The recent report that C.B.S. has concerns about its water supply made me pause to take a look at the place of water in our lives. Along with oxygen and food, water is essential for our very existence. Our relationship with water raises various questions and concerns. Here are a few.

C.B.S. has a population of about 27,000. According to reports, installing a system to add more water may take up to 10 years. It makes you wonder how large cities with populations of millions manage their water supply.

According to the U.N., 2.2 billion people do not have safe drinking water, which amounts to one in every four people. Disproportionately, women and girls are the most affected. Around 1.4 million people die annually from contaminated water. The World Council of Churches this past year sponsored “Seven Weeks for Water” (February 18 to April 1). Water justice involves supply, control, sanitation, inequality and climate change.

There is a lot of water but most of it is ocean, amounting to 97 per cent, leaving just three per cent for human consumption and use. But we don’t benefit from even this amount of water because we pollute and overuse water. Our water is affected by industrial, chemical, and agricultural run off, pathogens and everyday human use. Keeping our drinking water safe is an ongoing issue. In Newfoundland and Labrador, we have 181 municipal boil water advisories, some going back decades. Unsafe drinking water can cause ever so many diseases, such as cholera, hepatitis A, polio, dysentery and typhoid.

We also misuse and waste a lot of water. Most of us are guilty of this in our personal use. The average American family wastes about 180 gallons of water per week. Last summer’s drought and fires should be a warning about taking water for granted.

We even talk about war over water. The World Conflict Chronology identified 420 water-related conflicts in 2024. Most of these are local, such as in Algeria where water shortages, led to protest riots or in Cameroon where rice farmers clashed with fishers over access to water. More worrying are waterways which go through several countries, such as the River Nile, and possible conflicts over storage and use.  

The United Nations states in its Sustainable Development Goals that everyone should have access to water and sanitation.

Everett Hobbs

C.B.S.

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I state unequivocally and without reservation that the date for permanent settlement for the town of Spaniard’s Bay was not 1705.

This argument is not in any way a negative reflection on the present council. Not one of the present town councillors was a councillor when that decision was made. Maybe none of them were born at the time of the decision. The people responsible for that decision have long retired.

Please allow me space to show you where the past council went astray. They have misunderstood the difference between the Town of Spaniard’s Bay and the Bay of Spaniard’s Bay. The Bay of Spaniard’s Bay is that body of water extending from Mad Rock in Bay Roberts to Coopers Head in Bread and Cheese Cove, now known as Bishop’s Cove.

The first town in the Bay of Spaniard’s Bay was Bishop’s Cove. Bishop’s Cove, not the Town of Spaniard’s Bay, was settled in 1705.

The Smith family was the first family to settle in Bishop’s Cove. They are descended from William Smith, born about 1680. The Barrett family was the second family to settle in Bishop’s Cove. Abraham Barrett moved to Bishop’s Cove in 1711 when he was expelled from Torbay.  Those two families united when William’s daughter, Catherine born about 1725, married Abraham’s son, John 1720 – 1781.

At that time there was only one town in the Bay of Spaniard’s Bay.  That town was Bishop’s Cove.

Now let us look at some logic. Fishermen had no engines to get to the fishing grounds, they had to sail. Bishop’s Cove was closer to the fishing grounds than what eventually became Spaniard’s Bay. That means that Bishop’s Cove was settled first and Spaniard’s Bay was only settled when Bishop’s Cove became short of waterfront or flakes and stages. Now we have two towns in the Bay of Spaniard’s Bay.

When did this happen? No one knows for sure. What we do know is that it was gradual. My guess is that it was at least three decades after the settlement of Bishop’s Cove.

The town was not necessarily called Spaniard’s Bay when it was first settled. It was made up of four small towns – Northern Cove, Back Cove, Mint Cove and Green Head.

The first baptismal record I found for the Town of Spaniard’s Bay was for Mint Cove. That certificate was for Catherine Barrett born January 7, 1784. Catherine married Abraham Smith, born about 1779. They are my third great grandparents on the Smith side. Catherine was the daughter of Mary Gosse, 1760-1840, from Back Cove and David Barrett, 1747-1818, from Bishop’s Cove. Catherine’s baptismal certificate can be found at St. Paul’s Church in Harbour Grace. St. Paul’s was the mother Church. Spaniard’s Bay never got its first church, Holy Trinity, until 1841.

The Bay of Spaniard’s Bay had 38 plantations. The first was located at Green Head. The last was located at Coopers Head in Bishop’s Cove. The Town of Spaniard’s Bay started with #1 and finished with #22 at Bragg’s Hill on Shore Road. Those 22 plantations were registered between 1722 and 1805. There are no documents to support or refute what I believe. I would ask you that, if the Town of Spaniard’s Bay was settled in 1705, how did the Gosses get all of the level waterfront property in Northern Cove, Back Cove, Green Head and Mint Cove? The Gosses never came to Bishop’s Cove until 1726 or 1727. Thomas Gosse, 1681 –1761, was the first Gosse to settle in Bishop’s Cove. His son Richard, 1720 – 1760, moved to Back Cove and his son Robert, 1723 – 1794 moved to Northern Cove. These sons were born long after the town was supposedly born yet they got all of the best property. How could that be? It has absolutely no logic.

It’s a possibility that not one of the plantation owners was even born in 1705. Do I know with complete certainty when the town was first settled? No, but it was much later than 1705.

FIRST PLAQUE: The first plaque was about the forge in Northern Cove. The origin of that business was with Moses Gosse, born 1824. Moses “Y” did work in the forge in my day. It states that Moses “Y” started the forge. That is absolutely incorrect. Moses, born in 1824, sent his son Esau to Boston to study the blacksmith business.  Esau’s name is not even mentioned. Esau was the father of Moses “Y”. By the way, the “Y” is the initial of the maiden name of Esau’s wife. My information came from Nathan Gosse. Nathan is the son of Moses “Y” and the grandson of Esau.  When I checked for the plaque, it had been removed. It’s time to remove some others also. 

SECOND PLAQUE:  This plaque is located on the wall below Holy Redeemer Church on “Lassy” point. It says that the wall was built to hold back the soil and stabilize the church. That would be unbelievable foresight. That wall was built about 1861 or 1862. The workers were paid with molasses. That’s where the name Lassy Point came from. The church was consecrated on May 3, 1891. Please note that the wall was built about 30 years earlier to protect a church that was to be built 30 years later.  We don’t have many people with that kind of foresight anymore!

THIRD ISSUE: “1705 Heritage Book:” In 2005 Spaniard’s Bay Council published a heritage book. I have done a fair bit of reading in my day, but I have never seen anything written so badly. In the book I have found 160 typing errors or misinformation on historical facts. It is not something that makes us feel proud. I sent a letter to the council and I did get a very rude reply back saying how well the book was received. It made us look like we were illiterate.  Spaniard’s Bay is a fairly well-educated population. The ignorant are quick to speak, especially when they have little to offer. A little knowledge is dangerous in the hands of the wrong people.

SPANIARD’S BAY TOWN NAME: This is not a complaint. It is nothing more than a comment on oral history and something I read somewhere sometime in the past.  I have no documentation but there is evidence to support what I am about to say.

The town of Spaniard’s Bay was never settled by the Spaniards. Oral history tells me that they fished here in the summers before the English and Irish arrived. During one of their summer stays they had a major marine accident. Thirteen of their sailors/fishermen drowned. Those 13 graves are in Northern Cove across the road from the present wharf. These graves are in the garden belonging to Mr. Nathanial Barrett. When I was a child 75 years or more ago these graves were marked with 13 flat rocks standing on end. Mr. Ron Finn, who is long deceased, looked after them. Mr. Finn was a Roman Catholic like the Spanish fishermen. Those flat rocks are no longer standing.  Those facts may shed some light on the name of the town.

Azariah Smith, Spaniard’s Bay

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At the far edge of North America, where the first sunrise touches the continent, two lighthouses stand watch over Newfoundland. One is made of stone, its beam guiding ships through fog and storm. The other is a small community of Muslims whose presence has quietly grown on this rugged island. Together, they tell a story about how light, whether physical or spiritual, can reach even the most remote places.

Cape Spear, just outside St. John’s, is widely recognized as the easternmost point of North America. For generations, its lighthouse has been a symbol of safety, endurance, and direction. When its beam cuts across the Atlantic, it reminds us that even at the continent’s edge, guidance matters.

More than a century ago, in 1898, a spiritual reformer in India, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, made a remarkable prediction. He said that his message of peace and devotion would one day reach “the corners of the earth,” long before global travel or communication made such a thing imaginable.

He never saw Newfoundland. He never saw Cape Spear. Yet today, his community, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community has taken root here, at the very edge of the Western world.

The story begins in the late 1990s, when a few Ahmadi Muslim families started moving in and out of Newfoundland for work and study. Among them was a young student, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, who came to Memorial University in 1997 and still calls this province home. Over time, more families arrived, forming a small but steady community.

In 2019, the community was blessed with Baitul Ehsan Mosque in Conception Bay South, the first Ahmadiyya Muslim Mosque in Newfoundland. For a group that once gathered in living rooms and rented halls, the mosque became a symbol of belonging and permanence.

Another milestone came in 2021, when Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Newfoundland received its first resident missionary dedicated to serving the province. Until then, one missionary covered all four Atlantic provinces, travelling thousands of kilometres to support scattered communities.

Today, fifteen Ahmadi Muslim families live across Newfoundland. They volunteer, host open houses, participate in food drives, and work to build bridges of understanding with neighbours of all backgrounds. Their presence is quiet but meaningful, a reminder that even in remote places, communities can grow, thrive, and contribute.

And so, on this eastern edge of North America, two lighthouses continue their vigil. One stands on the cliffs of Cape Spear, guiding sailors through the Atlantic. The other stands in the hearts of a small community, guided by hope, service, and a belief that light can reach even the farthest shore.

Together, they show that Newfoundland, though remote, is never beyond the reach of connection, faith, or promise.

Arsalan Ahmed 

Missionary & Imam, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Newfoundland & Labrador

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Seal Cove bridge has been “under construction” for about two months now. The problem is they dismantled the old bridge completely some time ago and haven’t worked there for weeks now. Keep in mind that we have to drive halfway to Holyrood to avail of services in CBS. I left a message at the council office and still no response. I was told that they are waiting for an update from Brooke Construction. So, I contacted Brooke Construction myself and was told they didn’t have the required equipment to do the job and are waiting on equipment. No idea when it will open.

Why would the town council award a contract for such a major job to a company that is not equipped to do the job? I googled this company and along with bad reviews, this company website admits to not having the equipment required for projects but have access to what they may need.

Maybe you would have better luck finding the answers that we seek.

Nina Fagan,

CBS

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I read Ivan Morgan’s opinion column on (Tourism and Culture Minister) Andrea Barbour. In short, he has the politics of the situation probably close to correct: a Liberal insider caught a Conservative politician on video at an unfavourable moment and posted it online. It’s an easy cheap shot to make.

However, the equally candid reality is that our province has long been the butt of simpleton jokes and mockery. Those “Newfie jokes” cast us as uneducated and inarticulate. Ms. Barbour literally lived up to the stereotype.

And so, having a cabinet minister fumble the ball so clearly and terribly on the international stage is anything but inconsequential. They are our representatives; they must be held to a higher standard. When the minister of arts and culture – arguably a minister whose portfolio includes responsibilities for public performance and language – can’t handle her own native language for the commemoration of one of the most prominent and culturally significant events in our history, it reinforces the stereotypes.

Yes, the social media post was a cheap shot. But it was also a legitimate reminder that our ministers’ professionalism and conduct reflects us as province. I do not think it means Ms. Barbour should resign because of it, but we also shouldn’t just ignore it either, or cast the expectation of having articulate representatives as “shameful” or unreasonable.

Matthew Milner

Mount Pearl

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Prime Minister Carney just announced the annual July recalculation of the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) for 2027-28 year to keep pace with inflation. For children under six it’s $160 per month increase, for children aged six to 17 it’s $135 per month increase and this is a non-taxable benefit. Our tax dollars already pay for subsidized daycare, for subsidized universal lunch programs and now parents will receive more a month for a CCB than a senior citizen receives on the Old Age Security (OAS) benefit.

Yet the seniors OAS benefit is a taxable income. The last significant OAS increases have only gone to those aged 75 plus which is discriminatory as it’s based on age. Seniors are not exempt from paying income tax, nor are seniors exempt from paying property taxes if we own our homes. Seniors are being financially disadvantaged from every angle by this government especially the seniors aged 65-74. In the past 12 months my OAS increased by $10 per month and during that same time period using the same Consumer Price Index, the CCB has increased $135-$160 per month. I don’t have to be a mathematician to know that’s unjustly disadvantaging seniors.

Seniors call your MP’s Office, email them as well and demand our fair treatment.

Beth Wilkinson

Porters Lake, NS

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I don’t understand why it was not considered before but there is another way to look how the Churchill River Hydroelectric Complex could be completed. It is about time the inform the population

What would happen if we would only consider the essential elements of the complex? The first project, undoubtedly, involves upgrading the existing Churchill Falls generating station at a cost of $1.5 billion. But the second project, a new development, could also lie in the existence of a potentially more attractive alternative to the Gull Island project, a project that has been under consideration for some four years.

This project, currently named “River Bend” because of the sharp bend in the Churchill River about 15 miles upstream from Gull Island, is located in a very narrow gorge, on solid bedrock, and requires a dam three times smaller. While it results in a 20 per cent reduction in the head and therefore energy output, the project cost would be reduced from $25 billion to less than $10 billion.

The Gull Island design dates back to the 1950s and 60s and presents enormous challenges due to the presence of thick overburden terraces that must be sealed before constructing an eleven-million-cubic-meter dam with a large clay core, all within a tight, 10-year timeframe, while the future impact of financing and inflation remains uncertain.

By focusing on energy development, with a 74 per cent utilization rate, as achieved for Churchill Falls and Muskrat Falls, the three existing transmission lines connecting Churchill Falls to Quebec are sufficient. The fourth line is not required, and the Gull Island site is reserved, as requested by the First Nations.

This reminds me of the saying, “The fewer ideas you have, the more you cling to them.”

Why did Mr. Michael Sabia, then president of Hydro-Québec, flatly refuse to study this second alternative when it was presented to him by highly respected and more competent people in the field? There are no winners in needlessly investing $25 billion in this proposal, which is extremely damaging to the environment, requiring a fourth transmission line where 15 per cent of the energy is lost and where the constant flow variations caused by operating the complex at peak power exacerbate erosion. Moreover, there are much more economical peak power projects in Quebec.

One might wonder why this second alternative was not also presented to Newfoundlanders.

F. Pierre Gingras

Retired chief Planning and Cost Engineer

Hydroelectric Project

Hydro-Québec

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On June 16 the Broadcast did an interview with my friend, MP Philip Earle, who I’ve known for around 45 years.  He talked about the lack of cod for the Labrador Coast people with the majority of cod now is in the 2J zone. I consider myself to be very knowledgeable about the fishery in 2J.

I started fishing in 3K for a number of years and when the fish got scarce, I headed up the Labrador Coast as my forefathers did in the schooner days. I spent 10 years up Northern Labrador and I am sorry to say I caught the last cod in Makkovik in 1990, two years before the moratorium; they were 32 years before they could get one to eat. 

Some of the reasons for that was too much pressure put on it because of the lack of fish in other areas. Also, when the factory freezer shrimp trawlers started fishing in 2J they not only scooped up the food for the cod but also dragged up the baby cod and turbot and whatever was in the path of the dragnet. Then the Canadian Government made a deal with Russia for 50,000 M.T. of caplin in 2J per year for five years.  They caught their 50,000 the first year but only 1,000 M.T. the second year. They had cleaned it all up, no food left for the other fish that depended on the caplin.

When the moratorium was called the people of 2J had a big problem to get compensation because they had no landings to show for the previous two years while people on the Island who never caught a cod but got their stamps from caplin and lobster. Many people lost their jobs but some people on the Island managed to get earnings from caplin, lobster and crab.

While some in Southern Labrador did get some crab, there were very few further up north and in the Makkovik area, it was nonexistent. The cod, turbot and salmon, their main fisheries, had all disappeared.

In 1990 Makkovik had a brand-new fish plant for cod and turbot and to my knowledge not one pound has been processed in that plant since, all because there was nothing to process. That plant provided work for the Labrador people from Happy Valley-Goose Bay to Nain.

Although I have not spent as much time in Labrador as Phillip Earle, I consider it my second home, and I will stand with him to try and get for the Labrador people their just rewards. These are people who survived on the riches of the land and the ocean. They need to be treated as equals and with respect.

(Ret.) Capt. Wilfred Bartlett

CBS, NL

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