SO EASY TO FORGET

As I watch the debate roll on with regards to the changes to the EI Act, I become perplexed as the focus gravitates to what some Canadians think and believe about Atlantic Canadians. They actually feel that our part of the world is looking for a hand out rather than the proverbial hand up. Oh, how times have changed.

It was not so long ago in our short history as a country, that dust bowls and cries for help came eastward and being Maritimers (NFLD was not part of Confederation in the dirty thirties), we did what we always do. We gave even when we ourselves, were struggling, as our days of wood, wind and sail were coming to a close. Landmark industries like Boss Gibson’s cotton mill were lying derelict and we would not experience prosperity until after WWII.

Why even the present day boom in the oil patch, has stolen our greatest resource – our people. Towns like Red Deer and Fort Mac hold our youth hostage to the dream of a better life. Unlike central Canada and its major employer, the auto industry, our paper mills did not get any help until it was too late. The only light on the east came from Danny Williams who had the balls and the money to back up his words. Nfld will be the next Alberta and they will have the ability to stand on their own because of his passion, fire, and intelligence.

And meanwhile, Ottawa believes that everytime they flush, we eat. But we know the truth, and we will always appreciate how hard it is to survive on our briny coast. If it isn’t the weather, then it is the terrain or the scarcity of opportunities. But we always endure and we always survive. And when they call out the next time, we will be there to lend a hand. It is our nature to help and it is so easy to forget. There is a lot of that going around.