Cheers & Jeers

Cheers: to real cross-country tours.

In May we jeered Canadian rocker Bryan Adams, or rather his publicity people, for declaring his So Happy It Hurts tour a “crosscountry” event, even though there were no dates for Canada’s most easterly province. We felt that description was a bit “Reckless,” to shamelessly borrow the name of an Adams tune. Well, someone was clearly listening, because now Adams is set to play two shows at the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre on Sept. 5, albeit a stripped-down, acoustic “Bare Bones” version of his arena concerts. A news release issued June 29 noted that “The singer/songwriter wanted to make sure that this tour hit every province in Canada.” Tickets went on sale June 30. No word yet on whether “You Want, You Got It” will be on the playlist. It would be apt.

Jeers: to heeldragging. Why are second doses of COVID-19 boosters more widely available in the rest of Atlantic Canada than they are here? This province says it is following the guidelines set out by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), and has only made second boosters available to those over 70 years of age, those living in a congregate settings for seniors — such as long-term care — and anyone 18 and over who is Indigenous or lives in a remote Indigenous community. We’re glad the boosters are available to those folks, but what about those under 70? Nova Scotia is now offering boosters to those 50 and up, as New Brunswick does, while P.E.I. provides them to people 60 and older. NACI provides guidelines, not rules. With a fresh surge of COVID-19 expected in the fall, isn’t now the time to widen the range of availability for second boosters here? As of June 29, 194 people in this province have died from COVID-19. This province needs to step up.

Jeers: to inertia. We reported last week that the Newfoundland and Labrador government has made little progress towards implementing pay equity legislation — something every other Atlantic province has had for years — Nova Scotia and P.E.I. in 1988 and New Brunswick in 2009. According to internal government documents obtained by The Telegram, the interdepartmental committee established to study the issue in 2018 appears to have done little work, with the agenda for a meeting held in March of this year including a definition of pay equity and time set aside for committee member introductions. It doesn’t exactly sound like the provincial government’s brain trust has been set to work to make pay equity a reality here. And Pam Parsons, the minister responsible for pay equity, isn’t exactly demonstrating leadership on the issue. When Telegram reporter Juanita Mercer asked for an interview with Parsons on the topic, she was told the minister was unavailable, and was sent a prepared statement instead. As Mercer reported, “The statement provided in lieu of an interview did not say anything new.” For shame.