The year is 1949. Fifteen hundred rural fishing communities, known as outports, cling to the rocky shores of Newfoundland. "All we had was salt fish," claims Don Best, a fisherman from Fogo Island, "that was the only thing you could sell."
For two hundred years, life had changed little in these small outports, until April 1st, 1949. On that day, by a margin of one percent, Newfoundland voted for Confederation with Canada. Joseph R. Smallwood, the new province's first Premier, tells the press he intends to "drag Newfoundland kicking and screaming into the twentieth century." Looking to move beyond a dependency on the fishery, Smallwood started a program of planned industrialization.
For three summer months, the filmmakers traveled to remote and abandoned communities across Newfoundland, to capture the stories of the resettlement programs. Through interviews with those who were resettled and those who refused, government officials, artists, and community activists, the film portrays the poetic, practical, and emotional experiences of those whose lives were affected by the program.
The story of resettlement is crucial to understanding Newfoundland today. This one-hour documentary is also relevant to all Canadians who have experienced the upheaval of industrialization, including the modernization of family farms in the Prairie Provinces, or the industrial development of small communities in the west.
To purchase a dvd please contact Ken Hovey at 613.723.3316 ext 265 or khovey@gapc.com