PRAIRIE SCRIBBLER – SOUTH MOUNTAIN PRESS, VOLUME 11, NUMBER 19 – PART 2

Custodian Toby Kondratiew is getting Onanole Elementary ready for another school year

***Original published in South Mountain Press, July 27, 2018***

A School Custodian’s Job is Never Done

As the classic Alice Cooper song goes, School’s out for summer but School is (not) out forever. When the children of Onanole Elementary School return to their classrooms this fall, one of the staff happy to see their return will be the school’s custodian, Toby Kondratiew.

While teachers and students have been enjoying their summer vacation, Toby has been giving the entire school a thorough scrub down and polish. When school is in session, he normally will split his 6 hour work day between opening up the facility at 7:30 and returning at 4:00 for the regular cleaning routine. But when staff and students are not around for the summer break, it gives him a chance to ‘deep’ clean areas of the school that have to be put off. Toby has been busy with larger projects like polishing floors, washing windows inside and out, and arranging for contractors to attend to the carpets. Plus he has had a chance to spruce up all the flooring. For anyone who has stripped and polished floors, you know that it can be a multi-day project and you do not want anyone tromping all over your work while it is in progress.

Summer is also a time for any major building renovations that need to be completed. Onanole Elementary is a relatively young 30 year old school compared to the sixty plus years of some of the other 12 schools in the District, so Toby gets a break from too much disruption to his summer routine this year.

Fred Scott, the Maintenance Supervisor for Rolling River School Division, coordinates the schedules of the Division’s 22 custodians. He had nothing but praise for Toby’s efforts and work ethic. “Whenever I say I am headed to the north of the School Division, I am asked if I am visiting that ‘Clean’ school in Onanole. Toby gets those floors so shiny, I usually need my sunglasses.”

Mr. Scott explained that the custodians are the front line for maintaining the Division’s valuable infrastructure. The number of employees is based on a formula of one person cleaning around 2000 sq/ft per hour each day of a five day work week. If there is a building emergency such as flooding during the middle of the night, the custodian gets the first call to check on the issue. After winter storms, they are at the schools early to start the snow clearing operations.

It is helpful to Mr. Scott to take into consideration the direct input from the custodians who intimately know the buildings. For example, one of the initiatives that Toby brought to the job was to recommend installing Chair Slippers on all the feet of the student’s chairs. They are bright blue, pre-cut tennis balls that help prevent scratches in the classroom floors when the chairs slide back and forth.

As Toby explained, he was grateful that the job of Custodian for the Onanole Elementary came open seven years ago. He has lived in the area all of his life and for two years he was taught in the one room Clear Lake School No. 2135 that was located a few miles west of town. After consolidation in 1962, he was moved to the new Elementary school, No. 2402, in Onanole. Later, his main vocation in life was carpentry but after a lifetime of hard work, his body needed a break. The custodian job keeps him active, engaged, and employed in the area.

Toby had this to say about his position. “Everyone knows your name and there are good kids here and I like working with the Principal, Pam Ryznar. It can be a little challenging during the school year when the kids are not as thoughtful as they should be when making a mess. But I enjoy them all being able to pronounce my last name by the end of the year!”

He was not the only Kondratiew to walk the halls of Onanole Elementary as it was also his daughter’s elementary school. He proudly pointed her out in the school photos hanging in the main hall and there was not a speck of dust on any of those frames!

When Toby is not busy at the school, he is active with his Quarter horses and supporting his daughter’s goal of becoming a Veterinary Technician.

The Rolling River School Division Superintendent, Mary Anne Ploshynsky, commended all of the Division’s Custodians hard work no matter the time of year. She sees them as integral parts of the education system and wanted to acknowledge their dedication.

For more information about the Rolling River School Division and Onanole Elementary, visit www.rrsd.mb.ca.

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July 29, 2018July 29, 2018

PRAIRIE SCRIBBLER – SOUTH MOUNTAIN PRESS, VOLUME 11, NUMBER 19 – PART 1

Prayer Walkers Jacquelyn, left, and Creedance near Onanole, MB

***Original published in South Mountain Press, July 27, 2018***

Indigenous Prayer Walkers Pass Through South Mountain Region

Early on the afternoon of July 24, two members of Da-namaamin moseyang giw-ganchigaazjig kwewag could be seen walking along Highway 10 South of Onanole. While Creedance carried their Aboriginal Eagle Staff, Jacqueline was happily waving to honking motorists.

The name of the group translates to ‘We will walk in prayer for those murdered women.’ The stated goal of this grassroots Indigenous-led Prayer Walk is a ‘means for us to respond to the murders and disappearances of Indigenous women, girls, and future generations. Our journey across Turtle Island (Canada) is a way to heal ourselves and revitalize our traditional roles as Women, Men, and Two-Spirit People. The Prayer Walk is also a way for us to show women, girls, and victims’ families that we care. We believe our Indigenous nations must take the lead in healing within our communities. To this end, we advocate for increased support for Indigenous-led solutions to end violence against Indigenous women and girls.”

The Prayer Walkers began their journey at The Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, Cape Croker, Ontario on December 21, 2017. The core group of walkers have varied between three and seven. The team pairs take turns walking 5 km for a total of 50 km per day. One person carries the Eagle Staff and the other provides company and safety. Frequently, as they pass through, supporters from various First Nations walk with them for encouragement and solidarity.

The sight of the pair’s Eagle Staff definitely causes motorists to take a second look as they drive by. An Eagle Staff represents various Indigenous meanings, spiritual entities, nations, clans, languages, medicines and healing. The staff can be compared to a country’s flag or to a military unit’s battle honours which makes it a sacred symbol. One imperative stressed by Creedance concerning the staff was that the person carrying it must constantly be moving. It made for an interesting interview that covered about half a miles worth of walking!

Each day, the group dedicates their walking to honour and remember an Indigenous murdered or missing woman or girl. Mildred Flett, age 51, was the person being remembered on this particular day. ‘Millie’ Flett, aka Mildred Nelson, went missing in Winnipeg on June 8, 2010.

The plan for the remainder of this ambitious walk is to continue north to Swan River, cut across through Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, head west through Edmonton up into the Territories and Yukon, circle through BC and then all the way back through to the East Coast before returning home to Ontario.

Along the way, the group has been receiving a warm reception. They have frequently been asked to speak at different venues about their efforts to bring awareness to the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) issue. On the evening of July 23, they were guests of the Rolling River First Nation who held a powwow for them.

The non-profit group is primarily conducting the Prayer Walk to continue the healing process related to the ongoing tragedy of MMIWG as opposed to fund raising. But they are happy to take donations related to their efforts. Any monies donated will mostly go towards caring for their aging 1982 Winnebago Brave. The RV acts as their support vehicle and home while they are on the road. Mechanical issues already caused a three month delay earlier in the year.

If people are interested in following Da-namaamin moseyang giw-ganchigaazjig kwewag’s progress as they crisscross Canada, they can follow their progress via their Facebook blog. Their daily videos detail where they are at and gives details about the particular woman or girl that they are dedicating that days’ worth of walking to.

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May 27, 2018January 26, 2019

STUDENT FARMER – PART ONE

An Almanac of Farming – A Series

As the farm population in North America gradually dwindles, ‘corporate’ knowledge related to basic farming practices is being lost. Simple farming points that were passed from father to son are starting to pass to the wayside. Below is a selection of bon mots related to running a farm and caring for large animals.

Do not feed horses dusty or moldy hay. Their lung system is designed to be conducive to running so bad hay pulls the dust in deeply and creates breathing issues. When haying selection has to be put into the proper grass to be cut. It has to be dry and when you think it is dry enough, still wait a few days before baling. If rain hits the hay, forget about using it for your horse.
If there is skunk grass in your bale of hay, it should be rolled out instead of being fed in a bale ring. The grass is liable to poke cattle in the eye or damage the inside of their mouthes when eaten out of a ring.
When checking young calves, here is a couple of points. When they stand up and have a good stretch, they are probably feeling ok. Check for alertness, see if their ears are up or droopy, and examine their navel for signs of stiffness. If the animal is standing all hunched up or will not get up easily, they are probably sick. Infection of the navel can easily kill the animal especially through the tube that leads to the liver. Turn off your vehicle and just listen. You’ll hear the wheezing of a calf with pnemonia. Also, keep half an eye out for cows whose udders don’t look as if they’ve been sucked. If their calf isn’t sucking, it’s not feeling well.
When carrying large loads with a hydraulic loader, keep the load close to the ground. If you hit a rough patch, it will help prevent a shock load on the hoses which could cause them to pop.
Clean bedding in the pens is important for many reasons. A dirty cow sells for less at market partly due to looks and because when they are slaughtered, the plant has to spend more effort cleaning the hide. Good, fluffed-up straw helps keep the animals warm and clean. Cows will lie in their own manure and if their bags get dirty, their calves will come down with scours.
Horses are cleaner than cows and you can stand up a bale of straw and they will use it for bedding for months with little maintenance.
Older hay in bale rings will go uneaten if the ring is not lifted. Once the ring is moved, the cattle will stir up the hay and eat up the leftovers.
Sometimes when cattle do not eat a bale of hay right away, the outer crust needs disturbing so they can start digging into it.
To prevent excessive wear and tear on your tractors during the winter, remove spilled hay from the roadways. During the freeze/thaw cycle, the hay or straw will create lumps that the tractor has to bounce over. The material is extremely effective as an insulator and will prevent the snow and ice underneath from melting.
Push down the snow in the hay yard as you pull down on the hay supply. Hardened snow makes for a rough ride while bouncing over it with the tractor.
If the sides of the cattle look dirty as you drive by, it is probably time to bed the pen. If the cow’s udder becomes dirty, the calf will come down with scours.
If a cow loses its calf, a twin can be grafted on to the animal by skinning the dead calf and tying the hide on the other one. This should fool the mother into taking the twin.

To keep a cow from kicking while you are trying to get her calf to suck, tie a rope nice and tight around her just forward of the udder.
Occasionally, when a cow is ornery and you have to work with her calf, open a gate and the cow will rush through leaving the calf behind. Then you can work on the calf without fear of the animal coming at you.
When starting a slow calf on the mother, milk the cow a bit first (with warm hands), wet your fingers with the milk and get the calf sucking on you first.
To differentiate between foot rot and lameness in a cow, look at the hoof for splitting. Excessive spacing and smell indicates the presence of foot rot.
When trailering cow/calf pairs out to pasture let them out in a way that the cow does not take off without her calf. Point the trailer at a fence line or even consider letting them out in a corral just to slow the cow down before she takes off without her calf. Cows will sometimes head for the hills and leave a lost calf behind. Unless you’re dumping them in a corral, it is best to trailer the animals as a cow/calf pair.
Newborn kittens can survive on their own for about three days if their mother abandons them. Sometimes, you can entice the mother to return if you put some food out and leave the area for a good period of time. Probably after a couple of days, if the mother has not returned, she is gone for good and you would have to eye-drop feed the kitten to save it.
If a cow is calm enough, she will let other calves suck from her udder. Most will just let their own suck but enterprising calves will steal milk from whoever will stand still.

Younger cow fitted with a Calf Weaner

Most animals will self-wean themselves but occasionally a younger cow (two to three years of age) will steal milk from other cows. This would deprive the calf of milk so the offending animal is fitted with a hard plastic nose attachment called a Calf Weaner. The barbs will irritate the udder of the other cow and she will move off.
Part of checking calves is to determine if they have been hurt by their mother or the other cattle. Occasionally, the calves can be stepped on and have their legs broken. If you can find the break, it can be casted and the animal can still feed itself.

Casting allows the calf to suck on their own

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April 25, 2018April 25, 2018

NEPHEW OF A RCNVR HERO – PART TWO

HMCS Athabaskan G07 in Spitzbergen, Norway while on the Murmansk Run

The Murmansk Medal

(Jubilee Medal “Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945”)

(Russian Convoy Medal 1941-1945 40th Anniversary Medal)

Юбилейная медаль «Сорок лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941—1945 гг.»

Presented to William D. Trickett from USSR Ambassador to Canada Aleksei Alekseievich Rodionov on October 1, 1988. Along with all of the rest of Uncle Willie’s wartime memorabilia, his medals were probably sold off. A long term project of mine will be to track them down.

The Jubilee Medal “Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945” (Russian: Юбилейная медаль «Сорок лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941—1945 гг.») was a state commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on April 12, 1985 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR[1] to denote the fortieth anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The Jubilee Medal “Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945” was awarded to: all military and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces of the USSR who took part in the Great Patriotic War of 1941 – 1945, to partisans of the Great Patriotic War, to the personnel of the Armed Forces of the USSR, as well as any other persons who were awarded the Medal “For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945” or the Medal “For the Victory over Japan”; to home front workers, who were awarded for their dedicated work during the Great Patriotic War Orders of the USSR, the Medal “For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945”

In June 1941 Russia and Britain found themselves in alliance against Germany. As a result Britain agreed to supply the Soviet Union with material and goods via convoys through the Arctic Seas. The destinations were the northern ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. To reach them, the convoys had to travel dangerously near the German occupied Norwegian coastline.

After the war there were many commemorative medals issued by various governments, of these, only one was approved for wear with real medals, The Queen did approve the Russian “40th Anniversary of Victory in the Second World War” gong, and it so appears in the Canada Gazette. Known locally as the Murmansk medal because a number of RCN sailors on that convoy were eligible to receive one.

Medal Presentation card found in Uncle Willie’s Wartime Log

The Murmansk Run

(Narrative courtesy of Veterans Affairs Canada and the son of Jim L’Esperance who was a fellow sailor and POW with Uncle Willie. Leading Seaman L’Esperance also received this medal in 1988.)

Canada’s merchant navy was vital to the Allied cause during the Second World War. Its ships transported desperately needed equipment, fuel, goods and personnel to Europe and around the world. The very outcome of the war depended on the successful transport of troops and cargo by the sea. Although there were no safe havens for the merchant seaman, the greatest number of ships and men were lost on the North Atlantic routes and the notorious Murmansk Run.

In June of 1941, the German military launched an offensive against the Soviet Union. Political differences aside, it was determined by the Western allies that any nation warring with Germany should be considered an ally. As a result, agreements were reached to send much needed military equipment and lend-lease supplies to the Soviet Union in order to assist in their fight against the Germans. The Soviet Navy lacked the capacity to transport the massive amount of supplies, such as military equipment, vehicles and other raw materials, so much of the transport and convoy escort work was handled by the British, Canadians and Americans. The fastest (but most dangerous) supply route was through the Barents Sea in the Arctic Ocean to the Northern port city of Murmansk. This Arctic supply route became known as ‘The Murmansk Run’. Due to the great military and political significance of these shipments, the Germans fought hard to destroy them, and as a result, more than twenty percent of convoy cargo was lost on The Murmansk Run compared with only a six percent loss of cargo shipped to the Soviets through the Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf.

Convoys sailing along the northern tip of Norway and through the Barents Sea were exposed to one of the largest concentrations of German U-boats, surface raiders and aircraft anywhere in the world. Attacks by more than a dozen submarines and literally hundreds of planes at one time were common. Due to the high concentration of Germans patrolling the region, and the fear of being attacked by prowling German U-boats, strict orders were given that forbade any merchant ship from stopping for even a moment.

The consequences of these orders only reinforced the danger of the missions as individuals who fell overboard had to be ignored, and ships could not stop to help comrades in distress.

In addition to the German resistance, the voyage was made even more treacherous as Mother Nature routinely unleashed her fury across the cold Arctic Ocean. Many of the convoys sailed The Murmansk Run in the winter due to the almost constant darkness which helped to conceal the ships. This advantage proved to be only slight as other problems, such as greater amounts of polar ice, led to difficult navigation and forced the convoy route to move closer to German occupied Norway. The temperature was often far below zero and freezing winds from the North could easily reach hurricane force causing the waves to swell to heights in excess of seventy feet. At such temperatures, sea spray froze immediately to any exposed area of the ship, and created a heavy covering of tonnes of topside ice which could cause a ship to capsize if not cleared away. Binoculars, guns and torpedoes froze, and the decks were covered with a smooth coat of ice which made walking nearly impossible.

The supply shipments began in late Summer of 1941 and merchant mariners from Canada served on Canadian, British and American ships (as well as ships of other nationalities) to support the supply convoys to the Soviets. From 1941 to 1945, forty-one convoys sailed to Murmansk and Archangel carrying an estimated $18 billion in cargo from the United States, Great Britain and Canada. Among the millions of tons of supplies were an estimated 12,206 aircraft, 12,755 tanks, 51,503 jeeps, 1,181 locomotives, 11,155 flatcars, 135,638 rifles and machine guns, 473 million shells, 2.67 million tons of fuel and 15 million pairs of boots.

The Royal Canadian Navy became involved in convoy escorts in October 1943, and from that time until the end of the war Canadian warships participated in about three-quarters of the missions. Canadian ships involved in supporting the convoys included the destroyers Haida, Huron, Iroquois, Athabaskan, Sioux and Algonquin, and approximately nine frigates from Escort Groups 6 and 9. None of the Canadian ships were lost while escorting convoys on The Murmansk Run.

Canadian Navy personnel had little contact with the Russian people. Layovers in the Murmansk area were brief, and few officers and men were allowed ashore. However, it is interesting to note that the first Canada-Soviet hockey game was held during a stopover in 1945 when sailors from the destroyer HMCS Algonquin played an exhibition hockey game against Soviet personnel. It is believed that the Soviets won the game 3-2.

Despite the dangers and hardships faced by the convoys sailing The Murmansk Run, the Allies were unanimous in their desire to keep the Soviet Union in the fight. It was feared that if the Soviets were conquered, as the Russians had been in 1917, the Germans would focus the majority of their forces in the West.

Because of the strategic importance of these supply lines, fierce German resistance, and extreme weather conditions, the merchant mariners and Navy sailors that sailed their vessels on The Murmansk Run are considered some of the bravest veterans in history.

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April 23, 2018October 3, 2018

NEPHEW OF A RCNVR HERO – PART ONE

The Mystery of AB William Dearl Trickett, Stoker (1st Class)

Able Seaman William Dearl Trickett, RCNVR

Little did I know when I visited the local Legion in my home village of Kelwood, MB, that I would end up on a quest to uncover some military family history that would have soon passed into oblivion.

While sipping on my Club beer (it’s still horrible stuff), I was perusing the military memorabilia on the walls when to my great surprise, I saw the crest of my old Athabe (HMCS Athabaskan DDG 282) up on the wall with the date of the original HMCS Athabaskan G07’s sinking on it. A relative happened to be there who said it was from my old Great Uncle Willie. Unbeknownst to me, Able Seaman (AB) William Dearl Trickett, RCNVR, Stoker (1st Class), V38773 had served onboard HMCS Athabaskan G07! Due to the obvious Navy ties, I started my first inquiries with my parents. Mom said, oh yes, he was a Japanese POW and complained that his stomach was never the same after being interned. Well, they were about half a world off and the wrong Axis power, so I started hunting for actual documentation. He was onboard G07 when she went out for her final patrol April 28, 1944 and fortunately he didn’t perish with the other 128 men of his ship that night. Unfortunately, he ended up being part of the 83 men captured by the Germans and he spent the rest of the war in a POW camp, Marlag und Milag Nord. Of course, like most WWII vets, Willie never spoke of his experiences and might have easily taken them to the grave.

Of course, complicating matters as I continued to dig, his surviving son out in Victoria had financial issues and is estranged from the family. He must have liquidated his father’s possessions because I turned up an old Ebay ad for his Wartime Log (POW No. 1295 of Marlag und Milag Nord, Germany) and an original photo of G07. Command Post, a military memorabilia shop in Victoria, had sold the items on Dec 08, 2011 for $1165 and $24.49. Enquiries with the shop were a dead end. I started to track down organizations, outfits, and forums who would have some idea of who might have been interested in such items. My intention was to ask the present owner if they would be willing to part with the items especially the logbook. The log is an invaluable part of both my family and RCN history that IMHO shouldn’t be hidden away by some private collector.

I have slowly chipped away the layers of mystery surrounding the wartime record of my Uncle. It was a little difficult as the family had never received a Death Notice or Obituary on either he or my blood aunt who had resided in Saanich, BC. All I could find was a mention of the date of his passing in the Legion’s Last Post archives. I have the BC Genealogical Society helping me track down his final whereabouts plus I’ve sent a request to Ottawa for his Service Records. If any of you know Dr. André Levesque, he was kindly helping me also.

My ultimate intention with all of this sleuthing is to put together a proper narrative and memorial for presentation to Willie’s home Legion back in Kelwood especially in light of the upcoming 75th anniversary of the sinking next year. Every Remembrance Day people say the words ‘We will remember’ but they ring hollow if stories like my Uncles are lost. I’m glad I was part of the Athabaskan 282 Remembrance ceremonies for G07 when we were near the site of the wreck in 2015. I find it amazing that two related prairie boys from the same little hamlet ended up in the same spot with the same namesake ships.

So the hunt for the Wartime Log ended up being successful. An American collector had bought the Log from the Victoria shop and saw my Ebay ad and thankfully contacted me. He had sold it to another collector in Burbank, California and long story short, the fellow there sold the Log back to me for his purchase cost.

Now that I have the Log, I will be making scans of the material it contains available here on my blogs and on the For Posterity’s Sake webpage. Below is the start of the Log which I will post in its entirety with a description of each page.

For Christmas 1944, the YMCA gave every Canadian POW a Wartime Log

Signed by AB/ST R.A. Westaway, RCNVR Toronto, CAN, MARLAG(M) Germany March 4, 1945. AB Westaway would have been a friend doing a similiar job as Uncle Willie.

“Best Wishes Phil 1945” Possibly AB Russel E. Phillips, V926 of Ocean Falls, BC

The Edgar who did this was possibly Signalman William E. Connolly of Hamilton, Ont who was a fellow POW roommate.

‘G.W.W. Marlag M 1945’ This would have been fellow POW roommate Gerry Webster of Saskatoon, Sask. The men ‘Repatriated from Orleans’ were not members of G07 but were perhaps previously held in Orleans, France.

Kongelige Norke Marine – Royal Norwegian Navy. This is possibly a list of RNN sailors who perished during action or were Norwegian POWs at the same camp as Uncle Willie.

Var ere og var makt har hvite seil oss bragt – Be honest(?) and be power has white sail us brought. Alt for Norge – Everything for Norway. This would have been a Norwegian sailor POW. The signature appears to be ‘By Frobue(?)-Olsen POW 829.

Another entry from fellow POW barrack mate W.E. Connolly of Hamilton, Ont

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February 16, 2018

A HEALING SOLDIER

The Disconnect between Society and Our Veterans

It has been a familiar lament of soldiers throughout time that once the war is finished then society would rather forget about them. In many cases, they come home ill or injured, broken in body or spirit and the adjustment to a ‘normal’ civvy life outside of their military family is challenging.

In Canada, as of late, there have been a few feeble attempts in regards to lessening the pain incurred by a releasing member. The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has tried to mitigate the shock of the transition process with their Second Career Assistance Network (SCAN) program. During your duty hours, a service member can attend seminars and receive counselling on resume writing, interviewing, and where to search for jobs. The website du jour that gets pushed is LinkedIn, which in it’s time was probably more professional but has turned into just a more civil cousin of Facebook. The CAF’s efforts are better than nothing but is little more than kind of pointing you in the right direction. Remember, military personnel get moved so often that those personnel contacts that are so important when looking for work are typically absent. So in many cases, the member has to keep scanning electronic job boards ad nausea and fire off applications in the blind. All the legwork after release is upon the member who is dumped out with a few meagre tools in their job hunting toolbox.

Once a member has been released, they come under the auspices of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). At least VAC is listed as an agency to visit upon release so personnel can actually learn something about them and what they can offer for transition services. If you are undergoing a medical release with a pension attached, they’ll help administer getting the monies to you plus other services. If you’re somewhat able bodied, VAC is not much use to you. About all they can provide is up to a lifetime $1000 credit towards career service expenses such as professional resume writing or counselling. It will take some red tape and three to six months to be reimbursed but a few dollars to help with a polished resume is better than nothing. But unless you are really broken, you will not be talking to VAC again until you are looking at being put in a home.

The Government of Canada (GOC) tries to play a part in easing the process of military transition. They allow former military members to compete for internal advertised positions for up to two years after release. It is mostly a waste of time as there is already a handpicked nominee in mind when these advertisements go out. Either that or the process is so geared towards a specific person with a specific set of skills, that a service member doesn’t have a chance unless there is someone coaching them on what HR is looking for. The external GOC positions are also available and most say ‘Eligible veterans and CAF members may apply‘ but all that might get you is the fact that they will at least look at your resume. The entire process to be hired for a GOC job usually takes between 12 to 18 months. Again the positions are looking for specific civilian skill sets that most members would not have and many positions are just for an anticipatory hiring pool where no one may ever be hired. Plus, the HR process is out of touch between linking prospective job seekers with jobs they would be suited to. During the tests and interviews, there is no mention or askance of any skills that would actually be beneficial to the job in question. To illustrate this in an example, HMC Dockyard Halifax needs Sail loft/ Marine Survival Technician Apprentices to work at the Boat Shed. This job is tailor made for ex-RCN bosuns as that was their job onboard ship. But the written test administered was geared towards an officer worker as was the standardized interview. There was not even a question about, ‘Are you good working with your hands?’ The only useful thing about the GOC hiring process is it keeps a bunch of HR people on long term employment as it is next to useless for veterans.

Outside of GOC services there are a few organizations which try to help struggling veterans in transition. Canada Company, a non-profit started in 2006, has been linking up veterans and their spouses with industry through their Military Employment Transition program. Their site proclaims that they have had 2100 hires (in separate emails, they say 3000) since inception. Considering in the close to 12 years they have been around, about 60,000 Regular Force and 25,000 Reserve Force personnel have left the service, that was a re-hire rate of about 3.5%. Not a great track record but again better than nothing. The GOC must have gotten tired of their success rate or wanted to hire more civil servants because Canada Company is being shut down in favour of a contracted service, Agilec. This new GOC contract will just end up being a means to keep the HR company employed while being able to point to something to say, ‘Hey look! We’re taking care of those Vets!’ At least the old outfit was private and non-profit costing the taxpayer nothing. It also attempted to bridge the gap between military skill sets and the standardized civilian skills HR departments look for when they are screening applicants.

This is a huge challenge for ex-military members. There is no section on the computerized job application forms where you can translate all of the innumerable skills and courses that you have picked up over a military career. For example, how do you convey the concept of being in charge of the security of a ship and her company in foreign port where not only you are authorized to use deadly force but are able to order others to do so at your direction. Civilians are unable to comprehend the enormous amounts of responsibility placed upon even the most junior of members. Hence, the gravitas associated with military service will typically be glossed over or ignored.

A few Canadian companies proclaim to be ‘Veteran’ friendly and actually ask for self-identification during the initial application process. Typically, it is just a few ex-military folks who made it out in the civvy world and are trying to pay it back to their former comrades. The Old Boys and Girls club does try to look out for one another where and when they can. Networking will always be the best avenue to find the good jobs.

There are also a few contracted agencies or school programs here and there that will attempt to help a veteran with skills upgrades or to link them with prospective employers. Helmets to Hardhats will offer heavy equipment or construction courses at a discount and will help veterans hook up with employers. Prospect Human Services attempts to link up veterans with those elusive employers. But the problem with all these outfits that want to be helpful is the poor translation of former military abilities and skills to something a civilian employer can understand. In fact, the Prospect recruiters want you to dumb down your military career as it is too intimidating and your resume will be tossed. It seems redundant and demoralizing to go back to school for courses or to start at an entry level position to ‘fit’ civilian job specifications when the member already has years of similar experience.

This is why it is so difficult to find meaningful employment for a member who was in uniform for the mid to long term. The job hunting process is degrading enough especially to someone who had proudly served their country. Being in uniform means sacrifice, time away from family, multiple moves, and sometimes a cost to your body and mind. Finding a job after release is hard enough but to be told that all that military effort and training was for naught, well that is disappointing to say the least.

It is encouraging that there are plenty of good intentions on the part of the government and other Canadians. They just fall short when it comes to concrete results. Veterans are prone to higher incidences of mental and physical issues by default. They do not want handouts but they would like a hand up. Their unique sacrifices in the service of their country demand better results than the current status quo. This is why veterans are taking the GOC to Supreme Court over things like disability pensions and sexual misconduct and gender discrimination. It is why a group of veterans are camping on Parliament hill to raise awareness of the lack of progress in PTSD treatment programs. Veterans get a little irked when PM Trudeau comes out with gems like ‘You’re asking for more than the government can give.’ especially when he seems more concerned with re-integrating returning ISIS fighters. The Liberals have already argued in court that Canada has no ‘duty of care‘ to its veterans. If the PM doesn’t get it about veteran’s issues than how will the average Canadian understand what they are up against? A couple minutes of remembrance in November does not make up for the rest of the year that a veteran is suffering.

In the end, it only seems like it will be veterans looking after other veterans whether they meet at the Legion, the Clubhouse, or through other veteran run organizations. The military becomes your family and family is who you can really count on.

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Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.

February 13, 2018

PRAIRIE BOY

A teepee stands on Parliament Hill during Canada 150 celebrations in Ottawa on Saturday, July 1, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Justin Tang

Virtue Signalling is Going to Tear Canada Apart

Back in 2012, when Trayvon Martin was shot and killed, it was said that this was the point when America started going down a dark path of racial division. Outfits like Black Lives Matter and Antifa came into ascension. Cities such as Ferguson, Baltimore, and Charlottesville became synonymous with racism, hate speech, and white supremacy. There are running battles between masked activists and the authorities. The Police were made the scapegoats and supposedly the cause of much of the unrest. Cops are being hunted and ambushed while being accused of deliberately targeting and shooting Blacks. In general, tensions and polarization in the States have been brought to a boiling point. Statue removal, revisionist history, and virtue signaling are the tools of the Left while the Right is calling for Law and Order, security, and putting Americans First. Democrats are crybaby, Marxist snowflakes suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome. Republicans are misogynistic, Hitler loving, fascist Nazis. Toss in all the weapons available to the average American and it’s becoming a slippery slope towards another civil war. People are choosing sides and are becoming intransigent and ignorant with respect to other group’s views and life choices.

Canada may be seeing its own Trayvon Martin moment with the case of the shooting death of Colten Boushie during an altercation on Gerald Stanley’s property back on August 9, 2016. Considering the news coverage and how social media has blown up over the recent not guilty verdict, it would be redundant to rehash all the details of the incident and the resultant fallout. Here is CBC’s version of the witness statements for those of you unfamiliar with the pertinent details.

To begin with, there are a few virtue signaling points which should be highlighted:

Within the news coverage, it is frequently indicated that Mr. Boushie was a ‘Cree man’ while Mr. Stanley is just a farmer. Most people would agree that the two men should just be referred to as Canadians or perhaps just men. Why is race being hammered to begin with let alone just on one side?
Immediately upon hearing of the not guilty verdict, Prime Minister Trudeau and his Justice Minister Wilson-Raybould issued social media comments implying that the trial’s outcome was wrong and that the judge, defense counsel, and the non-Indigenous jury of seven women and five men came to a non-guilty verdict based on race. Politicians should never speak specifically about any case especially when there could be an appeal. Most people would call this political interference with the judicial process in order to game a desired outcome irrespective of the facts and accepted law.
Immediately upon the not guilty verdict, PM Trudeau, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould have taken meetings with members of Mr. Boushie’s family who have flown out to Ottawa. The family wants to talk about justice for their son and relative and how the jury system should be changed with respect to putting more Indigenous people into the system. Are the representatives advocating for self-defense rights or stand your ground legislation getting the same high level political access?
GoFundMe pages for both the Stanley and Boushie families have been set up. The media is calling the Stanley fund raiser a ‘scalp bounty‘ that’s being set-up by the Far Right. After the non-guilty verdict and the set up of the Stanley page, there was fire and fury to have it removed immediately. The Justice for Colten page set up on September 1, 2017 for the Boushie family has no reported detractors. It does however have the following statement, ‘We believe that Indigenous youth deserve safety and the ability to travel freely on these lands without fear of racism or persecution. We are not trespassers.‘ This seems to imply that Native youth are free to travel anywhere with impunity and with respect to the events of the day, drive around hammered, threaten, and destroy property with no consequences.

For the outsiders not familiar with Native issues especially in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, here are some items to help provide context to the tragedy that occurred on the Stanley farm back in 2016.

Nationally, Aboriginals are 2.8% of the population but are 18 % of the incarcerated population. In SK, MB and AB, these numbers skyrocket to 76%, 59%, and 38% respectively where the percentages of the Native population are about 11%, 11%, and 5%. Aboriginal Offender Statistics – 2013-08-15

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Integrated Correctional Services Survey and 2006 Census of Population.

The incarceration rate of Aboriginals, as illustrated in the diagram above regarding SK statistics is off the charts.

The incarceration rate of Aboriginals, as illustrated in the chart above regarding AB statistics seems to be directly related to their level of education and employment status. Northern reserves have a particularly difficult time attracting long term teachers that understand the culture. Student retention through to high school is also a challenge with many students having to travel to Southern locales to finish their education. Reserves also have notoriously high unemployment rates.
Aboriginal numbers for prison populations, suicides, substance abuse, disease, employment, overcrowding, single parent families, legal and police interventions, you name it are all substantially higher than that of the general Canadian population. This is particularly true for SK, MB, and AB. Sources – Backgrounder: Aboriginal Offenders – A Critical Situation (2013-09-16) & Aboriginal Peoples: Fact Sheet for Saskatchewan (2016-03-14)
There are no specific numbers related to the crime in the Red Pheasant First Nation area but Statistics Canada 2011 numbers were: 43 per cent of Red Pheasant residents were unemployed, compared with 6.7 per cent in its entire census division; household income on the reserve in 2010 was $19,091, compared with $60,434 everywhere else; and a large swath of the reserve’s residents lack education. This would indicate that according to SK stats and studies that there would be a higher likelihood of increased crime in the area.

So it would seem fairly obvious that Natives are having a rough go of things, especially in the Prairies. They get arrested frequently and fill the Prairie prisons. A good part of it is just being wicked. But a good part of it is being placed in a situation where you have little other than wickedness for your life path. You would think that successive governments since the beginning of Confederation 150 years ago may have done something by now to address a festering problem that only seems to be getting worse. Instead, the latest tactic has been to virtue signal that colonialism was bad, white people committed genocide against the Natives, any actual programs of the past were only done in the spirit of assimilation, and the Natives cannot be held accountable for their lawless actions. This backwards looking view is not going to move us forward as a nation that wants to reconcile with our Native populations.

Meanwhile, the people on the frontlines on or near the Reserves and the interface between the inner city Native ghettos on the Prairies have been dealing with a group of people who are difficult to manage. Below are examples from over many decades of the types of behavior reported to be commonplace amongst groups of Natives:

Nurses in Northern MB would report that Native mothers would purposely get their children sick by placing gas soaked rags over their faces. This would happen on Fridays and they would get a flight out to a nearby town with a hospital. Baby would be kept for a night or two and mom would head to the bar to party. Child abuse happens regardless of race but these instances were tied to Natives.
Indian Affairs personnel would come across instances where Natives did not care about damaging their government provided housing or equipment. There are plenty of stories of knocking holes in the outside wall for the horses to drink out of the tub or ripping up parts of the house to burn for heat. It is easy enough to find a Reserve with burnt out shells of houses or yards full of dilapidated, rusting cars and garbage. Again, apathy and shiftlessness happens concurrently with high unemployment and people living on the dole. It’s where ‘white trash’ and trailer parks got their derogatory reputations from.
Anyone who has been around Natives has seen the devastating effects that alcohol has on them. The racist term connected with a drunk Indian is a ‘Chug’. Too many of them will drink cheap liquor, huff gas, sniff glue, etc. Unfortunately, in too many cases this excessive behavior leads to violence and death. Substance abuse is not obviously just a Native issue, take a stroll around Main and Hastings in Vancouver some time, but quite a few Reserves try to remain ‘dry’ just to keep the alcohol related incidents down.
If you speak to law enforcement, they will tell you of the crime, abuse, and violence that occurs every day on Reserves much of which never gets reported. For example, on a MB Reserve up North, an RCMP officer stated that as long as an assault didn’t involve a gun but say only a knife, then they didn’t even bother writing it up. Violence crosses all boundaries though. Many husbands in the MB Mennonite population have this idea that punching your wife is only a bad thing after five or six times.

There’s no sugar coating the mess that has been created with the Canadian Aboriginal population. They have been labelled as ne’er-do-wells and in many cases earned the characterization. It is difficult to bounce back from hundreds of years of stigma and scorn. Commentators on the Stanley case say that it is high time to update the 100 year jury selection process in order to better reflect populations in the area where an incident occurs. Instead, how about Canadian governments update the 1876 Indian Act which has only ever seen two major updates, the last being in 1985? Trudeau has made some progress in the two years after accepting all of the recommendations of Truth and Reconciliation report which took five years to complete. But the Liberal government’s handling of the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Public Inquiry has been a shambles with calls to scrap it and start over. Talk, talk, talk for hundreds of years. It’s no wonder Canadian Indigenous peoples are getting frustrated with the lack of progress. They are trying their best to hold onto their culture, traditions, and some of their original land and hunting grounds. Meanwhile, it just seems as if indignity after indignity is heaped upon them.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe of all the politicians weighing in on the Stanley trial has had one of the best responses. He acknowledged that the province would respect the judicial process. He also stated that it was time to have those ‘difficult’ discussions. These difficult discussions include talking about what’s wrong with Indigenous societies. Unfortunately, when the ‘Politically Incorrect’ speak about such issues, such as Senator Lynn Beyak, they get shouted down, shunned, and shamed. Read some of the letters of support over her views regarding Residential Schools. Her detractors would have you believe that she was on par with a ‘Holocaust Denier’. All sides can share some blame but incidents like these should show the Canadian community that it needs to come together towards common solutions. Rural farmers should not have to feel threatened because they see a van full of young Natives driving up to their property. Young Natives should not think it is acceptable to get hammered out of their minds and wreak havoc outside the Reserve. Instead, governments and communities need to work towards common goals and solutions to address the underlying issues that have never been dealt with.

What Canada really doesn’t need is politicians like Trudeau and his ministers splitting us all into polarized camps with their politically correct virtue signaling. Canada doesn’t need another Oka or more devastated families.

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Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.

February 12, 2018

CATTLE RANCHER

Humans are conditioned to the ‘looks’ of their food hence this hamburger is icky.

Food Nostalgia is Killing the Poor

In Lee Iococca’s Autobiography, he tells a ditty about how his wife’s hamburgers just cannot compete with the burgers made in the company’s kitchen. When he asked about this discrepancy, the head chef told him the secret was the chefs would grind up top grade sirloin for the CEO’s dining pleasure.

I recommend this great, honest article from Chris Newman who is in the boutique farm business. If you’re rich enough to afford Kobe beef every night or to grind up sirloin steak for hamburger, of course you’re going to turn your nose up at a McDonald’s cheeseburger. But there’s a saying, ‘If your belly is full and I’m hungry, you won’t understand me.’ Society has come to the point where the vast majority of people have lost the ability to know what food is supposed to taste like or the effort needed to produce it. Many people miss food coming from the neighbor farmer up the road but their zeal for the ‘old’ ways is hampering how the other 99% of the world is going to feed itself.

BTW, to all the vegan, non-meat, we’ll feed everyone with lentil types, don’t even bother reading or responding to my writing. Protein from animals is part of a healthy diet and it’s in farmer’s best interests to treat them well. Take your new age crap elsewhere.

Ground Beef – Ideally from pastured, grass fed, no growth hormone or antibiotic, kosher, super lean, natural, organic, certified humane, never fed ‘animal’ feed, petted twice daily, sold from a stand at a Farmer’s Market, minimum aged three weeks Black Angus cattle. Only 3X normal price and full of E. coli because there was never any Health Inspection!

The ‘Pink Slime’ case was a good example of the ickiness factor and the evils of mass negative publicity. Here was a splendid innovation of technology reducing waste to create a perfectly healthy protein source. Instead, ABC creates a sensationalist story using ‘Pink Slime’ as the derogatory visual hook followed up with ammonia as the bogeyman. Thankfully, the company sued Disney, the parent company of ABC, and won a sizeable settlement to help compensate their losses.

Through mass marketing and conditioning, the masses are habituated to accept visual stimuli when it comes to food. Apples are supposed to be red or green. Carrots are orange. Salmon is pink. Fish farmers would rather not feed their fish synthetic dye (it costs extra money) to colour the meat but people won’t buy salmon that looks like haddock. Gluten-free labelling is now equated with being good for you. The same goes for the Anti- GMO Project fear labels. It’ll be interesting to see how the new Arctic apple fares now that it is on the market. The anti-GMO types will be fear mongering that it will give your child a third eye. But the farmer who created the product did so partly to reduce all the waste created from apples being tossed due to discolouration or bruising. Even the marketing of the apple pre-sliced and bagged, although very wasteful, has been done because research says kids eat more apples that way. ‘Baby carrots’ led a huge resurgence in the eating of carrots by using this strategy.

The world as a whole needs continuing research into technology that creates better methods of preserving, creating, and transporting foodstuffs. For the Western world, we have eliminated ‘seasons’ when it comes to variety and availability. It is cheaper to transport fish from Europe to Manitoba then to actually catch the fish in Lake Winnipeg. You can store apples in a CO2 environment for 2–3 years. Agronomists have created ‘Golden Rice’ that would probably eliminate Vitamin A deficiency caused childhood blindness in the Third World. It is an exciting time for agriculture and if the Luddite food nostalgic types would get out of the way, then farmers could go about their business of feeding everyone.

It would be nice if everyone was able to know the taste of an apple straight off the tree, the juiciness of a grass-fed T-bone, fresh corn out of your garden, or the novel taste of wild meat. But that’s not been reality ever since the world’s population started shooting up and we moved from an agrarian society to an industrial one. If the 2% of the population that feeds the West decided to quit, all the townies would starve in a couple of months. It’s a fact that mass farming and modern methods are the only way such a small section of society is going to be able to feed the rest.

Meanwhile, if you want that animal humane, organic, heritage food, label everything and you can afford it, go right ahead. Most of that is marketing hype anyways that is separating fools from their money. It is also creating mass neuroses in the population with regards to what they should be feeding their families. California is requiring carcinogenic warning labels on coffee now of all things. It is time to stop spreading the deliberate lies and fear mongering about perfectly good food and methods of production.

All it does is keep empty bellies emptier.

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Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.

February 8, 2018

A FATHER’S DAUGHTER

Daughters, Worlds Apart

I recently read an interesting article entitled ‘Sex is Sex. But Money Is Money.‘ The short story centers on a young 24 year old female Russian immigrant, Svetlana Z, who supposedly has quit the New York City escort business after a 5 year run. She goes into detail about how she became a self-employed prostitute, her life while turning tricks, and where she is at now. I couldn’t help comparing her life’s path with that of my own daughter’s and how their two tales are a metaphor for everyone’s decisions on which life paths we will ultimately follow.

This article is an interesting insight into a murky part of the world that typifies the depravity of chasing money. It’s an insight into how damaging it is to the human psyche when people worship the All Mighty Dollar as their pagan god. I mean no disrespect or judgement but this article could just as easily been a cautionary tale titled, ‘Confessions of Those Who Sold Their Souls’. Svetlana and the people she had as clients had holes figuratively and literally to fill in their lives. They tried to fill those holes with soulless wads of cash. Didn’t work.

I too have a 24 year old daughter. They are both intelligent women, my daughter has a degree in Aeronautical Engineering and Svetlana ran a successful escort service. Both her and Svetlana are pretty and built about the same. My daughter’s blonde hair doesn’t come from a bottle and her physique comes from playing team sports like hockey, roller derby, and baseball. She doesn’t have to pay a personal trainer to motivate her to stay thin, she has supportive friends, teammates, and colleagues. She eats a well-rounded diet with a higher caloric intake then that of a bird. My daughter already has her degree and didn’t have to literally prostitute herself to gather enough money to educate herself. Instead of jerking men off as a young girl she applied her talents and work ethic to school, sports, and Air Cadets. She, like Svetlana, also didn’t want to stay tied to the town she grew up in. This was mainly because many of her female contemporaries that did stay just gave up on life to become pot smoking party girls who had dumbed themselves down to attract a man. At the age of 24, she didn’t have to have sex with hundreds of men to be making $100,000/year at this point. She is able to show her face in public pictures and she has no need to put up slutty photos of her labia. I won’t be publishing a photo of my daughter connected to this discussion. Svetlana’s photos in her story are intended to attract certain types of men. My daughter’s image will not be available for that type of consumption.

My daughter also doesn’t have to lie to her father about where her money comes from. She’s proud of her future as a pilot and military officer. She’s proud of her boyfriend. She surrounds herself with ambitious, talented dreamers who apply themselves. She is happy with herself.

Contrast that with Svetlana, who is broken at the age of 24. I doubt she’ll ever have a true, loving relationship. She might heal herself with time but the lure of easy money could easily drag her back into the escort lifestyle with the first rough patch she hits. It’s interesting how she slags Illinois in her writing. It’s a well-worn chestnut but home is where the heart is. Sure, there are nice places to live but if you have to sell your soul to be there, it’s not worth it. To be honest, I felt that NYC had no soul compared to other cities I’ve visited around the world. It was just big but for me, full of emptiness. To think that the Big Apple is the be all and end all of existence is just as empty as the mindless, endless pursuit of money by all those lonely bankers and Svetlana.

There’s a reason the older bankers were using her services. They were using up the last of their spark. They were coming to the end of the road and realized there was nothing. Money was all they had and all they knew. It could get them a moment or two of pleasure. Of course, they would plead to have Svetlana as a kept woman. At least she’s smart enough and had enough self-respect to realize that she might as well have been a bought and paid for Animatronic sex doll if she had taken one of those offers. Sure, you would have a comfortable life but an empty, soulless one just like the city she lived in. (Just to be clear, I’ll couch my opinion of NYC being soulless with the fact that there are plenty of soulless people inhabiting its boroughs. Similar to Toronto, the city has oases of vibrant life but contains too many dead zones IMHO.)

Svetlana describes an immigrant’s perverted, twisted vision of the American Dream and capitalism. She described how she initially instinctively shied away from easy money for sex. She doesn’t say how young she was when she got to America but I would guess too young for a girl to be off on her own just on the strength of a phone number. It’s a good example of why parenting is so important. My daughter didn’t come from a privileged family with money opening doors for her. She did come from parents who were strong in their support and encouragement. She got to where she is all on her own. Svetlana also got to where she is all on her own but can’t show her face and is trying to pick up the shattered pieces to live a ‘normal’ life.

Chasing money is an empty lie. Much of the West and particularly in America, people are lured into this lie and forget how to live an honest, happy life. That’s why Svetlana doesn’t understand the magic of a baseball triple or why men will brag about their children. She will probably never know the magic of making love to a person you truly love. You can’t buy any of the stuff that truly matters in life. Maybe Svetlana will figure that out sooner than later and not be a washed out husk by the time she’s 40 or less. There’s no need to be publishing photos such as those in her articles if she’s trying to get out of the sex business. It’s her hook that she’s known for so long, she won’t give it up.

This ‘Tale of Two Cities’ or daughters is an interesting contrast in the choices we all face. Do we chase love or money? Do we sell our souls for an ‘easy’, glamorous life or ‘settle’ for a humdrum one? Is it possible to just sell a little bit of my soul and walk the line?

To quote the immortal Robert Frost, ‘(My daughter) took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.’

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Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.

February 6, 2018February 6, 2018

RURAL MANITOBAN

Flin Flon is the only Canadian town to be named after a science fiction character

The Great White North, eh?

Let’s talk about the North Country for a minute. What brings a person like my brother or cousins to places like Flin Flon, MB or Fort Mac, AB? Short answer, the money to begin with. That’s how these boom and bust communities wax and wane in the first place. It’s sad to see communities shut down when the mine peters out, the price of lumber topples, or the plug simply gets pulled on the town. I’ve seen a couple of places that used to be vibrant become ghost towns. Tahsis, BC on Vancouver Island which used to be a mill town. Church Point, which used to be a Native reserve and the inhabitants got moved into Campbell River. They just become decaying corpses with no soul when the people leave. But there are thousands of tiny little Canadian communities hanging on when the people should have left long ago. What makes men and women want to embrace this challenging part of the world? What is the indefinable pull that keeps them in the Land of snow, cold and in the summer, bugs? Even if you went back thousands of years, what kept the Native people from moving further South to what were surely better living conditions?

To answer my rhetorical questions, you could start by chatting with those lovable Newfies about that large rubber band that keeps snapping them back to the Rock. If you’ve never had the privilege to visit Newfoundland, I highly encourage every Canadian to do so. Just do it during the summer and watch out for those damn moose! Personnel anecdote here, if you go during the late fall during hunting season, those moose get pretty scarce. The rest of the time, they’ll come visiting up onto your bridge (Newfie for deck). But just like Canada’s North, the Rock has a horrible climate, it’s tough to grow anything, and you’re isolated from the rest of civilization let alone the rest of Canada. Plus, if you stay long enough, you develop a funny accent, everyone makes jokes about you, and you’ll get this overwhelming urge to play ‘Chase The Ace’!

My belief is these isolated areas allow people the chance to cultivate a spirituality and connection to the land or some may say, Mother Nature. It’s definitely a love/hate relationship. You either love the cold and get out on your sled to check the trapline or you cocoon and just throw a few more logs on the fire. You build a backyard rink, skate until your feet freeze, warm up and stupidly head out for a few more laps. You pit yourself against Mother Nature and learn in a hurry that she’s boss and will not hesitate to kick your ass. But, if you’re respectful of her power, she’ll tolerate you and let you live another day.

Northern Canada is hard living. But it’s good, honest living for those people who embrace and thrive under some of the most challenging conditions on the planet.

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Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.