Cheers & Jeers
CHEERS: to heritage preservation. Our Lady of Mercy Heritage Church in Port au Port West has won the National Trust of Canada’s Next Great Save competition. The committee overseeing the church will receive $50,000 — and that will come in handy to complete repairs to the church in advance of its 100th anniversary in 2025. The large, impressive looking building is located on Main Street in Port au Port West and is a registered heritage structure that now serves as a multipurpose cultural centre. One of the positive things to come from it all is the amount of support and interest generated in the community and region for the structure.
JEERS: to speeding. The RCMP conducted targeted traffic enforcement of speeding vehicles on Saturday, May 4, in various communities of Gander Bay. Officers patrolled various 50 km/h zones on Route 330 and Route 331 in that region and a total of 20 tickets were issued under the Highway Traffic Act for various speeding offences. That’s in just one day, during one short period of time. As the RCMP noted, speed limits are designed to ensure the safety of motorists and pedestrians, and drivers are expected to adhere to posted speed limits. The roads would be a lot safer if all drivers went light on the gas pedal.
CHEERS: to reminders of being prepared for emergencies. Emergency Preparedness Week ran from May 5-11. Whether you believe climate change is or is not behind the greater frequency and intensity of storms, the longer periods of high temperatures and humidity, there’s no doubt weather patterns have changed. We’ve witnessed out-of-control forest fires, more hurricanes, and intense rain and heavier periods of snow in recent years. As noted in a provincial government news release, an emergency preparedness kit should include food, water, batteries, a portable radio and prescription medications for at least 72 hours. If a major emergency, such as a forest fire, is deemed imminent, an emergency information webpage is activated at www.gov.nl.ca and will act as a single source of information for the public. It’s a good plan to be prepared.
JEERS: to the rising cost of food. Many people are struggling to put food on the table with the ever increasing costs of buying food. It’s never been worse. Demand at food banks across Newfoundland and Labrador is at an all-time high, while the ability of people to donate to food banks is diminishing. A disturbing statistic is that 30 per cent of provincial food bank users are children and teens under the age of 18. Workers in some sectors, like public servants, large corporations and unionized trades, do see decent wage increases, but many others do not. And the minimum wage fails to keep up with inflation. These are trying times for many people in the province.
CHEERS: to salt of the earth. Atlas Salt says the salt deposit at St. George’s on the province’s west coast is large enough to keep the mine they intend to develop going for at least 34 years. That means local jobs and spinoffs, as well as revenue for the town and province. Dubbed the Great Atlantic Salt Project, it has created excitement in the town for the past number of years. The salt deposit was uncovered decades ago after an oil company reportedly drilled in the area in search of oil but found nothing but salt. Let’s hope things shake out smoothly for the project.
JEERS: to unparliamentary behaviour in the House of Commons. A recent testy exchange between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre led to the Opposition leader and one of his MPS being ejected from the House — and the remainder of the Conservative caucus walking out in protest. Words fired back and forth across the floor included “spineless leadership,” “extremist” and, of course, “wacko.” It doesn’t matter who uttered each word or phrase — this kind of childish behaviour detracts from the serious debate of issues of importance to Canadians, and the work parliamentarians are supposed to be doing for us. The House must function better than that.