Monday, April 21, 2008
Politicians should admit when they blow it says former cabinet minister
The biggest mistake politicians make is not admitting they’ve made mistakes, says a former cabinet minister.
John Crosby, who previously held various federal cabinet positions, answered questions of Mount Allison University, U.P.E.I and Holland College professors and students. The less formal fireside chat was held after Crosby’s speech in yesterday’s Symons Lecture at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown.
The fewer promises parties make when in an election campaign the better. When Crosby’s party, the Progressive Conservatives, ran in a federal election years ago, a promise was made to reduce the deficit. When the party was elected, the new minority government got caught between rising gas and oil prices and ensuing provincial-federal struggles. During the campaign no polling had been done, so it had no notion of what to expect. The party had done all the wrong things, Crosby said.
“You should admit mistakes when you make them.”
However, Crosby feels he did many things right while he was in office. He did not allow himself to be controlled by those under whose authority he sat. It is important for a minister to hire his own staff, he said.
“The name of the game is whether you want to have any real influence or not,” he said.
“I would never allow the PMO to control me when I was a minister.” He would cooperate, but would always ask the Prime Minister to call him directly.
Canada is getting more difficult and complicated to govern, he said.
“Terrorism can’t be encouraged.”
He criticized the federal employment insurance system. There are terrible excesses of misuse. A woman who was on a referee board for employment insurance in Newfoundland was charged two years later with fraud because she claimed benefits for days she had been on the board. Nobody in her community thought it was wrong, he said.
“You can’t blame people for taking advantage of whatever government puts in place.”
The Canadian people are in danger of being dictated by the Prime Minister’s office.
“The Prime Minister now is a control freak,” he said.
“I hate the trend today.”
When he was in Joey Smallwood’s provincial government in Newfoundland, Smallwood had too much power, Crosby said.
“If you asked a question, he (Smallwood) became suspicious of you,” he said.
“He was a one-man show.”
John Crosby, who previously held various federal cabinet positions, answered questions of Mount Allison University, U.P.E.I and Holland College professors and students. The less formal fireside chat was held after Crosby’s speech in yesterday’s Symons Lecture at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown.
The fewer promises parties make when in an election campaign the better. When Crosby’s party, the Progressive Conservatives, ran in a federal election years ago, a promise was made to reduce the deficit. When the party was elected, the new minority government got caught between rising gas and oil prices and ensuing provincial-federal struggles. During the campaign no polling had been done, so it had no notion of what to expect. The party had done all the wrong things, Crosby said.
“You should admit mistakes when you make them.”
However, Crosby feels he did many things right while he was in office. He did not allow himself to be controlled by those under whose authority he sat. It is important for a minister to hire his own staff, he said.
“The name of the game is whether you want to have any real influence or not,” he said.
“I would never allow the PMO to control me when I was a minister.” He would cooperate, but would always ask the Prime Minister to call him directly.
Canada is getting more difficult and complicated to govern, he said.
“Terrorism can’t be encouraged.”
He criticized the federal employment insurance system. There are terrible excesses of misuse. A woman who was on a referee board for employment insurance in Newfoundland was charged two years later with fraud because she claimed benefits for days she had been on the board. Nobody in her community thought it was wrong, he said.
“You can’t blame people for taking advantage of whatever government puts in place.”
The Canadian people are in danger of being dictated by the Prime Minister’s office.
“The Prime Minister now is a control freak,” he said.
“I hate the trend today.”
When he was in Joey Smallwood’s provincial government in Newfoundland, Smallwood had too much power, Crosby said.
“If you asked a question, he (Smallwood) became suspicious of you,” he said.
“He was a one-man show.”
Monday, April 14, 2008
Ellen's Work...
Here are a few examples of what I have accomplished in J-school since September, 2007. Some have been published in our teaching paper, The Surveyor, some elsewhere. Please feel free to browse and send me comments, I could use the constructive criticism!
RESUME
RESUME Ellen C. Smith
Unit I, 405 Norwood Road
Charlottetown, PE
C1A 7J7
(902) 367-9338
(902) 394-1700
SKILLS SET
PERSONAL
• Appraise/motivate others
• Listening skills
• Teaching/mentoring ability
• Positive attitude/adaptable/punctual
• Professional manner
• Creative/innovative
• Trustworthy/Bondable
PROFESSIONAL
• Basic computer skills/familiar with programming concepts
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Familiar with library systems/cataloguing/processing
• Familiar with theatre arts/creative dramatics terminology and concepts
• Familiar with voice coaching concepts
• Good numerical skills/cash handling
• Ability to use Quark Xpress/familiar with layout concepts
• Ability to use digital camera/good photography sense/familiar with Adobe Photoshop
• Write clean copy/use various story structures for print journalism/excellent
rapport/ability to generate story ideas
EDUCATION
Holland College Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Print Journalism Diploma 2007-2009
Career Bridges
Career Counseling/Assessment Service Course Charlottetown, P.E.I.
2007
Holland College Charlottetown, P.E.I.
CIS Diploma 2002-2005
Nine modules completed (half)
Acadia University Wolfville, N.S.
B.A – English – Theatre Arts Specialization 1980-1983
EMPLOYMENT
CLMC (Canadian Learning Material Centre) Halifax, N.S.
Assistant to the Collections Coordinator 1985
• Processed collection loans
• Wrote annotations for books
• Reception – Front desk and telephone
• Entered data on collection database
Revenue Canada Sydney District Office
CR-2 filing clerk Sydney, N.S.
• Worked with Revenue Canada 1980
confidential files
Louisbourg Volunteers Association Louisbourg, N.S.
Fortress of Louisbourg/Parks Canada 1979-1980
Project Presenter- PR
• Researched/designed/wrote adaptable lectures/slideshows
for presentation to elementary, junior/senior high school age students
• Gave lectures using slide shows, period costume and artifacts
• Fielded questions from students and teachers
• Met challenge of adapting information for various age groups
VOLUNTEER WORK
Theatre Arts/Creative Dramatics Instructor Church settings
• Taught various age groups creative 1985 to present
dramatics/theatre arts
• Directed/Coached/Performed in various plays,
dramatic presentations
REFERENCES UPON REQUEST
Unit I, 405 Norwood Road
Charlottetown, PE
C1A 7J7
(902) 367-9338
(902) 394-1700
SKILLS SET
PERSONAL
• Appraise/motivate others
• Listening skills
• Teaching/mentoring ability
• Positive attitude/adaptable/punctual
• Professional manner
• Creative/innovative
• Trustworthy/Bondable
PROFESSIONAL
• Basic computer skills/familiar with programming concepts
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Familiar with library systems/cataloguing/processing
• Familiar with theatre arts/creative dramatics terminology and concepts
• Familiar with voice coaching concepts
• Good numerical skills/cash handling
• Ability to use Quark Xpress/familiar with layout concepts
• Ability to use digital camera/good photography sense/familiar with Adobe Photoshop
• Write clean copy/use various story structures for print journalism/excellent
rapport/ability to generate story ideas
EDUCATION
Holland College Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Print Journalism Diploma 2007-2009
Career Bridges
Career Counseling/Assessment Service Course Charlottetown, P.E.I.
2007
Holland College Charlottetown, P.E.I.
CIS Diploma 2002-2005
Nine modules completed (half)
Acadia University Wolfville, N.S.
B.A – English – Theatre Arts Specialization 1980-1983
EMPLOYMENT
CLMC (Canadian Learning Material Centre) Halifax, N.S.
Assistant to the Collections Coordinator 1985
• Processed collection loans
• Wrote annotations for books
• Reception – Front desk and telephone
• Entered data on collection database
Revenue Canada Sydney District Office
CR-2 filing clerk Sydney, N.S.
• Worked with Revenue Canada 1980
confidential files
Louisbourg Volunteers Association Louisbourg, N.S.
Fortress of Louisbourg/Parks Canada 1979-1980
Project Presenter- PR
• Researched/designed/wrote adaptable lectures/slideshows
for presentation to elementary, junior/senior high school age students
• Gave lectures using slide shows, period costume and artifacts
• Fielded questions from students and teachers
• Met challenge of adapting information for various age groups
VOLUNTEER WORK
Theatre Arts/Creative Dramatics Instructor Church settings
• Taught various age groups creative 1985 to present
dramatics/theatre arts
• Directed/Coached/Performed in various plays,
dramatic presentations
REFERENCES UPON REQUEST
Wartime Canadians over time share similar impressions
Marjorie Frizzell was 11 when she had her first experience with war.
It was the summer of 1939. She was picking strawberries in a field near her family farm in Highbank, P.E.I. Just as she finished filling her bucket she heard a roar and looked up.
“There were planes flying in formation.”
She fell to the ground in terror, dropping her berries.
She thought war had come to P.E.I.
Brenda Hunter of Pleasant Grove, P.E.I. had a similar response in 2006 after she learned her son, an engineer in the military, was going to Kandahar, Afghanistan.
At first when she heard the news, she was worried. Then she reasoned it was a job, like any other job. She couldn’t allow herself to fret.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Shortly after, while she was attending Holland College, there was a bomb scare at the college. She wasn’t frightened.
The next day, while she was in a bathroom at the college, a fire alarm went off.
“It came down on me like a ton of bricks.”
Hunter wept in the tiny cubicle.
Frizzell’s memories include watching her mother knit things for soldiers in Europe and people buying bonds to raise money for the war effort.
Hunter can send packages with cookies and other treats to her son, who is still overseas. They go to a designated address and the military redirects them to each recipient. Not even family members know where the soldiers are.
She also gets update letters and brochures from a military family support service. Her involvement with the organization is limited, however, because she does not live near her son’s base, which is off-Island.
During the Second World War, Frizzell met a young soldier at one of the many events held for the troops, called “times” by locals. She was very young and had promised her parents she would not dance at the function.
After the soldier was stationed in Europe, she received a photograph with a letter from him in which he wrote upon his return he would teach her to dance. He never made it home.
Hunter said a mother is always going to worry about her children.
“You hope you won’t see anyone coming up your driveway.”
But it’s a lot different for soldiers now than it was years ago, she said. Soldiers are deployed for smaller periods of time and they are chosen from existing military personnel.
But war has been going on since the world was made, Hunter added.
“I don’t see it ever ending.”
Frizzell agrees.
War is inevitable, she said.
“None of us believes in war, but when you think what the alternative could have been, had nobody done anything…it’s an inborn need, the preservation of life.”
She is a chicken with a very low pain threshold, but she would still protect a person under attack, she said.
“You don’t have an instinct to kill, but you just want to stop it.”
Hunter said she feels bad when soldiers get killed, but it’s no different than when four young Mounties got killed in the line of duty recently.
“You don’t have to be overseas to be in a war zone.”
Frizzell has kept a lengthy diary of wartime memories she shares with anyone who will listen.
Hunter keeps a yellow ribbon tied around her mailbox anticipating the day when she welcomes her son back to Canadian soil, safe from harm.
It was the summer of 1939. She was picking strawberries in a field near her family farm in Highbank, P.E.I. Just as she finished filling her bucket she heard a roar and looked up.
“There were planes flying in formation.”
She fell to the ground in terror, dropping her berries.
She thought war had come to P.E.I.
Brenda Hunter of Pleasant Grove, P.E.I. had a similar response in 2006 after she learned her son, an engineer in the military, was going to Kandahar, Afghanistan.
At first when she heard the news, she was worried. Then she reasoned it was a job, like any other job. She couldn’t allow herself to fret.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Shortly after, while she was attending Holland College, there was a bomb scare at the college. She wasn’t frightened.
The next day, while she was in a bathroom at the college, a fire alarm went off.
“It came down on me like a ton of bricks.”
Hunter wept in the tiny cubicle.
Frizzell’s memories include watching her mother knit things for soldiers in Europe and people buying bonds to raise money for the war effort.
Hunter can send packages with cookies and other treats to her son, who is still overseas. They go to a designated address and the military redirects them to each recipient. Not even family members know where the soldiers are.
She also gets update letters and brochures from a military family support service. Her involvement with the organization is limited, however, because she does not live near her son’s base, which is off-Island.
During the Second World War, Frizzell met a young soldier at one of the many events held for the troops, called “times” by locals. She was very young and had promised her parents she would not dance at the function.
After the soldier was stationed in Europe, she received a photograph with a letter from him in which he wrote upon his return he would teach her to dance. He never made it home.
Hunter said a mother is always going to worry about her children.
“You hope you won’t see anyone coming up your driveway.”
But it’s a lot different for soldiers now than it was years ago, she said. Soldiers are deployed for smaller periods of time and they are chosen from existing military personnel.
But war has been going on since the world was made, Hunter added.
“I don’t see it ever ending.”
Frizzell agrees.
War is inevitable, she said.
“None of us believes in war, but when you think what the alternative could have been, had nobody done anything…it’s an inborn need, the preservation of life.”
She is a chicken with a very low pain threshold, but she would still protect a person under attack, she said.
“You don’t have an instinct to kill, but you just want to stop it.”
Hunter said she feels bad when soldiers get killed, but it’s no different than when four young Mounties got killed in the line of duty recently.
“You don’t have to be overseas to be in a war zone.”
Frizzell has kept a lengthy diary of wartime memories she shares with anyone who will listen.
Hunter keeps a yellow ribbon tied around her mailbox anticipating the day when she welcomes her son back to Canadian soil, safe from harm.
Valentines Day; bring it on!
OK, all you strenuous objectors to the admittedly commercialized celebration of love, i.e. Valentine’s Day, read on whilst I educate you vis-Ã -vis what you are missing when you grumble, growl and generally go on strike emotionally days before Feb. 14 rolls around each year.
Before I digress I would like to say I agree with the sentiment most holidays are treated consistently as if the bottom line is the black one.
Tossing commercialism aside for a moment, let’s consider what the whole holiday engenders.
Good feelings for those who get it and thereby benefit and frustration for those who haven’t a clue about romantic celebration. (I seriously believe this is what those who whine about the profit margin issue are really concerned with!)
And here’s where the rubber hits the road.
When marrying, a lot of couples take the time to do a lot of reading to prepare themselves for their impending unions.
The books they read have the potential to open their eyes to the real nature of love and the differences in how women and men see romantic love and sexual love, both of which are important for healthy, long partnerships.
The following sums up what they learn:
Essentially, men discover their emotions through sex and women discover their sexuality through their emotions.
You can see where I’m going here.
I think most folks would agree that when the honeymoon is over, what is left is (hopefully) the respect you felt for the person that got the whole thing going in the first place.
That respect, if sincere, means you put the other person first, plain and simple.
Not in a co-dependent way, but in an attempt to honour and bring out the best in the partner. With me so far?
Well, gosh, golly gee, there’s one more thing I forgot to mention is in those reading assignments, which is paramount to my defence.
Women are receivers, biologically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, if you will.
Men are planters. Same logic. Think about it. Doesn’t it make sense?
Soooo…How do the sexes get the best out of their relationships? At least, monogamous, heterosexual relationships that is.
Here’s the formula, so get pen and paper in hand.
Men should instigate sex by planting romance. Women need to receive romance and turn it into sex. Everybody is happy. End of story.
But what about Valentine’s Day you are asking? What’s the connection? Well shouldn’t it be obvious?
Instead of seeing it as an unnecessary, frivolous, foolhardy, even dangerous undertaking, rather, it can be a huge window of opportunity to grow and glow!
Valentine’s Day humbugs, you can run but you can’t hide…anymore that is!
Before I digress I would like to say I agree with the sentiment most holidays are treated consistently as if the bottom line is the black one.
Tossing commercialism aside for a moment, let’s consider what the whole holiday engenders.
Good feelings for those who get it and thereby benefit and frustration for those who haven’t a clue about romantic celebration. (I seriously believe this is what those who whine about the profit margin issue are really concerned with!)
And here’s where the rubber hits the road.
When marrying, a lot of couples take the time to do a lot of reading to prepare themselves for their impending unions.
The books they read have the potential to open their eyes to the real nature of love and the differences in how women and men see romantic love and sexual love, both of which are important for healthy, long partnerships.
The following sums up what they learn:
Essentially, men discover their emotions through sex and women discover their sexuality through their emotions.
You can see where I’m going here.
I think most folks would agree that when the honeymoon is over, what is left is (hopefully) the respect you felt for the person that got the whole thing going in the first place.
That respect, if sincere, means you put the other person first, plain and simple.
Not in a co-dependent way, but in an attempt to honour and bring out the best in the partner. With me so far?
Well, gosh, golly gee, there’s one more thing I forgot to mention is in those reading assignments, which is paramount to my defence.
Women are receivers, biologically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, if you will.
Men are planters. Same logic. Think about it. Doesn’t it make sense?
Soooo…How do the sexes get the best out of their relationships? At least, monogamous, heterosexual relationships that is.
Here’s the formula, so get pen and paper in hand.
Men should instigate sex by planting romance. Women need to receive romance and turn it into sex. Everybody is happy. End of story.
But what about Valentine’s Day you are asking? What’s the connection? Well shouldn’t it be obvious?
Instead of seeing it as an unnecessary, frivolous, foolhardy, even dangerous undertaking, rather, it can be a huge window of opportunity to grow and glow!
Valentine’s Day humbugs, you can run but you can’t hide…anymore that is!
Speculation, not supply-and–demand, ups gas prices: UPEI economist
Speculation is now one of the biggest reasons for rising oil prices, says a local economics professor.
In the past 12 years, the marketing of oil and oil products has changed from being influenced primarily by supply-and-demand to speculation on supply-and-demand, said Robin Neill, an economics Ph.D. and lecturer in the economics department at UPEI.
All the evidence seems to point to the world having ample stores of fossil fuels, Neill added.
“In terms of supply and demand, the supply has kept up.”
Rising world oil prices have caused big increases over the past year in the cost of gasoline and heating oil across North America.
A recent jump in the price of gasoline to over $1.13 per litre in some parts of P.E.I. has some consumers wondering where inflation will take them next.
It is a tough issue, said Shawn Murphy, MP for Charlottetown.
“The environmentalists say let the price go up and have people use less gas. That’s not realistic for someone who has to heat their home in the middle of the winter.”
“[But] we can all take a 20 per cent reduction in what we use, “ Murphy added.
A Liberal government would increase the Child Tax Benefit and Guaranteed Income Supplement as a means of aiding low-income families, Murphy said.
“The bottom line would here to be more supports for low income people.”
Neill said the weakening American dollar and a change in oil refining processes are also responsible for rising oil prices.
“We are already feeling the pinch of environmental cleanliness.”
Neil hesitated to predict oil prices for the next year.
“We live in great uncertainty. It’s not just oil. It’s gold and wheat.”
Murphy said he is not totally convinced government wasn’t going to subsidize oil prices. And lowering the minimum delivery price is just a symptom, Murphy said.
“You haven’t solved the problem.”
In the past 12 years, the marketing of oil and oil products has changed from being influenced primarily by supply-and-demand to speculation on supply-and-demand, said Robin Neill, an economics Ph.D. and lecturer in the economics department at UPEI.
All the evidence seems to point to the world having ample stores of fossil fuels, Neill added.
“In terms of supply and demand, the supply has kept up.”
Rising world oil prices have caused big increases over the past year in the cost of gasoline and heating oil across North America.
A recent jump in the price of gasoline to over $1.13 per litre in some parts of P.E.I. has some consumers wondering where inflation will take them next.
It is a tough issue, said Shawn Murphy, MP for Charlottetown.
“The environmentalists say let the price go up and have people use less gas. That’s not realistic for someone who has to heat their home in the middle of the winter.”
“[But] we can all take a 20 per cent reduction in what we use, “ Murphy added.
A Liberal government would increase the Child Tax Benefit and Guaranteed Income Supplement as a means of aiding low-income families, Murphy said.
“The bottom line would here to be more supports for low income people.”
Neill said the weakening American dollar and a change in oil refining processes are also responsible for rising oil prices.
“We are already feeling the pinch of environmental cleanliness.”
Neil hesitated to predict oil prices for the next year.
“We live in great uncertainty. It’s not just oil. It’s gold and wheat.”
Murphy said he is not totally convinced government wasn’t going to subsidize oil prices. And lowering the minimum delivery price is just a symptom, Murphy said.
“You haven’t solved the problem.”
Southern belle falls in love with P.E.I. on Valentines Day
On Valentines Day 2007, a warm southern belle arrived on P.E.I. to share her heart with children in the Charlottetown area.
Ellen Cone, 31, a native of Mississippi, flew in from Calgary, Alta., as part of the Southern Baptist Convention Mission Board volunteer program.
Cone was welcomed by members of Community Baptist Church on Sherwood Road who ushered her immediately to a small, one-bedroom apartment in the basement of the church building.
The apartment is one way the small congregation contributes to her living expenses without actually putting her visa in jeopardy.
Her arrival was not the first time she made a memorable impression.
John Evans, associate pastor at the church, knew her from previous educational experiences in Alberta.
He was working on his master’s degree in 2001 when he got a request to help a young lady move into an apartment, he said.
“She had cases of Dr. Pepper.”
Someone told her it couldn’t be purchased in Canada.
While he studied, Evans ministered to elite athletes at Calgary’s Mountain View Christian Fellowship which was originally located on an Olympic ski-jump hill in the city.
When Cone joined the congregation, as a volunteer, she developed a relationship with Evans and his wife, Erin.
That relationship eventually brought Cone to P.E.I.
Evans and his wife took up a ministry position after his graduation in the little church on Sherwood Road in 2005.
Shortly after, Cone called the Evanses requesting prayer for a sense of restlessness with her life in Calgary.
The Mississippian took teacher training in a junior college and at Mississippi College. She taught for two years and moved to Cochrane, Alta., to do a Masters in Religious Education degree, where she shared some classes with Evans.
Evans said he called Cone back the next day and asked her what would stop her from coming to the Maritimes.
The need was great in his congregation, he said and his training was not with children.
“I didn’t feel all that capable and gifted in that area.”
Cone said after much thought and prayer it all fell into place.
Members of the church in Calgary met in a school building. Community Baptist Church is more like what she was accustomed to back home, where traditional buildings dot the landscape. The contrast was striking, she said.
“It was a neat experience to see what church was like having your own building.”
There are other similarities between Cone’s hometown and her new residence.
“Charlottetown takes me back to Mississippi. I like the small-town feel. I lost that in Calgary.”
And there are differences.
She can’t get a lot of southern foods and brand names are different. The usual. But one thing really stood out, Cone said.
“Shoes come off at the door. That’s a totally Canadian thing.”
On Cone’s living room wall is a large black and white poster with a photograph of a very flat field filled with ripe cotton. A cotton gin, a large harvesting machine, dominates the right side. On the left, two people pick cotton. Along the top are the words SKI MISSISSIPPI.
Evans said Cone gives direction and leadership to children’s ministry and she helps with youth groups.
“She’s brought organization and passion for children’s ministry. She’s been inspirational.”
Cone said she’s learned Islanders are proud of their history.
“They’re not going to leave.”
She is constantly reminded of home by the salt tang in the air and friendly hospitality of the people.
She isn’t going anywhere either.
Ellen Cone, 31, a native of Mississippi, flew in from Calgary, Alta., as part of the Southern Baptist Convention Mission Board volunteer program.
Cone was welcomed by members of Community Baptist Church on Sherwood Road who ushered her immediately to a small, one-bedroom apartment in the basement of the church building.
The apartment is one way the small congregation contributes to her living expenses without actually putting her visa in jeopardy.
Her arrival was not the first time she made a memorable impression.
John Evans, associate pastor at the church, knew her from previous educational experiences in Alberta.
He was working on his master’s degree in 2001 when he got a request to help a young lady move into an apartment, he said.
“She had cases of Dr. Pepper.”
Someone told her it couldn’t be purchased in Canada.
While he studied, Evans ministered to elite athletes at Calgary’s Mountain View Christian Fellowship which was originally located on an Olympic ski-jump hill in the city.
When Cone joined the congregation, as a volunteer, she developed a relationship with Evans and his wife, Erin.
That relationship eventually brought Cone to P.E.I.
Evans and his wife took up a ministry position after his graduation in the little church on Sherwood Road in 2005.
Shortly after, Cone called the Evanses requesting prayer for a sense of restlessness with her life in Calgary.
The Mississippian took teacher training in a junior college and at Mississippi College. She taught for two years and moved to Cochrane, Alta., to do a Masters in Religious Education degree, where she shared some classes with Evans.
Evans said he called Cone back the next day and asked her what would stop her from coming to the Maritimes.
The need was great in his congregation, he said and his training was not with children.
“I didn’t feel all that capable and gifted in that area.”
Cone said after much thought and prayer it all fell into place.
Members of the church in Calgary met in a school building. Community Baptist Church is more like what she was accustomed to back home, where traditional buildings dot the landscape. The contrast was striking, she said.
“It was a neat experience to see what church was like having your own building.”
There are other similarities between Cone’s hometown and her new residence.
“Charlottetown takes me back to Mississippi. I like the small-town feel. I lost that in Calgary.”
And there are differences.
She can’t get a lot of southern foods and brand names are different. The usual. But one thing really stood out, Cone said.
“Shoes come off at the door. That’s a totally Canadian thing.”
On Cone’s living room wall is a large black and white poster with a photograph of a very flat field filled with ripe cotton. A cotton gin, a large harvesting machine, dominates the right side. On the left, two people pick cotton. Along the top are the words SKI MISSISSIPPI.
Evans said Cone gives direction and leadership to children’s ministry and she helps with youth groups.
“She’s brought organization and passion for children’s ministry. She’s been inspirational.”
Cone said she’s learned Islanders are proud of their history.
“They’re not going to leave.”
She is constantly reminded of home by the salt tang in the air and friendly hospitality of the people.
She isn’t going anywhere either.
Chinese and Arabic immigrants in P.E.I. Part 1: First impressions prove favourable
Qian Wu, her husband Feng Cao and 13-month-old daughter Amy Cao, landed at Lester B. Pearson airport in Toronto in November, 2005. They came from the People’s Republic of China.
Because Toronto has seen the greatest percentage of Chinese immigrants in Canada, there were Chinese language services available, so the family’s first experience in Canada went smoothly.
Their next flight took them to Halifax, where Wu’s brother-in-law lived. They stayed in Halifax until September 2006, when they moved to Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Stories like theirs are becoming increasingly common in P.E.I.
Between September, 2006 and August, 2007, some 857 newcomers from 53 different countries registered with the Prince Edward Island Association of Newcomers. A little over one-third were from the Far East, which includes the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan and South Korea.
Nationally, the 2006 census enumerated roughly six million foreign-born people in Canada, according to a Statistics Canada study. Of that number, immigrants from Asia
and the Middle East
made up almost 60 per cent.
The same study reported almost one-fifth of those who did not speak English as a mother tongue said they spoke a Chinese language.
Wu and her husband speak Mandarin in the home, but they are learning English.
Their daughter, who is also learning English at daycare, is teaching her parents, Wu said.
“She has no accent. But we have an accent.”
Hamid Sanayie didn’t struggle with the language.
The Holland College Business Administration student and his family immigrated to Charlottetown in the summer of 2007 from Leeds, England, where they lived for several years.
Sanayie was born in Iran to Arabic parents in 1959 and moved to England for educational reasons in 1986. His English language skills are more than adequate.
And Canadian culture is very similar to British culture, Sanayie said. He grinned.
“Canadian English is not English English.”
According to Statistics Canada, of the newcomers included in the 2006 census, approximately one in 20 people who reported having a language other than English as a mother tongue, were Arabic-speaking.
After Sanayie spoke with Phil Muise, who promoted immigration to P.E.I. at a show in Edinburgh, Scotland, early in 2007, he decided to visit the Island for five days in March. He came to see what it was really like, he said.
“I fell in love. The people are so friendly, I couldn’t believe it.”
He liked Charlottetown’s waterfront beauty.
“The city is very nice.”
Wu has fond memories of the first days on Canadian soil, as well.
She teared up as she spoke of the elderly couple that tutored herself and her husband in English when they lived in Halifax.
“They were very nice to us. They gave us a lot of help.”
The couple came to their house and taught them regularly. When they moved to P.E.I. they helped Wu and her husband rent a car and even drove it to the Island, she said, blowing her nose in a tissue.
“They came to Charlottetown in November to visit us. We sent a Christmas card to them. We got no response. We wondered why.”
The couple had a 30-year-old daughter who had married a Japanese man and moved to Japan. The daughter died in a car accident around the time Wu sent the card. She was their only child, Wu said.
“I can imagine they’d be very upset.”
Sanayie appreciates living in Charlottetown, which is smaller than what he and his family had grown accustomed to in the U.K., he said.
“You may not make as much money as in Europe but the standard of living is good. You get everything you need within your reach. ”
Because Toronto has seen the greatest percentage of Chinese immigrants in Canada, there were Chinese language services available, so the family’s first experience in Canada went smoothly.
Their next flight took them to Halifax, where Wu’s brother-in-law lived. They stayed in Halifax until September 2006, when they moved to Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Stories like theirs are becoming increasingly common in P.E.I.
Between September, 2006 and August, 2007, some 857 newcomers from 53 different countries registered with the Prince Edward Island Association of Newcomers. A little over one-third were from the Far East, which includes the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan and South Korea.
Nationally, the 2006 census enumerated roughly six million foreign-born people in Canada, according to a Statistics Canada study. Of that number, immigrants from Asia
and the Middle East
made up almost 60 per cent.
The same study reported almost one-fifth of those who did not speak English as a mother tongue said they spoke a Chinese language.
Wu and her husband speak Mandarin in the home, but they are learning English.
Their daughter, who is also learning English at daycare, is teaching her parents, Wu said.
“She has no accent. But we have an accent.”
Hamid Sanayie didn’t struggle with the language.
The Holland College Business Administration student and his family immigrated to Charlottetown in the summer of 2007 from Leeds, England, where they lived for several years.
Sanayie was born in Iran to Arabic parents in 1959 and moved to England for educational reasons in 1986. His English language skills are more than adequate.
And Canadian culture is very similar to British culture, Sanayie said. He grinned.
“Canadian English is not English English.”
According to Statistics Canada, of the newcomers included in the 2006 census, approximately one in 20 people who reported having a language other than English as a mother tongue, were Arabic-speaking.
After Sanayie spoke with Phil Muise, who promoted immigration to P.E.I. at a show in Edinburgh, Scotland, early in 2007, he decided to visit the Island for five days in March. He came to see what it was really like, he said.
“I fell in love. The people are so friendly, I couldn’t believe it.”
He liked Charlottetown’s waterfront beauty.
“The city is very nice.”
Wu has fond memories of the first days on Canadian soil, as well.
She teared up as she spoke of the elderly couple that tutored herself and her husband in English when they lived in Halifax.
“They were very nice to us. They gave us a lot of help.”
The couple came to their house and taught them regularly. When they moved to P.E.I. they helped Wu and her husband rent a car and even drove it to the Island, she said, blowing her nose in a tissue.
“They came to Charlottetown in November to visit us. We sent a Christmas card to them. We got no response. We wondered why.”
The couple had a 30-year-old daughter who had married a Japanese man and moved to Japan. The daughter died in a car accident around the time Wu sent the card. She was their only child, Wu said.
“I can imagine they’d be very upset.”
Sanayie appreciates living in Charlottetown, which is smaller than what he and his family had grown accustomed to in the U.K., he said.
“You may not make as much money as in Europe but the standard of living is good. You get everything you need within your reach. ”
Every day it’s different: P.E.I. Museum registrar
Jason MacNeil unlocks a glass and metal door and punches in a password on a security keypad, just inside the entryway of a large orange building.
The registrar of the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation moves his sunglasses from the bridge of his nose to the top of his head. He swings into a dark room on his right. He flips a switch and a light comes on.
But it is still dim. There are no windows.
This room houses two desks plus several shelving units and tables, all cluttered.
MacNeil turns on a computer at a large desk that holds a photo of an attractive, young blonde. His coffee rests on the desk as he leaves to check his collection to see how it fared the night.
He checks water levels on dehumidifiers and empties them.
A hygrothermograph, an instrument used to monitor temperature and humidity levels, is checked.
For this collection, ideal humidity levels are about 50 per cent and temperatures should not go above 24 C, MacNeil said during a recent visit.
Everything seems fine.
A buzzer sounds and MacNeil lets a man in. He is tech support. They discuss how he will repair two computers.
“We’re looking into getting a new database,” MacNeil said.
He pauses, leaning against his desk.
The self-named “god of collections” sports a shaved head, a neatly trimmed, dark-brown beard and otherwise tidy appearance, which belie his almost irreverent demeanor and sharp wit.
Melanie, his assistant, interrupts.
“What is Matt doing?”
MacNeil laughs.
“I don’t know. Oh, he’s moving stuff.”
Matt is a volunteer from UPEI.
He’s paying his dues, MacNeil said, eyes twinkling.
He raises his voice.
“You can clean the basket if you want to.”
There is a chuckle from the other room.
The basket is a recent donation. It’s a long, narrow wicker basket with a lid and several leather straps. It was used to transport the remains of the dead to burial sites and coffins after they were waked. It must be carefully cleaned because it is fragile.
An older woman who has come for a tour of the facility is ushered in.
She wants to volunteer.
“What sort of things are you interested in?” he asks.
He’s trying to determine the best fit for her.
“We have a large donation that we got last year.”
It’s more of a statement than a question. He is standing, leaning against his desk with arms crossed.
Matt comes in and asks him for a tape measure.
“Five bucks,” MacNeil said and tosses it to him.
He shows the woman around the building, beginning with the inner office, moving rapidly into a rug and old book room. An archeological donation is next. It is wrapped in tissue paper under glass in another room.
“There is a huge accessioning task at hand here.”
He looks at her briefly, sideways.
When donations come in, one of the first tasks is to document it. What it is, catalogue it, how it was used originally, age and the source of the donation. This is called accessioning.
It is the bane of many an under-funded, under-staffed museum and it feeds the nightmares of archival registrars all over the globe.
The information then needs to be dumped into a database.
“Everything is organized the same way it is catalogued,” MacNeil said, waving his hands.
“I just don’t know where I am going to put it.”
As MacNeil reaches each area, he suggests tasks needing work.
“This place needs to be organized.”
He tells her the artifactory is 7,500 square feet and could be double that.
“As it stands, we can’t accept large donations because we don’t have the space.”
He is looking directly in the woman’s eyes and holds his chin in his left hand.
“We’re very limited here,” he says.
He wants to set the record straight.
“A lot of things we have to do here are fairly mundane.”
She leaves and MacNeil tells Melanie and Matt about an upcoming job.
Thursday they will box and transport 500 oil lamps from a man’s basement.
“Every day, it’s different,” MacNeil said.
Tasks are predictable, until an emergency happens. Then everything gets dropped. And variety keeps it interesting.
“If your mind goes numb and your eyes start to bleed from cataloguing, you can always do something else.”
He’s grinning from ear to ear. It’s past 4 p.m. and he’s almost finished his final coffee of the day.
The old bus depot turned artifactory gets locked up for another night of preservation.
The registrar of the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation moves his sunglasses from the bridge of his nose to the top of his head. He swings into a dark room on his right. He flips a switch and a light comes on.
But it is still dim. There are no windows.
This room houses two desks plus several shelving units and tables, all cluttered.
MacNeil turns on a computer at a large desk that holds a photo of an attractive, young blonde. His coffee rests on the desk as he leaves to check his collection to see how it fared the night.
He checks water levels on dehumidifiers and empties them.
A hygrothermograph, an instrument used to monitor temperature and humidity levels, is checked.
For this collection, ideal humidity levels are about 50 per cent and temperatures should not go above 24 C, MacNeil said during a recent visit.
Everything seems fine.
A buzzer sounds and MacNeil lets a man in. He is tech support. They discuss how he will repair two computers.
“We’re looking into getting a new database,” MacNeil said.
He pauses, leaning against his desk.
The self-named “god of collections” sports a shaved head, a neatly trimmed, dark-brown beard and otherwise tidy appearance, which belie his almost irreverent demeanor and sharp wit.
Melanie, his assistant, interrupts.
“What is Matt doing?”
MacNeil laughs.
“I don’t know. Oh, he’s moving stuff.”
Matt is a volunteer from UPEI.
He’s paying his dues, MacNeil said, eyes twinkling.
He raises his voice.
“You can clean the basket if you want to.”
There is a chuckle from the other room.
The basket is a recent donation. It’s a long, narrow wicker basket with a lid and several leather straps. It was used to transport the remains of the dead to burial sites and coffins after they were waked. It must be carefully cleaned because it is fragile.
An older woman who has come for a tour of the facility is ushered in.
She wants to volunteer.
“What sort of things are you interested in?” he asks.
He’s trying to determine the best fit for her.
“We have a large donation that we got last year.”
It’s more of a statement than a question. He is standing, leaning against his desk with arms crossed.
Matt comes in and asks him for a tape measure.
“Five bucks,” MacNeil said and tosses it to him.
He shows the woman around the building, beginning with the inner office, moving rapidly into a rug and old book room. An archeological donation is next. It is wrapped in tissue paper under glass in another room.
“There is a huge accessioning task at hand here.”
He looks at her briefly, sideways.
When donations come in, one of the first tasks is to document it. What it is, catalogue it, how it was used originally, age and the source of the donation. This is called accessioning.
It is the bane of many an under-funded, under-staffed museum and it feeds the nightmares of archival registrars all over the globe.
The information then needs to be dumped into a database.
“Everything is organized the same way it is catalogued,” MacNeil said, waving his hands.
“I just don’t know where I am going to put it.”
As MacNeil reaches each area, he suggests tasks needing work.
“This place needs to be organized.”
He tells her the artifactory is 7,500 square feet and could be double that.
“As it stands, we can’t accept large donations because we don’t have the space.”
He is looking directly in the woman’s eyes and holds his chin in his left hand.
“We’re very limited here,” he says.
He wants to set the record straight.
“A lot of things we have to do here are fairly mundane.”
She leaves and MacNeil tells Melanie and Matt about an upcoming job.
Thursday they will box and transport 500 oil lamps from a man’s basement.
“Every day, it’s different,” MacNeil said.
Tasks are predictable, until an emergency happens. Then everything gets dropped. And variety keeps it interesting.
“If your mind goes numb and your eyes start to bleed from cataloguing, you can always do something else.”
He’s grinning from ear to ear. It’s past 4 p.m. and he’s almost finished his final coffee of the day.
The old bus depot turned artifactory gets locked up for another night of preservation.
Holland College Hurricanes win exciting final game against UNBSJ Seawolves
Women’s basketball team captain Jenna Connolly scored the winning basket in an exciting, last-second win for the Holland College Hurricanes last Saturday night.
Connolly, named game MVP, said the desire to win their final game after a year of losses was what inspired the team’s enhanced effort in the second half of the game, which saw the Hurricanes win over UNBSJ Seawolves, 60-58.
“The team wanted to win, I guess. We all did.”
The Hurricanes held a reasonable lead during the first quarter of the game but began to lose steam as slowly, the Seawolves scored baskets, putting them in the driver’s seat for the next two quarters.
Erin Spoule, #6, of the Seawolves, dominated UNBSJ’s plays. Although Pauline Waggot, #9, got the most points overall for the New Brunswick team.
Entering the last five minutes, the Hurricanes were down 11 points. Connolly quickly scored two three-pointers, bringing hope to the team and showing the Seawolves the game wasn’t over yet.
As the final seconds ticked on the clock, with the scoreboard reading 58-58, Connolly, with concerted effort, scored the final basket, bringing long-awaited victory to the women’s predominantly rookie team.
Kathy Murray, part-time coach for the Hurricanes, said the team had seen three injuries of seasoned players in the first month of play in 2007, leaving a rookie roster to fight it out as they learned to work together.
“I expect to build on this year. I expect bigger and better things. We should make it to the playoffs next year.”
Kirsten Walker, team captain, scored most goals for the Hurricanes at 10.
Connolly, named game MVP, said the desire to win their final game after a year of losses was what inspired the team’s enhanced effort in the second half of the game, which saw the Hurricanes win over UNBSJ Seawolves, 60-58.
“The team wanted to win, I guess. We all did.”
The Hurricanes held a reasonable lead during the first quarter of the game but began to lose steam as slowly, the Seawolves scored baskets, putting them in the driver’s seat for the next two quarters.
Erin Spoule, #6, of the Seawolves, dominated UNBSJ’s plays. Although Pauline Waggot, #9, got the most points overall for the New Brunswick team.
Entering the last five minutes, the Hurricanes were down 11 points. Connolly quickly scored two three-pointers, bringing hope to the team and showing the Seawolves the game wasn’t over yet.
As the final seconds ticked on the clock, with the scoreboard reading 58-58, Connolly, with concerted effort, scored the final basket, bringing long-awaited victory to the women’s predominantly rookie team.
Kathy Murray, part-time coach for the Hurricanes, said the team had seen three injuries of seasoned players in the first month of play in 2007, leaving a rookie roster to fight it out as they learned to work together.
“I expect to build on this year. I expect bigger and better things. We should make it to the playoffs next year.”
Kirsten Walker, team captain, scored most goals for the Hurricanes at 10.
Human services display showcases equitable employment for disabled
Equitable employment for people with disabilities was the focus of a display Dec. 19 at the Tourism and Culinary Centre, Charlottetown.
Holland College’s second-year human services students set up tables with literature and demonstrations of how people cope with tasks while being challenged in different ways.
The class first held its display at the Charlottetown centre on Dec. 3.
Student services and athletics officer, Jeff Walker asked the class to do it again at the Tourism centre.
In preparation for the display, students were asked to put together project proposals, said Alisha VanIderstine, a second-year human services student.
“We voted in class to choose ones used for display. Marks were given on the proposals.”
The class display helped mark the month of December, international month of persons with disabilities.
Rebecca Claybourne set up a table focusing on photographs and names of celebrities with disabilities. She got the information on a website, she said.
“They (other classes) had done some in the past but had just listed the names.”
Some examples she provided were Tom Cruise who has dyslexia and Stephen Hawking who has Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Adam Hornyik videotaped a 19-year-old man with Down Syndrome on Dec. 1. He works at an Island business. The video played at intervals throughout the morning of the display.
Amy Scott and Alisha VanIderstine worked jointly on a wheelchair demonstration. One activity involved holding a cup while moving in a wheelchair from table to table.
All activities were either performed by the students or onlookers were encouraged to volunteer.
Scott said the first time she did the wheelchair exercise at the Charlottetown centre it was very difficult.
“There were a lot of people.”
Participants could also fill their mouths with ice cubes and try to talk, as illustrated at another table.
Students got involved in the program for various reasons.
VanIderstine took part in a peer-helping program at school, she said.
“It opened my eyes, instead of educational assistants (EAs) (they) used students to help other students.”
Laura Stevenson had a similar experience. She worked in a co-op program at Birchwood Junior High with special-needs students. She saw what a difference the one-on-one support made, she said.
“It was my inspiration to take the course.”
And Hornyik did one year of university and worked in a special needs camp with teenagers before attending the human services program.
Monique Peters worked at the Council for the Disabled for many years.
Past experiences may have influenced topics students chose for displays.
On one table a money identifier was used. It is a battery operated hand-held device, which allows visually impaired persons to identify denominations of paper currency when doing cash transactions.
Peters has a family member who loaned her the device.
An onlooker could even put earplugs in his ears and try to distinguish what was being read from a list of questions.
Lora Serres, who assisted wherever she was needed, helped with the hearing impairment demonstration. She raised a valid point.
“How can you read or write something you’ve never heard before?”
Holland College’s second-year human services students set up tables with literature and demonstrations of how people cope with tasks while being challenged in different ways.
The class first held its display at the Charlottetown centre on Dec. 3.
Student services and athletics officer, Jeff Walker asked the class to do it again at the Tourism centre.
In preparation for the display, students were asked to put together project proposals, said Alisha VanIderstine, a second-year human services student.
“We voted in class to choose ones used for display. Marks were given on the proposals.”
The class display helped mark the month of December, international month of persons with disabilities.
Rebecca Claybourne set up a table focusing on photographs and names of celebrities with disabilities. She got the information on a website, she said.
“They (other classes) had done some in the past but had just listed the names.”
Some examples she provided were Tom Cruise who has dyslexia and Stephen Hawking who has Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Adam Hornyik videotaped a 19-year-old man with Down Syndrome on Dec. 1. He works at an Island business. The video played at intervals throughout the morning of the display.
Amy Scott and Alisha VanIderstine worked jointly on a wheelchair demonstration. One activity involved holding a cup while moving in a wheelchair from table to table.
All activities were either performed by the students or onlookers were encouraged to volunteer.
Scott said the first time she did the wheelchair exercise at the Charlottetown centre it was very difficult.
“There were a lot of people.”
Participants could also fill their mouths with ice cubes and try to talk, as illustrated at another table.
Students got involved in the program for various reasons.
VanIderstine took part in a peer-helping program at school, she said.
“It opened my eyes, instead of educational assistants (EAs) (they) used students to help other students.”
Laura Stevenson had a similar experience. She worked in a co-op program at Birchwood Junior High with special-needs students. She saw what a difference the one-on-one support made, she said.
“It was my inspiration to take the course.”
And Hornyik did one year of university and worked in a special needs camp with teenagers before attending the human services program.
Monique Peters worked at the Council for the Disabled for many years.
Past experiences may have influenced topics students chose for displays.
On one table a money identifier was used. It is a battery operated hand-held device, which allows visually impaired persons to identify denominations of paper currency when doing cash transactions.
Peters has a family member who loaned her the device.
An onlooker could even put earplugs in his ears and try to distinguish what was being read from a list of questions.
Lora Serres, who assisted wherever she was needed, helped with the hearing impairment demonstration. She raised a valid point.
“How can you read or write something you’ve never heard before?”
Young adults don’t recognize grief symptoms
Young adults don’t always recognize symptoms of grief in their own lives, says a Charlottetown grief counselor.
Andrea Conway is the hospice coordinator of patient services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. She is also involved with the Queens chapter of the Hospice and Palliative Care Association in P.E.I.
She is giving a Dealing with Loss workshop for Holland College students at the Tourism and Culinary Centre on Thursday, Feb. 21 from 6-9 p.m. at the request of the college’s counseling department.
Most young adults find it harder to express what they are feeling, Conway said.
“They often feel that they are a little weird and maybe crazy.”
June Harper of Holland College’s counseling services said she organized the workshop to help students.
“[It’s] in response to student needs who are dealing with imminent loss or who have had a loss.”
Roughly 20 per cent of her work is directly or indirectly involved with the grieving process, Harper said.
“They may see me about difficulty in sleeping, attendance, depression, or academic concerns, but then disclose they are trying to cope with a very ill or death of a parent, sibling, immediate family member, or close friend.”
Conway said young adults share the stigma of going to a counselor, so it’s harder to get them to come to this type of event.
“They don’t have a base of experience to recognize symptoms.”
Symptoms such as depression, anger, sleeplessness, racing or obsessive thoughts may indicate unresolved grief, she said.
“Not moving through it is not normal.”
Conway spent her early years in Cape Town, South Africa, where she also got her education.
She had four years of psychotherapy training and was often confronted with grieving people, even among volunteers, she said.
Grief counseling has evolved over the years, starting with the medical model, which suggested grief was not normal.
But now it is seen as a normal part of life, she said.
“You get to the point where you can come out the other end of a rather sad tunnel.”
Some get stuck, Conway added.
“They need a little kick start.”
Harper hopes participants will leave the session knowing what they are experiencing is normal and with healthy coping tips, she said.
“Every person deals with grief differently and for different lengths of time and there are supports in place that can help them through that difficult time.”
Register by contacting June Harper at counseling services. Call 894-6833, or email jharper@hollandc.pe.ca.
Andrea Conway is the hospice coordinator of patient services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. She is also involved with the Queens chapter of the Hospice and Palliative Care Association in P.E.I.
She is giving a Dealing with Loss workshop for Holland College students at the Tourism and Culinary Centre on Thursday, Feb. 21 from 6-9 p.m. at the request of the college’s counseling department.
Most young adults find it harder to express what they are feeling, Conway said.
“They often feel that they are a little weird and maybe crazy.”
June Harper of Holland College’s counseling services said she organized the workshop to help students.
“[It’s] in response to student needs who are dealing with imminent loss or who have had a loss.”
Roughly 20 per cent of her work is directly or indirectly involved with the grieving process, Harper said.
“They may see me about difficulty in sleeping, attendance, depression, or academic concerns, but then disclose they are trying to cope with a very ill or death of a parent, sibling, immediate family member, or close friend.”
Conway said young adults share the stigma of going to a counselor, so it’s harder to get them to come to this type of event.
“They don’t have a base of experience to recognize symptoms.”
Symptoms such as depression, anger, sleeplessness, racing or obsessive thoughts may indicate unresolved grief, she said.
“Not moving through it is not normal.”
Conway spent her early years in Cape Town, South Africa, where she also got her education.
She had four years of psychotherapy training and was often confronted with grieving people, even among volunteers, she said.
Grief counseling has evolved over the years, starting with the medical model, which suggested grief was not normal.
But now it is seen as a normal part of life, she said.
“You get to the point where you can come out the other end of a rather sad tunnel.”
Some get stuck, Conway added.
“They need a little kick start.”
Harper hopes participants will leave the session knowing what they are experiencing is normal and with healthy coping tips, she said.
“Every person deals with grief differently and for different lengths of time and there are supports in place that can help them through that difficult time.”
Register by contacting June Harper at counseling services. Call 894-6833, or email jharper@hollandc.pe.ca.
A Chinese immigrant, Qian Wu, an ear, nose and throat specialist, needs to work hard to qualify as a medical practitioner in P.E.I.
Qian Wu brought her 13-month-old daughter to a Halifax clinic because she had a fever.
The physician who checked her ears and chest told Wu there was no need to prescribe an antibiotic because the child’s throat was not infected, but dry.
After several days, she brought her still-ailing daughter back again. Even then, there was no antibiotic prescribed.
Several months later, Wu’s little girl was ill again with similar symptoms. Two physicians told Wu it was a virus. She insisted they do x-rays. They found pneumonia and this time medication was prescribed.
Wu, 33, had been an ear, nose and throat specialist in Qiqihak, China, which is about a 13-hour train ride from Beijing.
She and her husband, Feng Cao and daughter, Amy Cao, immigrated to Canada in November 2005.
The family left China for their daughter, Wu said.
“I would like my daughter to be open-minded and to have practical skills.”
Wu’s husband found employment in Stratford with CGI as a programmer and the family moved to Charlottetown from Halifax in September 2006, Wu said.
“I think he likes his job. For me personally, I would like to be a doctor here in Canada.”
Wu is studying English at Holland College, but needs to return to university so she can be licensed to practice medicine in Canada.
“Then maybe it will be easy to find a job.”
The course posed no great challenge for her, she said.
“This class is just for immigrants. If I go to university, my English won’t be so good.”
Wu’s frustration with red tape on her journey to fill the medical professional gap in Canada is recognized and being addressed across the nation.
In P.E.I. , the P.E.I. Association of Newcomers started a project, spearheaded and funded partially by Health Canada, to decrease waiting times in emergency rooms and clinics nationally in 2006.
Michelle Hood heads up the Internationally Educated Medical Professionals project out of her Charlottetown office.
Atlantic Health Connection, a health-mandated organization involving the four Atlantic provinces, also supports the project by providing procedural guidelines and other information, said Hood.
“It helped us not to have to reinvent the wheel.”
The project’s goal is to find internationally educated medical professionals living in P.E.I. and get them employment in their medical vocations, working cooperatively with regulatory agencies in the province.
It costs thousands of dollars and takes about one-and-a-half years of study for the candidates to qualify for licensing in P.E.I., Hood said.
“Language is an issue.”
One of the biggest frustrations for immigrant physicians, in particular, is the lack of a medical school in P.E.I. she added.
“They have to go to Halifax or further a field.”
Godfrey Baldacchino, the Canada research chair in Island Studies at UPEI’s department of sociology and anthropology, agreed with Hood’s observations.
An immigrant, Baldacchino conducted an online, interactive study from mid-July to early November, 2007 with internationally educated medical professionals, working with Hood’s office.
“These are individuals who are already here. They are patient, persistent. The longer it takes to get settled the more frustrating it becomes.”
There are many stumbling blocks the candidates did not anticipate when choosing Canada as an immigration destination. It has left a lot of them frustrated, Baldacchino said.
“Half of the respondents are either underemployed or unemployed.”
But Hood said there is hope for them.
“We’ve had 10 who’ve moved from survival jobs to working in the health care environment.”
There are a little over 50 people registered in Hood’s project, including 23 physicians. The rest are nurses and other medical professionals.
Most come from oriental countries.
Not unlike Wu, who volunteers in a Charlottetown audiology clinic while she waits for the time when she can practice medicine in P.E.I.
The physician who checked her ears and chest told Wu there was no need to prescribe an antibiotic because the child’s throat was not infected, but dry.
After several days, she brought her still-ailing daughter back again. Even then, there was no antibiotic prescribed.
Several months later, Wu’s little girl was ill again with similar symptoms. Two physicians told Wu it was a virus. She insisted they do x-rays. They found pneumonia and this time medication was prescribed.
Wu, 33, had been an ear, nose and throat specialist in Qiqihak, China, which is about a 13-hour train ride from Beijing.
She and her husband, Feng Cao and daughter, Amy Cao, immigrated to Canada in November 2005.
The family left China for their daughter, Wu said.
“I would like my daughter to be open-minded and to have practical skills.”
Wu’s husband found employment in Stratford with CGI as a programmer and the family moved to Charlottetown from Halifax in September 2006, Wu said.
“I think he likes his job. For me personally, I would like to be a doctor here in Canada.”
Wu is studying English at Holland College, but needs to return to university so she can be licensed to practice medicine in Canada.
“Then maybe it will be easy to find a job.”
The course posed no great challenge for her, she said.
“This class is just for immigrants. If I go to university, my English won’t be so good.”
Wu’s frustration with red tape on her journey to fill the medical professional gap in Canada is recognized and being addressed across the nation.
In P.E.I. , the P.E.I. Association of Newcomers started a project, spearheaded and funded partially by Health Canada, to decrease waiting times in emergency rooms and clinics nationally in 2006.
Michelle Hood heads up the Internationally Educated Medical Professionals project out of her Charlottetown office.
Atlantic Health Connection, a health-mandated organization involving the four Atlantic provinces, also supports the project by providing procedural guidelines and other information, said Hood.
“It helped us not to have to reinvent the wheel.”
The project’s goal is to find internationally educated medical professionals living in P.E.I. and get them employment in their medical vocations, working cooperatively with regulatory agencies in the province.
It costs thousands of dollars and takes about one-and-a-half years of study for the candidates to qualify for licensing in P.E.I., Hood said.
“Language is an issue.”
One of the biggest frustrations for immigrant physicians, in particular, is the lack of a medical school in P.E.I. she added.
“They have to go to Halifax or further a field.”
Godfrey Baldacchino, the Canada research chair in Island Studies at UPEI’s department of sociology and anthropology, agreed with Hood’s observations.
An immigrant, Baldacchino conducted an online, interactive study from mid-July to early November, 2007 with internationally educated medical professionals, working with Hood’s office.
“These are individuals who are already here. They are patient, persistent. The longer it takes to get settled the more frustrating it becomes.”
There are many stumbling blocks the candidates did not anticipate when choosing Canada as an immigration destination. It has left a lot of them frustrated, Baldacchino said.
“Half of the respondents are either underemployed or unemployed.”
But Hood said there is hope for them.
“We’ve had 10 who’ve moved from survival jobs to working in the health care environment.”
There are a little over 50 people registered in Hood’s project, including 23 physicians. The rest are nurses and other medical professionals.
Most come from oriental countries.
Not unlike Wu, who volunteers in a Charlottetown audiology clinic while she waits for the time when she can practice medicine in P.E.I.
Excitement of disabled clients inspires UPEI Best Buddies coordinator
Observing the enthusiasm of buddy candidates is very rewarding, says the Best Buddies P.E.I. chapter campus coordinator.
Emily Tumblin, 21, a full-time UPEI student and part-time UPEI recruitment department employee, has been working with her “buddy advocate”, Mary Ellen Robertson, 22, of Charlottetown, to match handicapped young adults to buddy volunteers since early in 2007. Best Buddies head office called her at UPEI because she had volunteered with the program through a friend while at Mount Allison University before coming to UPEI.
P.E.I. did not have a program then, Tumblin said.
“I said, yeah, I’d do it.”
Best Buddies is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships and integrated employment.
It was founded in 1989 in the U.S. by Anthony Kennedy Shriver and was incorporated as a national charity organization in 1995 with chapters at over 70 campuses across Canada.
Each chapter is managed by a campus coordinator, a student volunteer like Tumblin and works with a host site, matching student volunteers with a Buddy, according to a personality profile and an interview.
The P.E.I. chapter works with Association for Community Living’s Bridget Cairns.
When Robertson was meeting Tumblin for the first time, she expected someone older.
And Tumblin said Robertson has grown since starting with Best Buddies.
“When I first met Mary Ellen, she was very quiet.”
Robertson admitted she was stubborn.
“I keep at something until it’s done.”
The two work in tandem, pairing clients with volunteers and fundraising, she said.
“What I am is a buddy advocate.”
Tumblin said clients have a variety of disabilities, from cerebral palsy to Down Syndrome. Some are autistic.
“They are people regardless of what is going on.”
The challenge in P.E.I. has been overcoming ignorance, she added.
“[There is] a lack of knowledge.”
Twice a semester, the group holds group activities. March 9, it meets the N.S. chapter at Dalhousie University for a game day.
There are eight student volunteers with seven buddies, so far, but there are many more who have applied for the program. So there is an urgent need for volunteers.
To date, volunteers have only been from UPEI, but Tumblin is recruiting from Holland College as well.
“It would be nice to have both together.”
To volunteer, call Emily Tumblin at (902) 888-8936 or email at emily_tumblin@hotmail.com.
Emily Tumblin, 21, a full-time UPEI student and part-time UPEI recruitment department employee, has been working with her “buddy advocate”, Mary Ellen Robertson, 22, of Charlottetown, to match handicapped young adults to buddy volunteers since early in 2007. Best Buddies head office called her at UPEI because she had volunteered with the program through a friend while at Mount Allison University before coming to UPEI.
P.E.I. did not have a program then, Tumblin said.
“I said, yeah, I’d do it.”
Best Buddies is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships and integrated employment.
It was founded in 1989 in the U.S. by Anthony Kennedy Shriver and was incorporated as a national charity organization in 1995 with chapters at over 70 campuses across Canada.
Each chapter is managed by a campus coordinator, a student volunteer like Tumblin and works with a host site, matching student volunteers with a Buddy, according to a personality profile and an interview.
The P.E.I. chapter works with Association for Community Living’s Bridget Cairns.
When Robertson was meeting Tumblin for the first time, she expected someone older.
And Tumblin said Robertson has grown since starting with Best Buddies.
“When I first met Mary Ellen, she was very quiet.”
Robertson admitted she was stubborn.
“I keep at something until it’s done.”
The two work in tandem, pairing clients with volunteers and fundraising, she said.
“What I am is a buddy advocate.”
Tumblin said clients have a variety of disabilities, from cerebral palsy to Down Syndrome. Some are autistic.
“They are people regardless of what is going on.”
The challenge in P.E.I. has been overcoming ignorance, she added.
“[There is] a lack of knowledge.”
Twice a semester, the group holds group activities. March 9, it meets the N.S. chapter at Dalhousie University for a game day.
There are eight student volunteers with seven buddies, so far, but there are many more who have applied for the program. So there is an urgent need for volunteers.
To date, volunteers have only been from UPEI, but Tumblin is recruiting from Holland College as well.
“It would be nice to have both together.”
To volunteer, call Emily Tumblin at (902) 888-8936 or email at emily_tumblin@hotmail.com.
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