Would any visit to Metro be complete without a trip to a “Lobster and Lighthouses” tourist trap? (The Carnival cruise line isn’t interested in your answer.) Will the federal budget vote see more Nova Scotian MPs taking Nova Scotia’s side? (The budget vote’s tonight.) And is there anything pithy or trite to say about childhood sexual abuse? (Nope.) Full backstory to these items below.
OH SHIP!
from cyberspace
The BYM nautical publishing empire — which covers the world of boats, yachts and marinas — is running an item about Carnival’s newest cruises. Tomorrow the New York-based Carnival Victory ship starts its “popular Canada cruise program” with a new, four-day trip to the Bay of Fundy. And a new cruise means new shore excursions, including:
Lobster and Lighthouses (Halifax) — This tour provides an up-close look at the life of Canadian lobsterman and visits three of Nova Scotia’s most beautiful lighthouses. The excursion begins with a boat tour where guests help the captain and crew pull out lobster traps and includes a delicious lobster feast and time for shopping along the waterfront. (story here)
In case the thought of this drives you to drink, there’s always the “Valley & Vineyard” and “Bachelor of Beer Arts” excursions.
CANADA’S BULLY PRIME MINISTER
from Toronto
In cyberspace, it’s hard to miss the Conservative implosion threatening to happen over the federal budget and its disdain for the Atlantic Accord. If you’ve been under a rock, or too busy posting to your own blog, the Globe and Mail has a couple good pieces. One features prime minister Harper threatening to take Nova Scotia to court to see who’s telling the truth about the Accord:
The political dare was met with scorn by Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams and Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald, who said they will not be drawn into legal battles that would only deflect their criticisms of the recent federal budget.
The federal government is “not going to pull the wool over Nova Scotians’ eyes on this issue,” Mr. MacDonald said. “It’s very clear they have broken a commitment. They did it unilaterally. They did with a budgetary hammer.”
“We may be a small province, but we will not be bullied by the federal government.” (story here)
RodMac might be running out of time for such stern talk, though. Harper’s Atlantic MPs are feeling some pressure to vote against the budget, but the final reading of the budget happens soon:
The budget will go to its third reading at 5:15 p.m. EDT Tuesday, with the government set to limit debate before the vote. (says the other Globe story, here)
After weeks of being the federal government’s patsy on this issue, RodMac has spent the last couple days trying to turn the ship around. We’ll know shortly how that’s working out for him.
FINDING A VOICE
from Belleville, Ontario
A blogger with the handle AngelFire ended decades of silence today to talk about the years she endured sexual abuse at the hands of her adoptive father in Nova Scotia.
My so called father always wanted me to grow my hair long so he could brush it. I remember thinking that’s a bit weird but just dismissed it in my childish mind because he was weird anyway. I recall my Mother was a Seamstress and many of the ladies used to come over to the house for fittings etc. He would drool and gush over them right in front of both my Mother and myself. It made me sick! I hated this poor excuse for a man. He repulsed me. So to shorten a long story, one day I was in the bathroom brushing my hair and Mother was in the kitchen making cookies. I was 15. He came up behind me and put his hands on my breasts and let me tell you I lost it!! All those years of anger and hurt and pain came rushing out in a moment of extreme rage and I screamed at him (not thinking about my poor Mother in the next room) “If you EVER put your Goddamn filthy hands on me again, I’ll kill you”!!! I threw the brush on the counter and ran out of the room. I froze in horror as I realized my Mother had heard, naturally. There was dead silence in that house that day. She made him go into the bedroom and they were in there for hours before they came back out. Nothing was ever said about it. Nothing. From that day on until he kicked me out at age 16, I lived a hellish life. He hated me now. Blamed me for everything!
So when I turned 16 he continually threatened me, that he no longer had to support me and I could go out on my own. Two days after Christmas I left. He had gotten me a job in Halifax. I was terrified. I was a very young and certainly naive 16 year old from a very small village who knew absolutely nothing about the world. I will spare you all the problems I had coming to terms with trying to survive. (story here)
It’s not light reading.
When you come across a Halifax mention in the wider world, send a link here.
This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2007.