire service

Miss Manners is firm on this: exes shouldnever be seen at the remarriage of theirformer spouses, no matter how amica-

ble the divorce. Alas, the arbiter of etiquette ismum on whether a previous husband mightacceptably show up at trial of the current husbandof his earlier wife.

The situation is further complicated — or per-haps simplified — when one of the parties is apaid observer of the human condition and thetrial is a media event.

Conrad Black, lord and tycoon, is a co-defen-dant in this fraud etc. trial, approaching its ver-dict climax. Barbara Amiel is the glamourousMrs. Black and lady of the manors, a paragon ofwifely devotion in the courtroom. George Jonas,author and columnist, is the former husband, nowtwice removed through subsequent nuptials ofthe endlessly nubile Barbara.

Trial chroniclers have pronounced approvinglyon the palpable intimacy between the Blacks,meaningful glances and gentle gestures, how gal-lant he is toward her and how attendant she istoward him. This ordeal seems to have strength-ened their commitment to one another, althoughthe inside betting line is that she will vamoosewith alacrity should he be convicted, an unchari-table prediction.

What few have seen, though, is the tendernessAmiel shows toward Jonas, purportedly thewoman’s Svengali in a previous chapter of herwell-documented life, the one who shaped hermind en route to intellectual and polemical star-dom.

Mr. and Mrs. Jonas were once the “it” couplein Toronto’s thin glitterati firmament, partners incelebrity and professional output, even co-authoring a true-crime book.

Surely, Amiel would exclude Jonas from herinfamous “vermin” characterization of journal-

ists covering this trial. Jonas, as has said, will bewriting about the trial at some point. Presumably,he will be privy to the inside scoop.

Monday morning, Jonas sat next to Amiel inthe first row of spectators, an area assigned tofamily. After lunch, she carefully secured a seatin the media benches for her ex-husband.

During breaks, Jonas frequently disappearsinto the family’s refuge room, more often eventhan Conrad by Amiel’s side. There is a tangiblecovenant there, and they present very much likean old married couple, Amiel solicitous ofJonas’s physical enfeeblements. The pen hemight wield as authoritatively as ever, but Jonasis no longer the leather-clad Turk astride a motor-cycle. His right hand shakes, his vision is poorand he walks haltingly.

You know, they make an enduring, endearingcouple. And whatever etiquette rules are beingbroken, it must be all right with Conrad Black,who may shortly be seeing a lot less of Amielthan might Jonas.

Courtrooms are extensively about family andloyalty — spouses and parents and children coa-lescing around an accused. It was no different inToronto last week, when kin crammed to seeloved ones as scores of defendants werearraigned following the Driftwood Crips gangsweep.

Of course, many of those accused are facingweapons and narcotics-related charges and policeclaim the alleged criminal enterprise was worthabout $1 million.

In this case, there are no guns — smoking orotherwise. And for the four men in the docket, thealleged criminal enterprise rounds out at about$60 million.

Nor is Amiel exactly a baby-mother, althoughmaybe not so vastly different in her experiencefrom the complex domestic entanglements of theJane-Finch ladies.

The other afternoon, when Conrad departed thecourthouse in a van, Barbara slipped into a taxiwith George.

TV stars hawk fiction fashionBy Vinay MenonTorstar wire service

Good news for the world’s fashion-for-ward nurses. This fall, Katherine Heigl,who plays medical intern Isobel “Izzie”

Stevens on Grey’s Anatomy, will release a lineof health-care apparel.

“Katherine Heigl is a role model for manywomen, especially in the health-care industry,”says Barry Rothschild, chief executive atPeaches Uniforms, the manufacturer. “It isonly natural for them to want to emulate herstyle.”

Ladies, is this true?The KH Collection is being promoted as

“the first designer fashion line for the health-care industry.” (Somehow, I feel no need to askif that is true.)

The collection will capture Heigl’s “vibranton-screen and off-screen personalities.”Meaning, after luxuriating in the “flattering sil-houettes,” “hip colours” and “cool prints,”there’s an excellent chance you will: a) fall inlove with a patient, b) sleep with a co-workeror, c) bawl unconvincingly for no apparent rea-son.

Designed for women who work in hospitals,clinics, dental offices, labs and spas, the KHCollection features garments priced under $25,each made from “high-quality, soil-release fab-rics.”

Potential advertising tagline: “Look resplen-dent even when covered in somebody’svomit!”

Don’t misunderstand. I have nothing but

respect for the dedicated pros who toil insidethe health-care system.

And it’s rather endearing that Heigl isendorsing scrubs when other celebrities areshamelessly hawking premium scents, denim,purses, shoes and accessories.

But aren’t we dealing with a fictional TVcharacter?

Earlier this year, AG Jeans released a line ofclothing inspired by the characters ofEntourage. As actor Jeremy Piven toldEntertainment Weekly: “It feels like peoplelook to our show for clues on what’s hip andnow. Entourage is like a fantasy, and if youcan’t be Vinnie Chase or part of his entourage,you can dress like them.”

Yes, now you can own a pair of Castro GreenWalker Bottoms! But for $178, you probablyshouldn’t wear them to the restaurant whenslated for dishwasher duty.

In the past couple of seasons, in an effort tocreate new revenue streams and extend brands,shows such as The O.C., Zoey 101 and That’sSo Raven released clothing lines based on char-acters.

What we have in 2007 is a two-tiered mer-chandise system: products linked to actualcelebrities and products linked to the fantasyworlds they inhabit.

Jaclyn Smith’s clothing line has been sellingsteady at Kmart for more than 20 years. Thismakes perfect sense since Smith, best knownfor her role on the original Charlie’s Angels,may have encountered consumer resistancepost-’85 had she released a line of “KellyGarrett” bellbottoms, polyester blouses and

blue mascara.Still, is actual celebrity merchandise spin-

ning out of control?Justin Timberlake launched his William Rast

line last year. Madonna recently released a sec-ond collection at H&M. Victoria Beckham hasan upcoming TV show and a new line of jeans.

You can lounge around in Elle Macpherson’slingerie (you know what I mean). You candownward dog in Christy Turlington’s yogawear.

You can approximate JLo’s much-bally-hooed butt in something from her Sweetfaceline. You can strike an insouciant pose likeKate Moss, though the contraband is optional.

The celebrity designer list continues toexpand at an alarming rate: Sarah JessicaParker, Sean Combs, Hilary Duff, the Olsentwins, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, JessicaSimpson, Kylie Minogue, Mandy Moore,Beyoncé, Sienna Miller, Gwen Stefani ...

So maybe Heigl’s upcoming line is not sucha bad idea. As the actual celebrity market satu-rates this could usher in a more creative age ofTV licensing: The Hiro Nakamura SamuraiSword Sheath. Monogrammed Big Love robesfor the polygamist who already has everything.Oversized Hurley beach wear.

Soon, other TV characters could leave theirmarks in the real world.

The Tommy Gavin Collection of FirefighterUniforms. The Dwight Schrute Business Suit.Gil Grissom’s Casual Friday Line For GlumForensic Scientists.

I mean, who couldn’t use a pair of JackBauer Torture Trousers? Castro Green Walker Bottoms from AG Jeans, $178

Barbara Amiel Black, arrives at the Dirksen Federal courthouse in Chicago May 31. REUTERS/John Gress

INDEPENDENTSTYLEFRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, JUNE 22-28, 2007 — PAGE 23

Cup of tea?St. John’s shop offers world of flavours for the tea drinker in everyone


Kelly Jones has enjoyed bedtime cups of RedRose on Random Island, delicately sippedgreen tea in Singapore, searched through

thousands of tea leaves at an expo in Atlanta, andbrought a world of taste back to her store on WaterStreet in St. John’s.

Jones operates Britannia Teas, a store she namedafter her grandmother’s town on Random Island.There, tea was always hot from the pot on the stoveand served six times a day.

“I think everyone has that in their family here …people like to have a cup of tea to slow down, it’smore about relaxing than running,” Jones tells TheIndependent.

She recommends all households keep a variety oftea on hand to appeal to the taste of any traveller.

Her essentials include an Assam, or black tea, agreen tea like her popular Gunpowder Green, a jas-mine tea, an organic rooibos from South Africa andsome pure herbals like mint.

Britannia Teas sells a number of teas in each ofthe five major types — black tea, green tea, whitetea, oolong and yellow tea — from all over theworld. They range from classic teas like earl grey toexotic jasmine dragon tears, named after theirballed up leaves. Every tea in the store is sold loose,which Jones says is the best way to coax flavoursfrom the leaves.

There are many tricks to serving different typesof tea, says Jones. For one, never pour boilingwater over green tea because it burns the leaves andproduces a bitter taste.

Jones’ store also specializes in teapots and cups— because the process of serving the tea is just asimportant as the drink itself. Jones says Beehouse,

a colourful line of pots with built-in diffusers fromJapan, is one of the more popular brands.

For an eye-popping display Jones recommends ablooming tea served in a glass pot. When the ball ofleaves is steeped in hot water it unleashes itsflavour — and a flower that blooms in the pot.

Jones says tea is becoming more popular as peo-ple realize its health benefits. Rooibos tea, whichBritannia sells in plain organic as well as crème decaramel and Belgian chocolate flavours, is natural-ly caffeine-free and loaded with anti-oxidants.

But while Jones’ tastes have become moresophisticated — she now opts for a cup of smoky-tasting Lapsang Souchong instead of Tetley — thesocial side of tea drinking is still important to her.

“Growing up my favourite time was having a cupof tea at night … everybody chatted about the dayand you’d have a story,” says Jones.

[email protected]

Kelly Jones recommends keeping a variety of teas in your house to appeal to any guest. Nicholas Langor/The Independent

24 • INDEPENDENTSTYLE JUNE 22, 2007

By Susan SampsonTorstar wire service

Cauliflower needn’t swim incheese sauce this summer.Here’s a healthier alternative:

GRILLED CAULIFLOWER KEBABSAdapted from More Grilled to

Perfection by Chris Knight. Red currypaste is sold in supermarkets.

• 1 head cauliflower, cored, cut in two-inch florets

• 1/2 cup coconut milk• 2 tbsp lime juice• 2 tsp red curry paste• 2 tsp salt + more to taste• 1 tsp granulated sugar

Soak six long wooden skewers onehour in cold water.

Add cauliflower to large pot of boil-

ing, salted water. Cook three minutes,until softened.

Drain in colander. Spray with coldrunning water until cooled.

Drain well. Pat dry. Divide among skewers, poking

florets at an angle lengthwise tosecure.

In measuring cup, stir togethercoconut milk, lime juice, curry paste,two teaspoons salt and sugar. Brush lib-

erally on florets.Preheat barbecue to medium-high.

Oil grill. Grill cauliflower on directheat, uncovered, turning frequently andbasting liberally with coconut milkmixture, six to 10 minutes, or untilgolden-brown, tender but firm, withchar marks.

Sprinkle with salt if desired.

Makes six servings.

Cauliflower blossoms on the grill

TASTE

17 foods to try before you dieBy Amy PatakiTorstar wire service

So many foods, so little time. It’s a challengeI face every week, deciding where and whatto eat.

Recently, British food writer Anna Longmorecompiled a list in Arena magazine of the 50 foodsyou should try before you die.

Guess that narrows it down.But Longmore didn’t eat any of the items on her

list. Not the elk heart, duck embryo or crispy pig’sear.

Deliciousness must be vouched for. Here’s mylist, shorter but fully endorsed.

These are must-eats: foods that will please yourpalate, expand your mind and gratify your soul.They are not chancy mouthfuls to gross out yourfriends. (Although I’ve eaten my share of those,from insects to fish sperm to snake.) Most arereadily found in our restaurants and food shops.

So dig in, the clock is ticking.

KOBE BEEF SASHIMIIf you’ve only had Kobe beef as a burger, then

you’re missing the point. The point is fat. The rich-ly marbled flesh is more white than red — inJapan, the grading goes from one to 12; our top-grade Prime would rate a five — and cookingmelts the fat away. Try it raw, shaved into paper-thin slices, and surrender to the texture.

SCALLOP ROEOyster bars sometimes serve scallops on the

half-shell. Pounce. When raw, their briny sweet-ness is intensified. The fat, orange comma of coralattached — as hermaphrodites, both sexes containroe — is even better, like caviar but more delicate.

LANGÓSThis Hungarian snack of deep-fried dough

could’ve resulted from a one-night stand betweena beavertail and a pizza crust. At its best, it is apebbled golden disc, crunchy and puffed, brushedwith crushed garlic and consumed with icy beer.Sadly, good langós is hard to find out of its nativeland; if you come across one, please let me know.

PICK-YOUR-OWN PRODUCEConsider yourself lucky if you’ve eaten a sun-

warm tomato straight from the vine. Cherries,apricots or blueberries you’ve plucked taste a hun-dred times better than their supermarket cousins.

LE RIOPELLE DE L’ISLEA triple-crème Quebec cheese with a blooming

white rind like brie and a creamy paste of gentlefunkiness. Like butter gone wild.

HORSESweeter, leaner and redder than beef. Eating

horse is traditional in other countries and legal inours. Don’t be squeamish.

STREET FOOD Throw caution, and hygiene, to the wind.

TRUFFLESTrained pigs and dogs root out these astounding-

ly fragrant tubers in European forests. Fresh blacktruffle shavings elevate any dish to heaven. Whitetruffle oil does in a pinch.

SALSIFYA rare root vegetable with mild flavour and an

elegant, tapering form. Worth seeking out.

BONE MARROWWobbly, greasy and incomparably rich. A bistro

staple. Scoop out the centre of boiled or roastedbeef bones yield and spread the marrow on toast;sprinkle with fleur de sel. Osso bucco also yieldsdelicious marrow.

BITTER GREENSWake the taste buds with a dandelion salad or

steamed rapini. Or do like the Greeks and tuck intoa plate of cold horta, wilted bitter greens trickedout with lemon and garlic. Most refreshing.

ANYTHING COOKED OVER A WOOD FIRE

REAL BALSAMIC VINEGARForget the $5 supermarket kind. That’s just wine

vinegar coloured with caramel. Real balsamic ismade only in Modena and Reggio Emilia, where itis aged at least three years in wooden barrels forcomplexity. Treat yourself to a bottle marked“tradizionale,” which pours out like dark, tangysyrup and can be eaten with a spoon.

REAL WHIPPED CREAMI’ll always have a soft spot for Reddi-Whip,

especially when squirted directly into the mouthwhile standing in front of the open fridge door. Butreal whipped cream, the soft peaks lightly sweet-ened and kissed by vanilla? No contest.

SWEETENED CONDENSED MILKEat a spoonful straight from the can. Betcha

can’t stop at one.

AFTERNOON TEAThere’s something enormously civilized about a

pot of loose-leaf Darjeeling, a plate of cucumbersandwiches (crustless, of course) and a pair ofwarm currant scones slathered with Devon cream.Wide-brimmed hat and gloves optional.

FOIE GRAS Mired in ethical controversy — Chicago banned

it from restaurants last year owing to concernsabout animal cruelty — the fattened livers offorce-fed duck and geese are singularly delicious;they make an unbelievably silky terrine. Eat it herewhile it’s still legal.

By Barbara TurnbullTorstar wire service

Anew chart summarizingheadache and migrainesymptoms is available for

doctors’ offices, pharmacies andclinics, with a printable versiononline for all sufferers.

Headaches and migraines costbillions each year in Canada onwasted procedures, unnecessaryX-rays and MRIs, and workplaceabsenteeism. Much of that couldbe saved with proper diagnosis andtreatment, according to BrentLucas, with Help for Headaches.

“There is often confusion in themedical world about whether it’s aheadache or a migraine,” he says.

“This poster helps … people tolearn the differences so they canembark on a treatment strategywith their own physician.”

The poster lists pain location,severity, frequency and durationtypical with each category ofheadache and migraine.

It includes one of the most com-mon types: medication overuseheadache — chronic and near-daily pain caused by abusing over-the-counter or migraine drugs.

“Physicians don’t get a lot oftraining in medical school aroundheadaches and migraines,” Lucassays. The poster is not intended toreplace a physician’s advice, hesays, but to be an educational tool.

Pharmaceutical company MerckFrosst, which sponsored the poster,estimates 3.4 million Canadianadults suffer from migraines,which are ranked as one of themost disabling illnesses by theWorld Health Organization.

For information or a poster, seeheadache-help.org.

New headachechart Better educationurged for doctors, sufferers alike

Mary Diamond of Diamond Landscaping in SteadyBrook near Corner Brook says much has changedwhen it comes to landscaping. “In the 14 years that

we have been in business there has been a shift in what peo-ple will put into their yards — they spend more time on themand in them and they certainly spend more money,” she says.

Gone, thankfully, are the days when old tires and railwayties were considered the makings of flowerbeds and retainingwalls, she says. Beyond being environmentally unfriendly,old rubber and dirty train-track ties just didn’t look natural ina yard. Besides that, Diamond continues, such material didn’tlast.

“We see people who are looking for a product that doesthe job while looking great. They want something that lastsand one that is easy to maintain,” she says, adding flagstoneand interlocking stone walkways and drives are keeping thecompany quite busy this season.

“We do ponds and retaining walls in flagstone, we aredesigning flowerbeds in Allan Block stone.”

Flagstone, which was once used to make a wall behind awood stove or a fireplace inside the home, has now becomepopular outside the home, Diamond says. Flagstone is so ver-satile, she says. “It is long lasting, it looks beautiful and itlooks natural because it is natural — stones belong outside,so flagstone just fits right in with any landscape.”

While using flagstone or interlocking stones can require alarge upfront financial investment, Diamond says it will saveyou money in the long run.

“I have never known flagstone to crack, but if it did youonly have one piece to replace as opposed to an entire driveor walk if it was concrete or asphalt,” she explains.

Have a small oil spill in your driveway? If you have a flag-stone drive or one made of interlocking stone getting rid ofthe mess is as easy as replacing the damaged stones.

“Laying interlocking stone and flagstone in and arounddecks, patios, retaining walls and flowerbeds has really takenoff in Newfoundland,” Diamond says.

Darrell Roberts, manager at Ornamental Concrete Ltd. inSt. John’s, is also having a busy season. “You can’t get any-thing that looks more natural than stone and when you see itused in a garden or in a drive it immediately improves curbappeal — it looks great,” he says.

Roberts deals with pre-cast stone products that are “moredurable” than pavement or concrete, he says, stressing properinstallation is key. “If you install anything correctly it will lastlonger, and these are products you can install yourself so pay-ing attention to the guidelines are important.”

Roberts says Ornamental Concrete has a showroom wherehomeowners can get ideas for their homes and gardens.

“We have Allan Block and Wedge Stone that look amaz-ing around flowerbeds,” he says. Products are available in avariety of colours, Roberts says and all are easy to work with.

John Tuach of Newfoundland Flagstone in Pynn’s Brooksays using stone in a garden is increasing in popularity eachyear. As it should, he adds. Flagstone can be placed aroundthe most elaborate home or used around the simplest and itwill fit right in, he says. “Stone is a prestigious product thatjust happens to be accessible to everyone.”

— Pam Pardy Ghent

JUNE 22, 2007 INDEPENDENTSTYLE • 25

Raising the flagstone

Breathe through a strawfor 60 seconds.That’s what breathing is like with cystic fibrosis.

No wonder so many people with CF stop breathing

in their early 30s.

Please help us.

1-800-378-CCFF • www.cysticfibrosis.ca

A flagstone walkway is an elegant touch. Paul Daly/The Independent

26 • INDEPENDENTSTYLE JUNE 22, 2007

By Bernadette MorraTorstar wire service

What’s cooler — tennis or golf?Tennis has the fashion-crazedWilliams sisters — Serena once

played the U.S. open in $40,000 diamondhoop earrings — and the ultrachic AnnaWintour, who rises at the crack of dawnto whack balls before heading to heroffice at Vogue.

Golf hasn’t had much going for it in thewomen’s style arena. But that’s changing.Catherine Zeta-Jones, Cameron Diaz,Jessica Alba and Heather Locklear aresaid to be hitting the greens. Style-con-cious players like Michelle Wie, whoplayed in Sunday’s LPGA championshipwearing a hot pink minidress, are bring-ing some snap to the sport.

And frustrated golf divas are launchingtheir own collections. Lynda Hipp is thedesigner of Lija (pronounced lee-zha), asnazzy golf line that features sophisticat-ed colours and graphic prints.

“Ten years ago when we started,women’s golfwear looked like miniaturemenswear — boxy polos and pleatedshorts,” Hipp says from her Vancouverheadquarters. “But women are not shapedlike boxes.”

So she cuts slimming cashmere-blendhoodies, tapered rosebud print polos, andlong flat-front shorts in psychedelicgraphic patterns.

“I really follow the fashion trends,”

Hipp says. “I look at interior design, Ishop L.A. and New York. I look at therunways. And I roam the streets of Paris;that’s where I get a lot of inspiration.”

Of course you won’t be seeingBalenciaga-style metal leggings andother out-there items on the links. “Golfis still relatively conservative. It’s an old

game with ideas of how you have to pres-ent yourself. So we don’t step too far out-side of the box.”

Dress codes — such as collared shirtsand shorts no higher than five inchesabove the knee — are adhered to. Still,younger players don’t want to look liketheir grandfolks.

“We’re cool but we’re golf-coursefriendly,” says Geoff Tait, an ex-golf proand co-founder of Quagmire Golf.

When Tait and partner BobbyPasternak launched Quagmire last year,they were aiming at 20-something menand women like themselves. “We sawkids playing golf in Abercrombie and

Fitch and Quicksilver … so we decided tobring that surfer, skater look to golf.”

The label has turned out to have broadage appeal and is already carried at 100stores. “I haven’t golfed once this year,”Tait laments. “Our heads are spinning.”

Spring looks include plaid and seer-sucker flat-front shorts and crinkledskirts, “like you could wear to the beach,”Tait says. “Nobody else has done any-thing like that for golf. “

Not Rosemary Brdar. She launchedBirdie Girl Golf (birdiegirl.ca), a collec-tion of golf bags and accessories forwomen, after falling in love with a golfnut.

“I want to bring some edginess togolf,” says Brdar, who is also a hairstylistat the Rapunzel salon on Irwin Ave.“Players are younger and more fashionconscious. They are into clothing andhair.”

Current styles include a sexy blackpatent duffle with pink trim and a camou-flage print golf bag with hot pink graffiti.“It’s more surf and wakeboard inspiredthan a traditional golf look.” Birdie Girl iscarried at Golf Town and branching intothe U.S., Japan and Europe.

“I founded this company with a single,stubborn mission: To create a line wherewomen were the focus, not the secondthought,” says Brdar. “Women need golfaccessories that make them feel as fabu-lous as the latest designer handbag orsexy stiletto heels.”

CleatsvspleatsNew gear for golfers bring fashion to the green

Models display the fall 2007 line of golfwear from Lynda Hipp’s clothing brand, Lija.

JUNE 22• Teddy Bear Picnic with Terry Reilly, St. John’s Arts andCulture Centre, admission free, please bring non-perishablefood item. • The Nickel Independent Film Festival, LSPU Hall/RCATheatre, 3 Victoria Street, St. John’s, 753-4531,www.rca.nf.ca, until June 23.• Celtic Crossroads Concert, Gower Street United, St.John’s, 8 p.m.• From Greig to Gershwin, concert, St. Andrew’sPresbyterian Church, St. John’s, 8 p.m.• Easter Seals 24 Hour Relay, Diane Whelan SoccerComplex, Paradise, until June 24, interested volunteers con-tact Amanda Puddicombe, development co-ordinator, 754-1399.

JUNE 23• Nature Photography Workshops with Dennis Minty ofMinty Nature Photography, level 1, June 23-24, level 2, June31-July 1, Cupid’s Haven B&B, Cupids, Conception Bay,528-1555.• Viva Lost Elvis, comedic musical tribute to Elvis Presley,Saturday and Sunday nights throughout summer, MajesticTheatre, 390 Duckworth Street, St. John’s, doors open 6:30p.m., 1-877-661-3023.

JUNE 24• Dance Studio East presents The Gypsy Princess, St.John’s Arts and Culture Centre, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

JUNE 25• Hire a Student Week, hosted by The Service CanadaCentres for Youth in Newfoundland and Labrador, promot-ing student employment, until June 29.• Summer Youth Camps, youth ages 5-8 and 9-12, June25-Aug. 31, full and half day camps available, MUNDivision of Lifelong Learning, 737-7979.

JUNE 26• Finding Your Purpose, lecture with Edith Lynch, 7-9p.m., six-week seminar, meeting once weekly until July 24.• Eastern Edge Gallery Open Workshop, participants bringmaterials to be recycled to create artworks with recyclingexpert, 72 Harbour Drive, St. John’s, 12-4 p.m.

JUNE 27• When Larry Met Sally the Girl from the Bay, dinner the-atre, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays throughout sum-mer, Majestic Theatre, 390 Duckworth Street, St. John’s, 7p.m., doors open at 6:30 p.m.• The Subtitles at Folk Night, Ship Pub, St. John’s, 9:30 p.m.

JUNE 28• 25th Annual Alumni Golf Tournament, Terra Nova GolfResort, register now, 737-4354 or 1-877-700-4081, [email protected].

IN THE GALLERIES:• Opening of 2007 Annual Members Exhibit, Craft CouncilGallery, Devon House Craft Centre, St. John’s, June 24.• Fridge Works: Children’s Art Exhibition and Workshops,Eastern Edge Gallery, 72 Harbour Drive, St. John’s, untilJune 25.• Catherine Beaudette’s Mushrooming, Pouch CoveGallery, 14 Grushy’s Hill, until June 30.• The Battery: People of the Changing Outport tells thestory of The Battery, of dramatic social, cultural and eco-nomic changes occurring in many outport communities, TheRooms, level 2, 9 Bonaventure Avenue, St. John’s, untilSept. 3.• Brian Jungen’s Vienna, giant sculpture in the form of apristine whale skeleton suspended from the gallery’s cathe-dral ceiling, The Rooms, until Sept. 16. • Finest Kind, sampling display of Newfoundland’s storiesof nationhood, World War I, and life on the land and seathrough artifacts, artwork, images and documents, TheRooms, until Sept. 16.• Natural Energies by Anne Meredith Barry (1931–2003),including 90 works created since 1982, until Sept. 30.

EVENTS

What’s new in the automotive industryJUNE 22-28, 2007

FEATURED VEHICLE

Sting of the Super BeeNOON, MONDAY, JUNE 11

The last thing Tony (my crew chief/salesassociate) said to me, “It’s 425 horse-power, zero to 60 in 4.6 seconds, there’s

no limiter on the motor and she’ll do 170 mph.”I’m increasingly finding myself in

these situations and I’m loving it.When I called Tom Woodford’s in St.John’s and requested a Dodge Chargerthey rolled out the red carpet and putme in a rare, top-of-the-line SuperBee. The car is number 973 from alimited production of 1,000 and it’s amachine that flaunts its heritage.

Put it this way, you couldn’t havewritten a story about a new Super Beesince 1971. It’s famous for beingDodge’s limited production, musclecar insignia — with heavy emphasison the muscle. Their most notoriousengine — the 426 (seven litre) Hemi— was really only sold to the public in 1966 tosatisfy NASCAR rules stating that only produc-tion vehicles are to be used for racing — theoriginal “race-what-you-brung” clause, no spe-cial factory treatment.

That’s how 425 horsepower became sociallyacceptable.

The racing Charger also required an aerody-namic rear spoiler to improve handling. Underthe strict guidelines, the street version Chargeralso had to have one. Only serious, classic-caraficionados would recognize the Charger ashaving the distinction of being the first

American car sold with a wing on theback.

Recently, the rebirth of the Hemi(an abbreviation for “hemisphericalcombustion chamber”) was met withcritical acclaim. Die-hard fans of themost recognizable racing engine inhistory welcomed it like a long lostfriend.

Chrysler used the Hemi in a dozendifferent models of its vehicles rightup to 1971. In 2002, the car companyunveiled its modern, slimmer 5.7-litreversion of the engine and by 2005,introduced a multi-displacement sys-tem, which chooses either four or all

eight cylinders automatically. In other words, the smart Hemi.In 2005, the new 6.1 litre Hemi was available

as a street-and-race technology option in fourdifferent models, although it’s standard equip-

MARKWOOD

WOODY’SWHEELS

2007, Dodge Charger Super Bee # 973See “Like a dream,” page 29

Can the sun come standard? Bold design, an available 260-hp engine and a soft top that drops in seconds. Introducing the 2007 SKY Roadster: welcome to a bold way of seeing the world. Saturn’s first-ever roadster is builtfor high performance and a pure adrenaline rush. With a decidedly sophisticated look inside and out, the SKY is your front row seat to the open road. There's no limit to the comfort available in a SKY. From available leatherappointed seats, three-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel and six-speaker sound system with CD/MP3 player to standard power windows, locks and mirrors, XM Satellite radio, standard OnStar® System and security sys-tem you can drive in the style, safety and comfort you deserve. And of course, there's the unbeatable enjoyment of cruising with the top down. The SKY isn't the limit. It's only the beginning.

Nicholas Langor/The Independent

28 • INDEPENDENTSHIFT JUNE 22, 2007

Electric vehicle maker may get wish as McGuinty sees lightBy Tyler HamiltonTorstar wire service

ZENN Motor Co. may be head-quartered in Toronto, but themaker of electric vehicles

can’t sell its product in Ontario.That could soon change.Premier Dalton McGuinty now

says he’s intent on amending outdat-ed legislation that forbids the use oflow-speed electric vehicles in theprovince. He said he didn’t want thecurrent rules to be an “impediment”to what’s viewed as an environmen-tally friendly transport technology.

“I’m sure there were good reasonsat one point in time to prevent electriccars from being on Canadian roads,but we’ve got to find a way to ensurethat our regulations don’t become animpediment from doing what’s rightfor the environment,” says McGuinty.

He adds that it makes no sense fora local company to produce a car thatcan’t be driven in its home provincebut is widely accepted — and sold —throughout the United States. “I’mgoing to allow them to drive thesethings in Ontario.”

It’s unclear, however, how quicklyhe plans to move. McGuinty andTransportation Minister DonnaCansfield are expected to meet todaywith officials from ZENN Motors totalk about rule changes. The premiersaid he also wants to convince thecompany to move its vehicle assem-bly facility from Quebec to Ontario.

Ian Clifford, chief executive officerof ZENN (Zero Emission No Noise),credited former U.S. vice-presidentAl Gore for drawing McGuinty’sattention to the issue during a lunch inlate April during the Green LivingShow in Toronto.

Gore asked Clifford how sales ofhis electric cars were doing inCanada. “I told him we can’t sellthem here, and he said ‘What? That’sridiculous,’” recalls Clifford, addingthat he explained to Gore howprovincial legislation prohibited useof the vehicles on public roads, most-ly for safety reasons.

“Gore took me by the shoulder andmarched me over to the premier andright in front of McGuinty’s face,

said, ‘Premier, do your part, it’s crazythat you can’t drive these electric carsin Ontario.’ McGuinty said ‘Let’s setup a meeting.’”

Trevor Parker, president ofIclectric, a Toronto-based distributorof electric lawn mowers, boats andother vehicles, said a petition wasalso circulating at the Green LivingShow asking the premier to changethe law. But Gore, he added, putMcGuinty on the hot seat.

“He (the Premier) should have

done this two years ago, so we’ve gotsome catching up to do,” says Parker,adding that emission-free electricvehicles are the future of transporta-tion as cities and provinces attempt tobattle climate change.

ZENN Motors has doubled its U.S.distribution network to 33 retailerssince January. Shares in the company,which recently changed its namefrom Feel Good Cars and trades onthe TSX Venture Exchange, soared12 per cent yesterday ahead of the

meeting with McGuinty.EVs don’t release emissions, but

some critics argue the pollution ismerely shifted to burning coal andother fossil fuels that generate elec-tricity for charging its batteries.

A recent study out of CarnegieMellon University in Pittsburgh,however, concluded that charging ahybrid-electric (or electric) vehiclewith coal power releases fewer green-house gas emissions than a vehiclerunning on gasoline.

Such technologies could proveeffective in reducing greenhouse gasemissions.

Clifford said it would be great if hecould drive one of his company’sown cars to work. “The irony ispainful,” he says. “We get tonnes ofinquires from across Canada. Wehave cars we can sell in Ontariotoday. It’s hugely frustrating that wecan’t do that today.”

ZENN Motors electric cars are currently banned in Ontario.

JUNE 22, 2007 INDEPENDENTSHIFT • 29

Memories of full serviceLet me relate to you the sweetest

sound in the world. Itis the “ding ding” of

the bell when you roll overthe hose at a full service gasstation. Forget the ice creamtruck music that has myyoungest son salivating like aPavlovian dog, forget purringkittens, cooing babies or gen-tle breezes.

I want that bell that signalssomeone else is going toscrub the bird poop off mywindshield.

Of course these days, thatsound is just a distant memo-ry. Now, you can get magazines, dis-posable cameras (and diapers), icecream sludgies and nachos, but you

sure can’t get any service at a servicestation. Now, regardless ofthe weather, I have to get outof the car, punch in answersto endless questions, get myhands all stinky and hope Iturned off my cell phone so Iwon’t blow up like on thatnews show I saw.

I used to take out my frus-trations on the actual pump,cursing under my breath andyelling at the endlessinfomercials they provide formy viewing pleasure. Untilthe day I learned they canhear me. A disembodied

voice asked if I needed any help.Maybe not in the conventional sense, Ireplied.

I used to love going to the gas stationwith my parents. The man would popthe hood and check the oil, and if myDad gave the OK, he’d add a can ofQuaker State. With a funnel. I loved thepracticed motion, and the man-banterabout 10W30 versus 10W15. My Dadwas a Quaker State man.

When no one was looking, I’d hopout of the car and try to set the bell offmyself. It rarely worked, as I’m guess-ing it took more than 45 pounds in apair of Keds. When it did work, I’d gettold to get back in the car. I used towonder where the gasoline came from,and just what those two little red ballswere spinning around in. When myDad explained that the gas came fromunderground, I wondered why we did-n’t just put a pump at the house and

pump away whenever we needed to.I was in awe at the gas jockey’s abil-

ity to snap the nozzle off right on theeven money. I used to think I wanted todo that. I learned to be careful what Iwished for.

But of course the best part was thecleaning of the windshield. My sistersand I would make faces out the windowas the lad cleaned it, and we wouldpoint out any missed spots. We wouldmake very long “ewwwwwwwwww-ing” sounds if they had to scrub away ata particularly nasty blob. I’m sure theythanked us under their breath.

On long road trips the windshieldwould look more like a Jackson Pollockpainting than a window, and we’dcringe as the squeegee would scrubaway at the bug graveyard clinging to

the glass. But when you pulled away,you felt you had actually made a differ-ence. Your car was cleaned up andtopped up, mysterious, importantthings had been checked, and you head-ed out renewed.

Now, I wonder the best way to getnasty stuff off the windshield — whileit’s still wet? when it’s dried? I park myvehicle under a large tree that is appar-ently the Legion Hall for every bird inthe neighbourhood — this is not an idlequestion. If I can’t find the hose, I pro-ceed to use half a container of squirterstuff with the wipers madly flapping atfull speed.

And reminisce of gentler times whenit was someone else’s job.

www.lorraineonline.ca

LORRAINESOMMERFELD

POWERSHIFT

ment on the ‘07 Dodge Charger SuperBee.

It’s a wild looking car, available onlyin Detonator Yellow, accented withstrategic, flat-black stripes and the Hemilogo on the hood scoop. The package isunmistakable, everyone knows there’ssomething serious going on when it rollsdown the road. It’s an absolute blast todrive, there’s nothing subtle about it.

The showcase of the car, naturally, isthe 425-horsepower engine and I wasextremely cautious about letting it sing.I was fine in traffic, just barely touchingthe gas, but when the road opened up abit I let the tachometer creep up to 2,500rpms and it surged with power. Thepotential brute force of the Super Beewas something I had to explore on thehighway. I hung with traffic for a while,doing 100 kph, no radio on, windowsdown a bit so I could listen to theexhaust note and took in the moment.

It was like a dream, the Charger wasin production again and I was cruisingout the highway in No. 973 Super Bee.Time to make a memory, something toboast about later on in life, something towrite about now. I pulled over to the sideof the road like I was taking a phone calland let the road clear right to the top ofthe hill on a long stretch. Remember the“Has that got a Hemi in it?” televisioncommercial?

You’re about to find out. With an empty road I let her sing to

the top of 5,000 rpms in two gears, andI was already going too fast. What abeautiful sound, the dual exhausts of alegendary muscle car singing a five-sec-ond tune about life in the fast lane. As Ileft the highway I noticed a couple ofkids in a parking lot stopped dead intheir tracks, watching the Super Beeintently and listening to the Hemi. Igoosed it for them and made their day.Then I cruised through the twisty back-roads, pretending to elude the sheriffwith a trunk load of moonshine. Wehave to thank NASCAR for today’srace-inspired Dodge Charger Super Bee.

They made the rules.Mark Wood of Portugal Cove-St.Philip’s has recently taken to slidingacross the hood of his truck and crawl-ing in through the window.

Like a dream

By Rob FergusonTorstar wire service

Auto-parts companies hurt byslumping sales at Canada’s BigThree automakers are most

likely to benefit from Premier DaltonMcGuinty’s promised new $650 milliongreen manufacturing fund, saysCanadian Auto Workers president BuzzHargrove.

The drop in business with their majorcustomers has made it more difficult tobankroll research and development, theunion leader said after McGuinty madea campaign-style announcement of theprogram beside the assembly line at aGeneral Motors plant.

“This is going to be an opportunityfor businesses — the parts suppliers,tool and die shops, and machiningshops and others — that have a lot ofideas on the drawing board,” Hargrovesays.

But it’s too early to say what partcompanies, big and small, along withmajor automakers and other manufac-turers of green technologies, will haveto do to qualify for assistance becausedetails of the Next Generation JobsFund haven’t been finalized yet.

“We’ll sit down with a number of sec-tors and work out the best way to set upthe parameters,” McGuinty says,acknowledging the program won’t beready until after the Oct. 10 provincialelection.

“It takes a while to set things up.”The admission prompted Progressive

Conservative MPP Laurie Scott tocharge the premier “is using taxpayerdollars to make election promises.”

New Democrat environment criticPeter Tabuns called the program“vague” and questioned how much itwill mitigate the 175,000 manufactur-ing jobs lost since the Liberals tookoffice in 2003.

Auto industry analyst DennisDesRosiers says the $650 million pro-gram is a better “carrot” to industry thanthe federal government’s “feebate” pro-gram, which rewards buyers of vehicleswith the most fuel-efficient engines —

which are mainly made outside Canada.“The vehicle and parts companies

have too many choices in front of themand considerable risk as to which tech-nology or fuel will yield the best result,”he wrote in a note to clients.

“McGuinty recognizes that eachcompany should be encouraged to pur-sue the technologies or solutions thatbest suit their individual strategies.”

The fund will “help enormously”when companies make a business caseto develop or commercialize a newproduct, said General Motors vice-pres-ident David Paterson, noting greentechnologies already in some carsinclude engines where half the cylindersturn off during highway driving toreduce fuel consumption by 30 per cent.

Other possibilities for the future

include more lightweight compositematerials to boost fuel efficiency andcar parts made from soy oils instead ofplastics.

“Basically you’re creating a biologi-cal plastic” that produces fewer green-house gas emissions, says Gerry Fed-chun, president of the Automotive PartsManufacturers Association.

Auto firms get new lease on researchGREEN PROGRAM LIKELY TO HELP PARTS PLANTS PLAN FOR FUEL-EFFICIENT CARS, SAYS AUTO UNION CHIEF

A GM hydrogen fuel cell vehicle sits behind Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty (L) as he announces the creation of a $650 million automotivegreen fund to encourage investment in environmentally friendly technology, at a news conference at the GM Oshawa Assembly Plant, June 19. REUTERS/J.P. Moczulski

From page 27

30 • INDEPENDENTFUN JUNE 22, 2007

WEEKLYDIVERSIONSACROSS1 Start for colon or cir-cle5 Crooner Dusk (“Backin Town”)9 Sultanate on ArabianSea13 Lid16 Greek island17 Turkey to Taiwan18 Cavity19 Tree feller’s tool20 Jane Eyre’s author (2wds.)23 Can metal24 Raved25 Trick26 (Lewis) Carroll’s realname28 Period of note29 Fall in drops31 Billy Bishop’s home-town: ___ Sound, Ont.33 Glittery fabric34 Buddhist temple35 Eric Peterson’shometown: Indian ___,Sask.36 Place for pampering37 Grace closing39 Group of related eco-types42 “My Fair ___”44 Halloween mo.45 Chinese dynasty46 City with ManitobaAgricultural Hall ofFame

49 Sound of ice in aglass52 Baby carriage (Brit.)54 Winter illness55 Scotch and ___56 River of E France57 Empty58 Pouting grimace59 “Full many a ___ ofpurest ray ...”60 Manager62 “Until the ___ oftime ...”63 Line up (with)64 Cotton hosiery type66 Scoffed68 Help69 Salty expanse70 Not behind71 All-powerful75 Prepare to smell theroses77 Veto78 Dissembler79 Tee preceder82 Soft cheese84 Impressed86 Cry out87 Midnight number88 Atrocious act90 Kill92 Jubilant95 Upon: prefix96 It’s normally about37 degrees C (2 wds.)99 Minister’s title,briefly100 Rim

101 Undesirable plant102 Great balls of fire103 Date104 Politician Bob andfamily105 Do not106 Hawaiian dance

DOWN1 African desert2 Originate3 Death in Dieppe4 Man or Wight5 Small rug6 Straddling7 Bind (2 wds.)8 Bar bills9 Cry of discovery10 Monet’s world11 Man. town with giant“Sunflowers” (VanGogh)12 Requirement13 Pets (3 wds.)14 Self-evident truth15 Tubular pasta16 Peter Robertson’sinvention: socket-head___21 Most curious22 Start (a show) again27 Gathers patiently30 Knock32 “It ___ the best oftimes ...”35 Pawn36 Thailand, once38 Provincial rep.

40 Fool41 Sudan’s neighbour43 Song of cowboys andSwiss mountaineers46 Quebec’s officialflower: ___ flag iris47 Regret48 Nominate49 Taxis50 “First lady of the gui-tar”51 Lacking empathy52 Enough water for aduck53 Relieved (of)54 Tab on a key ring57 Notch58 Noon in Normetal61 Dog with plumy tail63 Bring bad luck64 Salacious stare65 JournalistHanomansing67 City with Sugar LoafMountain68 Among69 Less fresh71 Pull a fast ___72 Tot’s cage73 Olive ___74 Of a printed passage76 Asian temple80 Mountain range(Span.)81 Teams82 Immigrants to S.Africa83 Calcutta coin

85 Shim86 Ivory with a carvedprofile

89 Canadian diamondmining company91 Obscene

93 Tie94 Alaskan island97 Affirmative

98 Cottage time in Ont.

Solutions page 32

ARIES (MAR. 21 TO APR. 19) Your efforts to keep the lines ofcommunication open pay off.Expect to hear news that couldhelp you achieve one of your long-held objectives. Arelationship needs more atten-tion.

TAURUS (APRIL 20 TO MAY 20) That vexing situation might becausing the sensitive Bovine to see red. But bide your time and collect all the facts beforeconfronting the suspected trouble-maker head-on.

GEMINI (MAY 21 TO JUNE 20) Curiosity can be a double-edgedsword. You should, indeed, learnmore about a person who is now inyour life. But be diplomatic; prob-ing too deeply, too soon, can back-fire.

CANCER (JUNE 21 TO JULY 22) Your financial picture improves,but you still need to shop cautious-ly and resist going on a spendingspree. Your present restraint helpsyou avoid potential money woesdown the line.

LEO (JULY 23 TO AUG. 22) Your Leonine leadership skills areput to the test when you’re askedto take command of a difficult sit-uation that urgently needs resolv-ing. A friend from the past offersto help.

VIRGO (AUG. 23 TO SEPT. 22) Your Virgan inclination to offerunsolicited counsel could createhard feelings. It’s best to wait untilyou’re asked for your advicebefore dispensing it so freely.

LIBRA(SEPT. 23 TO OCT.22)

A misunderstanding delays yourchance to straighten out problemsat the workplace. But an explana-tion soon helps settle things toeveryone’s satisfaction.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23 TO NOV. 21)Home improvements arefavoured. Make a list of whatneeds to be done, and get started.Consider donating things you nolonger use to a worthy charity.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22 TO DEC. 21) Use your innate horse sense tohelp you make the right movewith a major purchase. Be wary ofthose who try to rush you intomaking a decision.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 TO JAN. 19) Ease up on that penchant of yoursto reshape the world according toyour specifications. Be more toler-ant of those who have different

views of what life is all about.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20 TO FEB.18) A series of fluctuating circum-stances continues to dominateyour current aspects. Rememberto stay focused on the positivepossibilities that these changescan bring.

PISCES (FEB. 19 TO MAR. 20) You can get things done betterthan most people. So don’t letthose naysayers douse your enthu-siasm. Get back in the swim andstart making waves as only youcan.

BORN THIS WEEK: You have a natural talent forbringing people and elementstogether. You’d make a fineresearch scientist, pharmacist oreven a master chef.

(c) 2007 King Features Syndicate, Inc.

WEEKLYSTARS

CHUCKLE BROS Brian and Ron Boychuk

Fill in the grid so that each row of nine squares, each columnof nine and each section of nine (three squares by three) con-tains the numbers 1 through 9 in any order. There is only onesolution to each puzzle. Solutions, tips and computer programavailable at www.sudoko.com

SOLUTION ON PAGE 32

INDEPENDENTSPORTSFRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, JUNE 22-28, 2007 — PAGE 31

Karen Stacey got strange lookswhen she entered the sauna atthe Aquarena recently. While

many people enter the sauna to relax andunwind after a workout, Stacey did theopposite.

She entered the sauna in her runningclothes, and proceeded to do sit-ups,push-ups, squats and other forms ofexercise. In 40 degree Celsius heat.

Some folks may have thought the St.John’s runner had gone mad, but therewas a method. Stacey and friend JillNewhook were preparing to run a half-marathon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, andthe only place in St. John’s to replicate

the hot conditions they can expect wasthe sauna.

“I took to going at weird times,”Stacey said this week, before departingon a 27-hour travel marathon that takesher through Halifax, New York and ared-eye to Brazil prior to the June 24race.

“I’d go very early in the morning, like

quarter to six, or at 3 in the afternoon, sothere’s no one around.

“I’ve been doing a regular 25-minuteworkout in the sauna, and I’ve reallyacclimatized, because I found last week-end to be cooler temperatures. It’s goodtraining.”

Training she was used to. But this tripwas for a different reason. Stacey andNewhook are part of Team Diabetes. Aspart of the deal, the pair had to raise$6,100 each, of which a portion paid fortheir flight and accommodations. Theremainder — about 70 cents on everydollar — goes to fight diabetes inNewfoundland and Labrador. The hard-

est part of this half-marathon, Staceynoted, was fundraising.

“Raising the money was the hardestpart for us,” she said, noting Newhookwas “the organizer, I’m the social but-terfly.”

The duo did everything to gatherdonations, from silent auctions and winetasting (very successful) to selling fish-cakes and cookie dough (not so much)to keg parties (most successful.)

“The fishcakes went OK, the cookiedough went OK, but the keg partieswere a big hit,” Stacey said, thankingthe folks at Blue on Water and Molsonfor their assistance.

“I’m 26, so a lot of my friends like tosocialize. You could say they prefer kegparties to cookie dough.”

A former member of MUN’s cross-country running team, Stacey figuresher legs will be like cookie dough afterthe race, which she hopes to finish in 90minutes — the length of time it took herto win the St. John’s half-marathon inMay.

“The race to me is the big thing,” shestated. “The whole focus of this trip isthe race. I tapered this week. I’m eatingright. I want to run 90 minutes.”

Racing in RioSt. John’s runner trains in sauna; holds keg parties to run half-marathon in Brazil

See “Townies,” page 33

Serving up champions

Daria Snow, 14, practises at the Green Belt tennis courts. Nicholas Langor/ The Independent

Daria Snow among province’syoung tennis players excellingat Atlantic level


The cold, vacuum-sealed bubble of Green Belttennis club in St. John’s fosters the province’stop young players, an incubator filled with

serves, volleys and ground strokes.Daria Snow, 14, has spent almost her entire life

amidst the flurry of fuzzy green tennis balls, and hasbecome one of the province’s top female players.

Snow says she “fell in love” with the sport at theage of seven, but tennis touched her life before hermemory even began. Her mother Karen has a photoof her holding a racquet at age two.

Snow’s aunt, Krista Manning, was one of the topthree players in Canada in her prime, and her grand-father is the legendary tennis coach and athlete TonyManning, who got her started in the sport.

The elder Manning will be honoured with an awardfrom Tennis Canada this year for his coaching effortsin the province and the foundation he built for thesport. He’s taught his granddaughter well.

Feet shuffling and sliding across the coarse court,Snow is in constant movement during rallies, resist-ing the urge to pause for rest. As a baseline player, sherelies on long, accurate shots to keep her opponentsrunning around the court.

Snow is happy to admit she can’t beat her aunt yet,but her style of play has dominated girls her age inAtlantic Canada. She has never lost a tournament inNewfoundland and Labrador, and has won everyAtlantic Championship, indoor and outdoor, since2005.

Danny Da Costa, director of Tennis Newfoundlandand Labrador, estimates there are 150 junior playersin the province and he is hoping new community out-reach programs will bring more kids to the sport.

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians currently holdfive of the eight Atlantic junior championships, fromboys under-12 to girls under-16.

Snow’s first step to repeating her Atlantic title willbe the provincial junior tournament, scheduled forthis weekend at Riverdale Tennis Club in St. John’s.Sixty players are expected to compete, includingsome stiff competition from the Gander team.

Da Costa is putting the pieces in place to makeSnow’s goals possible. When he moved to theprovince from Toronto he knew about tennis’ historyin the province and the potential of some of its ath-letes.

This summer, Da Costa has started a provincialtraining centre that will allow eight players to practisewith high-quality coaches and physical trainers for 20hours a week.

“The idea behind the program is to get them to ahigher level, to a national level,” says Da Costa.

Tennis training is a mix of honing swing techniquesand shots, running to build speed and proper footworkand repetition. Snow cools down from her 6 to 8 a.m.morning practice by returning shots from a partnerwith the same stroke, delivering the ball to the sametarget on the court.

Along with the training camp, Snow plays with theunder-16 boys group four times a week, competes inweekend tournaments and schedules games when shecan.

She’s already setting goals for nationals, where sheis currently ranked 23rd. Mainland tennis is a “wholedifferent ball game,” according to her mother, withOntario and Quebec players dominating.

The quietly confident Snow won’t back down fromthe competition. A trait her family shares — from thetennis court to board games — is an intense competi-tive spirit. Snow is shy when she speaks, but sincere,reducing a complex sport to a simple emotion: “I justlove tennis.”

[email protected]

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32 • INDEPENDENTSPORTS JUNE 22, 2007

Solutions for crossword on page 30

Solutions for sudoku on page 30

So you think you’re a dedicatedwoods person. You hunt and fishand canoe as much as anybody

you know. That’s the clincher — you doas much as anyone you know. We allthink we are big fish sometimes, buteventually realize how small our pondhas been. Then the pond gets bigger andwe start crawling towards the top again,soaking up skills and knowledge fromothers along the way.

It’s those experiences that flood thebanks of our little ponds and make usbetter. After all, it’s not the destinationthat counts, but the journey.

These are the defining days thatremind us we have much to learn andtrue excellence lies at the distant end ofa very long and bumpy road. OutdoorZen, so to speak.

My fly-fishing journey has been longand bumpy, but so much fun. The great-est rewards have been the friends I’vemade and the wonderful places the jour-ney has taken me, both near and far fromhome.

It began when I was just eight yearsold. I came home from the last day ofschool and burst though the back door,waving my report card. I think it wasGrade 2 and I had made some pretty fairgrades.

I remember it well because I hadswitched in mid-March from a RomanCatholic school in Marystown to theprotestant school in St. Anthony. All thebooks and curriculum were different andI had struggled to catch up for finalexams. (Yes, in those days we wrotefinal exams in Grade 2.)

My parents must have had confidencein me. Before my father even looked atthe report card, he handed me a brandnew fly rod and reel. He said, “Paul myboy, we’re going salmon fishing.” Ican’t remember which excited me more,going salmon fishing or the rod itself. Idrifted off into dreamland that night avery proud boy, with the rod proppedagainst my bedpost.

And we did indeed go salmon fishing.In those days, salmon runs on theNorthern Peninsula were prolific despite

the commercial fishery. Dad and I knewnext to nothing about fly or salmon fish-ing but we managed to catch around 20salmon in a week of fishing at BigBrook.

I remember my first fish. There was aparticularly productive pool perpetuallycrowded with anglers from south of theborder. I remember thinking they talkedreally funny. I wanted to fish where thefish were, and no fancy dressed sportswith southern drawls were going to stopme. I slithered out between theirwadered legs and perched myself on anoutcrop of cliff strategically located forcatching salmon. Kids can get awaywith antics on a river that would resultin others being tossed in the drink.

My mother, who was watching mefrom the sideline while Dad fisheddownstream, came rushing to apologize

for my rude behaviour. “Ah, that’s OK, we’ll let the boy fish

there for a while and try his luck,” wasall they said. I think they were feelingguilty for hogging the pool.

So fish I did, skittering my BlackSilvertip across the ripples the way Dadhad shown me. After just a few unpro-ductive casts a silver swirl engulfed myfly and a mighty tug nearly pulled therod from my hands. Startled, I jumpedup and down as line peeled from my reeland my adversary went head over tailacross the water.

“I got one, I got one,” came my battlecry. Everybody on the river stoppedfishing to watch the very excited littlekid playing the King of Gamefish. Dadcame running upriver to coach and —most importantly — keep me fromfalling in the river. The Americans were

shouting advice and taking pictures. After about 15 minutes of commo-

tion, my salmon tired and a kind Mr.Fox from Charleston, Virginia netted myprize. I was officially a salmon fisher-man. Dad and I totalled seven fish thatday, taking a break just long enough tocook up a riverside feed of salt beef andcabbage on our Coleman stove.

Well, as you might imagine, Dad andI got a little puffed up over our successand figured we knew a thing or two. Wewere two decent-sized fish in a verysmall pond.

I fished for salmon on and offthroughout my youth but mostly stuckto trouting as well as bass, pike andpickerel angling during summer vaca-tions with my sister in northern Ontario.After a hiatus of maybe eight years, Idecided to take a salmon holiday with a

friend of mine who knew nothing — Iwas the “expert.”

We were both MUN students and hada week to kill in August before returningto our studies. The destination wasGander River, around Glenwood. Theplan was to sleep on air mattresses in theback of my pickup truck, which had oneof those fiberglass caps with slidingwindows in the sides. We set up camp,such as it was, on the Appleton side ofthe river above the old railway trestle.

There were some pools right by ourcamp and we could also fish the mainpools beneath the Queen ElizabethBridge on the TCH. My pond was aboutto get flooded. More next week.

Paul Smith is a freelance writer and out-door enthusiast living in Spaniard’s Bay.

[email protected]

The Zen of salmon fishingIn part one of a two-part series, Paul Smith remembers the first salmon he ever landed

By Garth WoolseyTorstar wire service

Be it sports or theatre, a goodread or a fine meal, the rule ofthumb is this: Leave them sat-

isfied, but wanting a repeat, more ofthe same.

Faced with a six-week road trip fol-lowing the June 16 game againsttough (allegedly) FC Dallas, TorontoFC left a record (allegedly) turnouton a 4-0 high.

Six weeks can be an eternity insports: Beating FC Dallas 4-nil is nomean feat but one that seemed impos-sible when Toronto got off to its 0-4start with successive losses of 2-0, 4-0, 3-0, 1-0.

The home team is now off on anextended road trip, thanks to their sta-dium being used for the FIFA Under-20 championship. Six weeks fromnow, anything is possible, but recent

form suggests Toronto is ahead of thecurve that normally afflicts expansionteams.

Soccer is a sport especially gov-erned by the old home-field advan-tage.

It is not unusual for teams to benext to unbeatable at home butmediocre on the road. It is why hometeams have so often won the WorldCup — Uruguay in 1930, Italy in1934, England in 1966, Germany in1974, Argentina in 1978 and Francein 1998.

Toronto is now 4-3-0 at home, 0-3-1 on the road. Those are indisputablenumbers, unlike the attendance ones— if there were really 20,156 therelast weekend, some had to be dis-guised as several hundred emptyseats.

Not that those who showed up did-n’t enjoy themselves, as usual, orwere not appreciated by the home

team.Toronto’s average home attendance

has been running second only to theLos Angeles Galaxy. Out there, they

have the prospect of Posh and herhusband arriving later in the season;FC had Bosh (Chris) and hisentourage on hand yesterday. Thequick-on-the-uptake fans, afterBosh’s image was projected on thebig screen, quickly broke into a roundof “Let’s Go Raptors.” Nothing getsby them, or on this day goalkeeperSrdjan Djekanovic.

Midfielder Ronnie O’Brien, whoused to play for Dallas, said heencountered some fans visiting fromthere and told them: “Look at this!”as in this is the way a soccer atmos-phere is supposed to be. “It’s a creditto the city,” he says.

With six games on the road,through New England, Kansas City,Salt Lake, Chicago, Houston andColumbus, O’Brien said the mostimportant thing is “you have to havethe same mentality you have at home… you have to play to win.”

No place like home for TFC

The quick-on-the-uptakefans, after Bosh’s imagewas projected on the big

screen, quickly broke into a round of “Let’s Go

Raptors.” Nothing gets bythem, or on this day goal-keeper Srdjan Djekanovic.

It’s here in our

community. Please

make a difference

by volunteering.

lives here.

1-800-268-7582 www.mssociety.ca

PAUL SMITHThe Rock Outdoors

Salmon fishing in Quebec. Paul Smith photo

JUNE 22, 2007 INDEPENDENTSPORTS • 33

Whether that can be done in 40-degree heat remains to be seen.Whatever her final result, Stacey, a St.John’s kinesiologist, says helping dia-betes (and fighting childhood obesity atthe same time) has been a gratifyingexperience.

She also figures the experience gainedin Rio will help her with future races.

And if this trip is successful (she andNewhook will extend their visit untilJuly 4), then maybe she’ll be back toplan more keg parties.

ADDRESS OF CONVENIENCE?I’m not sure if anybody else noticed,

but recently, Softball Canada named itslist of players being considered for theassociation’s senior men’s nationalteam.

As has been the case for the pastdecade or more, the potential lineup issprinkled with Newfoundlanders. ColinAbbott of Portugal Cove has captainedthe team for a number of years, whileFreshwater’s Stephen Mullaley is a rela-tive newcomer to the scene.

There are two other Newfoundlandplayers on the extended roster: Rob andSean O’Brien. Since the turn of the cen-tury at least, these two boys have livedin Ontario and played their ball all overNorth America. Whenever they’re listedon this roster, an Ontario town is listed

under “hometown.”However, last week, before Canada

played New Zealand in a couple of exhi-bition matches, the O’Brien boys wereboth listed as having St. John’s as theirhometown. Technically it’s correct.

But I just wonder, was that changemade with an eye to the Canadian seniormen’s national championship coming upin August here? Is this an address ofconvenience for the O’Briens? They aretwo of the country’s top players, nodoubt. Why suddenly are they so keen tohave St. John’s listed?

Maybe it was a technical glitch allthose years Ontario was listed.

[email protected]

Townies once again

Dodgers’ Martinshows he’s a realCanadian, eh?By Richard GriffinTorstar wire service

How important an event was theCanadian debut of Dodgerscatcher Russell Martin? Put it

this way: the only other time theRaptors’ former dressing room at theRogers Centre had been utilized forbaseball this year was a press confer-ence for the Red Sox’s DaisukeMatsuzaka and the horde of Asianmedia.

For Martin, the young Canadian born inEast York and educated in Montreal, June19 marked the second.

“It’s good to get attention for the rightreasons,” Martin says. “If it was because Idid something wrong, I wouldn’t be happyabout it, but I’m playing pretty well thisyear and I’m getting some attention for theall-star game, so it’s a good reason.”

When Martin homered to left-centre inthe sixth inning, his second hit of thenight, there was polite applause fromnationalistic Jays’ partisans, but particularcelebration in one section on the Dodgers’side of the stands. It made sense.

Bigger even than playing in Torontowas the fact that 40 of Martin’s relativesmade the trip from Montreal to see his firstbig-league game on Canadian soil. It wasobvious that everything is new and a thrillfor the 24-year-old former fan of theExpos and Jays. He admits that he, longago, circled this series on his schedule.

“It was in the off-season and the travel-ling secretary emailed and said, ‘Get yourpassports done. We’re going to Toronto,’”Martin recalls. “Right off the bat, I wasreally excited to be playing at home infront of the home fans.”

Martin has already had his share of con-troversy. His patriotism was cast intodoubt when he turned down an invitationto play for Team Canada at the WorldBaseball Classic in the spring of ’06 inorder to stay at Dodger camp and impressnew manager Grady Little, trying to earn a

starting job. Baseball Canada was notamused.

“It was definitely a tough thing notgoing and representing your own country,”Martin admits. “You always want to repre-sent your country. It’s something thatmight not come around again. Next go-round, hopefully I’ll be healthy and readyto go.”

Team Canada manager Ernie Whitt saysMartin and Pete LaForest are the two bestcatchers from this country he has ever han-dled. Martin only ever played for him inqualification tournaments, not theOlympics or the W.B.C.

But the decision did not immediatelypay off, with Martin being sent to Triple-A. When he got his chance to start in earlyMay he made the most of it. Martin con-firmed he belonged with the big boys in aMay 21 game against the Angels. In justhis 14th start behind the plate, the rookiepaid a mound visit to the veteran DerekLowe. Instead of deferring, Martin got inhis grill and threatened not to leave themound until Lowe calmed down andshowed he was ready to resume his normalgame. No fear.

“I just thought that’s what I needed todo,” Martin shrugs. “Luckily, DerekLowe’s a good dude and he didn’t get tooangry at me. I was too wrapped up in thegame at that point, but he talked about itafter. And I was like, ‘Did I really saythat?’’

This year, thanks to an aggressiveDodgers campaign featuring “Vote forMartin” stickers and T-shirts, he is the NLleader in all-star voting among catchers.His new-found Hollywood celebrity andthe admiration of his home country havenot gone to his head.

“I appreciate it,” Martin says under hisbreath, quite sincerely, as he got up toleave at the urging of his public relationsman. “It’s my first press conference.Nice.”

Huh! Nice! Hope that he can remainthat way. Of course, he’s Canadian.

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin (L) talks with pitcher Brad Penny during the first inning of their MLB interleague baseball gameagainst the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto June 19. REUTERS/ Mike Cassese

From page 31

34 • INDEPENDENTSPORTS JUNE 22, 2007

Ripples from Ottawa shuffleBy Damien Cox Torstar wire service

Political intrigue in Ottawa isserved daily with coffee andthe morning paper.

But when it involves hockey’sSenators, not the Senate, it’s worthyof more than a passing glance or adismissive wave.

Make no mistake about it, JohnMuckler believes he was betrayed byBryan Murray in no less fashion thanpoor Peter was by Belinda, stabbedin the back at the same time thedeposed Senators GM thought hewas in the process of negotiating anew contract for his coach, Murray.

There was evidence of disagree-ment, certainly, all season long.During the Eastern Conference final,Murray was asked one day about themany seeming miscalculations aboutthe Senators’ season that somehowturned out right, including the failedattempt early in the season to estab-lish newcomer Alexei Kaigorodov asthe team’s No. 2 centre.

“Well, I never thought he wasgoing to be able to do that for us,”interjected Murray.

Murray, undoubtedly, will have avery different version of events fromMuckler, just as Rick Dudley and JayFeaster will forever differ on theirexecutive shuffle in Tampa, Fla., sev-eral years ago.

This stuff isn’t that unusual in ahockey world filled with very ambi-tious men. But the bitter feelings canlast and last.

Part of the Muckler-Murray story,it would seem, is just how muchdamage was done by the manner inwhich the Senators fell meekly to theAnaheim Ducks in the Stanley Cupfinal.

All that seemed so good before thefinal went sour when the Ducks start-ed leaning on the Senators. Suddenly,the absence of Zdeno Chara seemedyawning and the failure to land GaryRoberts meaningful. It was so badthat owner Eugene Melnyk neededsomebody to blame.

Since Murray had helped to buildthe powerful Ducks, it apparentlymade sense to Melnyk that Murrayhad more hockey brains.

This is the type of stuff, of course,that Toronto hockey fans are used to

like smog in June and naturally youcan expect that Muckler’s name willimmediately surface as a candidatefor the senior hockey position thatthe Maple Leafs have been kickingaround for months.

While former Penguins GM CraigPatrick is another name in the mix,hiring Muckler would take the enmi-ty of the Battle of Ontario to anotherlevel.

Interestingly, on a day when thetwo Ontario teams were part of the

hockey chatter, so too was the fran-chise that, in Jim Balsillie’s grandscheme, might yet join the Sens andLeafs in the province.

By peddling exclusive signingrights to Scott Hartnell and KimmoTimonen to the Philadelphia Flyersfor a first-round draft pick, the Nash-ville Predators communicated to therest of the NHL that they might bevulnerable during this periodbetween Craig Leipold’s sale of the team and Balsillie’s planned

acquisition.If you believe Hartnell’s a $4 mil-

lion (all figures U.S.) winger andTimonen’s a $6 million blueliner,then the Flyers made out like bandits,getting both before any bidding warscould start July 1.

But the deal might equally suggestthat Nashville has no intention ofspending money to retain talent orupgrade its roster until a new owneris in control, something that mightnot happen for months.

That, of course, won’t help the nas-cent Save-the-Predators efforts inMusic City, which works toBalsillie’s favour in that fans mightbe less likely to buy season ticketsthis summer and less likely to buymore next season if the team is sig-nificantly weaker. No tickets, nolease. Rev up the moving vans.

So in Ottawa, Toronto and, yes,Hamilton, there were NHL transac-tions worthy of taking notice yester-day.

Former Ottawa Senators head coach Bryan Murray, who has been appointed general manager, reacts during a news conference in Ottawa June 18. The Senators fired general manager JohnMuckler on Monday, less than two weeks after the Nation Hockey League team was comprehensively beaten in the final of the Stanley Cup. Chris Wattie/Reuters

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Q: Despite J.P. Ricciardi’s inability to acquirea legitimate third starter and the injuries to RoyHalladay, Gustavo Chacin, B.J. Ryan andBrandon League, the pitching appears to beholding up its end. How can a team of suchreputed “bangers” not hit on a continual basis?By my count, the Jays have lost 16 games so farthis season where the opponent scored five orless runs.

Ben Prestianni, Newark, Delaware

A: You can now add A.J. Burnett to the list ofthe walking, or make that the throwing wound-ed. The actual Jays count was 18 losses inwhich an opponent has scored five runs or less.Too many. The Jays record when they, them-selves, score five runs or more is 24-7. That’s in69 games and that’s not enough offence.

The disturbing fact that you point out soastutely is that the Jays have managed to scorefive or more in just 45 per cent of their games.This team of supposed bangers was built andpromoted over the winter as a lineup that wouldoverpower the pitching shortcomings, scoringseven-plus runs per night to contend against thebig boys of the division. Instead they haveresembled and seemed as dangerous as thebangers on your plate next to the mashed pota-toes and gravy at an Irish Pub. The Jays havescored seven-plus runs in 18 starts into the mid-dle of the Dodgers series, or a piddling 26 percent. Enough stats.

The culprits for the lack of offence, in orderof culpability, are Vernon Wells, FrankThomas, Injuries and Gregg Zaun. If Wells,Thomas and Zaun begin to get their numbersback to normal, the magic number of five runsper night that has already produced a .774 winpercentage can be attained. Add to that a return-ing Lyle Overbay and Reed Johnson and thisteam can finish in the mid-80s in terms of vic-tories.

Q: Maybe I’m just looking for a gunman onthe grassy knoll, but why do I get the feelingthat Sal Fasano was designated for assignmentbecause some service time clause was going tokick in on his contract. To me, Fasano, despite

his poor stats, is a better catcher than JasonPhillips and the Blue Jays pitchers appeared,from my seat in rec room, to look better withSal behind the plate than Phillips. What giveshere?

Gern Blanston, West Hill, Ont.

A: Sal Fasano’s appeal to fans is that he is theultimate “everyman” in a world of athleticstuds. His droopy Fu Manchu moustache andhis abundant girth gave him personality. He alsohas a genuine, great, self-deprecating outlookon the game and on life. Heading to the showerafter having caught a game, he would invariablylook to the writers and quietly ask, “Do youwant to talk to me?” If the answer were yes,then he would head back to his locker andpatiently answer all questions before headingback to wash off the honest sweat of his chosenprofession. Contrast that to A.J. Burnett andTuesday’s “I’ll talk to you sometime this week”attitude regarding his current shoulder injury.Gee, thanks. In World Wrestling Entertainmentterms, if Fasano is Mick Foley (Mankind), thenBurnett is The Edge.

As for the puff of smoke from the grassyknoll, with regard to Fasano, I don’t think so.Entering this season, the 35-year old needed 35days of service in the majors to reach his six-year status as a genuine, bona fide free agent,rather than just a released or non-tendered onethat has been his lot in life to this point. Whenthe Jays let him go in San Francisco, he hadearned 45 days and is eligible to sell himself onthe open market in November. There is no otherclause involved.

As for a comparison to Jason Phillips, thebespectacled one has a history with JohnGibbons and that might be enough to separatethe two. If you matched them up in a modernpentathlon for catchers, Fasano would win thethrowing, game-calling and receiving portions.Phillips would win the batting, while the 40-metre dash would be a toss-up, better timedwith an hourglass than a stopwatch.

But don’t blame the Jays for their decision ondesignating Fasano for assignment. Seven otherteams have reached the same conclusion. Afterthis year, if he’s not back up between now andthe end of the season, he’ll resurface some-where. He always does.

Blue Jays mail bag

INDEPENDENTCLASSIFIEDFRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, JUNE 22-28, 2007 — PAGE 36

F E A T U R E D H O M E 9 9 R E N N I E S M I L L R O A D

Something new and creative...Something St. John’s has never seen before!

Rennies Mill Road is one of St. John’s most sought-after addresses. For the first time in 30 years, no. 99 isfor sale. Magnificent grounds; approach from the stone steps, or by the private laneway, and drive to the rearof the property. Surrounded by mature trees and gardens, across from Rennies Mill River and backing ontothe park. Two fireplaces dance flames through the expansive living and dining rooms. Main floor den backsonto the private deck and garden setting behind this property. Plenty of space, high ceilings, and RenniesMill grandeur. A great home for showing your art collection or raising a family, at an address where most fam-ilies spend decades. Nicholas Langor/The Independent

2007-06-22

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