Graves still fresh as helicopter disaster book rushed to print

When a tragedy occurs - whether it be one born by nature, or the result of human error or malice - the reaction of most people is empathy and a desire to help the victims.

As a child living in southern Ontario I distinctly remember a massive ice storm that knocked out power for millions of people over a period of several days. Neighbours were drawn together and beneath the crackling trees of our iced-in city an atmosphere of camaraderie replaced the impersonality of everyday life.

So after a Cougar Sikorsky helicopter crashed into the ocean east of Newfoundland on March 12, it must have been some comfort to the families and friends of the seventeen people who died. Certainly, since the accident, politicians, media outlets and ordinary people alike have taken great care to ensure that the interests of grieving families are kept at the fore.

Until this week, that is, when we learned that DRC Publishing (a Newfoundland and Labrador book publisher) is rushing a book about the helicopter accident to press. It seems that author Tom Badcock has written an account of the disaster and - oh happy day - it will be available in stores by month's end.

Some of the churlish among us might suggest that Badcock and DRC are hoping for windfall profits from this tragic event. After all, the flowers on victims's graves are still fresh, and investigations into the disaster are only just beginning.

But nothing could be further from the horrible truth, claims Badcock. In a CBC Radio interview on Wednesday he assured listeners that "part" of the proceeds will go to a memorial for the victims. Only thing is, though, it is apparently too soon to say how much will be donated, or whether DRC will be doing the same - though of course it is not too soon to write the book. One suspects Badcock and his publisher were too busy writing and editing to bother with niggling details like that.

When people sell out their friends and neighbours for cash, it is often called blood money. Terms such as "media whore," "carpet bagger," and "blood sucker" are similarily used to describe the unscrupulous amongst us who try to profit from other's misfortunes. This is not to suggest, for one second, of course, that Badcock and DRC have anything but the noblest intentions in their current endeavour.

However, some people might think otherwise. What terms are most apt to illustrate the conduct of Tom Badcock and DRC Publishing, I wonder? Suggestions are most welcome.

Moore's "Liberty" offers warning in light of Afghan war

Upon finishing the prodigiously researched and incisively written book, "Liberty: The Lives and Times of Six Women in Revolutionary France" by Lucy Moore, one is left to consider the following:

1. History is indeed written by the victors, and because men consistently emerged as winners, the thoughts and deeds of 50% of history's actors have been smothered by prejudice. France would have been far more ably led had brilliant and humane people (and natural politicians) such as Manon Roland and Germaine de Stael been in power rather than despots like Robespierre and Napoleon.
   
2. Gender wars are not new to the post-World War II era. French women who took up arms to fight for freedom in the late eighteenth century soon found themselves suppressed by their male comrades. How does this differ from Canadian acquiescence in supporting Afghanistan's morally bankrupt government in its campaign to enslave female citizens?
   
3. Those who forcibly deny freedom to a portion of society will eventually become prey to tyranny themselves. The Jacobins of revolutionary France brutally put down anyone who opposed them until, eventually, they became consumed by paranoia. They and their successors forcibly marginalized women and denied them any role in public affairs. It never occured to them that by denying rights to the women who forged the revolution, they had removed a primary pillar that kept their government alive; soon enough it was the necks Robespierre and his allies that rested on the guillotine. It is a rule of politics that if you lose support from your "base" then your prospects are grim.
   
4. Liberty must never be taken for granted, and just as rights can be won they can be lost. Women of revolutionary France had achieved limited rights of assembly, for example, that were subsequently struck down in a reactionary backlash. Antiquated dress codes that kept women encased in whalebone and drapery were cast aside, along with the monarchy, in favour of clothing that would not look too out of place among youth of the late twentieth century; but by 1800 the corsets were back - a symbol of the restrictions placed on women.

For those who want to learn a necessary aspect of western history, I cannot recommend Moore's book too highly.

"Secret" Newfoundland and Labrador film project prompts opposition questions

A "secret" Newfoundland and Labrador film project valued at $3 million raised the eyebrows of Liberal MHA Kelvin Parsons during a legislative budget estimates meeting Tuesday evening at Confederation Building in St. John's.

Parsons, who asked about details of the fund (on behalf of absent NDP leader Lorraine Michael) received no answer to his question about the budgeted amount, which allocates $3 million to the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation for 2009-10. This is almost double the $1.75 million in last year's budget, an amount that may - or may not - have been spent.

In response to questions, Tourism, Culture and Recreation Minister, Clyde Jackman, would only reply that the funds are set for a "secret project."

No word as to whether the Tory government is stashing away public funds for any further "secret" projects, such as, say, for the Churchill Falls hydro project.

Will the digital age render us invisible to our granchildren?

Before writing The Big Hop: The North Atlantic Air Race, I needed to conduct a great deal of research on aviators of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. To some degree, this meant acquiring copies of primary documents, but mostly I delved into newspaper records. Where possible, I cross-referenced - checking accounts of the same events but from the perspective of two or more newspapers.

One of the surprises that emerged from this research was in fact how much "new" material I was able to recover; I frequently stumbled across hitherto unknown (to me) pilots, many of whom appeared to have been overlooked by previous historians. But records of their achievements and failures could be found, if someone looked hard enough, because a newspaper - often the New York Times - made the effort to record them in print.

Today, newspapers are in trouble, so much so that even the New York Times could disappear. So as reporters are laid off and papers shut down their presses, how are future generations supposed to learn about our era? Digital technology is the obvious answer, but unfortunately - as anyone who owns a computer whose hard drive has seized up - this form of record keeping is fragile at best.

In fact, in the course of time, it is a near certainty that the Wikipedias, Googles, Yahoos and all future technology-dependent data storage systems will fail or be destroyed.

Like the mythic (is it?) contintent of Atlantis, we could be all but invisible to future generations.

Have-not Ontario tosses tasty nibbles to book publishers

Ontario's pulverized manufacturing sector may have turned that province into a welfare case, but this has not stopped its government from helping book publishers and other sectors of the cultural industry. On Thursday, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan announced that he will enhance the refundable tax credit to publishers and other arts organizations. In all, Ontario will provide $100 million annually in new tax relief to the arts sector in that province.

It is worth pointing out that these tax credits are an improvement on a program that has existed for years; Ontario, it seems, has long recognized the importance of cultural industries to its long term economic prospects.

Ironically, Newfoundland and Labrador's provincial budget was released on the same day, and what did we see for arts from Danny Williams (who apparently heads a "have" province)? Not much; in fact, while there are some minor investments in tourism and the film industry there is almost no new money for music, literature (except for a little more prize money), visual arts, theatre, etc.

As usual, culture will be trotted out by government when promoting this province abroad, like prize tigers taken during a seventeenth century conquest of Africa. Unlike Ontario's government - which apparently can differentiate between real action and slick public relations - the Williams administration is unwilling to make the investments necessary to create a self-sustaining cultural sector.

Oh well, like the Toronto Maple Leafs, we'll have to wait until next year.

Randall Maggs stars at Winterset reading

Randall Maggs seemed to be the big star at Wednesday's readings by the three finalists for the Winterset award. His book, Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems, is an intriguing collection of biographical poems about one of the sports world's most enigmatic figures, goaltender Terry Sawchuck. Maggs told the large audience in St. John's about how he interviewed those who knew - and played hockey with - Sawchuck. This is history told in the Homeric tradition, when poetry claimed a central role in culture and the telling of history.

Readings by the other two finalists, Sara Tilley and Marie Wadden, were somewhat less memorable, particularly Wadden's, whose presentation was disjointed and lengthy. Tilley's Skin Room appears to be an intriguing book, but I am waiting until she ceases to be considered "The Next Young Thing" to emerge on Newfoundland and Labrador's literay scene. While she is undoubtedly talented, her presentation conveyed little that made me want to buy her book - Lisa Moore she is not; at least not yet.

Wadden's book, Where the Pavement Ends, is a book by a crusading journalist who has spent much of her career advocating on behalf of aboriginal peoples in Canada. The Toronto Star describes her book as follows: “[Wadden] demonstrates conclusively why throwing billions of dollars in outside-designed program funding at isolated communities is doomed to failure . . . Her advocacy of an end to both Indian Act waste and assimilationist notions, and for increased training and reliable multi-year funding that will give the healing movement the resources it is waiting for, is a message all Canadians should hear and absorb.” This is undoubtedly an important work, so why is Wadden - a journalist who is used to getting her point across - unable to communicate coherently when asked to do so? After listening to her, I felt I "should" read her book, much as one should take medicine when feeling ill.

In summary, I favour Maggs for the Winterset.

Chronicle Herald features The Big Hop

I am delighted to report that on Sunday the Halifax Chronicle Herald published an article about my book, The Big Hop: The North Atlantic Air Race. On another, more somber note, the appalling helicopter accident that took 17 lives last week is a grim reminder that the dangers of flying across the harsh north Atlantic have not disappeared, despite dramatic improvements to aircraft safety in the decades since Alcock and Brown first flew across the ocean in 1919.

Good old paperback: 1, Sony eBook device: 0

Seeing as I own a book publishing firm, this week I decided to add a Sony Reader to my small collection of electronic gadgets. It joins my iPhone, which has an easily downloadable electronic book reading application - and a pretty neat one at that: you can change the font size and decide whether to have black print on a white background, or white print on a black background. The iPhone also allows you to turn pages merely by stroking the screen.

However, the iPhone has one obvious limitation, the screen is rather small for reading a book. I have therefore been interested in trying out larger ebook readers, those that are dedicated solely to books. The impetus to purchase the Sony Reader came from the fact that I was attending seminars in Toronto this week dealing with electronic books. I also wanted one becuase Boulder will henceforth publish most of its books in both paper and electronic formats, and it seems to make sense that I - as a publisher - should achieve some familiarity with ebook readers.

When the helpful clerk at the Sony Store in Toronto's Eaton Centre offered to charge me $280 for a Sony Reader - down from $375 - as well as $25 in free ebook downloads, I caved. It is certainly a handsome looking product - a light metallic red machine that can play music as well as present books. The principal advantage it enjoys over the iphone is undoubtedly its size; the paperback-sized screen is instantly familiar. It is also easy to use; I figured it out within ten minutes, so it can't be terribly confusing. The Reader comes in a simple leather case (like a dustjacket), and is held in place along the spine merely by thin piece of plastic.

There is one major downside to the Sony Reader, besides the steep price, one that became achingly clear to me two days after I'd purchased it. Perhaps I should have been more careful, but I am used to carrying my coffee and a book around with me on Saturday mornings. While taking it to the computer to download a book I dropped my brand new Reader; it plunged about one meter onto the hardwood floor. The case landed on its spine, forcing the reader out of its plastic strap and onto the hard surface. Now my Reader is broken, and the Sony store in St. John's is suggesting that I am solely responsible for the damage - even though the manager agreed that the protective case offers little real protection to the device in the event of an accident.

A few days earlier, I dropped my ancient paperbaack copy of Cancer Ward; I am pleased to report that it remains in tip-top reading condition. Not so my Sony Reader.

Cancer Ward - Fabulous then, fabulous now!

When I noticed a copy of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's Cancer Ward moldering away on one of my book shelves a couple of days ago, I realized that it has been - um, a little while - since I'd broken the cover of a book by one of the former Soviet Union's most incisive critics. Solzhenitsyn only died last year, but in many ways he'd become "yesterday's man;" the USSR is long gone and the human rights excesses of its paranoid regime are relegated to history (only to be replaced by new abuses by Russia's newest megolomaniac, Vladimir Putin).

However, as I dusted off my yellowing copy of Cancer Ward, I wondered whether this example of Solzhenitsyn's writings transends the era in which it was written - the late 1960s. I am delighted to report that it does; while its topics ostensibly concern medical care and oppression, the novel remains as alive today as they did forty years ago. In fact, it may even be a better literary read now because one is able to focus less on the politics and more directly on the characters themselves. Here, we learn about how people cope with death and stress, and how hope can transcend cold reality. Cancer Ward, which deals with the patients, doctors, and nurses who inhabit a hospital, also provides an intriguing perspective on medical bureaucracy and the power relationships between physicians and their wards. This was a subject Solzhenitsyn was well acquainted, having barely survived a bout with cancer in the mid-1950s.

Two thumbs up!

Let's hear more from Kate Nash

Kate Nash is the latest undiscovered (in North America) British musical gem, who by rights should already be a superstar at the tender age of 21. An incredible lyricist - listen to Pumpkin Soup, Foundations, and Mouthwash - she conveys a refreshing perspective about being a young woman today. One of my favourites songs is Caroline's A Victim - an edgy commentary on trying to be part of an "in crowd." Check her out on My Space http://www.myspace.com/katenashmusic

Stormy times ahead for Newfoundland and Labrador

As a recessionary whirlwind whips northward through Ontario’s automotive heartland, the economies of Canada’s two petro-provinces are reaping the unwelcome gifts that come with blacked-out manufacturing plants and plunging oil prices.
Prospects for Newfoundland and Labrador closely mirror those of Alberta, as both provinces rely overwhelmingly on the oil industry for jobs, business growth and government revenue.
The ratcheting down of oilsands projects, such as mothballing of Suncor Energy’s $20.6 billion Voyageur expansion, directly impacts hundreds – if not thousands – of Newfoundland and Labrador workers, many of whom commute directly between St. John’s and Fort McMurray. With pink slips replacing pay envelopes for increasing numbers of migrants, the ramifications are only now becoming clear.
Some communities, such as Stephenville, had been cushioned from economic disaster with the closure of their main sources of employment, in this case a paper mill that closed in late 2005. Skilled workers were eagerly snatched up by Alberta recruiting firms, and the government of Newfoundland and Labrador was spared the messy task of finding new jobs for those who had been displaced.
Equally important as the jobs themselves were the remittances sent back east by migrant workers, which propped up the commercial sector of rural communities. Sales of pickup trucks, SUVs and recreational vehicles continued to climb throughout 2008, even as sales throughout central Canada slid during last summer’s period of $150 per barrel oil.
New car sales in 2008 within the province continued to exceed 2007 month-to-month figures until November when sales dropped to 1,662 units, the lowest number for that month since 2004. A measure of the health of the automotive market came in January when the St. John’s Chrysler and Mercedes dealership slid into receivership, with creditors claiming $19 million in unpaid bills from the firm.
A string of bad news stories has dogged the province since last fall, the worst being the pending closure of the Abitibi Bowater paper mill in Grand Falls-Windsor. The century-old plant is the only significant private sector employer in central Newfoundland, providing hundreds of jobs for mill workers and loggers. The port town of Botwood will also lose a significant portion of its economic base, as freighters will no longer load paper from its docking facility. For those who are losing their jobs, Fort McMurray is no longer an option.
Less significant is the slowdown in Labrador’s iron ore mining communities. Wabush Mines has laid off 160 workers, representing one third of its workforce, while in the neighbouring town of Labrador City a one-month-long shutdown of the mine owned by Iron Ore Company is planned for this summer.
Meanwhile, uncertainty swirls over Vale Inco’s planned nickel processing facility, which is planned for Long Harbour on Newfoundland’s east coast. Unexplained delays by the company in filing its development plan with the provincial government have led to concerns about the future of the $2.17 billion plant, which has already passed the environmental assessment stage.
According to the original 2002 timetable, Vale Inco was to have submitted its final development plan by the end of December. The province extended the deadline by three weeks, a date now exceeded by the company.
Questions also persist about the fishery this year, as processing companies grapple with the combined effects of poor prices in the United States and the collapse of Iceland’s banks, which had provided operating credit for several of the province’s largest firms.
The credit situation is so daunting that the Fish Food and Allied Workers Union – which is not known for its sympathetic attitude towards processors – raised the alarm. The union is demanding that governments step in to assist the companies; the alternative being that some fish plants may remain shuttered this year.
Certainly, Canadian banks might be forgiven for looking askance at offering credit, considering forecasts for key sectors of the fishery. Prices for snow crab, the mainstay of Newfoundland and Labrador’s fishing industry, are looking weak, although this could change by the time the season opens this spring.
The industry’s concerns originate with American restaurant market, which has been the mainstay for both lobster and crab; the recession has already negatively affected lobster prices, due to lower demand south of the border, and there are fears this will extend to crab.
So far, this list of economic challenges has not greatly impacted projections for Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy for 2009, which, despite the challenges, is expected to out-perform all other provinces except Saskatchewan. BMO is forecasting 0.7 per cent growth in real GDP, while Scotia Bank sees slightly lower growth, at 0.4 per cent.
The basis of this optimism lies with the strength of the province’s oil industry. Although annual oil production peaked in 2007 – gross output actually declined by 17 per cent in 2008 – and the billionth barrel of crude was drawn from the three existing offshore fields this January, the industry is expected to keep the economy bouyant during the next decade.
Even with $40 per barrel oil the provincial government is expected to record a surplus for 2009-2010, although Finance Minister Jerome Kennedy is warning that oil price fluctuations could push the government into deficit territory in the following fiscal year.
Fortunately, the government has prepared for bad times by consistently using unexpected windfalls in oil royalties to reduce the province’s debt. Its net debt is now expected to come in at $9.2 billion for 2008-2009, compared with the $10 billion forecast in the budget last spring.
Perhaps most timely for the province is construction of the Hebron oil production platform, which is set to begin in 2010, thereby providing fabrication jobs for hundreds of workers at yards and factories throughout the province. Hebron is expected to provide 1,000 direct jobs during its construction stage, and to generate $16 billion in royalties to the province during its 25-year life.
If both Hebron and the Long Harbour nickel processing plant proceed as planned, then the Newfoundland and Labrador is expected to weather the recession better than most other provinces. The housing market has emerged as one of the hottest in Canada, with prices increasing by over 30 per cent in 2008; there is no sign of this growth slowing dramatically this year.
Although these are reasons for optimism, thanks to the oil and mining sectors, the province has so far failed to diversify its economy away from production of commodities. Manufacturing, in particular, remains weak, aside from those companies supplying the oil companies, and is centralized almost exclusively in the St. John’s region.
An indicator of this is the unemployment rate, which is forecast to remain Canada’s highest, at 12 to 13 per cent until at least 2010, despite jobs growth in mining and oil.
The major challenge for the province’s government and business sector is to forge a path away from raw resource extraction, and to reverse the growing gap in economic fortunes between the vast rural areas and the urban communities of eastern Newfoundland and western Labrador.

Will Danny party like it's ... 2009?

As another bracing Canadian winter sails towards its inevitable conclusion, Canada’s political wunderkind plans to celebrate the rights of spring with a party marking Newfoundland and Labrador’s new status as a “have” province.
Details remain tightly sealed under a cloak of secrecy, but we can be certain that it will feature Danny Williams in vintage form: the word “pride” and the term “masters of our own destiny” will be sprinkled liberally in speeches before rapturous crowds at hockey arenas stretching from St. John’s to Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
Or will he perhaps forgo the tour and limit himself to a televised address to the masses, citing “budgetary constraints?” Certainly, there must be some niggling doubt in Williams’ mind about whether the multitudes will show up should he arrive in their midst, and, if so, whether some of those in attendance might have a few choice words of their own for Danny.
After all, Williams was elected because he was perceived as a highly competent businessman who could presumably work the magic required to diversify Newfoundland and Labrador’s one-trick pony of an economy – hewers of wood, fishers of cod, diggers of iron ore, and suckers of oil.
From the time of Williams’ election in 2003 to the federal election in 2008 his government gained significant political capital via the ritual flaying of two prime ministers, first Paul Martin and then Stephen Harper. The domestic audience loved the spectacle, so much so that few people bothered to seriously question how the fundamentals of the economy were faring.
Now, five years into Williams’ term as premier, and in the midst of a worldwide recession, people are starting to wonder what – in reality – his government has achieved. Is Danny Williams the Lehman Brothers of Canadian politics?
Since taking office, the province has seen no significant growth in manufacturing and there are precious few signs that the economy will reduce its dependency on extracting natural resources. In fact, these sectors were in a state of decline long before Canada’s economy joined the recessionary vortex last year.
In 2003, the province had three paper mills; it will soon have only one, with the closure of the century old Grand Falls-Windsor plant this spring. Labrador’s two iron ore mines are shedding jobs, and there are lingering questions about whether Vale Inco will actually build its much-anticipated nickel processing plant in Long Harbour, as announced last fall.
As for the fishery, while it is too early to predict prices for 2009, the prognosis is not good. Much of the industry has relied on snow crab, but with softening markets in the U.S. – as consumers eschew eating in restaurants – fishermen may find it difficult to pay their crews, let alone turning a profit on crab.
Then there is the oil industry. Lost in the hoopla of $150 per barrel oil last year, and the announcement that the Hebron project will proceed, was the sobering reality that crude production peaked in 2007, and is forecast to decline year after year unless new commercially viable oil fields are discovered. Unfortunately, the last viable field was found twenty-five years ago, despite the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars on exploration efforts since the mid-1980s.
To make matters worse, a flood of Newfoundlanders who had found jobs in Alberta’s oilsands projects are expected to return home in the wake of layoffs in that province.
The government is anticipating a budgetary surplus for 2009, but even Williams has admitted that a return to deficits will likely occur in 2010. So what will his message be to the growing numbers of unemployed and economically distressed workers as he celebrates “have” status – perhaps “Party like there’s no tomorrow?”