Fisherman's Road

A fishery debate was held earlier this week at St. Augustine’s Church in St. John’s. Three federal candidates — myself, Liberal Gerry Byrne, and Conservative Fabian Manning — tackled the topic of how to rebuild the broken fishery. Each candidate was asked six questions, which are listed below, along with my answers. Photo by Gavin Simms/t heindependent.ca ••• 1) What is the top priority of your party with respect to the fishery, and how do you propose to act upon it? The top priority of the New Democrats — and one of my top priorities as MP for St. John’s South-Mount Pearl — will be to rebuild the Newfoundland and Labrador fisheries. The key word being rebuild — rebuild what’s been broken, because our fisheries are broken. Most of the conversation in recent months — especially with the Memorandum of Understanding and the attempt by the province and industry to restructure the industry — has been on rationalization. Cutting the fishing industry to fit the cloth —...

NDP Leader Jack Layton was in town Saturday for a high-energy campaign rally at the Delta hotel. The media didn't give a turnout, but estimates ranged from 500 to 700. Reggae group The Idlers were announced as winners of the 2011 East Coast Music Award (ECMA) for world recording of the year earlier Saturday, for “Keep Out," but they weren't on hand to accept the award. The Idlers chose instead to play for the rally. They're my new favourite Newfoundland band.

Wicked weekend with New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton in town. Jacques Boissinott of the Canadian Press took the above shot in St. John's Saturday morning at O'Brien's Music Shop on Water Street in downtown St. John's. New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton, center, plays the accordion, flanked by me (Ryan Cleary), left, and Jack Harris. The shot appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press , The Times of India , and Toronto Star .

A pre-election debate for the candidates in the federal riding of St. John’s South-Mount Pearl was held Tuesday evening at St. Peter’s Parish Hall in Mount Pearl. Below are my opening and closing comments. Good evening. Cutting to the chase, this federal election is about vision. Vision for the future of St. John’s South-Mount Pearl. Vision for the future of Newfoundland and Labrador. Vision for the country of Canada. Vision for our families. The priority of the New Democratic Party is families — families like yours and mine. Vision that would see a health-care system in which you don’t have to wait 4 years to see a radiologist — like a lady I met on Monday. The vision of affordable home heating whereby people don’t have to wear sweaters and jackets in their homes in the middle of the afternoon because they can’t afford to turn up the heat. I have met these people on their steps. A vision of rewarding job creators. A vision of strengthening your pension. A vision of maki...

An edited version of the following commentary was aired on CBC’s Fisheries Broadcast on Monday, April 11th. My name is Ryan Cleary and I’m calling from St. John’s. I wish to respond to statements made on the Fisheries Broadcast earlier this week by fisherman Ray Wimbleton. With a federal election in full swing, Ray questioned why the fishery has barely been mentioned. Ray asked why not a single federal candidate is talking about rural Newfoundland’s broken engine — the fishing industry. I spoke to Ray many times when I hosted VOCM NightLine . Ray talked about the fishery and how it was dying around him. Ray talked about how young Newfoundlanders were turning their backs on the sea, because there’s no living in it — no future in it. Ray sees himself as the last of a breed. I told Ray to have hope — things can change. And I believe that. I asked one question before agreeing to represent the New Democrats in St. John’s South-Mount Pearl. One question. I asked whether the N...

Campaigning with my son Christopher on his 12th birthday. Shea Heights, one of the steepest hills in St. John’s, isn’t the place to lose your brakes. Especially when you’re in an election. Nothing takes the momentum out of a political campaign like a dead candidate. I tagged along with my brother Saturday evening on a late-night sign run as he fastened signs to the guardrail at the end of Linegar Avenue at the intersection of Blackhead Road. It doesn’t get much steeper than that — unless you’re on a luge track. When the campaign signs were up my brother pulled his Jeep out from the side of the road, realizing immediately that his bakes were completely gone. He used his handbrake to stop, and all was good — thank God. Here the story turns from near disaster to a tale of the wonderful people of Shea Heights. Multiple people pulled over and offered assistance when they saw the Jeep with its hood up. One young man, a backyard mechanic, went to his home further up the hill...