Fisherman's Road

Iron Dan “On a much larger scale I doubt there was more panic among the population when Abraham Lincoln was shot. When you are lifted up to Danno’s giddy heights the sheep become exceedingly skittish when the shepherd disappears. Most of the Cabinet puppets looked as if they had their strings cut.” — Ray Guy, Feb. 21st edition of The Business Post , commenting on the hullabaloo over Premier Danny Williams’ decision to have his heart surgery carried out in the U.S. Are you sick to death yet of all the talk about Danny Williams’ heart and where he chose to have it mended? Too bad, so sad, the debate still rages — at home and abroad. I half expected the to and fro over the premier’s new hairdo to overtake the heart operation furor, but a Telegram poll this week seems to have tamed the hair debacle. The Tely poll — which is not scientific (who knew?) — reveals that 40 per cent of respondents feel the premier should style his hair combed to the side (the new style); 14 per cent say he sho...

Back on Nov. 29th, 2009 it was announced that Go Travel Flights — the Montreal-based direct-sell tour operator — would restart a new non-stop, once-a-week service (every Tuesday) from St. John’s to Gatwick airport in England between June 23rd and Oct. 20th 2010. But customers are receiving messages that the company is ceasing operations. Dear Customer, We are saddened to inform you that effective immediately, Go Travel South/Go Travel Flights is ceasing all of its operations due to economic circumstances. Please do not show up to the airport for you flights as they will not be departing. In order to receive a full refund, you will have to contact your credit card provider. Unfortunately, Flair Air will not be able to assist with getting any refunds, you will have to contact your credit card provider directly. Check out Go Travel … http://www.gotravelflights.com

Blasts from the past “One of the first things an editor learns is that he can’t please everybody. The ones who haven’t learned this are too dumb to run a newspaper. Human nature is so constituted that some of our readers would like to have us tell the unvarnished truth about them, while others would try and jail us if we did. It is a comforting thought to the editor to know that the saviour Himself did not please everybody while he was on earth. There is one thing that we are never going to forget: that is that an editor can’t please everybody and isn’t going to try. If he could, he would be wearing wings on his shoulders in another world, instead of patches on his pants in this one. — The Twillingate Sun , Feb. 28th, 1925 The above may be a comforting quote for Russell Wangersky and the editorial page crew at The Telegram who have taken considerable heat (including from one of their own) for the Wednesday (Feb. 24th) editorial, “Matter of choice.” The editorial dealt with Premier Dan...

Danny Williams’ new hairdo is proof positive that the only way to teach an old Newfoundland dog a new trick is when he’s comatose. Imagine if a hairdresser had attempted to shag with the premier’s part down the middle when he wasn’t completely out of it recovering from heart surgery. Picture how fast the hairdresser’s lamps would have been blackened and bruised the size of two rotten Florida oranges. Keep in mind that Danny’s old part down the middle wasn’t just a simple hair divide. No sir — one side represented Newfoundland, and the other Labrador. The part itself was the Strait of Belle Isle. (No sign of a tunnel, but that would have required brain surgery.) Now Williams is parting his hair on the left side of his head, combed towards the right. What could that possibly mean? Could the right represent Quebec and how he’s combing NL towards a lower Churchill deal? Or a trip over the falls? Now that the premier’s on the mend the big question is whether that new hairdo will translate i...

Days and days of debate over Danny Williams’ decision to travel to the U.S. for a heart operation and all the talk is about his hair. Known for parting his hair down the middle, the premier’s hair is now parted on the left side of his head, combed towards the right. Consensus is he looks younger, but then the Florida tan helps, as does the slight weight loss. “I was violated in my sleep,” the premier is quoted in the Canadian Press (which quoted the exclusive NTV interview), referring to how his hairstyle came to be changed. No word on how Canadian hairdressers feel about Danny getting his hair styled south of the border. Williams’ decision to have his heart operation carried out in the States ignited a firestorm of talk about public versus private care. The premier’s office was also heavily criticized for its communication strategy (or lack thereof). In the end, all it took was a new hairdo and all is forgotten. People just seem genuinely relieved that the premier came through OK and ...

It’s so comforting to know that the federal Conservative government finally has illegal fishing under control on our precious Grand Banks. Opps, sorry. Hope that dripping sarcasm didn’t shag up your computer. The following information was posted this week on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans website: January 28, 2010 Canadian Inspectors for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) boarded the EU (Estonia) fishing vessel Ontika in NAFO Division 3M. The master of the vessel was issued one serious citation under the NAFO Conservation and Enforcement Measures for misrecording daily catch. My first question is why did it take DFO almost three weeks to post news of the incident on its website? (Isn’t that always the way?) There are a host of other questions: What was the vessel fishing at the time? How much “misrecording” went on? Did the vessel return fishing once the series citation was issued? VOCM carried a Feb. 1 story (I picked it up on the outlet’s twitter feed) that ...

Is there such thing as coincidence? On the same day (Monday, Feb. 22nd) that The Telegram published a letter to the editor questioning whether emergency response times should be the same for the fishery as for the offshore oil sector, Earle McCurdy, head of the fish union, came out publicly to say they should be uniform, one and the same. To rehash, Commissioner Robert Wells, head of the Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry, recently recommended a full-time, dedicated and fully equipped response helicopter ready to go in 15 to 20 minutes for St. John's. Which raises the question whether the search and rescue response standards will remain as is for all other at-sea emergencies — including those involving the fishery. As it stands, the Canadian military’s Gander-based Cormorant helicopters must be airborne within 30 minutes of an emergency call during weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and within two hours at other times. Could there ultimately be a 20-minute response time for an offsho...

The news story of the day involves Liberal Peter Dawe — who unexpectedly pulled out of the byelection race in the provincial district of Topsail on the same day that the election date was set in stone for Tuesday, March 16th. Dawe, former head of the Newfoundland and Labrador chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society, said he was bowing out of the race due to a medical condition. He didn’t elaborate. The news comes two days after The Telegram published a letter to the editor by Dr. Pradip Ganguly — a top cancer specialist who serves as chief of radiation oncology with Eastern Health — slamming the provincial chapter of the Cancer Society. (On a side note, CBC TV reported that the letter was written in December, but "lost" until last week.) Ganguly wrote that Daffodil Place is in serious financial crisis, criticizing the decision to build the $7-million, 24-room hostel in the first place. He says the money needed to keep Daffodil Place afloat is diverting much-needed funds from ...

“(Bill Murray) felt as if he was doing the work of six people … constantly being hounded by the MHAs. Even on Christmas day he’d get phone calls, calling him at home, wanting to process a claim.” — Averill Baker, July 9, 2006, The Independent Bill Murray, the former bureaucrat at the centre of the House of Assembly spending scandal, is scheduled to be sentenced this afternoon (Monday, Feb. 22nd) at the Supreme Court in St. John’s for his crimes. He pleaded guilty on Jan. 26th to fraud over $5000 and to three counts of accepting awards from politicians and a St. John's businessman. Other related charges were withdrawn. After his guilty plea, Murray apologized for his crimes, and to the people he hurt, and took full responsibility for his actions. Back in July 2006, however, his then-lawyer Averill Baker proclaimed her client’s innocence. Headline : Fall guy Deck : Lawyer for suspended civil servant says her client innocent; focus should be shifted to politicians By RYAN CLEARY Sunda...

The following letter to the editor appears in today’s edition (Feb. 22nd) of The Telegram … Which is worth more: the life of an offshore oil worker, or the life of a fisherman? The answer may soon be obvious when measured by emergency response times — fishermen are expendable. Commissioner Robert Wells, head of the Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry, recently recommended a full-time, dedicated and fully equipped response helicopter ready to go in 15 to 20 minutes for St. John's — advice the oil industry is expected to act upon within days. And so it should. Meanwhile, if a fishing vessel goes down off Newfoundland's northeast coast, the search and rescue response standards will remain as is. A Gander-based Cormorant helicopter must be airborne within 30 minutes of an emergency call during weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and within two hours at other times. So, up to 20 minutes response time for an offshore oil call versus up to two hours response time for a fishing emergency. A...

NF film comes into its own I’m lovin’ Newfoundland films these days. I took in Crackie last year, the feature debut by writer-director Sherry White — who was described by The Globe and Mail’s John Doyle as a “major filmmaking talent.” And she is. I was most impressed with actor Mary Walsh, who gave the dramatic performance of her life. She was simply brilliant. (I spotted her by the meat section at the Dominion by Quidi Vidi Lake recently and told her so. No Mary, I’m not a stalker.) When it comes to the arts community, Mary is true NL royalty, the Queen of the Rock. (There’s a King of the Rock, but I’ll get to him a little further on in the post.) Next I saw Love and Savagery , a love story (based on poetry by screen-writer Des Walsh) about a geologist-poet from Newfoundland (Allan Hawco of Republic of Doyle ) who embarks on a rock project in Ireland and falls in love with a beautiful barmaid. Love and Savagery was a decent movie (not as good as Crackie , in my mind), but worth ta...

What happens when Danny’s gone? Who will replace him? Who could replace him? What will we do without him? These are the questions of 2010 and beyond … If the heart operation didn’t give Danny a mortality wake-up call, it should have bonged in the ears of the rest of us. Who will be The Next B'y to follow in the footsteps of Joey, Frank, Brian, Clyde, Brian (the one with good hair), and Danny? (Tom, Beaton and Roger weren’t messiahs so much as stand-ins.) Who is larger than life enough to light up the stage, at home and away? Who is strong enough to kick Ottawa’s arse when she has it coming, as she so often does? Or diplomatic enough to avoid the arse-kicking, while achieving the same result? Any names out there in webland? ••• NTV has been marketing itself lately as a breaking news station, and an exclusive interview with Danny during Monday’s supper-hour newscast at the premier’s $1.4-million Sarasota, Fla. condo (as reported in The Globe and Mail ) — the first such interview sin...

Today’s Globe and Mail headline has it right: Canada sighs with relief after close call versus Swiss. Team Canada pulled out a skin-of-the-teeth 3-2 shootout win over Switzerland Thursday night. But it wasn’t just relief I felt at the result; it was disbelief. How is it that a country of hockey gods can barely squeeze by a country of hockey unknowns, mere mortals? The answer dawned on me early this morning, much like an epiphany (or an elbow to the head). Team Canada is missing a Newfoundlander. More specifically, Team Canada is missing Danny Cleary. The proof? Following a January 2008 fight between then-Anaheim Duck defenceman Chris Pronger (who plays with Team Canada) and Cleary, a TSN commentator had this to say: “There’s a six-inch height difference … which Cleary makes up for by being from Newfoundland.” Tell me we couldn't use that in the Olympics ...

This week in NL history "My assessment of it, quite frankly, is this: if Danny Williams ever does a lower Churchill deal … he’ll do the deal I had on the table, or very close to it, because it is the only one that makes any economic sense.” — former Liberal premier Roger Grimes, Feb. 16, 2007. Three years after Grimes' quote was published in The Independent and the province has reached a legal agreement with the Innu Nation that brings the development of the lower Churchill hydroelectric project a step closer. Also moving us a step closer to seeing if Roger was right … ••• “On a night flight, you’d fly about an hour offshore and all of a sudden the horizon would light up with a city of lights. It wasn’t something you’d expect. The Russians would have over 200 ships there, just raking the sea bottom and the Grand Banks ... I was not aware of the extent of foreign fishing, it’s a big business.” — Col. Peter Drover of flying maritime surveillance missions over the Grand Banks, Fe...

Now that we’re floatin’ in oil money, one of the biggest challenges facing Newfoundland and Labrador is deciding what to spend it on. I’ve got a few suggestions, but I’ll get to them in later posts. Here’s an idea I’m hearing bandied about more and more: how about a law school? That suggestion was made last Thursday (Feb. 11) during a Memorial University forum to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Atlantic Accord. Richard Cullen — a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong's faculty of law, as well as an expert in the Accord — said it’s an anomaly that NL doesn’t have a law school (seeing as how we have so many lawyers). There are more than 20 law schools in Canada, including three in Atlantic Canada (one in Nova Scotia; two in New Brunswick). Cullen said any law school built here could specialize in natural resource law (seeing as how we have so many natural resources). Who knows, maybe we could save the fishery yet. I heard the law school suggestion aga...

William Augustus Sweeney (a.k.a. the Moon Man) called in regularly to VOCM NightLine when I hosted the show last year. He wasn't a fan of Randy Simms (who he called "The Tongue") or Bill Rowe because they didn't let him on their shows. I didn't have a problem with the legendary Moon Man, who I found quite funny, and intelligent enough. And at least I knew exactly who Bill was. The Moon Man sent me in a couple of his specialty licence plates last year - memorabilia that will have to be pried from my cold, dead fingers. God speed, Mr. Moon Man.

Bill Sweeney (a.k.a. the Moon Man) passed away on Saturday in St. John’s at the age of 72. Few characters were as colourful on Open Line as the Moon Man, although he had been banned from the airwaves in recent years. The following column appeared in the Jan. 11th, 2008 Independent. By RYAN CLEARY It’s not every day I get a call from the Moon Man, but that’s what happens when he has a cosmic collision with Randy Simms, a.k.a. The Tongue (the Moon Man’s nickname, not mine). The only place to land is on the printed page. The Moon Man’s moon boots are actually planted firmly on the ground here in Town, where he lives with his wife, Mrs. Moon Man, and the bare necessities — an a.m. radio to reel in the Open Lines, and a telephone to cast out. The Moon Man spends his mornings, afternoons and nights panning the radio waves that flow from the mouth of VOCM valley for nuggets of news and assorted Newfoundland nuttery. The Moon Man was once such a nut himself, but not lately, not on Randy Simms’...

A political poem for you ... The prayers of countless Canadians sent Heavenwards to speed thy safe return Ennobled as thou art with duty well prorogued, Bringing Conservative peace, democracy and joy Is your wish for all people, detainees too — in Afghan Land. Great was the sadness when you predicted our culture’s defeat, Though you saw Eastern light and know what’s best for NL now, Oh Steven, thank you for putting us in our place Oh Steve, bless you for darting Danny in the face Let’s not forget Iggy's crew, voting agin’ us for the greater good Say b’y, they’re not half bad — Iffy and the Stevey lad. The above poem is actually an acrostic. The first letter of the first word of each line spells out ... The Big Tools.

Twenty-five years after the signing of the Atlantic Accord, oil revenues are gushing into the province's coffers. How much cash? Enough to wipe out this year’s deficit, predicts Dr. Wade Locke. You read that right — no deficit. Zero. What a turnaround. Budget 2009 originally forecast a $750-million deficit, but the figure fell to $443 million in December when the province updated its financial numbers. Locke says we may be closer to no deficit by late March or early April when Finance Minister Tom Marshall unveils his budget. All because of the rising price of oil. (And the Atlantic Accord, of course. Hallelujah.) Marshall was in the audience Thursday night at a Memorial University forum (The Atlantic Accord: A New Found Vision) to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Atlantic Accord. Which most people loved — except the construction guy who wants more work here. (He made a good point.) Marshall didn’t say whether Locke is on the mark with his budget projection. But...

I have to challenge Randy Simms on a question he asked this morning (Thursday, Feb. 11th, 2010) on Open Line … I’m pretty sure I got his drift: other than the Terms of Union, is the Atlantic Accord the greatest document we ever signed? Forget the upper Churchill contract, in my opinion the Terms of Union amounted to the mother of all NL giveaways. Under the Terms of Union, we signed over control of our fisheries to the Government of Canada, which mismanaged the groundfish resource into the ground, into oblivion — and is doing next to nothing to stimulate recovery. The Terms of Union weren’t negotiated. To simplify, Ottawa couldn’t give Newfoundland any more than any other province. As for the Atlantic Accord, if the Terms of Union had been “negotiated” (or treated as a living document) Newfoundland would own the oil beneath the Grand Banks today. How is it that Alberta owns the oil beneath its soil, but Newfoundland does not own the oil beneath its sea? Soil, sea — what’s the differenc...

The following comment was telephoned into CBC Radio’s Morning Show on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010: My name is Ryan Cleary and I’m calling from St. John’s. First off, my apologies for calling in rather often, but it seems I’m quite off at odds with what Bob Wakeham has to say. In a panel discussion earlier this week regarding the debate over Premier Danny Williams’ health issues and the public’s right to know … near the tail end Wakeham said he thought the media should have dug more into a specific aspect of the premier’s private life a few years ago. Wakeham more or less called the media to task for not be more aggressive then. As the then-editor in chief of The Independent newspaper, we had a real debate in the newsroom and amongst columnists whether to report on the premier’s private life. We decided against it — Williams’ private life should be just that — private. It did not impact on his public life. And we were a newspaper — not a tabloid. For Wakeham to bring up Williams’ private...