Lost island

Resettlement isn’t what it used to be. In the old days, folks clung to their island and outport lifestyles like mussels to a rock. Stubborn, proud, but also fearful of a future beyond their own familiar shores.

Now, some communities are begging for the chance to pack up and leave. Little Bay Islands is one of them. This island community north of Springdale is tiny — 95 people, only half of whom live there year-round — and has no industry since a crab plant closed several years ago.

It has some appeal for retirees, and for tourists who can walk around the small harbour in about an hour, and check out the lighthouse and rocky coastline on the opposite shore to the ferry dock.

Residents have tried before to reach the threshold needed in a vote to resettle, but have failed. Last week, the government revealed the latest vote resulted in 89.47 per cent, still short of the required 90 per cent.

That doesn’t sit well with the ones who want to leave — considering only 10 people voted against the move.

Sharlene Hinz, a part-time resident who runs Edna’s Boarding Home B&B, says it’s absurd the government won’t round the number up.

Speaking to TC Media’s Tana Adams recently, Hinz questioned more than just the tally results. She says the last cost-benefit analysis only pegged the community as costing $3 million to service. Hinz says that figure seems low, considering the ferry service alone costs about $10 million (although that also services Long Island and Pilley’s Island).

Municipal Affairs Minister Eddie Joyce has admitted his government inherited the 90 per cent rule, and that his hands are tied at the moment. But the government is also reviewing eligibility requirements for voting, and hopes to have more to offer shortly. Hinz isn’t waiting. She’s filed an access-to-information request for a three-year government paper trail since the community first petitioned for resettlement.

Once the information is released, it will also be posted online for the public to see.

In short, she wants all cards on the table the next time a decision comes around.

The idea of resettlement still conjures a heart-wrenching era for older Newfoundlanders. That stigma of forced relocation is what spurred the government to adopt a high-consent threshold.

But nostalgia alone can’t keep communities thriving, and we are now in a very tight financial spot.

Joyce has already said the government believes it will save money in the long run.

So, what are they waiting for? Stop waffling and get on with it.

We can’t afford to prop up ghost towns.