Fast - Fresh - Relevant

Website updated on Wednesdays.

Editorial

In The News

GRASS  ROOTs

Community
Community
Celebrations
PSA
Notices

Click for our
Favourite
Halloween
Costumes!

Oct 28, 2007
Oct 21, 2007
Oct 14, 2007
Oct 7, 2007
Sept 30 2007
Sept 23 2007
Sept 16 2007
Sept 09, 2007
Sept 02, 2007
Aug 26, 2007
Aug 19,2007
Aug 12, 2007

Masthead


Advertiser
information

Great Deals for Our Advertisers!

Advertisers!
Absolutely your best value to have your messages and specials noticed!

Lowest price!
Highest readership!

Booking
Christmas &
New Year now!

Call Sara
at 944-5353 for
your best advertising solution!

CONTRIBUTOR
information

Atlantic Mayors Congress participants: (back to front and left to right) Mayor Leo Abbass of Happy Valley - Goose Bay, Mayor Charles Pender of Corner Brook, Warden Fred Whalen, Municipality of Kings County NS, Deputy Mayor Bob Wrye of Wolfville NS, Mayor Basil Stewart of Summerside PEI, Mayor David Hanson of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick - Rexton, NB, Mayor Billy Joe MacLean of Port Hawkesbury NS, Mayor Norm McFarlane of Saint John NB, Mayor Clifford Lee of Charlottetown PEI, Mayor Wayne Ruth of Kippens, Deputy Mayor Nora Davidson-Wright of Frederickton NB, Mayor Lorne Mitton of Moncton NB, Mayor Graham Letto of Labrador City, and Mayor Jim Farrell of Wabush. Photo: Peter Genge

LABRADOR WEST WELCOMES ATLANTIC MAYORS
Unanimous support on Trans Labrador Highway

Labrador West welcomed mayors from across Atlantic Canada this weekend for the 6th Annual Atlantic Mayors Congress, visiting Labrador for the first time.

Representation came from all four provinces and included communities as small as Kippens and as large as the greater Halifax area. In addition to the work that will have been accomplished this weekend, host mayor, Graham Letto of Labrador City, looked forward to the opportunity to showcase the region to these Atlantic province representatives.

Said Letto, “I welcome my fellow mayors from throughout Atlantic Canada to Labrador City. While we’ll be very busy with a full agenda, I expect they will find time to get to know and enjoy the special character of this unique part of Atlantic Canada.”

That agenda included numerous items of pan-Atlantic interest. The Atlantic Gateway concept hopes to ensure greater economic growth by focusing attention on the transportation links provided through the Atlantic provinces. Marine, train, road, and air service all enjoy a strong east-west tradition. At this conference, mayors from northern regions, communities like Labrador City, Wabush, and Happy Valley - Goose Bay, will be able to expand on Atlantic’s north-south potential, from the eastern seaboard, to Canada’s north, and even on to the other circumpolar nations.

Infrastructure, and the funds to build new infrastructure to support that transshipment potential, remains a significant challenge for communities. The “One Cent Now” proposal would see a one-cent share of the GST directed toward infrastructure. The Building Canada Fund announced by the federal government hasn’t yet been fully explained or implemented with all provinces, but has the potential to fund numerous infrastructure projects. Both these plans received regional attention through a community-based lens during the conference.

The conference also allowed regional issues that are yet to be addressed by other levels of government, or have fallen through the programming cracks, to be held up for regional attention and support through the larger voice of the many communities represented acting in concert. With the meetings here in Labrador West, Mayor Graham Letto tabled a resolution to make the completion of the Trans Labrador Highway a priority for the Atlantic region.

After Letto’s description of the situation, a major artery -- the area’s only road link -- that doesn’t receive federal national highway funding, despite a promise by the current Prime Minister, his resolution was tabled.

“Whereas both the government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the government of Canada have committed to the completion of the Trans Labrador Highway, and Whereas the Government of Canada in 2005 made the Trans Labrador Highway part of the National Highway System and in 2006 committed $50M toward this project: Therefore, be it resolved that the Atlantic Mayors Congress ask the government of Canada to release the $50M promised to the government of Newfoundland and
Labrador for the completion of this highway.”

The resolution passed unanimously.

Noted the mayors, the need to revisit this issue again and again should have become an embarrassment to the Government of Canada. As a symbol of their united resolution to finally see action on this vital link in the region’s transportation, the mayors had their photo taken standing lined off across the roadway.

The weekend continued with visits to local tourism destinations, discussion of federal investment - or the lack of - in Marine Atlantic ferry service, and the newly-formed Atlantica Council, and their impact on the Atlantic province’s municipalities.

• Peter and Ngaire Genge
 

Russell says he’s ready for anything on the Hill these days.
Photo: Sara Stagg

MP TODD RUSSELL CONCERNED BY THRONE SPEECH
Still nothing for Labrador in this document: Russell

October 21, 2007 - Labrador MP Todd Russell isn’t anxious to endure a third election campaign -- in the winter -- for a third year in a row, but, he says, it’ll be a challenging time in the House of Commons with political jockeying often “getting in the way of good goverance.”

Obviously, Russell would prefer to represent Labrador from the government side of the chamber, but, he’s reasonably sure that there will be no election call in the next few months, and hopes all his Commons colleagues will turn their attention to simply getting work done.

Says Russell, “I would campaign again if I had to, of course, but, really, I just want to get down to it and have some stability around here, make progress where we can, and represent our constituents, in Labrador and Canada as a whole, to the best of our current ability. Right now, we’re in opposition, and there is a role for opposition members to play.”

Personally, Russell feels the whole election question is more of a media bubble than a high risk reality.

“Let’s face it, no government has ever fallen on a throne speech,” says Russell. “By nature, they are broad, vague statements and contain nothing we’ve not discussed at an earlier time.”

Bringing down governments, Russell believes, should be reserved for those issues so demanding, of such national import, that there is no other choice.

“Should that issue come along, then, yes, hit the campaign trail, but, until then, our role is to temper the more extreme policies, to shift it toward policy more beneficial to our constituents,” says Russell. “It shouldn’t be lost on anyone that the only person who might want an election is the Prime Minister. If not, in a minority government, he should be somewhat accommodating, and I think that benefits the nation.”

On the content of the Throne Speech, Russell admits to difficulty with several areas that impact Labrador.

“First of all, and most importantly, I want to juxtapose the Throne Speech against the pre-election promises already made to the region,” says Russell. “Although there’s more discussion of the Building Canada infrastructure fund, again, there are no indicators that there is any applicability here. We still have nothing more than broken promises on the Trans Labrador Highway file, no action, nothing in the throne speech that they’ll live up to the full commitment they promised.”

With Premier Williams and Prime Minister Harper best noted for their seeming inability to speak a civil word to one another, the Throne Speech’s talk of improved federal-provincial relations is ringing pretty hollow to Russell.

“In the Throne Speech, Harper talks about strengthening our relations. Well, while the rift is not one-sided, it was the Prime Minister’s broken election commitments which have contributed to the current tense relations,” says Russell. “By changes to the equalization formula and Atlantic Accord, this province stands to lose billions -- Williams is right about that. That’s a lot to come back from. Cutting a deal with Nova Scotia, and not even talking to this province, there’s nothing there to indicate reconciliation.”

Continues Russell, “I have deep concerns about proposed federal spending limits on those issues they continue to think are provincial responsibilities.”

He points to the TLH as it exists today. While not the road the region wants, it is a road and 80% of its funding came from Ottawa.

“Labrador has benefitted by such federal infusions in the past,” says Russell. “The country as a whole benefits from a national view of transportation. Look at our great national plans, things like medicare, and how they benefit the whole country. I believe there’s a role for a strong federal government with a national vision that includes Labrador. A narrow vision doesn’t benefit Labrador. On issues like learning and early child care programs, on a national pharmacare program, and many more, we all benefit from a broad, national plan for supporting people.”

While Labrador has mining and forestry and other resources, it continues to have a strong dependence on the fishery and, notes Russell with deep concern, “The word ‘fishery’ came up exactly once in this Throne Speech. Our province is still a province based muchly on the fishery. Yes, oil and gas, and mining, but, the fishery is the heart of many communities’ reality and there’s no evidence of concern for that reality in this Throne Speech.”

Russell ties fisheries and sovereignty -- a much talked about issue in the Throne Speech -- to numerous issues in Labrador.

“They talk about Arctic sovereignty, but, their vision seemingly does not include Labrador, a Coast Guard presence, or 5-Wing Goose Bay,” says Russell. “On Arctic sovereignty, they talk in terms of arctic rangers and reservists. That’s not what was committed to in Goose Bay. They have no vision of regular forces in Goose Bay and no vision of the role Goose Bay has to play in Arctic sovereignty. They seem to have no concept of our geographic location, in the north, in Labrador, in the Arctic!”
He points to the recent disaster that saw the barge Franklin coming out of the Arctic, wrecking on our coast, and the complete lack of Coast Guard or other presence to assist in that scenario -- or any other scenario off our coast -- situations for which “a Labrador-based Coast Guard platform and 5-Wing Goose Bay are ideally situated to manage.”

Says Russell, “What we’re hearing from this government is that seabed mapping in the Arctic will be a sovereignty activity -- to understand the Arctic dimensions. That is an act of sovereignty as I can see, but, they cancelled the Coast Guard in Labrador, which was primarily supposed to be charting and photographing, and mapping the sea bed! They have no vision of Labrador, of Goose Bay, in Arctic sovereignty. Bagotville, however, is being touted as an example of our Arctic sovereignty effort!”
Our lack of a response to the barge sinking, suggests Russell, with no Coast Guard and no response, is only the tip of the problem as increased traffic flows up and down our coast line. That, he points out, also has implications for custodial management issues off the nose and tail of the Grand Banks and for environmental issues like at-sea dumping off the Labrador coast

“All of these issues are sovereignty issues,” says Russell. “Our basic ability to ensure the safety of our environment, to manage its resources, and protect its land and people. If the plan for the Coast Guard platform had gone ahead, we would have those abilities,” says Russell. “Instead, we’ve lost two whole years from a position the current government is now saying is a priority.”

In other areas of the Throne Speech, Russell says there are more issues he’d like to have seen addressed in some way.

“Nothing new for aboriginal people. There are changes to the EI account, from a managerial perspective, which will impact a lot of people in the communities of Labrador and the Atlantic area generally,” says Russell. “As I said, the Throne Speech is really meant to be a rather vague document, but there are indicators that there could be problematic issues for this region. I would like to let them know that Labrador is in the north -- and has a role to play. On Afghanistan, I believe their intention is to stay there in a military role beyond 2011, and I don’t know that is what Canadians want. There was nothing to fight poverty. Where were the affordable housing, literacy, and those types of initiatives.”

While not ready to bring down a government on its Throne Speech, Russell says, “My overall message here is that the devil will be in the details. The picture as is doesn’t look great for Labrador, but, we intend to be an effective opposition to a minority government, to produce things for Canadians, and for Labrador. We’ll be pushing them to live up to their election commitments. They’re not ‘Canada’s New Government’ anymore. There’s a grace period, yes, I gave them six months, but, nearly two years later, there’s nothing being fulfilled.”

• Ngaire Genge
 

Jim Baker greets supporters at O'Brien Hall following election close.
Photo:  Peter Genge

LABRADOR WEST PART OF CONSERVATIVE TSUNAMI
Jim Baker back with majority of popular vote

October 14, 2007 -- In a wave that saw the provincial opposition -- official or otherwise -- reduced to just four seats, Jim Baker returns as the Member for Labrador West. With 50.8% of the vote, polling 2204 votes, Baker battled off the joint forces of the New Democrats and the Labrador Party for the victory. Even with the support of the Labrador Party, Darrel Brenton finished 356 votes behind. Liberal Karen Oldford, with 287 votes, was clearly squeezed out in the perceived two-party race.

Following the poll results, Baker said he was “Absolutely delighted, very pleased, especially with the support from Wabush, taking three of the five polls there, and coming close in the others.”

There’s no official word on when the Houses of Assembly will sit again, says Baker.
“We have a caucus meeting in St. John’s next week. We’ll be going over the new regulations since Justice Green’s report and that legislation has come into effect,” says Baker. “We’ll go over all that new policy, and then see what the schedule is following that.”

One of the questions that session may answer is whether or not the MHA will have a constituency office in the region. While Baker says he’s always accessible at his home, he acknowledges that having an office open with regular hours makes it easier for constituents to make an appointment or just walk in when concerns arrive.

“We’ll know more about how that can function under the new system following the meetings,” he says. “In the meantime, though, residents should feel free to bring me their concerns anyway. I encourage them to do just that, to better answer all their needs.”

Elected in a general election this time around, Baker now looks forward to four years in which to make change in the district.

“It’s a good feeling,” he says. “Knowing you have a mandate, and the time to make the most of that mandate. At the end of that time, I hope to see a first class highway across Labrador. Within three years, I hope to see a state-of-the-art hospital with many services beyond what we have today.”

In addition to the large scale issues, Baker hopes to influence policy regarding high rents and affordable housing. Baker says this was a key issue at the doors as he campaigned through the region.

“The 10-unit project slated for Labrador City is a start, and I hope to see more private investment, more public-private partnerships, so lower-income earners can have more affordable housing, and there can be a variety of housing types” says Baker.
He’s also concerned about the continued high cost of air travel.

“I really don’t see how the airlines can claim to need such high rates for the average person when they’re giving 80% of the people a discounted rate -- and, if you work for the mines, it’s not just once a year travel. If they can offer $700 for 80% of the people, why not everyone? If the airlines can make a profit on those corporate people who can travel as much as they want, and can change plans whenever they want with no penalties, I can’t see why everyone can’t get the same deal.”

While he can’t change airline policy, he does hope to see change on the areas MHAs can affect. “The pay up front policy for medical care expenses just doesn’t work for low-income people, especially when there’s a long wait time for reimbursement. I hope to bring some common sense to that process and push for more flexibility in how that plan is administered. If we’re going to reimburse these costs after the fact, it only makes sense -- where the financial need exists -- to make it an up-front process on government’s behalf. As well, we have to explain the needs of Labradorians travelling for medical care so that the services are available when they get there, and they aren’t told ‘Sorry, come back next week’ or get told to stay the extra day because service is backed up.”

Expanded service at the new CONA campus is, he says, also high on his list of priorities.

“We need follow up on the new apprenticeship courses, to ensure their block training can be done here, and that the range of trades is expanded,” says Baker. “Try finding a carpenter or a plumber in the region today!”

Baker knows there are a lot of challenges in the region and says, “Some need immediate work, some will take longer to resolve. There are some things government controls directly -- like increasing wages for home care workers, and others over which we really don’t have control, like the price of buying a house.”

What he hopes to do, he says, is bring the stakeholders themselves together to encourage them to represent their needs so he can become involved.

“I want to be involved, I want to try to the best of my ability to resolve the issues in our region, to assist people on a one-to-one or larger scale,” says Baker. “It’s that part of the work that I most enjoy.”

While the Progressive Conservative win in the province was expected, the turnout in Labrador West wasn’t. After what appeared to be a brisk day at the polls, only 4339 residents cast votes, down 629 votes from the last general election in 2003 when 4968 votes were cast. That participation should be so low, after a period of profound population growth, startled all three candidates and a number of theories have been put forward to account for the evaporation of voters.

“Voter apathy, or anger,” suggests the Liberal’s Karen Oldford. “People were fed up and couldn’t seem to muster up any enthusiasm for the process.

Says the NDP’s Darrel Brenton, “It’s hard to say. The vote we identified, we got out. There were a lot of people who said they were undecided, so that may have been a reason not to vote at all.”

Ron Barron of the Labrador Party, who withdrew from the race in order not to split the vote that might unseat the incumbent PC candidates in Labrador, didn’t see the 600+ members migrate directly to the NDP campaign as he’d hoped. Had they, the math suggested Brenton would have had enough support to come out on top.

“I know some of our members were disappointed that we didn’t run a local candidate,” he says. “They may not have voted, but, the majority I’ve spoken with agreed with the Party’s decision and said they would be at the polls.”

Although unsuccessful this time around, the NDP and Liberal candidates have both said they’ll be back next time. So, too, does Barron on behalf of the Labrador Party -- though their focus may be different.

For Karen Oldford, the results of Tuesday’s election weren’t just personally disappointing.

Says Olford, ““Going door to door, talking to people, I thought the results would be very positive for me this time around, so that was a bit of a surprise, but, I don’t think at any time that a sweep like that is good for democracy. In order for a government to work well, you need an effective opposition, that needs a lot more than four people. Their question time is even based on how many people are in the party. It forces the media and the public to become part of the opposition. It’s not good, because Danny Williams is just a man. He puts his pants on one leg at a time like everyone else. I don’t put anyone on a pedestal. I don’t believe in it.”

She remains happy with the work she did during the campaign and takes great satisfaction from being a part of the process.

“I was able to bring out the issues around health and education, and the Trans Labrador ‘Trail.’ I am sure that I am more well-known in the community now, and people understand I am passionate about the issues,” says Oldford.

She’s looking forward to building on that in the future. “I think I was appealing more to the youth and to the new people in the community, who didn’t know the candidates and were going by the debates.”

The next four years is, she says, an opportunity. “I will continue to be the same active community volunteer that I have been for the past 21 years. -- and I will continue to be involved in the activities and organizations that are important to me and the community.”

She’ll be back and, barring a huge change in party policy, seeking the Liberal nomination in 2011, but she’ll be doing some things differently.

“I’m not one that jumps from one group to another unless something drastically changes,” says Oldford. ““Next time I will not be doing lawn signs. It doesn’t even make sense and it sickens me actually. I won’t do it again. They’re plastic and they’re not biodegradable. I hate wasting paper and killing trees. I think we have to start looking at new ways of doing elections. Even when you look at phone calls into people’s houses and how busy people’s lives are, we are interrupting them when you have no idea what is going on there. There has to be a better way and getting some idea about your support instead of intruding in people’s lives and littering the community. It will be a different campaign. Everything we did this time did not bring the voter out. We need to find ways to get the voter out. This is who we are representing. So maybe we do live Q & A over the internet.”

The NDP’s Darrel Brenton sees nothing personal in his defeat and he also plans to be part of the political fray for the next four years, and perhaps the four after that if he “isn’t dead” and gains the party’s next nomination.

Says Brenton. “Labrador West has spoken, and they chose someone else this time around. This is not the result that we wanted, but it fits the overall trend. The PC party did something tonight that they have never done before - they took a seat on the Coast.”

Brenton watched the blue tsunami as it crashed across the province and thinks it was that 70% expectation on the Island that also influenced voters in Labrador.

“I don’t honestly think voters here voted for the local candidate, they voted for Danny Williams,” says Brenton. That worries him. “Labrador has sent the message that Danny Williams can throw his hands up in the air and say ‘We don’t have any problems in Labrador, we can take their energy.’”

Says Brenton, “I hope Labrador gains from this -- and if we do, I will applaud Danny Williams -- but, it is up to us to be vigilant for the next four years, and to make sure that no energy leaves Labrador without benefits for Labrador.”

Asked what the future holds, Brenton said, “I’m not bitter. We fought the good fight, and everyone, from the biggest to smallest job, pulled their weight. All the support I received from everyone, I appreciate it. We have nothing to be ashamed of. I’m shocked - but you can never predict politics. CBC asked me if I was going to run in the next election, and I told them that ‘I could be dead by that time!’ But never say never.”

Barron and the Labrador Party took a political chance and lost, but, he says, “I have no regrets about our choice. We remain advocates for Labrador. We were hoping for opposition voices that would speak for Labrador. The people have decided to give this government yet another chance, bought in to the projects that started just weeks before the election. I hope that government will indeed dedicate those monies to help our communities overall.”

The Labrador Party, says Barron, has always been different from other parties. “Other parties work just through the political system. Labrador Party members take on a larger scope of activities, and not just at election time. We will be there again in four years, and, between now and then, you’ll continue to hear our membership advise government about the needs of Labrador and Labradorians.”

Barron’s members have a lot of projects on their plates between now and 2011. Educating the Island about conditions in Labrador is a priority. Should there be broken promises in Labrador, the Labrador Party intends for Islanders to understand the difference between living here, and living there.

Says Barron, “For example, Minister of Transport Hickey said that this would be a first class road, that chipseal would be the future of the province. Well, I have to ask, how much chipseal was laid on the Island this year? None. But, people here will have to settle for a chipseal road.”

Labrador Party members are already talking about a publicity campaign in the major Island media, images and sounds and film of what it’s really like in Labrador, so Islanders will understand the differences.

Says Barron, “We’ll still be here in four years. We strongly support the work of the Combined Councils of Labrador as a voice of a unified Labrador, without political stripe or district divisions, and I remain strongly affected by the words of Ben Michel when he spoke in Labrador West two years ago, where he received a standing ovation, just for saying we have to work together.”

Politics, suggests Barron is about today; policy is about tomorrow.

“Forty years ago, in Joey’s era, it was an Upper Churchill deal with no Labrador benefit and baby bonuses; today, it’s the Lower Churchill deal with no Labrador benefits and $1,000 to have babies. The party colour changed, but things otherwise haven’t changed that much.”

Asked if their failure to run their own candidates, to put their candidates where their mouths were, so to speak, didn’t mean they’d abrogated their right to complain now.

“No, not at all. If this government thinks they have a green light now, to take energy away and give us nothing in return, they’ve got another think coming,” says Barron.
In a give-themselves-enough-rope philospophy, Barron says government has this one chance to prove their commitment to Labrador. As it turns out, the Labrador Party was talking about more than split votes in all it’s recent discussion with members. They’ve finally gotten around to the issue most members have been asking them to answer since their inception: What about separation?

Says Barron, “Well, now that they have three members elected, this government certainly has the opportunity to show their commitment - or lack of it - to Labradorians. Whether it’s self-government, or territorial status, or separation, this government will determine how the Labrador Party moves forward. With members in the House, it’s even more incumbent to make this region feel part of this province.”

With Combined Councils as a non-partisan model, Barron says he looks to that organization, and returning MHA Yvonne Jones, to be the province’s “real opposition” and says he hopes there are no further attempts to clip the organization’s wings by undercutting their funding.

“They are strong advocates for Labrador,” he says. “The CCL is a very influential group and they truly represent Labrador’s needs and concerns.”

Continues Barron, “We are going to have to be our own opposition, the general populace, through the media, through representation of the various stakeholder groups, the Combined Councils, all of us learning to get the message out there.”
Barron hasn’t met a lot of enthusiastic PCs, he says. “If you look at the people who voted for PCs, are they happy with what happened in Labrador? Mostly not, but they’re looking to be made happy. Time will tell.”

When the House does eventually reconvene, the only non-PCs will be Liberals Kelvin Parsons in Burgeo - La Poile, Roland Butler in Port de Grave, and Yvonne Jones in Cartwright – L’Anse au Clair, along with lone NDP member, leader Lorraine Michael in Signal Hill - Quidi Vidi.

How Labrador will fare in the Cabinet is unclear despite Premier Williams’ “very, very, very” sincere consideration of Patty Pottle, new PC member from Torngat.

With a possible 44 MHAs when all the elections are complete, Premier Williams will have to be creative in how he utilizes talents, rewards senior MHAs, and balances his Cabinet along gender, geographic, resource, and economic lines.

None of the Members-elect are gauche enough to pre-guess the premier, but, with just 15 ministerial portfolios and 44 MHAs, the math for a second minister in Labrador might be daunting.

• Ngaire Genge

New life for Wabush Mines says Dofasco-QCM
Photo: Peter Genge

WABUSH AND USW 6285 PLEASED WITH MEETINGS
Dofasco-QCM impress during discussions

October 7th - Both the Town of Wabush and United Steelworkers Local 6285 declared themselves pleased with early discussions between those two important stakeholders and representatives of Dofasco-Quebec Cartier Mining earlier this week. Although there wasn’t a lot of detail on how Wabush Mines, recently purchased by Dofasco, will work in the future, nothing in the discussions threw up red flags.
Says Mayor Jim Farrell of Wabush, “Our council met with the group, including the president of Quebec Cartier Mining, in our Chambers on Tuesday morning and watched a brief presentation. They met with us for about an hour and, while they had a number of other meetings on their schedule, we certainly didn’t feel that we were being rushed through. We had opportunity for general discussion and they provided what early information and plans they have now. We expect to meet again early in the new year when the sale is finalized.”
Farrell says the council was generally impressed with the degree of communication.
“We could only speak in generalities until the sale is finalized, but, they were very receptive to the matters we did cover,” said Farrell. “We’ll speak in much more detail in the spring on items like the budget, the role of the community in their recruitment and retention efforts, the cost of provision of services for venues like the Recreation Complex, and their role as corporate citizens.”
Quebec-Cartier Mining will be the managing agent following the completion of the partnership buyout that sees Dofasco purchasing the Stelco and Cleveland Cliffs shares. Mayor Farrell is looking at operations across the border and says the co-operation between QCM and the community of Fermont bodes well for their operations here.
“They’ve been a good corporate citizen in Fermont,” says Farrell. “There’s no reason to pre-suppose they would be anything else here.”
Lloyd Hunter of USW 6285 was one of the union personnel sitting in on the meetings with the union and also reports his group as satisfied with these opening introductions and discussions.
“We see no obvious problem with QCM being the managing agent,” says Hunter, who notes that the two operations, working in northern conditions, have much in common on a day-to-day operations level.
“They’re not really in the driver’s seat until the new year,” says Hunter, “But, they’re already talking about some of the problems that have been issues here for a long time, things like the dewatering situation in the mine site. They are aware of that problem and believe they have some expertise from their operation in Quebec that may address that problem.”
The company has also committed to continuing to work on the manganese reduction problem.
“They’re still working on the red tape,” says Hunter, “The mine site plan and the work with the province all has to go through the usual channels. As they put it, they ’can’t change the colour of the paint’ until that’s done, but they are aware of the problems and are working on them.”
The most important issue to USW 6285 members, says Hunter, “has always been the issue of mine life.”
They’re pleased to hear the new managers talking about extended mine operations. “They’ve got 100 years of reserves with what they own right now. That’s good news for our members.”
Like Farrell, Hunter’s team left the discussions feeling very upbeat.
“Their message to us was that they’re the new kids on the block and they’re going to bring a new ball to the game,” says Hunter. “Their management style will be different. Whether that’s a negative or a positive isn’t known yet, but, we’ll work for our membership as issues present themselves, but they have an excellent company and union at Quebec Cartier Mining, with similar working conditions and we hope that continues with their operation here in Wabush.”
One of the local issues that will be coming up early in the new relationship is the unilateral changes to vacation policy that were announced by Wabush Mines this year.
“On local issues like that, we’ll be waiting until they get the green light to take over management, but, it is the type of issue we’ll take on as the opportunity arises, when they’re the actual managing agent,” says Hunter.
Their members have no concerns about the other sort of “language” issue, the French-English cross-border issue.
“We don’t see that as any sort of issue right now,” says Hunter. “We had a very good meeting and it’s not a problem.”
The current collective agreement isn’t due to expire until February 28th, 2009.
“There will be a new executive in place for that negotiation,” says Hunter. “Our elections are the year before, so the new people will have had some time to see how the new relationship is working before the next contract is due.”
In the meantime, the new managers say they’re hoping to see maximum production, 6Mt, at the Scully operations -- which is just fine by USW 6285.
“The more profit this company can make, the better it is for everyone,” says Hunter. “That’s a win-win and our membership is on the same page as the company when it comes to production. We want this to be a profitable relationship for them and for us.”
So far, the new managers appear to be doing the one thing USW has always said they wanted. They’re talking.
“Good communication is essential,” agrees Hunter. “You can’t make progress, you can’t work your best, if you haven’t got good communication on all sides.”
Although their first meetings weren’t the in-depth work that both the Town and USW 6285 know have to come soon, both the community and the company’s workers say they’re impressed with the discussion so far and hope to build solid relationships for the future.
Says Hunter, “So far, so good.”
• Ngaire Genge

Wabush Fire Chief Ken Snow
Photo: Heather George

WABUSH FIREFIGHTERS DENIED TRAINING - AGAIN
Disaster waits for no federal training money: Snow

September 30, 2007 - Request denied.

In recent correspondence with the Town of Wabush, Federal Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Lawrence Cannon denied funding for the Wabush Fire Department for airport incident training.

Wabush Town Council was appalled by the news. Wabush Mayor Jim Farrell was “disappointed and disgusted” by the response. Councilor Cheryl Hardy called Cannon’s disposition “rude”, and Councilor Ron Barron “takes exception to his attitude”.

Council had previously requested $50,000 to provide the Wabush Fire Department, staffed with 28 volunteer firefighters, with the proper training to respond to incidents at the Wabush Airport.

“Transport Canada does not have a program that provides funding for ongoing firefighter training and therefore cannot be of assistance,” states Cannon in correspondence with the Town.

Wabush Fire Department Chief Ken Snow is gravely concerned by the decision.
“That sends a clear message that firefighters lives are on the back burner for the government,” he says.

Cannon points to annual ‘Payment in Lieu of Taxes’ Wabush receives from the Federal airport which can be used to fund the training.  “I am sure that you will appreciate that Transport Canada, as the owner of Wabush Airport, expects services to be provided by the appropriate taxing authority in return for Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) payments,” he states.

In 2006, PILT payments to the Town of Wabush totaled $57,239.00.

“They’re telling us about the operating grant. So what?” says Farrell. “We have to provide water and sewer and other municipal services with that. There’s nothing left for airport incident training.”

Moreover, Cannon points out that on-site emergency services are not mandatory for the Wabush airport.

“As you are most likely aware, there is no regulatory requirement for on-site emergency services/fire-fighting services at airports with fewer than 180,000 enplaned and deplaned passengers annually... The number of passengers at Wabush Airport, which was approximately 67,000 enplaned and deplaned passengers in 2006, is significantly less than the number noted above,” Cannon states.

Snow says he wants to provide the service - but only if his firefighters have all the knowledge and safety training to do so.

“We feel compelled to do this. We are the Wabush Fire Department and we are here to serve. But if they want us to do this, we need training that is top of the line, including the equipment to do the job.”

Adds Farrell, “Just because we don’t have a certain number of passengers doesn’t mean anything to me. All passengers need the same level of safety and security.”

Farrell also addresses the recent funding granted to the Wabush Airport Terminal.
“The federal government just allocated $484,000 to replace the siding on the airport,” he says, “We requested $50,00 in the interest of safety, and they didn’t even look at it.”

With a letter of support from Provincial Minister of Transportation and Works John Hickey, Farrell is confident that the provincial government will come on board after the election. Until then, Snow is hoping fire emergency services aren’t needed at the airport.

“I talked to officials last week about funding the training, and while they can’t do anything right now with the election going on, I am confident that I can access some money to get training in Stephenville afterwards,” he says.

Says Snow, “We run in while people are running out, but we run in with knowledge. We have minimal knowledge of airport crash fire training and that’s not right - because an emergency or disaster is not going to wait for us to be prepared.”

• Heather George

Ron Barron makes the “hardest speech of his life” at Wabush Hotel
Photo: Peter Genge

AND THEN THERE WERE THREE
LABRADOR PARTY PULLS OUT OF CAMPAIGN
Need a strong opposition to current policy for Labrador: Barron

September 23, 2007 - In a bid to provide opposition to current Progressive Conservative policies “like the Energy Plan which is clearly against the best interests of Labrador,” the Labrador Party has taken an unusual step. Instead of continuing to run their own candidates on their own political platform, and splitting the potential Opposition vote in the process, members of the Labrador Party have decided to withdraw from the race in Cartwright - L’Anse au Clair, Labrador West, and Lake Melville. In districts with Progressive Conservative incumbents -- Labrador West and Lake Melville -- the Labrador Party announced support for opposition candidates they hope can displace the PCs.

Says Labrador Party leader Ron Barron, who, until Friday, was that party’s candidate for Labrador West, “We still believe there’s a role for the Labrador Party. We fully intend to continue to provide a Labrador lens to all public policy, but, we also believe there is an immediate need to send this government a strong message.”

The party’s fear is that a complete sweep for the Tories, including seats in Labrador, could provide a soapbox from which policies like the Energy Plan will be rubber-stamped, with no opportunity for opposition from the region.

“A split vote returns representatives of the current government to St. John’s,” says Barron. “We want what is best for Labrador. We would like the voice opposing those policies in St. John’s to be a Labrador Party voice, but, we talked to our membership and, to avoid that split vote, we will support Liberal candidate Chris Montague in Lake Melville and NDP candidate Darrel Brenton in Labrador West.”

Barron says he has nothing against any other candidate, or the particular PC candidates running in Labrador.

Up until a few days ago, Barron had been determined to run the Labrador Party’s own platform and continue to gather support for a truly regional party. That changed, he says, when he heard PC candidate Jim Baker discussing the Energy Plan on the radio call-in show Open Line.

“When I heard him say this wasn’t an issue -- when our members believed this plan will negatively impact our region for decades to come -- I realized our representative was either completely out of touch with residents, or committed to a party line regardless of local feeling,” says Barron. “That’s when our district executives decided to withdraw candidates.”

Jim Tuttack will, however, run in Torngat.

Says Barron, “The Combined Councils of Labrador began in Nain and have presented a united front on many important issues. We hope our party can follow that example in the political arena. Having three parties speaking for Labrador is a good thing.”

Not surprisingly, Brenton is delighted by this turn of events, welcoming an opportunity to unify the opposition to policies that the NDP has also criticized vocally.

“Given the opportunity to speak for Labrador West in the House, I can assure residents I’ll be a very loud voice,” says Brenton. “The NDP has always been a voice for the people and the people I’m talking to are tired of our resources benefitting other people first.”

Liberal candidate Karen Oldford took the announcement in stride and she is certainly not pulling out of the race.

“New Liberalism shares many Labrador Party values,” says Oldford. “We favour strong constituency-based candidates who aren’t afraid to stand up for their residents and not just tow the party line. While the Labrador Party has officially endorsed the NDP candidate, everyone ultimately votes for the person and I think many Labrador Party members would find the Liberal Party a good fit with their beliefs.”

Oldford was a first-timer in the by-election, but, she says, she learned a lot about running a campaign, and she firmly believes that voters presented with New Liberalism will find a party that shares their priorities and, in her, a candidate with a strong labour background who is unafraid of party politics.

Says Oldford, “I led a labour protest against a Liberal government - I’m not anyone’s puppet. I’ve lived in Labrador longer than anywhere, and I’m committed to this region.”
If the by-election numbers are any guide, the math swings to the opposition side with this announcement. PC Jim Baker took the by-election with 1,666 votes. Brenton was second with 1240, Barron had 670, and Oldford 427. Brenton and Barron’s combined 1,910 would take the seat NDP.

Baker is taking nothing for granted, but says the Labrador Party decision doesn’t change his strategy.

“I’ve been running this campaign like an underdog from the start,” says Baker. “This move isn’t a complete surprise, and I’ve been out knocking on doors, even before the writ came down and I’m pleased by the response I’m getting.”

Baker says he simply hasn’t had anyone make the Energy Plan an issue at the door.

“I’ve always enjoyed the door to door,” he says. “What I’m getting, 90% of the time, is the state of the highway and the work that hasn’t been finished on the section from Wabush to the border -- which I know will resolve itself as that work is completed in the next few weeks.”

Pointing to the hospital, college, new judge, and library as well as the ongoing road work, Baker says, “I’ll put my six-month record against the eight years this region had with the NDP.”

Barron recognizes that this decision could alienate some of their hard-won supporters.

“We could only do what we believed was best for Labrador,” says Barron.
So far, however, Barron and the party are receiving public support. Jim Skinner, USW 6285 president, was on hand for the announcement and said, “This was a hard decision for him, personally and politically, and I can only respect the decision he made, to put aside party in support of the region.”

Even Oldford says she respects the decision Barron and the party had made -- though she could wish they’d done so without any recommendation to their members.

Says Oldford, “I know just how difficult this must have been for Ron. His commitment to his party’s priorities is completely genuine and I know this would not have been easy.”

Following the announcement, Labrador Party members were seen picking up their lawn signs from NDP headquarters and, says Barron, “We intend to support their efforts in any way we can, knocking on doors with them, doing the grunt work of a campaign, talking to our members, and helping the NDP get their voters to the polls.”

Barron says the Labrador Party didn’t disappear between elections last time and “we’ll continue to challenge any decision that doesn’t take Labrador interests into consideration.”

• Ngaire Genge

Unable to avail of the existing hydro potential, Labrador West stakeholders see few
opportunities to benefit from new Churchill development in the new Energy Plan.
 

PROVINCE RELEASES ENERGY PLAN
Plan is 0 for 4 in Labrador: Mayor Graham Letto

September 16, 2007 -- In January of 2006, then Minister of Natural Resources Ed Byrne came to Labrador West for one of the twelve public input sessions for the province’s new Energy Plan. Twenty months later, not one of the four key points identified in that Labrador West session found its way into the new document. Says Labrador City mayor Graham Letto, “That’s not surprising, but it is disappointing.”

In 2006, Letto and the other Labrador West stakeholders said that Lower Churchill development -- which makes up nearly 65% of the Energy Plan pages in one form or another -- should not proceed without local benefits. While the Energy Plan says Labrador will “benefit naturally” from the development of the hydroelectric potential at Gull Island and Muskrat Falls, Letto and the others see no evidence that will ever happen.

Says Letto, “We have, for many years, said that Labrador will not reach its full potential without access to, and benefits from, the existing power. Nothing in this plan, or in the development of further hydro power, changes that basic problem.”

In the 2006 presentations, all stakeholders, regardless of political affiliation, pointed to the inability to wheel the 127Mw of recall power to Labrador West, or anywhere else in Labrador, as a major detriment. While technically available, there was, and is, no way to use the power without a second or upgraded power line. The Energy Plan states clearly that the only new line will go to the Island.

Says Letto, “We’re told that new industry can ask for a line. Well, we’ve been there before with aluminum smelters, iron smelters, the cold weather testing facility. We aren’t frustrated about some potential losses in the future, we’re frustrated by actual losses this region has already seen go by. What industry is going to wait three years to have a line built?”

Letto accompanied a group to Iceland last year and left there impressed by the roaring economy all driven by the government’s provision of a power infrastructure.
“You can’t say we’ll give it to you after you have a deal,” says Letto. “You build it and they will come, as they’ve done so successfully in Iceland. If it’s economical to bring aluminum to smelters in the middle of the North Atlantic, it’s economical to bring them to Labrador West -- if we had the same deal to offer.”

Letto, like western Labradorians in general, favours the model whereby government and its agencies build the infrastructure and take back the investment from industry and the economy in the current taxation schemes. They also want power sales to fund other necessary infrastructure like roads, health care, and education.

Says Letto, “If, for the past decades, the profit from the 127Mw of recall power had been regularly reinvested here, we would have had the second power line now and we would have been ready to take advantage of those opportunities.”

The government decision not to run lines to the North or South Coasts also flies in the face of priorities expressed not only in Labrador West, but all across Labrador.

Says Letto, “Labrador West has always stood firmly behind the adjacency principle for power utilization in Labrador, that Labrador communities should benefit first.”

Current Minister of Natural Resources Kathy Dunderdale says that those lines would impose too deep a financial burden on the coastal communities to make such lines economically feasible, but that, by using Labrador power instead of Holyrood, the Island has a ready-made customer for the Labrador-Island line. Taking that one step further, she reminded Labradorians that “it is a two-way line, so power generated by wind, for example, on the Island can also be sent back to Labrador.”

That Labrador had already proposed its own wind project, and been denied, and that, without the extra lines in Labrador, power still has no where to go, is not ‘in the Plan.”
Letto and the stakeholders’ other proposal to ensure that Labradorians receive funding to provide that line infrastructure was to avail of Clause 92A of the Constitution, the right to tax the power being exported.

At the 2006 meeting, Byrne said he didn’t want to explore that option as it could mean being required to tax people at home as well.

Says Letto, “If that taxation money was turned into infrastructure here, at least we would be in a position to take advantage of opportunities.”

The Energy Plan has already raised concerns about the current opportunities in the region, especially the upcoming end to the industrial rate scheme for large users like the Iron Ore Company of Canada in 2014.

The Plan states: Electricity costs for existing major industries in Labrador are generally exempt from regulation by the PUB; historically they have been set through contractual arrangements. The generation components of Labrador industrial rates will continue to be exempt from regulation. In the future, the province will negotiate with both existing and new industrial developers in Labrador to ensure that the electricity rates paid are in the best interests of the province.

Whether the best interests of the province coincide with the best interests of Labrador West remains a question, especially in light of the stated priority for the province that “ Long-term power supply arrangements will only be considered where the opportunity for escalation of the power rates exists.”

Says Letto, “The sections of the Plan that deal with how those rates will be set are very disturbing to us. Iron ore prices, while high at the moment, are, nevertheless, cyclical. What’s up one day will be down again and I would hate to think this province, after benefitting so much from our industry, would even consider any policy that might put that industry at a competitive disadvantage.”

As to the “natural” benefits outlined in the Energy Plan as accruing to Labrador through adjacency, mainly employment and supply contracts, Letto isn’t buying that either.

The Plan says, “Labrador residents will be primary beneficiaries of the Lower Churchill project. Jobs and business activity from the construction and operation of the project are the first and most tangible benefits. A significant portion of the jobs and business spin-offs will occur naturally in Labrador.”

Voisey’s Bay promised the same adjacency advantages too, he notes, none of which transpired in this region, or, for the most part, in any other region of Labrador. The smelter went to Long Harbour, the research centre to St. John’s, and the province allowed VBN to completely by-pass the residency-for-priority in hiring clauses.
“In order to benefit from employment, we have to have training opportunities for our people,” says Letto. “We’ve been lobbying for a long time for training opportunities here in Labrador West. We’ve made some inroads there with the early stages of two apprenticeship programs at the local College of the North Atlantic, but that doesn’t begin to address the seats required to truly benefit from projects like these.”

The new College isn’t scheduled for completion until 2010, with first trades graduates several years out from that date.

Concludes Letto, “They asked what we needed, and we gave them a lot of options, but there is nothing in this plan to address any of those concerns, nothing.”

• Ngaire Genge

Mellisa Boland, of Lab West Veterinary Clinic, with Aramis, who is being treated for the parvo virus and
is expected to return to his family shortly.
Photo: Heather George

PARVO VIRUS ON RISE IN LAB WEST WARNS VET
Three local cases, but it’s preventable: Steele

September 9, 2007 -- Dr. Rebecca Steele, who has been practicing veterinary medicine for 16 years, 8 of those in Labrador West, says local pet owners should be aware of rising rates of parvo virus. She reports that, after seeing about one case per year for the past 8 years, she has treated three cases of Canine Parvovirus in the Fermont area in the past three months.

“If the Parvo virus is in Fermont, it is only a matter of time before it comes into Labrador West,” Dr. Steele cautions.

Canine Parvovirus, or CPV, is a highly contagious disease. While it tends to affect puppies aged six to twenty weeks, Steele reports, “I have treated dogs over a year old. It may be that Parvo is more severe in puppies than in adults because their immune systems aren’t as strong.”

Once a dog is exposed to the virus, they become ill within seven to ten days. “When a Parvo infection starts, dogs go off their food and they’re depressed,” explains Dr. Steele.

Affected animals also exhibit severe vomiting and diarrhea.

CPV is carried to the intestines where it causes inflammation and the loss of the intestinal lining. “When they shed the intestinal lining, they lose their protection from bacteria that normally live in the gut,” says Steele.

As a result, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, and bloodstream infections, or septicemia, are common with the Parvo virus.

Dr. Steele says that CPV infections are very painful for canine companions. “Dogs come in moaning and crying, so we give them painkillers to help with the intense pain.”

Direct contact between dogs is not required to transmit the virus. Your pet can become infected with CPV by coming into contact with the feces, saliva, or vomit of an infected dog. In addition, the virus may be carried on the hair or paws of infected dogs, or on the shoes or clothes of people.

Most dogs with CPV infection recover if intensive treatment is administered before severe dehydration and septicemia occur.

Dr. Steele reports that the three canines she has seen are expected to make a full recovery, but says, “Animals don’t always survive. The sooner you get them in, the better the chance they will live.”

Nothing can kill the virus in an infected dog - their immune system has to fight it over time. Therefore, treatment is aimed at controlling the symptoms.

Steele says that veterinarians provide supportive therapy to the ailing dogs. First, dehydration and electrolyte imbalances are corrected by administering intravenous fluids. Antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs are given to help prevent septicemia, and anti-spasmodic drugs may be given to control diarrhea and vomiting. The animal can be expected to stay in the hospital for several days, with the length of duration depending on the severity of the disease.

“We give the drugs intravenously, because if you have a dog that is vomiting, they certainly aren’t going to keep anything down,” she explains.

After recovery, a bland diet and antibiotics are required for a few weeks to allow healing of the intestinal lining.

The good news about Canine Parvovirus is that it is entirely preventable, and as Dr. Steele says, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

For puppies, antibodies in the mother’s milk help protect them from infection during the first months of life. After that, puppies can receive a vaccination at 8, 12, and 16 weeks old. After the initial series of vaccinations, dogs should receive a booster shot once a year.

For a mature dog, it is never too late to be vaccinated. “Dogs can get Parvo any time. If a dog hasn’t been vaccinated yet, a series of two vaccines and a yearly booster can protect them from this virus.”

Besides the immense health benefits and quality of life for a dog, vaccination is economically feasible. Vaccines cost $50.00 per shot - totaling $150.00 to protect a puppy and $50.00 yearly, and $100.00 to vaccinate a grown dog and $50.00 per year thereafter.

Compare that to the price of a hospital stay for a pooch. “It costs about $10 for every injection. If your pet is in for a week, it’s going to cost a couple of thousand dollars, because treatment for the virus goes on during the night, and we have a small, dedicated staff who come in at all hours to administer treatment,” explains Dr. Steele.

For a virus that is common in Goose Bay and the island portion of the province, Parvo is relatively rare here. Dr. Steele reports that Labrador West has been successful in suppressing CPV infections through high vaccination rates. “I’d say that I vaccinate over 1000 pets per year,” she estimates.

For people whose dogs are not yet vaccinated, “Now is the time to do it. With three cases in three months, we could see a rise in the number of cases. Be prepared and vaccinate your dog today,” says Dr. Steele.

In addition, to minimize a puppy’s exposure to the virus, be cautious! Puppies are most susceptible from 6 to 20 weeks, so avoid areas contaminated with feces and clean up after your own animal.

“It’s a nasty disease,” says Dr. Steele, “But it’s easily preventable.”

• Heather George

USW 6285 president Jim Skinner
File Photo: Peter Genge

DOFASCO TO BUY OUT WABUSH MINES
Merger will eventually benefit Bloom Lake: Humphrey

September 02, 2007 -- With the announcement by Dofasco that they will indeed exercise their option to buy the remaining percentage of Wabush Mines, USW 6285 president Jim Skinner says, “We don’t know where this is going. We’re anxiously awaiting a call from Dofasco, but, so far, there’s been no communication between the union and Dofasco.”

It was Richard Quesnel of Thompson-Consolidated that notified Skinner of the decision and, says Skinner, “It’s not the scenario we were hoping for, but, we’ll have to wait and see what this means for Wabush Mines. The worst case scenario is that they want Wabush for the pellet plant in Quebec and access to the railway. The best case is that they actually want to develop the ore body - with better management.”

Who the managing agent will be is of primary concern to Skinner and his members. “It’s been said it’s better the devil you know, but,I don’t think that’s true in this case. It couldn’t be worse.”

Whoever is the managing agent, Skinner says, “It’s going to take a major investment and new ore to achieve our goal, which is simply longer mine life for our younger members who will need a pension and wage while they’re paying off mortgages.”
He hopes the manganese operation proves out as well as hoped, and that the new owner will “stop the high-grading and start actually managing. There’s lots of ore in Quebec Cartier Mines -- which Dofasco also owns -- and in Wabush Mines. It’s just got to be managed properly.”

Meanwhile Consolidated-Thompson isn’t dismayed by the shifting situation.
Following the notification by Dofasco, Bruce Humphrey, Chairman of CLM, said, “The recently announced transaction between Stelco and US Steel and the decision by Dofasco/Mittal to exercise its right to acquire Wabush suggest that both consolidation in the iron ore and steel industry and the demand for iron ore continues to be strong. Management believes that both of these trends will eventually benefit CLM and our Bloom Lake Deposit. We are making rapid progress at Bloom Lake with over $100M already committed and almost half the engineering completed. At full production of 7MTY, it will be one of the lowest cost producers in the Quebec/Labrador camp. We will continue to explore consolidation opportunities in this Camp and look for potential synergies with the Iron Ore Company of Canada, Wabush, and Quebec Cartier. This is an exciting time for Bloom Lake and the iron ore industry.”

Richard Quesnel, President & CEO of CLM, said, “During the last three months, the Company has advanced the Bloom Lake project on a dual track basis - with and without Wabush. With today’s clarification regarding Dofasco’s intent, we are proceeding with the Bloom Lake project on a stand alone basis. The expansion of output from 5.0 million to 7.0 million tonnes of iron ore concentrate per year accounts for most of the accretion in all of the upgrade scenarios that have been evaluated to date. As consolidation is occurring in the iron ore industry, we will continue to review opportunities while keeping the focus on developing Bloom Lake as a world class operation and adding value to our shareholders.”

According to Consolidated Thompson representatives, the Bloom Lake property is proceeding as scheduled. “Detailed engineering is 45% completed with 75,000 man-hours invested. Procurement of critical equipment is in place with Cdn$50 million committed. Letters of intent to procure cement and structural steel worth Cdn$60 million have been signed. A definitive agreement is in place with Worldlink Resources Limited to sell 5.0 million tonnes of iron ore concentrate/year. Discussions have been advanced with the common railway carrier regarding detailed haulage arrangements. Discussions have been advanced with a third party to build and operate harbour and port facilities. The Company has strengthened its management team with the addition of a new Chief Financial Officer. The Company has completed a private placement equity financing of CDN$200 million and is in advanced discussions on debt financing for up to $240 million. The Company expects to have these facilities in place by year end.”

Additionally, as permitting is progressing, pre-production work on the property is scheduled to start in early fall of 2007 and will include building road access, power lines and clearing timber. “CLM continues to target the commencement of production at Bloom Lake in the first quarter of 2009.”

Skinner says he and his members still hope to see a partnership between Consolidated Thompson and the Wabush operation, to ensure the high-grade ore which could be processed separately, or in combination with Wabush Mines ores.
“This is an anxious time for our membership,” says Skinner. “Cliffs began laying off summer workers this week, which, while not unusual, didn’t happen last year. Last year they kept everyone on. We are advising members to do their best work now, to stay focused. With change, there is uncertainty, but we will be taking care of our membership as these matters unfold around us.”

Wabush mayor Jim Farrell shares that advice, adding, “We don’t know what it will mean yet, but, Mittel is a huge company looking for as much iron as they can get for their steel mills. They have been a shareholder for years, have been a good company in their own right, and, as far as we know, have been good to their own people. Hopefully they are going to improve Wabush Mines and ensure a long future for our residents.”

• Ngaire Genge

Wabush Mines proves a popular travel destination for metal magnates.
File Photo: Peter Genge

METAL GIANTS CONTINUE MERGERS AND SALES
Mittal representatives tour Wabush Mines operation

August 26, 2007 -- When Consolidated Thompson made its offer to purchase Wabush Mines, then was told to stand still while one of the Wabush partners, Dofasco invoked its right to a 90-day due diligence period in which to decide if it would exercise its right to a buy out of its own, USW 6285 president Jim Skinner told his members to just be patient, not worry, and see how everything shook out on September 6th. That’s the last date Dofasco will have to make up its mind about Wabush Mines.

Last week, four Mittal representatives, along with four people from Quebec Cartier Mining, and one from Dofasco itself spent Monday and Tuesday at the Wabush operation and that generated considerable questioning and rumours at the mine once again.

Says Skinner, “We can’t do anything to influence these players, we can only wait to see what does happen, but, that being said, we still maintain that, without Thompson Consolidated’s Bloom Lake feed, none of the other options do what we want -- extend the mine life at Wabush Mines.”

Mergers and sales in the mining industry reached record levels in the past three years, which, most industry observers say, is a good thing. For the average worker, however, such maneuvering do cause concern, especially when even the fate of the largest players is up for grabs and the relationships between them grow ever more tangled.

In January, Mittal suggested it might sell Dofasco outright to ThyssenKrupp as a side agreement in the purchase by Mittal of Arcelor. How that would affect QCM and Wabush Mines isn’t known, but, says Skinner, “I wouldn’t be surprised, from the continued interest here, to see some sort of merger between some of these companies, or partnerships.”

He hopes it will include Consolidated Thompson.

Says Skinner, “When the Mittal group was here, they toured the mine, they talked to some staff, and that was that. There was no discussion with the union, not even a cordial visit or courtesy call. In the meantime, we have been talking regularly to the Bloom Lake people.”

Those discussions range from “talk about investors coming on line” to the Bloom Lake operators “need to retain the experienced work force at Wabush Mines.”

Says Skinner, “We continue to have productive discussions with the people from Consolidated and that still appears to be our best bet for a long mine life.”
Skinner continues to tell his people to just wait for September 6th.

“There will be no extension of the due diligence process,” says Skinner. “That’s not going to happen. Consolidated has told us that. We’ll have an announcement one way or the other on the 6th, or before if Dofasco makes a decision.”

One of the rumours circulating following the Mittal tour was that the drying process would be eliminated -- along with about twenty jobs -- and ore from here would be shipped out by a slurry pipe similar to the one proposed by New Millennium group for its LabMag-KéMag properties.

“There’s lots of rumours and speculation on the go right now,” says Skinner. “The thing is not to pay any attention to any of it.”

If Mittal-Dofasco does make an offer for the whole operation, Skinner says he wouldn’t be surprised to see an offer made to Lac Bloom as well.

“It’s interesting, to have these Mittal people here at this late stage, but, let’s face it, everyone who owns a steel mill these days wants to own an iron mine.”

Provincial regulation will also play a role in whatever plan is put forward for Wabush Mines. Skinner sees that as a positive factor in the high-level negotiations.

“Government is, I think, hoping to see a partnership with Consolidated and Mittal, they know it’s our best option,“ says Skinner, who continues to urge 6285 members not to get caught up in anxiety over these negotiations.”

• Ngaire Genge.

The struck transport’s trailer, seen here packed atop a second trailer, was sliced in two during the daylit accident.
Photo: Eric Cyr

TRAIN SLICES TRACTOR TRAILER IN TWO
Lessons for Labrador prior to Railway Safety meetings?

August 19, 2007 -- As Labrador West awaits the arrival of the Chair of the Railway Safety Act review commission to arrive in Labrador West during the first week of September, another train-vehicle collision occurred, this one on the Quebec side of the border at about km 519.

A transport truck carrying groceries and furniture to points in Labrador West and Lake Melville was in the railway crossing when it was hit by a Quebec Cartier Mines train. The transport truck’s trailer was sliced in half and its contents were, for the most part, destroyed.

According to Sgt. Giassom of the Quebec Surete, the incident occurred at “about 3:40 in afternoon on a crossing in the middle of a very sharp curve.”

The Surete was notified of the incident at 3:41 and responded to the site, which is “approximately 40 or 50 kilometres south of Fermont,” in “about twenty minutes.”
There were no injuries to the driver of the transport truck, who stayed with his vehicle, or to personnel of QCM, but, “damage to the vehicle was obviously extensive.”

Fortunately, there was no damage to the railway bed itself, which allowed crews to “break” the train and facilitate removal of the remains of the truck. Noted the Surete, even with the ability to move the train out of the way, this was “a process that took better than half an hour,” during which time “the road way was closed completely.”

The train left as soon as possible and, upon clearing the spilled merchandise to one side, traffic “was restored to one lane at about 5:20pm.” The road opened to normal traffic “about an hour later, at 6:17pm.”

Ron Barron, Councilor in Wabush, says there are lessons to be learned here from this incident.

“This accident should be a wake-up call for those of us in Labrador,” says Barron. “We have so many crossing, none with warning lights when a train is approaching. Out on the highway, that’s one set of conditions. Right here in the municipalities, we need even more stringent safety measures. Guard bars are the minimum acceptable safety equipment at a crossing as heavily utilized by motor vehicles, trains, snowmobiles, bikers, and walkers as our crossing is. And we know that will increase soon with IOC buying new ore cars and increasing production, not to mention Lac Bloom’s potential needs in the future.”

Says Barron, “This accident happened in broad daylight. At a crossing in the middle of a pitch black area, with thick tree cover, on turns, and often with high banks of snow impeding the view, we need warning lights on the highway crossings that activate as the train approaches.”

Barron is particularly concerned at the length of time it took to clear the tracks.
“We’ve had track damage with both the derailments last year,” he recalls. “And we could all see how long that took to clear and repair. If we had an accident similar to this one, not only would there be immediate danger to the motoring public, but, we have a larger concern here -- the fact that our community is completely cut off from the hospital.”

Barron believes a overpass is the only truly safe solution. Minister of Transport John Hickey estimated that to be a $2M project, but, says Barron, “Money should not be an issue. With the roadwork that was previously budgeted and not done, and the roadwork that will not be done this year, it could be utilized to ensure people’s lives here will be safe.”

Barron is frustrated by the lobbying required to bring attention to the issue and compliments Labrador City and the MP for their work on this issue. Now he wants those who can create and enforce regulations to listen.

“We’ve identified this as a real and present danger,” he says. “Someone should listen to us. It took a long time to clear that track and it would not be any faster on this side. We shouldn’t have to wait to see blood on the road instead of flour to get some attention here.”

Labrador City’s deputy mayor, Janice Barnes, agrees completely.

“Safety is the paramount concern, particularly as more people traverse the road. We’re trying to attract people to the region, as both permanent residents and tourists,” she says.” “While not as important as lives, the.reliable transportation of goods and services is also essential. After much lobbying by Council to get him to come, we look forward to taking every opportunity to have our concerns heard.”

Both councils urge all residents to exercise extreme caution around the trains.
Says Barron, “We realize trains have to run, that’s why we’re here, but, there must be ways to increase safety at these crossings.”

• Ngaire Genge and Eric Cyr
 

Richard Quesnel as a guest at the Labrador West Chamber of Commerce
File Photo: Peter Genge

LAC BLOOM DELAYED FOR ENVIRONMENT HEARINGS
No impact whatsoever on plans for Wabush Mines

August 12, 2007 -- Consolidated Thompson won’t get its Lac Bloom operation up and running as quickly as it had hoped, but, says CEO Richard Quesnel, “That will have no bearing on our offer for the Wabush Mines operation.”

Whether in Quebec or in this province, all proposed mining operations must satisfy a number of different reviews to evaluate the impact of the new project. In this province, for example, concerns were raised about the proposed route for a connecting rail line. Cabin owners and other land users brought their concerns to local council and the Department of Environment and Conservation. A new route, away from the trails and cabins, was proposed and appears to have resolved that concern here. In Quebec, where the physical impact and footprint will be larger, public consultations will address other issues.

Says Danielle Hawey, Quebec Environment department representative, “The purpose of the public consultation is to shine light on any concerns residents may have and provide more information to both the department and nearby residents.”

Among the questions that will be addressed are the project’s impact on waterways, traditional hunting and fishing activities, and dust production.

Says Hawey, “Following those public meetings, a departmental committee of experts will analyze all the information provided.”

This, says Hawey, is a normal part of the process and no indication of future decisions. Quesnel says they were prepared for a later start.

“We anticipated that this might happen,” says Quesnel. A 2009 start was expected, but, as it was also possible that the submission would be sufficient, Consolidated Thompson hoped for an earlier start and have been working toward that goal.
Wabush Mines remains a large part of that work says Quesnel. As Consolidated Thompson was responding to requests for more information from the Quebec government, Quesnel was in Ohio for his second day, discussing the transaction with Cleveland Cliffs

“This will have no effect on the Wabush transaction,” says Quesnel. “Public sessions for the environmental impact study will take no more than four months from August 20th, at which time a report must be filed and the permit can be released.”

Work on the environmental impact statement has been an ongoing process and, notes Quesnel, “has received favourable comment to date.”

Many of the concerns that will be further discussed at the public sessions have already been outlined for the study and will be shared with the public at that time. For example, to concerns about tailings in a nearby lake, the answer is already that “there will be no tailings in the lake.”

Says Quesnel, “Much of the work of the public sessions will be largely question and answer sessions to inform the public.”

While the hoped-for season of extensive work will not be possible this year, some work will go ahead as planned.

Says Quesnel, “In a couple of weeks, we’ll begin some of our pre-production work, clearing some surface and doing road access.”

Production is scheduled for first quarter of 2009.

“Had the public sessions not been necessary, 2008 may have been possible, but, realistically, the public sessions were expected so this really was not a surprise,” says Quesnel. “We don’t foresee any problems. the project has received a lot of support form the local communities and the economic benefits are obvious.”

Looking ahead to more immediate events, like the September 9th expiration of Dofasco’s right to due diligence prior to a decision whether to sell its share of Wabush Mines, Quesnel sees three possible options.

“Dofasco, as a partner, has the right to buy out the operation itself,” says Quesnel. “If they choose to take advantage of that option, we’ll proceed with our Lac Bloom operation in a different way.”

The other two options both see Consolidated Thompson become the owner and manager of the Wabush Mines operation.

“Dofasco can elect to keep its share and Consolidated Thompson will be the majority and managing partner,” says Quesnel. “Or Dofasco can accept our offer to purchase and Consolidated Thompson will be the 100% owner of Wabush Mines.”

That final option is the one that USW Local 6285 president Jim Skinner has already said is the preference for his 800 members. Failing that, he’ll settle for Consolidated Thompson being the managing partner. What he says his members don’t want to see is a Dofasco buyout which, he says, without the Lac Bloom ore, does nothing to extend the life of the Wabush operation.

Lac Bloom will employ approximately 400 people during the construction phase now scheduled for 2008 and approximately 250 people during operation. When Consolidated Thompson came to Labrador West in November of 2006 to describe their operation, they said that they expected to fill some of their human resource requirements from the local pool of talent in Labrador West.

Public sessions will begin in Quebec on August 28.

• Peter Genge / Ngaire Genge

From ATO to plant to mine to port, IOC will be addressing its production bottlenecks,
investing about $60M in ensuring their product flows efficiently to its customers.
Photo: courtesy of the Iron Ore Company of Canada

IOC ANNOUNCES $60M EXPANSION
Community ready to meet rising population needs: Letto

About a year ago, Dave Porter, IOC’s VP of Human Resources and Organizational Efficiency, said the community “shouldn’t expect any one big announcement” and that “a series of small changes would add up to a big change over time.” That plan went out the window on Wednesday when the Iron Ore Company of Canada announced a $60M expansion of their operations that would see concentrate production increase from the current 17 million tonnes per annum to 18.4M by the middle of 2008, and perhaps 21M tonnes in the very near future.

The expansion, which begins immediately, will, says the company, “address operating bottlenecks and improve winter performance. New equipment will be acquired for the mine and concentrator at Labrador City, including mine loading and haulage equipment, upgrades to the Automatic Train System which delivers ore from the mine to the plants, and additional process spirals for the concentrator. It also includes new railway cars to increase haulage capacity on the QNS&L Railway to IOC’s port in Sept-Îles, Quebec.”

Even in the current environment of aggressive acquisitions where major metal players are doing multi-billion dollar deals every other month, this is a significant investment. Putting it in perspective, the proposed IOC expansion is not far off the most recent buy-out figure quoted for the Wabush Mines operation.

Says Michel Filion, IOC spokesperson, “This investment reflects the commitment of shareholders to expanding IOC. Rio Tinto, IOC’s majority shareholder has embarked on a major investment program for its iron ore businesses in recent years, equivalent to the iron ore division’s entire profit since 2003.”

Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive and IOC Chairman Sam Walsh said that the expansion program would add substantial value and take advantage of the strong on-going market demand.
“These decisions are a vote of confidence in our ability to maintain improved performance following the recent achievement of a five-year collective agreement,” said Walsh. “IOC has added approximately 100 highly skilled jobs since the beginning of the current growth efforts in 2005 and expects to continue to hire as these expansion plans are implemented.”

It addition to plans to secure an 18.4M throughput in 2008, further feasibility studies support expansion to 21M tonnes. So sure is IOC of the availability of a wide mixture of ores to support “a variety of recipes for our clients around the world,” says Filion, they have already pre-ordered a new grinding mill in order to ensure the ability to ramp up when required.

Terence F. Bowles, President and CEO of IOC, says, “We are very pleased to be able to proceed with expansion of our business in this strong market. This growth is being driven by strong market demand, and ordering the mill now allows us to overcome constraints due to the current demand for mining equipment. Following on from the achievement of a five-year labour agreement, these decisions reflect continued confidence in our people and commitment to the provinces of Newfoundland & Labrador and Quebec. IOC’s outstanding product quality and commitment to meeting the needs of our customers, helps ensure our ongoing success in a highly competitive market. I am optimistic that the feasibility study results will be positive and that we will be able to commence expanding our capacity to 21 million tonnes by late 2008.”

To ramp up mine operations, says Filion, “The company will be purchasing more shovels and trucks and doing significant work on the ATO.” The new grinding mill, “a second unit, not a replacement,” will be part of a new feed in the plant. The company’s announcement noted that IOC will be looking to its reserves as well, but, says Filion, “We will use, as much as possible, the same areas we are using now.”

While no one at the company is ready to be pinned down on what this expansion will mean in terms of human resource needs, the equipment suggests some numbers to George Kean, president of USW 5795. Said Kean, “With the possibility of another couple shovels and haulage trucks and other equipment, we can see more operators. For every four trucks, that is sixteen operators and so on through the system.”

Says Filion, “We have already hired 100 new employees this year. In the future, we will continue to look to the local skilled labour market, especially to the College of the North Atlantic graduates, many of whom will have done work terms at IOC.”

The company will also want to continue to attract tradespeople of advanced standing as well, and hopes to see them coming from the local labour pool as well. It is from their existing employees that many of the practices which have helped set recent records have come.

Noted Filion, “It is from our experienced workforce that many of our initiatives come, and it is this process that helps overcome the bottlenecks we face.”

The Hot Change Out procedure is one of the initiatives that has made it possible for the workforce to set records with the existing infrastructure, says Filion. With the strong markets continuing and the existing workforce and operations seeing maximized results already, the shareholders could have the confidence to reinvest in the project.

That confidence is one Labrador City mayor Graham Letto believes will resonate with the community.
“It’s great news in that the Iron Ore Company and Rio Tinto are willing to invest in the area,” says Letto. “It demonstrates their commitment to the area, and adds to the long term viability of IOC and the region. It’s the tip, I think, of the iceberg. As in their release, I think that 21M tonnes is a very real target. It’s very achievable.”

Taking the long view back, and ahead, Letto adds, “Labrador City is here because of IOC, and it is still the driver of the economy. As we’ve always known, ‘as goes IOC, so goes the Town and the region.’ Today, prices look good, and markets are strong. It’s a much different scenario than in the 1970s. World markets have changed, feel more confident. This will instill more confidence in the business community and, we think, that with that confidence will come other commitments, to things like affordable housing projects, for example.”

Growth at IOC equates to growth on the municipal level and new demands on the space and infrastructure.

While Letto says the first spurt of growth caught the community somewhat flat-footed, they’re more ready now than then.

“IOC itself has helped with that readiness, by conveying land for new development, and the Town has contributed by keeping those costs down to developers, which we believe will help keep down costs passed on to residents and businesses,” says Letto. “We aren’t in the business of building houses or doing developments, but we’re providing those who do with land at a very reasonable cost. We’re on the right track and have come a long way.”

Letto speaks confidently of the other Town infrastructure.

“We need to remember that things like the water and sewer systems were designed with a population of 20-25K,” says Letto. “We’re land poor, with very little choice in directions to expand. but, by cost-sharing to bring water and sewer across the highway, we’ve given ourselves some room for growth.”
The current Industrial Park is already full, with the seven lots to be developed towards the helipad already alloted. The highway areas, says Letto, can accommodate some more flexibility to new business and industry. One of the Town’s own bottlenecks, the downstream side from the Industrial Park, “is already being addressed now with our Gas Tax money.” Booster stations and fire hydrants are, says Letto, usual items for new developers.

In the residential realm, Letto says, “We’ve finally come into the real world with housing, both in cost and development of lots.”

Between Labrador City and Wabush developments, some 186 units are in the process of being provided.

While the majority of larger issues are known and being addressed, a few questions do remain that have not yet been answered in any of the information released. Nearly 200 new residential units, new business, and the power to drive a 20% increase in production at IOC adds up to a considerable increase in power needs.

Says Letto, “We know the Wabush station and local grid are already maxed out. We’ve been telling government that for years. Of course, the money to run another line has always been there, in the sales of recall power to Quebec. What we’re going to do to power all this development is a very good question. What we need is that new line.”

Letto, Kean, and the company all agree this is a time of real growth -- and will continue to be for some time. “This time,” says Letto, “We’re definitely ready.”

• Ngaire Genge