Fisherman's Road

“As a sealer, as a fisherman standing before you today, I say to you that I am the endangered species. I am endangered but I still fight back. I will survive. I will not let animal rights become more important than human rights. I will not let people give souls to animals while they rob me of my human dignity and right to earn a livelihood.” - Small, 1985, as quoted in Volume 2 of the 1986 Report of the Royal Commission into Seals and Sealing in Canada . Stay tuned to this site – more to follow.

I spoke with a couple of sources within Service Canada Thursday regarding Conservative cuts to the Employment Insurance system. They asked me to relate the following inside story. Sources within Service Canada say there were two cases across Canada this week in which police had to be called in because Employment Insurance claimants had threatened to kill themselves. The sources said the claimants were distressed because of the particular decision on their EI claims, and the length of time it took for the decisions to be handed down. The same source also revealed Canada-wide statistics on the speed of decisions for EI claims. Service Canada has set a goal whereby 85 per cent of EI claims are to be seen by a Service Canada agent within 21 days of being filed, so that a payment can be made within 28 days. But that goal is nowhere near being reached. In fact, for the week ending Jan. 21 st , only 33.7 per cent of EI claims had been seen by an agent within 21 days — the "worst...

From animal-rights groups to the Harper Conservatives, my recent comments to John Furlong of the CBC's Fisheries Broadcast regarding the seal hunt have been spun into an unrecognizable, twisted mash. I released the following statement to the media on Tuesday, Jan. 24th. I will not back down from any issue: Cleary St. John’s – NDP MP Ryan Cleary (St. John’s South-Mount Pearl) released the following statement to clarify misleading comments in the media concerning his position on the Newfoundland and Labrador commercial seal hunt. “On Sunday I was asked in an e-mail by John Furlong, host of the CBC’s Fisheries Broadcast, to clarify the NDP position on the seal hunt. He asked whether the NDP is changing its position on the hunt or proposing there be a buyout of licences, ‘Someone is telling me that the NDP might also (along with yours truly!) be sensing that the writing may be on the wall,’ Furlong wrote. Furlong interviewed me and I made it clear that the NDP stand has not changed. Th...

Saturday, Jan. 21 st , represents an anniversary for the Ode to Newfoundland : 110 years to day since “the Colony’s own anthem” was first sung. Miss Frances Daisy Foster had the pleasure of singing the lyrics, penned by Sir Cavendish Boyle, governor of the day, at the Casino Theatre in St. John’s. Larry Dohey of the provincial archives marks the anniversary with one of many fascinating “Archival moments." Dohey notes that his online research is not endorsed by his employer or any professional society. He does the work on his own "to bring attention to the great stories and traditions that are found in archives." Thanks Larry — much appreciated. I particularly like the picture that accompanies the Ode’s anniversary moment, although I can’t believe they got a seal to pose, practically nose-to-nose, with a Newfoundland dog. The Pink, White and Green is also pretty tight with the Union Jack .

The following feature article was published in The Telegram in February 2000. Samantha Walsh, a 13-year-old, Grade 8 student from Fleur de Lys on the Baie Verte Peninsula, disappeared one Sunday evening when walking home from her Grandmother's house, and I traveled to the community to research her story. ••• "Sam, who had stripped off her ski pants when she got to her grandmother’s house, didn’t bother to put them on for the three-minute walk to her house. She went home wearing her coat and hat and long johns covered by flannel pajama pants, pink with black and white lambs, bought the day before at Value Village.  But Sam never made it home. 'Loves you, Mom,' were her last words to her mother." Samantha’s story By Ryan Cleary, The Telegram FLEUR DE LYS — The voice is that of a child, rising with a soft and sweet delivery from a room of living hell. It’s a haunting sound, the words of Salt Water Joys , sung by a very talented and pretty little gir...

It’s costs a hell of a lot more to drive to Newfoundland and Labrador than it does to Prince Edward Island or anywhere else in the Maritimes. And the sail across the Gulf is about to get more expensive , putting NL at a greater disadvantage in terms of tourism, trade, and the general cost of living. While the Terms of Union with Canada guarantee freight and passenger service across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, they don’t dictate fares. Effective Feb. 12 th , the new fee schedule will mean a one-way fare for a family of four traveling between North Sydney and Port aux Basques will cost $224.77, up from $209.38 last year. That’s almost $450 round-trip. Compare that to a return trip to PEI via Confederation Bridge — $44.25. Critics have argued for years that the cost of sailing the 96 miles between Cape Breton and Port aux Basques (280 miles between Argentia and the mainland) should equal the cost of driving the same distance. Not even close. Would the federal government save mone...

If the thought of shipping Newfoundland fish to China for processing wasn’t hard enough to get your head around, Ocean Choice International recently chartered a Spanish “pirate” trawler to catch its turbot quota on the Grand Banks. That’s how far the fishery has fallen. The trawler’s name was the Festeiro , and her captain was issued two NAFO citations in 2006 (make sure to scroll down) for directed fishing for a moratoria species and for failing to accurately record catch. The St. John’s- Telegram mentioned the Festeiro in a 2008 front-page story, Vigo, Europe’s pirate port . The story was about how Vigo is “often associated with some of the most notorious fishing pirates ever to reap the bounty of the Nose and Tail of the Grand Banks.” The reporter was rewarded by just walking to the wharf: “An extended walk around the vast harbour immediately turns up a few other familiar ships from the past: the Festeiro , a Spanish vessel busted in March 2006 for fishing moratoria specie...

The press is pretty tame in Newfoundland and Labrador these days compared to a couple of hundred years ago. When journalists and politicians practically tore the faces off each other. Our early newspapers were rowdy and opinionated, to say the least, which I was reminded of in December. The Commissariat House , an 1800s-style museum in St. John’s, opened for a weekend leading up to the holidays to give people a taste of Christmas in the colony . Out back, in the Carriage House, was a display of our first newspapers and the passion that spawned them. Get a load of this quote: “As British subjects claiming protection from the English law and the British Constitution, we have beheld with abhorrence and detestation the cruel and ignominious punishment inflicted on the bodies of Philip Butler and James Lundrigan." — William Carson . In July 1820 when the courts insisted that fishermen Philip Butler and James Lundrigan be whipped for defaulting on their debts, Scottish-bor...

CBC carries an interesting story today about how Cougar Helicopters is on track to have an around-the-clock, wheels-up search-and-rescue response time of 20 minutes in the first quarter of 2012. Of course, Cougar's 1st priority is the offshore oil industry. I raised both points in the House of Commons in early December, points that I was afraid would be lost in the Peter MacKay controversy/joke . Meantime, the military's Gander-based search and rescue Cormorant helicopters will continue to have a wheels-up response time of 30 minutes during working hours, Monday to Friday, and up to two hours during evenings and on weekends. When it comes to survival time in the North Atlantic, there's no difference between a fisherman and an offshore oil worker. Why then the two-tier response times? Not good enough.