Donnie Dunphy - Havin' a Time
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 | Labels: donnie dunphy, st. john's, video | 1 comments »
Newfoundland’s coming of age
Monday, December 22, 2008 | Labels: canada, economy, labrador, links, newfoundland, oil | 0 comments »
On April 1, 2009, Newfoundland and Labrador will have been a member of the Canadian family for 60 years. Significantly, many Newfoundlanders will view this anniversary as the time to celebrate Canada joining them. Such is the nature of this tumultuous 60-year relationship, where the benefits of union are weighted according to perspective and the tides of economic opportunity.
As this milestone birthday approaches, it is important to examine Newfoundland’s re-emerging nationalism and its impact on the Canadian federation. While Quebec and Ontario possess the population and the political potency of a majority of federal seats in Ottawa and Alberta the wealth, it is Newfoundland that sets the tone of change in the nation.
Newfoundland is redefining the traditional model of federal-provincial relations as it has moved from have-not to have province and demands that the world take notice. Emboldened by an energy-based economy that has finally reached puberty, fuelled by history’s realities and myths, and captained by a new-generation skipper, Canada’s youngest child is coming of age.
Last year, the province collected $1.5 billion in oil royalties, and it is expecting at least another $1.7 billion in 2008 – the kind of money that allowed the government to post a huge $1.4-billion budget surplus this year, an amount equal to five per cent of the province’s GDP. Newfoundland and Labrador was the country’s hottest economy in 2007. Its real GDP growth of 9.1 per cent was more than three times the national average.
As this milestone birthday approaches, it is important to examine Newfoundland’s re-emerging nationalism and its impact on the Canadian federation. While Quebec and Ontario possess the population and the political potency of a majority of federal seats in Ottawa and Alberta the wealth, it is Newfoundland that sets the tone of change in the nation.
Newfoundland is redefining the traditional model of federal-provincial relations as it has moved from have-not to have province and demands that the world take notice. Emboldened by an energy-based economy that has finally reached puberty, fuelled by history’s realities and myths, and captained by a new-generation skipper, Canada’s youngest child is coming of age.
Last year, the province collected $1.5 billion in oil royalties, and it is expecting at least another $1.7 billion in 2008 – the kind of money that allowed the government to post a huge $1.4-billion budget surplus this year, an amount equal to five per cent of the province’s GDP. Newfoundland and Labrador was the country’s hottest economy in 2007. Its real GDP growth of 9.1 per cent was more than three times the national average.
Is the Newfoundland accent disappearing?
| Labels: dialec, labrador, links, newfoundland | 0 comments »
Newfoundlanders, Van Herk points out, speak the most linguistically diverse English on the planet.
"There's more different ways of saying things, or pronouncing things, in Newfoundland English than in any of the other varieties," he says.
People in Petty Harbour, where the accent is a mix of west English and Irish, don't speak like those in Ferryland a few kilometres down the Southern Shore highway, or in Marystown, Corner Brook or La Scie. For that matter, they don't speak like people in the capital, where the accent even varies from one part of the city to another.
"Newfoundlanders are very aware of where people are from. But people from outside Newfoundland have this idea that there is a Newfoundland accent. And you see that famously in The Shipping News, where (the author) takes features from the Dictionary of Newfoundland English and puts them all together in a way that no one person would likely use so by the time she's finished she's got this sort of invented Newfoundland English."
"There's more different ways of saying things, or pronouncing things, in Newfoundland English than in any of the other varieties," he says.
People in Petty Harbour, where the accent is a mix of west English and Irish, don't speak like those in Ferryland a few kilometres down the Southern Shore highway, or in Marystown, Corner Brook or La Scie. For that matter, they don't speak like people in the capital, where the accent even varies from one part of the city to another.
"Newfoundlanders are very aware of where people are from. But people from outside Newfoundland have this idea that there is a Newfoundland accent. And you see that famously in The Shipping News, where (the author) takes features from the Dictionary of Newfoundland English and puts them all together in a way that no one person would likely use so by the time she's finished she's got this sort of invented Newfoundland English."
Overlay EP
Friday, December 19, 2008 | Labels: links, music, overlay | 0 comments »
Check out songs from Overlay's upcoming EP --> www.overlayband.com
Words of wisdom
| Labels: quotes | 0 comments »
Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names ~ John F. Kennedy
'We wish you well': Williams to AbitibiBowater
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 | Labels: danny williams, labrador, links, newfoundland | 1 comments »
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams says that if AbitibiBowater wants to start a legal fight, it is welcome to try, but he insists his government has the legislative power to expropriate the company's assets in the province.
"We have full authority to do what we've done. We have full legislative authority," Williams said.
"The legislature in Newfoundland and Labrador is paramount in this jurisdiction and we stand by that. If AbitibiBowater wants to launch any legal challenges, then that is up to them. We have no control over that. I'm sure they will get legal opinions that indicate our legislature has full authority to do what it's done."
Williams was responding to the company threatening to take legal action after the province passed urgent legislation Tuesday to expropriate the company's provincial assets, with the exception of the mill in Grand Falls-Windsor.
The province is taking ownership of all hydroelectricity rights from the generating station at Star Lake, as well as timber rights to forests on Crown land.
"We have full authority to do what we've done. We have full legislative authority," Williams said.
"The legislature in Newfoundland and Labrador is paramount in this jurisdiction and we stand by that. If AbitibiBowater wants to launch any legal challenges, then that is up to them. We have no control over that. I'm sure they will get legal opinions that indicate our legislature has full authority to do what it's done."
Williams was responding to the company threatening to take legal action after the province passed urgent legislation Tuesday to expropriate the company's provincial assets, with the exception of the mill in Grand Falls-Windsor.
The province is taking ownership of all hydroelectricity rights from the generating station at Star Lake, as well as timber rights to forests on Crown land.
Tension Condension: 10 Surefire Stress Busting Sites
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 | Labels: interactive, links | 0 comments »
Newfoundland and Labrador Named World’s Top Travel Secret
Monday, December 15, 2008 | Labels: labrador, newfoundland, tourism | 0 comments »
Wanderlust, one of the United Kingdom’s leading travel magazines, has ranked Newfoundland and Labrador the number one "travel secret" in the world.
The Honourable Clyde Jackman, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, said the magazine’s cover story, entitled 100 Greatest Travel Secrets, lists this province at the very top of its choices of unique travel destinations.
"Living here, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that we are viewed throughout the world as an exotic location, particularly to the traveller who is seeking compelling experiences in places which are off the beaten track," said Minister Jackman.
"This latest recognition adds to the growing list of travel guides, travel publications, articles and websites which have featured this province as a distinct destination where visitors can have these extraordinary and authentic experiences," the minister added. "If Newfoundland and Labrador is still considered a ‘secret’ in some circles – then clearly the secret is getting out."
Newfoundland and Labrador shares the top 100 list with destinations such as the Tarkine Rainforest in the north-west region of Tasmania; Porjus, a small village in Sweden, and the Viñales Valley in Cuba, among others.
Minister Jackman said the province’s award-winning marketing campaign has certainly contributed to an increased awareness of Newfoundland and Labrador as a travel destination of choice.
"In the past five years, the Provincial Government has doubled the tourism marketing budget from $6 million to $12 million," said Minister Jackman. "This investment is clearly paying off."
Since 2003, non-resident visitation to Newfoundland and Labrador has increased, on average, by three per cent each year – or 15 per cent overall.
The Honourable Clyde Jackman, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, said the magazine’s cover story, entitled 100 Greatest Travel Secrets, lists this province at the very top of its choices of unique travel destinations.
"Living here, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that we are viewed throughout the world as an exotic location, particularly to the traveller who is seeking compelling experiences in places which are off the beaten track," said Minister Jackman.
"This latest recognition adds to the growing list of travel guides, travel publications, articles and websites which have featured this province as a distinct destination where visitors can have these extraordinary and authentic experiences," the minister added. "If Newfoundland and Labrador is still considered a ‘secret’ in some circles – then clearly the secret is getting out."
Newfoundland and Labrador shares the top 100 list with destinations such as the Tarkine Rainforest in the north-west region of Tasmania; Porjus, a small village in Sweden, and the Viñales Valley in Cuba, among others.
Minister Jackman said the province’s award-winning marketing campaign has certainly contributed to an increased awareness of Newfoundland and Labrador as a travel destination of choice.
"In the past five years, the Provincial Government has doubled the tourism marketing budget from $6 million to $12 million," said Minister Jackman. "This investment is clearly paying off."
Since 2003, non-resident visitation to Newfoundland and Labrador has increased, on average, by three per cent each year – or 15 per cent overall.
St. John’s economy hot, but it won’t last
| Labels: economy, labrador, linkjs, newfoundland, oil, st. john's | 0 comments »
In the week Canada officially entered into economic recession, Newfoundland and Labrador, once Canada’s poorest province, announced it will post a $1.2-billion surplus for the current fiscal year.
That’s more than double the surplus projected in April 2007.
Yes, the global financial crisis has come to Newfoundland but you would never know it by the construction boom, housing prices and car sales in the province. It seems oil and timing are everything and this time it’s in the province’s favour. There’s no talk of recession on Water Street.
And it’s oil that’s greasing the economic boom in St. John’s.
Although oil prices are dropping, the industry is in a unique position here because of its development cycle.
As Tim Murphy of Chevron explains, "The three existing production fields are mature, paid off and making money. As long as operating costs are met there is money to be made.
"Hebron and other future projects are not due for five to 10 years and not really dependent on today’s oil prices. So planning work continues." Chevron is expanding its harbourfront offices to accommodate the team working on next year’s offshore exploration program on the deep-water Orphan Basin site.
The Hebron project offices are opening in the new year and recruitment ads will be in the papers soon. Seminars for supplies are scheduled for this spring. Expansion to the Terra Nova and White Rose oil fields is underway and Hibernia South is expected to be announced soon.
St. John’s looks every bit the boomtown. New Mercedes, Porsches and Land Rovers jostle with contractors’ pickup trucks at the coffee shops in the morning. But falling oil prices could put an end to the boom next year.
That’s more than double the surplus projected in April 2007.
Yes, the global financial crisis has come to Newfoundland but you would never know it by the construction boom, housing prices and car sales in the province. It seems oil and timing are everything and this time it’s in the province’s favour. There’s no talk of recession on Water Street.
And it’s oil that’s greasing the economic boom in St. John’s.
Although oil prices are dropping, the industry is in a unique position here because of its development cycle.
As Tim Murphy of Chevron explains, "The three existing production fields are mature, paid off and making money. As long as operating costs are met there is money to be made.
"Hebron and other future projects are not due for five to 10 years and not really dependent on today’s oil prices. So planning work continues." Chevron is expanding its harbourfront offices to accommodate the team working on next year’s offshore exploration program on the deep-water Orphan Basin site.
The Hebron project offices are opening in the new year and recruitment ads will be in the papers soon. Seminars for supplies are scheduled for this spring. Expansion to the Terra Nova and White Rose oil fields is underway and Hibernia South is expected to be announced soon.
St. John’s looks every bit the boomtown. New Mercedes, Porsches and Land Rovers jostle with contractors’ pickup trucks at the coffee shops in the morning. But falling oil prices could put an end to the boom next year.
Flush with cash despite oil freefall, N.L. reports
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 | Labels: budget, labrador, links, newfoundland, oil, surplus | 0 comments »
Despite a slump in world oil prices, the Newfoundland and Labrador government said Tuesday it expects to finish the fiscal year with more than $1 billion in its pocket.
Finance Minister Jerome Kennedy, however, laid out a set of dire warnings to accompany a fiscal update that projects a $1.27-billion surplus for the current operating year.
That's more than double the $544 million that the government expected as a surplus in a budget brought down in April.
Kennedy said the government is earning significantly more revenue than expected this year because oil prices for most of the year were far higher than expected.
However, Kennedy warned that the Newfoundland and Labrador budget will take a beating if oil prices continue to be flattened by a global economic crisis.
"If oil prices continue at below $60 US per barrel, we could be facing a deficit of several hundred million dollars next year and could potentially be facing deficits in the years to come," Kennedy told reporters at Confederation Building in St. John's.
For instance, if oil trades at $60 US per barrel — a figure the government is expecting to hold over next year — it would incur a deficit of about $200 million in the upcoming year. But if oil stays around the $40 level, that deficit would swell to about $600 million.
'They can call me a Grinch'
Finance Minister Jerome Kennedy, however, laid out a set of dire warnings to accompany a fiscal update that projects a $1.27-billion surplus for the current operating year.
That's more than double the $544 million that the government expected as a surplus in a budget brought down in April.
Kennedy said the government is earning significantly more revenue than expected this year because oil prices for most of the year were far higher than expected.
However, Kennedy warned that the Newfoundland and Labrador budget will take a beating if oil prices continue to be flattened by a global economic crisis.
"If oil prices continue at below $60 US per barrel, we could be facing a deficit of several hundred million dollars next year and could potentially be facing deficits in the years to come," Kennedy told reporters at Confederation Building in St. John's.
For instance, if oil trades at $60 US per barrel — a figure the government is expecting to hold over next year — it would incur a deficit of about $200 million in the upcoming year. But if oil stays around the $40 level, that deficit would swell to about $600 million.
'They can call me a Grinch'
Want to stop climate change? Put a fork in it, advocates say
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 | Labels: farming, links, st. john's | 0 comments »
Good ol' Detroit.. Where the weak are eaten alive
Sunday, December 07, 2008 | Labels: detroit, links, photos | 0 comments »
So.. Who is doing the work?
Thursday, December 04, 2008 | Labels: air canada, employment, misc | 0 comments »
The population of Canada is 32.5 million
14.5 million are retired or on welfare
That leaves 18 million to do the work
There are 12.5 million in school
Which leaves 5.5 million to do the work
Of this there are 1.5 million employed by the federal government
Leaving 4 million to do the work
.1 million are in the armed forces preoccupied with Afghanistan & Finding Osama Bin-Laden.
Which leaves 3.9 million to do the work
Take from that total the 3.6 million people who work for provincial and municipal governments
And that leaves .3 million to do the work.
At any given time there are 228,000 people in hospitals and care homes
Leaving 72,000 to do the work
Now, there are 71,998 people in prisons
That leaves just two people to do the work
You and me
And there you are, sitting on your ass, at your computer, reading this blog!
Nice. Real nice !!
14.5 million are retired or on welfare
That leaves 18 million to do the work
There are 12.5 million in school
Which leaves 5.5 million to do the work
Of this there are 1.5 million employed by the federal government
Leaving 4 million to do the work
.1 million are in the armed forces preoccupied with Afghanistan & Finding Osama Bin-Laden.
Which leaves 3.9 million to do the work
Take from that total the 3.6 million people who work for provincial and municipal governments
And that leaves .3 million to do the work.
At any given time there are 228,000 people in hospitals and care homes
Leaving 72,000 to do the work
Now, there are 71,998 people in prisons
That leaves just two people to do the work
You and me
And there you are, sitting on your ass, at your computer, reading this blog!
Nice. Real nice !!
Canadian Politics... Sigh... A country of indecisiveness
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 | Labels: canada, political, stephen harper | 0 comments »
2008 Targa Newfoundland Highlights
Monday, December 01, 2008 | Labels: links, newfoundland, targa newfoundland, videos | 0 comments »
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