Fisherman's Road



MP Ryan Cleary (St. John's South-Mount Pearl) speaks with striking workers on the picket line at the St. John's International Airport. The following letter to the editer is published in today's edition (Sept. 27th) edition of The Telegram: When y ou're an island, the airport is pretty damn important. The sea will always be an integral part of our heritage in Newfoundland and Labrador, but in today’s world, the air is how most of us travel to and from our beautiful island home. And for almost two weeks, dozens of hard-working employees at the St. John’s International Airport — the people who make this possible — have been on strike. This strike is about more than just wages. It’s about a very basic principle that’s important to all of us: fairness. It’s about ensuring we invest this province’s prosperity in creating decent, quality jobs for current — and future — generations of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The provincial economy is hotter than ev...

I posed the following question today (Sept. 26th) to Human Resources and Skills Development Minister Diane Finley in the House of Commons:   Mr. Speaker, here is a scenario faced by a new mother in my riding. I spoke with her last night.   Doreen is a French teacher who has been on maternity benefits since January.   Two weeks ago, she was offered a part-time job of four hours a week teaching French from her computer at home.   But with the new EI changes she'll lose 50 cents on the dollar.   By the time taxes are removed from her paycheque she'll barely make enough to pay for diapers.   She won't make enough to pay for diapers. Why is the government punishing new mothers? Finley's response: Mr. Speaker, right across this country of ours we have, despite high unemployment rates in some areas, shortages of skills and labour. In many cases, the EI system has discouraged people from working. ...

"If we are to achieve results never before accomplished, we must employ methods never before attempted." — Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), the first quote contained in former NL premier Brian Peckford's new memoir, Some Day the Sun Will Shine and Have Not Will be No more . ••• A. Brian Peckford (A is for Alfred) — NL's third premier — was in Ottawa Wednesday (Sept. 19) to release his second book. ( The Past and the Present, his first,   was published in 1983.) A small get-together was held in the office of NL Senator Norm Doyle, and New Democrats, Liberals and Conservatives all paid their respects, leaving with a $24 soft-cover copy. Top 2 Peckford quotes from the book: 1) "As a people or society we have in this century 'sold out' to those who would develop our resources for themselves and others without providing a fair return to the owners of the resources — the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. We are on the threshold of having perhaps o...

“Beamed Smallwood: ‘Glory hallelujah; praise God from whom all blessings flow!’ The $1.1-billion Churchill Falls project, he prophesized, would make Newfoundland ‘the most industrialized province in Canada.’” —  Time Canada , Oct. 14th, 1966 First in a 12-part series.  The defunct weekly provincial newspaper, The Independent (2004-2008), carried out extensive research and investigation into the Upper Churchill. From the contract’s signing in the 1960s, to the realization of its incredible lopsided nature towards Quebec, the shadow of the deal looms today over the potential development of Labrador’s Muskrat Falls. The following is the 1 st in a series of 12 articles published in The Independent .  By Alisha Morrissey The Independent  Dec. 4th, 2005 The Upper Churchill contract is known as Newfoundland’s greatest giveaway.  But how much attention and scrutiny did the deal get — at least in the media — leading up to the signing in May...

Ambrose Peddle, opposition MHA during the infamous upper Churchill Falls deal, says no one disagreed with the agreement — it just wasn’t ‘fashionable’ “I was sitting across from (Smallwood), and I shouted across to him, ‘Why doesn’t the premier get his pal Lester B. Pearson and ask him to declare the transmission from Churchill Falls through Quebec to be in the national interest?’ And Smallwood’s remark, I can remember, it’s embedded in my soul: ‘And what army is going to maintain the transmission lines crossing Quebec?’” —  Ambrose Peddle, an Opposition Tory MHA during Smallwood’s Liberal reign.  Second in a 12-part series. The defunct weekly provincial newspaper, The Independent (2004-2008), carried out extensive research and investigation into the Upper Churchill. From the contract’s signing in the 1960s, to the realization of its incredible lopsided nature towards Quebec, the shadow of the deal looms today over the potential development of Labrador’s Mus...

Province considered flicking switch on Upper Churchill “If necessary and if forced to do so, we will go all the way and risk the consequences no matter how great. After all, nothing could be worse for Newfoundland than allowing the present contractual situation to continue.” — A 1982 provincial government cabinet document that explored shutting down the Upper Churchill hydro project.  Third in a 12-part series.  The defunct weekly provincial newspaper, The Independent (2004-2008), carried out extensive research and investigation into the Upper Churchill. From the contract’s signing in the 1960s, to the realization of its incredible lopsided nature towards Quebec, the shadow of the deal looms today over the potential development of Labrador’s Muskrat Falls. The following is the 3 rd in a series of 12 articles published in The Independent .  Clare-Marie Grigg The Independent April 1, 2006 The Newfoundland government considered shutting down t...

Memorial professors reveal questionable Hydro-Quebec tactics in landing Upper Churchill deal “It’s quite the story. A story that leads to substantial questions of, I think, business ethics — if not law.” — Jim Feehan, a Memorial University economist and co-author of a report documenting the last minute 25-year extension to the Upper Churchill contract.  Fourth in a 12-part series.  The defunct weekly provincial newspaper, The Independent (2004-2008), carried out extensive research and investigation into the Upper Churchill. From the contract’s signing in the 1960s, to the realization of its incredible lopsided nature towards Quebec, the shadow of the deal looms today over the potential development of Labrador’s Muskrat Falls. The following is the 4th in a series of 12 articles published in The Independent .  By Clare-Marie Grigg The Independent Dec. 11, 2005 The 65-year Upper Churchill contract, that will see Quebec make as much as $2 billio...