Newfoundland

Before we jump aboard the “Ban the Seal Hunt” boat let’s reflect on what it means to us all. I will start from a point where I think we can all agree. Seals are not a human subgroup. (If we don't agree on this, then we can not agree on any issue related to the seal hunt)

Seals are in the animal classification, are they not? They do not have a natural right to life as humans do. If we decide to ban the seal hunt, we are talking about granting a special “right” to a group of animals at the expense of a group of people. It's about banning the regulated harvest of an animal species that has been sustaining life for humans for centuries. Granting a right to a specific species of animal to exist without any hunting or resource utilization will force a group of humans to lose a traditional way of life for sustaining themselves. Clearly, banning the hunt will favour seals over Canadians.

There are many elements that we could consider but let's look at a two.

Broad Implications

Without having to delve deeper than this I ask myself one question. “What are the implications of shutting down an industry that is built on a single animal species by imposing a hunting ban?” If we agree to ban the seal hunt and stop the utilization of this animal resource, how do we refuse a ban of any other animal resource utilization thereafter without being hypocritical?

If I understand the thinking of animal rights activists, they really want us to ban the harvest of all animals. If we agree to ban one, what logical grounds have we to oppose the banning of any or all other animal groups? This is a philosophical position espousing that all animals have a right to live without any human exploitation. That sounds "motherhood" but where does it leave we humans?

Do you really want to go there? Is this the world you want to leave for your children? Eating meat has been good for you and your forefathers since time began but from this point forward it will not be good for your children or their children or any generations to come. That is where this philosophy leads us.

Are we ready to give up eating meat-pork, beef, chicken, lamb, veal, moose and every other animal on the planet that humans need for survival? Are we willing to become vegetarians and consume our required protein from alternative sources?

If we agree to ban the seal hunt, it is only a small step for the animal rights activist to insist that we stop harvesting cows, sheep, chicken, fish, pigs, or any other animal we use for our survival. We will begin to turn our societies away from animal products as a means of sustenance, toward the uncertain and suspect world of grazing on greens and nuts. Can we really sustain life this way when we aren't even feeding the world properly now?

I don’t have a problem if anyone wants to be a Vegetarian. I do have a problem with forcing it upon people by banning an animal harvest. Such tactics are unacceptable and manipulative. The head of Colonilaism, this time with a new mask, rises again to dominate and oppress a peoples way of life.

White Coat Seals

Today, mature seals are hunted for food and for their fur. This is a way of life, a means of self sufficiency for a significant number of Canadians. We can now stop with the photos of white coat seals as if these are the object of the seal hunt. We can stop coddling the suggestion that these are being killed by those who carry out the seal hunt. Clearly, hunting for white coats is against the law already. That was stopped years ago, period-end of story.

So let’s put the suggestive poor pup photos back on the hard drive and look at this with honesty. The seal hunt is about mature seals; animals that are good for human consumption and for other products like seal skin coats and other clothing for people. We still wear leather jackets and shoes. We still use animal skin for clothing, rabbit and sheep skin and sundry other types of animal hides. If using seal skin is not acceptable anymore, then I presume we will also stop the whole business of using leather products too. How can we just pick out one group of people for discrimination of their industry? That is backward and absurd. It is so absurd that it will be easy to insist that we shut down other industries that are built on utilization of other animals.

Beef farmers will be pressured to close. Hog farmers and chicken farmers will come under fire. Every industry in the world that harvests and uses animals as a resource will be subject to the same pressures as the seal industry. Otherwise we discriminate against one people group irrationally.

If we just eat the meat of animals but the skins and the furs are discarded, would this not be a waste of resources? Would anyone want to stand up and espouse simply killing for the meat and throwing away the fur? That seems altogether untenable. We know full well that it is proper to use every part of a resource whenever possible. That is prudent resource management. So what is the objection to using seal fur all about? Clearly it’s not about rational thinking. Its about elevating animals to some status of equality with humans. If we go there our survival as a species is unsustainable.

We do not and should not ban the seal hunt. We should intelligently appose any such action. We need to clearly think through the implications of banning one industry that does not impact us but is very much like other industries that do. Common sense, fairness and equal rights demand that we treat all people with the same dignity and respect that we expect from others.

R. Greg Osmond is a Platinum Award winning Realtor serving St. John’s and surrounding areas, Newfoundland and Labrador for over 20 years and can be reached at 709-895-2500. Visit http://www.rgregosmond.com/ for further information.

One attractive feature of living in St. John's is the interesting walking trails throughout.  Many people use the trail system and appreciate it for convenience, the wonderful scenery and the length of walks available.  It is so easy to walk out your front door and be scooting briskly around some pond, traveling the meandering of a beautiful brook or wondering through a park like settings.  Sometimes within a few minutes some people who live close enough can be bounding through the forest of Pippy Park.

The Rennies River Trail is just one of those walks.  It meanders along the Rennies River which cuts through the city.  The complete walk will take about 40 minutes from start to finish so a return trip will run you about an hour and a half.  The trail weaves through lots of large trees, a few fields and behind a few stately homes.  From the start at Prince Philip Drive to other end at Quidi Vidi Lake you will enjoy every new turn along the path. 

There are many things to see along the way as well as a few places to stop and rest, throw stones in the brook or read up on the history of the river.  In days gone bye, folks came from all around to swim on warm a Sunday afternoon.  Today, some people run the trails for their daily exercise while others take their dog for a stroll along just to enjoy the scenic views.

Living right in the city, one can almost forget that you are in downtown suburbia.  The river is populated with trout, many of the trees are quite old and stately and the walkway is well maintained with lost of stone under foot and excellent signage to make it easy to find your way through.

My wife and I have parked our vehicle in St. John's on a few occasions just to take in the beautiful walk along Rennies River.  We have found that it is usually not long before you meet someone you know.  People from all around the city take advantage of the trail daily and on the warmer summer days, there will be company around just about every turn.

If you do have a dog to walk, you are asked to keep the dog on a leash and help yourself to the disposal bags at the beginning of the trail before you head out.  While there are lots of dog lovers in the city, the bylaws require that you to make sure your pet is kept under control at all times and that it doesn't leave any serious business around for others to navigate through. 

Garbage containers are positioned along the walk so you can get relief from carrying it, soon after your dog has.  That's the way it is in Old St. John's and there aren't many I know who don't love it that way.  Having well maintained walking trails right in the city makes St. John's one of the very attractive place to live.

R. Greg Osmond is a Platinum Award winning Realtor serving St. John’s and surrounding areas, Newfoundland and Labrador for over 20 years and can be reached at 709-895-2500. Visit http://www.rgregosmond.com/ for further information.

St. John's is an old city with lots of character and charm. In fact its acclaimed as the oldest city in North America. As the Capital city of Newfoundland, it has become the center for the Provincial Government and the hub for economic activity in the province.

Many government offices for Newfoundland and Labrador are based in St. John's. The most prominent structure is the Confederation Building. The Confederation Building serves as the seat of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. It was built in 1959 and replaced the Colonial Building.

The Confederation Building was built on a hill overlooking the St. John's. The building has 11 stories and at its peak is 64 metres tall. It was built at a cost of $9 million.

The building was substantially renovated in 1991. It included moving the legislative chamber from its original home on the ninth floor to a new one on the second. The Confederation Building is also now a complex, with the addition of the West Block which was built in 1982.

One interesting feature is it's visibility. For those who need to navigate through the city, the center tower is visible from many points through the city and therefore provides a great point of reference to aid both tourists and newcomers alike as they move around the old city.

Today the weather was warm and the sky was blue so I decided to take a few photos so others might appreciate just how beautiful St. John's is. In my travels, I came across a couple of native residents trying to fatten up on the young saplings. The female moose (cow) along with it's calf were quite uninhibited as I walked gingerly to within 100 yards to capture the Kodak moment.

The groundsman at the public golf course adjacent to these animals told me these had been feeding there for the last couple of weeks. The winter months were obviously lean as there was very little fat on them. As well you can see the winter coat shedding which adds to the scruffy state they were in. It is not every day one sees moose right in the city but with the air so warm, the view so clear and the tender shoots so tasty its understandable that these two were holding their ground on the hill.

R. Greg Osmond is a Platinum Award winning Realtor serving St. John’s and surrounding areas, Newfoundland and Labrador for over 20 years and can be reached at 709-895-2500. Visit http://www.rgregosmond.com/ for further information.

The Federal Government of Canada passed into law the Home Renovation Tax Credit as part of the last budget ratified in the House of Commons. The measure implemented a temporary 15-per-cent Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) to provide approximately $3 billion in tax relief to an estimated 4.6 million Canadian families.

The HRTC is intended to encourage investments in Canada's housing, as well as provide employment for trades-people and boost sales for those who make and sell building products. It applies to eligible home renovation expenditures for work performed, or goods acquired, after January 27, 2009 and before February 1, 2010. Work committed to after January 27, 2009 will qualify.

The 15-per-cent credit may be claimed on the portion of eligible expenditures exceeding $1,000 but not more than $10,000. It will provide up to $1,350 in tax relief to the tax payer.

There are two things that must be done in order to receive the tax credit. One must retain receipts for the eligible expenses (they do not have to be sent in to Revenue Canada) and one must also claim the deduction on the year-end tax filing for the period.

This is an example of HRTC eligible and ineligible expenses.

Eligible

• Renovating a kitchen, bathroom, or basement

• New carpet or hardwood floors

• Building an addition, deck, fence or retaining wall

• A new furnace or water heater

• Painting the interior or exterior of a house

• Resurfacing a driveway

• Laying new sod

Ineligible

• Furniture and appliances (refrigerator, stove, couch)

• Purchase of tools

• Carpet cleaning

• Maintenance contracts (furnace cleaning, snow removal, lawn care, pool cleaning, etc.)

The HRTC can be claimed by homeowners for renovations and enduring alterations to a dwelling, or the land on which it sits. A dwelling will generally be considered eligible for the credit if it is used for personal purposes, such as a house, cottage and condominium unit.

Benefits of the HRTC—Example

Greg and Karen, a couple who have a son getting married this year, have decided to upgrade their home so that wedding guests who stay with them will have a fresh place to live while they visit the province. Greg and Karen paint some of the rooms, upgrade the deck, stain the house and install new flooring throughout the home in 2009.

It cost them a total of $10,000 in expenditures. After taking into account the $1,000 minimum threshold, a 15-per-cent credit will be available on $9,000 in eligible expenditures, providing tax relief of $1,350.

When you consider that in Newfoundland the HST charged on all goods and services is 13%, one can quickly see that the HRTC roughly computes to an amount similar to a wavier of HST for eligible expenses. The amount won’t buy you a new car or a trip down south but the way Greg and Karen see it, “Its money better in their pockets than being squandered by the government on some futile public inquiry.”

R. Greg Osmond is a Platinum Award winning Realtor serving St. John’s and surrounding areas, Newfoundland and Labrador for over 20 years and can be reached at 709-895-2500. Visit http://www.rgregosmond.com/ for further information.

The seller's market has certainly ended. Inventory has increased approximately 30 per cent and listings are taking longer to sell or expire (never sell during their contract period).

The St. John's real estate market boomed during 2008, driven mostly by optimism created by the Newfoundland Government budget surplus, the Hebron oilfield announcement, and the Vale Inco Hydromet in Long Harbour. In light of this, speculating buyers purchased homes from all price ranges in fear of property values zooming sky high. The market cooled after the third quarter peak in 2008 and remained cool during the first quarter of 2009 causing the seller’s market to weakened into balanced market by the end of 2008.

Prices, however, remain quite stable even during our current cooling market conditions. According to Stats Canada, new housing prices in the capital city area increased by 0.4 per cent in March compared to February.