Reform, Revolution and Retirement

As someone who actively speaks out on numerous issues facing Newfoundland and Labrador I have to admit that invoking any kind of change to the status quo is a very daunting task. It’s not that there’s a shortage of issues to speak out on, quite the contrary. The difficulty is in getting enough people to actually stand up say something.

The list of concerns facing the province is a long one. The issues range from less than effective representation in Ottawa to destruction of the fisheries. They include atrocious air and ferry services, a lack of control over resources management and the removal of federal offices in the province. The list goes on and on and is far too extensive to relate in a single article. The fact that these problems exist is clear and everyone in the province knows it but there is a big difference between knowing it and actually working for change.

In most societies government mishandling, abuse or neglect causes an outcry from the masses. Protests are held, revolutionaries are born, hunger strikes happen, civil disobedience takes place and eventually something happens for better or for worse. Not so in Newfoundland and Labrador, at least not to this point. As others have said in the past, we are different than any other province in Canada. While I’m the first to trumpet our differences and proudly list them, unfortunately this lack of action is also one of those differences that can’t be denied.

Don’t get me wrong, there are groups of individuals, small pockets of resistance if you will, who are willing to stand up and be counted. Groups like the Rural Rights and Boat Owners Assoc. or the Newfoundland and Labrador Defense League (NLDL), of which I’m a proud member, work diligently to address the issues, but it’s an up hill battle. The difference with groups in Newfoundland and Labrador, as opposed to those in most other places, is not the heart, the will or the passion of those involved. The difference is, believe it or not, the age of the population. This factor alone is perhaps the most debilitating single problem facing anyone in the province hoping to invoke change.

Consider that throughout history most social and political change has come as a result of public outcry, and the loudest, proudest and most vocal people have been society’s younger citizens. Generally these are university students, twenty somethings, who see a need for change and are willing to make it happen no matter what the consequences. This isn’t the case in Newfoundland and Labrador and by the very nature of the population it will likely never be. That reality alone is something any politically active group needs to face.

Groups like the NLDL are made up of some very strong willed people from various walks of life. Photographers, business people, computer consultants, fishermen, logistics experts, linguistics experts, marketing people and entrepreneurs fill its ranks but no matter the makeup of the membership, without wide spread and active support in the general population they are up against a wall.

I may sound like I’m blaming the public for their lack of support but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact I completely understand their hesitance to get involved. Statistics show that the average age of the population in Newfoundland and Labrador is one of the oldest in Canada and on average the people here are aging faster than those in other areas. This means a large and important segment of the population is either already retired or within a few years of doing so. These are people who have raised families, put in a full life’s work and are now looking forward to enjoying their golden years.

The government of the province and a myriad of expert analysts have discussed the problems of an aging population. A shortage of new people entering the work force, the drop in provincial tax revenues and many other issues are all a part of it. From an activists perspective an aging population is also a major roadblock. These people are within arms reach of taking advantage of programs such as the Canada Pension Plan and Social Security and they are more than ever becoming dependent on the public health care system. Understandably they have no intention of rocking the boat.

One of the biggest battles facing any socially or politically minded group in the province today isn’t its fight with Ottawa or even with the provincial government. The biggest battle, and perhaps the hardest to win, is gaining broad based support for any issue facing Newfoundland and Labrador. A single voice is simply lost in the wind. Ten voices will fall on deaf ears. A thousand voices may invoke a limited response, but to change an existing reality in any meaningful way, ten times that number must begin to shout. The challenge is convincing the people to find their voices.