2006-09-03

By Ivan MorganThe Independent

This is not a story about fridge magnets orgold rings.

In 1992, Irish business magnate Ben Dunnewas caught by police in a Miami hotel roomwith a call girl and a very large quantity ofcocaine. He climbed up on the balcony and,high on booze and coke, threatened to jump.

He didn’t jump, but he did unwittingly insti-gate a scandal in Ireland so sweeping, so outra-geous, and so entrenched in the highest eche-lons of politics and business that the Irish pub-lic has become numb after a decade of revela-tion after jaw-dropping revelation.

Corruption on an astonishing level seems tohave been the norm among many of the mostpowerful politicians and business people in thecountry, and the story is far from over.

Newfoundlanders are often told about the“Irish experiment” and the “Celtic tiger.” TheDanny Williams administration has made a lotof effort to promote Newfoundland’s connec-tion to Ireland. Indeed, Newfoundland’s ties

with Ireland go back centuries.The province has been actively seeking con-

nections with Irish business since 1996. In2004, Williams renewed an agreement withIrish government to promote trade and culturalrelations between the two countries. The currentTaoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, BertieAhern, visited Newfoundland last year as aguest of the premier.

Little is known on this side of the Atlanticabout the downside of recent political and busi-ness culture of Ireland. It’s fair to say our owncurrent government scandal looks petty in com-parison.

Irish journalist Frank Connolly has followedthe unravelling story from the beginning. Hiswork led to the striking of a national tribunal,which sent politicians to jail for corruption.

He says it all began on that balcony in Miami.After Dunne was arrested and charged, his

family — fed up with his erratic behaviour andthe bad publicity it generated — began proceed-ings in Ireland to have him removed from the

By Pam Pardy GhentFor the Independent

Officials with Tyson’sLakeside Packers beefplant in Brooks, Alta. will

travel overseas to fill 250 posi-tions — and the Canadian govern-ment is helping them do it.

The company has, over theyears, employed hundreds ofworkers from Newfoundland andLabrador. Since the at-times vio-lent strike at the facility in 2005,employees say there are fewerworkers from this country than

ever.Or, as former employee Dianne

Jones says, “it used to be a lot ofNewfoundlanders worked there,but they all wised up” and foundwork in the oil fields.

The federal Human ResourcesDevelopment Corporation(HRDC) is providing funding forLakeside’s human resourcedepartment to look for workers inChina, El Salvador and theUkraine. A representative from theAlberta government has alreadyaccompanied company recruiterson some of these trips.

While overseas, company repre-sentatives screen potentialemployees and offer successfulcandidates free airfare and help infinding accommodation inBrooks.

“Lakeside and some other com-panies in the region are workingco-operatively with the Albertagovernment to supplement ourCanadian-based hiring efforts byrecruiting workers from othercountries,” Tyson companyspokesman Gary Mickelson tellsThe Independent.

“We continue to hire in Canada.

However, as you know, theCanadian economy is robust andthe labour market is extremelycompetitive. A combination ofpressures from a strong oil, gas,resource sector and an equally

Going abroadUnable to find even Newfoundlanders to fill jobs, controversial Alberta beef plant looks overseas

QUOTE OF THE WEEK“Because of all I’ve discovered, the people I’ve met, and what I see every day in the arts,economy and life here, I know Newfoundlandand Labrador is about to enter a phase of bright horizons.”

— Clare-Marie Gosse says good-bye. See p. 16

See “No unemployment,” page 2

See “Only two,” page 8

VOL. 4 ISSUE 35 — ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR — SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2006 — WWW.THEINDEPENDENT.CA — $1.50 HOME DELIVERY (HST included); $2.00 RETAIL (HST included)

Disgruntled workersUnresolved contract issues fuelresentment in NAPE rank and file

Life Story. . . . . . . . . . 10

Voice from away . . . 11

Noreen Golfman . . . 15

Ray Dillon . . . . . . . . 21

STYLE 17Looking for a budget booze? Nicholas Gardner has an idea

OPINION 5Ray Guy investigatesthe true meaning ofthe word ‘secretariat’

It has been more than two years since striking NAPEworkers were legislated back to work by theWilliams administration, and NAPE president Carol

Furlong says unresolved issues left over since then haveeroded morale among the rank and file.

Once a collective agreement is forced on workers,Furlong continues, there is no real ability to negotiateoutstanding issues such as student assistants, summerlayoffs and items specific to different bargaining units.

“Workers will be disenchanted with a system wherethe employer, in this case government, can use thepower of the legislature to force a collective agreementon you,” Furlong tells The Independent.

“No other employer has that kind of power, so it real-ly interferes with your whole ability to have someempowerment with respect to your own workplace, andyour collective agreement.”

Furlong points to a few successes her union hasachieved in the past year, such as the additional one percent wage increase, the agreement to adjust mileagerates to the price of gas, and the resolution of the payequity issue — but says it’s not enough.

“I’m not surprised to hear that people are unhappywith an employer who takes what I would consider asomewhat unethical approach to collective bargaining… the very fact that people had no opportunity to voteon a contract is a big issue.

“It’s fairly mean-spirited. People may have voted toaccept something anyway but the reality is they had noopportunity.”

She says it’s tough to deal with government when youhave little or no negotiating power. “You are trying to goin there and convince somebody to give you somethingwhen that employer doesn’t have to.”

See “We did what we had to,” page 2

‘They are all found out in the end’Call girls, drugs,

ministers handing blankcheques to the prime

minister, bribes from bigbusiness … Ireland has

been dealing with a political scandal for

more than a decade, an on-going story thatmakes Newfoundland

and Labrador’s expensescandal look mild

BUSINESS 21What the newsoccer fieldbrings to the city

SPORTS 28 Targa teamgets ready to cruise

GALLERY 14Don Lane celebrates 30 yearsin the photography business

Premier Danny Williams and Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) Bertie Ahern on Signal Hill in St. John’s in September 2005. Paul Daly/The Independent

IVANMORGAN

Brooks Mayor Don Weissbeck

2 • INDEPENDENTNEWS SEPTEMBER 3, 2006

uxuryuxuryL Furlong says there is a view amongunion members that their contributionhasn’t been truly recognized. Whentimes were tough, she says, the publicservice employees carried an unfairshare of the burden, through wagefreezes and imposed concessions.

“Now our economy is in a far betterstate and public employees are saying‘We did what we had to do. We paid theprice when it was required of us, andnow we think we should be recognizednow that times are far better economi-cally.’”

Is this affecting productivity?Furlong says if it is, it’s not because ofNAPE workers, but because of endlessrounds of layoffs. Remaining employ-ees are taking on the extra work, whileworrying about their own jobs.

But, she says, “most people’s workethic is very genuine, and regardless ofthe circumstances, people are going totry and do their very best.”

The latest allegations on financial

misconduct by some MHAs don’t helpmorale either. While Furlong won’tcomment on the specifics of the issuecurrently under investigation, she doessay government spending practicesimpact NAPE members.

“When you hear that there is a lot ofmoney being flung around, that there ismoney for every little pet project, butthere is no money to keep youemployed for the summer months, orno money to give you a salary which iscomparable to a salary in the privatesector, that reaches out into the work-place, and of course you are going tohave disgruntled workers,” she says.

Furlong says NAPE is ready fornegotiations when this contract expires.The economy of this province hasimproved tremendously, and in 2008the province will have more money.She says public employees are notgoing to sit back and accept nothing.

“I think everyone recognizes there isgoing to be more money available, andwe have some issues that need to beaddressed as well.”

robust manufacturing sector havecaused particular labour shortages inAlberta — especially in regions wherethe energy sector is strongest.”

Brooks Mayor Don Weissbeck saysjust because Lakeside is trying toattract workers from overseas, it does-n’t mean they don’t want to recruitlocally.

“Anyone who wants a job is wel-comed at Lakeside, I’m sure,” he says,adding the company lost a large per-centage of its workforce after the strikein late 2005.

Weissbeck says he can’t blame folksfor leaving Lakeside, where the hoursare long and the work cold, hard andtedious.

“We don’t have an unemploymentrate, so if the average person wants agood-paying job, they can find one.The workers they are bringing in arenot taking a job away from anyone inour province,” he says. “We will be40,000 workers short in 10 years’ time,even McDonald’s here are looking forforeign workers.”

The mayor says the strike at the meatplant in 2005 was a black mark forBrooks. It started amidst charges of

unfair and inhumane business prac-tices, and the picket lines turned violentat times, requiring police presence onmore than one occasion.

When the strike ended, many work-ers didn’t return to their old jobs.

Weissbeck acknowledges thatLakeside has had a bad reputation, butsays he does know workers there whoare “quite happy” with their jobs.

YOUNGEST COMMUNITY“We are the second youngest com-

munity in Canada, the average age hereis between 21 and 25, and they are theones out to make the big bucks andworking in the oil fields, they are notgoing to work at the meat plant.”

So, he says, if the workers won’tcome to them, Lakeside needs to gowhere there are workers who will learn,work, and stay.

Newfoundland and Labrador, with ajobless rate of 14.6 per cent in July (aslight decline from June’s 14.8 percent) has the highest unemploymentrate in the country.

Alberta continues to enjoy a joblessrate of just 3.6 per cent, Canada’s low-est. So far this year, job growth inAlberta has risen at three times thenational average.

‘We did what we had to do,we paid the price’

From page 1

From page 1

No unemployment in Brooks

By Ryan ClearyThe Independent

There may be little money in thesquid fishery for local fishermen,but two Canadian companies are

in the process of hiring foreign vesselsto fish squid for them inside the 200-mile limit on the Grand Banks ofNewfoundland.

The companies — Sea Arrow, basedin St. Anthony, and D’eon from “theMaritimes” — have asked the federalDepartment of Fisheries and Oceans(DFO) for permission to use foreignboats to fish their squid quotas. SeaArrow has access to 3,000 tonnes ofsquid. D’eon has 2,500 tonnes.

As it stands, the companies have metthree of four conditions set out by DFOto allow the foreigners in. The compa-nies are said to be waiting on a smallcod quota to cover their bycatch or inci-dental catch of codfish that’s sure to betaken with the squid.

Gus Etchegary, an outspoken critic ofDFO management of East Coast fishstocks, says the companies are ultimate-ly after the cod quota, because squid isworth little on world markets.

“It’s the same thing happening overand over,” Etchegary says. “I’m sick ofhearing about it. They’re after squid fora low market price, but they’re going totry and get as much opportunity theycan to get groundfish, which sells for ahigher price.”

Sophie Galarneau, spokesman for thefederal Department of Fisheries andOceans in Ottawa, tells The Independentbefore being permitted to bring in for-eign boats, the companies had to ensurethere were no Canadian vessels interest-ed in catching the squid quota.

As well, she says the companies hadto agree to land 25 per cent of theircatch in Canada and carry an at-seaobserver aboard the foreign vessels.

Galarneau says the Canadian compa-nies have yet to secure cod quotas. “It’sinevitable when you’re out there withotter trawls that you’re going to catchgroundfish,” she says.

Canada’s squid quota this year hasbeen set at 29,467 tonnes, the samelevel set in 2005. Galarneau couldn’tsay how much of this year’s squid quotahas been caught to date.

Sea Arrow and D’eon also applied in2004 to have foreign vessels catch theirsquid quotas. Galarneau says D’eonsuccessfully brought in a Korean ship,which caught 12 tonnes of squid over60 days.

The foreign vessel brought in by SeaArrow that year caught 100 tonnes ofsquid over July and August.

The squid fishery is not a stable fish-ery in that squid don’t show up in hugenumbers every year. Earle McCurdy,

president of the Fish, Food and AlliedWorkers’ union, says there was plentyof squid in Newfoundland waters thisyear. “Unfortunately, there was moresquid than there was market,” he says.

Local fish processors paid 15 cents apound for squid, which is widely usedfor bait, primarily in the crab fishery.

“Quite a number of companiesbought enough to satisfy their baitneeds for next year, with maybe limitedexceptions — which is largely a func-tion of that there happens to be a lot ofsquid around the world generally,”McCurdy says, adding he estimates6,000 tonnes of squid have been takento satisfy local markets.

He says landings would be signifi-cantly higher if there was a market for

squid. “I never heard tell of it,” saysMcCurdy when asked if he knew thatforeign vessels had been brought in tofish squid in Canadian waters.

When it became clear local fishplants weren’t interested in buyingmuch squid, McCurdy says the unionchecked into the possibility of sellingfish “over-the-side” to vessels at sea.“We weren’t able to pinpoint anyonewho had vessels available that wereinterested.”

McCurdy reiterated the union’s posi-tion that there must be a co-ordinatedapproach to marketing Newfoundlandseafood in a bid to maximize the return,“but also from the point of view ofproduct and market development.

“One of the problems you have with

a whole bunch of companies each outdoing their own thing is there’s notmuch co-ordination,” he says.“Whether any of that would havehelped in this year’s squid fishery isdebatable but certainly wouldn’t hurtus.”

McCurdy says the problem with thesquid fishery is there could be no squidfor years, followed by a squid glut.

“Having said that, squid respond towater temperatures so we’re on noticefor next year that we should be hustlingto identify possible homes for squid.”

The squid fishery on the BonavistaPeninsula ended in early August thisyear when Fishery ProductsInternational said it was no longer buy-ing squid at its plant in the town on the

island’s northeast coast.Bonavista deputy mayor Hedley

Butler told the CBC that fishermenwere counting on the season to last forat least five weeks.

Butler said there is an abundance ofsquid in the area, and he didn’t under-stand why FPI couldn’t find a food mar-ket for it.

“We have a squid fishery that can,you know, keep more people home andgive fishermen their unemployment andwe cannot do it,” he told the CBC.

“It’s very unfair, you know. I mean,millions and millions of people in theworld starving to death and we have afishery, a squid fishery. There’s lots ofsquid around and we cannot sell. It’sridiculous in this day and age.”

SEPTEMBER 3, 2006 INDEPENDENTNEWS • 3

Squid jiggin’groundsDomestic companies try to hire foreign vessels to fish squid in Canadian waters; ultimate prize may be cod

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A weekly collection of Newfoundlandia

So what exactlywas the “noise”that caused Dean

MacDonald to give uphis position on the boardof directors of AuroraEnergy on Tuesday, theday after he wasappointed? Well, noneother than the queen ofopen-line radio herself,Sue Kelland-Dyer, whobroke news of theappointment on her blog (weblog) earlier thisweek. Kelland-Dyer raised questions about poten-tial conflict of interest between the appointmentand MacDonald’s role as chair of Newfoundlandand Labrador Hydro.

Turns out that Aurora is heavy into uranium.The Michelin deposit in Labrador, which Auroraowns, is said to have enough uranium to powerover 40 million homes for an entire year.

Meantime, Hydro has expanded its mandate toinclude “any energy-related matters cabinet maysee fit to direct it to,” Kelland-Dyer pointed out.

“Mr. MacDonald — if you want to sit on a pri-vate or publicly traded energy boards, resign fromHydro,” she wrote. “Your interests must not seemto be in a conflict or potential conflict.”

Contacted by the local media, Macdonaldacknowledged there was “some noise” about apossible conflict with his appointment.

Kelland-Dyer never gets credit, which is allshe’s after …

MONKEY BUSINESSHandsome Rex Goudie did a fabulous job as

guest singer on Canadian Idol this week, but didyou notice what he wore on his wrist — a Pink,White and Greenbracelet. He also worethe colour of the oldflag at least once duringlast year’s show. Nowfor a spot of Rex trivia… what was the nameof Rex’s first band?Why none other thanPurple Monkey BombSquad. Not exactlydripping of outportflavour …

NORTHERN ROCKEFELLERThe September issue of The Globe and Mail’s

Report on Business magazine included a profile ofJohn Risley, “the northern Rockefeller.” Risley,well known in these parts as a shareholder inFishery Products International, which hasn’t faredso well since he took it over, is also chairman andfounder of Clearwater Seafoods.

According to the article, Risley’s first job wasmowing lawns (“an average lawn was $1; a biglawn was $2”). He started out dirt poor and earnedhis fortune in the lobster industry. “Risley says theRockefeller family, with its wealth and history of

noblesse oblige, is a model for his life,” read thearticle. “Over time, he’s made his share of ene-mies — most notably, when Clearwater took overFishery Products International from the provinceof Nova Scotia (minor boo boo there) — but itsurprises him to hear he has a reputation as atough guy.”

The next line was the sweetest of all, “Seeinghim murmuring to a dog cradled in his arms, hedoesn’t look so tough.” That’s the Risley we allknow and love …

BLAME GAMERisley also writes a column for Atlantic

Business magazine. In the September/Octoberissue he writes about taking a “shared responsibil-ity” for getting Newfoundland and Labrador backon its feet. “It may appear self-serving of me tosay so, but frankly it’s not helpful to retreat to aposition of simply allocating blame on otherswhether those others might include me, my corpo-rate interests or the government.” Risely’s right, ofcourse. I say we blame seals for everything …

UNION DUES Stella Thorne isn’t exactly a household name in

Newfoundland, but the Torbay native made hermark in Canada as a union activist. Thorneworked years ago as a cook at the old Newfound-land Hotel in St. John’s. She also served as record-ing secretary to local 779 of the internationalunion of Hotel and Restaurant Workers — for 38years. It was during that time, around the mid-1950s, that she negotiated what may have been the

first equal-pay-for-equal-work contract in Canada.In a column for the Ottawa Citizen, Janice Ken-

nedy wrote about Thorne and her life. Thorne,who passed away this past July, was the mother ofAustin Thorne, who’s married to John Crosbie’stequila drinking buddy, Sheila Copps.

Wrote Kennedy: “Before Mrs. Thorne made thebold move of putting the equal-pay principle onthe negotiating table, new contracts would invari-ably award raises and back pay to these inexperi-enced men. ‘And they not able to cook a herring.That’s true, now. That’s no lie or bluff.’ Thewomen would keep earning what they’d alwaysbeen earning.

‘When the time come for payday, they’d getabout 200 bucks, and you’d get about 30 or 40.That was scandalous. And I thought, you eithergot to get it, or get out of it altogether.’”

Rest in peace, Mrs. Thorne …

HEALTH STATS Finally, this week, some stats from the

Canadian Institute for Health Information.Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest rateof coronary artery bypass graft surgery in thecountry in both 2003/2004 and 2004/2005; theprovince had more registered and licensed practi-cal nurses —1,055 and 524 per 100,000 people —than the national average; and we also had thelowest rates of dentists (33 per 100,000 people)and dental hygienists (16 per 100,000 people) inthe country. Bad hearts and bad teeth but goodpeople to look after us …

[email protected]

SCRUNCHINS

Paul Daly/The Independent


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‘Out of whack’New electoral districts designed with old data


If you live in the greater St. John’s area, yournext vote may not count for as much as thevote of a rural Newfoundlander or Labra-

dorian. And unless things change, urban voteswill have even less impact overthe next 10 years.

The Electoral DistrictsBoundaries Commission is cur-rently conducting public hear-ings on the redefinition of theprovince’s 48 district bound-aries. The Electoral DistrictsBoundaries Act directed thecommission use data from the2001 census, now five years outof date, to define the bound-aries. The act also states theseboundaries will remain in effectfor a decade.

Duff Conacher, co-ordinatorof DemocracyWatch Canada,which bills itself as Canada’sleading democratic reform andgovernment accountabilityadvocacy group, says that’s notgood enough.

“There is no valid reason forbeing so out of date and also fordelaying further changes anoth-er 10 years,” Conacher tells TheIndependent.

Kelvin Parsons, former min-ister of Justice under LiberalRoger Grimes, and currentopposition Justice critic, saysthe electoral boundaries arebehind the time because theelection of 2003 was called inthe middle of the commission’sinquires. The commission didnot restart until 2004.

Tobias Macdonald, legal counsel for theboundaries commission, says those involvedhave no power to address the issues surroundingpopulation shifts since 2001, and no power tosuggest redrawing district boundaries soonerthan 10 years from the finalizing of the currentboundaries. Such changes could only come withan amendment to the act.

As the situation stands, district boundaries willnot reflect population decreases in some ruraldistricts since 2001. Nor will it take into accountthe growth in population on the northeast Avalon.

This disparity is set to grow. Next year’s elec-tion will be based on data six years out of date. If

the province continues the practice of fixed elec-tion dates, the 2016 election will be based onboundaries developed 14 years earlier.

“This is quite a serious oversight,” saysConacher. “The legislature should be making it apriority to adjust the system so that not only aremore recent (Statistics Canada) figures taken into

account, but that also adjust-ments be made in a shorter timeperiod so you don’t have along-term skewing of the seatdistribution.”

Commissioners are directedto divide the island portion ofthe province into 44 districtsand Labrador into four. Theymust set the boundaries basedon data obtained from the 2001census. The commission con-ducts hearings around theprovince to allow members ofthe general public have inputinto the process. Officials willthen forward their recommen-dations to the minister, whowill set the boundaries.

“There should be no problemfor the legislature to quicklymake an amendment (to theact) to shorten the time periodto something more reasonablelike three to five years, and tobase the current redistributionon more recent census,” saysConacher.

Failure to do so, saysConacher, seriously damagesthe public’s interest in having abalanced and fair district distri-bution system.

Kelvin Parsons says theprovince is “out of whack” forthe 2007 election.

He also says the system is not perfect. “It doesn’t matter at what point in time you do

it, the way our demographics are changing, it’salways going to be an issue, and I guess we’llnever have a truly valid system that has equalnumbers within each district,” says Parsons.

Parsons points out that geography is also a fac-tor in deciding electoral boundaries, with somerural districts having fewer voters than average.He cites Torngat Mountains as an example.

Parsons also wonders — if census figures con-tinue show our province’s population is shrinking— whether the province even needs 48 districts.

Justice Minister Tom Marshall could not becontacted for comment.


Wait time report incomplete: medical associationBy Mandy CookThe Independent

The association representing theprovince’s doctors says a recent report onimproved wait times for certain medical

procedures does not reflect the whole picture. Robert Ritter, executive director of the

Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Asso-ciation, says the clock starts ticking once apatient sees a specialist and stops when theyundergo surgery.

The report, released Aug. 22 by the province,does not include the time a patient may spendwaiting to get in to see a specialist after a refer-ral.

Securing an appointment with a general prac-titioner in the first place can also be difficult,due to a provincial shortage of family doctors.

“Some people might put off going to see thedoctor, which can be problematic because theyend up at the emergency room,” says Ritter.

“We also know many GPs spend an awful lotof time trying to track down specialists for theirpatients … A great deal of the whole wait timeproblem relates to the availability of the rightkind of professional expertise.”

Noel Brown, a GP in St. John’s for the past 39years, says wait times for many diagnostic pro-cedures and specialists are actually going up.

“It was better here 20 years ago than it is now,believe it or not,” he says. “Even routine proce-dures like bone density (tests) will take six toeight months. The situation for some of thesethings is just unreal. You would think you couldget a bone scan done fairly urgently on some-body with bone pain that you suspect mighthave metastatic cancer or something like that,but you just can’t.”

The report outlines an overall improvement incertain procedures, such as joint replacementsand cardiac surgery, in accordance with nationalbenchmarks. Ritter says the medical association

is pleased the provincial government is makingheadway in shortening some wait times, butsays its stretched some departments thin in itsattempt to do so.

“In order to accomplish what they did, theyreally did over-extend themselves,” says Ritter.“There are two vacancies (in radiation oncolo-gy) they’ve been trying to staff for some timenow and haven’t been able to get anybody. Soyou really have four oncologists doing the workof six.

“They cannot sustain that level of effort indef-initely which means we feel the prospect ofmaintaining the standard is adrift.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Healthsays the province bases its findings on thenational benchmark established by the federalgovernment last year.

“We are just following national standards likeevery other province in the country,” she says.

Ritter says additional data indicating the waittimes between booking an appointment with aGP through to an actual surgical procedurecould be easily built into any kind of reportingsystem.

“It wouldn’t be that hard to be tracking theinformation that we’re asking for or that we’resaying is important,” he says. “You don’t haveto be a rocket scientist to be able to capture thatkind of information.”

But it is the specific types of procedures out-lined in the report that Ritter is most concernedwith. For example, a hip replacement is an acutepain issue and can be resolved once the jointreplacement is complete. Ritter says there is “avery long wait” for those who experience chron-ic pain, including people suffering from arthritiswho must see a specialist numerous times inorder to be properly diagnosed.

“You have a situation where if the conditionprogresses over a year or two year period with-out some kind of intervention, some of it can beirreversible,” says Ritter.

“It doesn’t matter at what point in time

you do it, the way our demographics are changing, it’s

always going to be an issue, and I guess

we’ll never have a truly valid system

that has equal numberswithin each district.”

Kelvin Parsons


SHIPPINGNEWS

A secretariat for all seasonsFrom Smallwood to Tobin to Williams: how we got from ‘Great New Industry’ to ‘Rural Secretariat’

Your little tyke comes up to you,eyes full of innocent wonder,and asks: “Daddy, what’s a sec-

retariat?”Too quickly you may respond:

“She’s a bad person who tells liesbecause Daddy never laid a finger on… Oh.”

Quickly you attempt to mend yourfaux pas: “A famous racehorse?Something the United Nations is mag-goty with? Oh. Ah ha. My clever littleman!”

“A secretariat is something which,way back in poor Mr. Smallwood’stime, used to be called a Great NewIndustry. It costs politicians nothing, itmeans nothing but it has been afavourite trick of Newfoundland politi-cians for more than 60 years. Now, runalong and bug your mother.”

It’s a little more complicated thanthat, of course, but not much. It fallsinto the category of BS baffles brains.The unspeakable Tobin was a masterpractitioner who said things like, “Weintend to reopen the file and move itforward.”

This had a slight appearance of actu-ally meaning something. It meant noth-ing but another worm squirm. Tobin,

tutored in Ottawa, spewed them outnight and day … “this point in time,”“at the end of the day,” “down theroad.”

Keep those lips flapping and they’llnever catch on. Always a “task force”or a “new strategy” or a “rationaliza-tion” or a “royal commission” to dazzlethe dimwits. No later than Friday Iheard a brand new one (to me) whenthe Honourable Mr. Hickey spoke ofsomething called a “Senior WorkingOfficials Group.”

Spread a bit of jam on that and thevoters up the St. Barbe coast are likelyto leave the radio open-line showsalone for at least 48 hours.

How did we get from “Great NewIndustry” to “Rural Secretariat” in amere 60 years?

We really can’t call poor Mr.Smallwood the father of it. Joey merelytook a political trick as old as Buckley’sGoat and ran with it. And ran and ran.

Except for getting the same type ofsleazebag politician reelected, it gets usneither here nor there:

“The cow kicked Nelly in the belly inthe barn; didn’t do her any good, didn’tdo her any harm.”

As the old coots among us willremember, Smallwood got more than20 years out of the Great NewIndustries version.

THE QUAINT SPECTACLEIt was simple enough. Joey and a

small gang of his favourites would skipoff to foreign parts with the largeannouncement that they would returnwith a Great New Industry. They’d comeback with some large wooden crates anda German or two and declare it to be arubber plant or an eyeglass factory or anorange juice bottling works.

This quaint spectacle would dazzlethe great unwashed at least until theelection was over. Then, before toomany noticed the Great New Industryhad more holes than Swiss cheese,there would be another great announce-ment of another G.N.I.

In the latter days, the word got outand world-class carpetbaggers likeJohn Shaheen and John C. Doyle

saved Joey and pals those trips abroad.They kindly came here and relieved usof what tax breaks, resources and loosecash might be weighing us down.

Between then and now not much haschanged. Whenever we have somethingto give away there is always someoneto graciously relieve us. And politiciansto convince us they’ve brought us aday’s march nearer home.

Same tricks, different names. In thepresent day, the fishery is down to thelast tom cod, the lights are blinking outall along the coast, those who can havelashed the mattress to the roof of the carto brave the dangers of the untamedwest.

Although at a pinnacle of his popu-larity, a few murmurs against DannyDealhead have arisen. Has the MightyMite ignored a dicey present for someoily future? A murmur is all it takes tomake Danno’s beady little eyes shootdeath rays.

And, lo, he did gather together abouthim in a great hall all who were snivel-ing, all who were disquieted, all whowere fishless and did say unto them:You, you, you and you. You are herebyand henceforth to be a Great New RuralSecretariat.

Case closed, says Danny. Baymencan frig with fish; Townies to me and agassy tomorrow.

It is the extreme pomposity of thattitle, Rural Secretariat, which all butgives the game away. It might make acat laugh. Even the stunnedest Baymanmust snicker.

Tom Rideout is, we must suppose,hailed in Iceland as a part of the RuralSecretariat to make sure yet again thattheir codfish really do resemble ourcodfish. Dan Williams has traveled onwith the Townie Secretariat to Norwayto immerse themselves in oil.

I can see Secretariats become ournew Great New Industries.

Surely, those Secretariats will pup allover the place. Clones to begin withand then a breeding program. Hickey’s“Senior Working Officials Group”sounds mighty like a Secretariat inembryo.

Let me put in an early non-denomi-national word in. Let none of ourHonourable Gentlemen, no matter race,creed, politics, colour or class, suffer.For an Orange and GrapefruitSecretariat with a fact-finding trip toFlorida in March … ladies and gentle-men, the Honourable Eddie Joyce!

RAY GUYA poke in the eye

‘This is about people’s lives’Experienced highway plow operators may not be backBy Ivan MorganThe Independent

NAPE president Carol Furlongsays some of the people mostexperienced at winter high-

way maintenance are not coming backto work for the province.

“Many of our skilled workers arebeing laid off for the summer months,particularly the highway equipmentoperators,” she says.

“Because they get laid off, theyhave a choice: either take a reductionin salary by moving to a lower payingjob — unskilled, or take the summeroff. If they take the summer off, theyhave no income

“So they are going away to work.Now they are telling us ‘No, we arenot coming back. Why would wecome back when we don’t know fromyear to year if we are going to have ajob and furthermore, we are makingreally good money when we getaway?”

Furlong tells The Independent theprovince is losing the workers it needsto keep highways safe in winter.

She says this could be a safety issue. “At a time when people are scared

to be travelling the roads, because ofsleet and ice, you want to make sureyou have people there who know whatthey are doing.”

Furlong says some of them will notbe in place for the first snowfall, espe-

cially if it comes early.“We went to government last winter

and said, ‘you have to recall your peo-ple now because if you don’t do itnow, you’re not going to have themback in time.’ We don’t know whenthe snow is going to fall. Our weatheris very unpredictable and you have tohave your people in place. This isabout safety — this is about people’slives.”

She says there is little incentive formany of these skilled workers toreturn to the province.

“You can’t expect someone to drophis job in Alberta to come home on thechance that he might be called up.He’s not going to do it. And norshould he,” says Furlong.

She says the irony of some govern-ment initiatives can be frustrating.

“The government is having townhall meetings to try and find out howto keep skilled workers in theprovince, while they are laying offtheir own skilled workers.”

NAPE president Carol Furlong Paul Daly/The Independent

“You can’t expect someoneto drop his job in Alberta

to come home on thechance that he might be

called up. He’s not going todo it. And nor should he.”

Carol Furlong

Keeping on eye on the comings and going of the ships in St. John’s harbour.Information provided by the Coast Guard Traffic Centre.

MONDAYVessels Arrived: Rebecca, America, from Twillingate; ASL Sanderling,Canada, from Halifax; Maersk Dispatcher, Canada, from Orphan Basin;Maersk Chancellor, Canada, from White Rose.Vessels Departed: Oceanex Avalon, Canada, to Montreal.

TUESDAYVessels Arrived: Olivia, Norway, from Faroes; Maersk Detector, Canada, fromOrphan Basin.Vessels Departed: ASL Sanderling, Canada to Corner Brook; MaerskNascopie, Canada, to Hibernia; Olivia, Norway, to sea; Maersk Placentia,Canada, to Hibernia.

WEDNESDAYVessels Arrived: Diamond Star, Canada, to Quebec; Atlantic Hawk, Canada,from White Rose; Sauniere, Canada, from Grand Entrée.Vessels Departed: Maersk Chancellor, Canada, to Terra Nova; MaerskDispatcher, Canada, to Orphan Basin; Diamond Star, Canada, to Holyrood.

THURSDAYVessels Arrived: Jean Charcot, Britain, from sea; Maersk Nascopie, Canada,from Hibernia; Maersk Placentia, Canada, from Hibernia; Cabot, Canada, fromMontreal.

FRIDAYVessels Arrived: Burin Sea, Canada, from Conception Bay; Resa Angler,Norway, from Orphan Basin; Cicero, Canada, from Halifax.Vessels Departed: Cabot, Canada, to Montreal; Resa Angler, Canada, toOrphan Basin; Burin Sea, Canada, to Terra Nova; Sauniere, Canada, to GrandeEntrée; Cicero, Canada, to Montreal.

A LITTLE OF YOUR TIME ISALL WE ASK. CONQUERING THE

UNIVERSE IS OPTIONAL.Think it requires heroic efforts to be a Big Brother or Big Sister?

Think again. It simply means sharing a few moments with a child. Play catch.Build a doghouse. Or help take on mutant invaders from the planet Krang.

That’s all it takes to transform a mere mortal like yourself into a super hero whocan make a world of difference in a child’s life. For more information...

Big Brothers Big Sistersof Eastern Newfoundland

1-877-513KIDS (5437) www.helpingkids.ca


A fishing storyAttention Newfoundlanders out

for a fight — this column’s foryou.

You may have read a news piecethis week about a Portuguese trawlercited for illegal fishing. TheIndependent had the story naileddown but it broke in another mediabefore we could get it to print.Normally the story would have beendropped altogether at that point, butthe article’s author missed a criticalpoint.

Wait for it …The Joana Princesa was caught

with its pants down on Aug. 25 in theact of raping the Grand Banks ofNewfoundland.

Rape is a harsh, harsh word that’sonly used these days in Americancourts, but it’s a lot stronger thanCanada’s word for the crime, sexualassault, and a much more fittingdescription for what foreigners doevery day — decade in, decade out —to our precious fishing grounds.

Two Canadian inspectors aboard azodiac snuck up on the trawler just asit was pulling in its net. The inspectorsasked to be allowed on board, but theforeign crew ignored them. (No. 1 slapin the face for the fighting

Newfoundlanders keeping count.)One of the two determined inspec-

tors then maneuvered the zodiacalongside the Princesa (not exactly aname befitting a rapist), while the sec-ond officer dared a high seas boarding.The Portuguese wouldn’t lower aboarding ladder. (No. 2 slap in the face— the Canadian inspector could havebeen killed.)

Both inspectors eventually got onboard to find the Portuguese had beenfishing with a liner inside their net.The foreign crew tried to get rid of theevidence, but they weren’t quickenough for our high seas lawmen.

A liner was once described to me asan onion bag — water and stuntedplankton are about all that can getthrough. Whatever fish the foreigncrew was chasing that day didn’t standa chance.

The Canadian inspectors then wait-ed on board the foreign trawler for aday and a half until an European

Union patrol vessel could steam totheir coordinates and verify the cita-tion. In fact, the EU officers found theillegal liner was even smaller than theCanadians had reported — fish thesize of pens and pencils were about allthat could swim through its mesh (oh,for the days of palm-sized catches).

CITATION STUCKIn the end, the citation stuck. The

Canadian inspectors were picked upby their mother ship and the EU patrolboat went on its way.

Before I get to what happened to thePortuguese rapist/trawler, I shouldmention a little about the vessel’s his-tory. The Princesa (there’s that sweetname again) was cited in December2004 for illegally catching more thanfive tonnes of American plaice, aspecies under moratoria.

In that particular incident, Canadianinspectors boarded the JoanaPrincesa and discovered theunprocessed plaice on the ship’s deck.The inspectors found even more fishwhen the net was pulled in (like youwould).

In 2003, the same vessel was issuedthree citations, including one forexceeding the five per cent bycatch

limit for American plaice. It was alsocharged in 2001 for using small-meshgear.

In other words, the Portuguesetrawler is a serial rapist.

So what became of the Princesaonce the citation was issued and theauthorities went on their way?

Wait for it …Contacted in Brussels, Fisheries

Minister Loyola Hearn patted theCanadian government on the back fordoing such a good job, which they are,of keeping check on the foreign fleets.“We have a constant presence andhave done a very good job in monitor-ing,” Hearn was quoted as saying.

NAFO REFORMATIONHe’s a firm believer NAFO can be

reformed. Forget the fact thatNewfoundland politicians have beentrying to do that for a generation, start-ing with Smallwood in ’71.

Hearn’s a believer. He’s trying toput teeth into an organization that’sbeen toothless since the day it wasborn. He will fail like the ministersbefore him.

Countries such as Norway havebegun taking a heavier hand againstSpanish and Portuguese vessels,

known there as “trawler pirates.”Dozens of fishing vessels have beenarrested, but even that doesn’t seem tobe working.

In July, the captain and owner of aSpanish trawler arrested for illegalfishing in Norwegian watersannounced they had no intention ofpaying fines levied against them bylocal police — who don’t seem to beable to do much about it.

What’s clear is that countries adja-cent to fish resources must have thepower to enforce quotas and arrestships. Diplomacy is a joke — Loyolais a fool if he believes otherwise.

So what happened to the JoanaPrincesa once the authorities went ontheir way? What was the repeat rapistallowed to do as soon as it wasreleased on the Grand Banks ofNewfoundland after being caught red-handed?

The answer is a perfect example ofwhy custodial management is our onlyprayers and the Conservative govern-ment must be forced to live up to itscommitments, come hell or highwater.

The Princesa resumed fishing.

[email protected]

Andy Wells, the infamously out-spoken mayor of St. John’s,made a statement last week

during the city council meeting aboutHeavenly Creatures, the five-year-oldSt. John’s animal charity of which I ampresident and co-founder.

He said the SPCA has to do the “dirtywork” of euthanizing unwanted ani-mals. The mayor said humane servicesis “constantly bombarded witheuthanasia requests” from HeavenlyCreatures.

We’ve asked for proof and an apolo-gy — we’ve yet to receive either.

What Mayor Wells said aboutHeavenly Creatures was slanderous.We should sue, but we don’t have themoney or the energy to fight City Hall.We are too busy and broke fighting thekind of ignorance that brings a skinny,cowering puppy in through our doors atmidnight.

Truth is, we save the city money bytaking care of animals that would oth-erwise end up at humane services. Weare constantly bombarded by calls fromconcerned owners who can no longerkeep their pet, and would rather bringtheir pet to us than deal with the city.These people don’t want their pet tohave a matter of days to a couple ofweeks to find a new home before being“put to sleep.” We reduce the city’s“dirty work” — not add to it.

The mayor also said he wanted toinform the public that HeavenlyCreatures has no credibility. He askedwhere our shelter is located. “Whereare its employees? Its money? Its vol-unteers?”

Since the mayor has refused to meetwith us, or even talk to us on the phone,we can only hope he reads TheIndependent.

Heavenly Creatures has a no-kill pol-icy, which means that every animal wetake in is guaranteed a home unlessthey become unadoptable through sick-ness or aggression.

No-kill shelters are becoming moreand more common.

Out of nearly 1,000 animals that

have come into our care, we’ve eutha-nized 12. We took them (with heavyhearts) — not to Humane Services orthe SPCA — but to veterinarians. Wehave the receipts to prove it.

Our shelter is a network of fosterhomes where animals typically spendless than two months until adopted.Volunteers are the heart and soul of theorganization. They open their homes tostarving dogs, old cats, frightened kit-tens (even iguanas) and treat them liketheir own until they find permanentplacement. What better shelter couldyou ask for?

Heavenly Creatures has rigorousscreening procedures and lawyer-approved, fostering and adoption appli-cations and contracts.

From our office at 127 Queens Rd.(up the street from City Hall — MayorWells doesn’t have far to go if he everdecides to seek the truth) we field anaverage of 30 calls/e-mails daily.Everything from people seeking to giveup their pet to lost animal calls — evencalls about injured birds.

We work with other rescue groups,and we’re on the go at all hours, puttingmaximum energy into minimizing thesuffering of the helpless.

Our money comes from the sweat ofour brows and the kindness of hundreds

of supporters. We charge adoption fees,hold fundraisers such as flea marketsand walk-a-thons and concerned, gen-erous people and businesses mail ordrop off donations. We are currentlyensuring that 40 foster animals havefood, shelter — and love.

When I was a little girl, I read and re-read a story the local SPCA ran in theirnewsletter about Mayor Wells finding astray dog trapped under a wharf —threatened by the incoming tide. Wellswent to the trouble to hire a scuba div-ing company to save that dog. I was fullof admiration.

This is why I believe that in the caseof Heavenly Creatures, Wells has beensadly misinformed. Would he only takethe time to meet with us I think hewould find that we have a lot in com-mon.

Heavenly Creatures understands thatsometimes euthanasia is the mosthumane thing for a sick animal, andsometimes a necessary evil for a home-less animal if there is no alternative.The tragedy is that because of the over-population problem there is an enor-mous amount of homeless animals; therescue organizations in our provincecombined couldn’t house them all.

However, we feel strongly that masseuthanization is not the long-termanswer — spaying and neutering pro-grams, and educations programs are.Newfoundland and Labrador is one ofthe few remaining places in NorthAmerica that doesn’t have some kindof spay and neutering assistance. In St.John’s, you can bring your animal tothe city to be euthanized for free, butcan’t get help with getting it fixed.That’s one of the reasons why the localbranch of the SPCA and the City of St.John’s humane services division wereforced to euthanize over 2,000 animalslast year. Most of those animals — anumber equivalent to the human popu-lation of Glovertown — were healthy.

That’s just not good enough.

Jessica Rendell is president ofHeavenly Creatures.

‘Sadly misinformed’

RYAN CLEARYFightingNewfoundlander

YOURVOICE

Button A or button B?Dear editor,

In the blizzard of rhetoric that sur-rounds the fisheries some things havebecome more clear and some thingsless clear. What is clearer is thatOttawa does not care about the fish-eries and it cares even less about thepeople of Newfoundland. What isless clear is why Ottawa does not careabout the fisheries. This resource ispotentially the most valuable in all ofCanada, worth more than all the tim-ber and oil and nickel. This is food,the most vital resource there is. Therest of the world appreciates the valueof this resource, as they are all herecarting it away. It is clear thatNorway knows the value of fish, asthey have taken the necessary steps torestore their fishery.

Timber has to be replanted. Oil isgoing to run out. Corn, wheat, rapeand other crops have to be replantedevery year and fertilized and tilledand harvested at greater and greaterexpense. All that has to be done withthe fish is to be careful not to kill itoff. If this were any other naturalresource, Ottawa would not allow allthe nations that are out taking fish,with and without quotas, to come toCanada and take them away.

I can imagine Spain being allowedto come to Canada and harvest tim-ber, and while they were at it steal acouple of million board feet now andthen. I don’t think anyone would bequite so sanguine about Portugalpumping oil on the continent andswiping a couple of thousand barrels

while they were at it.The mantra I hear from DFO is “we

need more science.” A tenth graderemedial biology student knows thereare three sure-fire ways to eliminate aspecies from the planet: one, hunt itto extinction; two, take away its habi-tat; and three, take away its foodsource. All three of those things arebeing done at the same time to thefish stock. The solutions are easy tocite, politically difficult to effect. ButI think they are achievable and wellworth the effort.

Take over custodial managementof the 200-hundred mile limit and thecontinental shelf, including the noseand tail of the Grand Banks.

Stop all dragging.Stop caplin fishing.Stop all foreign fishing.If the nations of the world want

fish, they can buy it or trade it. Theyshould not be allowed to come andtake it away. Since the moratorium,Ottawa, DFO, and successive minis-ters of Fisheries have done little tochange the causes of the collapse ofthe fish stocks. There is a saying thatgoes: If you push button A and you donot like the response you get, stoppushing button A. It seems to me thatthe people of Newfoundland arejumping up and down on button Aand nothing is changing.

It is a daunting thought, but it couldbe that button B is Pink, White andGreen.

Dick Ellsworth,Elliston

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

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

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JESSICARENDELLGuest column

Dear editor,I was talking to someone at

Metrobus in St. John’s the other dayabout the fact that Route 3 is latequite often this summer. I forgot tomention that this is not a new occur-rence. I have been using Route 3since 1997 and if I recall correctly Ihave had trouble with the route beinglate for a number of summers sincethen. It is even more difficult to getRoute 3 to be on time on Fridays,especially in the summer. As farback as 1997 during the summerseason there is always some harbourconstruction or other work on WaterStreet, or some kind of festival thatends up holding up traffic and ensur-ing buses will be late. Surely, we areall aware of the fact that there will be

traffic problems and so on. I mean theradio and TV stations always givenotice that there are going to be traf-fic problems in the downtown areabecause of construction and so on.

Regarding the harbour constructionthis year, we were all well aware forweeks before the summer that therewould be traffic delays because of theconstruction. Why didn’t Metrobusdecide to reroute the buses then?

In future, I am hoping thatMetrobus will keep abreast of thetraffic reports and reroute certainbuses ahead of time when we have allbeen warned in advance that con-struction on certain routes will inter-fere with traffic flow.

Sheila Hunters,St. John’s

Missing the bus

Since the mayor hasrefused to meet with us, or even talk to us on thephone, we can only hope

he reads The Independent.


YOURVOICE

Dear editor,On July 31, Clyde Jackman re-

leased to the public a managementplan outlining the steps to be taken toprotect wildlife species listed as vul-nerable under provincial endangeredspecies legislation. At the time theminister said, “Management plans out-line a course of actions primarilyaimed at ensuring that avulnerable species doesnot become threatenedor endangered.” In-cluded in this specieslist was the five-yearmanagement plan forboreal felt lichen.

Unfortunately, despitethe minister’s goodintentions all indicationsare that the boreal feltlichen management planhas failed its first test.One of the most signifi-cant recommendationsin the management plan was thatbefore logging or other developmentscould take place in potential boreal feltlichen habitat, field surveys wouldhave to be conducted to determine thestatus of the species. And if the lichenwas present then landscape manage-ment protection rather than the unilat-eral 20-meter buffer used by forestryduring this past decade would super-sede. Further, if the boreal felt lichenwere found in tree stands where a pro-posed development could affect itssurvival this would trigger an evalua-tion of the stand.

As a contributing member to thedevelopment of the boreal felt lichenmanagement plan I was led to believethe plan would allow our wildlife divi-sion to have significant input intofuture logging operations, specificallyas it pertained to lichen conservation.

Sadly but not surprising, our seniorforestry bureaucrats have shown usonce again just how insignificant the

Department of Conservation andEnvironment is and has been duringthe past three decades when it comesto protecting wildlife habitat fromclear-cut logging.

The irrelevance of the department isdemonstrated by forestry’s decision toignore the boreal felt lichen manage-ment plan and construct a 3.5 km

access road into the finalstand of commercial oldgrowth forest left on theAvalon located nearOcean Pond. The area isa known boreal feltlichen habitat and a fullassessment of thespecies is required underthe provincial Endan-gered Species Act beforeany development takesplace.

Since I have alreadydocumented over 300boreal felt lichen on 180

trees in the area and made applicationto have the area designated a wildlifereserve all the necessary criteria isthere for the minister to trigger inter-vention by endangered species andbiodiversity wildlife division.

In addition this road will cost tax-payers around $100,000 to build andcould end up being a waste of publicfunds if the area should prove to beworthy of protection or if the borealfelt lichen population is significantenough to restrict the amount of avail-able timber.

I call on Minister Jackman to haltconstruction of the Halls Gul-lies/Neil’s Pond/Round Pond Westaccess road and show us for once thatunlike his predecessors he is not justanother forestry puppet.

Eugene Conway,Newfoundland Lichen Education

and Research Group,Conception Harbour

There are people out there youshould never trifle with. I fearDale Worthman and Kimberly

Lockyer found this out — tragically, toolate — in the last hours of their lives.

My apologies to the friends and rela-tions of Dale Worthman and KimLockyer if this column offends them. Iam trying to make a point.

I live in St. Philip’s, and I was livingthere in 1993, and I remember 13 yearsago when they disappeared in ominouscircumstances. I remember it well. I hadfour young children, with friends in thesame neighbourhood where these peo-ple lived. The circumstances at the timeclearly pointed to the two having beenmurdered. That was very upsetting.

St. Philip’s was, as it is today, a smallbedroom satellite of St. John’s — aplace where people raise their kids. Alot of people had questions at the time,wondering what happened to Worthmanand Lockyear. There was a lot of specu-lation and rumour. It was scary. As timepassed, many of us came to the sameconclusion.

Now we know we were right, and I

have questions — and I suspect a lot ofothers have them too. And I want themanswered.

The police are very spare with theirinformation, and they use a lot oflegalese and euphemism to describe thesituation as it currently stands. Thecoroner says they were both shot todeath. Does he mean executed?

A pond was searched, but no one willsay what they were looking for. In lightof the fact we have the bodies, whywon’t they say they were searching forthe murder weapon? Are we are all sup-posed to stay on the sidelines, mind ourbusiness and let the professionals dotheir job?

Not good enough.Why weren’t the bodies found earli-

er? They were buried in a bog up a sideroad in the community. Did it not occur

to anyone 13 years ago to check the sideroads in the very community where theydisappeared for recently disturbed soilor vegetation? Did no one think to lookin areas where it was relatively easy todig? As a wise acquaintance observedrecently, “Do you know how hard it is todig a hole in Newfoundland?” That nar-rows the options.

Assuming, as most of us in my com-munity did, that these two did not runaway to points unknown, would it nothave been reasonable to then try and putoneself in the minds of the evil personor people who did this?

Someone committing an intentionaland pitiless double murder would nec-essarily want to quickly dispose of the“evidence” and then get away as fast aspossible. So they went up a local sideroad, dug a hole where it was easy todig a hole, dispensed with the twounfortunates, and took off. Do they livein the community today?

What upsets me the most is it seemsto have worked. Has crime paid for themurderer of these two? Did our policeforce do a competent job searching for

them at the time? No doubt this ques-tion pisses them off, but Brenda Youngwas murdered that same summer, andpolice insisted at the time, and for yearsafterwards, they knew what they weredoing in that case. They didn’t.

My point here is not to take cheapshots at or anger the RNC. My point isto try and make the RNC brass realizethe people who pay the salaries of theRNC — the taxpayers — need to bemore confident in them.

We need to be better informed. I thinkthe RNC needs to look at its image andits communications strategy.Continuing to issue terse statementsisn’t enough. Today’s force is, I hope, adifferent force from the one in 1993.But it is still a culture that is spare withinformation and takes the attitude thatwe should all shut up and let them dotheir jobs, which was their attitude withthe Randy Druken and Greg Parsonscases.

Am I saying the RNC lacks compe-tence? I hope not. But they need to besensitive to the fact that we need toknow more.

Two people were “shot to death” inour community, and then buried right inour community, and the crime is stillnot solved. This is not good.

Can we get an explanation why theyweren’t found earlier? Can we get someindication why they were found now? Ifnot, can we get an indication of why wecan’t be told? Does anyone besides mewonder about the competency of theoriginal search? Can we get an explana-tion of exactly what was done to lookfor them 13 years ago? What were thecriteria for searching then? Was the areawhere they were eventually foundsearched back then?

I hope the investigators on this caseare as frustrated as I am — it will keepthem sharp on the trail of this terribledeed. With the discovery of theirremains, we now have two mysteriessurrounding the Worthman and Lockyercase: who are the people who did thisterrible thing, and was enough done tocatch them?

Ivan Morgan can be reached [email protected]

Police have explaining to doIVAN MORGANRant & Reason

STABBING IN THE EAST ENDEnvironment minister mustprove he’s not just another‘forestry puppet’

Dear editor,Glen Ford is dead. Many of our

youth will ask who the hell is GlennFord? The more cynical will quip,who gives a damn?

He was a movie star born in Quebecin 1916 and moved to Hollywood andacted and starred in about 100 films.

Who gives a damn? We do, all thebaby boomers out there who spentuntold hours sitting in FatherMeaney’s Theater, Jim and MadelineBasha’s Vogue Theater in the town ofWindsor, or in Charlie Edward’sPopular Theater in Grand Falls.

It was not because there was littlefor young people to do in those days

of the 1950s and early ’60s, becausewe trouted, made home-made snowskis and kites, and toboggans andhunted for bird nests and picked andsold blueberries. I can still recall shak-ing up the Brookfield glass quart milkbottle just before knocking on the doorof a potential customer to bring thesunken berries to the top of the bottleagain. All was fair in selling blueber-ries from the Burnt Woods, especiallyat 35 cents a quart.

As for bird nests, there was nogrander sight in human experiencethan to look deep down into a robin’snest and see three or four robin-eggblue ovals there, or into a sparrow’s

nest with its speckled eggs. Or tostand quietly in a small stream such asAspen Brook as it talked to you withits golden waters passing over smallpebbles on a sunny day and then feelthat tug on your line. Any child whomisses these joys has not lived.

Another game was follow-the-leader. Our buddy, Bill Barrett, John-ny Chaulk’s grandson, could leap overhigher posts than anyone else and sohe always won the day and when play-ing cowboys his first cousin, RoyReid, because he had Roy Rogers’Christian name, a most tenuous rela-tionship at best, would refuse to liedown and die when he was legitimate-

ly shot.Then there were the surreptitious

“smokes” made from dried alderleaves, crumpled up and wrapped inbrown paper. God, how we had to pre-tend they were just fine as we gaspedour way through one.

It was in those same woods too thatwe made our bows and arrows fromthe alder saplings and fired them pointblank at each other. Of course, unlikeGeorge Bush’s war, we never killed oreven injured anyone for our lopsidedarrows were like our lop-sided kites— they were off balance and neveroperated properly.

Oh yes, I was talking about Glen

Ford or Rocky Lane or the LoneRanger and Tonto or Batman orJohnny Mac Brown or Smiley Burnettor Lash La Rue or Whip Wilson orJohn Wayne or Gene Autry or WalterBrennan or Ma and Pa Kettle and their99 kids. So who gives a damn? Webaby boomers do. For all this andmuch more was our childhood and weenjoyed each and every activity andevery character that passed through it.

Rest in peace, Mr. Ford. Job welldone, old sport.

Aubrey Smith,Grand Falls-Windsor

Simple tale of childhood

‘Fancy words’ for killing salmonDear editor,

I read with interest Paul Smith’s arti-cle on hook and release (The art ofhook and release, Aug. 20 edition). Iam constantly amazed how people likeSmith offer opinions as to why hookand release deters poaching when infact they are completely wrong. Can hetell me from what scientific study hegot this information? My 25 years ofresearch of the scientific evidence tellsme that this does not exist. They alwaysuse the words “my experience” and thisis a problem. Their experience provesnothing. Anglers on a river do not deterpoachers in any way and this is onemyth that needs to be put to bed onceand for all.

For Smith to state that mortality rate

from hook and release is low is doingthe salmon a grave injustice. Hook andrelease kills salmon. For Smith to go onand on at great length about how hereleases the salmon gently is nothingbut fancy words and does not ensurethe salmon’s survival.

Scientific studies done and acceptedworld wide prove that hook and releasehas a profound negative effect onsalmon behavior and does lead tosalmon mortality. Whenever a salmonis played and handled it weakens to thepoint the fish is easy target for predato-ry birds, eels, mergansers etc. This isscientifically proven — not “my expe-rience.”

I have spent 25 years researching andstudying this issue and I would need a

dozen issues of your paper to cite thescientific material that proves that hookand release kills salmon. Even, DFOadmits to a 12-25 per cent mortalityrate for hook and release of salmon. IfDFO admits to this much, you can betyour rubber boots that the number ismuch higher.

To finish, let me state that severalcountries have now banned the practiceof hook and release. Why? Becausetheir expert scientific advice advisesthem that hook and release killssalmon. But here in Canada, it is not thescientific evidence that dictates therules but the wealthy people with thebig bucks.

Rick Bouzan,St. John’s

Clyde Jackman Police park outside 7 Coaker Pl., St. John’s , where an alleged stabbing has lead to the death of a 27-year-old male. Few details are available,other than police say they suspect “foul play.” The residence is listed under Nuhi Mustafa in the phone book.



INCAMERA

Fine Gael TD Michael Lowry confronted by journalists on his way out of the Dailin 1995. Paul Daly/Photocall Ireland

Fianna Fail TD and former Justice minister Ray Burke. Eamonn Farrell/Photocall IrelandBusinessman Ben Dunne of Dunnes Stores shakes hands with Fianna Fail Leader Charles Haughey in 1986. Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland

A small protest as former Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, arrives to give evidence at the Moriarty Tribunal in Dublin Castle. Joe Dunne/Photocall Ireland Ireland

family business. In the nasty court bat-tle that followed, one member of theDunne family sued to discover where alarge sum of company money had goneduring her brother’s time as chairman.

“In the litigation that followed, anaffidavit was produced which showedpayments which he (Dunne) had madeto the former Taoiseach, and that’s whatbroke the whole thing open,” saysConnolly.

That Taoiseach at the time wasCharles Haughey. Haughey, who diedlast June, was a giant in Irish politics.Coming from a humble working classbackground, his career spanneddecades. He was one of the most pow-erful politicians in the history of Irishpolitics.

Known as the great survivor,Haughey weathered many scandalsthrough his career, including being puton trial for gunrunning to Northern

Ireland in the early 1980s (acquitted),and the revelation in 1982 that a murdersuspect was found at the home of hisattorney general.

But allegations he accepted hugecash payments from wealthy businesspeople over a period of 30 years — theaccusation that he was essentially“kept” by the wealthiest people in Irishbusiness throughout his career,spawned investigations still goingtoday.

One such tribunal — the MoriarityTribunal — was struck to investigatecorruption allegations against Haugheyand one of his ministers, MichaelLowry.

Haughey claimed under oath he knewnothing of payments made to him byDunne. Later Dunne admitted, alsounder oath, having paid him, and hereleased the cancelled cheques to thetribunal.

This was a devastating blow to therespected elder statesman. Haughey

was guilty of lying under oath andobstructing the tribunal.

He was charged in connection withthis incident, but, as Connolly says, “bya curious accident one of the membersof government … said in an interviewin the late 1990s that she thought Mr.Haughey should go to jail for what hedid. As a result of that it was decidedthat he couldn’t get a fair trial and thecase against him was dismissed.”

Connolly says even though thiswoman was known as a political enemyof Haughey, and had at one time left thegovernment because of him, it is “hardto know” what her motivations were.She did apologize, but the damage wasdone. “She was not a stupid woman,”says Connolly.

Ahern, the current prime minister, isalso implicated. He was called by theMoriarity tribunal and told them that,while serving as treasurer of their polit-ical party, Fianna Fáil, he regularlysigned blank cheques for Haughey, who

was Taoiseach at the time. Ahern was aware Haughey used the

money to pay for his expensivelifestyle, which included exclusiverestaurants, cars, silk Charvest shirtsfrom Paris, as well as his mistress’expenses. The money came from aFianna Fáil political fund called TheLeadership Fund.

Ahern survived the allegations andwas re-elected Taoiseach in 2002. Heclaims although these practices are“irregular,” it was the way things weredone in Fianna Fáil at the time.

In 1998, it was decided Haughey didnot owe significant tax on the moneyhe’d taken. The man who made thatdecision — a member of the appeals tri-bunal of the Irish revenue commission-er — is the brother-in-law of Ahern, theman who signed Haughey’s blankcheques.

Says Connolly: “Ahern’s predeces-sor, as leader of the party, has receivedup to £8 million, and possibly more, in

‘Only two politicians went to prison …’

From page 1

“...by a curious accident one of the members of government … said in an interview in the late1990s that she thought Mr. Haughey should go to jail for what he did. As a result of that it was decided that he

couldn’t get a fair trial and the case against him was dismissed.”

Frank Connolly


Former Fianna Fail leader and Taoiseach Charles Haughey (left) with future leader Bertie Ahern at a Fianna Fail Ard Fheis. Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland Taoiseach Charles Haughey, stands at a window in Leinster House. Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Former Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fail, Charles Haughey\ leaves the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin after hisappearance to answer charges of obstructing the McCracken Tribunal into payments to politicians, was adjourned fortwo weeks. The McCracken Tribunal established that Haughey, while holding the position of Taoiseach, accepted largesums of money from business man Ben Dunne, to support his extravagant lifestyle.

Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Charles Haughey Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Taoiseach and Fianna Fail leader Bertie Ahern speaking at the funeral of Former Taoiseach Charles Haugheys in StFintans Graveyard in Sutton County Dublin. Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Newspapers across the country carry the news of former Taoiseach Charles Haugheys death, June 14 2006. Graham Hughes/Photocall Ireland

payments from the wealthiest businesspeople in Irish society.

“He claimed — and indeed thesebusinessmen gave evidence to the effect— that where they remembered makingthe payments, there were no politicalfavours given in return. And that is whatthe tribunal has been investigating.

“These are people who, for instance,own or who are the largest propertydevelopers in the state, and who havemanaged to acquire over a period of 20or more years very lucrative govern-ment leases — even though they woulddeny and Mr. Haughey would deny hehas any influence in making sure thatthey got those leases.”

Connolly says these are the kind ofstatements the Irish public has beenasked to believe from their former andcurrent leaders in politics and business.

Ahern is also under investigation byother tribunals struck to look into cor-ruption.

Connolly wrote the original story

about Ahern’s colleague Ray Burke andpayments he received from a propertydeveloper in return for rezoning prom-ises in Dublin, which created thePlanning and Payments Tribunal (alsoongoing).

Connolly says he personally warnedAhern about evidence he had of Burkereceiving bribes. Ahern stated he wouldnot have Burke in his cabinet. Twoweeks later, he made him his ministerfor foreign affairs.

Four months after that, as the detailsof the allegations were circulated morewidely, Burke resigned as minister andmember of parliament. A tribunal wasset up to look into the allegations,which eventually led to dozens of politi-cians being exposed for taking corruptpayments from property developers andbuilders.

This same tribunal is currently tryingto establish the facts on allegationsAhern received illicit payments of£80,000 between 1989 and 1992. That

investigation has been delayed foralmost five years because of high courtappeals by people who are involved, tostop the tribunal from investigatingtheir affairs.

Connolly says the tribunal is current-ly bogged down and Ahern, having sur-vived the 2002 vote, is looking towardsnext year’s elections and hoping that thetribunal won’t get into that examinationbefore the ballots are cast.

While it may seem incredible toCanadians that a prime minister wouldeven consider re-election under suchcircumstances, Connolly says whilethese allegations might be fatal to apolitical career in some countries, suchis not the case in Ireland.

In fact, it is the tribunals, having costthe Irish taxpayers hundreds of millionsof Irish pounds, that are causing peopleto grumble.

“The public have now watched eightor nine years of tribunal investigationsinto corruption and they are not con-

vinced that it is good value for theirmoney,” says Connolly.

“Lawyers have become very wealthyas a result of the process, but only twopoliticians went to prison, and nobodyin high places has suffered any particu-lar punishment as a result of theseinvestigations.”

Most, but not all, of the people found

to have taken payments have beenforced from politics.

In a statement issued after Haughey’sdeath, Ahern said this of his formerboss: “In recent times, these achieve-ments have become clouded by the rev-elations that are the subject of inquiryby the Moriarty Tribunal. History willhave to weigh up both the credit and thedebit side more dispassionately thanmay be possible today but, I have nodoubt its ultimate judgement on Mr.Haughey will be a positive one.”

Connolly is not so sure. As these tri-bunals and journalists do their work, hewonders if Ahern’s own political daysare numbered

Some say, were it not for businessmagnate Ben Dunne’s over-indulgencein cocaine, none of this would have everbeen revealed.

Connolly disagrees. He laughs as heutters the credo that keeps every jour-nalist focussed: “Ah, they are all foundout in the end, aren’t they?”

“The public have nowwatched eight or nine years

of tribunal investigationsinto corruption and they arenot convinced that it is good

value for their money.”

Frank Connolly


‘The sound of voices drifting in’Ontario-born Norman Duncan introduced the world to Newfoundland through fiction

LIFESTORY

NORMAN DUNCAN1871-1916

By Keith CollierFor The Independent

Norman Duncan was a traveller. He had alove of adventure and of strong, physi-cal people living in remote places.

No wonder he fell in love withNewfoundland.

Duncan was born in Brantford, Ont. in July1871. His family’s constant relocationsthroughout his childhood gave way to Duncan’sown restlessness as an adult. After severalunsuccessful years at the University of Toronto,Duncan was on the move, travelling and chang-ing residences frequently.

Duncan’s only real success at university wasa friendship with Mackenzie King, the futureprime minister of Canada. The friendship wouldlast the rest of Duncan’s life, and King alwayssupported Duncan and his writing.

Duncan had been writing since high school,but it wasn’t until his move to New York in1897 he began to earn a reputation as a writer.He wrote for the Evening Post and The AtlanticMonthly, and his first book, The Soul of theStreet, was published in 1900.

In the early 1900s, American readers werehungry for stories of adventure and exploration.Newfoundland and Labrador was seen as anundeveloped, unexplored northern frontier, anda prime location for the stories and articles mag-azines of the time were looking for.

With his combination of literary ambitionsand wanderlust, it wasn’t long before Duncanheaded north. He left New York in the summerof 1900, originally destined for St. Anthonywith the intention of interviewing Dr. WilfredGrenfell for McClure’s magazine.

He never made it. Although Duncan sharedNewfoundlanders’ love of trav-el, he did not share their love oftravel by sea. He avoided shipsif he could, covering as muchof the distance from New Yorkto Newfoundland by train aspossible. Eventually, he arrivedat Lewisporte.

There, Duncan boarded theClyde, one of Newfoundland’sfamous coastal boats, forExploits Island, where he wasto catch another boat for St.Anthony.

During the stormy trip,Duncan suffered greatly fromseasickness, and when hefound he had missed his con-necting boat, he decided ashort stay at Exploits Island would be a wel-come break from travelling.

This brief stopover lasted months. Duncanended up spending the summer with theManuel family on Exploits Island. There, hemet the fishermen and women who would soon feature so prominently in his writing.Duncan was captivated by the harsh beauty ofthe land, the warm people, and the rugged wayof life.

Duncan spent the following two summers atExploits Island — and it was three years beforehe finally met Grenfell and spent a summertravelling the Labrador coast with him.

But Duncan’s writing didn’t suffer from thedelay. Between 1901 and 1903, he published 25articles and stories about Newfoundland, along

with his book The Way of the Sea, a collectionof 10 Newfoundland stories that many regard ashis best writing.

In his study of Newfoundland literature, TheRock Observed, historian Patrick O’Flahertywrites: “Duncan was the first writer of fiction tomake ordinary Newfoundlanders the leadingcharacters in his stories, and to see in their rou-tine, everyday activities a fit subject for litera-ture.”

For the first time, readers across North Amer-ica and in England wereexposed to life in Newfound-land through fiction. Duncan’swork formed the importantbeginnings of a canon of New-foundland literature.

Many Newfoundland writ-ers who came afterwards usedthe same people and places intheir writing, and these writersowe him a debt. The groundcovered by Percy Janes,Harold Horwood, WayneJohnston and many other ofthe province’s most notablewriters was broken by NormanDuncan.

Duncan would later travelto, and write about, Europe,

the Middle East, North Africa, and Australia.By 1916 he was at the height of his popularity.But a lifetime of heavy drinking and chainsmoking had caught up with him, and he diedon Oct. 18, 1916, at the age of 45.

Although Duncan’s sudden death left severalworks forever unfinished, his mark on New-foundland literature had been made.

His early death was lamented by friends likeMackenzie King, but perhaps Duncan was sat-isfied with his accomplishments.

“What matter — in the end?” he wrote in TheStrength of Men. “For truth, old age holds noth-ing for any man save a seat in a corner and thesound of voices drifting in.”

A century later, Duncan’s voice can still beheard.

“What matter — in the end? For truth,

old age holds nothingfor any man save a seat in a corner and the sound of

voices drifting in.”

Norman Duncan, The Strength of Men

Jamaica seeksCanada’s legal aid

When Stephen Shelton walks into a Jamaicancourtroom, it’s like taking a trip back into the17th century. In the country’s civil courts, there

are no computer-savvy court reporters, generating instanttranscripts. It’s the judge who takes notes — in longhand.

“To get a transcript for an appeal takes forever,” saysShelton, a trial lawyer in Kingston, Jamaica.

According to those familiar with the Jamaican legalprocess, antiquated recordkeeping is just one area wherereform is long overdue. Part of that process began lastweek, when Canadian legal experts joined forces with theisland’s government to overhauling the justice system.

The review is part of a broader attempt by the Jamaicangovernment to “modernize” its institutions, says PeterParchment, senior director of strategic planning and policyresearch for the country’s justice ministry. The governmenthopes to restore public confidence in the justice system byreducing the length of time required to resolve a case andby making the system more accountable, he says.

While Canada has made some strides, the man headingup the Canadian contingent says those heading to Jamaicadon’t claim to have all the answers.

“There’s no denying it. Canada has its own problems inthe justice system,” says Andrejs Berzins, the former chiefCrown attorney in Ottawa. “Part of our review will be tolook at how principles of restorative justice can be promot-ed and incorporated within the system in Jamaica.”

In recent years, there’s been substantial investment inJamaica and companies are looking for ways to have com-mercial disputes resolved more quickly, said Shelton.

“You would be amazed, it can take seven, eight or even10 years to resolve a case,” says John Leiba, president ofthe Jamaican Bar Association.

— Torstar wire service

If he loses, will he quit?

Toronto MP Michael Ignatieff won’t committo running in the next election if he loseshis bid to become leader of the federal

Liberal party.“Depends who’s leader,” Ignatieff says.However, Ignatieff, 59, considered by many to

be the frontrunner in the race, denied having indi-cated that there are some leadership hopefuls forwhom he would not run.

“No. It really is that I have to look at what I amlooking at,” he says.

However, he says, nobody should “doubt mydevotion” to the party, adding he’s been a com-mitted Liberal since he was 17.

“There are all kinds of ways you can stay com-mitted and involved and active in the LiberalParty of Canada, believe me, without being anMP,” says Ignatieff, who was elected for the firsttime in Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding in the Jan. 23vote.

“Being an MP, without being an MP, I’ve beena Liberal all my life,” he says. “When I go into

rooms people are glad I’m in the room becausethey’ve read stuff I wrote which contributed totheir sense of what it is to be a Liberal and whatLiberal philosophy is. There are all kinds of waysI can serve the party.”

He wouldn’t speculate whether, of his ninerivals, he could live with some as a possible win-ner and not others. “No, I won’t go there. It real-ly is a hypothetical. “

Ignatieff argues he wouldn’t be “doing thisoccasionally difficult job” without serious com-mitment. “It’s been brutal,” he says. “Etobicoke-Lakeshore was very, very tough.”

When asked: “But you won’t commit to run forEtobicoke-Lakeshore again?”

Ignatieff replies: “I’d like to serve my con-stituents well, but you’re asking me an anticipa-tory hypothetical about the situation that prevailson the 3rd or 4th of December.”

Besides, he’s “quite confident” he will win.“I believe I will win,” he says.



The Spotlight on Education program at the St. John’s Boys and Girls Club offers a supportive

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awareness and homework. It’s made possible with support from Petro-Canada.

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Into the cleanAustralian Rob Dunstan describes himself as a Newfoundlander perpetually stuck in anAustralian’s body. He plans to move to the province in November. Below, he talks about whyBy Rob DunstanFor The Independent

The first time I ever saw Newfoundlandon TV, it was an image of a small fish-ing village with a rocky shoreline in

front. Squat, green trees threatened to take therear of the village — by force, it seemed. Thiswas some serious greenery. I assume the ice-bergs would provide naval support. Possiblythe thick clouds were the airborne division.

I am speaking figuratively of course; thecommunity was not made out to be a townbesieged by giant tree-folk and icebergdemons. At least, not to the untrained eye.

It was, however, depicted as a tiny, tight-knit community. The older people talked witha thick pseudo-Irish accent, there were antlersabove every doorway and a rosy-cheeked chefproclaimed excitedly that you weren’t a realNewfoundlander unless you had tried sealflipper burgers.

Luckily I already knew where and whatNewfoundland was, via the wonders of theInternet. As of Jan. 1, 2006 the population forthe Canadian province was 514,409 (accord-ing to the Newfoundland and LabradorStatistics Agency). Small Irish-esque fishingvillage indeed.

For me — living in Sydney, Australia —Newfoundland certainly seemed different.

Although St. John’s might not be the tight-knitIrish town shown on so many travel shows, itwas still fundamentally different. People theresmiled. People were proud to be fromNewfoundland. And that’s something thatcan’t be said about my own country withoutinstigating a riot.

I decided almost instantly I wanted part ofthat pride. Australian pride basically consistsof drinking some beer and watching a bunchof grown men in short shorts chasing after aball. The gleam in the eye of those I saw ontelevision that night was something I wantedfor myself. I wanted something to be proud of.

I still live in Australia. Not through lack oftrying, however. I have worked in a bookstore,I have worked in a discount variety store(aptly named The Reject Shop), and I haveeven repaired boat motors for a short stint try-ing to get together the money. I’m now work-ing in the warehouse of a dental company.

My girlfriend, Shawna, is from Newfound-land. I still haven’t been myself, but we livedtogether in Malta for a couple of months andthe thing she said she noticed the most differ-ence in was people’s attitudes.

I don’t mean to make Malta look bad —well, I do, a bit — but you couldn’t cross theroad, even at a crossing, without nearly beingrun down by an already dinged-up car. Thepeople were generally rude (the foreigners

were pretty nice), and the air tasted, by andlarge, like dirt.

And she just kept saying how unlikeNewfoundland that was. How even if youwent out onto the freeway and sucked on acar’s muffler, the air would still be cleaner.

Again, my intention is not to put down anyother country. My point is that Newfoundlandis a haven from the impending feeling of rude-ness, and from pollution. It is one of the old-est places, but still one of the cleanest.

And already, St. John’s is home to me.Where I am now is just a place to live tem-porarily, and wait. It may be a classic case ofthe grass being greener, but St. John’s is aboutas far from the little town of Norah Head,Australia that I can get. So the grass there isthe greenest, and where I go from there will bedecided once I am close enough to look overthe neighbors’ fence.

For the gleam in the eye, for the pride ofthat island… I would gladly travel the worldfor. Newfoundland, where the grass is alwaysthe greenest, even covered in white snow.

In November, all going well, I’m flying toNewfoundland. And then I’ll be home, in theclean, and the polite.

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

REUTERS/Rick Rycroft/Pool

Parched B.C. town may tap donor

Adrop in the bucket could solve Tofino’swater woes. A wealthy resort ownersays he’ll pay $50,000 to have four

trucks deliver water to the Vancouver Islandtourist community that’s been parched by asummer-long drought.

Deliveries will start if the Vancouver IslandHealth Authority approves the plan and it’sconfirmed that Ucluelet — the nearby townthat’s to supply the water — has enough to

meet the demand.Businesses would be allowed to remain

open. Last week, the local council had warnedthey’d have to close as of today becauseTofino’s reservoir was running dry.

The cost of the trucked water is a small frac-tion of the revenue resort and other businessoperators say they’re losing during a peaktime for tourism.

The area’s posh beachfront inns had can-

celled reservations for this Labour Day week-end in anticipation of a council order to turnoff their taps and close their doors.

Chris Le Fevre — who owns three high-endresorts — came to the rescue with $50,000.

The four trucks are to carry water fromUcluelet — 30 km away — around the clock.They would dump about 910,000 litres a dayinto a Tofino reservoir.



By Mandy CookThe Independent

Although Dan Moore can’tremember his grandfather, hehas vivid memories of study-

ing the man’s painting techniques as ayoung boy.

“They say that’s where I got it,” saysMoore, relaxing on his couch, blondehair tied at the back of his neck. “Hedid landscapes. Hunting pictures.Salmon fishing. I remember staring atthem and wondering how he did it.When you look at a painted picture youcan actually see the paint is dabbed acertain way. A picture of a painting,you can’t tell the brushstrokes.”

A large square landscape enjoys thefocal point of Moore’s living room, butthe subject matter and — this is a com-fortable guess — the technique couldnot be more removed from his grandfa-ther’s preference for portraying tradi-tional Newfoundland outdoor pursuits.At the same time, Moore’s Asian-inspired piece echoes the same appreci-ation for nature and setting.

The picture is dominated by anorange harvest moon, overlaid by anoversized banzai tree. Across the reed-lined river bank floats a beautifulcrane, complete with turquoise headand wispy, golden feathers for a crown.Hazy clouds — Moore’s favourite part— steal in quietly from the border ofthe frame. Interestingly, the softenededges of the clouds were achieved withan airbrush pen, and the other compo-nents rendered with acrylic and lacquerpaint.

Moore says he’s basically self-taught, and his painting instincts comeas naturally as writing songs for hisother creative outlet: playing guitar inthe St. John’s-based band sHeavy. Therockers are gearing up for a weekendtour through Moncton, Halifax andMaine, recording their sixth album andfilming a new DVD — all on the heelsof a European tour where they enjoy afierce following of their “70s groovyrock.”

Moore appreciates the fan loyalty.“A father and son drove for hours to

see us play,” he says. “They saw usbefore in ’98 in Holland at this big out-door festival. We were playing in

INDEPENDENTLIFESUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2006 — PAGE 13

The beat goes onFrom Stompin’ Tom to a Broadway musical to the symphony, percussionist Romano DiNillo makes a varied career in Toronto

By Stephanie PorterThe Independent

Romano DiNillo arrives at 10:30p.m., full of energy and a littlescattered. He’s just finished the

final studio session for the latest CD forthe Dogberries, a St. John’s-based jazzgroup, and he exudes that half-wound-up, half-exhausted energy familiar toanyone who’s been working intenselyfor just a shade too long.

“I think we were supposed to be doneby five,” he says. “But I think it’s going

to sound great.”DiNillo, a drummer and percussion-

ist, is a native of St. John’s. He’s beenliving and working in Toronto for morethan seven years, but delights in everyopportunity to come home — especial-ly for a work project.

“It’s the only reason I could comehome this summer,” he says, smiling.

After years of freelancing, he says hefinally hit his stride this year, involvedin several different projects in differentdisciplines, just the way he likes it.

“From January until right now, it

feels like it’s been all one day,” he says.“It’s been really good, but I don’t knowexactly what’s happened.”

When he stops to list what has actu-ally happened, it’s impressive: playingwith the Toronto Symphony Orchestraand the orchestra in Kitchener-Waterloo, accompanying dance classes,writing and performing for theatre,film, and potential television pilots.He’s musical director for The Ballad ofStompin’ Tom, which premiered at theBlythe Festival in southwesternOntario this summer. He’s collaborated

with fellow Newfoundlander JonathanMonro on two musical projects. He’salso been learning to play guitar andhas started singing again.

Now, he’s got a couple of days toenjoy his home province before head-ing back to Ontario to prepare for a gigas a substitute drummer in the orchestrafor Wicked (a Broadway musical aboutthe witches of Oz) when it returns toToronto this fall.

DiNillo says he knew he wanted tobe a drummer at age six, when hismother took him to see his uncle play

with the Carleton Showband. That, andhis 15-year-old brother was in “a kick-ass band” at the time — and used to letthe younger DiNillo hang around. Henever changed his mind.

He says everyone on his mother’sside of the family — from the Port-au-Port peninsula — are extremely talent-ed musicians. Everyone can sing,dance, and play multiple instruments.“I used to feel silly because all I didwas drum,” says DiNillo. But that sort

See “A switch,” page 15

Anything goesWhether touring the world with his rock band sHeavy, or painting anything he can get hold of, Dan Moore says it comes down to one thing — keeping his mind busy

See “I could doodle,” page 14 Dan Moore Paul Daly/The Independent

Relax. Summer’s not over yet.

Book your holiday today. 1 866 686 8100 humbervalley.com

Don Lane sits, relaxed, behindthe counter of his store/galleryspace in the Fairmont Hotel

Newfoundland, sipping a coffee andreading the day’s paper. He’s enjoyingthe quiet start to the day — businessgenerally picks up later in the morning,as the inevitable tourists come through,the tourists who account for the major-ity of his business.

Lane’s gallery is compact, wallsfilled from floor to ceiling with framedphotographs in a variety of sizes, withmore on easels or leaning on any avail-able surface. The large windows pro-vide plenty of light and — combinedwith the pleasant ambient sound fromthe hotel — a welcoming work envi-ronment.

Lane has been in the same space inthe hotel since it opened in 1982.Before that, he had a gallery for threeyears in the old Hotel Newfoundland.And before that, he spent two years

right across the road, at the corner ofGower Street and Military Road.

It adds up to 30 years in business, allin the same neighbourhood.

Over the decades, Lane has built aprofitable business and solid reputationfor high-end photographs ofNewfoundland and Labrador scenes —icebergs, lighthouses, dramatic coast-lines, quaint villages, colourful windowboxes and empty boats.

But he didn’t start his business fortourists.

The St. John’s native says he’salways dabbled in photography, butreally cut his teeth while at Memorial,where he worked for The Muse, thecampus student paper, and Camera-MUN. He went on to train inCalifornia, then “came home, got mar-ried, and started the business.”

He opened a studio, hoping to makea living doing portrait and commercialwork.

“I took some snapshots of landscapes— Torbay, Twillingate — because Iloved to travel in Newfoundland, andenjoyed camping back then,” he says.“I put those on the wall of my littlegallery, and that’s what people liked.

“People would come in for whateverreason, and that’s what they’d buy, apicture of the harbour, not even thatgood, right next to this lovely portrait— but that’s what they’d buy.

“I’m not stupid, I saw what was hap-pening, so then in 1976-77 I startedtravelling and taking more shots of theprovince. They offered a room for a lit-tle gallery in the old hotel, and it justblossomed from there. It wasn’t myintent, the intent was to keep workingwith families and buildings and stufffor commercial use.

“But this is what I love.”Lane still does commercial work, and

some portraits. But the pictures on hisgallery walls are his bread and butter.

Some of the photographs are from asfar back as 1976. While Lane doesn’tnumber his prints, he does keep track ofsales. Each picture has a card or seriesof cards with the names of the peoplewho buy the pictures — and wherethey’ve been sent, and he has an “infor-mal limit” on the number of prints he’llmake. He says there are no more than300 of any one photo — and most haveleft the province.

Lane attributes his success, in part, to

sticking in the same location — peoplealways know where to find him. But healso gives a lot of the credit toNewfoundland.

“People who come here absolutelylove it. They’re buying land — I don’tthink a week goes by when someonedoesn’t come in here and ask wherethey can buy land on the water,” hesays.

And if tourists don’t catch sight of aniceberg (“it’s been the Newfoundlandicon since about 1995,” he says) — oreven if they do — they seem to desper-ately want to take home a picture ofone. His icebergs pictures are his mostpopular, by far.

He also enjoys getting to viewpointsmost don’t have access to, whether it beSt. John’s cityscape taken from the roofof the hotel, or the majestic cliffs ofCape Race from a helicopter.

Up until last year, Lane did most ofhis shooting on film, but prints all hiswork digitally. He’s embraced the newtechnology — with his computer setup, he can scan old negatives and tweakthe colours back to their originalvibrancy.

His studio/workshop is downstairs in

the hotel, in a former (read: failed)nightclub few have ever seen.

Although he values his St. John’sclientele, Lane says “it’s great to havethe world as your customer.”

He pulls out a sales card for one ofhis popular photos, a St. John’scityscape, looking down from MilitaryRoad, over rows of colourful houses,and out the Narrows — with an icebergperfectly visible.

“Japan, gift to Japan, Aberdeen,Quebec, England, Ontario, Ontario —I’ll just read the really interesting onesnow,” he says, after listing off virtuallyevery province, several times.

“Hong Kong, Michigan, Indiana-polis, California, Boston, Florida,another Japan, France, San Diego …Bermuda, Australia, Madrid, Wiscon-sin, Texas, Ireland …”

The list goes on. Some were pur-chased by companies or government asgifts, many more by tourists passingthrough. And then there is “the biggestsingle group of customers,” the New-foundlanders who are living away,wanting a vivid reminder of home.

— Stephanie Porter

14 • INDEPENDENTLIFE SEPTEMBER 3, 2006

GALLERYPROFILE

DON LANEPhotographer

Scotland this one time and a bunch of people came fromItaly!”

The painter/guitarist says neither his music nor artinforms the other, but he makes no distinction between thetwo — it’s just being creative, and it keeps his mind busy.He has no idea where his artistic instincts originate, justthat he likes to use his imagination and “anything goes.

“I could doodle on anapkin and it would keepme contented,” he says.

Another large acrylicwork featured in Moore’shome is the screechingface of a multi-colouredbaboon. Fangs bared atsome peripheral upset, theprimate is striking invibrant blues and reds.Moore was inspired by astay at a friend’s housewhere there were thou-sands of National Geo-graphic magazines toperuse. The shadings and contours are immaculatelyinterpreted, with a leaning towards the cartoonish. Thevisual impact is arresting.

Only a few more pieces adorn the walls of the homeMoore shares with his girlfriend, Sheila. He says he can’thold onto the stuff — friends of friends keep purchasinghis work — and he’s held only one show in a coffee shopdowntown.

A band mate once put one of Moore’s pieces on eBay tosee if it would sell, and a man bought it to hang in his NewYork blues bar. Moore will also adorn pretty much any-thing he’s asked to — automobiles, futon mattresses, gui-tar cases.

“A friend of mine once said I’m more of a folk artistthan an actual artist because my stuff is all over the place,”he says. “Next I want to get a shed and backyard so I canstart welding sculptures out of car parts.”

[email protected]

‘I could doodle on anapkin and it wouldkeep me contented’From page 13

“… I’m more of afolk artist than an

actual artistbecause my stuff

is all over theplace”

Summer in these parts just would-n’t feel normal if we didn’t havesome riveting municipal drama

to complement more highbrow fare ofShakespeare by the Sea or the MagneticNorth Theatre Festival. This year, withfree admission, we could watch therecurring spectacle of the PeaceAccord-Bannerman Park melodrama,as well as an even livelier production ofRebels Without a Home.

On one side of the stage, we haveperennial pixy Liz Pickard, a resolutelyindependent sprit with an uncanny setof pipes and a near manic creativity. Lizhas long been a household name in StJohn’s and probably around most of theisland. She’s all guts and noisy ability,a little bit of sugar and a lot of spice,fearless, formidable, and well in theface of any who dare muzzle her chops.

Liz and her alternative music group,the Independent Artists Co-operative(IAC), struck an unusually sweet dealwith the city in 2002. They could occu-py a city-owned house for $1 with thecontractual understanding they wouldfix up the largely neglected property atSymes Bridge Road, way out in thewest end, far from the strings of cham-ber orchestras or the pop vibes of din-ner theatre.

Earlier in the summer, when the IACasked to have the property formallyturned over to them, council set itselfup solidly on the other side of the stage.Spurred by an irritated neighbour ortwo and frustrated with the IAC’sinability to live up to its own promise tofix up the joint and upgrade the proper-ty, council was in no mood to hand overthe lease.

And so what began in mid-summeras a minor, distracting skirmish, grewinto a much noisier showdown, withthe IAC grabbing the headlines andeffectively painting a picture of them-selves as the undeserving victims of amean spirited, rebellion-averse St.John’s city council.

Not that this is a really difficult por-trait to paint. Indeed, it probably wasn’tthe most elegant of political gestures tomove, as Art Puddister did in earlyAugust, to sell the property, effectivelyevicting the IAC occupants without somuch as a warning or a whisper.

And after all, this is a council whoseidea of civic beautification is to spreadused bedsheets and lurid pink blanketsover garbage bags. But I digress.

Enraged by such unceremonious bul-lying, Liz bullied right back, com-pelling arts-friendly councilors likeShannie Duff to appeal for calm and amore graceful way out of the mess.Inevitably, the IAC was given extendedlife support until the end of October,time enough to regroup and rethink itsfuture, if not actually reconfigure theSymes Bridge Road space to acceptablestandards.

To be fair, it was a highly unconven-tional move on the part of the city tolease the house for a dollar in the firstplace. Why, it was downright ingen-ious, really. It’s too bad, however, thatLiz and her band of friends and musi-cians couldn’t have marshaled theresources to fix the place up. Sure, ittakes major money to make majorrepairs, but this community also thriveson in-kind benefits and favours, andone would have hoped a feisty, drivenbunch like the IAC would have comeup with some schemes, even some part-nerships, to inspire more confidence.

They didn’t. The house deteriorated.A neighbour complained about beerand blaring music. The original con-tract had not been fully satisfied, andthe city had a duty, albeit one handledcrudely, to resist merely handing theplace over.

That leaves this nagging problem ofproviding appropriate space for emerg-ing musicians and artists. This city, nomore than any other, has no civic obli-gation to provide space for suchgroups, but it sure would be a progres-sive, inspired thing to do if it could.

A city that sees the wisdom of build-ing a skateboard park to keep testos-terone-intensive youth off the streetscan also appreciate the appeal of aninterior space dedicated to younger,needier musical talent.

Shannie Duff and a few others oncouncil get this, and are seeking waysof speaking to some of the broadercomplaints voiced by the IAC. But howto do it? One of the lessons of theSymes Bridge Road debacle is thatsome mechanism of responsibility hasto be put in place. Is it fair to ask youngrock musicians who are struggling toearn a living, cut a record, and shoptheir name around to be thinking aboutpainting the pickets white?

The initial arrangement was utopian,and therefore doomed.

Perhaps the proceeds from the sale ofSymes Bridge Road should go to hiringsomeone to manage an appropriatespace in downtown St. John’s: a loftabove street shops? The city gets tobrag about its vision, the musicians geta place to hang out, and someone gets anew job overseeing a place where wildand wonderful synergies can thrive.

In other words, can we start all over,but this time with some common aswell as musical sense?Noreen Golfman is a professor of liter-ature and women’s studies atMemorial. Her column returns Sept.16.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2006 INDEPENDENTLIFE • 15

A home forindie musiciansVision for the Independent Artists Co-operativehouse was utopian — and doomed. It’s time, saysNoreen Golfman, to come up with a plan that works

NOREENGOLFMANStanding room only

Romano DiNillo Paul Daly/The Independent

‘A switch has been turned on’

of adaptability and flexibility is appar-ent in his already diverse career.

DiNillo studied under Don Wherryat Memorial University, where hereceived his bachelor’s degree inmusic. From there, he went on to earna master’s at McGill. Almost immedi-ately after graduating, he moved toToronto.

“Toronto, I guess I went therebecause that’s where Don was from,”DiNillo says. “He had a lot of contactsthere, and it seemed familiar to mebecause he talked about it so much …I knew a few people and it seemed likea safe environment to start fromscratch.”

It wasn’t long before he wasinvolved in his first major theatre pro-duction, (boxhead), under the direc-tion of Chris Abraham. Everyoneinvolved, including DiNillo (for

sound/music), were nominated forDoras, Toronto’s big theatre awards.

DiNillo made ends meet by playingpercussion for dance classes.

“It’s a great way to make cash,because you’re just … you need tohave an ability to improvise, not takethings personally, be able to experi-ment. I didn’t play piano before I start-ed doing dance classes … but theyasked me to one day.

“So you just say, OK, and give it ashot, and the first couple of years werepretty hard on the ears I’m sure …”

Along the way, he says he’s learnednot to make excuses for himself.

“You always try to surround your-self with the best people possible andtrust them and their vision,” he says.“Your job is to do your job and comeup with as many ideas as possible —and let them sift through, or offer sug-gestions or use them or not.

“I like different projects. I like stick-

ing on some tails and playing with theorchestra and then hitting things tofind out what sound I need for film ortheatre, or sound design, writing stuff…

“I just don’t have the attention spanof people who dedicate their lives toorchestral playing, or dedicate theirlives to sound design … if somethingspecific were to really take off, thatwould put me in a different direction.

“But for now, let’s just see where Ican get with all these ball in the air andhope they all don’t drop.”

And while DiNillo recognizes thelast six months have been full, cre-atively stimulating, and busy, he’s alsofamiliar enough with the music busi-ness to know there can be monthswithout gigs.

“The past year or so, it’s like aswitch has been turned on. It’s good. Idon’t feel cocky or anything, just try tokeep going.”

From page 13

KING O’ FUN

Andy Jones' one-man show, King O' Fun, was filmed before a live audience at Halifax's SirJames Dunn Theatre. The “gut-wrenchingly funny” theatrical performance receives its TV pre-miere on Bravo! Sept. 13, 2006 at 8:30 p.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador.

16 • INDEPENDENTLIFE SEPTEMBER 3, 2006

On the brinkIt’s all about boxes, writes Clare-Marie Gosse, as she packs up and readies to move provinces

Over the course of two particular Seinfeldepisodes, Jerry, to his delight, strikes upa sudden friendship with super-cool

major league baseball star Keith Hernandez.The two enjoy a successful evening of malebonding and leave with a promise to catch amovie together on the weekend. All seems to begoing well until Keith pops the question. Heasks Jerry to help him move.

At first Jerry reluctantly says yes, but hecracks when Keith explains he has a lot ofheavy, valuable furniture that has to go up threeflights of stairs, into a townhouse without anelevator.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do this,” Jerry cries. “Ican’t do it. I can’t. It, it’s too soon. I don’t knowyou. I can’t help you move. I’m sorry I can’t. Ijust can’t!”

As Jerry says, to help someone do somethingas significant as move their life is “a big step ina relationship.”

Appropriately, his stand-up comedy segmentfor that episode is about boxes. How whenyou’re moving, your whole world becomesabout where you can lay your hands on them —to the point you become obsessed.

“You could be at a funeral. Everyone’smourning, crying, and you’re looking at the cas-ket. That’s a nice box. Does anyone know wherethat guy got that box? It’s got some nice handleson it.

“And that’s what death is really. It’s the lastbig move of your life. The hearse is like the van.The pall bearers are your close friends, the onlyones you could ask to help you with a big movelike that, and the casket is that great, perfect boxyou’ve been waiting for your whole life. Theonly problem is, once you find it, you’re in it.”

Well if death is the last big move, I’d say I’mabout to enter phase four. Not that I’ve onlymoved house four times in my life. I wish. It’sjust my latest move happens to be a big one, andI currently have an on-the-edge-of-a-precipicesort of feeling about it all. (Hopefully myparagliding equipment will take me up over abright horizon, rather than drop me in the dust.)

So right now, after packing up a stack ofboxes, watching them depart without me and

finding myself armed with a mop and spraygun, facing an empty rental house covered indust and grime that needs to be vanquished, Iam left with a queasy feeling.

My life has been compartmentalized intocardboard boxes with labels such as: kitchenutilities, linens, fragile! and Clare’s stuff.Except I am currently rather stuff-less. All myrelatively useless junk is in those phase three —soon to be phase four — boxes.

Phase one: I was born in Chertsey, London —and funnily enough, placed in a box (plastic,hospital crib thing. It was very uncomfortable).I lived mostly in the same house over the courseof my entire childhood and had an averageupbringing until …

Phase two: At the age of 18 I pack up onebox, a suitcase, grab some bedding and leavehome to shack up in halls of residence at univer-sity. As each student year goes by I move into adifferent room, a different flat, a differenthouse. By the time I’m 21 I’m graduating, haveacquired a potentially serious “significantother” (from Newfoundland) as well as at leastthree more boxes of stuff, an extra suitcase anda whole bed of my own …

Phase three: I embark on a period of travel-ling, punctuated by intermittent visits toNewfoundland. I go to Thailand, Spain,Vancouver, back to England (where I marryafore-mentioned significant other), Halifax(where I acquire a dog) and St. John’s. Duringphase three I’m a bartender, an actress, a wait-ress, a receptionist, a comic-book heroine, apurchaser for the British Army and a writer. Bythis time I have accumulated about a millionboxes of stuff and several items of furniture …

Phase four: To be continued…Well, phase four actually begins in Toronto,

the city I — and my significant other — will bein by the time this edition of The Independent

rolls off the press. It’s a move we’ve decided tomake for a few reasons. We want to earn moremoney, and at this fledgling point of our profes-sional careers, with student loans still hangingheavy, it makes financial sense. (Yes, yes, hous-ing prices are more expensive etc., etc., I hearyou cry, but the salary differences actually willmake up for that.)

We also want to experience living in the heartof a big city while we’re still young and child-less, because phase four will gradually begin todemand the ultimate question: where do wewant to eventually settle? As nomadic as I’vebeen in the past, maybe nowhere; as much as Iloath packing and moving, maybe Toronto; ormaybe England. Perhaps the Caribbean, Ireland,or maybe Newfoundland and Labrador will bemy phase five future.

I first visited Newfoundland almost a decadeago and after several more trips back and forthand a few summers spent on the island I movedto St. John’s permanently two years ago. In allthe places I’ve lived, I don’t think I’ve ever dis-covered anywhere with such a solid sense ofself — despite its contentious Confederationhistory.

I’m writing this on Aug. 28. Out of curiosityI search through my files and dig out the firstcolumn I ever wrote for The Independent. It’scalled Lynching the leprechaun and it’s abouthow our personal insecurities both help and hin-der us in our quest for a sense of self. To my sur-prise, the publication date of that issue is Aug.28 — exactly one year ago.

I’ve come full circle and learned more aboutthe province than I could ever imagine possible.Because of all I’ve discovered, the people I’vemet, and what I see every day in the arts, econ-omy and life here, I know Newfoundland andLabrador is about to enter a phase of bright hori-zons.

This place will always represent home to me,as much as England ever has, and because ofthis it’s impossible to pen a farewell column.

So I’ll see you ’round in phase four.

Clare-Marie Gosse can be reached at [email protected]

CLARE-MARIEGOSSEBrazen

POET’SCORNERShifting demographicsBy David L. Benson

Here, old men in greatcoatsand buttondown hatslean on benches and yarn.Little left to do at this stage.

Who remembers the Coves?Clift-Baird’s, Becks and Ayre’s,when they were coves and the har bourwaters passed beneath Long Bridge.

Who remembers the fish mongers?Their wooden barrows?Thrusting cod, big as dogsunder the high noses of passers-byon Water Street,when the smell of fish in the Sunwas no alien to the young.

Who remembers Ungava and Imogene?

(One and two for the heaviest load)Thetis and Algerine?(Bloody flippers carried up the road)

Who remembers when the Longshoremen

ruled the waterfront and the LSPU was strong?(“Like peas set in concrete”)Wages were high, unemployment

was low,because Solidarity was a creed.

Here, the old men sit, thankfulto have been bornin a time that allows them to diewithout a struggle.

For here, it’s minimum wage,firing on the spot,no unions and no recourse.And here there is no industry;even the building is owned Upalong.

No one makes anything here(besides not enough money)and no one noticesfluorescent lights have scrambled their brains.

The busses swing in, disgorge hurriedBuyers, the lookers and touchers,Swallow the harried plastic bag

clutchersand swing away to the drizzly

suburbs.

But here, it never rains.Getting wet,means sitting too near the fountain.Being wet,means something else.

Here, the old men gather like crowsnear the entrance — no benches outside.And they cannot smoke their pipesin the Mall.

From And we were sailors … pub-lished by Killick Press, 2002

By Nicholas GardnerFor The Independent

Wineries have spent time and effort trying to convert, or at least lure,consumers to their product. But as wineries start popping up all overthe world, the distinction between the names becomes more difficult.

Most small wineries, except for some boutique wineries, are simply reposi-tories for grapes from nearby vineyards and they simply make the best winepossible with the product they have, rather than growing and marketingtheir own grapes.

Increasingly, we see clever if not rude names used in order to gainconsumer attention. This week I searched out a couple of them tosee if they were good — or just marketing hype.

I tried Wild Frog Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot from Franceand Big Fat Llama from Chile, also a CabernetSauvignon/Merlot, to compare and contrast.

They both had garnet tones to them — deep red wines,but that is where the similarities ended.

Wild Frog ($11.81) had almost no nose — noteven an inkling of the flavour to come. Because ofthat, the wine itself was water-like, with imper-ceptible tones of plums and red currants; nohint that there was anything other thanwatered down grape juice in the bottle.The sip lasted seconds, with no percep-tible change from beginning, middleor end. It was a distinct disappoint-ment.

Big Fat Llama ($10.25) wasbetter, containing more plumand jammy notes in thenose, but light inflavour. Even allow-ing the wine to sit

Mental mise en placeAs Nicholas Gardner says, the key to a streamlined, efficient dinner lies in the details

The French have a way of com-municating perfectly what isneeded in the kitchen and know

how to turn a phrase. My favourite is“mise en place” (meez-on-plahce).Translated, it means “everything in itsplace.” This is the culinary phrase forone’s food, utensils, materials andeverything else required to get the jobdone. It could be the little spoon need-ed for sauces, or the garnishes and

plates required for that special time ofthe day called “service.”

Service is the time when the restau-rant has finished its prep work and

opens its doors to the customers. If thefood (also known as product) is not pre-pared to the correct amounts or onebecomes confused as to what to donext, one can get “in the weeds” whichis the direct translation of dans la merde— enough said.

I have always felt that cooking pro-fessionally is 90 per cent mental and 10per cent physical. Don’t get me wrong,working in a kitchen is physically

demanding and at times gruelling work,but for the most part, the mental miseen place is what gets the work done.Mental mise en place is getting yourhead in order. In short, it is preparingyour mind for anything that can comealong.

For me, mise en place lends its waythrough my life. It is the little thingsthat make all the difference.

For young people heading out into

the world for the first time and experi-encing the joys of cooking for them-selves, they will appreciate how a littleplanning goes a long way to creating ahealthy and exciting meal at any time.

By planning the whole experiencefrom cooking to cleaning, you feel a lotbetter and the job becomes more enjoy-able.

See “Buy in bulk,” page 14

INDEPENDENTSTYLESUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2006 — PAGE 17

DRINK

Cute name,budget wine

NICHOLASGARDNEROff the eating path

and aeratefor a while

was not enoughto pump up the

flavour.However, it is a

suitable wine for sippingand enjoying, with its tart

dry finish and notes ofground black pepper and green

peppers. It was at this stage that Istarted to have fun — I wanted to

test the wines’ food threshold.Classically, Cabernets and Merlots are

paired with robust flavours with some fatcontent. So I put them to the test pitting them

against a barrage of flavours: citrus, mildcheese, soft cheese, fresh cheese, yogurt, smoked

BBQ sauce, herbs, tomato salsa, ham, processedcheese and bread.Surprisingly, none of the “classical pairings” worked

for them. In fact, when fat was introduced it only becamepalatable. Sharp flavours masked the metallic taste, but acids

made it worse. Accenting hidden flavours like fruit or vegeta-bles only darkened and depressed the flavour. The verdict: The Wild Frog Cabernet merlot blend would do well

with a simple piece of chicken with fresh thyme, baked, not barbe-qued, resulting in a complimentary balance of acid and light fruit.The Big Fat Llama was best with processed cheese spread on sweet

whole grain bread – the transformation was instant. Soft muted flavours ofplums and dry fruit benefited from the creamy and salty textures. My overallimpression is for a budget price, the Llama was a clear winner with yards moreflavour. The Wild Frog is a wine for those who don’t like wine, as there was nosuch flavour present.

As a result, I’ll take a llama over a frog any day of the [email protected]

Paul Daly photo/The Independent


New killer outfit? Check.Spread the word about yourSaturday night bash? Check.

Fabulous apartment decked out withsumptuous leather couch, teak tablesand flat screen TV? Er … not somuch. After tuition is paid off andthe remaining cash in your bankaccount forked over for expensivetextbooks, there ain’t much left tobeautify your rental pad.

It is at this point your thriftinessand/or ingenuity must fill the gapbetween financial shortcomings andyearning need for a tricked-out liv-ing, studying, and the socializingspace that is your home.

CLAIMING CASTOFFSSome students comb the neigh-

bourhood, claiming castoffs peoplehave relegated to the curb. Somescour their parents’ basement for nolonger used pieces. Most studentsrely on second-hand furniture storesto furnish their abodes — but arecareful to feather their nests with afew favourite items to maximize thefeng shui flow.

Will Hiscock, a 24-year-old in hisfinal year of a history degree knowsa few things about decorating on thecheap. But it is a lucky $150 find inFermeuse of an ochre-colouredantique wooden table that he says isthe hearth of the home.

“I love it,” he enthuses. “I use it toeat, to study and write, to paint. It’sso sturdy and the colour looks likesomebody finished their shed andthrew the last of it on the table.”

Aside from a matching pair of fakewood paneled dressers purchased at athrift shop, everything else found inhis downtown St. John’s apartmentcost “next to nothing.” He is a fan ofscavenging up-for-grabs pieces andhas outfitted the house he shares withhis fiancé with an over-stuffed couchdonated by friends who had to movein a hurry (ran out of rent), a diningroom table-cum-coffee table (sansthe original legs and jacked up slight-ly off the floor) and even a $15 china

18 • INDEPENDENTSTYLE SEPTEMBER 3, 2006

TASTE

OLD-SCHOOLSPINACH SALAD

Adapted from Anna & MichaelOlson Cook at Home: Recipes ForEvery Day and Every Occasion.The Olsons are chefs from theNiagara, Ont. area.

• 4 slices bacon, diced

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 cup sliced button mushrooms

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1/4 tsp mustard powder

• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• Freshly ground pepper to taste

• 6 cups lightly packed spinach leaves, washed, dried, torn

• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

• 2 hard-cooked eggs, coarsely chopped

Old-time recipe for fresh spinach

Ever been to BC?

Classics 1100 (Introduction to Greek Civilization) and Classics 1200(Introduction to Roman Civilization). The perfect way to become aware of the social, religious, artistic, mythological and political influences ofancient Greece and Rome. Spaces are still available in these courses andmany other introductory courses at Memorial. For more information, call737-8260, visit www.mun.ca/regoff, or e-mail [email protected].

www.mun.ca

By Susan SampsonTorstar wire service

In these parts, the end of summerbrings the second spinach crop of theseason. Load up on iron and every-thing good dark leafy greens providein this classic spinach salad.

In large skillet on medium heat,cook bacon until crisp, three to fiveminutes. With slotted spoon, transferto drain on plate lined with papertowel.

Return skillet to medium heat.Add two tablespoons oil and heatuntil shimmery. Add mushrooms.Cook, stirring, two minutes, untilsoftened. Stir in garlic and mustardpowder. Stir in vinegar, salt and pep-per. Cook, stirring, one minute. Stirin remaining oil. Remove from heat.

Put spinach in large bowl. Pourwarm oil mixture over top. Toss gen-tly. Divide among four plates. Topwith onion, eggs and bacon. Serveimmediately.

Makes 4 side servings.

rack bought at the WaterfordHospital fundraiser to house hisgraphic novel collection.

Political science student KimByrne, 22, says she worked out afail-proof system during her years ofdecorating on a budget.

“Books! Books on a bookshelfalways make you look smart,” shelaughs. “Other than that, lots ofplants because they’re green andalive and cheap, big simple pieceslike giant candles that will last, and agood bed cover.”

SPARSELY FURNISHEDThe two-bedroom apartment she

shares with her roommate boasts 12-foot-ceilings, tons of light from manywindows, and is sparsely furnishedwith a couch, a vintage flower printswivel chair (one of Byrne’s faves)from a friend of a friend, many hang-ing plants and a few abstract printsover the sitting area.

It’s a giant space, but Byrne hasfilled it in with several Asian touch-es such as the always popular bam-boo blinds and paper lantern lightcovers which cost “literally twobucks.” She added her own artworkof a burning setting sun tangled in ablack, gnarled tree, and some inex-pensive rugs on the floor. Byrnethinks getting creative with both hershortage of funds and aestheticneeds is the most interesting way todecorate.

“When you actually have moneyyou have more lame and stagnantthings,” she says. “You can findsome pretty unique stuff at garagesales and Value Village. I even gotmy bed there for $50 and it wasbrand new!”

Used furniture stores frequentedby students — like Fred’s on CashinAvenue — are being cleaned out of“beds, dressers, kitchen tables,dressers, lamps, you name it.” Butthere is one piece in particular thatseems to show up — in evidence atboth Hiscock and Byrne’s homes —wherever students hang their hats: apicture of everyone’s favourite revo-lutionary, Che Guevara.

[email protected]

Shabby chicSome hints on how to decorate your apartment on a student budget — from those who have been there


SEPTEMBER 3, 2006 INDEPENDENTSTYLE • 19

DETAILS

By Anshuman IddamsettyFor The Independent

Laptops are staples of mod-ern education, conjuring upimages of last-minute

essays and hours spent Googlingyour own name, but the advent ofwireless Internet access haschanged the learning landscapeonce again. Students can now takeresearch and writing outside —trading dull library walls for theexotic, and occasionally rowdy.

Commonly known as Wi-Fi, thetechnology allows anyone with alaptop to wirelessly connect to theInternet courtesy of a local accesspoint, or “hotspot.”

WORKING WIRELESSFor students tired of being teth-

ered to university campuses, thisallows them to surf the Internet ina variety of places more suited totheir personal work habits,whether that involves doublemocha frappacinos and adult-con-temporary, or spicy chicken wingsand Jock Jams ’98.

Located on Water Street, St.John’s, Hava Java is an example ofthe ideal student-friendly alterna-tive to the library. A cultural havenfor the St. John’s arts scene, the

café offers free wireless Internetaccess to all of its customers in asetting perfect for typing essaysbetween sips of delicate chai.

Also downtown is the morerecent Chatters Café onDuckworth Street. Chatters pro-vides dedicated Wi-Fi access to itscustomers, as well as Internet-ready computers for those whohaven’t made the laptop leap.

This isn’t unique to just down-town businesses. “We see studentscome in all the time… (Wi-Fi) issomething I’ve wanted put insince last year,” says RhondaDecker, owner of Second CupCoffee in the Avalon Mall. Sheplans to add wireless access forher customers in the comingweeks.

Don Cherry’s, the popularsports bar and family restaurantchain, recently included the serv-ice in its St. John’s location.Though most wouldn’t immedi-ately associate a pint of Keiths andup-to-the-minute sports coveragewith schoolwork, a booth can turninto an informal group study area— or the perfect place to comfort-ably fact-check over a plate ofIrish Nachos. (The service is notyet available at their Mount Pearllocation.)

Fast food giant McDonald’soffers a Wi-Fi hotspot at selectlocations, where a password isgiven with every meal purchased.While the thought of grease on akeyboard might turn off some, theservice is a boon for students whofind themselves between deadlinesand Happy Meals.

LEAKY SIGNALSWhile these locations feature

official connections, it’s easy tofind unofficial ones, courtesy ofunprotected hotspots leaking theirsignal nearby.

Connecting to these unreliablehotspots won’t guarantee a stableonline experience — abrupt dis-connects and reduced speeds are areality — so if you stumble onto awireless network at your favouritespot, be prepared to bookmark allthose websites fast.

Despite the growing number ofestablishments offering Wi-Fiaccess in St. John’s, the list is stillmodest in comparison to othercities across Canada.

But that’s starting to change.“I’d love to have wireless Internet(at Jungle Jim’s),” says a memberof the restaurant’s wait staff. “It’dbe great — check e-mail, get somework done, and have a beer.”

Wireless hotspot

Stolen hours on the waterAn afternoon of fishing yields more than fresh fish and an old lobster pot

My father and I don’t do much togetheranymore. I spent my childhood as hisshadow. Whatever he did, I mimicked.

Since returning to outport Newfoundland andrunning the local store, one is in the shop (usual-ly him), while the other (usually me) isn’t.

My father is strict. I have tried to talk him intogoofing off with me, but the answer is alwaysno. Just because it’s your own business, hescolds, doesn’t mean you can do whatever youwant.

Which is why I was shocked this week whenhe stuck a closed sign in the shop window andbeckoned for me to join him and my mother onthe floating dock. For the first time in years, Iwould jig cod with my father.

It was a cloudy windless afternoon on FortuneBay. We motored out on the same waters I fishedwith my father as a child. As my mother ran theirbusiness in Conception Bay South, my fatherfished out here, with me in tow.

The landmarks looked familiar as we left theharbour, yet many of the covenames were not. I recognizedYellow Cove Friar and FoxesHole, but most I could not recall.My near-grey father patientlypointed them out again. I tried tocommit them to memory.

How many more times wouldwe be out here together? I turnedand watched for the bald eagles Iknew would soon arrive so myfather wouldn’t see my face.

The eagles appeared as if oncue — majestic white headspoking out from the green andbrown of the treed hillsides. We caught a redfishand set it on the water so they would ventureclose. One circled, and once we drifted farenough away, down it shot, snatching the blood-coloured fish from the calm waters. Back itsoared to its cliff-side perch with its offering.

I knew what to do with a jigger, my father hadshown me years ago. Let the weight hit bottom.Haul up “just enough,” then up and down, upand down.

I had a strike almost instantly, and it wasHUGE. My father had to help, I couldn’t get itup. I grabbed my camera. This was the mother ofall codfish!

My father’s laughter caused me to lower thecamera. What? I had hooked a sunken lobsterpot. I took a guilty look around. No other boatswere in sight … maybe, just maybe? Damn. Thepot was empty. Not today, my father joked. Heexpertly coiled the cut line, full of baby muscleseager to find a home of their own, and placed thepot in the stern to return to its fisherman owner.

It was slow going at first. The cod we caughtwere small. Perhaps two or three pounds. Wechanged spots, and I felt a fierce tug on myfeathered line. A big cod. I excitedly hauled,

hand over hand over hand, until that fish was in. My parents had a hit at the same time. We had

struck the fish. I was in a rush to get my lineback down before we drifted away from thisfish-filled spot. We were, after all, there to catchour quota. Before I realized it, I had the bloodycod unhooked and in the cooler. For the firsttime, I had de-hooked a big fish. My fatherwinked at me. I don’t know who was moreproud.

A few more strikes — cod now eight and 10pounds filled our cooler. My line attracted mack-erel — three at a time, twice — and, to my moth-ers delight, a few herring. We stayed until thestrikes stopped.

We didn’t catch our 15, but wehad 11 nice-sized cod and a fewother goodies to fill pans andfreezer bags. The redfish I washoping to bake that night was inthe belly of a bald eagle — butwe saw the majestic creature upclose, so it was worth the sacri-fice.

The handmade lobster pot wasmy trophy for the day. Even if itdidn’t hold the goodies I was sin-fully hoping it would, it was stilla good story to tell. The coolerheld still-flopping fat codfish

and I ran my menu demands past my mother.Cod-au-gratin, chowder and pan-fried this weekplease. My mother couldn’t think that far ahead.She was planning her evening feed of herring. Iwould pass on that.

I sat near my father as we motored in. I couldsee a crowd waiting for us near the locked-upshop. I snuck a glance at Dad, he didn’t notice.He focused on docking his boat. I carried oneside of the heavy fish-filled cooler and he carriedthe other up to his yard. He would fillet it. I lefthim with his dirty job and went to the shop to domy own.

I smiled as I unlocked the door to let thosewaiting in. They needed beer and bologna, lottotickets and smokes. No one seemed pissed theonly store for two communities had unexpected-ly closed.

I removed the handmade sign my father hadstuck on the door. “Closed. Sorry,” was all itsaid. My father and I had spent a few unexpect-ed stolen hours on the ocean together. I wasmany things, but sorry wasn’t one of them.

Pam Pardy Ghent lives in Harbour Mille,Burin Peninsula. Her column returns Sept. 16

PAMPARDY GHENT

Seven-day talk

Designate a workspace for cuttingand preparing food and keep that spaceclear of all clutter. This includes gettingthe toaster off the counter and havingenough space to work. Clean as you go.This also stops a big pile of dishes col-lecting in the sink at the end. Not hav-ing to work around this ends frustrationwhen straining pasta or simply filling akettle with water.

Before you go grocery shopping,make a list. As simple as it sounds, a list

helps organize your eating habits. Italso stops you from impulse shopping,which ultimately leads to more shop-ping and bigger bills.

Buy in bulk. I can’t stand running outof something. It aggravates me. So Ibuy double the amount of staples (milk,favourite sauces, etc.) so I don’t runout. One is for use and the other is forbackup.

I buy chicken breasts in packages of10 or so and repackage and freeze themfor single meals. Pairs work best. I justgrab a sandwich bag of two chicken

breasts and I can feed two people. Fromthis I gauge how fast I go through meatproducts and when I have to buy more.This method also works well with porktenderloins (one per two people) andmost other meats.

When you repackage your meats forsingle meal prep, why not do one morestep and flavour the meats? While notas good as fresh, it still allows someflavour to penetrate the meat while theyfreeze. A small steak sliced when rawand covered with garlic, a choppedonion, soy sauce and some ginger is the

beginning of a stir fry before you haveeven started to cook.

Wash and dry your fruit and vegeta-bles as soon as you get home from thegrocery store. One less step when cook-ing a meal is always a good idea.

Cook more than you need for onemeal. Winning in the kitchen is allabout how much you can produce asquickly as possible.

I tend to cook more than required,even for two people. This means somelucky person gets leftovers to take toschool or to be the envy of others at the

office. Cooking just a little more thanyou planned will also cut down on takeout eating, a killer when on a studentbudget.

Succeeding in any kitchen, be it aprofessional one where you serve thepublic or your own home, comes downto 90 per cent mental mise en place.

A little preparation goes a long way.

Nicholas is a freelance writer and erst-while chef now living in St. John’s.

[email protected]

From page 17

Buy in bulk

Don Cherry’s is one of several businesses to offer wireless services for laptopusers in St. John’s. Paul Daly/The Independent

The redfish I was hoping to bake that

night was in the belly of a bald eagle — but we saw themajestic creature

up close, so it wasworth the sacrifice.

By Judy GerstelTorstar wire service

Gambling hours are set to berestricted in Las Vegas thisweek, but it’s not the casinos

that will close down between midnightand 8 a.m.

It’s the marriage bureau.County officials are eliminating the

24-hour marriage licence service thatwas in effect on Fridays, Saturdays andholidays.

This may not be such a bad thing.The odds have not been good for after-hours marriages.

Among the pre-dawn nuptials thatlater broke down were those of DemiMoore and Bruce Willis, Nicky Hilton

and, well, somebody. Also BritneySpears and a childhood friend. Theirpre-breakfast marriage didn’t last pastdinner a few days later.

And it’s a pretty good bet that at leastone of Mickey Rooney’s eight mar-riages in Vegas took place betweenmidnight and morning.

But not everyone who weds after theshowgirls go to bed is intoxicated bymore than love.

“No one who has liquor on hisbreath will be married at The LittleWhite Wedding Chapel,” says RoseSharpe, manager of the gown andtuxedo room at the famous hitchingpost where Michael Jordan and hisbride arrived at 2:30 a.m. on aSaturday.

“But when his friend (DennisRodman) came to get married toCarmen Electra, well, he was not withit that night,” recalls Sharpe.

“We said, ‘Do you want to go havecoffee and come back in a few hours. ...He never came back and they wentsomeplace else to get married.” Their conjugal bliss ended after ninedays, presumably when the coffeekicked in.

Not being able to obtain a marriagelicence after midnight on the way to thechapel will be a hardship for more thanspontaneous, inebriated celebrities.

It’s going to make it tough for ordi-nary poor folks, too, says Sharpe.

“We have the world famous drive-through tunnel where people come and

get married during the night becauseit’s what they can afford,” explainsSharpe. The fee for getting married inyour own car at the drive-throughchapel is $40.

“Now, without a licence, they can’tcome to the drive-through in the mid-dle of the night any more,” she says.

“And sometimes, when they’re com-bining two families — I’ve heard thisso many times — they’ll say, ‘Let’stake the children, we’ll put them in thecar and we’ll make a little thing of it.’And they drive in, five hours fromCalifornia, and get the licence andcome here at 3 a.m., and the kids are allexcited, and then they have breakfastand they’re on their way home already,because they can’t afford a hotel.”

Last year, about 5,000 marriagelicences were issued in Las Vegas dur-ing the early morning hours. More than60,000 couples applied for the $55licences in the self-proclaimed matri-monial capital of the world.

The Little White Wedding Chapel,however, will continue to offer its serv-ices 24/7.

“We have our courtesy limos andwe’ll be picking people up at the air-port and make sure they try to get to thecourthouse before midnight and thenbring them here to get married,” saysSharpe.

Reduced hours at the marriagelicence bureau will reportedly saveabout $200,000.

“In a town like this,” snorts Sharpe,“that’s lush money.”

20 • INDEPENDENTSTYLE SEPTEMBER 3, 2006

University grads earn more.

Census data from 2001 shows that, on average, university graduates earnmore than those who do not attend university. So if you are working andputting off further studies, don’t forget about the long-term. You maywant to take a course this fall to keep you sharp or get you one step closer to that all-important degree. For more information, call 737-8260,visit www.mun.ca/regoff, or e-mail [email protected].

www.mun.ca

A view of the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Steve Marcus/Reuters

Perfume inschool could be scent packing

Its latest budget mess may smell,but at least Toronto school boardstaff and students won’t, thanks

to a motion this week to considermaking schools a “fragrance-freeenvironment.”

After a heated dollars and centsbattle, Toronto District School Boardtrustees moved from its $84 millionshortfall debate last week to anotherkind of scents.

The board voted to form a “fra-grance-free environment work-group” to look into the possibility ofprohibiting perfume.

Trustee Josh Matlow persuadedhis colleagues to follow the exampleof schools in Halifax and Calgaryand investigate the possibility of a“scent-free” school system.

Trustees voted to launch a publicawareness campaign to persuadestaff and students to tone down thespray and that if a colleague or class-mate complains about a fragranceyou’re wearing, “immediate actionbe taken to respond to the complaintand to make that workspace free ofthe offending chemical-based scent.”

There was no mention of banninghot air.


Glamour in the aisles

No wonder some flight atten-dants can be mean as snakes.Cost cutting has resulted in

shoddy uniforms as hard to stomachas airline food.

“In a cheaply made uniform, youfeel more like a bus driver than air-line crew,” says pilot Pino Ruggiero.That won’t be the case with the uni-forms for Porter Airlines, the pluckystart-up soon to begin flying out ofToronto City Centre Airport.

Porter’s sleek navy dresses, threebutton suits, pencil skirts and whitecotton shirts have been designed byKimberley Newport-Mimran.

“I wanted a look that related backto the days when airline travel wasglamourous,” says Newport-Mimran, amid blown-up images ofCoco Chanel and Jackie Kennedyemerging from airplanes in suits,pearls and high heels.

Fashion editors were cooing overthe outerwear: a shimmery navytrench and a lean black down coat.

The pillbox hats models weresporting at the uniform unveilinghave not been finalized. ButNewport-Mimran has recommend-ed Cole-Haan oxfords for the men,and for the women, black flats withgrosgrain trim from Joe Fresh Style.

Porter Airlines purser StaceyMcDonald says that she’simpressed. “I’ve had friends saythey want to come over (to Porter)just because of the uniforms.”

And Ruggiero, sporting his made-in-Italy pilot suit, says, “the look,feel and quality is far superior to anyuniform I’ve ever worn … It feelsmore like a high end suit that youwould buy for yourself.”


Vegas ends after-hours weddingsNo more 24-hour licence service; poor record for pre-dawn nuptials


The recent overhaul of the King George Vsoccer pitch is already attracting world-class soccer tournaments — and injecting

several million dollars into the local economy, saysBrian Murphy of the St. John’s Senior SoccerAssociation.

The facility recently hosted two matchesbetween the Chinese and Canadian national wom-ens’ teams. Murphy, project manager for the newfield, estimates the games generated $250,000 forthe capital city.

Next year, the pitch will welcome the nationalunder-14 boys’ and girls’ tournaments, and in 2008,the senior mens’ and ladies’ national tournamentswill take place there. Murphy estimates the eventswill be worth about $2.5 million to the St. John’sarea.

“There’s about 500 kids that’s going to be herefrom across Canada (for the under-14 tournament)and with that age group, you get 500 parents basi-cally,” says Murphy.

“So there’s going to be roughly 1,000 peoplehere next summer for seven days.”

To top it off, Kevan Pipe, CEO of the CanadianSoccer Association, committed to a mens Olympicqualifying match next summer upon witnessing theopening ceremony at the field on Aug. 17. Thelocal association will be informed which countriesto expect in late October or early November.

The association is currently working to establishan ongoing invitational under-14 international tour-nament to take place each August. Teams arealready confirmed from Ireland, the U.S. andFrance. The tournament will be scheduled to coin-cide with summer events such as the Regatta andthe George Street Festival, so athletes can take partin the city’s summer entertainment.

Murphy says the new King George V field hasbeen touted as the best soccer facility in Canada byPipe. The design, by local architecture firmSheppard Case, includes an international-size artifi-cial turf — such as that used in the Toronto RogersCentre — a stone entrance gate, new change roomsand public washrooms, and bleachers to accommo-date a crowd of 6,300 people. With the exception ofthe field itself, all design and materials were donelocally.

Murphy says corporate sponsors, such as AdidasCanada, Molson and Aliant jumped on board to thetune of $1.3 million. The provincial government iscontributing $100,000.

The City of St. John’s contributed $1.3 million ofits own, “right off the mark,” says Mayor AndyWells.

Wells says the money is an investment in “worldclass” infrastructure, both for the use of the localcommunity, and to attract national events to boost

tourism and economic development. “The field is a riot,” he says. “It’s amazing stuff.

The drainage system will extend the playing seasonfrom 90 days now on average for outdoor facilitiesto about 270.”

In addition to visiting teams, hosting tourna-ments and bringing in internationally renownedcoaches, the field will see plenty of local players.Memorial University signed a five-year contract touse King George V as their home field and is cur-rently bidding on hosting the 2009 Universitynational tournament. Everyone from the under-10league to the masters level will be playing on thefield, says Murphy.

Soccer is the most popular participant sport inCanada. Nearly 10,000 people in Newfoundlandand Labrador play soccer, with a total of 800,000players across the country.

[email protected]

Available this fall. To preorder your copy, contact

Boulder Publications at 895-6483

A stunning collection of photography from the portfolio of The Independent’s own Paul Daly.

Keeping Marine Atlantic afloatThe Latin saying “don’t cut off

your nose to spite your face”was first recorded around the

year 1200. An interpretation of theproverb at the time stated “vengefulrage has led to many pointless andfoolish acts, but none so stupid asthose in which we try to get back atsomeone else by punishing ourselves.”

Nowhere does this proverb have amore modern day application thanwhen one considers the never-endingsaga that is collective bargaining atMarine Atlantic.

Ah yes — another summer, yetanother strike scare at Marine Atlantic.

As we approach the tail end of the2006 tourism season, Newfoundland isin a bit of a tizzy again over the loom-ing possibility of another labour stop-page aboard the Gulf ferry service,which would temporarily disrupt, if

not shut down, the floating section oftrans-Canada highway that connectsour island to the rest of the continent.

But, then again, we’ve come toexpect these threats of labour disrup-tions almost on an annual basis. Andthey typically surface around this timeof year, when tourists and vacationingresidents use the ferries the most, andwhen the unions know the mere hint ofpotential delay is enough to deter trav-elers from booking a trip on the ferry.After all, about 56 per cent of MarineAtlantic’s passengers and passengervehicle traffic travels between themonths of June and August.

Recall a few years ago that, after alengthy hearing process, the CanadaIndustrial Relations Board (CIRB)determined Marine Atlantic’s serviceswere essential to the health and safetyof the people of this province. The fol-lowing year, the CIRB further ruledthere could be “no reduction in thelevel of Marine Atlantic’s regular ferryservice between Newfoundland andNova Scotia at any time of the year.”

That was a positive outcome forMarine Atlantic Inc. and the many whorely on this crucial link to delivergoods to stores, exports to market, andpeople from province to province.

The problem is the past CIRB rulingdoesn’t mean that an “essential serv-ice” designation became enacted infederal labour legislation, nor does itdirectly apply to future disputes withother unions.

Earlier this summer, Marine Atlanticand the Canadian Merchant ServiceGuild agreed to enter binding arbitra-tion to work out contract issues, after astrike vote by members of that union.

Now, it’s the International Long-shoremen’s Association and theUnited Steelworkers, two more of theseven or so unions that represent ferryworkers — roughly 460 ticket agentsand dock workers in this case. Thetwo unions indicated their MarineAtlantic members had recently voted95 per cent in favour of strike actionagainst the crown corporation.

For the time being, though, anysuch action must be suspended for athree-week period, as ordered by agovernment-appointed conciliator.There is still time to avert a strikeshould negotiations restart and provefruitful.

However, the more important pointhere is that Newfoundland andLabrador has to deal with this kind ofthreat in the first place. This is a cru-cial link and an economic lifeline forour province, and we shouldn’t haveto face these disruptions on a regularbasis.

Our growing tourism industry feelsthe impacts of reduced passenger traf-fic as a result of delays and the lastingdeterrent effect this has on visitors. Infact, this could have wider-reachingimpacts on tourist travel throughoutthe Atlantic region.

The ferry service is an importantpart of intra-provincial and inter-provincial supply networks, especial-ly for businesses that rely on just-in-time delivery of goods. On average,

See “Economic lifeline,” page 22

INDEPENDENTBUSINESSSUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2006 — PAGE 21

RAY DILLON

Board of Trade

Brian Murphy of the St. John’s Senior Soccer Association. Paul Daly/The Independent

‘It’s amazing stuff’‘World class’ soccer pitch already attracting big-ticket games and millions in sponsorship

22 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS SEPTEMBER 3, 2006

Go westAir Labrador finds new markets in Quebec


Air Labrador recently added west-ern Quebec to its territory —just the latest in a series of

expansions into that province that beganin 2001, says Air Labrador vice presi-dent and general manager Ward Pike.

Pike says Air Labrador is the perfectcompany to enter the Quebec market,servicing some of the smaller, moreremote communities and airports.Having served coastal Labrador since1951, employees (“the Air Labradorfamily,” as Pike repeatedly refers tothem) have a deep understanding of thecommunities they serve. And, he adds,the company has learned to survive inthe tough Newfoundland business cul-ture of “perpetual depression.

“We’re used to having to survive ona bag of hard tack, if necessary,” hesays.

Pike says Air Labrador’s decision toexpand is not based completely on“bottom line” competition.

“A straight profiteer would look atour business model and laugh,” saysPike, but it’s a model he says works forthe airline.

Decades of experience in northernNewfoundland and coastal Labradorhas prepared Air Labrador in otherways as well, continues Pike. In aregion where many people struggle tomake ends meet, little extras arenoticed. Air Labrador planes often fly

scholarship students from the remotecommunities they service to schools inthe south for free. The company hasbeen known to divert planes to collectsick people.

Acts like these integrate the companyinto the community, says Pike, and areessential for the success of any businessin the north.

“We know that without our commu-nities we are nothing,” he says. “Ithelps us to help others.”

Fluent in business French, Pike tellsThe Independent understanding Que-bec is essential to being successful inbusiness there.

Half of Air Labrador’s employees,including many who work in the GooseBay area, are from Blanc Sablon andthe Quebec north shore. “When morethan half your company is francophonefirst, it is very easy to move into(Quebec),” he says.

Pike says he hasn’t encountered anyproblems from Quebec’s complicatedpolitical situation — a provincialLiberal government and a federal sepa-ratist party holding most of theprovince’s seats. In fact, he says, thegovernment of Quebec lobbied AirLabrador to take some of the mostrecent contracts. The company hasreceived federal contracts as well.

Pike characterizes the business envi-ronment in Quebec as one of fair playand competition, adding he personallycarries no political affiliation: “I amneither a Péquiste nor a Liberal.”

He does stress the importance of con-tacts. Air Labrador is 100 per centowned by Labrador Métis (Pike and hisfather, Air Labrador president RogerPike, are members of the LabradorMétis Nation), and Pike says he hasexcellent relations with the aboriginalairlines operating in Quebec, AirCreebec and Air Inuit.

His says his relationship with AirCanada is also healthy. “They say thereis room for one and a half airlines inQuebec,” he says. “We’re content to bethe other half.”

Pike says his airline “re-invented thewheel” in 2001, when it re-entered theeastern Quebec marketplace with a full

slate of services: freight, mail delivery,charter service, and regularly scheduledpassenger services to parts of coastalQuebec. Since then, the company hasbeen expanding, basing growth on pastsuccess.

In 2002, Air Labrador signed a con-tract with the government of Quebecfor transportation of non-emergencymedical patients for eastern Quebecand the Quebec North Shore.

In the spring of the following year,the company offered regular twin otterservice to points on the North Shore forthe first time.

And then, in spring 2004, AirLabrador launched its Dash-8 service

from Wabush to Sept Isle, Quebec Cityand Montreal.

This year, “thousands of flight hourslater,” Air Labrador is making the jumpinto western Quebec, with services totowns like Rouyn-Noranda and Val-d’Or.

Pike says there’s more growth tocome for Air Labrador. They are plan-ning to purchase new Dash-8 turbopropplanes. Pike says they are very happywith their chosen aircraft, the Dash-8,and turboprops are efficient, burning 28per cent of the fuel of a comparablysized jet.

Air Labrador employs 290 [email protected]

Air Labrador vice president and general manager Ward Pike. Paul Daly/The Independent

Economic lifelineneeds saving

the service is responsible for transporting half of all thegoods entering the province, including an estimated 90 percent of perishable food items. Businesses, and the peoplethey employ, simply cannot afford transporting delays.

And while the myriad of collective bargaining sessionsserves to cut away at Marine Atlantic’s “schnoz,” ourprovince is moving forward without them. A well-run air-port authority in the capital city supporting a competitiveairline industry has soared in terms of passenger growth,while Marine Atlantic continues to anchor itself withnever-ending labour disputes.

And Oceanex is no doubt grateful for the continuedlabour troubles at Marine Atlantic, if the size of the shipsdelivering goods and the frequency of their visits to St.John’s harbour is any indication.

It’s high time our federal government — which isresponsible for delivery of the service through the crowncorporation, Marine Atlantic Inc. — looked seriously atways to solve these ongoing concerns caused by labourdisruptions and ensure the ferry service operates efficient-ly and reliably.

It has certainly been talked about enough. Early lastyear, for example, a report by an advisory committee onthe future of Marine Atlantic Inc., appointed by the then-federal transportation minister, stated in no uncertain termsthe federal government itself needs to take action on thismatter. Recommendation No. 1 of that report was “That anamendment be included in the 1986 MAI Acquisition andAuthorization Act, or other legislative instrument, to rec-ognize the essential nature of MAI’s services.”

If that were to happen, it could just be the rhinoplastythat will be required to keep Marine Atlantic afloat and rel-evant as a means of transportation for the long term in thisprovince.

Ray Dillon is president of the St. John’s Board of Trade.

BRITISH COMPANY BUYS NEWFOUND

From page 21

London-based Nettec, a business services company, has conditionally agreed to purchase St. John’s-based Newfound Group, a developer and operator of high-end holiday resorts, in a $199.5-million deal. Newfound Group, under CEO Brian Dobbin, runs Humber Valley Resort, near Corner Brook, and is developing resortsin Nevis, St. Kitts, and Ireland. Nettec’s shareholders will vote on the deal Sept. 25. Paul Daly/The Independent

What’s new in the automotive industrySEPTEMBER 3-9, 2006

FEATURED VEHICLE

The overpowered pondMy little town is dotted with

ponds, some form a series ofsteps in the hills while others

are level and bisected by roads. I pass byno less than six bodies of water on mydaily commute to St. John’s. Sometimesthe mist hovers on the water and thehouses are reflected like castles in thesky. The good residents make the most oftheir liquid lots and launch all make andmanner of canoe, kayak, and rowboat forsport.

But one pond in particular boastswharf weaponry beyond imagination, a

cache of recreational hulls that wouldn’tbe out of place in British Columbia oreven Miami.

I stumbled upon the arsenal while vis-iting one of my friends over the summer.We strolled through his backyard downto the dock where he launches his per-sonal watercraft — a tidy little jet boatsuitable for towing a tube full of kidsaround the pond and even water skiing. Iadmired the possibilities; if you couldtear yourself away from the tranquilitythere was always the option of somehigh-speed water-sports.

“Take a look at this,” said my friend as wepeeked over the hedge. There on the adjoiningproperty was a single-engine floatplane. “Whenthat thing fires up the whole house shakes,” headded. I believe it — you can hear those thingsmiles away when they’re flying at altitude. Inoticed the plane a couple of times last summer cir-cling overhead, backing off on the throttle anddrifting low over my hacienda. You don’t realizehow big they are for a small plane until you see oneup close, and mufflers don’t seem to be an optionon these machines. I must admit though, theysound excellent.

Owning a plane is a huge responsibility. I would-

n’t even be able to sleep with one of thosemachines down by the wharf, flying my garbageout to Robin Hood Bay and getting into dogfightsall the time with other unsuspecting planes.

Perhaps the odd jaunt to Mexico to watch a sun-set or dropping off my old T-shirts to needy coun-tries.

Maybe that’s why I don’t own a plane. Under the guise of an investigative pond-hopper,

I attended a late-night soiree at the behest of a like-minded individual, specifically “mad as a hatter”for whom the usual set of rules need not apply. Not

MARKWOOD

WOODY’SWHEELS

See “Mechanical ecosystem,” page 25

RefinementThe all new Subaru B9 TRIBECA a sport utility vehicle withhigh levels of refinement, flexible seating for up to seven,and available features like a navigation system, xm Satelliteradio and a rear-seat DVD entertainment system. The vehi-cle also comes standard with Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive and boxer engine, which gives performanceand safety on the road. Available at Capital Subaru in St.John’s, 33-37 Elizabeth Ave.


24 • INDEPENDENTFUN SEPTEMBER 3, 2006

WEEKLYDIVERSIONSACROSS1 Painter Emily5 Corn on the ___8 Meech, for one12 Hard to find16 Malarial fever17 Israeli P.M., once18 Geishas’ belts19 Digital audio player20 Loch ___21 Pollen and ragweed,e.g.23 “Anyone out there?”program24 Alta. town with UFOLanding Pad26 Abacus unit27 Among29 Italian or Austrian31 Leader of UpperCanada Rebellion(1837): William ___Mackenzie32 Brave35 South in France36 Follow too closely40 Mother’s sister41 Bad cheque letters42 Minister’s residence43 ___ an egg44 British BroadcastingCorp.45 Debatable47 Swindle48 India tourist stop49 Antennas51 German thanks52 Aberdeen natives

53 Roman poet54 Compassion55 Sharp56 Where the Nile isdammed58 Small moneybag59 Highest-scoringdefenceman in NHL his-tory62 Vocalist Arden63 Wicca64 Fall short65 WWW address66 Brew67 River transport68 Whimsical69 Covers70 Alta. town with giantoil derrick72 Humble dwelling73 Wide street75 Opinion page76 Despotic78 Canadian PaulMason’s invention:Beverage ___81 Waist band82 Drill directive85 Norway’s patron saint86 Shaggy little dog (2wds.)89 Pelvic bones91 Sainte ___ deBeaupré, Que.92 Hop-drying kiln93 Faculty head94 North in Normandie95 Old bits of cloth

96 Keats’ feats97 Archie Belaney’salias: Grey ___98 Summers in Ste.Adèle

DOWN1 Is able to2 Gets older3 Wheat disease4 Esteem5 Ofra Harnoy’s instru-ment6 Vinaigrette ingredient7 Jesuit missionary, com-poser of Huron Carol8 Our highest mountain9 Still snoozing10 Cousins11 Writer of opinionpieces12 Coming up13 Imitated14 Goes bad15 Emend text17 Actor Chaykin(“Whale Music”)22 “___ my lips!”25 Bird once native toFunk Island: Great ___28 Underground rodent30 Hissed “hey!”31 Cavalry weapon32 Sunscreen ingredient33 Garage service34 Like a king in waiting36 With too much dia-logue

37 Large Ontario park38 Butter ___39 Young hawk41 “O Canada! Terre de___ aïeux”42 Chew vigorously45 Chief46 Medieval47 Month of wind andrain48 Maple tree genus50 Terrible tsar51 Side of a die with twopips52 Alone (Fr.)54 Engine55 Japanese carp56 Close to closed57 Bargain event58 Longed59 Hudson or James60 Pakistani language61 Alternative indicator63 City with CanadianInnovation Centre (CIC)64 Greek cheese67 Breton or Tormentine68 Singer Nelly (Loose)69 He invented a musicsynthesizer (“TheSackbut”, 1945)71 They may be heardhowling in 37D72 Tree frog73 Author Chekhov74 C’est la ___ (sigh).76 Exams77 Pertaining to the nose

78 Piglet’s pop79 Forearm bone80 Citrus feature

81 Headquarters83 Machine for gamblers84 Where to find

Galway Bay87 Deceived88 Sunday seat

90 Public plugs

Solutions page 27

ARIES (MAR. 21 TO APR. 19) As tensions ease on the homefront, you can once more focus onchanges in the workplace. Earlydifficulties are soon worked out.Stability returns as adjustmentsare made.

TAURUS (APR. 20 TO MAY 20) A new romance tests the unat-tached Bovine’s patience to thelimit. But Venus still rules theTaurean heart, so expect to findyourself trying hard to make thisrelationship work.

GEMINI (MAY 21 TO JUNE 20) It’s a good time to consider home-related purchases. But shop aroundcarefully for the best price —whether it’s a new house for thefamily or a new hose for the garden.

CANCER (JUNE 21 TO JULY 22)

A contentious family memberseems intent on creating problems.Best advice: Avoid stepping inuntil you know more about theorigins of this domestic disagree-ment.

LEO (JULY 23 TO AUG. 22) A recent job-related move provesto be far more successful than youcould have imagined. Look forcontinued beneficial fallout. Evenyour critics have something niceto say.

VIRGO (AUG. 23 TO SEPT. 22) Ease up and stop driving yourselfto finish that project on a deadlinethat is no longer realistic. Yoursuperiors will be open to requestsfor an extension. Ask for it.

LIBRA(SEPT. 23 TO OCT. 22) You should soon be hearing somepositive feedback on that recent

business move. An old familyproblem recurs, but this timeyou’ll know how to handle it bet-ter.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23 TO NOV. 21) Some surprising statements shedlight on the problem that causedthat once-warm relationship tocool off. Use this newly wonknowledge to help turn thingsaround.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22 TO DEC. 21) Your spiritual side is especiallystrong at this time. Let yourself beguided by it into deeper contem-plation of aspects about yourselfyou’d like to understand better.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 TO JAN. 19) Your merrier aspect continues todominate and to attract folks whorarely see this side of you. Someserious new romancing could

develop out of all this cheeriness.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20 TO FEB. 18) You’re always concerned aboutthe well-being of others. It’s timeyou put some of that concern intoyour own health situation, espe-cially where it involves nutrition.

PISCES (FEB. 19 TO MAR. 20) Just when you thought your lifehad finally stabilized, along comesanother change that needs to beaddressed. Someone you trust canhelp you deal with it successfully.

YOU BORN THIS WEEK You have a sixth sense when itcomes to finding people who needhelp long before they think of ask-ing for it. And you’re right there toprovide it.

(c) 2006 King Features Syndicate, Inc.

WEEKLYSTARS

Fill in the grid so that each row of nine squares, each col-umn of nine and each section of nine (three squares bythree) contains the numbers 1 through 9 in any order.There is only one solution to each puzzle. Solutions, tipsand computer program available at www.sudoko.com

SOLUTION ON PAGE 27

SEPTEMBER 3, 2006 INDEPENDENTSHIFT • 25

Roundabout in a rentalIhave a friend who equates wed-

dings with cat litter. Don’t straintrying to figure out the

connection — it’s all about acar rental. Whenever he hasto go to a wedding, thisurbanite has to rent a car totravel to the far-flung desti-nation. And when someoneonly gets his hands on a caronce or twice a year, you bet-ter believe he’s going tomake the most of it.

For my friend, that meanscat litter. You can cram lotsof things in a backpack whileyou ride your bike. Being thestrong manly man that he is,he can tote multiple grocerybags to his apartment. But cat litterweighs more than watermelons, and forthis you need a car.

When I was a kid, renting a car wasA Very Big Deal. My father was very

much against the idea, and he wouldhave driven to England if he could

have. Now the ads every-where make it seem like rent-ing a car for the weekend ischeaper than a box of icecream. I love the hooks theyuse — “unlimited mileage!”— which frankly is a goodone, because I used to use uphalf my allotted daily mileagejust trying to get out of the air-port.

If I have to rent a car some-where, I always try to get onethe same make as I drive backhome. That way I know wherethe headlights and windshieldwipers will be, which you

don’t think about until you need them,and by then you’re wedged under thebutt of some transport truck some-where.

Despite all the best-laid plans, some

things are just destined to go badly. In1977, my family took that trip toEngland. By airplane. Upon arrival atthe hotel, we went to a car rentalagency. They handed my father thekeys to the car as my mother translatedthe Queen’s English to my Dad’sEnglish for him.

Then the girl looked up, and saw mytwo sisters and me. When she realizedwe were all together, she handed myfather a shoehorn and a can of axlegrease.

The cars are considerably smaller inEngland. Some of them only have threewheels. On purpose. We’d driven alarge orange station wagon in onecountry, and were touring another onein a small white thimble with tires thesize of Oreos.

If my father were alive today, theexperts would probably say he hadanger management issues. Back then,they just called him an SOB. He didn’t

enjoy travel. He hated airplanes, hehated strange food, and he hated wear-ing his leisure suit. After experiencingall of these things at the same time, hegot behind the wheel of a car built forWeebles, with the steering wheel on theright side and prepared to barrel downthe road on the wrong side. Did I men-tion it had a standard transmission?

As my sisters and I strained to take insome of the quaint British sights(“Welcome to Scotland! It’s RainingHere Too!”), the one-man band in thefront seat snarled his way from onecoast to another. We’d beg to pause atplaces with names like Henley-on-Fish-and-Chips, but once my Dad gotthat thing in gear, there was no stop-ping.

If you’ve never experienced a trafficcircle, write it on your list of things todo before you die. Come to think of it,it could be the last thing you cross off.When I first heard about them, like

many I was nonchalant. How danger-ous can something colloquially called aroundabout be? It sounded fun —quaint, old world, casual, as if it shouldbe called “ye roundabout,” almost.

It is none of those things. It is aNASCAR track for regular people. Ifregular people can be found whippingtheir vehicles violently around a pavedcircle, reading a confusing array of pic-ture signs that were written by drunkenducks with dirty feet.

My father was having a hard enoughtime on straight little roads. When hegot trapped in a traffic circle, I remem-ber my young life passing before myeyes. I was 13-years-old and I had justdiscovered the Bay City Rollers.

And I was going to die because myfather had finally decided the shortestdistance between two points was astraight line, not a damned roundabout.

www.lorraineonline.com

in an evil way, but the nicest, wildestguy you’d ever want to meet.

I had to eat barbecue and drink beer toget to the core of this twisted saga,Hunter S. Thompson style. It’s a toughjob but somebody’s got to do it, take onefor the team. (Sometimes 12.)

With a party raging all around us theowner of the home showed me his boat,a sleek cigarette-style craft with a mas-sive 150 horsepower V-6 outboardengine reluctantly bolted to the stern.You could hear the Miami Vice sound-track and helicopters chasing you run-ning rum back from St. Pierre.

A stunning blonde hostess, five-foot-11 in flip-flops, plied us with more beer.

“I bought the craft in Lake Ontario,”he said, “buddy put her to the mats rightoff the dock and nearly lost our passen-ger in the back, beautiful bit of sales-manship.”

IT’S ALL FUN UNTIL ...And this is what he water-skis with.

He drives 60 kilometres per hour to thepond and scoots around 90 km per houron the water. But if he loses it on thecorner he’ll skim across the pond andclear a new path up in the woods. We’reall having fun till someone loses a tree.The boy’s clearly insane. What if his

neighbour with the floatplane comes infor a landing? Well, here’s a nauticalpecking order on the overpowered pond— larger faster craft have the right ofway.

Kind of like our own bird feeder, thejuncos are fine until the blue jays arrive.My wife calls them “the cops.” They’reloud, the same colour blue and every-body leaves when they show up. Thenthey clear out when the crows pitch.

Sport imitates wildlife in the fragilemechanical ecosystem of the overpow-ered pond.

Mark Wood of Portugal Cove-St. Philip’svery rarely attends social events.

From page 23

Mechanical ecosystem

LORRAINESOMMERFELD

POWERSHIFT

Earlier this summer, when On-tario’s most famous oval race-track, Cayuga Speedway,

changed hands, the announcement wasfollowed almost immediately by a pressrelease and drawings showing a largerand vastly improved facility on the 121hectare property south of Hamilton.

A new day would dawn soon afterLabour Day, the release said. Out wouldgo the old 5/8-mile speedway and the40-year-old grandstands and controltower and in would come a new 3/4-mile (maybe bigger) racing surface sur-rounded by gleaming seating areascomplete with corporate hospitalitysuites and other luxury boxes.

But just a minute, says Bob Slack, theman who made Cayuga what it was inits glory years.

The message back to the new ownersfrom Bob Slack, whose son Randy wasone of this province’s finest late-modelstock car racers and whose grandsonRoger is the driving force behind racingoperations at the Lowe’s MotorSpeedway in Charlotte, N.C., is thatCayuga, the facility, is just fine. What’sneeded is some TLC and some properpromotion — two things Slack sayshave been missing in recent years.

“You know,” he says (and he has this

deep baritone speaking voice; when hetalks, you listen), the new guys (Ham-ilton-area businessmen Dean Rose,Jerry Santucci and two others) havedone a terrific job getting the placeready for the CASCAR race this week-end.

“They’ve spruced it up and they havea really good guy (director of operationsBruce Mellenbacher) in charge. Butinstead of planning to spend a whole lotof money to just about start over again(by essentially building a new plant),what they should do is build on whatthey’ve already got there.

EYE ON THE BALL“They can make a real success of that

race track and make themselves somemoney, if they keep their eye on the ballthat’s right in front of them instead ofon some distant horizon.”

For instance, instead of lusting after aNextel Cup date, Slack thinks Cayuga isripe in the short term to land aNASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.And that opportunity is staring thempretty much right in the face.

“Toyota’s throwing some cash aroundthese days,” he says. “They have a bigmanufacturing plant in Cambridge andthey’re building another one in

Woodstock. They’re big in truck racingright now and they’re about to get into(Nextel) Cup racing.

“I’d say there’s a golden opportunitythere for a truck race at Cayuga withToyota backing. Cayuga’s right in theirbackyard. And if they did that next year,and it’s a success, there’s a pretty goodchance they could then land a Busch(Grand National) race there the follow-ing year.

“And if they also went after someARCA and ACT late-model shows, theycould do real well for themselves.”

Slack says the “if you build it, theywill come” mantra doesn’t work withNASCAR.

“Years ago, I sat across the table fromBill France Jr. I wanted a Winston race(a previous Cup sponsor), so I shoved ablank cheque across the table and toldhim to fill in any amount he wanted.

“He shoved it right back to me. Ifound out that day that when NASCARwants you, they’ll be there, not before.That’s why I’d go after the trucks firstand work up from there.

“And you don’t need a track biggerthan a 5/8-mile for those shows, either.

“What’s the difference between a 5/8and a 3/4-mile anyway?”

Slack, who took over Cayuga in 1967

and promoted racing there until 1994,says the new owners also have toremember that they’re in the entertain-ment business.

“I didn’t just promote racing,” hesays. “I’d have racing, sure, but I’d alsohave thrill shows or motorcycle dare-devils or whatever to keep the peopleinterested and entertained.”

Slack remembers having all fivemembers of the Allison family on handfor one promotion (“there was Bobby,Donnie, Davey and Clifford and acousin who’s name I can’t remember”).And then there was the time that DaleEarnhardt arrived by helicopter and justabout everybody went nuts.

“They (NASCAR) were racing atMichigan. I had him (Earnhardt) com-ing in for a Saturday race. He flew hisplane into the airport at Mount Hope.We had him picked up there in a heli-copter and flown over to Cayuga andthe helicopter landed right on the frontchute. He got out and the grandstandswent crazy.

“He spun a guy out to win the race.Then he signed autographs for everyonewho wanted one. We had his wife andson (Kerry) up in the tower. We had areal good time.”

[email protected]

It’s not just racing — it’s entertainment

Bob Slack wants to build a NASCAR legacy in Ontario starting with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Above: Mark Martin takes the checkered flag to win under caution the GM FlexFuel250 Craftsman Truck Series race at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida February 17, 2006. Martin drove his number 6 Scotts Ford in the race, which leads up to run-ning of the 48th Daytona 500 NASCAR race on February 19. REUTERS/Pierre DuCharme

Automobiles living longerBy Tony van AlphenTorstar wire service

The trend of more old vehicleson Canadian roads isn’t show-ing any sign of conking out.

The number of 10-year or olderautos in operation has climbed morethan 510,000 in the past five years to6.8 million in 2005, according tovehicle registration data fromDesRosiers Automotive Consultantsand R.L. Polk Canada Inc.

DesRosiers president DennisDesRosiers says his firm forecaststhe number of old cars and truckswill hit 7 million before the end ofthe decade.

DesRosiers says over the years,auto manufacturers have been build-ing vehicles better so they lastlonger. For example, galvanized steelstarted replacing carbon steel in thelate 1980s and reduced body corro-sion dramatically.

The quality of those vehicles farexceeds the dilapidated clunkerssputtering down the street a genera-tion ago, he says.

Other statistics indicate a con-sumer shift from cars to moredurable trucks during the past decadecontributed to the continuingincrease in older vehicles.

Trucks are also easier to repairafter collisions than cars, he says.

At the same time, DesRosiers saysgovernments aren’t doing much toput the brakes on the trend and forceolder vehicles off the road throughrequirements for better fuel economyand lower emissions.

He rejects arguments motorists arekeeping their vehicles longerbecause they can’t afford new mod-els, because statistics indicate realprices have dropped in recent years.

The registration data shows that,over the past decade, the number of10-year-old operating vehicles inCanada has climbed almost 2.6 mil-lion to 6.8 million.

DesRosiers says the federal gov-ernment could force older vehiclesoff the road and improve fuel econo-my and the environment by imple-menting maximum mileage limits orhigher taxes on them.

“A large portion of the country’sout-of-tune engines would beremoved from service, the new vehi-cle market would receive a boost andthe used vehicle market would stillhave enough headroom to operatewith a degree of health,” DesRosierssays.“Loopholes could be written forpeople wishing to collect highmileage classic cars, but the vastmajority of daily commuters wouldbe forced into making ecologicallysound transportation decisions.”

The data shows luxury brandssuch as Lexus, Mercedes-Benz,Infiniti, Acura, BMW, Volvo andCadillac had the highest survivalrates of 11- to 20-year-old vehicles.However, Saturn, Toyota and Hondavehicles also had high rates.

By Rick MatsumotoTorstar wire service

Hamilton Tiger-Cats owner BobYoung insists it’s not a put-onwhen he refers to himself as an

idiot who surrounds himself with smartpeople to protect him from himself.

“The reality, as Ticat fans are learningto their dismay, is that I wasn’t kidding,”he says. “I am a bit of an idiot. It takesme a while to learn new things.”

What the billionaire software makerhas learned since he purchased the bank-rupt team late in the 2003 CFL season isthat you can’t start a business with agroup of novices at key positions.

He began his first full year as owner(2004) with a rookie president, DaveSauve; a rookie general manager, RonLancaster; a rookie head coach, GregMarshall, and a rookie owner, himself.

“That’s arguably three too many rook-ies,” he says.

Today, the rookies, save for himself,are either gone or moved on to otherpositions within the organization. Andthe rebuilding of the key positions onthe football side of the operation is infull swing.

The Ticats took the occasion of theirannual golf tournament at CenturyPines Golf Club in Flamborough yester-day to announce the appointment ofMarcel Desjardins as general manager.He has been the assistant GM of theMontreal Alouettes for the past fiveyears.

Rob Katz, the club’s chief operatingofficer who has been acting generalmanager, will return to looking after thebusiness operation.

Young says he started to get the mes-sage early last season that putting

together a leadership group composedof inexperienced people was a mistake.The euphoria of a successful freshmanyear — when the Ticats finished with a9-8-1 record and Marshall won coach-of-the-year honours — evaporatedfaster than the annual Stanley Cup hopesof Maple Leaf fans as the team beganthe 2005 season with six consecutivelosses.

Young relieved Lancaster of the GM’sposition and installed Katz, then listedas the team’s senior business adviser, onan interim basis. Lancaster was bumpedupstairs with the title of senior consult-ant, football operations.

A month later Sauve, a former Ticatlineman, announced he was quitting toconcentrate on running his coffee shopchain.

The Ticats finished the year with a 5-13 record and when they opened this

season with four consecutive losses,Marshall was dumped.

Lancaster was coaxed back onto thesidelines to replace Marshall on an inter-im basis.

As the Ticats continued to slide —they failed to score a touchdown in threestraight home losses — the team thisweek fired offensive co-ordinator JoePaopao and offensive line coach KaniKauahi.

“As an organization we are gettingmuch smarter,” says Young. “And wetook a quantum leap in the footballsmarts in our organization with the hir-ing today of Marcel.”

The 40-year-old Desjardins, a nativeof Burlington, has worked under theAls’ Jim Popp, considered one of theleague’s best GMs.

“It’s hard to argue that if (Popp) isn’tthe best GM in this league he’s one of

the top two,” Young says. “To get theguy Jim’s been tutoring for the last fiveyears is a great coup for us.”

Desjardins doesn’t feel the Ticats areas bad talent-wise as people make out.

“I did catch the last half of their mostrecent game and the effort certainlywasn’t there,” he says. “Everybodyseemed to be going in their own direc-tion. You have to believe in the guy nextto you. You have to get everyone work-ing together. That’s the first thing thathas to be done here.”

Desjardins’ first major task will be tohire a head coach and that likely won’thappen until after the season.

One name that has already come up isformer Alouettes head coach CharlieTaaffe (1999-2000), who compiled a 24-12 regular-season record before taking acollege football job in the U.S. He hasexpressed interest in the Ticat job.

26 • INDEPENDENTSPORTS SEPTEMBER 3, 2006

Ticats get ‘football smarts’Hire Alouettes’ Desjardins as GM; ‘I am a bit of an idiot,’ owner says

By Randy StarkmanTorstar wire serivce

Elvis has left the building — heeven described it in those verywords himself for the first time.

Three-time world champion ElvisStojko is done with figure skating. Afierce competitor who forged an amaz-ing career against great odds beforeretiring as a competitor after the 2002Olympics, Stojko has decided he’s hadit with professional skating shows. Hehas performed on ice for the last time— and he’s not leaving because he’sjust launched a singing career.

There’ll be no gala figure skating TVspecial to celebrate the two-timeOlympic silver medallist. And you candefinitely forget about those sappy,money-grabbing farewell tours.

“No farewell tour. Not for this boy,”says Stojko. “To go through the wholerigmarole of a tour and all that, I justdidn’t want to deal with that. It’s justbeen really difficult, so I didn’t want todrag it out. Short and sweet and to thepoint. If I’m going to retire, I’m retired.

I’m not going to mess around.”The 34-year-old from Richmond Hill

is adamant he’ll remain retired as askater, unlike so many athletes whoexperience a change of heart after ayear or two away from the sport theyloved.

The thing is Stojko’s heart really has-n’t been in it the past two years. It wasno longer his passion: it had become ajob. After taking two months off at onepoint, he found it very hard to motivatehimself again.

“It was kind of funny because whenyou have no more words to say orwords to write, then what? And that’skind of like with skating, I had no morewords to say for skating,” he said.

“I was finished. It was like my bookwas done. The novel was finished. Whywrite a second movie when the first onewent so well? Why ruin it?

“With music, I feel like I have a newbook, not just a chapter but a wholenew book to talk about things and liveand I can express it through words.”

Stojko’s duet with Canadian Idolfinalist Ashley Leitao on Braided’s

debut album is currently getting airplay,while his own album is being readiedfor a pre-Christmas release. But he saidhis new venture didn’t influence hisdecision.

“I think either way, if I had a musiccareer or not, I would still retire at thispoint,” says Stojko. “I wanted to makethat clear, too. I’m not giving up one foranother. I don’t think it would be smartto do that. I think I should go as long asI can with one and see how I feel and behonest with that. It just happens to bethat there’s a nice transition now.”

Stojko’s announcement stunned fig-ure skating fans who have traditionallyexpected their favourites to stickaround for a decade and often evenlonger as pros once they’ve finishedcompeting.

Rather than cash in on his last skate,Stojko chose to perform it at a low-keyevent, the Mariposa Gala two weeksago at the Barrie Molson Centre, afundraiser for his old club, where heskated under coach Doug Leigh for 14years. There had been a difficult breakwith Leigh towards the end of his

career, but Stojko came to his “secondhome” to wrap things up. No one knewthat this was Stojko’s final skatebeforehand except his close friend andkung-fu coach Glenn Doyle andDoyle’s wife, Roselle Soussana, whochoreographed his routine.

He skated his last routine to Queen’sThe Show Must Go On.

“I always wanted to skate to thatsong,” he says. “I think it was appropri-ate. No matter where I go and what Ido, the show must go on.”

When he caught his breath after-wards, Stojko took the mike andannounced to the crowd they had justseen his last skate.

The first people Stojko thanked,strangely enough, were his legion ofcritics, the ones who said he’d nevermake it because among other things hedidn’t look at all like a figure skater andlacked the necessary artistry.

“I thanked everyone who talkedbehind my back and always criticizedme, and I thanked them because theymade me strong. They fuelled the mon-ster. So I thanked them first. I told the

people, ‘This will be an unusual groupof people to thank, but they are a part ofwho I am as well.’”

After thanking Leigh, Doyle, hisskating idol Brian Orser, and his par-ents among others, Stojko couldn’tresist uttering the line he’d resisted hisentire career up until then.

“I actually did say that at the end,because I never said it ever in mycareer. At the very, very end, I said,‘And the old cliché, as many peoplewould say — and this is my first timesaying it — Elvis will be leaving thebuilding.’”

Elvis Stojko acknowledges the standing ovation while performing at the closing of the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Edmonton, Alta. in 2004. Andy Clark/Reuters

Stojko hangs ’em upSkater embarks on career as a singer — with no regrets

“I think either way, if I had a music career

or not, I would still retire at this point.”

Elvis Stojko

SEPTEMBER 3, 2006 INDEPENDENTSPORTS • 27

Solutions for crossword on page 24

Solutions for sudoku on page 24Tea on the tundra

1.866.686.8100humbervalley.com

“You have to see it to believe it.”“The accommodations are magnificent.”

“Canada’s best kept secret.”

mainland shore lunch. It wasn’t a Lloyd Colbourne-style boil up, but neither was

it Pepsi and ham sandwiches. First I have to tell you a littleabout Mike and Terry — not at all typical mainlanders.

Mike is originally from Calgary, but fell in love with thenorth at a tender age. He is now “homesteaded” on a riverbank about three hours’ drive outside Yellowknife, where heis somewhat of a celebrity for his escapades with bigNorthern Pike on a fly rod. His cabin is built of logs he cutalong the river’s bank and floated to his property. He is acharacter, to say the least.

Terry grew up in Kamloops, B.C., a quintessential fly-fish-ing region. Terry embraced his roots and has been a profes-sional fly-fishing guide for 20 years. He has appeared on Fly-Fishing B.C. and has fished with Lefty Kregh. The fly fish-ing aficionados among us will know what that means.

Both Mike and Terry can cook up a mean shore lunch. Fora week in the unspoiled northern wilderness, we feasted onthe likes of grilled Arctic char, honey-cajun lake trout, deep-fried grayling, and fish kabobs.

On an early morning fly-out to Sulky River, there were fiveof us on a quest for the elusive Arctic grayling. The Sulky isa river system that flows into Great Bear and is renowned forworld class grayling fishing. Mike and Terry were guidingRod and myself, along with Dave Linkiewicz from Arizona.Rod and I became great friends with Dave and plan to stay intouch. He is a kindred fishing adventuring spirit.

By 1 p.m. we had built up a powerful appetite by hookingno less than 50 hard-fighting grayling each. It was time forshore lunch or a boil up, whatever. Rod, Dave, and I collect-ed dry wood and built two campfires — one for Terry and onefor Mike. On the menu was Terry’s deep-fried grayling withwedges, and Mike’s specialty, fish kabobs.

Terry rolled grayling fillets in breadcrumbs, and addedsome secret spice. Then he threw them in a frying pan filledwith hot oil. The pre-boiled potato wedges met the same fate.

Meanwhile, Mike was cubing a combination of lake trout,veggies and grayling. When the fire had burned to a bed ofhot glowing coils, Mike positioned his skewers of lightlyCajun-seasoned fish and veggies on the fire.

I have to admit, this was one of the best outdoor cook-upsI’ve ever experienced. I won’t even attempt to describe thesmell in the air. Suffice to say we kept a keen lookout for hun-gry grizzlies.

But there was something missing — tea. Newfoundlanderscan’t do without a cup of tea, either in the woods or on thetundra. Rod and I rummaged up an old ketchup can andboiled some crystal clear Arctic water. We’re still not surewhat the can was previously used for, but sometimes you justhave to live on the edge.

All hands washed down Terry’s and Mike’s culinarydelights with strong black tea. Maybe we’ve added a perma-nent addition to the Great Bear Lake shore lunch.

Paul Smith is a freelance writer living in Spaniard’s Bay,enjoying all the outdoors Newfoundland and Labrador has tooffer.

[email protected]

Paul Smith/The Independent

From page 28

By Bob WhiteFor The Independent

Targa Newfoundland offers FayMatthews a rare opportunity to tellhusband Geoff Fowlow where to

go, how to get there, and what to do whenhe arrives. And she’s become quite good atit.

Of course, as navigator, it’s her job. Thehusband and wife team are regular partic-ipants in the annual car race — and bothsee the humour in the situation.

“The whole week can be considered awife’s dream,” laughs Fowlow. “But, it’strue, I have to listen to her. And she’s agreat navigator.”

For her part, Matthews takes the jobseriously — but not too seriously.

“I’m responsible for making sure hegets to where we’re supposed to go and atthe right time,” she says. “It can be quiteintense at times, but … we don’t want totake the fun out of it.”

Having participated in every TargaNewfoundland to date, the couple enjoysthe annual experience. And again this year— their fifth — they’re excited to getbehind the wheel and hit the road for theevent, Sept. 9-16.

“It’s something that we share and itgives us a wonderful memory,” saysMatthews. “I’m sure there are people whothink we are cracked, but we have funwith it.”

Targa Newfoundland is a 2,200 km longautomotive adventure, held over sevendays in September throughout eastern andcentral Newfoundland.

The event allows the owners of historic,classic and modern sporting motor vehi-cles to drive them the way they weredesigned to be driven.

PASSION FOR CARSFowlow has had a passion for cars from

the time he was two years old. The firstvehicle he bought was a 1955 PorscheSpeedster, when he was 16 years old.From that point on, he’s been a collectorof classic cars. He drives a 1957 JaguarXK140 in Targa.

He owns several rare vehicles, includ-ing a 1905 Apier, originally owned by thegovernor of India. He got the car “unfin-ished,” and he’s spent 20-odd yearsresearching, fabricating, and rebuildingthe antique. He hopes to have it roadwor-thy in the near future.

“I’ve always been fascinated with carsand to get the opportunity to drive them(like this) … That’s what Targa offers.”

He shares that passion with his wife,who was no stranger to cars growing up.

“I wasn’t one to be the helpless femalewhen it came to cars and if there wereproblems,” she says. “And when I metGeoff, well, it was a case of ‘if you can’tbeat them, join them.’”

When Targa was first introduced in theprovince, Fowlow knew it would be worthtrying the race. In fact, he knew it wouldbe fun to experience — and it is, eachyear.

“After that first year, it was even betterthan I hoped it might be. We have no illu-sions of winning, but it is a challenge tofinish the race and of course we don’twant to finish in the end of the pack, butaround the middle of the pack like we didlast year.

“If we can do that, we’ll be pleased.”Even though both grew up in this

province, Fowlow admits it’s easy to getlost every now and then.

Fowlow, a doctor, has operated a prac-tice in Arnold’s Cove for more than 30years, and Matthews is Chief OperatingOfficer of the Trinity, Conception,Placentia Eastern Health Board.

‘HOLIDAY FOR THE MIND’“The week of Targa is like a holiday for

the mind,” Fowlow says.Fowlow and Matthews cherish Targa for

many reasons, from the process of gettingthe car ready to race to the camaraderie oflike-minded drivers. They appreciate thetips they get from professional drivers,and the work of the many volunteers.

“Our roads are fantastic for this type ofdriving,” Fowlow says. “Basically, thereare not a lot of other places in the worldwhere an event like this can take place.And to see and hear these cars, the oldones and the newer ones, being driven likethey were meant to be, is a wonderfulthing.”

Matthews says Targa has also given

them new appreciation for the spectacularbeauty of Newfoundland.

“I guess we can sometimes take it forgranted, but because there are so manypeople in Targa who come from outsidethis province, we get to see it through theireyes,” she says.

“They all think this place is fantastic.And for us, there are places we probably

wouldn’t have had the opportunity to visitif not for Targa.”

The excitement in their voices is audi-ble, as they make the final preparations for this year’s run. Both husband andwife are committed to participating aslong as they can.

[email protected]

INDEPENDENTSPORTSSUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2006 — PAGE 28

Ifirst heard the term “shore lunch” onthe now defunct CanadianSportsfishing TV series. Henry and

Italo would always end the show byheading off for a shore lunch. It invari-ably disappointed me when the creditswould roll and viewers would be left insuspense — never really sure if they atefish or not.

Lloyd Colbourne, on the other hand,exalted the shore lunch and enshrined itas a vital part of the Newfoundland out-door experience. But he never called it ashore lunch. Lloyd would proclaim inhis signature jovial tone, “Bryce old

man, I think it’s time for a boil up.”I’ve always considered shore lunch to

be a mainlandish perversion of a boil up.Maybe I’m wrong, but while Henry andItalo were singing the praises of today’stackle, Lloyd was showing us how fresh-ly caught fish are meant to be enjoyed.

Lloyd and Bryce devoted sometimes

10 minutes of their half hour show to theboil up. Bryce would prepare the fire asLloyd cleaned trout and sliced the fatpork. Smoke blurred the camera’s visionwhile tea steeped in a copper kettle andpork rendered in a cast iron pan.

Then Lloyd would lay freshly caughtbrook trout in the pan and make his com-mentary on the appetizing smell hangingin the air. It’s a challenge for words todescribe the aromatic mixture of woodsmoke, fat pork, trout, strong tea, andhome-made bread, but Lloyd made aspirited effort. Mix in the tobacco smokefrom Lloyd’s pipe and, well, it must have

been overwhelming. How could wordsmeasure up? You just had to be there. Asa teenager glued to the TV I appreciatedand identified with his enthusiasm. Theman loved the outdoors and it showed.

Canadian Sportsfishing aired nation-ally 1986-1999 and set the stage for thelegion of fishing shows that dominateweekend cable. Some are tacky andultra-commercial, while others areinformative, entertaining and well pro-duced. Henry Waszczuck and ItaloLabignan produced and starred inCanadian Sportsfishing and are pioneersin angling television.

But they could have learned some-thing from Lloyd Colbourne. Lloyd pro-duced a local Newfoundland outdoor TVseries that ran back in the 1970s and’80s. I think he was ahead of his time asa conservationist and steward of the out-door experience.

My fishing buddy, Rod Hale, and Ijust returned from a fishing trip toPlummer’s Lodge on Great Bear Lake inCanada’s North West Territories. Ourenthusiastic guides, Mike and Terry,blew away my preconception of the

The Great Bear Lake shore lunchPaul Smith heads to the Northwest Territories for a week of fishing — and fine outdoor eating

See “Tea,” page 27

Targa teamHusband and wife team ready for fifth year in Targa Newfoundland

Fay Matthews and husband Geoff Fowlow in Harbour Mille during last year’s Targa race. Randy Dawe photo

PAUL SMITHThe Rock outdoors

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2006-09-03