Tag: ABCD project

..This piece examines how Nick Mercer, once embedded in Newfoundland’s West Coast resistance to wind-to-hydrogen development, became one of its official narrators — and what that means for the story being told. It explores the structural role of the “narrative controller”: someone who moves fluidly between local conflict, academic analysis, and institutional framing. From the ABCD project to CBC interviews and peer-reviewed papers, Mercer’s path illustrates how certain interpreters are elevated while others are ignored. Bayman’s Paradox offers a counter-archive: a grounded, first-hand record written by someone who lived through it, not just studied it. This is a warning — and a blueprint — for how knowledge, consent, and memory are shaped long before the history books are written. Read More...

In Newfoundland, land is treated less as heritage and more as leverage. Sweeping claims, untested legal structures, curated “documentation,” and a surge of mineral exploration all reveal how governance vacuums are exploited. From the silenced 6(1)/6(2 debate to UNDRIP consent politics, outside agendas thrive on ambiguity. Land becomes currency, heritage becomes narrative, and without transparent governance, decisions about Newfoundland’s future are already being signed elsewhere. Read More...

In this opening editorial under the Governance category, we explore how Newfoundland’s municipal structures have been strategically weakened, allowing outside interests to dictate local outcomes without meaningful oversight. Drawing from The Local Paradox in Grand Policy Schemes, the Muskrat Falls debacle, and the author’s own experience with censorship, this piece distinguishes between governance and government—and shows how the rise of the former is not always a step forward. With Orwell’s warnings in mind and federal projects proceeding unchecked, we ask: who really governs Newfoundland now? Read More...

A federally funded academic study led by UPEI’s Dr. Nick Mercer is quietly collecting local narratives in Newfoundland’s Port au Port region— one of the most outspoken communities against Net Zero industrialization. Disguised as grassroots consultation, this project taps into federal SSHRC grants and local activist groups to legitimize future development plans under the banner of "community research." This editorial exposes how story-gathering is being weaponized as policy justification—and how locals, unpaid and unguarded, may be surrendering more than they realize. Read More...