All posts by Matthew Allen

CBC doing its best to cover Labrador West amid budget cuts

ATI_Assignment
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Nearly a year after they announced widespread cuts to their national operating budget, the CBC is doing what it can to tell stories with fewer resources. While this approach may help keep expenses down, it has left the residents of Wabush, Newfoundland feeling alienated.

Nestled in North-West Newfoundland, Wabush is a mining town which exports iron ore to countries with expanding industrial sectors. While it once thrived, Wabush is currently struggling to survive due to the shaky prices of iron in international markets. Countries like China who were once willing to pay top dollar for the resource now pay only half the price. Business has slowed down as a result.

Prior to the cuts CBC had one reporter and vidoegrapher covering Wabush stories as a part of its larger Labrador West region. Last year, that reporter retired, and the videographer was relocated to a different location.

With the reporters gone, Wabush’s mayor Colin Vardy was afraid that his town would lose its only national platform. A letter obtained through an Access to information request reveals that Vardy personally appealed to CBC president Hubert Lacroix, requesting that the broadcaster hold off on making any changes to the CBC’s coverage of Wabush and the Labrador West region.



The positions in West Labrador still have not been replaced. This concerns Vardy, who says that the stories in his town aren’t getting enough attention.

“People are losing their jobs, homes are being foreclosed on. The town could be dying,” said Vardy.

Vardy feels that more should be done, and the CBC has been slow to respond.

“No one responded to my letter,” He said. “CBC doesn’t have a presence in our town anymore.”

The CBC maintains that they are doing their best to report on what happens in Labrador West.

While they haven’t found replacements for the reporters in West Labrador, the company has tried to maintain coverage of the Labrador West region by sending reporters to the area from nearby locations.

For example, CBC reporter Terry Roberts produced a series of radio stories on Labrador West in the last few months. These stories, including many on Wabush, have been broadcast nationally.

“That’s something that no other broadcaster would do, have the capability to do or have any interest in frankly,” said Victoria King, CBC’s senior manager for Newfoundland and Labrador.

King said that these efforts are being made even though CBC is spending less money on reporting across the country. Last April, CBC president Hubert Lacroix announced that there would be cuts of $130 million and 657 positions in the CBC over the next two years. As a result, the CBC has been spread thin. This has led to concerns from people like Vardy.

King said that she is constantly monitoring the feedback that she gets from the rural areas of her territory to make sure that everyone is getting the best quality of service and coverage possible. In Vardy’s case King says that she is always available.

“We’re very interested in telling the stories there, and I would be interested in a dialogue with him if he has concerns,” King said.

Documents Used for this assignment

This story was based on the letters sent from Colin Vardy to Hubert Lacroix. The complete document and annotated sections can be found here.

What’s the information?

Colin Vardy requested that the CBC not reduce the number of staff who were reporting in Wabush. He asked that Lacroix give him and members of his community a chance to communicate how important the CBCs presence was in Wabush and the surrounding area.

From which department and level of government did you obtain these pages?

The documents were obtained from CBC/Radio Canada.

Why was the information helpful?

The letter was a tip that the mayor in Wabush was unhappy about the reduction of CBC  presence in his area to the point that he wrote a letter to CBCs president about it. Based on his comments I began a search to see if indeed, there was a lack of coverage of issues happening in Wabush. I also called both him and the CBC for clarification and further comment. Mayor Vardy expressed his concerns, and Victoria King defended the CBCs position, saying that they are still covering the area even if there aren’t as many reporters there.

ATIPS I wasn’t able to use/didn’t receive.

For my municipal and federal requests, I intended to investigate the responses that different levels of government have made to cyber threats and cyber crime. Late last year the city of Ottawa was the victim of a denial of service attack. I made a request concerning any mention of cyber attacks or protocols that had taken place around that time or later.

Municipal ATIP 1
Municipal ATIP 2

I also made a Federal request for similar information.
Federal ATIP
==ATI Request information==
Organization: Public Safety Canada
Year: 2014
Month: October
Request Number: A-2014-00110
Request Summary: Incident records re: physical and cyber threats
to the safety and security of internet infrastructure (January 1,
2012 to July 21, 2014)
Disposition: Disclosed in part
Number of Pages: 31

I am working on a project about the increasing importance of cyber security, especially in the wake of recent terrorist activities. I would like to get as many documents I can from the governments perspective so I can understand how views have shifted in the last 3-5 years.

I made the Provincial level request for harassment claims being made by referees. I was hoping to find a story that could speak to the conversation about violence against women and gender discrimination that has taken place lately.
Provincial ATIP

All of My informal requests were made for previously requested documents regarding cyber security. I did receive a substantial number of documents from these requests, but I wasn’t able to determine if there was a story in any of them.
Informal Request 1
Informal Request 2
Informal Request 3

Haitians still waiting for promises of a better life to be fulfilled

Whatever-happened-to?, Whatever-Happened-To? Assignment
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Aristide Picture
Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti in 2011. Photo Credit: Google Creative Commons

Twenty-five years after its first democratic elections in decades, Haiti has become poorer, more fractured and less trusting of the outside world.

There have been coup d’états, economic restructuring and earthquakes, all of which have crippled the country’s ability to sustain consistent economic growth. But the biggest impact has been the loss of hope for the future.

On December 16, 1990, a Catholic priest named Jean-Betrand Aristide became the president of Haiti. He was voted into power with over 50 per cent of the vote, ending years of rule under dictatorships that had alienated and impoverished most Haitians.
Aristide campaigned as a spokesperson for the marginalized and poor. He promised them a better life.

“There was a lot of excitement and a huge sense of hope,” said Marylynn Steckley, who lived and worked in Haiti as a food policy analyst in 2007, and then returned for two years after the devastating earthquake in 2010.

“He was put on a pedestal as someone who would help people, lessen the divide between rich and poor and make their lives better. That is gone now”

Despite the hope that fueled his rise to power, Aristide’s government did not fulfill its promises. Over the next 15 years he was exiled twice, overthrown by the military, and placed the country on an economic path that crippled its development.

“The popular movement lost its momentum,” says Ron Blunschli, who was an activist during the Aristide’s first presidency, and has seen the public sentiment in the country change over the last 25 years.

“By the end of the 90s, the mood was very depressing. People lost faith. People have lost faith”

This loss of faith has been reinforced by the fact that Haiti no longer receives the attention that it did at the time of the elections or the military takeovers. Haitians believe that the world has moved on without them.

“The light was on this country before, but it’s gone now,” says Blunschli.

Haitians are struggling to survive in a global economic system that punishes island states with chronic under-development and weak leadership.

“The liberal policy being imposed on Haiti is strangling it,” says Blunschli.

Developing countries like Haiti depend heavily on aid from other countries to provide essential services and maintain infrastructure. However, to receive this aid, governments are required to liberalize their economies, making it easier for foreign companies to do business there. The hope is that the process will bring money, stability and provide the foundation for a stable economy.

The reality is that countries need strong, accountable governments for economic reforms to be effective. It is a quality Haiti has lacked for decades.

“They knew the structural adjustment programs weren’t going to work in Haiti,” saiys Blunschli.

Haitians are still poor despite these restructuring efforts, and they have become increasingly distrustful both of their own governments and international governments that are trying to help them.

These feelings were reinforced after the devastating earthquake in 2010 which killed more than 200,000 people. The underdeveloped infrastructure was ill-equipped to recover from the damage the earthquake cause, and the international aid and support that was supposed to help Haiti recover never made its way there.

Haitians have become increasingly cynical towards the outside world as a result.

“Before, the cynicism was focussed inwards,” says Blunschli. “There was a general recognition that the culture and history had put them in a particular position. Since the earthquake they believe that NGO’s in all forms are a bunch of thieves.”

Documentation:
Haiti’s Leftist Priest-President Faces Economic Quagmire

This is a Reuters article published days after Aristide was first elected into government. I obtained it from Factiva. It gave me a good sense of the mood of the country right after Aristide won the election in 1991. There was optimism and hope in the country, but there was also wariness from the outside world at a leader who won on such a populist platform.

5 Years later; Impoverished nation still on shaky ground; Rebuilding strides have been made, but thousands call tent cities home

This is a recent USA today article about the state of Haiti following the earthquake and efforts to rebuild. This was also obtained through a Factiva search. It helped me to get a sense of what have been happening since the media attention on the earthquake moved elsewhere. It was useful because it discussed the challenges that still have to be overcome despite the money donated.

Tesla’s Profits Are Still Five Years Away

Business Assignment
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Tesla Supercharger
Tesla has been losing money for six years, but the company is asking its investors to be patient.

The electric car company has enjoyed rapid growth, selling luxury vehicles that compete with BMWs and Mercedes sedans in 35 countries. Their vehicles are both fuel efficient and environmentally friendly.

“It is a premium vehicle, but it’s cheaper to operate than petrol powered cars,” said Martin Paquet, Tesla’s manager of Tesla sales for eastern Canada

“People buy our cars because we sell a product that’s way ahead of the industry.”

While the cars they build are technologically advanced, Tesla’s most recent financial statements suggest that their business model is inefficient.

The company lost $186 million dollars through the first three quarters of 2014. This was not an isolated trend. Tesla has consistently operated at a loss through that same nine-month time period in each of the six years it has been publicly traded.

A look at their yearly figures shows similar results. In 2011, the company reported net losses of $254 million dollars. In 2012, the losses grew to $396 million. In 2013, this number reduced significantly to $74 million..

 

Tesla has limited their losses recently because they sold more cars in foreign markets. They have also been making it easier to own their vehicles. Networks of superchargers capable of one hour charges have been installed strategically in the countries where Tesla’s are sold.

“We’re investing in our networks,” said Paquet, “The electrical infrastructure is everywhere.”

Investing money to make money is normal business. However, Tesla has to lose money to even sell its cars, and its losses are increasing again

Through three quarters in 2014, Tesla spent 72 per cent of its total income getting its vehicles to the show room.

The rest of its revenue was spent on research and development, leaving nothing for profit.

This has been the case from the time Tesla began its operations.

Following this pattern, Tesla will continue to lose money even as it expands globally and sells more cars.

This is causing concern amongst Tesla shareholders who may not be comfortable making such a long term commitment to a company that is yet to make any money. After peaking at $291 per share in 2014 the price of Tesla stock has decreased steadily over the past 4 months. It currently sits at $203/share.

This trend does not surprise Ian Lee, a business professor and financial strategist at Carleton University.

Reproduced with the permission of Ian Lee
Reproduced with permission of Ian Lee

“The car industry is capital intensive.” he said, “It takes a lot of money to produce a car from start to finish, and Tesla is losing money hand over fist”

Executives at Tesla recognize that in order for it to become profitable, it will have to lower how much it costs to produce the cars it sells.

In 2014, the company broke ground on the Tesla Gigafactory. The facility will allow Tesla to develop and produce the batteries that will power its vehicle at a significantly reduced cost. This will allow the company to make cheaper vehicles.

Crucially, it will allow the company to mass produce their vehicles, and sell them to average people.

Currently, Tesla vehicles range from $82,000 – $140,000 in price. This makes it a very exclusive vehicle.

“It’s currently a niche product,” said Lee, “It allows people who have enough money who want to make a statement to make one. Tesla has only been able to crack the elite market”

Tesla founder Elon Musk is confident that the Gigafactory will make his vehicles affordable and his company profitable. In addition to building the factory, Tesla is designing the model 3, which they hope will retail for $35,000.

The factory won’t be completed until 2020, however, and without it, Tesla will continue to lose money.

But Musk is confident in the company’s future. He needs his investors to wait for the future to arrive.