Canada Day - Remembering the Battle of the Somme

Sunday is Canada Day, a celebration of the nation of Canada, but did you know it’s also a very historic day for Newfoundland and Labrador?

July 1st is the anniversary of the battle of the Somme. One of the most horrific battles of WWI.

It was on July 1, 1916 that this historic battle began. It was also that day that the Newfoundland Regiment, later to be given the status of “Royal”, fought its first engagement in France. An engagement that would prove to be the regiment’s costliest.

The men of the Newfoundland Regiment were all but slaughtered.

After the battle, one report of their efforts, from their British Divisional Commander, said “It was a magnificent display of trained and disciplined valour, and its assault failed of success because dead men can advance no further.”

For its size, no unit suffered heavier losses than did the Newfoundland Regiment.

They began the battle on that fateful day with 801 men. Only 68 answered the call the next day.
For decades it was a custom in the province to remember these fine men on July 1, the anniversary of the day so many perished. Unfortunately, long after our people entered into confederation, the government of Canada decided that official recognition of Canada Day should be set for the same date. No consideration was given to the fact that for our people the date already had a special significance. One comparable to Canada’s Remembrance Day.

With Canada’s decision made the people of the province stood silently by and attended solemn ceremonies or watched legion parades in the morning, only to raise the Canadian flag in the afternoon. It was what some would call it a livable compromise, others a shame.

These days it’s rare for even these activities to happen.

These days the parades and legion gatherings, if they happen at all, are relegated to another arbitrarily determined time or even to a different day.

On July 1st Newfoundland and Labrador lost many sons in what was arguably one of the bloodiest battles of World War I, including four from one family alone.

The historical acts of remembrance our people took part in was woven into the fabric our shared history. That fabric is now torn and tattered. The memories relegated to the back pages of history and the dust of battles past swept under the great Canadian carpet.

Not so long ago a small group of protestors would gather to remember that terrible day by wearing black arm bands and marching on Confederation Hill. Will they do the same this year or a year from now I wonder, or will their numbers simply dwindle away to nothing over time?

One can only hope that at least some segment of our population refuses to forget those who came before us.

Newfoundland and Labrador has a rich, vibrant and independent history that should make everyone hold their heads high with pride. That rich history has been neglected, overlooked and pushed aside for so long that its been all but replaced by the history of Canada. A country we are a part of today, but one we weren’t a part of during either of the World Wars or for the centuries before them.

Giving it All Away

Our province’s position on the Lower Churchill has me baffled, befuddled and bewildered.

I’m right there with Danny when it comes to big oil and the federal government but I can’t help wondering if those battles are a skillful misdirection. A magician’s ploy meant to shift attention from other issues such as the Lower Churchill project.

Ever since Williams swore we'd develop that project ourselves he's touted the dream of an east/west power grid as one way to ensure Ottawa's support. He's spoken of the hunger for clean power in Ontario and the U.S. and he's proudly said he wants to export the electricity through Quebec or, if necessary, via the so called Anglo Saxon route.

Some have gleefully patted Danny on the back for threatening to bypass Quebec. Not me. Not that I'd mind doing so, just on principle. What bothers me is why, through all the rhetoric, he hasn’t once talked about using that power to diversify the economy here at home.

I'm not naive enough to believe we can use all of that power ourselves, not right away anyway. I know we’ll need to sell some to finance the project and ensure a solid return, but why the hell does Newfoundland and Labrador have to plan for near total export?

What’s wrong with using OUR resources to attract industry to OUR province and why has every government we've ever elected told us our only way forward is to walk backward?

It began when we gave away our sovereignty. Since then it’s been one giveaway after another.

The Upper Churchill sees billions of dollars flow to Quebec while Newfoundland and Labrador barely makes enough to keep the turbines spinning.

INCO signed a deal for a processing facility in the province and replacement of ALL the ore shipped out. Where’s the processing facility or smelter and who among us actually believes we'll actually recover any of the minerals already exported?

Oil and Gas – Do you see any of it refined in the province? Do we have any petrochemical industries worth speaking of?

A few months ago I made contact with Natural Resources Minister, Kathy Dunderdale. As a concerned citizen I wanted to know if the province had been courting any major industrial players like Alcoa or Alcan in an effort to have them set up shop in Labrador, once an abundant supply of power was available of course.

Ms. Dunderdale politely informed me that she had already reviewed a study into that option and it was not feasible because it would cost the taxpayers, you and me, $1 billion dollars.

That's a Billion with a very big 'B'.

Since this wasn't what I expected to hear I followed up with the obvious question, "why"?

I mean who the hell lets a number like $1 billion dollars hang out there and quotes from some unnamed study without providing any details?

I thought she’d give me a hint. She didn’t.

First I was given the impression it was a joint study between government and industry. After I pushed a little harder I was told it was an issue of confidentiality because the study had been undertaken by a publicly traded company, not the government itself, and it had only been “shown” to government. Go figure.

Can't these people do anything for themselves?

First Wade Locke has to tell our provincial government what the new equalization formula really means and now the Minister of Natural Resources is deciding our collective futures based on the results of a study supposedly "shown" to her by an unnamed industry player.

I'm sure what ever company it was had no vested interest in getting the Province to pony up a cool billion.

Will someone please stop the insanity!!!

I started my little waltz with Ms. Dunderdale in November of last year. More than six months later I’m still listening to the dance music but I'm no closer to an answer.

Are we really missing something in this province generally and Labrador specifically that would cause a power hungry company to just walk away from one of the last great power projects in North America?

What is it and why does it cost so much?

These are all questions nobody seems in a hurry to answer.

Companies like Alcoa are scouring the earth for clean, stable and inexpensive power. For some reason the Lower Churchill doesn’t fit their bill. That’s something all of us needs to worry about.

If something is truly necessary to attract industry here maybe it should be discussed openly instead of swept under the rug. It may be expensive but it could be money well spent and since you and I pay the taxes around here perhaps Ms. Dunderdale should be a little more open about the whole issue.

Our government has an opportunity before it to use our resources wisely. It has a chance to resolve a lot of the issues we face today and do things right this time around, maybe for the last time. The question is whether or not they’ll have the vision to do it right or if they'll simply follow the course of those who came before and give it all away.

The Harper Shift - From Prime Minister to Vengeful Dictator.

I hope everyone in Canada marked their calendars with a big black X yesterday.

June 25th was a day that we would all do well to remember. It was the day Prime Minister Stephen Harper hit a new all time low, even for him, in his dealings with the Provinces.

While in New Brunswick to announce hundreds of millions of dollars in highway funding, Harper decided to send a clear message to Canadians in general and Atlantic Canadians specifically.

The message was, “keep quiet and do as you’re told or else”.

There’s nothing new about Ottawa cost sharing highway improvements with the provinces. It’s done all the time and has been for decades. What’s different this time around is the choice of words used by Harper during the New Brunswick announcement and the underlying threat he delivered.

At a time when Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador are battling Ottawa over the Atlantic Accords and equalization and while the Atlantic Premiers are all together for meetings in PEI, Harper used the announcement to clearly get his future intentions across. He did this by noting that the federal funding provided to New Brunswick for road improvements was an example of what can happen when the Provinces and Ottawa work together.

The statement in any other context might not sound like much but make no mistake about it, his words were intended as a clear shot across the bows of the SS MacDonald and the SS Williams and were meant to send a message to all the Atlantic Provinces that they had better stay in line or face dire consequences.

We all know of course that infrastructure funding is not tied to equalization, nor should it be. We’ve also heard the federal finance minister say time and time again that there will be “no more side deals”. Fair enough, though in reality the Atlantic Accords are not side deals but economic development deals similar to those heaped on the auto and aerospace industries of Ontario and Quebec.

Harper's statement was a threat if there ever was one and by tying the ability to access road funding to the larger issue of federal/provincial relations, Stephen Harper has, in essence, taken that funding out of the standard cost sharing pot and made it a side deal of its own, contingent on keeping him happy.

It’s always been the practice of federal and provincial governments to work together on road projects and for Harper to use the New Brunswick announcement as a hammer against Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador is nothing more than a deplorable attempt to pit province against province, an effort to keep Atlantic Canada firmly under his thumb and a move meant to make sure Atlantic Canadians know that to access federal funds from here on in they'll have to stay on the good side of Adolf Harper.

Those who win his favour will be rewarded. Those who displease him will be punished severely. What a way to run a Country.

How unbecoming of a Prime Minister to resort to threats and back door politics against his own people.

As I said folks, mark June 25th on your calendars. It’s the day that saw a violent shift in Canadian politics. It’s a day that saw Stephen Harper begin his move away from that of a democratically elected Prime Minister to that of a vengeful dictator.