The story of Newfoundland has been a story of the sea. From our ‘discovery’ by various seafaring peoples to our individual family histories – life has been given to us by the cold Atlantic and quite often tragically taken away by this fair maiden as well.

From the bountiful harvests of the Atlantic Oceans Cod we built our nation for almost the entirety of its existence. We had so many opportunities for industry , especially in the lands interior, but yet we often neglected it. Why? Simply because our favorite offshore resource was so abundant and prosperous. We did not have to develop the diversity of economy and life style because we were blessed with an unrivalled opportunity at sea. The history, the people and the pattern of development mirrored this method of survival.

However, like any land built upon a natural resource such as fish we rode the waves of ocean resources to dizzying highs and gut wrenching lows. Numerous times throughout history the Cod stocks waned until finally in the 1980’s and first few years of the 1990s they collapsed. In its wake were the broken lives of a large portion of the Newfoundland population. Our people, our industry and our economy weas left in ruins like an old dory smashed upon the rugged rocks of the Newfoundland coast. It was a dark and dismal time to be a Newfoundlander.

As a people accustomed to surviving adversity we rebuilt our proud province like so many of our ancestors rebuilt their stages after a hard winters storm. We found new industries, we retrained our populace and we even went abroad finding employment in places we’d rather not live if we had a choice. We suffered through an often condescending federal attitude towards us and handled the foggy economic forecasts like we handle a foggy day – with lighthearted good cheer.

Then, as the ocean so often does, our tides rose again and the bubbling crude moved to the forefront of the Newfoundland Self Image. When the ocean rises it lifts all boats and that is certainly the case in Newfoundland. Historic highs in the price of oil meant that not only did the oil we were pumping become more glorious but the hidden caches now became profitable to find and produce. This influx of opportunity set off a chain reaction of wealth. The government had more money, the construction trades were in greater need and people working near and afar could now earn great incomes working, or at least living, in their home towns. Like the days of old when John Cabot scooped Cod fish with his hat we now scooped our commodity from the chilly waters of the Atlantic!

However, in this bonanza of hydrocarbons we forgot what history had already shown us to be true; an economy built upon reaping the bounty of our Atlantic waters is an economy destined to rise and fall. So much of our industry lay undeveloped for hundreds of years because of the great resource of Cod. How quickly we as a people, and especially as a government, are to commit the same mistakes.

When oil prices boomed we were quick to shout from the rooftops “WE ARE A HAVE PROVINCE!” and this pride is great to see. We were quick to open the budgets and increase the expenditures. While the government can be blamed for this it would be unfair to pretend like the government is not a reflection of the people it governs. Many of us in our new found positions of power quickly increased our household expenditures to match. Bigger houses, more trips and many, many more toys. We now have great jobs in the oil field!

To do this, however, is to forget about the Cod. It’s an act of hubris in its simplest form and delusion in its most severe. Commodities rise and fall. We have seen it with oil historically, a cycle of highs and lows, and have lived it with Cod. If our entire economy, not to mention our image of Self, is dependant on a commodity then it is destined to an endless cycle of expansion and contraction. We will live a schizophrenic existence of both a have and have not province as the ups and downs will be so close together it will be almost impossible to tell if we are winning or losing at any given moment.

So what is our alternative? We need to learn from the Cod and more importantly learn from the ocean. Our ancestors were great seafarers and made some of the best naval men the world over. They were able to do this because they understood the ocean. They lived in unison with it. They were able to build and captain boats that carried them over both high and low tides. No one ever though they could make the tides stop. They never celebrated at high tide thinking low tide would never come again. Nor should we act like an economy tied to commodities will ride a high forever, or in these times for long.

We need to diversify. We live on a geographically isolated island so we require an approach that accounts for the fact that we can’t specialize so intensely as to neglect all other elements of our industry. The approach required on a large scale is the same approach recommended on a personal level. While it may sound counter intuitive, the best plan is one of savings in times of bounty and spending in times of despair. We cannot seperate from our oil based economy tomorrow but we can do the things we should have done when the Cod was our commodity of choice. When the tide is high we bank our influx of prosperity. When the tide is low as is inevitable we then spend our bounty to diversify one step further. We continue this plan of riding the tides until we have our feet upon solid ground – a Newfoundland without a dependance on the Ocean.

#IAMNEWFOUNDLAND: Defining The Self Image of the Modern Newfoundlander is a weekly blog, with a new article every Wednesday, that focuses on the modern Newfoundland experience and how we interpret it into the greater tapestry of our Self Image as a people and a culture. Visit our blog on our website (www.iamnewfoundland.com), Facebook or Twitter (@IAmNewfoundland)

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