Newfoundland and Labrador

Autour du golfe du Saint-Laurent, le corpus des sites basques du XVIe au XVIIIe siècle est dominé par les stations baleinières de la côte nord du golfe et du détroit de Belle-Île. Tandis que Red Bay (Labrador) et son épave le San Juan, coulé en 1565, servent de point d'ancrage chronologique de la culture matérielle associée à ces marins-pêcheurs, l'épave d'Isle-aux-Morts dans la région de Port-aux-Basques (Terre-Neuve) peut mettre en scène la présence basque labourdaine au XVIIe siè-cle. Cette collection peu connue constitue désormais une référence pour la culture matérielle basque des pêches morutières au sud et à l'ouest de Terre-Neuve au XVIIe siècle.

Newfoundland and Labrador's Vital Signs report is a comprehensive, reader-friendly look at how the communities of the province are faring in key quality-of-life areas. The goal of the report is to provide critical information that can help community members set priorities and identify opportunities for action.

When we look at topics like the economy, health, and housing on a provincial level, we can miss some of the important ways those issues differ if you’re living in Cartwright instead of Corner Brook, Parson’s Pond instead of Paradise. NL's 2016 Vital Signs report considers the differences between the rural and urban communities of Newfoundland and Labrador.

NL's Vital Signs is produced in partnership between the Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Leslie Harris Centre for Regional Policy and Development at Memorial University. The Vital Signs program is coordinated nationally by Community Foundations of Canada.

This report examines the implications of the Muskrat Falls hydro-electric project on Newfoundland and Labrador’s overall sustainability and recommends potential policy and governance directions to improve the province’s long-term wellbeing. We consider the contextual factors that led to the construction of the Muskrat Falls Hydro-electric project. We reflect on the role that Churchill Falls played in the decision to move forward on Muskrat Falls, as well as the catalyzing role of the economic boom that Newfoundland and Labrador were experiencing. The role of charismatic leadership and a supportive public also form a strong contextual basis for the project moving forward.

We highlight that as problems began to emerge in the plan and economic conditions deteriorated, public officials and decision-makers continued to move forward on the project. Red flags were raised by independent bodies such as the Joint Federal-Provincial Environmental Assessment Review Panel and the Public Utilities Board, despite the limited scope of the reviews that they were directed to undertake. From the early days of project inception, concerns were also raised by several public intellectuals through blogs, reports, and media-work. Despite these early warning signs, management problems and expanding budgets were continually excused and minimized, leading to unprecedented financial vulnerability. These findings are discussed in greater depth and consideration in the Muskrat Falls Inquiry report but are outlined broadly within this work.

Additionally, we discuss the limited recognition of Indigenous rights and the subsequent Settler-Indigenous conflict that emerged because of the project. In particular, we discuss the implications of methylmercury contamination, the destabilization of the North Spur and the approaches that members of Inuit and Innu communities and their allies undertook to contest the project, including hunger strikes, litigation, and occupying the site. Recommendations from independent advisory bodies that supported Indigenous concerns were ignored or poorly integrated into project management.

We evaluate the impact of Muskrat Falls on the province’s ecological, socio-cultural, economic, and political sustainability. Ecological sustainability considers the poor attention to climate change alternatives under the province’s analysis. This experience mirrors that of BC with the Site C Hydro-Electric project. The limited options for analysis suggest a myopic and unsustainable approach to considering climate change and sustainability. The implications of methylmercury for downstream Indigenous communities also challenges claims about the ecological sustainability of the project. Socio-cultural sustainability is primarily considered through the impacts to the social fabric of Indigenous communities due to distrust in their food systems due to methylmercury contamination and the potential unravelling of their traditional way of life. Additionally, we consider the lack of legal mechanisms available for decision-makers related to Muskrat Falls, while Indigenous protesters have faced significant legal battles. Both consequences generate challenges for socio-cultural well-being. Economically, we consider the impacts to rate payers, taxpayers, the Federal government, and Indigenous governments because of this project. The level of provincial debt that this project will have generated is unsustainable and may in fact be so insurmountable that the province could face insolvency in the near future. In political sustainability terms, we discuss the continual utilization of inquiries and reviews to de-escalate and re-target political failures. The Muskrat Falls Inquiry, as well as other reviews similarly undertaken in NL’s history, are useful in compiling independent data and evaluating concerns. However, they have limited judicial consequences, nor do they necessarily change political culture.

We provide several recommendations to consider for moving towards a more sustainable future. These include:

• Economic recommendations around avoiding insolvency and accepting the province’s comparatively limited capacity to support mega-projects without funding from private and Federal partnerships. The case remains that the price of Muskrat Falls hydropower is likely uncompetitive on the Eastern seaboard and NL may have a significant power surplus. We suggest focusing economic development on diversified industries that consume power and follow existing successes, like aquaculture, mining, and tourism. To draw major power users, corporate power rates will likely need to be subsidized.
• The use of independent oversight like the Public Utilities Board must be strengthened, as well as legal recourse for those that do not exercise proper due diligence in provincial decision-making. We advocate the widespread use of alternatives analysis and the integration of adaptive management approaches. We highlight that if legal structures only supported criminal charges for those peacefully protesting on their traditional territory, without penalties for those that have driven NL towards insolvency, then structures must shift.
• We also call upon NL to integrate FPIC and better partner with Indigenous communities in future economic development to ensure mutual benefit and shared decision-making mandates.
• Finally, we recommend that NLers refocus on democratic processes, re-evaluating the culture from “patriotic correctness” towards accountability, as we have seen in Iceland post-banking crisis. Valuing rigorous journalism, as well as respecting public dissent and criticism, plays an important role in creating this shift in the provincial political culture.

Today, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, an archaeological site known as “L’Anse aux Meadows” occupies the northernmost tip of the Great Northern Peninsula. It has been dated as far back as 4000 CE and has origin ties to The Vinland Sagas, such as The Saga of Erik the Red. Now, it has been deemed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and has artifacts, remains, and reconstructions available for those who want to tour the archaeological site. This anthology of nine bright students’ research on L’Anse aux Meadows dives into its speculated history and literary significance, its contemporary discovery and modern-day significance, and similarities and differences between Norse people and Vikings, among many other fascinating topics.

UPDATE: April 6: Adding new TED weblink and editing links page; April 5: Only adding a table of contents (mainly to aid media requests for images and/or caption details); April 4: Three sessions with a most recent addition of some good links, plus previous final edits to photo caption credits, some minor text edits, and a few additional recommended key sources on L'Anse aux Meadows; April 3 two sessions with some minor edits and revisions only; April 2: Adding some broader contextual information on the potential time period and setting (e.g., L'Anse aux Meadows; Little Passage Indians), a selected bibliography, plus a "potential significance" statement on Point Rosee issued to the press (added after the project team's summary statement (posted earlier).
ABSTRACT: March 31: The recent processing of satellite imagery data,  magnetometer surveys (October 2014; June 2015), preliminary excavations (June 2015), and the initial, albeit ongoing, analysis of an archaeological site and its associated, potential “Norse” materials at Point Rosee/Rosie in southern Newfoundland have revealed traces of: (a) a few suggestive rectilinear features in processed satellite imagery (albeit only partly excavated), (b) some probable and highly suggestive roasting of bog iron ore (analyzed by T. Birch and J. Still), (c) limited exposure of turf-type remains (i.e., evidence of turf cutting [assessed by D. Bolender]), (d) some promising magnetometer readings (e.g., a few “hot spots” suggest potential hearths and/or additional metal/metal-working), (e) a series of thirteen associated AMS radiocarbon dates, some of which fall between the early 9th century AD and late 13th century AD (excluding two later berries from contaminated contexts),  and (f) a total absence (so far) of either any indigenous materials (i.e., Palaeoeskimo and Amerindians) or any historical remains that are otherwise typically present at such sites.  Although the preliminary indications are thus somewhat promising for both a “Norse” date (i.e., ca. 1000–1450 AD in Greenland) and a potential “Norse” affiliation (see 2016 documentaries by the BBC and Pbs/Nova, and other media), further excavation, analysis, and multi-specialist input are absolutely crucial before determining and expanding upon the site’s time period(s) and cultural affiliation(s).  Likewise, the specific occupation span (i.e., longevity) and nature of the overall site at Point Rosee, which has been postulated publicly to be a “settlement” (versus a “camp,” or some other site-type), also remain unclear as of yet, requiring yet again broader exposure, context, material culture, and analysis.  Much on-site recording and post-excavation research, processing, analyses, and other work have been and are still being conducted (e.g., TL/OLS dating pending), all of which have generated many reports, notes, and other findings dispatched regularly to the Newfoundland Provincial Archaeology Office (PAO).  These preliminary records and reports are listed further below (and listed via Academia), and will form the main basis for the pending publications on the initial season at Point Rosee, and a much needed/desired follow-up season –ideally later this summer.  In brief, a “Norse” date and “affiliation” do look rather promising, at this still early stage in the project, but we simply need more work at this site and more specialist input and peer-reviewed data before being confidant in stating this as “fact.”  SPECIAL THANKS to the Newfoundland Provincial Archaeology Office (PAO), the people of Newfoundland, our funders (BBC; Pbs/Nova; National Geographic), and many consultants and others (listed within the online paper).

(SELECTED) WEB LINKS TO VARIOUS MEDIA REPORTS:
BBC News Magazine (March 31, 2016):
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35935725

BBC One Vikings’ documentary, airing Monday, April 4, 8:30 pm (U.K.):
On TV in United Kingdom

National Geographic Vikings’ story (online; by Mark Strauss, March 31, 2016):
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160331-viking-discovery-north-america-canada-archaeology/ Please note: The materials analyzed do not represent “slag” (mentioned in one photo caption), but are roasted bog iron ore (T. Birch & J. Still).

New York Times (online; by Ralph Blumenthal, March 31, 2016):
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/science/vikings-archaeology-north-america-newfoundland.html?_r=0

Pbs/Nova Vikings’ documentary, streaming online, 3:30 p.m., Eastern time, Monday, April 4 (U.S.A.):
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/

Pbs/Nova Vikings’ documentary airing Wednesday, April 6, 9 pm on Pbs:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/

UAB announcement/post (March 31, 2016):
https://www.uab.edu/news/faculty/item/6707-birmingham-space-archaeologist-uncovers-ancient-civilizations-teaches-the-world