Is anyone left in Newfoundland?

[Kakato]

After spending a few months and now renting living quarters in fort mac Newfy I have to ask if anyone is left in their home province?
I'm probably generalizing a bit as there are also folks from New Brunswick,Cape Breton and P.E.I. in fort mac Newfy.
The company i'm contracting with in the oilsands has 4 westerners out of 350 employees,the rest are from the east,I am getting to the point where I can pick out an Albertan or British Columbian accent when in town as they are very rare.
I'm also seeing lots of nepotism as more family are hired because of connections rather then skills.
I have seen this in Yellowknife also and in parts of Nunavut where I was the only western Canadian in camp,is this mass migration because the govt. cut the EI during times of no fish?
I ask lot of the people in fort Mac why they came here,lots say "just to see what it's all aboot" me by'e,get a few ringers and party on before dragging up.

Lots of them treat it like a big party and will never go home with anything,some are only here for the easy money and are hard pressed to actually work for it.
I'm not trying to be down on the newfys but I do have a redneck work ethic where you get dirty when you have to and "make it happen" also when you have to and that usually includes getting dirty,wet and not whining or crying about conditions. I dont think many of the easterners I have met would last 1 hour on the rigs.
I also find many are quite cut throat and not very considerate of anyone but themselves.
Is there that big a culture difference in this big country?
Are the Newfys taking over?

 

[hermite]

Hey, Kakato. Good to see ya. I was wondering where you'd got off to.


I don't really know any Newfies so I can't answer ya. Just thought I'd say hi. Take care out there.

 

[Johnnny]

gotta go where the money is

 

[Kakato]

Hey, Kakato. Good to see ya. I was wondering where you'd got off to.


I don't really know any Newfies so I can't answer ya. Just thought I'd say hi. Take care out there.

Working on the tailings reductions operation(TRO),thats some nasty stuff out there and i'm right in the middle of it.
Nice to be in on something new though that will actually clean up some real bad ignored tailings ponds,if it wasnt for the challenge then I would have left that shi* show months ago as the beurocrisy(sp) is just brutal. You allmost need a permit to get a permit to do anything.Stepping out of your truck with out gloves is reason for dismissal even if your a janitor.
Guess they try and idiot proof the mine.

 

[Tonington]

There's plenty left in Newfoundland, but the small coastal towns are emptying. They have been all along, with people either heading into the city, or elsewhere in Canada. Some still hold onto hope that the cod will return to the inshore, but that's a fleeting hope. There's also great hope for aquaculture, but cod aquaculture is not up to commercial scale yet, and there are only a few suitable areas for salmon farming.

Newfoundland has other resources though, but being so dependent on resources for their economy highlighted the weakness. In this recession, their economy contracted the largest last year, about 10%.

Canada is far too reliant on natural resources...

 

[TenPenny]

A large number of the boys from the rock are essentially absentee fathers, they're out west working, the wife and kids are at home.

Better that than not working; that's one thing you can say: the boys are willing to go where the work is, not just whine about wanting to collect EI for staying home because they won't move.

 

[Praxius]

I'd guess that one of the bigger reasons why so many complain and moan about the work conditions, etc. is because they don't really enjoy it or have any real interest in it...... but they need the money and they need the work, where much of either is scarce around here on the East Coast and these guys are willing to go and do the crappy work nobody else is willing to do simply because they need the money and either don't have the option or don't have the time to wait for the jobs and money to come to their province.

Just my guess though.

 

[mt_pockets1000]

After spending a few months and now renting living quarters in fort mac Newfy I have to ask if anyone is left in their home province?
I'm probably generalizing a bit as there are also folks from New Brunswick,Cape Breton and P.E.I. in fort mac Newfy.
The company i'm contracting with in the oilsands has 4 westerners out of 350 employees,the rest are from the east,I am getting to the point where I can pick out an Albertan or British Columbian accent when in town as they are very rare.
I'm also seeing lots of nepotism as more family are hired because of connections rather then skills.
I have seen this in Yellowknife also and in parts of Nunavut where I was the only western Canadian in camp,is this mass migration because the govt. cut the EI during times of no fish?
I ask lot of the people in fort Mac why they came here,lots say "just to see what it's all aboot" me by'e,get a few ringers and party on before dragging up.

Lots of them treat it like a big party and will never go home with anything,some are only here for the easy money and are hard pressed to actually work for it.
I'm not trying to be down on the newfys but I do have a redneck work ethic where you get dirty when you have to and "make it happen" also when you have to and that usually includes getting dirty,wet and not whining or crying about conditions. I dont think many of the easterners I have met would last 1 hour on the rigs.
I also find many are quite cut throat and not very considerate of anyone but themselves.
Is there that big a culture difference in this big country?
Are the Newfys taking over?

Yes by', we're takin' over. Already got our own language and everything.

Check your history. Who went down east with aggressive hiring policies, job fairs and golden handshakes?

When you say only 4 western workers out of 350 in your company, I'd say that speaks volumes about how badly the westerners want to work. How else do you explain the wide descrepancy? Just playing devils advocate.

 

[Kakato]

I'd guess that one of the bigger reasons why so many complain and moan about the work conditions, etc. is because they don't really enjoy it or have any real interest in it...... but they need the money and they need the work, where much of either is scarce around here on the East Coast and these guys are willing to go and do the crappy work nobody else is willing to do simply because they need the money and either don't have the option or don't have the time to wait for the jobs and money to come to their province.

Just my guess though.

Watching a water pump from the seat of a pickup for 13 hours at $27.00 an hour isnt hard work,when I request someone come help shovel my tracks only one person has offered in 3 months and it's a gal from Cape Breton. I see pickup trucks full of guys driving around all day doing nothing and when I once requested help(first week there) they drove by and stuck a track shovel in my tracks and drove off,my boss told me to get a truck number next time and they would all be run off but I hate to see any one lose a job over that,I would rather see them "learn from it".

To be fair the laziest ones are very young and not the pioneers who came west first,they are only here for easy money and theres plenty to be found where it takes 7 hours to get a permit to turn a bolt with a wrench.
I was first offered a front line supervisors position because I have the ticket and certification for it but I'm not an office person,I prefer the field and plus,most of their guys would be fired in the first week.:lol:

I still run the cat show and the cat(komatsu 375) I dont need to be in an office to make things happen.I handle all our logistics with a cell phone while still running the cat and discing MFT. This way I know the final product is exactly how it is supposed to be and my ass is covered from someone elses incompetency.

Yes by', we're takin' over. Already got our own language and everything.

Check your history. Who went down east with aggressive hiring policies, job fairs and golden handshakes?

When you say only 4 western workers out of 350 in your company, I'd say that speaks volumes about how badly the westerners want to work. How else do you explain the wide descrepancy? Just playing devils advocate.

The Newfys in management did,thats why the big brass now have policies to limit the huge amount of nepotism going on because it's come down to everyone fudging numbers to help out their relatives in management.You will have a tougher time landing a job at syncrude if you have a relative working there right now then 5 years ago because they have realized it's become a major problem.

 

[lone wolf]

Did one of them dumb easterners see through you?

 

[Kakato]

Did one of them dumb easterners see through you?

Nothing to see through,what they see is what they get and thats why 3 are heading home allready without a job.

The partys over,i'm there to work and make sure this job is handled professionally.
Guess it's the Alberta redneck in me,i hate incompetency and so does the owner of the company who is also an Albertan.:lol:

 

[mt_pockets1000]

Did one of them dumb easterners see through you?

My thoughts exactly. But I thought I'd give the guy the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Kakato]

My thoughts exactly. But I thought I'd give the guy the benefit of the doubt.

Im the field supervisor,they listen to me or leave,their choice,the partys over.
The gal from Cape Breton will be made a supervisor also as soon as I get back from my days off,because shes very intelligent and very serious about her job.
The 6 newfys who are over age 40 will also be supervisors if they can hang on for 2 weeks and dont drag up because of the kids.

They also dont like how some of these second gen Newfys treat their job like a party.
As the most experienced guy on the site I do have some pull and they will thank me in a year if we dont lose the contract because of them treating this as a party.
Tailings pond reclamation is #1 priority right now,the guys and gals that see that will still be working next year.
What your hearing from me is what they are hearing from me,i'm not there to make friends.Nothing to see through here.:lol:

 

[TenPenny]

In other words, it's got nothing to do with whether or not they're Newfies, it's because they don't want to work the way you want them to.

Don't blame a whole province.

 

[Kakato]

In other words, it's got nothing to do with whether or not they're Newfies, it's because they don't want to work the way you want them to.

Don't blame a whole province.

Im not,just the mindset the second generation coming here has that it's all easy money and you dont have to do anything for it.
The easterners i worked with in Nunavut were all very hard workers and reliable,you could trust them with your life and had to in the Arctic,they were also mostly pushing 40 years old and were in the west many years.
90% of the guys I work with now wouldnt last a day in that environment.

 

[mt_pockets1000]

Just curious Kakato, are you dealing with union guys when you're talking here? Because union personnel don't take kindly to non-union workers calling the shots on a union job.

I can see you are trying to buck the system. Good luck with that.

 

[Kakato]

Just curious Kakato, are you dealing with union guys when you're talking here? Because union personnel don't take kindly to non-union workers calling the shots on a union job.

I can see you are trying to buck the system. Good luck with that.

Non union and I also was in the operating engineers for 22 years and they would even shake their heads at some of the antics going on.
I would welcome the union here with open arms if they tried to organize.
Might make my job a little more organized at the same time,then I wouldnt have to deal with all the crap,the office peeps would.
Hiring would also be a bit more stringent on qualifications and not the buddy system if some had to have their reputation on the line when reffering a buddy for hire.

 

[mt_pockets1000]

Ah, so your company hired a bunch of no good workers. Sad reflection on your company if they can't screen their workers properly. Laziness is not exclusive to the east coast. Where are all these hardworking, redneck Albertans you speak of? How come you fellas can't find enough western workaholics to fill these jobs? By the way, whining is not exclusive to the east either.

 

[TenPenny]

I'm not trying to be down on the newfys but I do have a redneck work ethic where you get dirty when you have to and "make it happen" also when you have to and that usually includes getting dirty,wet and not whining or crying about conditions. I dont think many of the easterners I have met would last 1 hour on the rigs.

Nope, not trying to put down a whole province.

Every thread on here, you go on and on about how great YOU are.

You got a complex. If you have to reinforce your own importance to a bunch of strangers on the net, no wonder the guys who have to work with you don't want to.

 

[Kakato]

Ah, so your company hired a bunch of no good workers. Sad reflection on your company if they can't screen their workers properly. Laziness is not exclusive to the east coast. Where are all these hardworking, redneck Albertans you speak of? How come you fellas can't find enough western workaholics to fill these jobs? By the way, whining is not exclusive to the east either.

Maybe pay attention to what I said about nepotism,saw the same thing on the pipeline over ten years ago,newfys becomeing spread bosses,bringing their buddys up to become #2's and soon all the locals are out of work because the truth is a lot of them would cut your throat or sell their momma for a job at a buck an hour less and that's the sad truth.
The recruiter from our company is an easterner,that explains all the new hires coming from anywhere but Alberta.

Thats why suncor and syncrude are very tough on hiring relatives starting 2 years ago,they saw the trend and what it was doing to their companys.

In Nunavut they also have a policy on hiring easterners,it's allmost like a union busting trick that I used to see with CLAC,someones allways ready to take a job for less no matter what.