berrygrounds

On May 1, hundreds of workers marched in the streets of St. John’s and rallied at Harbourside Park. May Day hasn’t been a huge deal in Newfoundland and Labrador, or even in Canada, where we mark Labour Day in September. But the growing number of workers and allies joining the annual event in St. John’s tells us something important about this province’s labour movement, says journalist Rhea Rollmann.

In Episode 8 of berrygrounds, we speak with Rollmann about what changes are happening in Newfoundland and Labrador's labour movement. Rollmann, who also has a background in labour organizing and queer and trans activism, also shares some insight into her forthcoming book, "A Queer History of Newfoundland".

Read Rhea Rollmann's full article, "May Day Rally Shows New Face of Today’s Labour Movement".

The song Eyesplit is courtesy Shane Ivers of Silverman Sound Studios.

Women and gender diverse workers have been fighting for decades to be paid the same as men for equal work of equal value. In the face of mounting pressure, the Liberals finally brought in their version of pay equity legislation. But there's a problem. I\it doesn't apply to most workers in the province, and it's missing critical details.

In this episode, we speak with Telegram reporter Juanita Mercer, whose work around pay equity in Newfoundland and Labrador has landed her on the shortlists of two prestigious national journalism awards. We also hear from Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour President Jessica McCormick, who tells us exactly what's missing from the legislation and why government needs to scrap it altogether and start over.

If you dig our show, please consider becoming a monthly subscriber. You can do that by clicking the 'Support Us' button at TheIndependent.ca.

Songs Womp and Save Us Now courtesy Shane Ivers of Silverman Sound Studios.

Vianne Timmons may be gone, but the controversy around her claims of Indigeneity have brought two key issues at Memorial University to the fore. Race-shifting, as it's become known: the growing phenomenon of settlers seeking out Indigenous ancestry to claim an Indigenous identity today. And the crisis in governance at Newfoundland and Labrador’s only university.

In the first half of Episode 6, a conversation with Métis lawyer Jean Teillet, who wrote a report last year for the University of Saskatchewan on race-shifting and Indigenous identity fraud in Canadian universities. 

In the second half, we speak with two faculty leaders from MUNL, Robin Whitaker and Ash Hossain, about the years-long push for a more open and transparent hiring process for senior administrators. 

Then we go back to 2019 and uncover an alarming fact about how Vianne Timmons was hired.

Read Teillet's full report, "Indigenous Identity Fraud".

Listen to Episode 5 of berrygrounds: "Vianne Timmons and the Race-Shifting Conundrum".

Songs Xenon Sentry, Pop Rocks, and Reach the Top courtesy Shane Ivers of Silverman Sound Studios.

Memorial University President Vianne Timmons says she has always been clear that she has Mi'kmaw ancestry, or heritage, and that she's not Mi'kmaw. But in a settler colonial society like Canada's, claiming Indigenous ancestry in professional biographies or on resumes is anything but clear, says Cree journalist Michelle Cyca.

In a new article for The Walrus, Cyca argues that for settlers Indigenous ancestry is "an accessory" that "offers people like Timmons an advantage over both non-Indigenous and Indigenous people: the insinuation of having overcome an obstacle that was never in their way. The cumulative effect is an impression of Indigeneity as a marketable asset, divorced from its historical, political, and cultural significance. The essential power structure of whiteness remains intact, and the sprinkle of artificially flavoured Indigeneity covers up the bad taste of settler guilt."

In Episode 5, we speak with Cyca about the Vianne Timmons scandal, and about race-shifting more broadly.

Whose responsibility is it to keep race-shifters in check? And how should people respond when they are questioned about their identity?

That and more in "Vianne Timmons and the Race-Shifting Conundrum".

Read Michelle Cyca's full article "Why Are More People Claiming Indigenous Ancestry?" in The Walrus.

Listen to Episode 4 of berrygrounds: "Ktaqmkuk — a personal story of Mi’kmaw ancestry, identity & belonging"

Read Justin Brake's 2021 essay "KTAQMKUK" in Maisonneuve magazine.

Songs Synapse, Liturgy of the Street, and Diaphanous courtesy Shane Ivers of Silverman Sound Studios.

Learning of his Mi’kmaw ancestry came as a surprise to Justin Brake, who always considered himself a Newfoundlander. What might it mean, he asks, to ethically explore the question of his identity? In this episode, Justin reads a personal essay published in Maisonneuve Magazine in summer 2021. The songs Yearning, Pagan Cross and Sailing Away are by Shane Ivers at sivermansound.com. The original essay and accompanying artwork by artist Jay White can be found here: https://maisonneuve.org/article/2021/06/29/ktaqmkuk/

A billionaire-owned company with ties to Premier Furey is first out of the gate in the province's wind-to-hydrogen industry. But residents on the Port au Port Peninsula—many of them Indigenous—are pushing back, saying the proposed megaproject threatens their land, water and way of life. After blocking road access to contractors doing preliminary work near the community of Mainland, land defenders found themselves on the receiving end of a court injunction. Like their Muskrat Falls predecessors, they're now caught up in litigation.

But theirs may not be the only costly battle in the province's wind rush. World Energy GH2 now has to try to mitigate the negative publicity associated with criminalizing Indigenous people. And the rest of the emerging industry is watching closely, says our guest, Alex Bill, editor with allNewfoundlandLabrador.com.

We're also joined by University of PEI energy justice researcher Nick Mercer, who says that for the things John Risley's company has done right, it is repeating mistakes of the past and risks losing public support for the wind industry as a whole.

A special thanks to Tara Manuel for sharing excerpts of her "Heart to Heart with Little Premier" performance, available on the artist's YouTube channel. And also to Kelly Russell for sharing music from Émile Benoit's 1979 album "Émile's Dream". You can stream or purchase the album from Pigeon Inlet Productions' bandcamp page. Music "Sports FM" is courtesy Shane Ivers.

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Black Lives Matter brought anti-racism to the mainstream.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, four cabinet ministers have been tasked with reviewing policies to address institutional and systemic racism in the province.

But almost two years later, has anything actually changed?

Something Martin Luther King Jr. wrote 60 years ago in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” offers us critical insight into today’s anti-racism efforts.

On berrygrounds this week, Dr. Paul Banahene Adjei tells us why politicians—and all of us—should heed King’s caution about "moderate" white allyship in the fight to end racism.

The tuition freeze is over. Anger is growing over how the university is being managed. And now faculty members are on strike. The crisis at Memorial University cannot be understood without considering the institution's slide into corporatization. Former Provost and Vice President Academic Noreen Golfman gives us an inside look at how deeply entrenched is the idea that MUNL exists first and foremost to serve corporate interests and the economy.