Byron standing outside the House of Parliament in Ottawa. His placard reads:"No Justice in Newfoundland for Priors of Grand Bank."
I caught up with Byron in Ottawa this afternoon. This is what he had to report:
He caught a bad case of sunburn yesterday standing on Parliament Hill all day. He has been advised to rest for a few days and then he will return to his place outside the parliament buildings in Ottawa.
Since last week, he has been getting acquainted with Reverend Father Van Hee who has been demonstrating for family and children's rights on the Hill for 17 years.
Several employees on the Hill greet him everyday on their way into parliament, and one person in particular has asked for his information and carried it into the House of Parliament.
The first thing Byron mentioned with enthusiasm was Prime Minister Stephen Harper speaking to the 250-page Federal Accountability Act in the House today.
"This is the most important thing that Prime Minister Harper can do for our country," said Byron.
According to the Ottawa Citizen of April 5:
"The Federal Accountability Act will be introduced next Tuesday as a giant omnibus bill with 13 sweeping reforms and more than 60 separate measures that Mr. Harper vows will forever change "the way business is done in this town." The reforms include everything from new rules for political donations, expanded powers for officers of Parliament and overhauling appointments to federal boards and agencies."
Byron says that the new legislation will bring increased protection for whistle-blowers and public servants who expose corruption in government.
According to Mr. John Baird, the Treasury Board President,
"Accountability is our most important job to rebuild public trust," said Mr. Baird. "The act will be something a lot of public servants will welcome and it will allow public servants to to be protected if they forward and report wrongdoing. ... The public servants are the real winners in our accountability act."
When Byron returned to his room yesterday, he was informed by the kind Innkeeper, Abdul, that a Mr. Norman Doyle had called from Parliament and left a message for Byron to call back. When Byron called the office of the Representative for Newfoundland, a secretary answered and told Byron to wait on the line while she called Mr. Doyle from the afternoon session.
Mr. Doyle left his place to attend to the phone call and asked Byron what he required.
"I told him that I would like an appointment with someone in the Department of Justice. He said that I should make an appointment and I said, 'But Sir, its been 40 years now, don't you think it's time they do something about this situation?'"
Mr. Doyle asked Byron why nothing had been done to resolve the situation in Newfoundland.
"You tell me, Sir." is what Byron replied.
Mr. Doyle noted that Parliament would be closing for the Easter and holiday celebrations and that it would re-open on April 24th.
He enquired of Byron whether he would be going home to Newfoundland for this period.
"No, Sir. I will stay here and travel door to door, distributing my information. When you come back on the 24th of April I will be standing in front of the Parliament buildings."
Mr. Doyle told Byron to call his office on April 24th and set up an appointment with his secretary. He told Byron to "bring all your information with you."
Byron reminded Mr. Doyle that the Minister of Justice, Mr. Vic Toews, Prime Minister Harper and Foreign Minister Mr. Peter Mackay, all had copies of his story.
"Then CBC Radio interviewed me on the lawn in front of Parliament about our troops in Afghanistan and asked me what I thought of approving additional funding for our Canadian Forces overseas. " He was enthusiastic about this interview.
"I told them I am all for it. You know, here I am in Canada just trying to live a decent life and having to work hard enough to get that life, why shouldn't other people have a decent life elsewhere?"
Good question.
"The CBC asked me what I thought about our Canadian Troops policing other states and I told them, I said, "You know, the first thing that happens when a country's system collapses is that the criminals start taking over, and policing becomes a problem. If our Forces can help to keep order and enforce the law, I would agree that it is a good thing."
"Provided," he added, "they are supported and kept as safe as possible while they are there. So, sure they need extra funding."
I am sure that Byron's sentiments in this regard will please Mr. Harper.
Lisa Haeck reporting from the Wild Wild West in British Columbia, Canada.
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