What a ruckus we’ve caused.Last week’s cover story —or, more accurately, the

MHA headshots and expense figures onThe Independent’s front page — gotmore than a few backs up among ourlegislators, setting open-lines abuzzand landing us the threat of legal actionif papers weren’t pulled from storeshelves and a clarification issued.

“Many, many of the MHAs are very,very upset,” Harvey Hodder, Speakerof the House and chair of the InternalEconomy Commission, tells TheIndependent. “It’s unfortunate, I’m not

saying it was deliberate … all I’m say-ing is that visuals in the kind of atmos-phere we’re in now, communicate.

“I have to impress upon you … howoffended and how deeply hurt and feel-ing very maligned and unfairly criti-cized members of the House have beenas a consequence.”

The July 2 Independent featured the

faces of all 48 MHAs, with two num-bers beside each one: the amount eachclaimed in constituency allowance; andthe total claims each made in the 2004-05 fiscal year. The second numberencompassed other expenses, includingtravel and per diem claims, which werenot broken down for readers.

While each number was correct, we

have filled in the expense gaps thisweek on pages 8 and 9.

Each MHA is given an expenseallowance every fiscal year, whichvaries from about $14,400 up to nearly$90,000 — depending on the size andlocation of the constituency — tospend on travel within their districts,between the district and St. John’s,

meal and accommodation claims, andthe heavily scrutinized “constituencyallowance,” a catch-all category foreverything from pencils to advertisingto donations for community groups.

Politicians are generally treated witha certain amount of skepticism andwariness by much of the general public.There is no doubt the current spendingscandal — which has led to accusationsthat four MHAs significantly overspenttheir allowances — has only deepenedthe cynicism.

The Independent is taking this oppor-tunity to take another look at what our representatives in the House ofAssembly are paid. According to 2005 numbers gathered by the Canadian

Lawyer says briefcase stolen for client’s papersLawyer Averill Baker sus-

pects a briefcase stolenfrom her car in late June

was specifically targetedbecause it contained papers pre-pared by her client, the sus-pended director of financialoperations for the House ofAssembly.

“I believe that,” Baker tellsThe Independent.

The briefcase containedstatements by Bill Murray, whowrote them by hand while apatient at the WaterfordHospital and, later, the HealthSciences Centre. “It was of sucha sensitive nature that I askedhim (Murray) to write ‘To mylawyer’ at the top of each andevery page. So if the materialdoes show up, it’s certainlyprivileged.”

The documents “namednames and there were dollarvalues,” Baker says. “Politicalnames, past and present.”

The briefcase was reportedlystolen June 28 from Baker’s carwhile parked outside her St.John’s home on King’s Bridge

Road. The case was taken thesame day Baker says she pickedup Murray’s handwritten state-ments.

TARGETEDThe thief or thieves gained

entry to the car by breaking thedriver-side window. Baker saysshe believes the briefcase wasspecifically targeted becausemoney, sunglasses and anexpensive CD player were leftbehind.

She says her car windows aretinted and the briefcase couldn’tbe seen easily from the outside.The briefcase was also wedgedbetween the front and back seat.

Baker says she didn’t bringher briefcase into her home thatparticular night because shethought it would be safer in thecar. “I had all the windows openin my house because it was sohot.”

Murray has been off work onsick leave since June 1. He waslater suspended and barred fromConfederation Building.

— Ryan Cleary

The lawyer for the civil servant at thecentre of a scandal that continues toshake the province’s political land-

scape says her client is innocent of the allega-tions against him and only did what politi-cians directed him to do.

Averill Baker says her client, Bill Murray,the suspended director of financial operationsfor the House of Assembly, points the fingerof blame at the MHAs on the InternalEconomy Commission who, in Baker’s opin-ion, “had been dictating to him what to do.”

Baker tells The Independent the one timeMurray tried to dispute an expense claim hewas shot down. “I simply don’t understandabout my client being ganged up on orblamed for this in that the one time he did tryto dispute a claim he was told, ‘Look, whoare you to ask me about this? Who are you toask me what this is for?’”

Baker alleges auditor general JohnNoseworthy and an assistant visited Murrayon June 22, while he was a patient at theWaterford Hospital — a meeting shedescribes as inappropriate considering herclient was in a weakened mental state.

She argues information gathered byNoseworthy at that meeting — information,she alleges, the auditor general used to helpbuild his case — shouldn’t be admissible incourt because Murray, at that point, didn’thave a lawyer.

Baker is highly critical of the auditor gen-eral’s overall investigation, accusing him ofstepping “way out of line” by assuming the

role of the police.“The statements that were taken under the

circumstances will most certainly not beadmissible because they were very bad cir-cumstances to be taking statements from peo-ple,” Baker says.

“He (Murray) was given no caution what-soever and yet the auditor general is turningaround and using these statements as part ofhis report, at least to support his accusationsthat he’s waving publicly left, right and cen-tre.”

Murray’s “very small room” in the psychi-atric hospital was a busy place that particularJune day, Baker says, with Noseworthy’svisit followed “10 minutes later” by anothermeeting when MHA Harvey Hodder, speaker

of the House of Assembly, and John Noel,clerk of the House, showed up.

“As the auditor general well knows, all ofthe money has to be approved, all of theclaims have to be approved by the commis-sion itself. Harvey Hodder is head of thatcommission, so I just found it odd that, youknow, that Hodder was quick to blame some-one given that all of these expenses are reallyhis responsibility and the others on the com-mission,” Baker says.

“I don’t see my client as someone who’sdone anything wrong. Again, I’m technicallynot allowed to say that. I’ve learned this yearthat we’re not allowed to tell the public thatour clients are innocent, but I honestly don’tunderstand why Mr. Murray is, why anyoneis pointing a finger at him. Why isn’tNoseworthy lining up people on the commis-sion and asking them, putting them under thegun and asking them how could you havedone this?”

Noseworthy has refused further commenton the scandal while the Constabulary isinvestigating. Hodder refused commentbecause of the ongoing police investigation.

Murray, who has since been transferred tothe Health Sciences’ psychiatric ward, wherehe remains, has been off work on sick leavesince June 1. He was later suspended from hisposition by the provincial government andbarred from Confederation Building.

Four politicians have been implicated byNoseworthy in a review of the legislature’sfinances, alleging they overspent their con-stituency allowances by more than $1 million.

Ed Byrne has resigned his cabinet post,while MHAs Wally Andersen (Liberal, Torngat

FallguyLawyer for suspended

civil servant says her clientinnocent; focus should be

shifted to politicians

See “Huge problem,” page 2

See “We’re working,” page 8

Auditor general John Noseworthy released the final three reports dealing with alleged overspending by MHAs on July 4. His findings have shaken the province’s political landscape over the past three weeks. Paul Daly/The Independent

VOL. 4 ISSUE 27 — ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR — SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, JULY 9-15, 2006 — WWW.THEINDEPENDENT.CA — $1.50 HOME DELIVERY (HST included); $2.00 RETAIL (HST included)

QUOTE OF THE WEEK“(Bill Murray) felt as if he was doing the work of six people … con-stantly being hounded by the MHAs. Even on Christmas day he’dget phone calls, calling him at home, wanting to process a claim.”

— Lawyer Averill Baker

Life Story . . . . . . . 12Gallery . . . . . . . . . 18Noreen Golfman . . 19Food column . . . 20Crossword . . . . . . 24

RYANCLEARY

PAGE 3Scads of juicyscandals overthe years

GALLERY 18Alain Potrel finds his voice as a painter

STEPHANIEPORTER Political price

Province’s politicians Canada’s third highest paid;electorate must ensure MHAs are worthy

2 • INDEPENDENTNEWS JULY 9, 2006

Mountains) and NDP member RandyCollins (Labrador West) have hiredlawyers. Former Liberal MHA Jim Walsh(Conception Bay East-Bell Island) hasalso been implicated.

According to Noseworthy, most of themoney can be linked directly to the bankaccounts of the politicians.

Noseworthy has also said the allegedmisspending of $1 million in governmentmoney couldn’t have happened without“collusion” within the legislature.

Baker says she has a “huge problem”with Noseworthy’s investigation ofMurray, who, as an employee of theHouse, has no protection in the form of aunion.

“The auditor general is not supposed tobe acting like the police,” Baker says.“He’s looking into possible criminalbehaviour and he has no problem report-ing it to the CBC, calling press confer-ences and stating how sure he is thatsomething, that there was collusion …going well beyond what the auditor gener-al’s role is.

“Going way beyond suggesting that hedid something wrong, stating to the pressevery morning that he truly believedsomething was wrong,” she adds.

“So when you’re the auditor generaland you’re going well beyond doing yournormal audit and you’re now steppinginto the role of the police, you ought notto go down to somebody’s hospital room,especially if they’re in a ward for a weakmental state.”

Baker says the auditor general ques-tioned Murray when the two met, “andthen he (Noseworthy) suggested that heshould be telling others about this, likeMr. Hodder. And then within 10 minutesMr. Hodder showed up with John Noel.”

Unique Keepsakes, a company ownedby Murray and/or his wife is also said tohave received $170,000 in “inappropriatepayments” between April 2001 andDecember 2005.

As for that particular allegation, Bakersays Murray immediately disclosed hisconflict “before any claims were putthrough, immediately disclosed it and wecan prove that and we will.

“I really don’t think that Mr. Murray,and again, I shouldn’t be saying this, but Idon’t see there’s any evidence that he’sdone anything wrong. I don’t see it.”

Baker says Murray is “hanging inthere.” She says her client was undertremendous stress while on the job asfinancial director. She says Murray hadrequested support staff to help him in hisposition, but was turned down.

“He told me the other day he felt as ifhe was doing the work of six people andhe and his wife could never get a holiday,they were constantly being hounded bythe MHAs. Even on Christmas day he’dget phone calls, calling him at home,wanting to process a claim.”

Baker says the money in question neverwent to Murray.

“This is what people don’t understand.This is not money that went to Mr.Murray. So I don’t think there’s a shred ofevidence. If the claims were improperthere isn’t a shred of evidence that anymore went to him.”

Premier Danny Williams rejected callsthis week to hold a public inquiry into thescandal. Justice Derek Green has beenasked to review political spending andrecommend a new, fool-proof system.

— With a file from Sue Kelland-Dyer.

From page 1

‘Huge problem’ with investigation

Confederation itself could possibly bedubbed the biggest scandal inNewfoundland and Labrador poli-

tics, particularly with the conspiracy theo-ries surrounding the final vote count. ButConfederation — like the infamous upperChurchill deal — is more of an ever-leech-ing issue involving grey areas and differingopinions. It’s the sudden, breaking storieslike the current House scandal that reallygrab public attention.

Memorial University History professorJim Hiller says there have been some“humdingers” over the years, although hedoesn’t think Newfoundland and Labradorhas necessarily displayed any more politicalcorruption than other provinces.

Hiller says the 1920s and ’30s were par-ticularly murky times across Canada. Hepoints to the Richard Squires governmentfor top local examples. On two separateoccasions, Squires was forced to quit as

prime minister of Newfoundland under alle-gations of corruption. His last exit was exe-cuted with a spectacular James Bond-styledash out the back of the Colonial Buildingthrough a secret exit, fleeing as he fled thou-sands of angry protestersr.

“I think it was all really a much of amuchness,” says Hiller. “If you look at whatwas happening in Quebec or NewBrunswick, things were all of the same kind

of stamp; it was the same style of politics.”Although political veteran John Crosbie

says the current audit scandal is up there ina “pretty deplorable” category as New-foundland and Labrador scandals go, heconcedes the Squires incidents were proba-bly even worse. He adds, however, that theaudit scandal is of a unique nature becauseit turns the general public not against anyone party in particular, but against all politi-cians.

“In this case you’ve got three politicalparties involved,” says Crosbie. “This scan-dal affects the House of Assembly as aninstitution and how it runs itself and governsitself. It’s not the normal kind of scandalthat sometimes occurs with governments.”

One of the province’s most famous polit-ical mess-ups is probably Brian Peckford’sfailed hydroponic cucumber operation inthe late 1980s, which saw losses of around$22 million. Crosbie says the Sprung green-house incident was an example of mistakesmade — not criminal wrong doing.

But Crosbie says the infamous father ofConfederation, Joey Smallwood, had hisfair share of scandals. Crosbie mentions a1970s commission of inquiry into fundsimproperly acquired by Smallwood, whowas apparently involved in the ownership ofliquor stores that were leased to the govern-ment — but he says not even Smallwood’smany controversies during his double-decade run as premier compare to the cur-

rent situation.The following are of some of

Newfoundland and Labrador’s most scur-rilous humdingers.

JAMES WINTER AND THE REID RAILWAY CONTRACT:

During 1898, Newfoundland’s rulingConservative government headed by JamesWinter caused a storm of controversy whenit negotiated a contract with Canadian engi-neer and capitalist R.G. Reid to operate theNewfoundland Railway. With a financialcrisis on his hands, Prime Minister Winter’scontract proposed handing the railway fullyover to Reid, along with other grants andsweeping concessions. After months ofintergovernmental squabbling the contractwent through.

Scandal broke, however, when it wasrevealed Winter’s minister of Finance,Alfred Morine, the person responsible fornegotiating the contract, was employed byReid as his solicitor. Morine was dismissedand although Winter refused to resign, hisgovernment crumbled under rising publicprotest.

EDWARD MORRIS AND THE TIMBER-LANDS CONFLICTS OF INTEREST:

Following a surge of interest fromAmerica for timber in 1909, Newfound-

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SCRUNCHINSA weekly collection of Newfoundlandia

It seems the Newfoundland andLabrador public is still looking for aname to call the political scandal

that has gripped the province for weeks.Baublegate isn’t quite there;Twiddlinggate, my suggestion, didn’tcatch on; Fridgemagnetgate doesn’thave the right ring to it. Then, out of theblue, a reader called The Independentthis week with an excellent suggestion— Goldfinger, my new favourite, whichis a great segue into the topic of the cus-tomized MHA rings. According to theauditor general, each of the 79 goldrings cost $750, plus tax, for a total of$69,000.

The rings have the NewfoundlandCoat of Arms engraved on them. Thename of the company that made therings isn’t known.

Stephen Vaughan, owner of CampusRings in St. John’s, the province’s onlymanufacturer of insignia rings, evaluat-ed one of the controversial rings basedon a picture CBC Television’s Here andNow was good enough to pass along toThe Independent.

“The Coat of Arms appears solderedonto a stock shank,” Vaughan says.“The crest is poorly done and it lacksany real detail. The piece looks to be atwo-piece ring, which is traditionallythe least expensive of any ring with aninsignia on it.

“Not knowing the weight of the ringor the karat quality, I’d say the price forsomething like this should not top $300.

Even then, $300 is probably doing who-ever made it a favour.”

Vaughan says if the rings were madeby a reputable jeweler the company’sstamp would have been inside theshank.

Vaughan also takes issue with thejewelry being called MHA rings. “Thatcould be a bus driver ring who loves hisprovince,” he says. “I’d stop calling itan MHA ring and call it a poorly-craft-ed-Coat-of-Arms-of-Newfoundlandring.”

MURPHY’S LAWThirteen years ago, in 1993, former

Liberal MHA Tom Murphy was in hotwater for his constituency expenses. Areview of MHA expenses for the yearprevious showed Murphy, then-premierClyde Wells’ parliamentary assistant,cost taxpayers considerably more tokeep in office than other MHAs repre-senting city districts. Murphy claimed$21,000 in constituency expenses —the largest claim of any St. John’s mem-ber.

Because he had a home in Tors Cove,little more than a rock’s throw from St.John’s, Murphy was paid to maintain anapartment in the city. He claimed$1,528 in travel costs, as well as $4,146for district travel, meals and accommo-dations, plus $5,810 in constituencyallowance and $9,200 as a House perdiem.

Murphy was accused of breaking thelaw because his driver’s licence had theaddress of his St. John’s apartment. He

was also registered in the St. John’s Eastfederal voter’s list and voted in the pre-vious year’s federal election as a resi-dent of St. John’s East. Tors Cove wasin the federal riding of St. John’s West.

“Why do St. John’s MHAs have toreceive an allowance at all?” asked aneditorial of the day. “It’s not so muchfewer seats in the House that we need,it’s more modest rewards for MHAswho some would say are living likepotentates while tens of thousands oftheir constituents fight for enough wel-fare to live on.”

BACKBENCHER’S ROLEMurphy circulated a memo to MHAs

way back then explaining the role of abackbencher in 11 easy steps.

No. 8 was particularly interesting:“Should exercise enough authority inthe minds of bureaucrats in order to beseen as somewhat of a superior. This toprevent abuse of lack of authority oftenapparent in the way bureaucrats treatgovernment members.”

PREMIER PAYAn MHA is permitted to use money

from his or her constituency allowanceto make a charitable donation. At thesame time, Danny Williams found him-self in hot water during the last provin-cial election for donating his own per-sonal money to a firefighting supportcharity in Bay Roberts. What’s the dif-ference between personal money andtaxpayers’ money?

COD CAPERThe Times of London reported recent-

ly that Mafia-style gangs from Russiaare plundering protected cod stocks andthen laundering their illegally caughthauls through fishing ports in Britain.

“Norwegian authorities have givenwarning that illegal cod is being soldthroughout Britain, from local fish andchip shops to supermarkets. As much as50 per cent of the cod consignmentsarriving in Britain could be illegal,” TheTimes reported.

“The scam involves Russian-ownedtrawlers which operate from the north-ern port of Murmansk ignoring strict

quotas on fishing of cod, redfish andhalibut in the Barents Sea.

“The legal quota of cod from thesewaters is 480,000 tonnes a year but it isestimated that the Russian trawlers areover-fishing by as much as an extra100,000 tonnes a year.” Vessels areapparently escaping their quotas byoffloading their excess stock in interna-tional waters onto different ships. Thatpractice has been reported in recentyears on the Grand Banks. Wonder howmany tonnes have been overfished offour shores? It’s not so much a worrythese days, what with no fish left …

ryan.cleary@theindependent.ca

Courtesy of Here & Now, CBC Television

‘Humdingers’

Former premier Brian Peckford Paul Daly/The Independent

Protestors gather outside Colonial Building, April 1932.

See “Scads of scandels,” page 4

CLARE-MARIEGOSSE

A look back at some of Newfoundland andLabrador’s most scurrilouspolitical moments

land and Labrador’s forests became highly desir-able. The government, under Edward Morris,forced through amendments to Crown land legis-lation, making investment in Newfoundland’stimberlands more attractive to speculators.

It was later discovered a member of Morris’ cab-inet, who played a leading role in steering theseamendments through the house, held vested inter-est in an American company with timber rights tothousands of square miles of forest in Labrador.There was speculation other cabinet memberswere also involved in similar conflicts of interest.In his book, Politics in Newfoundland, Sid Noelwrites:

“Newfoundland governments had rarely if everbeen paragons of financial probity, but by 1909there were opportunities for corruption on a scalehitherto undreamed of.

“And the ‘new men’ were not the sort to letopportunities slip.”

RICHARD SQUIRES’ ELECTION BRIBES:After winning a second general election in

1923, Prime Minister Richard Squires wasaccused of using bribes to ensure his party’s suc-cess. The opposition investigated and an inquirywas launched, revealing evidence of questionablepayments made to individuals for obvious politi-cal gain.

Squires’ minister of agriculture and mines,Alex Campbell, was at the centre of the scandaland several members of cabinet demanded hisforced resignation. Squires refused and theoffended members then submitted their own res-ignations. After a warrant was issued by the attor-ney general, Squires was arrested and laterreleased on bond.

He resigned as prime minister, but remainedbehind the scenes, working on securing a possi-ble return to power.

RICHARD SQUIRESAND CORRUPTION CHARGES:

Squires beat a floundering conservative partyto resume his role as prime minister in the 1928general election. Although his new term beganwell, the onset of the Great Depression led tofresh scandalous allegations.

Finance Minister Peter Cashin accused fellowministers of corruption and Squires of falsifyingcouncil minutes to hide the fact he had beenreceiving secret payments out of public funds.Cashin’s allegations inflamed the economicallydevastated general public and a large protest wasorganized by the opposition in April 1932.

An angry crowd of 10,000 gathered outside theColonial Building and, receiving no response,broke in. Squires barely escaped out the backdoor and had no choice but to call an election.The Liberals were soundly beaten and the victo-rious opposition went about putting into place aCommission of Government.

JOEY SMALLWOOD AND ALFRED VALDMANIS:

In 1950 Premier Joey Smallwood appointedLatvian immigrant Alfred Valdmanis to head hisindustrialization efforts for Newfoundland in thehopes of enticing German and Baltic industrial-ists. In 1954, however, Valdmanis was dismissedon the grounds of serious fraud against the gov-ernment. He was sentenced to two years in jailand was later labelled by the media as a Nazi col-laborator during World War II.

JOEY SMALLWOOD AND THE LOGGERS STRIKE

When the International Woodworkers ofAmerica (IWA) came to Newfoundland to organ-ize a logging strike, Smallwood’s reputation as afriend of labour came to a sensational end whenhe launched a vigourous anti-IWA campaign. Theensuing strike was long, emotional and violent,

with one particularly frenzied protest leavingseveral men seriously wounded and one police-man clubbed to death.

JOEY SMALLWOOD AND JOHN DOYLE

Smallwood’s close business partnerships withIrish Canadian wheeler dealer John Doylethrough the 1950s and ’60s caused scandal afterSmallwood’s final fall from power.

Doyle, owner of mining company CanadianJavelin, had previously been charged in theStates with stock fraud and skipping bail, and in1972 was arrested by the RCMP in Montreal andcharged with fraud once again. True to form, heskipped bail after a brief prison stint and eludedcapture by fleeing to Panama where stock fraudwas not an extraditable offence.

BRIAN PECKFORD AND THE HYDRO-PONIC CUCUMBERS:

A two-year joint venture between the New-foundland and Labrador government and SprungEnviroponics to grow greenhouse cucumbersusing apparently miraculous new technologyended disastrously in 1989 with a $22 millionloss.

During the ensuing outrage, Peckford an-nounced his retirement from politics and the nextgovernment appointed a royal commission toinvestigate the cucumber debacle. The green-house project became a national symbol of fool-ish government spending and was dubbed one ofthe most embarrassing political mistakes inCanadian history.

4 • INDEPENDENTNEWS JULY 9, 2006

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Fee removal Fewer fees, less red tape key to B.C.’s successBy Nadya BellThe Independent

From hunting permits to driver’slicences to business registration,dealing with the provincial gov-

ernment may soon cost less. Government will reduce or eliminate

many fees as part of streamlining andred tape reduction. The new minister ofBusiness, Kevin O’Brien, will overseethe changes.

“There is a small working committeefrom this department that has been setwith the task of doing a complete reviewof all fees pertaining to many depart-ments,” says O’Brien. “(They will)come back with recommendations ifthey should be modified, eliminated orreduced.”

The Conservatives increased manyfees in their first budget in 2004.

“It was not a substantial amount ofmoney when it comes to government,but still, we needed it,” O’Brien says.“We were in a financial problem.”

In this year’s budget, governmenteliminated 34 fees, worth approximately$1.5 million.

The cost of small game and polar bearlicences were eliminated, along withnumerous co-operative and corporate

fees.Tory MHAs Paul Oram, Shawn

Skinner, and Wallace Young are on acommittee reviewing the fees. A formon the government’s website allows thepublic to submit comments.“They have to determine if the fees arewarranted, if they’re at the right level, ifwe’re charging too much or too little,”O’Brien says. “We have to look at itfrom all aspects; we want a transparentlook at exactly what the fees are therefor.”

The committee will consider publicsafety, health, cost recovery, and theenvironment when evaluating fees.

Newfoundland and Labrador is mod-eling its fee reduction initiative on theGovernment of British Columbia. As ofthis year, B.C. has cut 40 per cent of itstotal regulations since 2001. The origi-nal goal was for departments to reduceregulations by 33 per cent.

Rick Thorpe, B.C.’s minister respon-sible for regulatory reform, says cuttingred tape is central to the province’s suc-cess.

“Streamlining and simplifying andsaving people time is critical. The morewe can streamline things, and the morewe can make things easier — that meanssmall business operators have more time

to develop their businesses,” he says.“It’s really quite simple, when small

businesses in British Columbia are suc-cessful, British Columbia is successful.”

Thorpe says a new business regula-

tion act allows for faster incorporationand eliminates over 2,100 regulations.They have also simplified liquor licens-ing and the forest practices code.

“Things have never been better, we

have the lowest unemployment rate in30 years in B.C., so it’s bringing togeth-er a whole bunch of initiatives of whichregulatory reform was an importantpart.”.

The new minister of Business, Kevin O’Brien. Paul Daly/The Independent

JULY 9, 2006 INDEPENDENTNEWS • 5

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The greatest sin of all“Those Newfoundlanders tend

to vote for the biggest thiefamong them,” some Brit

cynic once said, “on the theory thathe’ll also steal a little for them.”

But that was in the bad old days.How different today! Now we have thenoble figure of Danny Williams who,by honest toil, put together a personalfortune of $250 million even at a timewhen the public debt stood at $11 bil-lion.

No wonder so many of us rejoice andclap hands that we are blessed by aDear Leader like Danny who fits sowell Mr. John C. Crosbie’s definition ofa sound politician: “Better to go into itrich than to go into it poor and come outrich.”

Not since poor Mr. Smallwood’s timehave I seen so many Newfoundlandersready to go down on one knee, kiss theprimerial ring without once being soimpious as to gaze directly at theprimerial countenance.

Little Caesar Williams. Our joy andour salvation. Several of the Open Lineregulars say they could hardly bear theagony on the poor crucified Danny’sface when he had to come on TV andfinger the Judas Iscariots.

Get a life, you people. We’ve beenup to our knees in crap for so long wecan’t smell it anymore.

It’s as if an asteroid wiped out allpolitical memory in this part of theworld.

The fault is not in our stars but inourselves. We never learn. We’realways ripe for the picking, too green toburn.

One dark and foggy night in the early1950s a large wooden crate was beingunloaded on a finger pier in St. John’sharbour. The straps broke. The cratefell open and was found to contain bitsand chunks of German tanks and air-craft now surplus to the needs of thatnation.

The thing is, this crate and otherswere supposed to contain delicate andhighly-modern equipment for makingeyeglasses.

“A great new eyeglass factory, Mr.Speaker,” explained Joey Smallwood.“A more modern, a more up-to-date, amore scientific sort of spectacle, farsurperior to any now being made on thecontinent of North America. Indeed,Mr. Speaker, anywhere in the NewWorld.”

Super specs for granny out of oldPanzer bits. This was just one of thegreat New Industry scams of the 1950s.They didn’t get better they just got big-ger … until Churchill Falls and beyond.

I know I’ll lose you with the history

but, poor brutes, you’re damned any-way … cling to your latest Lord andSaviour, Danny Williams, as you will.

After Confederation, Smallwoodcame upon a miracle. The commissionof government, by such littleeconomies as six-cent-a-day welfare,had left a cool $40 million in the kitty.What luck that Joey and Herr DoktorAlfried Valdmanis should meet at justthat time.

They’d tour Europe on the lookoutfor clever Germans (mostly) eager tobring great new industries to our part ofthe world. Eyeglass factories, rubberplants, hockey-stick manufacturies,chocolate bar consortiums, batteryworks. “Develop or Perish!” Mr.Smallwood told us.

He aimed to drag Newfoundland“kicking and screaming into the 20thcentury.” Hardly anybody kicked orscreamed. The Smallwood circus wasso entertaining and “Rich UncleOttawa” was sending granny chequesfor specs and the women a bonus forbreeding.

The $40 million soon went.Valdmanis was found to have been rip-ping off a percentage for himself.

Oh, the horror. Oh, the surprise. Butno time to stop now.

So by the 1960s we’d gone fromdevious Germans to the downright dia-bolical Americans. The Doyles, theShaheens, the Nixons. Now the stakeswere much higher.

Doyle did a linerboard mill atStephenville that went bust; Shaheendid an oil refinery at Come By Chancewhich collapsed at $500 million andsold for one dollar. Shaheen took to hisheels and went back into the arms of hisbosses, the CIA.

John C. Doyle was hove into H.M.Penitentiary. But one day I was at theMall when who should I see but Johnand the Missus buying a few pots andpans. He’d been let out on medicalgrounds. “Ach, aye. I signed him out,signed the wee paper,” the jolly oldcountry doctor used to boast. “Dr. Jock

V. Coyle re Mr. John C. Doyle.”He was let out of jail but while under

loose arrest in the city took flight andwas soon heard of in Panama where noone could lay a finger on him but wherehis old friends in the Smallwoodadministration could drop down andvisit.

I’ve lost you long ago. History doesthat. But surely there’s a certain pointfor all of us where history becomes thenear present.

Fun-loving Frank Moores enrichedmore than a few of his cod-jigging bud-dies who left no cod to come; youngAlfie Peckford took to his heels withtens of millions of cucumber moneygone into the mists; Brian Tobin andhis buddies would not fit closely intoCrosbie’s definition of the better sortof politician …

And all the rest of them. We’ve beenup to the knees in crap for so long wecan’t smell it any more.

Why the hysteria about the few shinybaubles sticking out of the dung hill?

A few gold rings in pig’s snouts? SirGalahad Danny with, as some of hisreverential handmaidens see it, his facea mask of pain? I think Craig Westcottsaw it better.

Craig opined on a TV panel that hewould not like to be a stick of chewinggum between Danny’s teeth.

Because, as it has long been inNewfoundland politics, the greatest sinof all is to be found out.

RAY GUYA poke in the eye

Children’s dental plan delayedFull coverage program may be ready next monthBy Nadya BellThe Independent

Some children will have to wait a littlelonger for a trip to the dentist chair.Theprovince’s universal dental coverage plan,

which was to take effect July 1, has been delayedat least a month.

Dr. David Wright, president of theNewfoundland and Labrador Dental Association,says kids’ dental problems are going untreatedbecause the province was unable to meet the pro-gram’s promised start date.

“For every day that the government fails toimplement something that they have the money inthe bank for, people are not receiving treatment.It’s a fact,” Wright says.

This year’s provincial budget added $4.1 millionto the children’s dental health program. Fundingfor the province’s dental plan had not significantlyincreased since 1991, while rates for services haveincreased — leaving parents to pay the balance.

Health Minister Tom Osborne says the full den-tal coverage plan was delayed in cabinet approvaland discussions with the dental association. Hesays the program should be ready in a month’stime.

Wright says the dental association has submitteda position paper to the Health Department and theyare waiting for a meeting to discuss the new MCPcoverage.

“Dentists have been put into a very bad situationbecause both they and the public believed that onJuly 1 there would be a new plan put in place,”says Wright. “I know there are dentists andpatients that have been booking appointments inanticipation of this.”

The children’s dental health program will coverall children under 12, regardless of income brack-et or private insurance coverage.

“Most provinces in Canada do not provide uni-versal dental coverage — they only provide dentalcoverage for children who are of families on socialassistance or low income families,” says Osborne.“Our dental program here in the province does notlook for income levels.”

He says providing dental care is an importantcontribution to social services in Newfoundlandand Labrador.

“It very important to ensure that children havegood dental health,” he says. “Especially in lowerincome families, there were children who simplywere not taking advantage of dental visits … thatwas of great concern to government.”

The dental association recommends the agelimit of dental insurance for children be increased.Osborne says improvements will be made to theplan as government is financially able.

“Obviously we’d like to increase the age toincorporate into the dental plan children up to theage of 17, which is something we’ve been lookingat.”

Darlene Neville, youth advocate forNewfoundland and Labrador, was involved withputting the program forward. She says her office ismonitoring the situation.

“Full access for children to dental care in thisprovince, it’s really a godsend, so it’s going to havea huge impact.”

Neville says she has not heard of any new casesof parents unable to provide treatment for theirchildren, which she says indicates that people arewaiting for the universal care program to takeeffect.

Keeping on eye on the comings and going of theships in St. John’s Harbour. Information providedby the Coast Guard Traffic Centre.

SUNDAYVessels Arrived: Maersk Dispatcher, Canada fromWhite Rose; Irving Canada, Canada, from St.John.Vessels Departed: Maersk Norseman, Canada toHibernia; Burin Sea, Canada to Terra Nova; JohnCharcot, Canada, to sea; Cicero, Canada toHalifax; Maersk Dispatcher, Canada, to Hibernia.

MONDAYVessels Arrived: ASL Sanderling, Canada, fromsea.Vessels Departed: Irving Canada, Canada toPortsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S.A.

TUESDAYVessels Arrived: Teleost, Canada from sea;Maasdam, Netherlands, from St. Pierre.Vessels Departed: ASL Sanderling, Canada, to

Corner Brook; Maasdam, Netherlands, to Nuuk,Greenland; Henry Larson, Canada to Iqualuit.

WEDNESDAYVessels Arrived: George R. Pearkes, Canada fromsea.Vessels Departed: Maersk Dispatcher, Canada, toTerra Nova.

THURSDAYVessels Arrived: Atlantic Eagle, Canada fromTerra Nova; Atlantic Hawk, Canada, from WhiteRose; Maersk Nascopie, Canada from Hibernia;Cabot, Canada from Montreal.

FRIDAYVessels Arrived: Western Regent, Panama, fromNetherlands; Cicero, Canada from Halifax.Vessels Departed: Atlantic Hawk, Canada, toWhite Rose; Cabot, Canada, to Montreal; AtlanticJet, France to St. Pierre; Wilfred Templeman,Canada to sea.

Premier Danny Williams

6 • INDEPENDENTNEWS JULY 9, 2006

GoldfingeredThere was a time in my young

reporting life when stories camedown to the almighty dollar.

Brian Tobin felt the brunt of that partic-ular stage. Hold the press — new furni-ture purchased for Ottawa office! Theprice tag of a new boardroom table andchairs (mahogany no less) made for akiller front page.

One particular story lead sticks withme, a piece written not long afterTobin returned home from Ottawa toturn this place around: Newfoundlandmay be Canada’s poorest province butBrian Tobin doesn’t have to worryabout gas money — his chauffeurtakes care of it.

The chauffeur found himself out ofwork the very next budget day. The ter-mination notice was even issued for allto hear in the budget speech. One ofTobin’s assistants approached me laterin the day outside the House ofAssembly to ask how it felt, knowing Ihad cost the man his job. I didn’t havean answer.

The Coast Guard was another story.The powers that be should have knownbetter than to task a ship to an eveningcruise around the bay serving lobstertails and filet mignon to an executivecrew on the ballroom floor/helicopter

pad.Tobin and his cabinet also comman-

deered a Coast Guard ship for a ride toLabrador with the exact same menu.Another front page hit, which droveTobin off his head. He went on theFisheries Broadcast to call me a fakejournalist. Nothing personal, Mr. T, justdoing my job. (Rule of thumb: journal-ists think we’re on the right track whenwe get a reaction.)

Then, ever so slowly, it happens —maturity/age kicks in and angleschange. Politicians deserve a break.There’s more to political life (for most)than money.

MHAs deserve a living wage — notnecessarily the third highest provincialpay in Canada behind Quebec andOntario (see pages 8-9) — but a decentincome to compensate them for timeaway from home and the family sacri-fices they’re forced to make. They alsodeserve a pension to take care of them-

selves when they’re done (if they makeit out alive). Not necessarily a gold-plated plan (turn to 8-9 again), but adecent retirement income to keep themin hair dye and bleach for the teeth.

Other facts of political life: politi-cians need cash for food, travel, lodg-ing, entertainment (not necessarily $50bottles of wine — but certainly bottlewater to wash down the hard-tack), andassorted office supplies, pencils andpens.

Our politicians certainly haven’tbeen denied.

Which brings us to the Goldfingerscandal that grips us today. The mediadidn’t cook this one up — the auditorgeneral served it on a platter, with goldrings for the serviettes and lapel pinsfor the dinner jackets.

The front page of last week’sIndependent caused quite a stir. Ournumbers were dead on the money butthe facts, we’ve been told, could bemisinterpreted (especially for thosewho only look at the pretty pictures).

Our intent was to show the kind ofmoney politicians have to play with.No more than that. Total expenses …with a breakout of constituencyallowances. What’s unfortunate is thefact that people were distracted from

the point: political spending is out ofcontrol.

Danny Williams isn’t the one todecide whether an inquiry should becalled. He’s a politician, which meanshe’s automatically in a conflict of inter-est. It’s not for him to say whether heor his political peers should be investi-gated for their spending practices —traces of gold dust can be found on alltheir fingers.

They all dip into constituencyallowances, which can be easilyenough mistaken for slush funds. AllMHAs have them, the premier includ-ed. The danger is that MHAs willspend their pots to garner favour withconstituents — $10 for a ticket here,$500 for a donation there, $2,000 for afew thousand fridge magnets every-where.

That kind of discretionary spendingis wrong — $10,000 a year in con-stituency allowance for four years canbuy a hell of a lot of votes if that’s whatMHAs decide to spend their money on— and it’s apparently up to them. Nowonder incumbents are so hard to beat.They’re embedded on the fridge door.

This scandal is a tough story forjournalists to cover. Usually there’salways a political party to go to for

comment, context or perspective — theLiberals keep the Tories in line, theTories keep the Liberals in line, and theNDP walk the line between the two.

In this case, there’s no one to call fora quote — not when all hands areimplicated. The media are alone on thisone and the politicians are as touchy ashell. Pissing them off makes it hard tofill a newspaper with stories … andads. The Sunday Express’ coverage ofSprung greenhouse didn’t do the paperany advertising favours.

All we can do is print the facts. So where to from here? The auditor

general has pulled the alarm, the policeare on the scene, and Justice DerekGreen has been called in to ensurereform.

There are certain negatives to callingan inquiry: our leaders will be distract-ed from the business of leading us outof the hole we’ve been in for decades;the world will see our political regimeas a joke; future politicians will beturned off from the trade; and taxpay-ers will be out even more millions.

But there may be a higher cost to payby not calling an inquiry. Question is,how do you go about pricing faith?

ryan.cleary@theindependent.ca

For me, this past Canada Dayevoked mixed feelings. Everyyear, people seem to blindly cel-

ebrate the holiday — attending theparade, waving the Canadian flag, anddisplaying whatever’s available inMaple Leaf paraphernalia.

This past Saturday (July 1) I foundmyself walking to my St. John’s office,jaywalking through the parade andnoise to my office to work on fisherycases. My favourite files — becausethey involve fishermen, the most hon-est and hard-working people I haveever met.

The fishermen in one particular fileface federal charges that are becomingincreasingly bizarre (some aren’t evenfound in the legislation).

For example, charges will be heardin Grand Bank later this month relatingto a new “condition of licence” requir-ing a very expensive “black box” to beinstalled in the boats of every New-foundland fisherman. The boxes willallow DFO to know their exact positionat all times — very much like the elec-tronic bracelets criminals are some-times forced to wear when the authori-ties want to keep track of them.

What’s offensive is that DFO doesn’tseem to notice the exact location of theforeign vessels that rake our fertilespawning grounds year round, makingit impossible for the fishery to last, oreven to renew itself in a natural way.

Canada has forgotten what theypromised us in our marriage contract— the Terms of Union — to protect ourfishery, among many other promisesthey have broken. It’s clear the federalgovernment has done the opposite —they have destroyed our fishery.

But that’s old news.Back to Canada Day. No one seems

to celebrate the very things aboutCanada that make us worth celebrating— at least according to widely respect-ed humanitarian groups like AmnestyInternational (of which I am a member)and the Canadian Bar Association (ofwhich I am the criminal chair).

In fact, when it comes to our bestconstitutional assets, we have become

complacent, even hostile.Take the Canadian Charter of Rights

and Freedoms. I was 12 years old whenit became part of our constitutional law.I remember clearly my mother taping itto the fridge and pointing out to us thatit was very important. My mother knewhow incredibly important it would be tothe country. Sadly, all I see lately arepeople putting the charter down.

The charter is the crux of real democ-racy. Yet so frequently now I hear peo-ple whine and complain that “it’s justgood for getting the guilty people off.”The Charter is what allows law-abidingcitizens to live peacefully and freelywithout the threat of the state bearingdown on you when you have donenothing wrong. So it’s kind of impor-tant.

The charter is what allows you todrive to the local Irving at midnight topick up that quart of milk you need foryour family, or to pick up the makingsfor your child’s lunch for the next daywithout the worry of being pulled overby the police and questioned for no rea-son.

The charter is what prevents an inno-cent elderly man from facing a heartattack after the police have broken the“knock-first” rule by breaking downhis door in the middle of the night with

loaded guns drawn, because the policemistakenly believe that a drug dealerresides there.

I could go on with many other exam-ples much more extreme, but the pointis the purpose of the charter is to pro-tect the average law-abiding citizen andto enhance and maintain the quality oflife we have here in Canada.

Perhaps the most important aspect ofthe charter is that if it is followed byevery police officer, prosecutor andjudge in the land, no one who is inno-cent will end up in jail. Not a one. Thisis what we should be jealously guard-ing.

Instead we are complacent and hos-tile. To the next person I hear say, “Ohit’s just to get the guilty people off” —I say a pox on you. I hope someday youhave to spend six months in one of thecountries where you can be executedfor a minor crime.

If you want to live the way StephenHarper thinks we should live by bring-ing back the death penalty, etc, moveto the U.S. Maybe then you’ll realizethat our crime rate is unusually lowerthan theirs — a statistic that sociolo-gists still cannot figure out, and evenconsider odd given that these two coun-tries are physically adjacent.

The charter is a phenomenal consti-tutional document. In sickening igno-rance, Harper wants it “repealed.” Hislegislators propose amendments to theCriminal Code that involve puttingmandatory minimum sentences —even on some sections of the code thatalready have built-in mandatory mini-mums! The last meeting of the criminaljustice chairs across Canada was heldin Vancouver and all of us werescratching our heads over it — igno-rance is the only way to describe hisproposed amendments.

So, sorry I couldn’t attend the paradewith all the people who just voted in agovernment that wants to destroy anysemblance of democracy. Now morethan ever this marriage is unappealingand I want a divorce!

Averill Baker is a St. John’s lawyer.

Newfoundland Day

RYAN CLEARYFightingNewfoundlander

YOURVOICELet them eat seal Dear editor,

This letter is in reference to MandyCook’s article on the import of fishoffal for the fur industry (Fur Farmersbuy mainland fish products, June 25edition). First off, it is unfortunate thatthis has to happen — a local processorwould benefit everyone. I had beenwondering if discarded seal carcasses,which should be really high in protein,are of interest to Merv Wiseman?Also, I wonder if they could be used

for cod aquaculture, another industryslowed by the cost of food. It wouldreally benefit the seal industry to havea use for the meat, and I know an ear-lier article by Ryan Cleary expressedconcerns about this aspect of sealing. Iam not certain if cod and foxes enjoyseal meat, but if they did, can youimagine the possibilities?

Chris Jenkins,Halifax (formerly of Lewisporte)

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

prohibited under the Canadian Copyright Act. • © 2006 The Independent • Canada Post Agreement # 40871083

AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR

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

www.theindependent.ca • editorial@theindependent.ca

The Independent is published by Independent News Ltd. in St. John’s. It is

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

PUBLISHER Brian DobbinEDITOR IN CHIEF Ryan ClearyMANAGING EDITOR Stephanie PorterPICTURE EDITOR Paul DalyPRODUCTION MANAGER John Andrews

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‘One more offensive example of Canadian ignorance’

Editor’s note: the following letter waswritten to MP Loyola Hearn, theprovince’s representative in the federalcabinet, with a copy forwarded to TheIndependent.

Dear minister,I understand the Royal Newfound-

land Regiment, in its first full return toBeaumont-Hamel in 90 years, has beenforbidden to salute the Ode toNewfoundland. I understand that at theofficial ceremonies at the battlefieldthey have been ordered to salute duringO Canada and the Queen (i.e. anthemsof two “foreign countries” in 1916) butnot the Ode, under which members ofthe regiment fought and died 90 yearsago.

This is repugnant, as well as unnec-

essary. A simple desire of a people tohonour its soldiers who fought onbehalf of the nation of Newfoundland(not Canada) has been denied becauseof some inflexible and picayune notionof Canadian protocol. When we joinedCanada, along with our resources, webrought our dignity and our patrimony.It is Canada’s duty to, if not nourishthese gifts, at least respect them.

As a Newfoundlander I am appalledby this action. As a Canadian I amashamed. Unfortunately, it will be inter-preted by many as one more offensiveexample of Canadian ignorancetowards this place and its history. I hopeyou will be able to use your influence toreverse this decision immediately.

Chris Brookes,St. John’s

‘Get the facts to the people’Dear editor,

Just a word of encouragement andsolidarity as per free speech in regardto the cookie jar scandal. As was saidthis week by your editor on VOCM:“Bring it all out — print the detail.”Leave no stone unflipped … be verybearish about it and get the facts tothe people. Even the speaker of theHouse and other such bullies who

threaten, hit them with the facts andbring them to justice for us, the peo-ple. A paper like The Independent isjust what we need! Love your articlesbut can’t get your paper here inBonavista — I’ll get a copy inClarenville on the weekend for sure.

Freeman Dunford,Bonavista

Dear editor,Just heard Ryan Cleary talking to

Linda Swain on VOCM’s Nightlineabout the goings on at home. Anyway,trying to keep on top of things downhere in Mexico, but just wanted to sayI agree 100 per cent with last week’sfront page. I do six weeks on and sixweeks off in the oil and gas field, and

I miss a lot of things going on at home— one being this scandal that’s goingon now.

Wicked stuff.

Mark Dawson,chef manager

DSV Superior Endeavour,Gulf of Mexico

‘Wicked stuff’

AVERILL BAKER

Guest column

If you want to live the way Stephen Harper

thinks we should live by bringing back the

death penalty, etc, move to the U.S.

JULY 9, 2006 INDEPENDENTNEWS • 7

YOURVOICE

Dear editor,I am writing concerning the vandalism that’s been

taking place recently in St. John’s. We had a schoolwhose windows have been broken out and many of ushave had our vehicles broken into and things stolenfrom our lawns and so on.

Last weekend I had some friends staying with mefrom out of town. Friday night my friends had the dri-ver’s side window broken and the car had obviouslybeen gone through. Thankfully, there was nothing inthe car to steal. We always make sure to tell friends notto leave anything in their vehicles when they park inthe city.

Anyhow, since it was a Saturday my friends couldnot get their window replaced. Apparently most of thebusinesses that replace windows in vehicles are notopen on Saturday. Of course, they are not open onSunday either. Consequently, my visitors had to be atthe vehicle window replacement shop early Mondaymorning. However, it did affect their schedulebecause they had to be back in their hometown for ashift on Monday night.

When I went to my place of work on Monday morn-ing I was told by a couple of clients that they also hadtheir vehicle windows broken on that weekend.

Anyhow I think Andy Wells and all of the MHAswho have constituents in St. John’s should make everyeffort to provide police with support to catch these peo-ple who are vandalizing our vehicles. I think havingthis kind of problem with vandalism could negativelyaffect tourism.

I am hoping that anyone who finds the window oftheir vehicle broken will immediately phone police,call your ward councillor and call your MHA. If youdo not live in the city you can still leave a message withthe mayor’s office about this. I think if no one makesa noise they will never be heard.

Margaret Obsourne,St. John’s

Iwas asked to do a national CBCradio commentary this week onwhat Canada might want to know

about our House of Assembly expenseallowance scandal. I compared thisplace to Mexico.

And why not? The weather here thepast month has been gloriously tropi-cal. We are relying more and more ontourism for income. We have a nationalidentity crisis of long standing, and ourpolitical culture is rotten to the core.Viva Terranova!

I noted that, like Mexico, we like tothink we are part of North America, andNorth America humours us in thisbelief in hopes of getting access to ourresources and our cheap labour. And,like Mexico, every time we think weare starting to be taken seriously, ourpoliticians do something to set us back.

We’re not backward, but our politicalculture is. Our political culture’s firstreaction to a threat is always to try tointimidate. We learned that from MountCashel. Cover up, deny, and tell us tomind our own business. That arrogancestill echoes in our corridors of powertoday.

We have been told for years thatthere was no need to scrutinize theHouse. They can look after themselves.Look where that got us.

John Noseworthy has signed off onhis House investigation, and will pre-sumably now go on to make some otherarm of the government sweat bullets.We are told that the police and theDepartment of Justice will now takeover the investigation.

But that pesky Mexican problempops up again. Antonio Lamer has justfinished roasting both the police andthe Department of Justice for theirhabit of putting people in jail for mur-ders they didn’t commit. Seems thatwhen there was a crime, the cops andthe Crown would round up the usualsuspects, pick the one they liked for thecrime, and “hasta la vista, baby.”

Like they do in Mexico.

And it took some supremely motivat-ed lawyers howling and screaming foryears to get anything done. Some ofthem got in a lot of hot water for ques-tioning the competence of people whoturned out to be … incompetent.

And if I raise questions about thebasic competence or ability of theDepartment of Justice or the police toinvestigate this scandal, how much doyou want to bet I’ll get told off? I’ll belectured that there is no need to ques-tion the police’s abilities to look intothe House scandal, and no need toquestion the competency of theDepartment of Justice’s ability toinvestigate the very people they workfor. How dare I even suggest theyaren’t up to the job. Sound familiar?

So when we here at this paper run thestated allowances of MHAs and howmuch they expense in a year, they areoutraged at us? They threaten us?Where do these people get their gall?It’s in their culture.

Harvey Hodder decides to teach us alesson at The Independent, by lettingscary lawyers loose on us. I read theletter. Whatever. Harvey taught us a

lesson all right. He taught us what ittakes to boost circulation. Thanks,Harvey! When you decide to retire,come and see us. Selling newspapers isyour forte.

All this might be funny except for thefact you and I suffer from an imageproblem because of these people. Welook like Mexico down here. Whyshould the federal government, the bigoil companies or any other organizationtake us seriously? Danny Williams hastried to bring a new level of profession-alism to the government, and he hasbeen sideswiped by a delivery van fullof fridge magnets and lapel pins.

Now he has to sit across the tablefrom oil executives facing tough nego-tiations, and with a straight face tellthem we are a serious concern. I canhear them snickering from here. Maybethey’ll all show up with lots of pins intheir lapels — just as a joke.

The plundering of the public purse,and the consequent heavy-handed atti-tude towards the media or anyone elsewho speaks up just fuels the perceptionthe rest of the world has of us. The per-ception we have all tried so hard to dis-

pel. That Third World thing.Sold out for fridge magnets. How

embarrassing. And what do they think of us in the

rest of North America? The commen-tary I wrote was a national one, so CBCToronto wanted a hand in the editing.They came back with a concern that Imight be Mexico-bashing. They didn’twant to be seen as portraying Mexicoin a bad light. So they asked me to toneit down a little. No problem, I am ateam player.

They never once said a word aboutthe fact I was bashing this place.

•••Note: Mea Maxima Culpa: Two

weeks ago I wrote a column aboutWatergate, and the boyish crush I hadon John Dean’s wife. I called herSusan, when her name, of course, isMaureen. A clever fellow of myacquaintance gently broke this to methe other evening. I thank him for histact, and apologize to my readers forsuch a basic boo-boo.

Ivan Morgan can be reached ativan.morgan@gmail.com

Sideswiped by fridge magnetsIVAN MORGANRant & reason

GOVERNOR IN THE GARDEN

Help police catch vandals

Rollin’ down the roadEditor’s note: Doug Bird, The Indepen-dent’s cartoonist, is currently bicyclingacross Canada, providing the paperwith regular updates on his journey.

Iam fully in the Maritimes now. Thebest way to tell is to count the per-centage of fat people. As soon as

the people become predominantly fatyou know you’re getting closer toNewfoundland. Fat people tend to bemore annoyed by cyclists as well,resenting the physical health of others,I suppose, or perhaps it’s too muchwork for them to steer their cars. I’mlike a reformed smoker on this issue (Iactually am a reformed smoker). I alsoused to be fat, although I always pre-ferred the term slightly obese. I remaina little pudgy, even after this amazingbicycle ride, so I have some empathyfor overweight people. Fat people haveto wear their addiction and weaknesson their sleeves. Drunks and junkiesdon’t always look like they have aproblem, at least not from a distance.You can see the fatties coming frommiles away.

The personal health problems ofother people are really none of my busi-

ness, but as I age I am more appalledby the physical and mental lazinessprevalent in Canada. We are becomingself indulgent, lazy lard asses who thinkthe world owes us a living.

We have to have immigrationbecause immigrants are still willing towork for a living. That’s why our kidsshould be taught Cantonese in schoolinstead of French — one in four peopleon this planet is Chinese and they tryharder. If we don’t get it together ourgrandchildren will be working for somemulti-national corporation putting run-ning shoes together for 50 cents a day.But then Socrates had similar warningsabout the coming generations 3000years ago.

And despite the offensive generaliza-tions there are a lot of great peopleeverywhere. At one point we had to getoff the Trans-Canada to find water andhappened into a small town whereeveryone was at an auction in the townhall. We ate fudge and stood aroundtalking to a few locals until the news ofour arrival reached the auctioneer. Heasked over the microphone if we’d real-ly come all the way from Vancouver onbicycles. When I said yes the entire

town burst into a round of applause. Webecame instant celebrities. I’ve enjoyedthe wonder of others on this trip, but forme it’s almost routine: get up, ride mybike, drink beer, go to sleep. Peopleneed to believe that those who dothings, accomplish big goals, are sim-ply the ones who stop talking and startdoing (and have unbelievably support-ive spouses, family and friends).

We will be on the boat before youread this. I hope I’m still welcome inSt. John’s because there is no otherplace in this country that I feel more athome. And each and every one of youowes me a Guinness.

Back in the saddle from here.

Doug Bird is making his way home toPortugal Cove-St. Philip’s.

‘We have a duty to remember’Dear editor,

On the morning of July 1 I went intomy collection of memorabilia andlooked at the kit bag that was returnedto my family after the 1917 Battle ofMonchy.

It belonged to my uncle Nelson —2458 of the Royal NewfoundlandRegiment — who died as a prisoner ofwar at Douai, France as a result ofwounds inflicted in that battle. I havevisited his grave many times and thefeelings I had handling the uniformremnants and buttons that were insidethe kit bag were not unlike those expe-rienced while standing at his grave-side. Grief and sorrow at the terriblewaste. He is one of five young sol-diers from the Royal NewfoundlandRegiment buried there. All were pris-oners of war.

A letter by my uncle written fromAyre, Scotland the previous year dis-cusses training, love of home, and thefellowship of his comrades.

I have always been aware of whatremembrance means having grown upin a family that saw seven membersserve in the two World Wars andKorea.

Two paid the supreme sacrifice, andone died in a flying accident just priorto the Second World War. Remem-bering and seeing that our fallen areproperly remembered has become away of life for me.

The young RCAF and USAAF air-men who died at or near Torbay hadbeen virtually forgotten. On June 30,the 150 Wing of the Air ForceAssociation of Canada and our sup-porters dedicated three memorialplaques that are now part of ourRCAF historical display at St. John’sInternational Airport. We rememberthe Newfoundland airmen who died inother theatres of war, and now the 73Canadian, one Newfoundland, and 16American airmen are properlyremembered near where they servedand fell.

We have a duty to remember all ourservice people past and present whodied on active service and peacekeep-ing duties and to continue to preserveour vast military history.

Thanks to anyone who helped us inany way.

Nelson J. SherrenSt. John’s

On her first official visit to the province, Governor General Michaelle Jean attended the annual Government House garden party in St. John's Friday, where shereceived a warm welcome. The governor general will be in the province until July 11, with stops in Trinity, Corner Brook, Stephenville, La Grand’Terre (Mainland),Rocky Harbour, and Gros Morne National Park. Paul Daly/The Independent

JULY 9, 2006 INDEPENDENTNEWS • 98 • INDEPENDENTNEWS JULY 9, 2006

WALLY ANDERSEN Torngat Mountains

MA: $84,800.00 PD: $4,532.00 TT: $48,934.57 CA: $29,538.70 TC: $83,005.27

PERCY BARRETTBellevue

MA: $37,900.00 PD: $ 0 TT: $30,923.76 CA: $6,929.55 TC: $37,853.31

Expenses for members of the House of Assembly, April 1, 2004-March 31, 2005. As listed in the report of the Internal Economy Committee.

We’re working on it

MA: maximum amount member is allowed to claim annually.PD: amount a member claimed in per diem — food and accom-modation — while the House was in session. Members who livefull-time in St. John’s are not permitted to collect this.

TT: total travel claims. This number includes travel to St. John’s while the House is closed, travel to St. John’s whilethe House is open, and travel within a member’s own district.

CA: constituency allowance claimed.TC: total amount claimed by member in the 2004-05 fiscalyear.

JOAN BURKE St. George’s–Stephenville East

MA: $46,000.00 PD: $9,156.00 TT: $25,878.56 CA: $10,955.33 TC: $45,989.89

ROLAND BUTLER Port de Grave

MA: $31,000.00 PD: $4,145.00 TT: $14,841.38 CA: $12,007.07 TC: $30,993.45

EDWARD BYRNE Kilbride

MA: $14,900.00 PD: $ 0 TT: $ 0CA: $14,777.50 TC: $14,777.50

JACK BYRNE Cape St. Francis

MA: $18,500.00 PD: $ 0TT: $ 0 CA: $16,984.29 TC: $16,984.29

RANDY COLLINS Labrador West

MA: $55,900.00 PD: $4,635.00 TT: $31,081.38 CA: $19,923.06 TC: $55,639.44

DAVID DENINE Mount Pearl

MA: $14,400.00 PD: $ 0TT: $ 0CA: $14,399.73 TC: $14,399.73

KATHYDUNDERDALE Virginia Waters

MA: $14,400.00 PD: $ 0 TT: $ 0CA: $14,396.81 TC: $14,396.81

ROGER FITZGERALD Bonavista South

MA: $38,200.00 PD: $5,690.00 TT: $26,306.97 CA: $6,203.03 TC: $38,200.00

TERRY FRENCH Conception BaySouth

MA: $19,500.00 PD: $ 0TT: $6,289.00CA: $13,206.98 TC: $19,495.98

JUDY FOOTE Grand Bank

MA: $38,200.00 PD: $ 0TT: $23,471.26 CA: $14,636.07 TC: $38,107.33

KATHY GOUDIE Humber Valley

MA: $46,000.00 PD: $6,745.00 TT: $19,209.10 CA: $19,972.35 TC: $45,926.45

ROGER GRIMESExploits

MA: $38,200.00 PD: $ 0 TT: $6,492.63 CA: $27,626.42 TC: $34,119.05

HARRY HARDING Bonavista North

MA: $38,200.00 PD: $6,195.00 TT: $19,994.52 CA: $6,867.71 TC: $33,057.23

JACK HARRIS Signal Hill–Quidi Vidi

MA: $14,400.00 PD: $ 0 TT: $ 0 CA: $14,140.89 TC: $14,140.89

Tom Hedderson Harbour Main–Whitbourne

MA: $28,900.00 PD: $1,800.00 TT: $8,843.07 CA: $16,575.12 TC: $27,218.19

JOHN HICKEYLake Melville

MA: $52,800.00 PD: $2,677.00 TT: $17,069.43 CA: $32,991.15 TC: $52,737.58

JAMES HODDER Port au Port

MA: $46,000.00 PD: $5,824.00 TT: $25,576.14 CA: $14,577.33 TC: $45,977.47

HARVEY HODDER Waterford Valley

MA: $14,400.00 PD: $ 0 TT: $ 0CA: $13,952.18 TC: $13,952.18

RAY HUNTER Windsor–Springdale

MA: $42,900.00 PD: $4,523.00 TT: $17,140.10 CA: $21,161.50 TC: $42,824.60

CLYDE JACKMAN Burin–Placentia West

MA: $37,700.00 PD: $5,820.00 TT: $16,479.59 CA: $15,311.02TC: $37,610.61

CHARLENEJOHNSONTrinity–Bay de Verde

MA: $34,200.00 PD: $5,570.00 TT: $16,019.80 CA: $12,511.48 TC: $34,101.28

YVONNE JONES Cartwright– L’Anse au Clair

MA: $69,300.00 PD: $5,395.00 TT: $40,640.89 CA: $23,181.65 TC: $69,217.54

ED JOYCEBay of Islands

MA: $43,400.00 PD: $4,946.00 TT: $16,409.31 CA: $22,039.74 TC: $43,395.05

OLIVER LANGDON Fortune Bay–Cape la Hune

MA: $54,900.00 PD: $0TT: $42,671.44 CA: $12,126.95 TC: $54,798.39

FABIAN MANNING Placentia–St. Mary’s

MA: $31,000.00 PD: $3,265.00 TT: $21,304.18 CA: $6,396.18 TC: $30,965.36

ELIZABETHMARSHALLTopsail

MA: $16,000.00 PD: $0TT: $0CA: $15,885.76 TC: $15,885.76

THOMASMARSHALLHumber East

MA: $40,300.00 PD: $2,450.00 TT: $6,299.22 CA: $31,524.84 TC: $40,274.06

KEVIN O’BRIEN Gander

MA: $33,100.00 PD: $3,811.00 TT: $18,219.01 CA: $11,069.79 TC: $33,099.80

PAUL ORAM Terra Nova

MA: $38,100.00 PD: $2,339.00 TT: $14,886.01 CA: $20,509.80 TC: $37,734.81

SHEILA OSBORNE St. John’s West

MA: $14,400.00 PD: $0TT: $0CA: $14,281.12 TC: $14,281.12

TOM OSBORNE St. John’s South

MA: $14,400.00 PD: $0TT: $0CA: $14,345.86 TC: $14,345.86

JOHN OTTENHEIMER St. John’s East

MA: $14,400.00 PD: $0TT: $0CA: $13,383.94 TC: $13,383.94

KELVIN PARSONS Burgeo–LaPoile

MA: $54,900.00 PD: $7,210.00 TT: $22,007.10 CA: $25,610.93 TC: $54,828.03

GERRY REID Twillingate–Fogo

MA: $38,800.00 PD: $0TT: $22,451.77 CA: $16,172.60 TC: $38,624.37

TOM RIDEOUT Lewisporte

MA: $38,200.00 PD: $0TT: $11,853.51 CA: $23,626.67 TC: $35,480.18

BOB RIDGLEYSt. John’s North

MA: $14,400.00 PD: $0TT: $0CA: $14,397.24 TC: $14,397.24

PAUL SHELLEYBaie Verte

MA: $46,000.00 PD: $3,750.00 TT: $10,172.14 CA: $31,961.82 TC: $45,883.96

SHAWN SKINNER St. John’s Centre

MA: $14,400.00 PD: $0TT: $361.35 CA: $14,035.79 TC: $14,397.14

LOYOLA SULLIVAN Ferryland

MA: $33,000.00 PD: $5,850.00 TT: $8,629.85 CA: $17,930.27 TC: $32,410.12

GEORGE SWEENEYCarbonear–Harbour Grace

MA: $33,000.00 PD: $2,100.00 TT: $12,167.95 CA: $18,732.05 TC: $33,000.00

TREVOR TAYLORThe Straits–White Bay North

MA: $46,000.00 PD: $0TT: $9,407.40 CA: $31,966.71 TC: $41,374.11

ANNA THISTLEGrand Falls– Buchans

MA: $38,200.00 PD: $6,375.00 TT: $16,020.53 CA: $15,803.24 TC: $38,198.77

DIANNE WHALEN Conception BayEast–Bell Island

MA: $18,000.00 PD: $0TT: $0CA: $17,503.53 TC: $17,503.53

DANNY WILLIAMS Humber West

MA: $29,500.00 PD: $0TT: $3,727.42 CA: $21,387.25 TC: $25,114.67

ROSS WISEMAN Trinity North

MA: $37,200.00 PD: $7,151.00 TT: $22,834.02 CA: $6,962.73 TC: $36,947.75

WALLACE YOUNG St. Barbe

MA: $46,000.00 PD: $6,195.00 TT: $29,362.46 CA: $10,375.24 TC: $45,932.70

Source: Internal Economy Commission

Taxpayers Association, this province’sMHAs are the third highest paid in thecountry, after only Ontario and Quebec.The MHA pension plan is also consid-ered lucrative, even “gold-plated.”

These issues are never too far fromthe public’s thoughts — especially now.

In 1989, the province appointed acommission, led by Dr. M. O. Morgan,to investigate and make recommenda-tions “respecting the indemnities,allowances and salaries” paid to MHAs.The Morgan report, as it was called,greatly simplified a “haphazard” remu-neration process.

Even then, the report warned of com-

paring provincial salaries, given that “allprovinces have resorted to an elaboratesystem of additional allowances andbenefits and these are not always evidentfrom the statistics.”

Before making its recommendations,the report smartly forewarned “theremay be, no doubt, those who will protestthat our recommended level of remuner-ation is too high, that it will in factattract undesirables who have no desireto contribute but to receive …

“We are aware that the public in gen-eral has a relatively low perception ofour legislators. This is due in part to lackof information of what in fact they doand of the pressures of the demands withwhich they have to cope, and in part, to

the conduct of Members of the House ontoo many occasions …”

The Morgan report opened the doorfor constituency allowances and thecurrent compensation structure. Thecommission’s recommendations, whichhave been modified some over the past17 years, attempted to balance the con-siderable demands, responsibilities,sacrifices, scrutiny and benefits of pub-lic life.

Hodder says “tremendous improve-ments have been made” since 2004 inthe way expenses are allotted andaccounted for.

“Even right now, I’m about to go intoa meeting about a new claim form, thewhole thing … we’ve been working on

that as well,” he says, adding, “it’s gotnothing to do with the current investiga-tion.”

The Morgan report also points to ashared responsibility between the pub-lic, the politicians, the parties and theprocess.

“Our task is to determine what com-petent and qualified individuals shouldreceive in compensation for performingcompetently and efficiently the complexresponsibilities imposed upon them asMembers of the House of Assembly,” itreads, “but it is the task and the respon-sibility … of the political parties and theelectorate, to ensure that only competentand therefore deserving candidates areaccepted and elected.”

Although most professionals inthis province earn a lower salarythan their mainland Canada

counterparts, the same trend doesn’t holdtrue for Newfoundland and Labrador’sprovincial politicians.

According to information compiledannually by the Canadian Taxpayers’Federation, as of 2005 MHAs in thisprovince earned more than those inevery other province in Canada, exceptQuebec and Ontario (see table).

While some of the salaries on the EastCoast may look low at first — $47,235annually in this province — the picturechanges when the non-taxable allowanceis added in. Taking into account a localMHA’s base salary ($47,235), adding onthe tax-free allowance ($23,619), andtaking into account how much it wouldtake to earn that $24,000 after taxes, thetaxpayers federation estimates provincialMHAs make the equivalent of about$81,223.

Cabinet ministers, the Speaker of theHouse, and the Opposition leader makeanother $49,484 on top of that for about

$132,000 per year. The premier is entitled to $68,252

above the MHA pay and allowance,equalling a salary of about $150,000.Currently, Premier Danny Williamsdonates his income to charity.

Those numbers do not include a 3 percent raise that took effect July 1, inaccordance with the public service payincrease given to NAPE and CUPEmembers.

Taking on certain other parliamentaryduties can also add to a member’s com-pensation package: the chair of thePublic Accounts Committee, for exam-ple, receives over $12,000 a year; mem-ber of the committee, about $7,000. Thechair or vice-chair of other select orstanding committee receives $100 and$75 respectively, per sitting day. (Thesenumbers are according to the 2004-05report of the Internal Economy

Commission, the most recent available.)— Stephanie Porter

2005 comparative compensation for MHAs/MLAs and MPs

*NL PEI NS NB Que. Ont. Man. Sask. Alta. BC Federal MPsAnnual salary $47,235 $36,326 $33,256 $42,703 $78,886 $85,240 $67,173 $64,175 $45,132 $75,500 $144,300Tax-free allowance $23,619 $11,362 $16,628 $20,790 $13,379 - - $5,198 $22,566 - -Real value tax-free allow.$33,988 $16,214 $23,429 $29,439 $20,269 - - $7,490 $31,276 - -TOTAL $81,223 $52,540 $56,685 $72,141 $99,182 $85,240 $67,173 $71,665 $76,408 $75,500 $144,300

Additional compensationPremier/Prime Minister $68,252 $59,459 $54,644 $57,193 $82,830 $67,595 $47,577 $57,967 $70,452 $45.000 $144,300Cabinet minister $49,484 $42,000 $38,930 $38,129 $59,165 $36,057 $29,726 $40,578 $55,380 $39,000 $69,200Leader of the Opposition $49,480 $42,000 $38,930 $34,510 $59,165 $47,052 $29,726 $40,578 $55,380 $39,000 $69,200

* Newfoundland and Labrador numbers under “additional compensation” updated according to 2006-07 Departmental Salary Details released with Budget’06. MHAs were to receive another increase of 3 per cent as of July 1, 2006. Source: Canadian Taxpayers Federation www.taxpayer.com

According to watchdog groupCanadian Taxpayers’ Federa-tion, Atlantic Canadian politi-

cians have among the most lucrativepension plans — at the expense of tax-payers.

The research director for the federa-tion, Adam Taylor, tells The Indepen-dent Newfoundland and Labrador’sMHA pension plan is a little “less outra-geous” than the federal or the NovaScotia plan. But it’s still nowhere nearthe dollar-for-dollar RRSP style adopt-ed by provinces from B.C. to Ontario.

“A problem with the federal (pro-gram) is for every dollar the memberputs in, the tax payer puts in four,” hesays. “So we do criticize that as anexcessive burden on tax payers, the planitself is too gold plated.”

This province’s, Taylor says, is near-ly as generous.

According to the Finance Depart-ment’s pensions administration divi-

sion, all 48 MHAs are currently payinginto the plan. There are 109 pensioners.

The maximum members can draw is75 per cent of their salary, an amountgranted after 20 years of service. Inorder to qualify for a pension a membermust serve at least five years over twoterms.

In an interview with the Independentlast March, Finance Minister LoyolaSullivan said government is paying out$4.5 million a year in pension benefits,which works out to an average of$41,000 per retiree.

He said the MHA plan has an unfund-ed liability of just over $40 million.

— With files from Clare-Marie Gosse

In general, an MHA’s travelclaims — including travelbetween a district and St. John’s,

within the district itself, accommoda-tions and per diems — are part of theindividual’s expense account, forwhich there is a maximum allowanceset at the beginning of each year.

That said, there are certain guide-lines, including but not limited to:

• While the House is in session, nomeal allowance is paid to membersresiding in or representing a districtwithin 40 km of ConfederationBuilding.

• A member with a primary resi-dence in their district and a secondresidence in the St. John’s area canclaim up to $50 a day for meals and$75 for accommodations when theHouse is open; $103 per day whenit’s not.

• When traveling overnight withina district on business, members canclaim up to $50 for meals plusaccommodations with receipts; up to$103 without.

• Cabinet ministers, the leader ofthe Opposition, and the Speaker ofthe House can claim an accommoda-tion allowance of $75 a day,Monday-Friday, when the House isin session — no matter where theylive.

• Mileage is currently calculated atabout 34 cents/km.

Source: Report of the InternalEconomy Commission, April 1,2004-March 31, 2005.

OTHER BENEFITS• Severance: one month’s basic

salary for each year of service, witha minimum of three months’ andmaximum of 12 months’ pay.

• Vacation: members are not givenvacation time per se, it is up to themto decide when to take days off andhow many.

• Health benefits: members canpay into the same health plan as pub-lic servants.

— Stephanie Porter

The auditor general’s recent reportson overspending by four MHAsrevolve around the constituency

allowance, a part of every member’sexpense account designed to allow forflexibility, discretion, and the varyingneeds of different politicians. It encom-passes all constituency expenses excepttravel, accommodations and meals.

“It should be called other,” saysHarvey Hodder, speaker of the House ofAssembly, “but it never has been.”

The allowance first appeared in 1989,in a recommendation of the Morganreport, which stated: “That each memberbe entitled to an accountable constituen-cy allowance to provide assistance in theconstituency when the House is not insession, in meeting obligations to con-stituents, and that the Internal EconomyCommission (IEC) determine the

amount of that allowance.”In its first report in 1990, the IEC

determined each member would receivean annual amount of $7,500, which“may cover such items as office rental,equipment, supplies, secretarial andother support services, informationmaterial such as newspapers, advertising(later referred to as “non-partisan adver-tising”), purchase of flags, pins, etc.,Christmas cards and other items asapproved.”

Separately, each member was givenguidelines as to how many trips he or shecould take, how much could be claimedin travel, accommodations, meal andother expenses.

As of March 31, 1997, expenses werehandled a little differently. Instead of aseries of allowances, caps, and guide-lines, each district was assigned one

amount, “block funding.” An MHAcould determine how money could bestbe used, taking into account travel andother demands.

Each member was entitled to claim$2,000 a year, without receipts, for mis-cellaneous expenses. That un-receiptedamount grew as high as $4,800 beforebeing abolished in 2004.

Today, MHAs are still given blockfunding for each fiscal year, whichvaries sharply from district to district,depending on geography, distance fromSt. John’s, population and other factors.

Currently, Wally Andersen, memberfor Torngat Mountains, has the highestmaximum amount allowed at $84,400.Having a large district relatively faraway from St. John’s, much ofAndersen’s expenses go towards traveland accommodations.

Members representing districts on thenortheast Avalon, including DavidDenine, Kathy Dunderdale, Jack Harris,Harvey Hodder, Sheila Osborne, TomOsborne, John Ottenheimer, BobRidgley and Shawn Skinner all havemaximum expenses of $14,400. Becausethey do not travel much for constituencybusiness — and are but a stone’s throwaway from the House of Assembly —most of their expenses fall in the con-stituency allowance category.

“Every last cent is receipt-driven,”says Hodder, though he admits eachmember has different spending priorities.

“Some people run offices in their dis-trict, and if you want a secretary in yourdistrict office, that’s the only category in which it will fit … members decide among themselves how they’regoing to use the money to benefit

their constituents.”And the money does run out.“Every year in February and March I

have members coming to me and saying‘I’m on my own.’ That means they’vegot to pay their own phone bill, theirown fax stuff, their own donation stuff… once you’ve run out of money you’verun out of money.”

Hodder says he puts all his expenseclaims in the constituency allowancecategory — things like his fax machine,office supplies, Christmas cards and awreath to lay at Mount Pearl’s warmemorial.

While members will not be reim-bursed for attending political functionsor for money spent on prize draws, mosteverything else goes — if there’s areceipt and the IEC gives its OK.

“Say O’Donel High School puts off a

drama at the arts and culture centre, andthey sell ads in the program to supportthe show, ‘Compliments of HarveyHodder’, or some sports organization isputting on a fundraising dinner, I canbuy two or three tickets,” he says.

Hodder says supporting communitygroups is not the same as vote buying.

“You have to support your local initia-tives … if I’ve got certain funds allocat-ed to me I haven’t used at the end of theyear, I’m going to say, ‘Well, am I goingto do another newsletter?’ Probably not.So maybe I’ll look at Mary Queen of theWorld and I’ll say, ‘Oh, there’s a break-fast program out there’ … so that’s oneof my favourite things to do (with therest of the money).

“I’ve never looked for publicity on itwhatsoever.”

— Stephanie Porter

Constituency allowance 101

From page 1

More duties, more money

Other provincial compensation:Parliamentary assistant to premier: $24,741Speaker, House of Assembly: $49,480Deputy Speaker: $24,740Gov’t or opposition whip: $12,000Third party (NDP) leader: $16,800

Source: 2006-07 Departmental Salary Details, Budget 06

Pension pay outs

Average annual pension pay-outsMHAs: $41,284Teachers: $27,405Public service: $13,318

Travel bugs

Paul Daly/The Independent

One of the undiscovered treasures of the Newfoundland andLabrador Folk Festival (Aug. 4, 5 and 6, 2006) is the youngperformers’ venue, the Neil Murray Stage. Many festival-goers

wandering to this stage by happy accident are captivated by theenchanting performances.

Whether it’s a self-assured six-year-old playing a lively accordiontune or a trio of teenagers stepping up to the microphone to harmonize,these young people are the festival headliners of tomorrow and deliversolid entertainment value.

Things get rolling on the Neil Murray Stage Saturday and Sundayafternoons at 1 p.m., winding up at 5 p.m. on both days, featuring awide variety of vocal and instrumental performances. While some ofthe featured artists are new to the festival stage, many are veterans ofpast festivals and Young Folk at the Hall concerts, the St. John’s FolkArts Council’s mid-winter workshop and performance event meant toencourage a love for Newfoundland and Labrador’s traditional musicin a new generation of performers.

Saturday afternoon will feature Katrina and Keely Boland, PeterGreen, William Burgess, Danny and Peter Mills, Allan Ricketts, Naomiand Tamsyn Russell, Ellen Power, The Palmer Girls, and the YouthInvasion!

Sunday afternoon’s schedule includes Fergus Brown-O’Byrne,Susan Hill, Charlotte-Anne Malischewski, Jenna Kelly, Born ‘N Bred,The Meyer Girls, Vinland Music Camp Youth with Eric West, andEven Tide.

This year, the youth of the Neil Murray Stage and those fromaround the province will meet up on Saturday afternoon and invade themain stage en masse for a few tunes at 4:30. It’s going to be loads offun and a chance for everyone to see the remarkable talent in ouryoungest performers.

The stage is dedicated to Neil Murray (1943-1988), a RhodesScholar, poet, writer, historian, volunteer and bon vivant who passion-ately promoted Newfoundland’s culture. He was editor of theNewfoundland Herald, host of the popular Jigg’s Dinner radio show onCBC Radio and served on the boards of the Newfoundland ArtsCouncil and the SJFAC. As a great admirer and friend to musicians,Neil would be particularly pleased to have his name associated withthis stage devoted to young performers.

A visit to the Neil Murray Stage offers an interesting counterpointto the festival’s main stage performances, and provides a glimpse intoa very promising future for traditional music and folk arts inNewfoundland and Labrador.

– By Jean Knowles

The Neil Murray Stage

10 • INDEPENDENTNEWS JULY 9, 2006

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Downtown life support

This week, whileworking on thepage 17 article

about the province’sregistered historicsites and buildings, Istarted to revisit one of my favourite gripes about St. John’s.It’s a gripe I’ve had for some time, but usually try to quash toavoid upsetting locals who actually come from the city.

But what’s the point of having a column if you can’t com-plain?

I have, and have always had, issue with the city’s down-town. I know in recent years there’s been something of arevival, but in my opinion it’s still gasping for breath.Downtown is still a million miles from the bustling epicentreit used to be, before important old buildings were torn down;before historic, cobbled streets were ripped up; before theHouse of Assembly was moved out to what was then (and sortof still is) the middle of nowhere; before the 1960s and ’70s,when Harbour Drive ruined any hope of a picturesque water-front, the Avalon Mall turned everyone suburb crazy, andAtlantic Place was brutally slapped together.

So, mistakes were made. There have been efforts to rectifya few — Atlantic Place’s facelift is one example, but thatbuilding needs more than a few windows for beautification. Awrecking ball might be more in order.

I don’t know a whole lot about construction, but I knowcities and I know what works and what doesn’t. If I were all-powerful, with a magic wand to wave over the downtown,here’s what I would fix:

The harbour front: Pier 7? Give me a break. A couple ofice-cream shacks and a Keg does not a city pier make. VisitHalifax’s waterfront with its market stalls and restaurants tosee what we should have. The afore-mentioned Harbour Driveconstruction in the early 1960s (however necessary for traffic)ruined everything. If I was arriving on a cruise ship for thefirst time I might take one look at Harbour Drive, write off therest of the place and settle down on deck to stare at theNarrows. (Speaking of the Narrows, why does KFC have oneof the best views in town?)

Atlantic Place: Rip it up, raze it to the ground, destroy it.And that includes the God-awful parkade. Erect a beautifulbuilding with office and mall space and put parking under-ground or at least artfully concealed behind something thatdoesn’t look anything like a multi-storey, 1970s embarrass-ment.

George Street: There’s no denying the fame of this stripacross the country and that’s all the more reason to capitalizeon it. Right now, George Street is a place to go and get mess-ily loaded on a Friday or Saturday night. It’s a place to hearcrappy music (for the most part), witness under-aged girls inskimpy clothes, aging cougars on the prowl and leery singleand married men trying to blot it all out with copious amountsof alcohol. George Street needs more down-to-earth, good-music-providing establishments. It also needs to be used dur-ing the daytime. In the summer, as well as the winter, it’s prac-tically deserted every day of the week pre-nightfall. I thinkGeorge Street should be used as a market area (we could def-initely use a farmers market) and establishments need to cleanup their decks and make them more inviting.

Old Newfoundland museum building: While the Roomsis apparently enjoying (ahem) massive crowds since its open-ing a year ago, the building that housed the province’s oldmuseum is still vacant, without a decided future. For the loveof God, put the library back there and put an end to St. John’sbeing the only city in the world without one in its downtown.

A grocery store: I’m not talking Dominion here, but withall the people living downtown it’s absolutely insane thereisn’t a boutique-style grocery store — particularly for the westside. Believe it or not, some people actually prefer stoppingoff for fresh vegetables and milk on their way home fromwork a couple of times a week, rather than being forced to domarathon shops at oversized superstores that leave fridgefreezers bursting and a salad drawer full of mushy lettuce.

Shops/cinema: The Avalon Mall heralded the beginning ofthe demise of department stores such as Woolworth’s andBowrings and despite valiant efforts from current storekeep-ers downtown, these voids have yet to be filled. Water Streetwest of Atlantic Place is depressing. We need a small arcadeshopping area, or mall area, and it would also be great to seea downtown art-house cinema.

Bars and restaurants: Traditional Newfoundland/Irishpubs aside, a strange thing has happened to downtown estab-lishments. For the most part dining choices include eitherincredibly overpriced, pretentious restaurants or dodgy barsspecializing in grease and beer. The downtown finally has asolid variety of international restaurants, but some moreaffordable and atmospheric eateries are needed.

I know all this sounds harsh, and who am I to criticize? Butit’s because I love what St. John’s has to offer that I careenough to complain. It’s the oldest city in North America forChrist’s sake; it should have the best downtown in the coun-try (and that doesn’t mean the biggest). Downtown doesn’thave to be a slave to extremes: modern, old, or a tourist trap.Tourists appreciate nothing better than to visit a place full oflife and independence; catering to its own as much as to visi-tors.

Where there’s history, it must be preserved and furtherdevelopment can only enhance what’s already there if doneproperly. I know the downtown has vastly improved over thelast few years and I have endless respect for the businesseskeeping it alive, but it needs to come off life support once andfor all.

Clare-Marie Gosse’s column will return July 23.

The story of Newfoundland’s whalersBy Nadya BellThe Independent

Ididn’t think I would ever be disap-pointed the whale hunt is over.Whales are sleek, perfect, and elu-

sive like only terrible and large animalscan be. They are this side of a myth.

But after meeting Vaughn George atthe South Dildo Whaling and SealingMuseum, I realize that in protectingthese animals — some would saymonsters — we have created anothermythical creature: the Newfoundlandwhaler.

Let’s hope I never visit a museumlike this for cod fisherman.

Vaughn George arrives at the SouthDildo Whaling and Sealing Museumwith something wrapped in a shop-ping bag under his arm. It turns out tobe two whale teeth — one from asperm whale and one from a killerwhale. They are cream-coloured, eachas big as a hand, and his latest additionto the museum.

In the 1940s, Clarence George start-ed hunting whales on his boat theArctic Skipper from South Dildo inTrinity Bay. Vaughan George wentwith his father for six years before thefishery ended in 1972.

Nearly everything in the smallmuseum off the main road in SouthDildo came from George’s collection.The jawbones of the last whale his

father killed (a 28-foot minke), the 50-mm harpoon that was mounted on theback of their boat, and the rusted,long, cutting tools — Japanese andNorwegian-style — are left over fromthe hunt.

A family album of whaling picturesin the museum shows a youngerGeorge smiling and standing in thesun on the back of his boat.

“I was just starting out in life, I hada new boat,” George says. “I washappy — I was never so happy since.”

With one hand on the harpoonmounted on the museum floor, heshows how they would shoot into thewhale, aiming for the side fin or flip-per. The whale would swim away as itdied, using up 200 to 300 feet of ropeattached to the harpoon.

“Oh yes, it was no trouble to get aride,” George says. “Eventually theyslow down.”

Sometimes a whale would divedeep before it died, and a second har-poon would be needed when the whalerose to the surface to drag it into theside of the ship and tow it to shore.

One stormy day, George and hisfather shot the harpoon into a whale— but the boat’s engine was still ingear and the vessel could not movefreely when the whale pulled. Thewhale doubled back and got tangled in

SCATTEREDPASTCLARE-MARIEGOSSEBrazen

Nadya Bell/For The IndependentSee “It’s all history,” page 12

the propeller, where it died. The boat could not move with the

whale where it was, and waves pushedit into the rocks on shore. George sayshis father hauled out a portablefoghorn and blew it until two fisher-men came to tow them away from therocks — and cut the whale free.

“We never got home until the mid-dle of the night,” he says. “We’d havebeen broke up on the rocks if it hadn’ta been for those fishermen. But wenever had too many misfortunes.”

The portable red foghorn looks likea fire extinguisher crossed with a bicy-cle pump. It is in the museum, and itstill works.

The largest whale George’s fatherkilled was a 73-foot blue whale. Overa good six-month season, they wouldcatch between 70 and 80 whales. Theblubber would be rendered in the plantin South Dildo, and the mink farmsaround the bay would use the meatfrom small pothead whales.

A 25-foot high wooden sculpture ofa whale built by Bill Ritchie sits out-side the museum, but it is in a sad

state. Ice and snow have twisted thesculpture, and one flipper has fallenoff. The museum has been unable toraise the money to restore it properly,so staff will likely dismantle it.

Smaller and more impressive thanthe whale sculpture are the old photosof whalers and sealers, although mostare not dated. In the photos, the whalecarcasses are spilling open, and thetiny black and white whalers are cov-ered in black and white blood.

From his front yard, where he hasset an old harpoon, George says he cansee right whales blowing in the bay.He understands why people wantedthe hunt to end, but still thinks of it asthe best time of his life.

“A lot of people don’t like this stuff.It is a slaughter, a terrible slaughter.The bay is full of blood during the pot-head slaughter.”

Now George works at the CarinoCompany Sealing Plant, the sameplace that used to land the whales andrender their fat.

“I daresay I miss being out on thewater, I’m still out there, but not for aliving anymore, he says. “It’s all histo-ry now.”

12 • INDEPENDENTNEWS JULY 9, 2006

LIFESTORYBy Ivan MorganFor The Independent

Ihave always had an passion formodest souls, whose lives oftenprove more interesting, but less cel-

ebrated, than the more “famous.”Everyone has a story to tell. The follow-ing is such a story. It occurred in St.John’s almost two centuries ago, yet itremains remarkable today.

In 1839, 21-year-old Peter Mac-pherson, a native Newfoundlander, trav-elled to England with his aunt, HarrietOke. She lived near what is now LongPond, the wife of a well-respected ship’scaptain. Macpherson had lost his fatherwhen he was eight, and his extendedfamily had helped him and his siblingsfind their way in the world. Although hewas born in St. John’s, like many of hisclass Macpherson was sent to the BritishIsles to complete his education.

So it was that this young man accom-panied his maternal aunt to London inthe spring of 1839. On their return, theirship was nearing the Narrows in St.John’s when a fierce storm struck.Those on land watched helplessly as theboat was blown out to sea. Days passedand the ship did not return.

They were blown all the way backacross the Atlantic, to Ireland. Theirboat crippled and their lives in peril,they were able to find a safe harbourwhere they found refuge, and began thebusiness of repairing the vessel.

In St. John’s, Macpherson’s mother,Lucinda, having known the boat was insight when it disappeared, began toaccept a hard truth. Having already losther husband, facing the fact her son andsister were probably also lost — espe-cially when they had been so close tosafety — must have been a bitter pill toswallow.

She could not have known that herson was safe in Ireland having survivedhis ordeal, and was enjoying himself,frequently going ashore and makingfriends with many of the locals.

One afternoon, while in the house of anew acquaintance, Macpherson noticeda portrait on the wall, which remindedhim of his father. Even though his fatherhad died when he was little, he was sotaken with the picture that he went backto his ship and fetched his aunt. One canonly imagine the look on her face whenshe was ushered into a stranger’s draw-ing room, in a strange port where shehad been randomly marooned, only tofind herself gazing on the face of her

brother-in-law, dead 13 years.Their hosts explained that years

before a bale had washed up on thebeach nearby, and when it was cut openit was found to contain, among otherthings, this fine portrait. Not knowingwho the subject was, the people whofound it thought it too good to throwaway, and hung it in their drawing room,often wondering who the fellow was.

The family very kindly allowedMacpherson and Oke to take the por-trait. When their vessel was repaired, thepair once again set sail for St. John’s.

It is hard in today’s world of telecom-munications and easy international trav-el to imagine the emotions stirred by thearrival of that ship in St. John’s. I havealways tried to imagine the utter joy ofhugging loved ones — hale, hearty andlarge as life — who for weeks, if notmonths, had been all but given up fordead; lost, like so many, in the vastNorth Atlantic.

What a day it must have been forLucinda Macpherson, to be reunitedwith her son and sister.

But the day was not done. When theywere sure she was over the initial shock,they took Lucinda back to her house andunveiled the portrait. She sat with herson and sister, back as if from the dead,and gazed in wonder upon the portrait of

her beloved husband. She recalled thathe had commissioned the portraitdecades before, on one of his businesstrips to London; sat for it, paid for it, andthe portraitist had finished it and sent iton a later boat, which was never heardfrom again.

That portrait became the centrepieceof Lucinda’s house. Some years later, asMacpherson became successful in busi-ness and married, the portrait went withhim to his new home, and was his mostprized possession.

A few years after that, Macphersonwas persuaded to lend the portrait to alocal art exhibition being organized inthe Commercial Chambers. The build-ing caught fire and burned, and Peterhad to be physically held back by hiswife and children from running into theburning building to get the painting.

He always felt he could have done so,and felt the loss so keenly that no one inhis family dared ever mentioned it in hispresence again.

Thus this story would have been for-gotten had it not been retold to my great-grandfather, Dr. Cluny Macpherson(who researched and wrote it) when hewas a young man, by a very famousstranger. And that I will save for anoth-er time, after I have verified a few facts,as I wonder how many will believe it.

The fantastic voyageIn a stranger’s drawing room, in a strange port,Peter MacPherson found a portrait of his long-deadfather. And that’s just part of his story

From page 11

‘It’s all history now’

From Newfoundland:A Pictorial Record

INDEPENDENTWORLDSUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, JULY 9-15, 2006 — PAGE 13

PM’s agenda relies on Bush’s helpCanada can’t fulfill its promise if the U.S. closes its shell; Harper gets positive signals from a low-key Washington trip

WASHINGTONBy James TraversTorstar wire service

What’s on Stephen Harper’s mind isnow on his lips. Anyone whobothers to listen will learn what’s

worrying the Prime Minister and where hisgovernment will lead Canada this fall.

In conversation in Washington withGeorge W. Bush and later with the press,Harper made it crystal clear the federal gov-ernment’s first priority is an open America.“If the U.S. becomes more closed to itsfriends, the terrorists win,” he told reportersat the White House.

That’s much, much more than a war-on-terror bumper sticker. In a handful of words,Harper connected the most important dots ina multi-layered relationship: security, theeconomy and a border that must remain aconduit, not a barrier.

Without security, an economy facing omi-nous threats will trip over the growing obsta-cle of the 49th parallel. A concern since 9/11,that’s now central to Conservative thinkingas Harper prepares a new agenda that willcarry his government past his famous fiveelection promises and into more challengingterritory.

Not surprisingly, one of his priorities, nowreduced to three, is the environment, an issueeven Conservatives recognize is so sensitivethey will have to design a credible alternativeto Kyoto.

Another is sorting out the so-called fiscalimbalance with the provinces. But tucked inthere is Canada’s ability to meet growingchallenges from China and India as well asfrom a lengthening list of smaller tigers hun-gry for larger shares of global markets.

Prospering in that economic climaterequires not only robust investment in thecountry’s bricks and mortar but also in its

social infrastructure. It demands hard andimmediate reconsideration of policies thatcross the spectrum. Making Canada morecompetitive means adjusting education tomeet the higher needs of the knowledgeeconomy and reforming current immigrationpractices to ensure new arrivals can con-tribute to the economy and fulfill Canada’spromise.

It also will lead to changes in a tax systemthat currently discourages marginal workersand corporate innovation.

None of that will be easy and may well beimpossible if the United States, bruised fromits foreign adventures and unsure of itsneighbours, withdraws into a shell.

Tougher border controls already legislatedfor 2008 by Congress are just one symptomof a disease that would poison trade andtourism.

Harper’s prescription is holistic medicine.He’s aligning Canada with the U.S. interna-

tionally while working with an equally con-cerned Bush administration on first slowingnew border controls and then ensuring therange of acceptable documents will keeppeople, goods and services flowing.

What Harper gets in return are positivesignals mixed with a lot of Texas bonhomie.Relaxed and playful on his 60th birthday,Bush heaped praise on the Prime Minister hecalled “Steve” and on Canada for sendingtroops to Afghanistan and arresting 17 terrorsuspects in Toronto.

Being chums with an unpopular U.S.leader isn’t usually smart domestic politicsfor a new Canadian leader trying to morph aminority mandate into a majority.

But the July 5 power dinner with whatamounted to the Bush war cabinet, alongwith the next day’s meeting and lunch weremore beneficial than a too vigorous public

See “Controlling,” page 15

Stephen Harper and George W. Bush hold a joint news conference in Washington, D.C. Jim Young/Reuters

Crosbie says goodbye

The Sun Media chain is repositioning itselfand streamlining its newsgathering andproduction, so this will be my final column.

The first was published on Oct. 3, 2004, when Idecried the pestilence of polluted political powerin Canada and lamented the arrogance of theLiberal Party and the dithering of Paul Martin.

At that time, a great problem Canada had wasthat our political system had become dysfunction-al. For 56 of the 70 years since 1935, the LiberalParty had formed the government, with theConservatives in office just 15.

Liberal arrogance and corruption were a resultof this lack of competition, but the system becamefunctional again with the revival of theConservative Party led by Stephen Harper and theminority government’s election on Jan. 23.

Harper is providing a focused, energetic andunflappable government, showing himself to be amiddle-of-the-road Conservative — energetic,thoughtful and decisive. Canada’s main challengeis now more external than internal, involving thethreat presented by Islamist terrorism.

I hope Sun Media succeeds. I enjoyed writingfor it. I will miss the reaction of readers to theviews I expressed, knowing it is impossible toplease everyone or to be liked or endorsed byeveryone. I thank all of my readers who e-mailedto agree or disagree with positions I took.

Wife Jane and I just returned from a week spentin France and Flanders around Beaumont-Hameland the Somme, where, from 1916 to the end ofthe First World War, incredible casualties weresuffered by Newfoundland soldiers.

When we consider the sacrifices made by themin defence of our free and democratic society, wemust today make whatever sacrifices are neces-sary to defend against the present terrorist threat— which recent events, such as the arrest of 17alleged terrorists in Toronto, show exists in ourown country.

Our challenge now is to defend ourselves suc-

cessfully against the terrorist threat without seri-ously eroding the liberal democratic system, thecivil rights and liberties that make our society sovaluable and dear to us.

We must pass down to our descendants the sameopportunities for peace, security and prosperity ina democracy protected for us by those who partic-ipated in the First and Second World Wars defend-

ing us from totalitarian states and ideologies.As we can see from observing Iraq, the Muslim

terrorist leaders, religious fanatics, have no regardfor people of their own religion who disagree withthem — the recently deceased Abu Musab al-Zarqawi hated people of his own religion whomhe saw as heretics even more then he hated infi-dels — and had no compunction about blowing upShiite Muslms simply because they are notSunnis. Obviously, Islamist radicals of this naturemust be fought and overcome wherever found.

It seems to me that in addition to strengtheningour security agencies such as the CanadianSecurity Intelligence Service and the RCMP, thepeople best placed to help protect Canadian citi-zens are Muslim people, great numbers of whomhave immigrated to Canada in recent years.

Fatima Houda-Pepin, a Muslim woman and aQuebec Liberal MNA, says the “root cause” ofIslamist terrorism is due “to the hateful propagan-da” spreading within the Muslim community“under the cover of religion.” She believes thatMuslims in Canada are exposed to “extremelyviolent” speeches against “infidels” and suchviews are largely “imported” — financed by for-eign religious groups.

“You have people coming here as Imams, whohave been trained and paid to promote the kindof Islam that has nothing to do with Canadianrealities,” Houda-Pepin has said. She believes itto be the primary responsibility of Muslim lead-ers in Canada to prevent radical Islam fromspreading.

We must strengthen our security agencies, butthe safety and security of Canadian citizens can bemuch enhanced if those of Muslim descent, partic-ularly those who immigrated here because theypreferred the kind of society and opportunities thatCanada offers, report on extremist activities intheir midst.

They should be our first line of defence againstthreatened “jihad” terrorism.

JOHN CROSBIEThe old curmudgeon

More than 24,000 Canadians and 700 Newfoundlanders were killed, wounded or went missing in the Somme Region in1916. They fulfilled their duty against overwhelming odds. Their unbreakable spirit, unwavering courage and selfless sac-rifice so many years ago continues to have a profound influence on the Canadian way of life. The ceremony was attend-ed by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, and Canada's Chiefof the Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier. Photo by Sgt Frank Hudec, Canadian Forces ArmyNews

14 • INDEPENDENTWORLD JULY 9, 2006

By Mark DawsonFor The Independent

Ever since I started working in1988, I have worked away fromhome. At first, that only meant

going as far away as St. John’s — I’mfrom Bay Roberts, an hour’s drive away.

As a chef, I have worked in manyhotels in the area. I have cooked in finedining establishments; I’ve been the chefat what I consider the finest golf resort inNewfoundland.

But that all changed on a hot day inJuly, 1996. One of my good friends,Frankie Walsh, approached me aboutdoing some time at sea.

I wasn’t immediately struck by thisoption. My father, Frank Dawson,worked with the Department of Fisheriesand Oceans for 38 years, and spent muchof his career at sea. I remember himbeing gone for a lot of our family’s spe-cial occasions — a graduation, a 10thbirthday, and so on. But one thing is forsure, it wasn’t because he wanted to beaway.

This is what made me stop to reallythink about this career decision: shouldI, or shouldn’t I? I decided I should, andaccepted my first job in the Gulf ofMexico.

Since that day a decade ago, my workhas taken me all over the world, toChina, Hong Kong, India, Saudi, Oman,Trinidad and Mexico, to mention a few.

I worked out of Saudi Arabia for acompany involved in the oil and gasindustry during the start of the Iraqi-USconflict. Changing crews was a little dif-ferent there than what we were used to.

We had to be driven 400 miles acrossa desert in a van — the windows weredarkened so those outside couldn’t seethe colour of our skin — to the airport inDammam. We had to dodge camels allthe way … And oh, did I mention thisevent happened on the first day ofRamadan?

That’s another story: no water, food orany enjoyment whatsoever from sun-upuntil sundown.

Those were extreme circumstances tobe working in. But my work has also

taken me to some of the most beautifulplaces on the face of the earth (other thanNewfoundland, of course).

Trinidad and Tobago are two of theseplaces. Trinidad has many similar fooditems to Newfoundland — salt beef,pease pudding (but they call somethingelse, I think it’s daual). I guess island lifebrings out the best in people, becauseTrinidadians are very friendly, and whenthey take you liming, watch out, it’s likeMay 24 weekend all jammed into onenight. What a place!

But now, I’m back in the Gulf ofMexico where it all started 10 years ago.I usually fly from St. John’s into NewOrleans or Houston every six weeks tojoin the vessel for my six-week hitch.There are lots of fellow Newfound-landers onboard here: Mick Chidley andGerard Quinn (the boys from the shore)

and Steve Dubuc (from Quebec, marrieda Newfoundland girl and never left, weare so proud of him).

We are on Superior Endeavour, a divesupport vessel working in the oil and gasindustry for a variety of companies whorequire our services. Since hurricaneKatrina, which I experienced first hand,there has been plenty of need for us.

So even though I still live in BayRoberts for half the year, I live the otherhalf everywhere — which my wifeWanda would tell you isn’t easy.

For all you people living and workingat home, you got ’er made. There’s noplace I’d rather be, than in Newfound-land.

Do you know a Newfoundlander orLabradorian living away? Please e-maileditorial@theindependent.ca.

JULY 9, 2006 INDEPENDENTWORLD • 15

slap on the back.Bush might have been reading from

Harper’s briefing notes when he empha-sized the importance to the U.S. of tradewith Canada. Moresurprising, he made apoint of volunteeringthat the two coun-tries would gobeyond fighting ter-ror to end genocide.

Both are importantpresidential asterisksattached to a rela-tionship that in-evitably tilts towardthe interests of thedominant partner.

In effect, Bushwas acknowledgingboth Ottawa’s con-cern about sharingfuture continental prosperity and theCanadian worry that waging war inAfghanistan is keeping it from makingpeace in Darfur.

It remains to be seen where thoseopenings lead. In Canada, increasedeconomic integration is a politicallycharged issue better supported by busi-ness leaders than voters, and so farthere’s more talk than action about end-ing the Sudan massacres.

What is increasingly apparent is theway ahead for the ruling Conserva-tives. In a scheduled half-hour pressconference, Harper managed to touch,if not necessarily push, the hot button

issues shaping his second session agen-da.

Parse his words and find the envi-ronment, NAFTA, and the importanceof open yet secure borders to currentcontinental trade and future economic

competitiveness. Oneway or another, eachtouches a cross-bor-der relationship thatat the moment isunusually harmo-nious.

Not even glitches inthe latest attempt toend the softwoodlumber dispute —problems both leaderssay will be solved,presumably withincentives — disrupt-ed the flow of goodnews. If there is anydoubt about the trip’s

success it’s only the usual concern thata capital that sees world leaders almostdaily is blasé about Canadian primeministers.

Harper exacerbated that problem byopting for a low-key visit. More puz-zling still, Canada’s friend and allystory is being muffled here by his gov-ernment’s fixation with controllingboth messenger and message.

Strange as it seems, the memorableoutcome of this trip is that Canadiansnow know more about federal Con-servative fears and plans thanAmericans learned about a neighbourtrying so hard to be agreeable.

Controlling both messenger and message

In a scheduled half-hour press

conference, Harpermanaged to touch, ifnot necessarily push,the hot button issuesshaping his second

session agenda.

From page 13

International cookingFor six weeks at a time, Bay Roberts native Mark Dawson is chef manager on a vessel in the Gulf of Mexico

Jason Reed/Reuters

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16 • INDEPENDENTWORLD JULY 9, 2006

By Clare-Marie GosseThe Independent

A1985 monument to PopeJohn Paul II in Flat Rock, a1960s soccer field in St.

Lawrence, shipwrecks, graveyards,banks, and Anderson House — theoldest surviving residence in St.John’s — are all featured on theCanadian Register of HistoricPlaces.

The Heritage Foundation ofNewfoundland and Labrador recent-ly celebrated the milestone of having400 designated provincial historicsites included as part of the nationalregistry. Each listing features an on-line photograph and detailed write-up.

Dale Jarvis, registrar of theHeritage Foundation of New-foundland and Labrador says the 400sites represent the province’s successin conveying the message of preser-vation and restoration of historicplaces.

He says the beauty of theCanadian registry is its democraticway of operating. If a “competentauthority” such as a town (howeverlarge or small) feels it has a site ofinterest in its community, it can bedesignated with heritage status underthe local municipalities act.

“What that means is if there’s asmall community that doesn’t have alot of, say, beautiful heritage build-ings, but they have something likethe Pope John Paul II site that hassort of cultural interest, they can stilldesignate it,” says Jarvis.

“It’s not necessarily someone sit-ting on a board in Ottawa saying thisis important and this isn’t important.What we’re seeing is some interest-ing sites being designated that prob-ably 10 years ago, never would havebeen.”

An example is the St. LawrenceCentennial Soccer Field on the BurinPeninsula.

“There aren’t a lot of old buildingsleft in St. Lawrence and one of thethings the people of St. Lawrence arevery passionate about is soccer andthey have a soccer history that goesback 100 years,” says Jarvis. “So forthem, this site has incredible com-munity significance and a lot ofemotional and social importance.”

Pinning down the oldest entry onthe registry is tough, with ancientarchaeological sites featured along-side buildings, shipwrecks, and evena rock. Devil’s Rock in the town ofRenews enjoys some infamy. As thestory goes, a priest encountered theDevil at the crossroads where therock lies. He condemned him intothe rock — which bears a display ofhoof prints — for a period of time.But, legend has it, a crack in therock, which grows wider every year,will eventually split the prison in twoand release the captive Devil.

As for the oldest building, Jarvissays the older the site, the less thor-

ough the records. A few houses and amerchant plantation currently con-tend for the top spot. The Mock-beggar Plantation Historic Site inBonavista is the most likely winner,with grounds thought to date back tothe 1600s and buildings, including afish store, said to date back to the1700s.

“That is potentially a very oldbuilding,” he says. “The issue with it

is that there isn’t very good writtendocumentation. There’s a lot of oralhistory which argues that the build-ing was actually built in the 1700sand if that’s the case it’s probably theoldest building we have on theCanadian register.”

Some of the oldest houses in theprovince include Landfall (or KentCottage), which perches on the rocksof Brigus Battery at the mouth of the

harbour (estimated to have been builtin 1786), and Ashbourne Longhousein Twillingate, thought to have beenbuilt between 1780 and 1820.

Susan McConnell, the proudowner of St. John’s oldest survivingoriginal structure, Anderson House(built 1804), says she likes to thinkher property might be officially theoldest in the province.

“I like that,” she says. “I was real-

ly quite excited when I bought it andfelt … I’m taking care of some-thing.”

The blue, box-shaped, woodencottage located in Power’s Court atthe base of Signal Hill was built bySergeant James Anderson and wasoriginally used as a military billetand stable. McConnell, a profession-al therapist, purchased the propertyfour years ago to house her companyMcConnell Kenworthy Associates.

McConnell says she has threethings she especially loves about thehouse: a solid, dark wood and rope-lined wall in the ground floor hall-way, the pinewood floor in heroffice, and the natural light.

“It’s always pleasant to walk in,”she says (despite rumours that it’shaunted). “I have yet to have peoplenot come in and say something real-ly nice about it.

“Every single room has at leasttwo windows … and that gets meevery time. Even on a really dark dayit’s not terribly dark in there.”

McConnell says Anderson Housecan be drafty, however, and the ceil-ings are low. There’s also the occa-sional issue of the general publicassuming they can freely enter thebuilding due to its heritage designa-tion, when in fact it operates as a pri-vate business.

“I’ve been in sessions with peopleand had to go down and say ‘youknow you can’t just come into thebuilding.’”

The main downside to owning aheritage structure are the mainte-nance costs, as all repairs or renova-tions have to be done in keeping withits original features. When McCon-nell first bought the house, she hadall the windows replaced and aes-thetically spruced up the interior.

“The fact it’s a heritage propertymeans I can’t change the exteriorwithout the historic trust’s permis-sion,” she says.

But she says the provincial her-itage foundation has been helpful,making recommendations, findingcontractors and even securing her agrant to supplement the cost or reno-vations.

The possibility of receiving a grantto help restore heritage properties isone major encouragement towardssecuring a designation. To date, theheritage foundation has disbursedover $1 million in restoration grantsfor projects across the province since1984.

McConnell says she expects thecedar roof of Anderson House willrequire re-shingling in the nearfuture.

“I’m just holding my breath onthat; and the house does need to bere-clapboarded, but there is this feel-ing of being in stewardship over itand that feels good.”

To read up on the province’s 400 his-torical sites visit www.historic-places.ca

INDEPENDENTLIFESUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, JULY 9-15, 2006 — PAGE 17

LIVYER

Abracadabra Studying philosophy helped Wonderbolt Circus performer realize his vocation

By Clare-Marie GosseThe Independent

When Peter Duchemin was achild, J. R. R. Tolkien’s fic-tional wizard Gandalf — of

Lord of the Rings fame — soimpressed him he decided he too want-ed to be a wizard. Duchemin soon dis-

covered that in the world outsideMiddle-earth, which as a child meantliving in Ottawa in the winter andNewfoundland in the summer, being a“magician” was the next best thing. Atthe age of 12, he began his magicalcareer by calling Chris Pilsworth, awell-known professional magicianbased in Ottawa.

“I phoned him up and said, ‘I’m 12years old, I’m really into magic, couldyou teach me?’” says Duchemin. “Hewas a pro, and he met me and hetaught me some moves.”

Now, years later, Duchemin callsNewfoundland and Labrador his per-manent home. And although he’sabout to complete a Masters in philos-

ophy, this magician/clown/juggler hasdecided to stick with performing overacademia, once his final paper is done.

Duchemin has been involved withNewfoundland and Labrador’sWonderbolt Circus for the last threeyears as an apprentice, performer andassistant artistic director to the troupe’sfounder, Beni Malone. Perching on

steps outside St. Bonaventure’s gym-nasium in St. John’s, the venue forWonderbolt’s next show, Ducheminexplains what philosophy and the cir-cus have in common.

“I’ve been looking a lot at the fig-ures of the fool, the magician and the

See “It just resonates,” page 14

Anderson House, St. John’s oldest surviving original structure. Paul Daly/The Independent

‘Taking careof something’The province lists 400 historic sites on national registry, including a rock, a soccer field, and many old buildings

18 • INDEPENDENTLIFE JULY 9, 2006

GALLERYPROFILE

Alain Potrel has only been paint-ing about a year, but he’s justcompleted work for his third

show, a self-mounted exhibition and artsale titled Fifty cents per square inch(based on his current price for theworks). It was a one-night only affairJuly 8 at the Masonic Temple in down-town St. John’s.

His previous two shows were atRoxxy’s bar on George Street, wherePotrel worked as a bartender. He char-acterizes his first artistic efforts as“mixed media on more or less whatev-er one could paint.” Too shy to spendmoney on oil paints, Potrel says heinstead used nail polish and whateverelse was cheap and/or handy.

In the months since then, Potrel hascommitted to a collection of oil paintsand canvasses. The resulting work isstill brightly abstract.

But Potrel’s background holds muchmore than slinging beer and teachinghimself to paint.

Originally from Normandy, France,Potrel says he grew up knowing aboutNewfoundland.

“I’m from a small city of cod fishers,so … I heard about St. John’s mywhole life,” he says. “There would be acarnival in my city every year becausethe fishermen were going to the GrandBanks and would have a party beforeleaving.”

Potrel did not follow the fishing tra-dition, though, instead pursuing an aca-demic career that would lead him allover the world. He has a PhD in earthsciences, has lived and worked in Peru,taught in Brazil, and at the Universitédu Québec a Montréal. He’s lived in St.John’s three different times and cur-rently works in the earth sciencesdepartment at Memorial.

“They needed somebody here,” hesays. “I train master’s students … I dealwith the laboratory, analyze for people— they send me their rocks, and I givethem their data.”

Potrel has two children, aged sevenand 14, who live in France with theirmother (who happens to be the directorof an art gallery in Paris and perhapsresponsible for awakening an artisticinterest in her then-partner).

“I never did paint, but I studied alot,” Potrel says with a laugh. “I am achemist and a geologist so I’ve(explored) a lot of things already.” Hepoints to one painting, among the moremeasured of his work, with simple blueswaths across a white canvas.

“This one’s symmetrical … becausenature is symmetrical, and I’m used toit.”

Although St. John’s is far away fromhis children and country, Potrel sayshe’ll stick around for a while — at leastuntil his contract expires. And he’llkeep exploring and exhibiting his new-found hobby.

“The problem is, when I don’t paint,I feel dead. It’s very boring,” he says,adding that he used to use poetry andprose as his creative outlet. “I paintbecause I can’t really avoid it.

“My first art is science, so, as I saygenerally, I’m an abstract painter whostudied abstraction during 40 yearsbefore starting to paint.”

— Stephanie Porter

ALAINPOTRELVisual Artist

This column is being written inthe Middle East, in the Israelicapital city of Jerusalem. For the

last week I have been attending a con-ference on Canadian Studies at theHebrew University.

Through the window of this room Ican see the famous golden dome in theold city, behind the ancient limestonewalls. The heat is climbing well beyond35C and the sky is the colour of theIsraeli flag, a pure white and blue.Everywhere the eye is arrested by thesite of lush gardens and the bright pinksof blooming bougainvillea. The Israelishave cultivated a gorgeous garden outof the desert, just one of many signs ofhow civilization has managed to tamenature with rich, glorious beauty.

Of course, only a little ways downthe road Israeli tanks have mobilizedalong the Gaza border and the entirecountry is consumed with the fate of akidnapped soldier and talk of negotia-tion, retribution, and conflict. Gettinginto the university conference roomsmeans having to flash a passport at sev-eral checkpoints and being askedwhether or not you are carrying aweapon.

The huge enduring paradox of thisplace is the contrast between the expe-rience of staggering beauty and the

experience of persistent anxiety andfear. Jerusalem is undoubtedly the civicembodiment of the full spectrum ofhuman experience, from the highestachievements of creative endeavour tothe lowest examples of irrationality andfutility. One gets more than simply ahistory lesson here. The tourist’sencounter is not only with the past butalso with the impossibility of the future.

The other day the conference atten-dees heard a lecture from a specialguest, a handsome 40-something manof many trades, an Israeli named HarelMargalit. Mr. Margalit is the founderand director of a company calledJerusalem Venture Partners, one of themost successful venture capital busi-nesses in a country celebrated for itsventure capitalists. What distinguishesMargalit from a Donald Trump or otherstereotypical CEOs of that ilk is that heis also doing a PhD in philosophy atColumbia. Neither vulgar nor philis-tine, this is no ordinary dreamer.

Recently Margalit announced the

establishment of a partnership withDisney Animation, having successfullylured the company to Jerusalem tolaunch a multi-million dollar graphicstudio, the largest of its kind outside theUnited States. Expectations are high.

The subject of his talk was TheFuture of Jerusalem. What really tookus by surprise was Margalit’s accountof the fading potential of Jerusalem, ashe described the almost desperatestruggle of the city to preserve itsincomparable historical attractions andto develop a sense of life and culturalvivacity.

Apparently something is very wrongin the troubled state of this fortress city.Among other pressures, Jerusalem suf-fers profoundly by comparison with themore secularized liberties of Tel Aviv,where the buzz of modernity, from gaypride parades to all-night strip bars,attracts many more younger people andoffers its residents a sense of trendycosmopolitanism, of belonging to awider, hipper world.

If Tel Aviv is Sodom or Gomorrah,Jerusalem is its subdued and holy oppo-site. The city is fiercely bound by reli-gion and so many of its citizens feelincreasingly restricted by the demandsof orthodoxy. On the Sabbath, the cityshuts down like a penitentiary. It is

impossible to get a hot cup of coffee.Everything comes to a dead andoppressive halt. As the tensionsbetween the religious and the secularcitizens heighten, and as the latterbecome outnumbered by the former,many long-time inhabitants are fleeingfor Tel Aviv or even Toronto.

So it was that while Maraglit spokeof the enormous challenge to reanimatethe city, and his personal mission to doso, I couldn’t help but think about thethrobbing activity of St. John’s, such asmaller, newer city by comparison,where all week long the charms ofMagnetic North Theatre Festival havebeen enhancing an already potent cul-tural environment; where the GovernorGeneral and her entourage will obligenot only the stuffy protocols of a vice-regal visit but also drop in on NIFCOand chat with local filmmakers, tour theriches of The Rooms, and, yes, even seea play at the LSPU Hall; where theSound Symposium will be in full swingby the time I get back, taking over thestreets and the hills with traditional,electronic, and invented instruments,making noises sweet and strange thatno one has ever heard before; where inspite of bad city planning and thehideous and dispiriting mistakes ofCouncil, cultural life thrives with a kind

of graceful abandonment. Here I am in a city so golden and

beautiful it can make you weep, but yetwhere the prohibitions of orthodoxy sti-fle the creative spirit and threaten toturn the city into a regulated spectaclefor ignorant tourists. The circularcityscape boasts the shimmering gold-en dome as well as countless churchspires and minarets. Judaism,Christianity, and Islam live togetherhere uneasily, and tension is pervasive,as tight as a bandage. Religion can bevery bad for the civic soul.

The skyline of St. John’s is dominat-ed both by churches and by the vibrantsigns of secular, cultural life, the bright-ly painted houses of vernacular archi-tecture and, of course, the massivemonument to history and art that is TheRooms.

The grip that institutionalized reli-gion once had on St. John’s has yieldedto a saner, healthier, freer vision ofcivic life. Being a tourist alwaysreminds you of what you want — andwhat you are lucky enough to have.

Noreen Golfman is a professor of lit-erature and women’s studies atMemorial University. Her column willreturn July 23.

JULY 9, 2006 INDEPENDENTLIFE • 19

Visions of the cityNOREENGOLFMANStanding room only

juggler and they’re obviously actualperformance figures … but there isalso a mythological component,” hesays. “In the masters philosophy pro-gram I’m writing about these three fig-ures.”

Duchemin explains how the threecharacters represent different aspectsof the human psyche. The fool (orclown) is open, honest and naturallycreative in his lack of assumption(“Socrates’ great advantage was heknew nothing and he knew that heknew nothing”); the magician is allabout appearances and manipulation;and the juggler represents physicalskill.

He calls his interest in the threecharacters a “performance philoso-phy.

“I’m starting to look at it as one edu-cational experience … in reality this ismy education, an apprenticeship cou-pled with an academic pursuit.”

Duchemin will be communicatinghis performance philosophy as part ofWonderbolt’s upcoming show, run-ning July 13-23. The performanceswill feature 11 professional artistsfrom Newfoundland, mainlandCanada and Europe, and will include

aerialists, flyers and acrobats amongother acts.

Duchemin will introduce the audi-ences to two of his three “characters”— Lankelstein BigalowWigglessworth III (a.k.a. Lank theclown) and Doktor Inkredible (a magi-cian). Fortunately, abracadabra —which Duchemin says was used as acharm to bring about fortunate eventsand dispel illnesses — is one of hisfavourite words.

Wonderbolt was founded in theprovince over two decades ago, but the

troupe has been significantly raisingits profile in recent years. The group iscurrently searching for a year-roundvenue to offer regular performances aswell as training.

“It’s growing, you can see it every-where,” says Duchemin. “People arereally into circus and into magic andyou can feel it building … I’d like tobe part of this energy as well as carveout my own path as a performer.”

When he finishes studying philoso-phy, Duchemin — who recentlyreturned from participating in a magiccompetition in Austria — says hehopes to continue performing in New-foundland and perhaps pass on sometricks of the trade to young apprenticesof his own.

“It just resonates with me very, verystrongly … I’m going into perform-ance because that’s the place I thinkcommunication reaches the most peo-ple.

“I like the fact I can have a philoso-phy I’ve thought about a long time andmake it very simple and turn it into animage and convey it.”

Wonderbolt Circus performs at St.Bonaventure’s Gymnasium July 13-23with afternoon and evening shows forall ages. Call 728-1819 for tickets.

Peter Duchemin and Jocelyn Wilson, Wonderbolt performers Paul Daly/The Independent

‘It just resonates with me’

POET’SCORNERStanding up for Newfoundland By Cory Miller

We’re just another outport that they don’t understand, they’re trying totake our homes and tear our roots up from the land.

Let’s stand up for our rocky shores and the hills we love so dear, tellthe Feds to go back home cause we’re all staying here.

So many leave their loving homes to work the oily sands, just becausethey tell us there’s no jobs in Newfoundland.

The oil we have so near to us doesn’t seem to help, I wonder would itbe a help if it were somewhere else.

So rich in things that should be good but still so poor it seems, oil andfish and minerals and forests tall and green.

They tell us how to live our lives and how to manage all our treasures,but when our stocks are dead and gone, they’ll shut us down withpleasure.

Mr. Smallwood called it centralizing bringing everyone to the main-land, people sadly left their homes and they didn’t understand.

The Rock is just a bigger version of their little bays and coves, they’reresettling the whole province and no one even knows.

An urban cowboy from out West or a lawyer from Toronto, we’redoing things the way they say and we don’t even want to.

We know The Rock the way we like it, better than any redneck could,why not tell them where to go and do things the way we should.

So raise the flag Green, White, and Pink, and let it speak forNewfoundland. We don’t need the Maple Leaf with its dark oppres-sive hand.

Let’s bring our people home, the ones we love with all our hearts.Let’s put the republic back together before the island falls apart.

Cory Miller recently moved to Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.

From page 17

“I like the fact I can have a philosophy

I’ve thought about a long time and make it very simple and turn it into an image and

convey it.”

Peter Duchemin

20 • INDEPENDENTLIFE JULY 9, 2006

Cool wines for a hot summerMan, you have to love these temperatures

in the range where we can simply saywe have a summer — not the length-

ened spring we usually have. As well, we are heading into the holiday/vaca-

tion season where entertaining in warm weatheris a necessity, and certainly enjoyable. When wedo entertain, there are a lot ofgood choices for beverages tobeat the heat and to take out-side while enjoying the sun-shine.

The summer is also a timewhen we can look beyond Cabernet Sauvignon,Merlot, and Chardonnay for inspiration. I leantowards lighter drinks in the summer — almostanything that can be served chilled is a goodchoice.

When it comes to fun wines, nothing beats thelightness of a Rosé. It is not a pure red wine, nora purely white wine, but a marriage of the two. Afine example is the sweet White Zinfandel withelements of red berries and melons; this is cer-tainly a drinkable wine for the hot summer.Sutter Home from California is one of the pre-mier producers of this type of wine.

Another well-known grape varietal, as well asa suitable drinker, is Riesling. This grape typecan be both sweet and dry, and great examples ofthem can be found from Germany and Alsace(France).

However, the best way to enjoy the Rieslinggrape is the dry method. Who can beat the effer-vescent Henkell Trocken sparkling wine fromGermany, for both whimsy and great value? It isjust dry enough to be enjoyable, but sweetenough to taste the fruits of peaches and light cit-rus.

Try this: cut a strawberry down the middle andplace it in the bottom of the champagne flute, andtop up with Henkell Trocken. Nothing says relax-ing like a glass of sparkling wine — and yourguests will think they are movie stars drinking aglass of bubbly.

Moving away from white wines, there aresome other grape varietals you might not havethought about. One of the emerging grapes isPinotage, which is a Pinot Noir-Cinsaut cross.This red grape has been produced in manyregions of South Africa to great success, but the

production level is so small that its export isexceedingly rare.

However, we can see Cathedral Cellars fromSouth Africa with a good Pinotage in our localstores. It’s a full-bodied wine with blackberriesand currants lingering on the palate. This is agood wine which, as well as being a drinker, can

be paired well with grilled meatsin a similar way to CabernetFranc or Pinot Noir.

Another overlooked grape isthe Sangiovese. With its unmis-takable nose of Italian herbs,

black cherries and leather, this is a stunningexample of a wine suitable for all outdoor enter-taining.

The bold flavours of the wine withstand heavyfoods because of the strong tannins and highacidity. It can be easily be paired with heavy beefsteaks covered with English Stilton cheese. Beefburgers can also withstand the powerful flavoursof ripe fruit. For the price at under $12, FarneseSangiovese is the clear winner with deep redfruits that linger on the palate and a full bodybelying its budget price.

If you are not up to the bold flavours, then lookfor Chianti, which is a blend of different winevarietals. Chianti blends tend to includeSangiovese, Trebbiano, and Canaiolo grapes andhave not really changed since being developed inthe 1890s.

Chiantis, classically, are paired with pasta andred sauces, and are found in wicker baskets —called, interestingly enough, a “fiasco” — whichis Italian for flask. Many good Chiantis can befound in all the local stores.

When thinking about wine, my mind fixes onfoods like fresh mozzarella (found packed inwater at the supermarket), fresh tomato and basildrizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil; anantipasto fit for all of these wines. Aged cheeses(like cheddar) and soft cheeses (Brie and gor-gonzola) with baguette are other good pairings.

With the summer months so short, I encourageyou to get out there and have some fun with yourfood — enjoy a new wine today. I know I will.

Nicholas is a food writer and erstwhile chef now eating in St. John’s. nicholas.gard-ner@gmail.com

NICHOLASGARDNEROff the Eating Path

Schedule of Events: Week 2 - Sun July 9th to Sat July 15th.International Festival of New Music and Performing Arts

9:30 PM THE SHIP PUB - FOLK NIGHTJason Whelan Ensemble, Thelonius FolkThursday July 1310 AM LSPU HALL: WORKSHOPCharlotte Hug: The Eye in Musical Improvisation.12:30 HARBOUR SYMPHONY1 PM ANNA TEMPLETON CENTRE: Chris Driedzic, Sound Workshop for Kids1:30 PM LSPU HALL: DANCE WORKSHOPYvonne Ng, Improvisational Dance.3:30 PM LSPU HALL: WORKSHOPShawn Silver, Irish Step-Dancing.7 PM MUN MUSIC PETRO-CAN HALLPat Boyle Band, Silent Film & Video Game8 PM COOK RECITAL HALL: CONCERTToca Loca, contemporary music9:30 PM ARTS & CULTURE CENTRE STAGEPropaganda by Paul Steffler. Performed by MotionEnsemble (Newfoundland Premiere)Warren Burt & Cathrine Schieve.Music composed for electric eye tone tool10:30 PM NIGHT MUSIC THE SHIP PUBThe Origin of Sound. "The Injector Fly: Living Rooms 2"Friday July 1412:30 HARBOUR SYMPHONY1-4:30 PM ANNA TEMPLETON CENTRE: Chris Driedzic, Sound Workshop for Kids. 9 PM CAPE SPEAR HISTORIC SITE CAPE SPEAR PROJECT VII: Various Sound Symposium artists11 PM THE SHIP - AVANT GARDE JAZZ!Ellis-Tanguay-Cram Trio (Paul Cram, saxophone; Lisle Ellis, bass; PierreTanguay, drums)Saturday July 1512:30 HARBOUR SYMPHONY2 PM ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL GROUNDSPaintcussion by McKUDO(Sean Panting, Rob Power, Adam Staple)4:30 PM QUEEN'S BATTERY, SIGNAL HILLChris Brown & Guillermo Galindo, Transmissions:(BYO Boom-box extravaganza)7 PM LSPU HALL: CONCERTAutorickshaw, World Music8 PM LSPU HALL: Improv Nightfeaturing improvs by Sound Symposium artists11 PM THE SHIP: last night party with THE DISCOUNTS

...for more info, contact:Tel: 753-4630

E-mail: soundart@nfld.comWeb: www.soundsymposium.comLSPU Hall Box Office: 743-4531

Sunday July 912:30 HARBOUR SYMPHONY2 PM COOK RECITAL HALL: CONCERTJudy Loman, harp, with Eleanor James, mezzo-soprano,and Alison Black, violin; Paul Vailliancourt, percussionist. 8 PM COOK RECITAL HALL: CONCERTSylvie Proulx, guitarTrichy Sankaran, mrdangam and kanjiraSAFA: Traditional persian Music ..and improv10 PM THE SHIP PUB - NIGHT MUSICMcKUDO: Sean Panting, Rob Power, Adam Staple11 PM QUIET MUSIC CONCERTCharlotte Hug, viola. (Location TBA)Monday July 1010 AM LSPU HALL: WORKSHOPWarren Burt & Catherine Schieve Percy Grainger's Electric Eye Tone Tool12:30 HARBOUR SYMPHONY2 PM LSPU HALL: WORKSHOPPersian Repertoire & Improvisation with SAFA7 PM PETRO-CANADA HALL: CONCERTOllivier Coupille, electronics: Maille8:30 PM COOK RECITAL HALL: CONCERTThe Scruncheons Percussion Ensemble. The Motion Ensemble, contemporary musicAutorickshaw, world music; with Trichy Sankaran 10 PM THE SHIP PUB - NIGHT MUSICSeelie Court Players & Jam session11 PM QUIET MUSIC CONCERT (location tba) SAFA TrioTuesday July 11 POUCH COVE GALLERYAM: East Coast Trail Hike, lunchPM: The Black Auks and Harold Klunder; acoustic jamHarold Klunder: Visual Art Exhibition12:30 HARBOUR SYMPHONY8 PM LSPU HALL: CONCERTTeresa Doyle, Bill Brennen; Ancient Gaelic Songs.Spanner: Paul Bendzsa, winds; Rob Power, percussionJackie Gallant, octapad10 PM The SHIP Pub - NIGHT MUSICThe Neighbourhood Watch. Rick Bailey, Chris Driedzic11 PM PETRO-CANADA HALL QUIET MUSIC Mary O’Keefe & Phil Yetman, harpsichord & percussionWednesday July 1210 AM MUN MUSIC BAND ROOM: Workshop Teresa Doyle, Kate Pool, Sound as Medicine12:30 HARBOUR SYMPHONY1 PM ANNA TEMPLETON CENTRE: WORKSHOPChris Driedzic, Sound Workshop for Kids1:30 PM PETRO-CAN HALL: WORKSHOPOllivier Coupille on Maille3:30 PM MUN MUSIC CHORAL ROOM: Trichy Sankaran, Rhythm Workshop8 PM LSPU Hall: CONCERTYvonne Ng, Headdress, dance. Erin Donovan, East Meets West, percussion Charlotte Hug , Chantale LaPlante, Brilliant Days.

The Sound Symposium continues all week in and around St. John’s. Bill Brennan (above) is scheduled to performancient Gaelic songs with Teresa Doyle July 11, 8 p.m. at the LSPU Hall. Jackie Gallant and percussion duo Spannerare also on the bill. Paul Daly/The Independent

A WEEK OF SOUND

The equalization debateWith no foreseeable consensus among provinces, it falls on Harper to propose specific equalization revisions

Former Prime Minister Pierre ElliottTrudeau once said, “We peer sosuspiciously at each other that we

cannot see that we Canadians are stand-ing on the mountaintop of humanwealth, freedom and privilege.”Nowhere is this statement more applica-ble than when you consider this coun-try’s equalization system.

It seems the debate around Canada’sconstitutionally enshrined equalizationprogram has never been so contentiousas it is these days.

Cries of “fiscal imbalance,” both ver-tical (between the federal and provincialgovernments) and horizontal (betweenthe provinces) continue to ring out as thenew Harper administration grapples withthe issue of how to be fairer (or at leastappear that way) to the provinces — justabout all of which are stretched finan-cially and united in the claim Ottawacollects much more than its rightful

share of tax dollars while transferringprecious little back to the lower levels ofgovernment.

But the provinces differ substantiallyas to exactly how the feds should sharethe pot of money. The equalization pro-gram — designed to ensure “provincialgovernments have sufficient revenues toprovide reasonably comparable levels ofpublic services at reasonably compara-ble levels of taxation,” as per section36(2) of the Constitution Act (1982) —is at the centre of the present controver-sy.

The provinces are poking holes in theprogram. Ontario, one of only two

provinces that does not receive equaliza-tion, says all it does is help subsidize theprogram so other provinces can reap thebenefits of transfer payments. The recip-ient provinces, meanwhile, say the pro-gram isn’t working to equalize tax andservice capacity of the less affluentregions. No matter what side of thedebate you’re on, the common ground isthe belief equalization needs fixing.

A federally commissioned ExpertPanel on Equalization and TerritorialFormula Financing agrees the programrequires strengthening, too, as it assertedin a highly anticipated report releasedlast month. In it, the panel offered anarray of recommendations. Some aremore widely supported than others, suchas moving from the current five-province standard upon which equaliza-tion entitlements are determined, to onebased on the revenue-raising capacitiesof all 10 provinces, which many say is a

fairer and more representative measure. Indeed, the division of opinion

between the provinces and the federalgovernment was evident a couple ofweeks ago when finance minister JimFlaherty met with his provincial counter-parts in Niagara-on-the-Lake, wherethere reportedly was little, if any, head-way made toward untangling the equal-ization conundrum.

One thing is almost certain: this fall,Stephen Harper’s government will revisethe way equalization operates. Theimplications for many provinces, includ-ing Newfoundland and Labrador, aregreat, depending on how the program isultimately altered.

That’s precisely why PremierWilliams was quick to publicly dismissthe panel’s report. Clearly, Newfound-land and Labrador wouldn’t fare well if,for example, the federal governmentdecided to impose a cap on the fiscal

capacity of equalization-receivingprovinces, as suggested.

“If Newfoundland and Labrador’s fis-cal capacity after equalization is higherthan the lowest non-receiving province,the cap should apply regardless of theoffshore accords and the province shouldnot receive equalization payments thatput them above the cap,” it says. “In thepanel’s view, the principles of equaliza-tion should not be compromised norshould the equalization program beadjusted to accommodate the offshoreaccords.”

That idea isn’t met favourably here.However, there are parts of Canada thathold the new Atlantic Accord agreementagainst us, calling it a one-off “side deal”that isn’t fair to the rest of the country,not accepting that the accord is actuallya 25-year-old bilateral agreement which

See “Once,” page 23

INDEPENDENTBUSINESSSUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, JULY 9-15, 2006 — PAGE 21

Harbour Mille on the Burin Peninsula. Paul Daly/The Independent

‘The salvation of this place’For some, $100,000 or more for a home in outport Newfoundland is a steal — it’s the value of rural life

By Pam Pardy GhentFor the Independent

The beauty of the Burin Peninsulabrought Darlene Stewart, 42, andHubert Dominaux, 49, back to out-

port Newfoundland after making a life inthe Northwest Territories for almost 17years.

“We were homeowners and had a goodlife up there,” Stewart says. “But home iswhere the heart is. … We always knew wewould wind up living back home.”

Stewart, like others who are rediscover-ing rural life, says it’s about more thancoming home — there are financial advan-tages to moving back to the island.

The cost of purchasing a home in somerural areas can be as low as $6,000, andnewer homes can be purchased for as littleas $25,000 depending on the home andhow eager the owner is to sell.

For some — not just Newfoundlanders,but other Canadians, Americans, andEuropeans — that’s cost is far below thevalue of safe, serene, rural life.

While there are fewer services in a small

town, for some, it’s a fair trade.Three years ago, Stewart and Dominaux

sold their $100,000 home in Hay River,NWT and bought an oceanside house justoutside Bay L’Argent for $10,000.

Dominaux still works away six monthsof the year.

“I’m a beach bum, I love nature. Whilefolks who never left might take all thisbeauty for granted I never will,” Stewartsays. “This will be our life until Hubertretires in five or eight years … I can’t leavenow for love or money.”

The town of Bay L’Argent charges a$300 yearly poll tax and $300 minimumannual property tax. The yearly cost forwater and sewer maintenance is $360, andthe community provides street lighting,garbage removal, snow clearing and roadmaintenance to approximately 114 house-holds and 321 residents.

Renting a home in the town ranges from$300-$375 per month and there are cur-rently four building lots for sale for about$900 each.

The communities of St. Mary’s andTerrenceville have also seen their popula-

tions decline since the last census year. St. Mary’s has 400 residents, down from

501 a few years ago. Town clerk TeresaPower says, while a few folks return toretire, most of the “young ones” are goneaway to work and don’t come back, nomatter how affordable the housing.

“Not much point in getting a house forunder $20,000 if you can’t afford to heat itor eat,” Power says.

“Terrenceville had over 900 residencesfour years ago and now might have 650,”resident Joan Rideout says. “It’s not all thatcheap to live here, to rent a house can be upto $450 a month, and to buy one you’relooking at anywhere from $35-$40,000.”

Port Rexton has managed to maintain itsnumbers, not because there’s no out-migration, but because folks are comingfrom outside Newfoundland. Port Rextonhas 432 residents, a Lion’s Club, a seniors’residence and almost all of its youth areemployed in summer projects throughRural Development.

Port Rexton is a cheap place to live witha $185 yearly poll tax, $185 minimumproperty tax and no town sewage service.

Less than 10 per cent of the residents arehooked to the town’s water supply.

Renters get a bargain at $350 per month,but there is something else different in thetown. “An older home would go for muchmore than a new one ’round here,” LoisLong, Port Rexton’s town clerk says. “Onetime everyone tried to do up and modern-ize their homes and now they are doingthem down you might say.” she says. Eventhe new homes that are going up are beingbuilt in the old salt-box style.

People from mainland Canada, the U.S.and the U.K. are snatching up older homesand building new ones in the area. “Thereare no older homes left for sale right now,”she says. “A few years ago these homeswere selling for $7,000 and $8,000 butnow it’s $125,000 and more. Imagine!”

John Fisher moved to Port Rexton fromthe mainland 18 years ago and operates theFisher’s Loft Inn with his wife.

“I would say that the significant thingabout rural Newfoundland is that it isexperiencing a transition, not an end,”

RAY DILLON

Board of Trade

See “Secret’s out,” page 23

22 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS JULY 9, 2006

Bona-fide banana republicWhat a sad column to write. We are not fit to govern

ourselves. Mount Cashel, the Lamer inquiry and thecurrent House of Assembly scandal are examples

pointing to an out-of-control society. The competence of our police department, Crown prosecu-

tors’ office, judges and the courts, the law society and lawyers,government departments, civil servants andnow the House of Assembly are in questionor dispute.

To make matters worse, a water leakknocked out five servers and scores of datain the Confederation Building in the middleof the auditor general’s release of specialreports, a briefcase was stolen from a car owned by the lawyerfor Bill Murray (a briefcase full of hand-written notes arisingfrom a meeting between Averill Baker and her client), thespeaker of the House and chair of the Internal EconomyCommission ran around the ward of a local hospital to visit BillMurray while he’s the subject of a police investigation, and youhave a bona-fide banana republic — politically unstable, rely-ing on limited fish, and ruled by a small wealthy and potential-ly corrupt clique.

How big is the problem? Well last week our province co-hosted the annual national agriculture conference. SuperMinister Chuck Strahl (the same guy who got $5 billion forfarmers) co-chaired the event and every provincial and territo-rial minister and deputy minister was here. The alleged corrup-tion is so deep and our media so tied up that Chuck and theprovincial ministers had a free weekend. Not a soul interviewedthem.

The icing on the cake? The Opposition Liberals elected andde-elected a leader over a period of a couple of months and thenoverwhelmingly endorsed and appointed a new leader who did-n’t want the job. The fragile NDP has its former leader retiringand vacating his seat, leaving the only sitting member mired inthe scandal until the auditor general and/or the police are fin-ished with him.

But wait we have labour organizations — Earl McCurdy isall over the fishery as Fortune is put on make-work, Reg Ansteyis all over minimum wage while raking in a six-figure salary,Carol Furlong negotiated (or was it announced) the packageDanny permitted her for equity discrimination, and then there’sthe principled head of the paper workers in Stephenville who

stuck to his guns and pointed at Abitibi while the paper millshut down. I understand there’s a fresh exodus from the com-munity now that school’s out. Generally speaking, we have six-figure compensation packages, including a pension for labourleaders while the people they represent struggle for job securi-ty and cost-of-living increases.

But there must be some hope. We haveother independent offices: the citizen’s repand child and youth advocate — oh, that’sright, Lloyd Wicks resigned and FraserMarch was turfed out by the House ofAssembly.

We have a Finance minister who forgot toread the auditor general’s report in 2001, else he would haveknown the AG was kept out of the books while some question-able payments were made for art and wine from an MHA con-stituency allowance. Meanwhile, Beth Marshall, the former AGwho outed the lot back in 2000, sits in the backseat of the peo-ple’s House because she and the boss have different manage-ment theories (although hers looks pretty good now).

Maybe we need a commission of government; I say the proofis there. But who could set it up? Call in Canada? No hang on,they’re still dredging through the sponsorship scandal. Andthat’s right, the IEC in Ottawa has quietly upped the MP con-stituency allowances.

With the governor general’s visit this week it reminds me thatwe are still squat between England and Canada, the two coun-tries that have been bargaining our real estate and mismanagingour resources for at least 100 years. Loyola Hearn justannounced Canada and the EU are going to patrol our nose andtail together — that must have been what he meant by jointmanagement.

Doug House, deputy minister of co-ordinating a provincialdevelopment plan, has been “economically recovering” ourrural communities under three different governments for closeto 20 years. Apparently that was so successful that House lec-tures in British Columbia to give them the (benefit?) of ourexperience.

At this rate the only thing left is a dictatorship under Danny.The only hope is that Newfoundland and Labrador becomes herown nation again in order to renew our pride enough to care.

Sue Kelland-Dyer was a policy advisor to the former Liberalpremier Roger Grimes.

SUEKELLAND-DYER

Guest column

should be viewed outside the equaliza-tion debate.

Then there’s the concept of cappingfiscal capacity at the level of that of thelowest non-receiving province (whichhappens to be Ontario). This may soundreasonable; but what exactly does itmean when your fiscal capacity rises? If,for argument’s sake, Newfoundland andLabrador reached the fiscal capacity ofOntario, it certainly wouldn’t mean thegap between the two provinces’ tax ratesand levels of public services and infra-structure is suddenly eliminated. Hardly.The gap is still there and it’s still wide. Adrive through Niagara-on-the-Lake, oranywhere else in southern Ontario,makes that clear.

Some (including the St. John’s Boardof Trade) argue non-renewableresources, such as oil, should be takenout of the equation altogether.

The reason is non-renewable resourcerevenues are incorrectly thought of asincome when they should be treated ascapital assets instead. When a non-renewable resource is developed, theasset is merely converted to cash, which

results in no net fiscal gain to theprovince. When it’s developed it is, inessence, liquidated. Once the oil is gone,it’s gone, unlike other tax bases in thecalculation that are constant sources ofrevenue.

The expert panel, recognizing “thetreatment of resource revenues is themost complex and controversial aspectof equalization,” came up with a halfwaymeasure that 50 per cent of revenuesfrom all resources (non-renewable andrenewable) should be included and theother half excluded in determining theoverall size of the equalization pool.Unfortunately, that does little to addressthe issue and further complicates thematter.

So, with no sign of a consensus amongthe provinces, it falls squarely on theHarper government — who stated as anelection platform position he wouldremove non-renewable resources fromthe formula — to propose specific revi-sions to equalization.

The feds and the provinces all knowthere could be clear winners and losers.

Ray Dillon is the president of the St.John’s Board of Trade. His columnreturns July 23.

JULY 9, 2006 INDEPENDENTBUSINESS • 23

Most dangerousroad in countryResidents of Labrador and Quebec join forces to increase pressure on government for highway improvements

Fisher says. “We’ve had about 200 people movein to this area from everywhere, they’ve boughtnew homes and renovated older ones preservingthe original architecture.”

One home in the area recently sold for$370,000 and the American owners put another$100,000 into it, but it’s still a steal, Fisher says.

“That same property would sell for millionswhere they came from, so it’s all relative,” hesays.

“But it has created work and that in-migrationhas offset those that have moved away, our for-mer residents and our new ones are like ships

passing in the night.”“These people who moved in here got cities

where they come from, they’ve done urban life,and they’ve placed a high price on ruralNewfoundland living, and they are willing to payfor it … Maybe that price would be the salvationof this place.”

Stewart agrees. “My newest neighbour acrossthe way is from Tampa Bay, Fla. and they haveno ties here other than word of mouth,” she says.Her American neighbors plan to make it theirhome half the year until they retire and movehere permanently.

“I always knew our secret would get out oneday and this way of life would catch on.”

Once the oil is gone, it’s goneFrom page 21

From page 21

By Ngaire GengeFor The Independent

Although former Transportation MinisterTrevor Taylor — replaced by John Hickeyin a July 5 cabinet shuffle — told residents

of Labrador earlier this year he’s “convinced”Prime Minister Stephen Harper will live up to hispromises, Labradorians are by no means certain.

They’ve read the letter federal TransportMinister Lawrence Cannon sent to the province inApril, the letter saying the feds had “yet to deter-mine” how the expanded national highway systemwas to be funded.

With an eight-week construction season at thebest of times, Labradorians have their own convic-tions that without even a framework for an agree-ment under which to apply for funds — much lessthe funds themselves — this construction season isagain down the tubes.

Frustration has recently resulted in groups, indi-viduals, and government representatives seekingnew ways to bring attention to the issue.

Three years ago, a Coalition for the CanadianNortheast was struck in the chambers of bothLabrador City and Sept-Iles, a community onQuebec’s north shore. Those widely separatedcities share a common transportation corridor, or atleast the hope of one.

One of the few spots in this province with trueinter-provincial ties, Labrador shares a bordercrossing with Quebec at both Blanc Sablon in theLabrador Straits — Labradorians must go toQuebec to get the ferry to the island ofNewfoundland — and in Labrador west where PQRoute 389 turns in NL Route 500.

The Trans Quebec Labrador Highway, as it isknown in the region, couldn’t be less of a highway.With only intermittent patches of pavement and afew kilometres of test chipseal laid two years ago,nearly the entire 2,000 kilometres of highway isdirt, gravel and, worse, rock where the road bed issteadily pushing its way through — when it isn’tfalling off the shoulder and back to the wild.

Last week, another meeting on the north shoreexpanded the existing coalition, taking in a groupstruggling to get a bridge across at Tadoussac,another wanting to extend the existing PQ Route138 up to Blanc Sablon, and the original coalitionthat wants a hard-top across 389/500 and on tocomplete the loop in Blanc Sablon.

As Patric Frigon, spokesperson for the newcoalition says, “Our roads would be the shame ofany self-respecting Third-World nation.”

He’s not alone in that thought. Impatient with thebuck-passing of both provincial governments andthe newly elected federal government, locals talkloudly of applying new forms of pressure.

In Fermont, Quebec, just across the border fromLabrador City, the Metallos, the Francophonecousins of the United Steelworkers (USW), havefilmed a DVD of the highway and presented it pub-licly to Quebec’s Minister of Transport JulieBoulett.

In June alone, 11 serious accidents occurred onRoute 389, the road Labradorians travel every timethey drive west, which they have to do as soon as

the eastern ports freeze. Another half-dozen acci-dents on Route 500 across Labrador have left resi-dents wondering if either direction is safe.

Metallos has already entered into initial discus-sions with USW locals in Labrador, where anothernearly 2,000 people can be enlisted to bring pres-sure on the highways issue. George Kean, presi-dent of USW 5795, whose employees at the IronOre Company of Canada (ICO) account for signif-icant tax dollars, says “We are united in our con-cern for the safety of our families and friends, thepeople we work alongside every day and we fullyintend to pursue every avenue that can force atten-tion to the hazards.”

The Labrador Party has plans as well. Says CFOChris Bailey, “We realize people outside our regiondon’t comprehend what 600 km of gravel means interms of economic development, access to healthcare and education, or public safety.

“Consider how you’d feel if you had to drivefrom Marystown to Corner Brook for a CAT scan— and they’d just torn up every inch of pavementbetween the two.”

The Labrador Party has begun gathering images,testimonials, and hard facts on the dollars and centsof completing this vital link — and even the bene-fits to those living in St. John’s — and making thatcollected information available on their website.

Ray Erger belongs to no political party, to no for-mal organization, but he, too, plans to get the restof the province — even the country — to under-stand what they’re losing.

“Everyone watches TV,” says Erger. “It’s imme-diate, and pictures really do tell a story, if you havethe right pictures.”

With the assistance of other individuals andbusiness owners like himself, Erger is preparing tohave a series of commercials produced to air on theisland and across the country.

“We know what it’s going to cost and we’re get-ting ready to take that step,” says Erger. “It’s hardto ignore commercials beamed into your home inliving colour — and if it shames these governmentsinto acting even one day sooner, it’ll be worth thecost.”

Eric Cyr, a journalist in Fermont, Que. who par-ticipated in the filming of the Metallos’ DVD,hopes to test the positive power of the press.

“Journalists have access to materials and con-tacts that other people often are not aware of, andhave professional relationships with otherreporters,” says Cyr. “While it is easy to ignore asmall fire in one place, it’s not so easy to ignore anissue that’s coming at you from multiple sources …so the more people realize that, right here inCanada, we still have people living without thebasic services, a decent road with room for twocars to pass without one having to pull over.”

Cyr hopes the combined publicity push willforce change. He recalls the national eye thatturned to Labrador when the issue was glue-sniff-ing.

“If it’s disgraceful enough, someone somewherewill have to act,” he says. “And there’s not muchmore disgraceful than leaving 50,000 peopleforced to travel on roads that the Quebec coronercalled ‘the most dangerous in the country.’”

Secret’s out

Paul Daly/The Independent

24 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS JULY 9, 2006

WEEKLYDIVERSIONSACROSS1 Retina receptor4 Powder8 Singer-songwriterWainwright13 Golfer Lorie17 Mistress of Eden18 Duelling souvenir19 Silly20 Come right up to21 State of having nofixed address23 Temporary papercurrency24 Emergency shelter25 Nearly extinct26 Photographer’scommand28 Fly to avoid30 Mine cars32 Writing-on-___Prov. Park, Alta.33 Christian of Paris34 Hinged metal clasp35 It’s not quite properlanguage36 A moon of Jupiter40 That thing’s41 Lopsided42 Repaired a shoe43 Devon drinkingspot44 Of earthquakes46 Jessica of “AirFarce”48 Allot49 Winter jacket51 French corn

52 Trounces53 Quagmire56 Mass of eggs58 “Bay Boy”writer/director59 Pitchers60 Astound61 Bundle of herbs:bouquet ___63 Gaming cubes64 Celtic language66 K.D. Lang’s home-town70 Savings acct. entry71 Father: prefix72 Divert74 Halloween greeting75 Suffers great tor-ment77 Slatted box78 Frigga’s husband79 Yodeller’s range?80 Tree (see 86A)81 Seed cell82 Actress McCarthy85 Cavity (anat.)86 Genus of our tree87 St. John’s site usedby Marconi: Signal___88 A Perfect Night toGo to ___ (DavidGilmour)90 Ont. town withChimo the Polar Bear94 Use gas pointlessly95 Shantytown hut96 Leather (Fr.)

97 These (Fr.)98 Not merely a want99 Conforms100 Right hand101 Referendumanswer

DOWN1 Gun it in neutral2 Eggs3 Street of CBC kids’show4 Russian rulers of old5 Skin trouble6 French body of water7 Unit of ice or snow8 Ascending9 Cousin’s father10 Payment for travel11 Start for lateral12 Snowiest city inCanada13 Mohawk holywoman: ___Tekakwitha14 Help a hood15 Religious ones16 Suffix with lay22 Highway lead-in27 A twelfth of a year29 Auctioneer’s verdict30 The one here31 Figure of interest32 Superficially suave33 Open valleys35 Agitates36 Best-selling series:Company’s ___

37 Most easterly pointof N. America: Cape___, Nfld.38 All (mus.)39 Like Henry VIII41 Gather42 Cole ___45 Kind of time47 Native of Muscat48 Moon closest toJupiter50 Fall flowers52 Sesame plant53 McLuhan’s focus54 Unpaid55 Verso’s opposite57 Hungarian sheep-dog58 Not poetry60 Satisfies62 Sharp64 Cold vegetable soup65 Raises trivial objec-tions67 Stubbornness68 Stir up69 Voice pitch71 Tablet73 Strait off Sumatra76 Used a hammer77 Spanish cellist78 “ ___ the rainbow...”80 Currency81 Pale yellow-brown82 Leg part that getspadded83 Conceal

84 French pronoun85 Percent of Canada

that is arable land86 Etching fluid

89 Fireplace shelf91 French affirmative

92 Originally93 Hook shape

ARIES (Mar. 21 to Apr. 19)You dislike waiting for promisesto be fulfilled and for commit-ments to be kept, but resist yourheadstrong tendency to pushthings along. Your patience will berewarded.

TAURUS (Apr. 20 to May 20)Expect continuing opposition toyour plans from die-hard detrac-tors. However, your determina-tion to see things through willcarry the day. A Pisces has roman-tic ideas.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) You might be too close to a trou-blesome workplace situation todeal with it successfully. Stepaway in order to get a better per-spective. A solution soon becomesobvious.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) You might suspect that someoneyou trust has misled you on animportant matter, but a more bal-anced view of things reveals amisunderstanding to be the culprit.

LEO (July 23 to Aug. 22) The Big Cat’s animal magnetismhas rarely been stronger. You caneither just bask in all that admira-tion or use it to your advantage,especially in the workplace.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 to Sept. 22) Someone who previously balkedat cooperating with you on a proj-ect suddenly has a change of heart.Accept both help and advice withgrace.

LIBRA(Sept. 23 to Oct. 22) Some hazy issues still need to be

cleared up before you can moveon with your new plans. A friendfrom the past reaches out to re-establish old ties.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23 to Nov. 21)Continued positive fall-out fol-lows that risky workplace deci-sion you made some time ago.Your payoff will soon prove to bemore substantial than you expect-ed.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 to Dec. 21)A personal relationship continuesto be affected by a recent unex-pected turn of events. Things needto work themselves out withoutfinger-pointing.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 to Jan. 19) It’s a wonderful week for all youcapricious Goats to kick up yourheels with friends or family mem-

bers in some well-earned fun andfrivolity.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 to Feb. 18)Caution is advised before makinga financial commitment to some-one you don’t really know. Thereare better ways to build friend-ships than with risky fiscal deal-ings.

PISCES (Feb. 19 to Mar. 20) Travel plans continue to befavored. A change of scenerybrings new opportunities, bothpersonally and professionally. Beopen to the possibilities.

BORN THIS WEEKYou have a strong sense of loyaltythat shows itself best in your rela-tionships with family and friends.

(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

2005 championship crews won’t be returning to thisyear’s Regatta

One year later, and the members of the female cham-pionship team of the Royal St. John’s Regatta arestill a little shocked about what happened on the

evening of Aug. 3, 2005.The Compusult team – Katie Wadden, Laura Rice,

Rachel Coffey, Valerie Earle, Jenn Squires, Kate Parsonsand coxswain Ron Boland – defeated OZ FM for theladies’ championship and the Kim Stirling MemorialTrophy.

People around the lake that evening had predicted OZFM would take the race. The predictions were wrong.

“I never doubted the crew, but we had a five-year planto win the championship,” Rice tells The Independent.

Rice is somewhat modest.In one year the fiery young crew not only won the

championship but broke the ladies’ covenant five-minutemark, set a new ladies’ championship race record at4:57.78, and defeated the most successful ladies crew inRegatta history. Defeating OZ FM is what made the victo-ry so sweet for the young Compusult crew. “A thousandtimes sweeter,” says Earle, who edged out three of herteammates (Rice, Parsons and Squires) by two seconds forthe 2004 title with Jungle Jims.

Regatta enthusiasts were anticipating one of the great-est rematches in the history of the ladies’ championshiprace this year, but that won’t happen – the Compusult crewaren’t rowing this year.

“One of us just decided that we were going to take ayear off to do different things,” says Wadden, and thecrewmembers slowly went their separate ways.

As with the OZ FM ladies’ team, the NTV men’s crew

also lost the championship race last year (up to that pointthey were five-time champions), beaten by TheIndependent men’s rowing crew in a time of 9:03.99. ForThe Independent crew of Jason Rose, Ben Stokes, JeffRoche, Luke Hayes, Michael Ladha, John Smyth and coxDanny Harte, the departure of one of the rowers led to thedisbanding of the entire crew.

One of the men received an out-of-province job oppor-tunity in February and the rest is history. Between mastersprograms, overseas work terms, summer jobs and finishingschool, the crew needed a year off.

But are the Compusult and Independent crews reallytaking a year off? The Independent crew, yes, with theexception of Ladha, who was a late addition to a fixed-seatboat for this year’s Regatta. As for Compusult, many of theladies have shined up their seats. Five of the six ladieshave returned to Quidi Vidi this year, with several rowingon competitive crews.

The members of OZ FM were looking forward to tak-ing on Compusult this year and were disappointed to learnof their decision not to row.

“It was an awkward way to end a season (2005) but anunthinkable way to end a career,” says stroke Siobhan Duffof the team’s decision to return to the pond this year.

We probably haven’t heard the last of Compusult.“There are no plans but it’s not over, we will be back atsome point,” Parsons says.

The Independent may also be back – maybe even nextyear.

“Count on us rowing in 2007,” says John Smythe, No.2 oar on last year’s Independent team.

In 2005, slide-seat crews swept the men’s and ladies’titles. Given neither crew is returning to defend their title(first time in seven years that a men’s and/or ladies’ cham-pionship crew isn’t returning, the Royal St. John’s Regattahas been injected with a new energy.

Up forgrabs

First for ladiesMore than 100

crews wereexpected to com-

pete at the July 8 time trials,which qualify crews for

their respective Regattaday races. Be sure tocheck back next week forthe results. Sorry but the

races were past our pressdeadline this week.Ti

me

tria

ls

1979 saw the first ever ladies’ championshiprace and it was the first time the ladies wererequired to row both ways. The race was wonby the Health Sciences crew in a time of6:11.28. The year 1979 also saw the first award-ing of the Kim Stirling Memorial Trophy, whichcontinues to be awarded to the ladies’ champi-onship crew. Twenty years later, in 1999, theladies rowed the first race of the day.

– Stroke of Champions, by Jack Fitzgerald.

2005 OZ FM Ladies Rowing Crew Photo by Paul Daly/ The Independent

JULY 9, 2006 INDEPENDENTSPORTS • 25

26 • INDEPENDENTSPORTS JULY 9, 2006

By Ken CampbellTorstar wire service

The Molson Grand Prix of Toronto iscertainly more of a mouthful than theshort and snappy Molson Indy, butorganizers are confident the race withthe new name and identity will contin-ue to be a fixture on the sports calendar.

The race quietly became the MolsonGrand Prix of Toronto when MolsonSports and Entertainment, which had

owned the race since its inception in1986, sold it to the Grand PrixAssociation of Toronto, owned byChamp Car series owners KevinKalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe.

The beer company has stayed on astitle sponsor.

At the time of the sale, Kalkhovenwas at odds with the Indy RacingLeague — that was prior to talk of uni-fication — and reportedly wanted anyevent he was connected with as far

removed from the IRL as possible.The name change allows for the race

to establish a fresh identity with a larg-er demographic, according to CharlieJohnstone, president and CEO of theGrand Prix Association of Toronto.

“We’re a first-year event with a 20-year history,” Johnstone says. “We getall the goodwill that was built up over20 years and we get to take all that, butwe don’t have to carry any of the bag-gage.”

The organizers, Johnstone says, aretrying to widen the race’s appeal tomore age groups. He points to the GPTAuto Expo as something that might beof interest to younger fans, while olderones would be more attracted to theAtto Vintage GT Race.

There is concern that the race is los-ing an established identity that it hashad for 20 years — not to mention farmore glorious years than more recentones — but Johnstone says the Molson

Indy will remain a part of the race’sheritage.

“I don’t think we’re losing (the iden-tity),” Johnstone says. “I think we’rebuilding on it.”

If there ever is unification with theIRL, Johnstone anticipates the race willcontinue under the same name.

Indy now Grand Prix with a beer

Paul Smith’s column, The Rock Outdoors, will return July 23

By Cathal KellyTorstar wire service

In addition to the Golden Ball and GoldenBoot, you should be filling out ballots forGolden Globe nominees in the category Best

Actor in a World Cup.There was Thierry Henry of France’s heart-rend-

ing simulation of a cracked skull after Spain’sCarles Puyol bumped him in the chest. There wasPortuguese starlet Cristiano Ronaldo’s physics-defying tumble in the box vs. France — pulledbackward, Ronaldo managed to fall forward.Remarkable.

There were so many memorable performerswhose non-soccer skills deserve to be recognized:Maniche, Arjen Robben, Razak Pimpong, MichaelBallack, Francesco Totti, Luis Figo, etc., etc. Andby recognized, we mean severely sanctioned.

Diving, under wraps for most of the first round,reached new, nauseating lows during the tourna-ment knockout rounds.

It seemed as if every game was blighted by atleast a dozen instances of fake falls, feignedinjuries and constant, whining pleas from playersfor calls or cards. Such nonsense took much of thegloss off Portugal’s remarkable run, Australia’sinspiring second-round appearance and France’ssemifinal win.

The worst offender might be the world’s bestplayer: Henry. His acting against Spain recalledthe antics of Brazil’s Rivaldo in the 2002 WorldCup. Even worse, Henry had warned that he woulddo this sort of thing only weeks before. After hisclub side, Arsenal, lost to Puyol’s club, Barcelona,in May’s Champions League final, Henry said:“Next time I’ll learn to dive maybe, but I’m not awoman.”

One might argue he never did need lessons. Andin case he’s never seen a top-tier women’s match,he might try playing more like them, since theladies don’t slip around the pitch like otters tryingto walk on their hind legs.

So what to do? Four years ago, there was somuch goalmouth malfeasance that FIFA consid-ered employing a fourth official to stand behindthe nets and monitor action in the penalty area.Logistics (um, how does one man cover bothgoals?) mooted that suggestion.

But the idea was right: It is time to face the factthat the players are better cheaters than the offi-cials will ever be spotters of cheating.

A second referee might help, but there is simplytoo much happening too quickly to properly assessa dive. Hands flying over the head when someoneis diving toward the turf might be one clue, but notall the cheaters are so clumsy.

So if no amount of officials can be counted on tospot infractions, who can?

French coach Raymond Domenech pointed theway forward July 5. After what he perceived to bea dive by Cristiano Ronaldo (he was right),Domenech pantomimed using a film camera. Thecamera catches everything the officials miss.

So there is one ongoing argument for instantvideo replay. Of course, only non-NorthAmericans would call it instant.

Anyone who has watched an NFL game realizesthat video replay can stop a game cold for fiveminutes, depending on the official viewing theplay. That’s not a big issue in football, with its con-stant stops and starts. But in soccer, in which thematch is supposed to flow uninterrupted, someteams might call a yellow card for diving inexchange for a five-minute breather a fair tradelate in the game.

No, what we need is some sort of retroactivepunishment. These things are easy enough to spoton slow-motion replay. A harsh five-match ban fordiving might do the trick.

As for feigned injuries, there ought to be a max-imum time a player may be treated on the field ofplay and a minimum time he needs to sit out oncehe’s left the field for treatment. Say, 60 seconds inthe first case and five minutes in the second.

And calling for a card or abusing the referee —automatic red. Only team captains should beallowed to approach the ref after a call and thenonly to discuss the matter civilly.

At this World Cup, FIFA tried to take a hard line,but it picked the wrong target — fouling.Throwing out a record number of cards only irri-tated players and encouraged reckless challenging.

But the current cowardly, Machiavellian streakthat runs through world soccer must be merciless-ly stamped out. It requires hard action, huge penal-ties and remorseless banning of some of thegame’s top players.

What we are trying to accomplish here is noth-ing short of a cultural change in the game — onethat holds the manner in which it is played moreimportant than who wins. Players who will notabide by that spirit should be driven from the fieldagain and again.

And the Golden Splash goes to ...Severe penalties needed for diving

France’s Thierry Henry Paulo Whitaker/Reuters

Canucks are on the ballBy Dave PerkinsTorstar wire service

This won’t be politically correct, partic-ularly with the world diving champi-onships coming to a conclusion

tomorrow in Germany, but there’s one sportin which Canada — you remember that sel-dom seen red-and-white flag? — is perform-ing better than ever.

No fewer than 21 Cana-dians have played so far inthe major leagues this sea-son, a record total by two(and counting) according toBaseball Canada, whichproudly dispenses the goodnews. It is, of course, popularto downgrade baseball andpretend that it holds scantallure to Canadians. (The factthat it sells more tickets inToronto than the other pro-fessional team sports com-bined is just one of thosefacts easily explained away,or simply ignored.)

Baseball isn’t popularamong some pockets of newCanadians, for sure, butmany Asians embrace the game and plenty ofLatins are crazy for it. Judging by the numberof habitants arriving in the majors, its demisein Canada would seem to be greatly exagger-ated. It’s not as if all 21, 19 of whom remainin the majors, of these guys are fringe play-ers, or men playing out the string, either.There are stars: Jason Bay led all NationalLeague vote-getters for the All-Star Gameand Justin Morneau, the young sluggeremerging into stardom with the Twins, led theAmerican League with 29 runs batted in forthe month of June.

The previous highlight of the year for

Canadian seamheads was defeating theUnited States in that World Baseball Classicback in March, although we were kind of aone-trick pony in that event, unable to get outof the first round.

Still, manager Ernie Whitt wasn’t exactlyat the bottom of the pitching barrel that week:None of Eric Gagne, Rich Harden, RyanDempster nor Jeff Francis was available and

all four, when healthy,could pitch anywhereagainst anyone.

MORE TO COMEThe other point about the

21 is that it’s still counting;three Canadians have beenselected to play in minorleague all-star games.Simon Pond, from NorthVancouver, made theEastern League game andGeorge Kottaras of Mark-ham and Joey Votto of Mis-sissauga made the SouthernLeague all-stars. Thosethree and/or a handful ofothers in the high minorsmight make it up by the endof the season.

Why the influx? Who knows for sure, but itmight go back to the Blue Jays’ two WorldSeries titles, now rapidly receding into thedistance at nearly 13 and 14 years ago,respectively.

Kids tended to quit baseball — most minorsports, actually — by about age 12, but thosewho stuck it out, perhaps emboldened by theJays’ success back then, or by the MontrealExpos’ excellence in 1994, would be mid-20snow (Morneau, for instance, is 25).Whatever. It’s easier to enjoy the success thanto analyze it and here’s something for allCanadians to applaud.

No fewer than 21 Canadians have played

so far in the majorleagues this season,

a record total bytwo (and counting)

according to BaseballCanada, which

proudly dispenses the good news.

ly when you consider how much playermovement exists in the current NHL.

He was also a huge performer forCanada at several international tourna-ments and had his number 19 jerseyretired from the Canadian Olympic teamin his honour.

Stevey Y. will be missed.•••

I’ve been encouraged by the outpour-ing of support from soccer officials andfans across the world for a major crack-down on the diving and theatrics that arethreatening to ruin the game.

Soccer is lovely to watch, but it’spainful to see these guys go down likethey’ve been shot with a laser from StarWars, only to get back up within seconds

and resume play as if nothing had everhappened.

One suggestion for the powers that be:if a guy goes down and fakes being hurtfrom a non-existent kick, elbow or tack-le, give the opposing team the right toactually give him a kick in the arse. Or,better still, get the referee to do it,because he’s the one that ultimatelylooks silly for awarding a penalty to thenon-offending team.

Or do what the refs do in hockey, andsend the player off with a penalty for afew minutes.

•••My predictions for the World Cup

have been slightly worse than horrible.First I had Germany pegged. Then Iswitched to either Brazil or Argentina.Then, of course, Germany outlasted both

South American countries, but ultimate-ly the host country fell to the Italians,who face France in the July 8 final.

I’m hoping it’s third time lucky forme. I’m going with Italy.

•••St. John’s is hosting the 2006 Karate

Canada Championships at Mile One July13-15, and should provide some excel-lent action.

The finest karate athletes in the coun-try from all age groups will be in St.John’s, and many of these are nationaland international champions in theirrespective categories.

Junior events will take place onThursday, senior on Friday and thechampionship finals will take place onSaturday.

whitebobby@yahoo.com

JULY 9, 2006 INDEPENDENTSPORTS • 27

Solutions for crossword on page 24

Solutions for sudoku on page 24

The monotony of an NBA sum-mer league really hits home inthe first days of practice, gener-

ally two times a day in an empty gymdoing the same drills against the sameplayers in front of the same coacheswith nothing to judge your progress onthan your own thoughts.

Except for Toronto’s JermaineAnderson.

“I think I’ll get more out of practisingthese two weeks than I’ll get out of thegames,” the 6-foot-2 guard says. “Ithink the practices are the most impor-tant thing.”

Anderson is under no illusions abouthis role with the Raptor team in LasVegas.

He’s behind Andre Barrett and likelyex-Duke star William Avery and formerWake Forest starter Justin Gray on thepecking order for the games, whichbegin tomorrow, so playing time willbe limited.

But there are no limits on what hegets to do in practice, which is whenhe’s going to work on his skills, hisability to keep up with his more accom-plished teammates.

“I’m enjoying the experience, play-ing against guys like Andre and gettingthe coaching that I am,” the 23-year-old product of Fordham Universitysays. “It’s been a great experience forme.

“In college, I was usually the fastestguy on the court, but playing againstguys like Barrett, I’ve got to use myhead a lot more.”

Anderson is one of three Canadianson the Raptor summer league roster.Jermaine Bucknor of Edmonton, a 6-foot-7 forward, and 7-foot centreVelimir Radinovic of Toronto are alsoexpected to be in uniform whenToronto faces Washington tonight.

Bucknor, a graduate of Richmond, isalso under no illusions about his placewith the 12-man squad of rookies andfree agents.

“It’s a lot of hard work, learning newstuff,” Bucknor says. “Stuff that youdo over the years, but it’s differentwhen you get this level, some defen-sive stuff, learning how to guard better,step up your defensive intensity a littlebit. It’s been a lot of hard work, it’sbeen good.”

— Torstar wire service

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From page 28

Would-beRaptor in Vegasclassroom

By Bob WhiteFor The Independent

Despite the fact his pick towin the World Cup,Brazil, has been ousted,

you can expect Justin Pickford towatch the final game today (July8) and root for France as theytake on Italy.

And he’ll be keeping a closeeye on Thierry Henry, France’sgifted striker. Henry is one of theworld’s best goal scorers, usinghis speed and accurate shot tofind the back of the net. It’s agame Pickford tries his best toemulate.

So far this season with theMount Pearl/That Pro Look/-Molsons soccer team, Pickfordhas done a fine job of playinglike a local Henry. The 18-year-old Mount Pearl native leads thisyear’s Challenge Cup competi-tion with 13 goals in 10 games,including a recent three-goalperformance against HolyCross, which ended in a 4-4draw.

This is Pickford’s first yearwith Mount Pearl, although hedid participate in Challenge Cupaction the past two seasons as amember of the provincial teamfor the 2005 Canada SummerGames in Regina, Sask.However, he saw limited playingtime and was a relative unknownto other teams heading into thisseason.

It’s safe to say he’s on theirradar now.

Even while riding the pine fortwo years, Pickford knew hecould play at the Challenge Cuplevel. He’s happy to get theopportunity.

“(Being a bench-player) defi-nitely made me work harder tobecome a better player,” Pickfordsays. “It made me want to showthe (coaches) that I could play atthis level.”

Ironically, his Canada Gamescoach, Andrew Moyst, is now histeammate. But Pickford says heunderstood his place on theGames team.

“At the time, the guys whowere starters on the Games teamwere having good seasons andthe coach has to make a decision.For me, as long as the team is

doing well, I don’t care. My thingis to do whatever helps the team.”

He’s helping Mount Pearl thisseason by filling the net.

“I never thought I was going toscore that many goals inChallenge Cup,” Pickford says.“It feels good that (coach) WaltMavin has the confidence in meand that my teammates are look-ing to set me up. They keeptelling me to load up my canon.They have all been great.”

In particular, Pickford men-tions veteran John Acreman asone Mount Pearl player who hasbeen a special help.

“(Acreman) takes you asideand lets you know some things tohelp you in game situations. He’sone of the older guys on the teamand he really helps out.”

When asked to rate thestrongest parts of his game,Pickford mentions his speed andball skills.

“I use my speed to chase theballs my teammates send me. Ireally work on a good first touch,because if I didn’t have a goodfirst touch, it would be tough toset myself up for a good shot.”

With several Canada Gamesteam members also on MountPearl, and many solid veterans,Pickford believes his team haswhat it takes to stay on top ofleague standings and contend forthe Challenge Cup championship.

“We have the best team in theleague, for sure,” Pickford says.“I’m glad to be here and I want todo anything I can to help the teamwin. It’s great to be scoring goals,but as long as the team does well,that’s all that matters.”

In the tie with Holy Cross lastweek, Mount Pearl held a 4-0 atone point and were ahead 4-1with about 15 minutes left, onlyto see what Pickford calls a“brain fart” take place and letHoly Cross back into the game.He feels that game taught MountPearl an important lesson: don’tlet your guard down until thefinal whistle.

“It was a meltdown, we lostour composure in the last 15 min-utes. I think we can get past thatthough. All we have to do is keepup the team work and stayfocused.”

whitebobby@yahoo.com

INDEPENDENTSPORTSSUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, JULY 9-15, 2006 — PAGE 28

Riverhead, Harbour Grace nativeDan Cleary, a restricted freeagent with the Detroit Red

Wings, was presented with a qualifyingoffer from the Red Wings last week,which means Detroit retains Cleary’srights, although another team can offerhim a contract. In this scenario, Detroithas the option to match any offer forCleary.

However, Cleary filed for salary arbi-tration, which basically means he wantsto stay with the Wings, but wants to havea third party decide what he should be

paid.Arbitration hearings will be held in

Toronto July 20 to Aug. 4. The deadlinefor decisions is Aug. 6. Teams can con-tinue to negotiate with players in hopesof reaching a deal and avoiding theprocess.

My guess is Cleary will get a raise,based on his solid season with Detroit.He was called on to provide grit, check-ing and penalty killing, which he sup-plied — with sometimes surprisingresults.

With Steve Yzerman retired, there isroom for more minutes and a bigger con-tribution from Cleary. If he can regainhis offensive touch, or at least be put insituations more conducive to scoring,Cleary could have an even bigger yearfor himself.

•••Speaking of Cleary, he had kind words

to say in a Detroit paper about the retir-ing Yzerman, one of the game’s truestars and model citizens.

Cleary said Yzerman’s presence in thelocker room had a calming effect thathe’d “never seen on other teams. ‘We’regoing to win. Don’t worry.’ Mentally, hekind of makes you relax a bit.”

A few months back, I spoke to Clearyabout many things. I remember him say-ing how fortunate he was to playing withYzerman, and that the Detroit captain

did much for the Red Wings on and offthe ice.

Yzerman was a complete hockeyplayer, a classy leader, a community-ori-ented guy and someone who wasdependable, reliable and downright daz-zling at times.

Simply put, he was a franchise player.He was team captain of the Red Wingsfor 20 years. Yes, two decades, thelongest serving team captain in leaguehistory. That is an amazing stat, especial-

Big year ahead for Dan Cleary

See “Outpuring,” page 27

Fillingthe netAfter two years on the bench, Justin Pickford takes to the soccer field, already leading inChallenge Cup goals scored

Paul Daly/The Independent

BOB WHITE

Bob the bayman