Fisherman's Road

I received the following letter via e-mail on Friday, June 29 th . Published with permission. The 20 th anniversary of the northern cod moratorium is Monday, July 2 nd . I am a fellow Newfoundlander who has moved back home after leaving to join the military in 1970. During my period in the military my main job was to monitor the communications of Communist-Bloc countries and any targeted vessel that posed a risk to our national security. In 1972, I was stationed in Gander and one of the tasks that we were given was to monitor the communications of all the Soviet and Spanish fishing fleets that fished off our shores, especially in and around the Grand Banks. In any one day we would fix the location via HFDF (High Frequency Direction Finding Communications) of anywhere from 350 and 400 Soviet fishing trawlers and draggers off our coast. At the same time, we copied their transmissions which were sent via Morse code. These transmissions included each vessel`s catch for th

The elimination of the owner-operator and fleet-separation policies — “sacred pillars” of the East Coast fishery that the Conservative government is said to be considering removing — would trigger the end of the traditional inshore fishery. But at least one Conservative is breaking ranks with his party. New Brunswick MP John Williamson sent a flyer to constituents this week with the above message. I wonder if a flyer was sent to the home of Fisheries and Oceans Minister Keith Ashfield, whose riding is also in New Brunswick. No worries - I'll make sure to email him the link to this site.



The following column is published today (June 16th) in the St. John's-based Weekend Telegram .  Shame on you, Ryan Cleary! You needs your arse kicked, my son, you do. I can’t imagine what you were thinking to be using that kind of language in the Parliament of Canada. You know as well as I that the crowd upalong does not understand us or our language. Still, after several years of exposure to the redoubtable John Crosbie, a.k.a. our lieutenantgovernor, I would have thought they might have built up some special immunity to us, but obviously they haven’t learned a damn thing. I’m sure as I sit here that His Honour once told one or two “high-status” people that they could just kiss his arse.  I love the Maritime provinces. Love the scenery and the people. Perhaps it’s because of the two years I lived in Halifax, or the several years OH (Other Half) and I spent in university in Sackville, N.B. It may be because we still have family and friends scattered throughout.

I gave the following 10-minute speech on Wednesday, June 6 th , in the House of Commons.  Mr. Speaker, The motion before this honourable House today, that government must recognize that saving lives is the top priority for Canadian Coast Guard Search and Rescue Services, is much like the motion that was debated in this House just weeks ago.  That motion called for Canada to adopt an international search-and-rescue readiness standard of 30 minutes — at all time, around-the-clock — for the military’s Cormorant helicopters. Mr. Speaker, the response time for the Cormorant helicopters varies depending on the time of day. Between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. — Monday to Friday — the wheels-up response time for a Cormorant helicopter is 30 minutes. After 4 pm, and on weekends, and during holidays, the wheels-up response time is up to two hours. Needless to say, Mr. Speaker, that response time has cost mariners their lives.  You would never see a fire department oper

I asked the following question today (June 6 th ) during Question Period in the House of Commons: Mr. Speaker, Why doesn’t the Minister go to Trepassey , Arnold’s Cove, Burgeo and the other outport communities that will be losing their DFO offices. Try to explain to those people how job losses and shut downs are going to somehow make the fisheries better. Explain how they’ll be able to regulate the fisheries with no local office. Mr. Speaker, consider this an invitation. Will the minister come with me to these outports to explain to the people why the Conservative government is abandoning them?

I have the following one-minute statement today (June 6th) in the House of Commons.  Mr. Speaker, This past Sunday (June 3 rd ) a Town Hall was held in my riding to discuss the Conservative Trojan Horse budget bill, which is going over like a lead weight in Newfoundland and Labrador. I’ve put together a Top 5 list of the best quotes from the day. No. 5 quote, re the cuts to DFO and the Can adian Coast Guard: “It will come to the point where a mariner will be asked, ‘Are you up to your neck in water yet? No, alright you’re good, call back when it gets there.’ ” No. 4 quote re the attack on Atlantic Canada: “Perhaps we’re paranoid, but that doesn’t mean they’re not out to get us.” No. 3 quote re the cuts to environmental legislation: “Less science equals less knowledge. It’s basically like driving with the lights off.” No. 2 quote: “This Prime Minister isn’t my Prime Minister, he’s the CEO of corporate Canada and his cabinet are the boa

Scientific inquiry not compatible with Conservative information control I gave the following 10-minute speech on Tuesday, June 5 th , in the House of Commons. The speech was on an Opposition Day Motion that called on the Conservative government to end its muzzling of scientists and to reverse recent cuts to research and data-gathering programs.  Mr. Speaker,  Fifteen years ago in 1997, three respected Canadian university scientists wrote a paper with a fascinating title: Is Scientific Inquiry Incompatible with Government Information Control? In other words — if that wasn’t put simply enough — can science co-exist with government manipulation? That’s a very good question.  Here’s a line from that 1997 controversial report: “Scientists were also explicitly ordered, as they are today, not to discuss ‘politically sensitive matters’ with the public, irrespective of the scientific basis, and publication status, of the scientists’ concerns.” Mr. Speaker, I