Island companies and services not concerned with Confederation Bridge's plastic-only proposal

By Daniel Brown

Sept. 27, 2018

Some Island companies and services aren’t concerned if the Confederation Bridge stops night-time cash transactions.

Strait Crossing Development Inc., the company operating the bridge, has proposed stopping cash transactions from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m between October and May each year.

Brian Oulton is executive director of the P.E.I. Trucking Sector Council. This proposal will affect Island truckers very minimally, he said.

Most truckers have a transmitter in their vehicle allowing them to use a dedicated toll lane without stopping. This transmitter, StraitPass, works at other tolls across the Maritimes, Oulton said.

“They’re just driving right through.”

The only truckers who might have to stop at the bridge are from outside the Maritimes. But they likely wouldn’t be travelling without credit or debit, he said.

“It’s pretty rare.”

Kevin Mouflier is CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I. It is important to offer cash transactions during summer months, he said.

Seniors would be most affected by this proposal.

“It would definitely be an inconvenience,” he said.

However, more and more tourists are using credit and debit cards, and most travel during the daytime, he said.

Greg MacAdam is a paramedic with Island EMS. Island ambulances also use the StraitPass transmitter, he said.

“You don’t have to stop and pay cash or credit.”

In emergency situations, sometimes ambulances are allowed to bypass the bridge gate entirely, he said.

This proposal may affect people leaving P.E.I. before 6 a.m. to be early for a medical appointment. It may also affect people making day trips to visit family members in off-island hospitals, MacAdam said.

Plastic-only proposal for Confederation Bridge a risk to public safety, MLA says

By Daniel Brown

Sept. 27, 2018

A proposal to phase out night-time cash transactions on the Confederation Bridge may affect public safety, MLA Jamie Fox says.

Strait Crossing Development Inc., the company operating the bridge, has proposed stopping cash transactions from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. between October and May each year.

If the proposal is approved by Transport Canada, there will be no toll collectors during those hours. Instead, drivers using cash must request the bridge supervisor from the control room via intercom.

Fox, the District 19 MLA, is worried the problems he sees with the idea weren’t explained to Transport Canada, he said.

“There’s a ripple effect in doing this.”

If approved, there would only be a supervisor and a bridge patrolman on site during those hours, Fox said.

“But the patrolman could be in New Brunswick.”

The supervisor would have to leave the control room to make change for cash transactions, which is a five- to six-minute walk one-way.

There would be nobody in the control room to supervise the bridge monitors during that time. The supervisor wouldn’t have communication with the patrolman while they’re walking, Fox said.

A car accident could occur, or the patrolman could get hurt, Fox said.

“We need to make sure the safety of the general public is adhered to.”

Two bridge staff members told Fox there has been at least two people jump off the bridge in the last year. With fewer staff, incidents like this are harder to prevent, he said.

“I’m being told staff are concerned over this continuous reduction in staff.”

Members of the Borden-Carleton fire department told him they’ll be relied on more if this proposal is approved. Without toll collectors, there may be no one to shut down bridge traffic during an accident until they arrive, Fox said.

Fox is also concerned people who can’t or refuse to have a credit card will be affected. Cash is legal tender in Canada, therefore it’s a citizens right to use it, Fox said.

“Cash is the tender you have to accept.”

‘Let’s hear it for Mr. Together’

Ken DesRoches kicks off campaign for Charlottetown Ward 5 councillor

By Daniel Brown

Sept. 26, 2018

Ken DesRoches wants to get things done together, he said during his campaign kick-off at The Kettle Black on Sept. 24.

DesRoches is running for city councillor of Ward 5 in Charlottetown. This is his third time running for city council, having served in the 1970s.

Ken DesRoches speaks during his campaign kick-off on Sept. 24. His daughter, Jennifer Pitre, was live-streaming the event to Facebook. Daniel Brown photo.

He wants to change the destination of the city’s floating dock planned for Victoria Park. There is not enough parking along the one-way road for people moving boats, he said.

Moving the shore-side rocks for the dock could reintroduce washout. Park regulars told DesRoches they’re concerned, and they’d rather have the dock further up North River, he said.

“That’s the kind of wisdom we get when we work together.”

DesRoches wants to improve fire services in Ward 5, and also wants to start developing the proposed multi-use sports and entertainment facility, he said.

“There’s no chance in that going anywhere unless we start working together.”

DesRoches used to be the CEO of the Charlottetown Area Development Corporation and the Slemon Park Corporation. Most recently he was a sessional instructor at the UPEI School of Business.

Jason Pitre is DesRoches’ son-in-law and campaign manager. He’s helping with social media, testimonials, and event organizing.

Charlottetown is guaranteed to get a new mayor this November, as Clifford Lee isn’t running again. More people may vote as a result, so he wants just enough people to vote for DesRoches, Pitre said.

“We want half the votes plus one. Plus two is just candy.”

Pitre coined a campaign name for DesRoches during the kick off.

“Let’s hear it for Mr. Together,” he said.

Phillip Brown is running for mayor. DesRoches is a very community-minded person and would make a great councillor, Brown said.

“He’s had a kick at the can, and he’s back at it again. So kudos to him.”

Mazen Aldossary owns The Kettle Black. He was a student of DesRoches at UPEI.

Aldossary hosted the kick-off because he supports DesRoches, he said.

“I learned a lot about business from him, especially from his stories.”

Alex Gallant attended the kick-off. DesRoches reminded him of his grandfather, who’s also a businessman who likes knowing people, he said.

“He’s a friendly face who wants to remember everyone in the room.”

Kate the Spice Lady closes café due to rent increase

By Daniel Brown
Sept. 21, 2018

Katherine Lee is still the Spice Lady, she just won’t be running her café anymore.

The café on St. Peters Road closed Sept. 12 due to a rent increase.

She will still work at her Farmers Market booth, Lee said.

“We had a real great five-year adventure. I learned incredible things, I made some amazing friends.”

She is looking for another place to reopen, she said.

“I’m going to take a few months to think about things.”

Katherine Lee holds her closed café’s sign inside her house on Sept. 19. Lee is using her house to store the café’s furniture and equipment for now. Daniel Brown photo.

The café was cozy, but it was hard to find. The parking lot scared people away because it wasn’t well maintained, especially in the winter, she said.

The building switched landlords since Lee started, and with rent increasing, the café wasn’t profitable anymore, she said.

People like her spices because she makes them in front of you, Lee said.

“Part of it is people knowing it’s fresh.”

Ann Thurlow was a café customer. She’d been going to the restaurant since it opened.

She’s going to miss it.

“It felt like going to a friends house for lunch, except your friends gave you a menu.”

Thurlow’s favourite menu item was the cooler noodles, she said.

“I don’t know why they’re called that, but woah. Delicious.”

Lee’s spices can be smelled through the bags they’re sold in because they’re so pungent, Thurlow said.

Lee wasn’t always the Spice Lady.

When she was about 19 or 20, she worked at a Lebanese restaurant. 

She was taught many things there, but she wanted to know more about spices.

“How do I make this delicious thing?” she asked one day.

“We can’t tell you, it’s a family recipe,” came the reply.

She had to find out for herself. She read a book, which taught her how to make spices. She learned some people made them for a living.

“No one teaches you about that in school.”

Lee had fun making spices, including some no one else on P.E.I. was making. Finally she decided to start a business at the Charlottetown Farmers Market.

She was put on a waiting list. She figured it’d take a while, and once there was a booth for her, she’d have three months to prepare. 

Instead, they told her she had a week.

The Spice Lady was born.

Lee has been at the Farmers Market for 10 years, operating as Kate the Spice Lady.

Her spice blends are ground fresh once a week. Lee also makes custom blends, which no one else on P.E.I. does.

“I can make you what you want.”

One of her blends, the Sweetest Spice, is very popular. It’s great with chai tea and lattes, consisting of vanilla cane sugar, coconut palm sugar and cinnamon.

Five years ago, she opened her café under the same name. The menu used Lee’s spices, and acted as a spice gift shop.

The café was a family affair. Lee’s husband, chef Simon Pullan, prepared the menu.

Her son, Taryn Pullan, spent a lot of time at the café.

The Grade 9 student helped attract customers to the café and sweep the floors. His favourite parts of the café were the customers and the food, he said.

“The food was very well made and well prepared.”

Asked if he was saying that because his mother was standing beside him, Pullan said no.

“I actually mean that.”

From action movies to documentaries

Island filmmakers share love for telling people’s stories

By Daniel Brown

Nathan Carter wanted to make an action movie when he was a kid.

It didn’t matter what it was about. He just wanted to tell a story.

“Anything I could point a camera at.”

Carter went to his buddy’s house with his old, VHS camera. They filmed it on an old cassette.

When they finished the action sequences, they realized it needed one more thing.

“Obviously, we had to have a dance break in the middle,” Carter said.

The two friends grooved until the film was done. They premiered their creation, but discovered the cassette they used also had footage recorded from a church event.

The dance break was dubbed to choir music.

Nathan Carter holds a camera outside Holland College. He switched from camcorders to cameras because he finds they are better quality.

Carter still finds his childhood films entertaining.

“They just make me laugh so much.”

He went on to study chemistry at UPEI. Other than producing videos for some non-profit organizations, filmmaking was only a hobby.

“It was what I liked to do a lot more than chemistry,” he said. “I honestly never thought I could make any money.”

When Carter graduated in 2017, he decided to pursue filmmaking full-time.

Carter founded Wrong Horse Productions in February. He’s contracted to produce and oversee video projects.

Last summer, he released the “Interesting Islanders” documentary series, which showcased eight locals with unique stories.

Carter wants to tell stories of people doing things they’re passionate about. He likes documentaries because he can capture emotions and translate them to the screen.

He likes asking questions and showing people as relatable, he said.

“I’ve landed the dream gig.”

Shane Pendergast also went from action movies to documentaries.

“I was always walking around with a camera.”

In Grade 9, he switched from James Bond parodies to a documentary on his hometown, Tracadie Cross.

People were upset the school had shut down. Pendergast wanted to tell a story that focused on the community rather than the buildings.

The documentary, Community, solidified Pendergast’s passion for film, he said.

“It was sort of sad throughout, but hopeful in the end.”

He’s studying film production at York University in Toronto. His documentary about John Bil, a renowned oyster restaurateur, is in three East Coast film festivals.

Pendergast also made a short film at the St. James Presbyterian Church in Charlottetown. It’s based on a ghost story called The Phantom Bell.

Documentaries are a great way to share and preserve stories, Pendergast said.

“There’s so much power with the medium.”

He hopes to move back to the Island to make more documentaries. He’s working on one about a folk musician, he said.

He wants to make a historical drama about P.E.I. rum-running with his friend, Logan Fulford.

“There’s a real untapped collection of stories.”

Island filmmaker hopeful about Film 4Ward program

By Daniel Brown

Sept. 14, 2018

Shane Pendergast hopes to return to P.E.I. to make films.

“We have such awesome history,” Pendergast said. “I could think of a million documentary ideas on P.E.I.”

He studies film at York University in Toronto. He grew up making short films and documentaries in Tracadie Cross.

His latest film is about John Bil, an Island restaurateur and family friend. The documentary will be played at three East Coast film festivals.

Now’s a great time to be an Island filmmaker. Pendergast was worried he’d have to choose either being a filmmaker or living in the East Coast, he said.

“I’d like to make a go of it on the East Coast for sure.”

Film PEI’s program, Film 4Ward, is great news. Especially the distinction between emerging and mid-career filmmakers, Pendergast said.

“I’ll definitely try and take advantage of it.”

Film 4Ward program benefits documentary filmmakers

By Daniel Brown

Sept. 14, 2018

Nathan Carter made eight documentaries this summer. Each is about an interesting Islander and their story.

Carter founded Wrong Horse Productions in 2018. He loves telling stories about people and their passions.

“People are not one-dimensional,” Carter said. “You just have to listen.”

Film PEI is uniting island filmmakers with the Film 4Ward program, he said.

“It’s the best benefit for everyone when Island filmmakers succeed.”

Program participants may request a mentor, which is how he learned to make films. Providing guidance will help more great filmmakers emerge, Carter said.

He intends to enter Film 4Ward with a documentary about what being an Islander means. It’ll follow the story of an Inuit women raised on Baffin Island who moved to P.E.I.

The Island is a beautiful and interesting place. People look over the cool things happening on P.E.I., Carter said.

Island filmmakers go to the movies

Film PEI announces program to support Island film industry

By Daniel Brown

Sept. 14, 2018

Renee Laprise is looking to make four good films.

She’s executive director of Film PEI, and she’s overseeing the Film 4Ward program.

It was unveiled Aug. 24 and information sessions were held Sept. 10-11. It allows Islanders to submit short film scripts by Oct. 19, which a Film PEI jury will judge.

The jury will choose four to fund and produce by June 2019.

“That’s why it’s called Film ‘4’Ward,” Laprise said.

The scripts must be under 10 minutes. Emerging and mid-career filmmakers must have productions teams of at least two, and 80 per cent of the film must be shot on P.E.I.

If accepted, filmmakers will take part in workshops, catered to the skills they need. Films will be shot between March and May next year.

Film PEI aims to create films eligible for festivals. They could be aired on CBC, which is a program sponsor, Laprise said.

“We’re hoping these will be calling cards for filmmaker’s careers.”

Renee Laprise prepares for Film 4Ward information session at the Film PEI office on Sept. 10. Two sessions were held, for emerging and mid-career filmmakers. Daniel Brown photo.

Laprise is a professional editor. Her first gig out of film school was for a friend in Toronto who needed help in animation.

“I was good at it,” Laprise said. “I just got hooked because animation is fun.”

Film 4Ward scripts can be narrative, but Film 4Ward also accepts documentaries, as there’s a growing number being filmed by Islanders.

Other East Coast film programs don’t fund documentaries.

“We believe that’s important for P.E.I.,” Laprise said. “We developed this program so we can make the best projects we can possibly make.”

Laprise sees Film 4Ward as a step forward for P.E.I. culture. The film industry is inspiring, fun, and important, she said.

“Telling stories is part of being human.”