DOCUMENT RESUME ED 025 354 RC 003 013 Br Pepin, Pierre- Yves Life and Poverty in the Maritimes. Canacian Agricultural and Rural Development Act Branch (Alberta). Spans Agency- Canachan Minister of Forestry and Rural Development (Alberta). Report No- ARDA-P- 15002 ARD A- RR RF- 3 Pub Date Mar 68 Note- 246p EDRS Price MF-S1.00 HC-S12.40 Descriptors- Avoricultural Production, *Community Surveys. Economic Development. Economic Disadvantagement. Erriployment otential. Fisheries. Lumber Industry. Manpower Needs. Natural Resources. Occupatioral Surveys. Rural Areas. Rural Development. Rural Economics. Rural Population. Surveys Identifiers-oCanada Five areas in the Maritime Provinces of Canada were subiected to intensive geographical. economic and sociological surveys in an attempt to determine and define poverty illustratively rather than statistically. Information was obtained by in-residence researchers on bio-physical setting. settlement. population. labor and economic activity, fisheries, rural milieu and agriculture. mining, andforestry. Although it was concluded that a precise definition could not be drawn from the survey,the results were presented as being an aid to the understanding of certain geographic areas in relation to poverty. (DK) me* 4 w 13144_ C.> 1 AIM 1111111111111MM IMAM Mil LIFE AND POVERTY IN THE MARITIMES by PIERRE-YVES PEPIN, Ph.D. Institute of Town Planning University of Montreal Research carried out at the request of ARDA by means of a grant from the funds of the Rural Development Branch ARDA Project #15002 March 1968 £00254 Ehglish version of Milieu, genres de vie ruraux et pauvreté dans les Mdritimes (RAPPORT DE RECHERCHES AREA No RF-3) Published under the authority of the Minister of Forestry and Rural Development Ottawa, 1968 U.S. REPARTIO1 Of NEM EMOTION mum aina Of EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS MER MPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED IRON THE POISON 01 016ANIZATION 0116110116 IT.POINTS Of VIEW 01 OPINIONS RATED BO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION POSITION 01 POKY. FOREWORD ARDA is more than an Act of Parliament. It is more than policymakers, administrators, planners and researchers; more than problems; more than resources that need to be devel- oped or reorganized. It is, above all, a means of improving the lot of rural people, of helping them to rise above the con- ditions that cramp their lives and stifle their hopes for their children. A program such as this, if it is to work well, demands understanding and co-operation at all levels- family, community, regional, provincial and national. To know what is needed, and how the needs may be met, demands research and study. That is why so much effort, both federal and provincial, has been put into ARDA research. That is also the reason why as many people as possible, among those involved in ARDA, should have access to the results of the research. The federal ARDA administration has undertaken to pub- lish and distribute research reports that provide useful back- ground information, not only for those who make the decisions, but for those who carry out the decisions and those who are affected by them. The research study reported in this volume, Life and Poverty in the Maritimes, was sponsored by the govern- ments of Canada and the provinces involved. e /OaSO OM Maurice Sauv6 Minister of Forestry and Rural Development Canada PREFACE The Contract This survey, requested by the federal ARDA administra- tion, Department of Forestry and Rural Development, was carried out within the framework of Project No. 15002. The views ex- pressed are entirely those of the author, and do not necessarily represent government policies. The Terms of the Contract were: 1. To conceive, organize and carry out a geographical sur- vey in order to evaluate ideas of comfort and poverty in some typical counties of the Maritime Provinces. 2. To ensure the co-ordination of the results of this sur- vey with the observations derived from data furnished by people engaged in other scientific disciplines, in order to: (a) help in establishing a valid process for defining depressed areas, according to factors observed and evaluated on the spot; (b) bring out the significant elements or factors in those depressed areas on the basis of criteria es- tablished by comparing the various geographical areas surveyed; (c) collect material necessary for an understanding of life and problems in these areas, and use this material as a general outline of factors which could ba applied to similar regions in the Maritime Provinces. Choice of Localities Many readers may be perplexed by the omission in the Introduction of the criteria and factors which led to the choice of the localities surveyed and the persons interviewed. The reason is simple. After selecting the survey counties, a centre of operations, typical of the milieu and the traffic hub for investigations, was established. As the purpose was not to draw up an inventory or a monograph but to carry out a geographical reconnaissance, we thought it sufficient to stick to the three following operations: a survey of a typical, well-situated centre and of the surround- ing district, a geographical reconnaissance of the entire county, and a survey of typical areas (sub-regions) - fishing coasts, agricultural valleys or plains, and forest tablelands. Thus, by residing in Cap Lumière and in Richibuctou Village, twin localities which form one of the best integrated Acadian com- munities in Kent (centre OL operations in the first survey region) we were able to make a thorough study and also the wid- est range of comparisons between thriving and depressed areas, from Claire-Fontaine to Cocagne. In the same way, on Prince Edward Island, a base in thl north-east (Souris) - a veritable microcosm - made it easier to understand one of the most signi- ficant areas of the survey regions. Ch6ticamp was the obvious choice in Inverness North, and so was Oak Bay in Charlotte. The only problem of location arose in Digby-Yarmouth, which is on a long stretch of coast with virtually continuous settlements. With regard to the people interviewed, it was a matter, as in any survey of this nature, of maintaining a balance between contact with elements representing social and economic leader- ship and with elements representing the mass - the positive and the problematic elements. Since we wanted several points of view on each question, we interviewed fishermen, fish process- ing workers, fish buyers and factory managers with the aim of understanding the basic nature of fishing in all its aspects. iv The same applied to the fishing, processing, and foodco-opra- fives and to Credit Unions. Thus, the reader should not expect to find the same rigid system applied in each chapter. A word is needed to emphasize the simplicity of the working method in the field, which was tied directly to the choice of localities to be surveyed and persons to be inter- viewed. It was essentially a matter of living in a milieu, and among its inhabitants; the intensity of the survey was to recon- cile the scope of the program with the briefness of the stay. Two months of laboratory work provided some academic and statis- tical knowledge of the area to be surveyed. In the field, the map, photography (more than two hundred slides), direct investi- gation and the daily annotated travel journal providedour work- ing tools. This method sufficed for observing man, individually and collectively, in relation to his living milieu, at work and at rest, at sea and in the fields, on the forest tablelands and in the villages. This was how we proceeded. Geographical re- connaissance trips were the basis for detecting most of theex- planatory factors determining the phenomena under study, andto find some of our most valuable informants. We have not hesitated to record contradictory informa- tion, comments and evaluations on any subject. Each man is en- titled to his own beliefs, and the answer wewere seeking often emerged only from a compromise, by establishing a common denom- inator between contradictory points of view. The plan for this study of the Maritime Provinces bc- gan taking shape in February 1965, when discussions opened with some senior officers of ARDA in Ottawa. Following this, there was a general meeting of some 10 members of the scientific staff. This brought together the theory, practice, experience and, above all, the determination of a group who wanted to study the rural situation and its problems concretely and efficiently. We also called upon many colleagues; geographers, v XIIIIIOrusworr town-planners, economists, anthropologists, demographers and others, asking for their comments and criticisms of thetext, and for interviews. It is thanks to them that our approach was kept within realistic bounds. Special mention should be made of the professorial staff of the Institute ofTown Plan- ning, who provided an environment wherewe could work with many disciplines that acted as a corrective influence. We thank all of them. During the field work (July and August 1965)we made full use of the people of the Maritime Provinces, questioning them ceaselessly, and gathering documents and figures. Some interviews took four or five hours. We encountered in them understanding, interest and co-operation. This was our first extended contact with the Maritimes, and itsoon aroused our desire to return to this modest yet proud people, who live in picturesque or spectacular surroundings, and who have preserved a way of life and a dignity that deserve respect. It is thus with real regret that we bring