I was on last night with Ryan Cleary talking about the commuting workforce. Interestingly enough this oilsands slow down really shouldn't come as that much of a shock or surprise to anyone.
In the last two years the number of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians participating in the fly in fly out Alberta commute was estimated to be as high as 10,000. National media jumped all over the story. The CBC calling the Alberta/Newfoundland flight program a "labour phenomenon that is changing the face of Newfoundland and Labrador."
Most phenomenons are short on stamina.
Three short years ago those Newfoundlanders who worked in Alberta either packed it in and moved there or acted like a seasonal worker; leaving in the spring, returning in the fall, and enjoyed a winter at home, and in the case of many rural folks, a winter spent in the Newfoundland wilderness. I know many a Newfoundlander who was home in time to get their moose and wouldn't have it any other way.
Still, getting use to having the work there year round has been a security blanket for many rural dwellers like myself. I, and others like me, are facing a new old reality, one we have dealt with before certainly, but one we never thought we'd be dealing with quite so soon.
As Ryan says, God Guard Thee Newfoundland.
On another note;
ODE TO NEWFOUNDLAND
THE ODE WAS FIRST PERFORMED IN PUBLIC ON JANUARY 21ST, 1902
The words of "The Ode to Newfoundland" were written by His Excellency Sir Cavendish Boyle, K.C.M.G., who was Governor of Newfoundland from 1901 to 1904. The Ode was first performed in public on January 21st, 1902. Frances Foster sang the Ode at the Casino Theatre in St. John’s.
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