August (2009)

• Nicole Lang participated in the St. Andrews Symposium organized by the University of New Brunswick on 16 – 18 August. Under the title “Small Communities in a Globalizing Society” , the symposium undertook to explore the experience of small communities in the 21st century. Professor Lang gave a presentation on the situation in Madawaska and Restigouche in northwest New Brunswick, where the crisis in the forest industry has had severe effects for several years, with factories closing their doors and hundreds of well-paid jobs being lost. These communities are exploring strategies and developing shared projects to counteract the effects of the crisis and to support the survival of towns and villages in the region. In her presentation entitled “L'union fait la force” , Prof. Lang discussed several projects initiated by participants in the forest and tourism sectors.
  
• On 13 August Nicole Lang presented a paper at the international conference entitled “Développement comparé des littoraux du Golfe du Saint-Laurent et du Centre-Ouest français: d'hier à aujourd'hui” . Organized by the Université de Moncton, Shippagan campus and by the Université de Poitier and the Université de La Rochelle, the conférence took place in Shippagan as part of the 2009 World Acadian Congress. Professor Lang's presentation was entitled “Mémoire et patrimoine maritime: le désastre d'Escuminac et le monument Les Pêcheurs” . Her présentation first of all considered the consequences of the disaster for Escuminac and the surrounding area. Secondly, by examining commemorative activities, the paper also sought to understand the relationship of the people of this fishing community to a monument that recalls a tragic episode in their history.
  [ See website ]
• As part of “La Grande Jasette” on August 8 at the Acadian World Congress 2009, Raymond Léger and Nelson Ouellet presented a session entitled “La plus grande famille acadienne. Les travailleuses et les travailleurs” with Jean-Claude Basque, Canadian Labour Congress, and Michèle Caron, Université de Moncton. The well-attended session focused on the role of Acadians in unions and social movements during the 20th century and was held on the Shippagan campus of the Université de Moncton. Raymond discussed union membership numbers in New Brunswick since World War II. Nelson's presentation featured sound clips from interviews with New Brunswick union activists. The interviews form part of the oral history collection created by LHTNB for deposit to the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick and the Centre d'études acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson at the conclusion of the CURA project. To hear a clip of an interview with Yvon Godin, click here.
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July (2009)

• On 23 July Kimberley Dunphy defended her M.A. thesis, “The Feminization of the Labour Movement in New Brunswick: Women in the New Brunswick Federation of Labour, 1913-1984” , which she prepared at the University of New Brunswick under the supervision of David Frank. Her examining committee also included Professors Linda Kealey, Department of History and Jennie Hornosty, Department of Sociology. The thesis examines the changing numbers of women delegates at meetings of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour and the Federation's attention to issues of concern to women workers. She concludes that by the 1980s there was a significant level of participation by women delegates and that a Women's Committee was providing leadership in addressing policy issues. Kim has worked for the New Brunswick Labour History Project as an undergraduate research assistant and was awarded a New Brunswick Labour History Fellowship to support her graduate studies.
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June (2009)

• The early history of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour, the oldest continuously existing federation of labour in Canada, is the subject of an article by David Frank in the current issue of the Journal of the Canadian Historical Association. The article identifies the importance of provincial federations of labour as a distinct form of labour organization which attempted to strengthen local bonds of solidarity and represent workers at the level of the provincial state. This volume of the journal includes a selection of studies, as chosen by the editorial board, from presentations at the annual meetings of the Association. The contents of the current issue are also available on-line through subscribing libraries. See David Frank, “Provincial Solidarities: The Early Years of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour, 1913-1929” , Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, new series, Vol. 19, no. 1 (2008), pp. 143-69 [published 2009]
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• The New Brunswick Labour History Project was well-represented at the convention of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour, which took place in Saint John on 31 May – 3 June this year. At the opening session on 31 May Federation President Michel Boudreau described the work of the project in his annual report, and at the evening session on 1 June David Frank and Nicole Lang gave an illustrated presentation entitled “Provincial Solidarities / Solidarités provinciales: Towards a History of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour / Vers une histoire de la Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Nouveau-Brunswick” . Delegates received copies of the project's Day of Mourning brochure and new bookmarks promoting the project website. They also received posters announcing a two-day conference sponsored by the project, which will take place in Fredericton on 1 - 2 September under the title “Informing Public Policy: Socio-economic and Historical Perspectives on Labour in New Brunswick” .
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May (2009)

• On 28 May 2009 Jazmine Belyea defended her M.A. thesis, “‘We Had to Make a Life': Women in the Forest Industries of New Brunswick, 1920-1960” , which she prepared at the University of New Brunswick under the supervision of Bill Parenteau. Her examining committee also included Professors Gail Campbell, Department of History and Tom Beckley, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management at the University of New Brunswick. The thesis examines the role of women who worked in New Brunswick lumber camps in the period from 1920 to 1960. The research is based largely on oral interviews that Jazmine conducted with women who worked in the woods during this period. She is currently employed as a research assistant with the project and will be continuing her graduate studies at the Memorial University of Newfoundland in the fall.
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• On 26 May Project Officer Carol Ferguson and research team member Raymond Léger participated in the 2009 Atlantic Region Education Conference and Presidents' Meeting of the Communications, Energy and PaperworkersUnion of Canada (CEP) held at the Delta Beauséjour, Moncton. The Education Conference is held every two years for CEP delegates from across Atlantic Canada and offers training in collective bargaining and organizational development. Raymond and Carol delivered concurrent half-day sessions on labour history in French and English as part of the Labour-Skills Development Course.
  
• The most recent issue of the Journal of Canadian Studies includes an article by Nicole Lang entitled “Le projet d'histoire du travail au Nouveau-Brunswick et la communauté du Madawaska: comment construire des partenariats durables” . In her article Professor Lang assesses the partnerships created in Madawaska during the course of the New Brunswick Labour History Project (LHTNB). She presents examples of public activities and collaborative projects undertaken in the region thanks to partnerships with various community organizations. She also analyses the impact of these activities and collaborative projects within the Madawaska community and discusses the lessons the research team is able to draw from these experiences. See Journal of Canadian Studies, vol. 43, no. 1 (winter 2009), pp. 131-53.
  
• The Spring 2009 edition of Dialogue, a widely disseminated newsletter published by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, includes a feature article on the New Brunswick Labour History Project under the title “Applying the Lessons of History to Today's Challenges” . In his introductory comments in this issue, SSHRC President Chad Gaffield notes that “the province's rich labour history” has “underpinned the development of New Brunswick's present-day economy, culture and social structures” .
  
• The meetings of the Atlantic Canada Studies Conference, which met this year at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown from 30 April to 3 May, included a session on New Brunswick labour history. All four presentations were based on research undertaken by project team members, graduate students and research assistants. The papers included Nelson Ouellet, “La CSSIAT du Nouveau-Brunswick et les reclamations des Acadiens de la Bathurst Lumber Company (1918-1929)” , Matt Baglole and David Frank, “Parliament of Labour: An Analysis of Representation at the New Brunswick Federation of Labour Conventions, 1913-1956” , Carolynn McNally, “Menace pour la société: les accidents du travail et les veuves au Nouveau-Brunswick (1903-1918)” , and William Vinh-Doyle, “Catching Up, Fighting Back: The New Brunswick Council of Hospital Unions and Working-Class Militancy in CUPE New Brunswick, 1970-1990” .
  [ See website ]
• On 1 May 2009 Project Officer Carol Ferguson presented a full-day training session on the history of the Canadian labour movement to union delegates from the Moncton area at the Holiday Inn Express, Moncton. The session was part of an educational day organized by the Canadian Labour Congress (Atlantic Region) and the Moncton and District Labour Council. The day concluded with the annual Moncton and District Labour Council May Day Dinner featuring music by local musicians and the singing of union songs.
  

April (2009)

• Saint John longshoremen will receive the Order of the Liberator San Martin for their part in defending Argentine democracy in 1979. The formal announcement was made at City Hall in Saint John by Enrique Tabak, one of the leaders of the Group for the Defence of Civil Rights in Argentina who appealed for support from New Brunswick workers in 1979. He was welcomed to the city by Mayor Ivan Court at a reception at City Hall on 29 April and was the guest speaker at the annual May Day dinner sponsored by Saint John Labour Community Services and the Saint John and District Labour Council. A ministerial order authorizing the award was signed recently in Buenos Aires, and a formal ceremony will be held at a later date. The New Brunswick Labour History project assisted in the nomination by providing background research and information, which is summarized in our website feature  “Hot Cargo, 1979” .
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• Monuments in honour of the province's annual Workers' Day of Mourning are featured in a new bilingual brochure and a short YouTube video released on 28 April this year. A Guide to Day of Mourning Monuments in New Brunswick provides background information on the existing monuments in the province and a map showing their location. It was prepared in collaboration with two of our partners, the New Brunswick Federation of Labour and the Canadian Labour Congress, and will be distributed through labour organizations, municipal councils and tourism sites. The one-minute video entitled Day of Mourning April 28 avril Jour de deuil includes photographs of the monuments and the original dedication ceremonies. The presentation can be accessed on YouTube by searching the term “Day of Mourning in New Brunswick 28 April” . Also on 28 April, Project Director David Frank was interviewed on “Shift” , the CBC's English-language afternoon radio programme for New Brunswick. From the link provided here, you can view the YouTube video.
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• In 1979 Saint John workers helped to oppose the military dictatorship in Argentina, and this history is being remembered again thirty years later. The recent death of President Raoul Alfonsin, who came to power in 1983 after the fall of the military junta, has led to an article in the popular newsmagazine www.straightgoods.ca under the title “Remembering the 1979 NO CANDU Fight.” More detailed information on the role of Saint John workers in supporting democracy in Argentina is available in our website feature “Hot Cargo, 1979” .
  

March (2009)

• On 19 March Bill Parenteau and Mark McLaughlin addressed the “Forest Forum” , a two-day symposium on community forestry organized by the Falls Brook Centre and the Conservation Council of New Brunswick at the Lord Beaverbrook Hotel in Fredericton. In a presentation entitled “Corporate Reserves or the People's Heritage?: Modernization, Community and the Crown Lands in New Brunswick, 1925-2009” , Bill and Mark emphasized the detrimental impact that the disproportionate control of Crown lands by the pulp and paper industry has had on forest workers, independent wood producers and rural communities and suggested that the time is ripe for changes that restore the primacy of community development in the administration of public forest lands.
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February (2009)

• The LHTNB website is highlighted as a useful resource for history and social studies courses in the most recent newsletter of the New Brunswick Teachers'Association (NBTA). Retired high school teacher Ian Andrews writes that features on the site can be used for a variety of courses and grade levels and that the site is “a particularly valuable tool when used toward achieving grade 9 Social Studies and Grade 12 Canadian History outcomes” . The NBTA is the English-language professional organization for teachers in New Brunswick. See Ian Andrews, “Labour History in New Brunswick” , NBTA News, 24 February 2009, p. 28.
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• This week's e-newsletter of the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women includes an excerpt from the LHTNB website feature by Linda Kealey “How Nurses Learned to Wear Two Hats: Professionals and Unionists” . The Advisory Council on the Status of Women is the provincial agency responsible for consultation and study on matters relating to the status of New Brunswick women. See “How N.B. Nurses Learned to Wear 2 Hats” , NB Women's News, 16 February 2009.
  
• On 14 February 2009, as part of Heritage Week, retired Canadian National (CN) worker Guy Bouchard gave a presentation entitled “Témoignage d'un cheminot” at the Mgr. Plourde Public Library in Saint-François-de-Madawaska. Wearing his railroad uniform, Mr. Bouchard recounted his work for CN and then talked about various railway artifacts on display at the library. Participants also had the opportunity to view a selection of photographs of the Témiscouata train which served the Upper Madawaska region at the end of the 19th century and during the first decades of the 20th century. Guy Bouchard has collaborated on several projects with the members of the LHTNB research team including the publication of a special issue of the Revue de la Société historique du Madawaska on the theme of railway workers. See our Recent News April 2008.
  [ Read the News ]
• For Heritage Week 2009 the news releases issued by the Province of New Brunswick include two articles prepared by the New Brunswick Labour History Project, “The Escuminac Disaster” by Nicole Lang and “Born at Moncton, 1908 – The Canadian Brotherhood of Railroad Employees” by David Frank. These are also featured on the website of the Heritage Branch, Department of Wellness, Culture and Sport, who are one of the partners in the project. Teachers are invited to use the additional resources available on the LHTNB website. This year's Heritage Week, 9 – 13 February, highlights the theme of transportation as well as the commemoration of the province's 225th anniversary, which includes the hosting of the Acadian World Congress by the Acadian Peninsula in August this year.
  
• On 8 February Nelson Ouellet addressed the members of the Société historique acadienne in Moncton on the theme of the emigration of Acadian workers to the United States. In his presentation, Nelson drew attention to a recent acquisition of important documents by the Centre d'études acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson at the Université de Moncton, the records of border entries to the U.S.. The study of this rich collection has helped in the preparation of Nelson's paper entitled “Entre passage et interdit: Les Acadiennes et les Acadiens à la frontière des États-Unis (1906-1952)” .
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January (2009)

• The most recent issue of the journal of the Nurses Association of New Brunswick includes an illustrated feature by Linda Kealey and Roxanne Reeves. In “Nursing History in New Brunswick: Making a Point, Making a Difference” , Info Nursing (Winter 2008), pp. 8-9, Linda and Roxanne report on their research on the history of nurses' work and organizing in New Brunswick since the Second World War. Did you know, the authors ask, that nurses wore the “red badge of frustration” on their arm while rallying and marching to improve wages and working conditions in 1980-1981? To read the report, click here. (This document may take a moment to download.)
  

December (2008)

• The story of the emergence of the New Brunswick Nurses' Union is the theme of the lead article by Linda Kealey in the latest issue of Acadiensis: Journal of the History of the Atlantic Region. The study focuses on three key moments in 1969, 1975 and 1980-81, which were turning points in the nurses' campaign to address low wages and poor working conditions, first within their professional association, the New Brunswick Association of Registered Nurses, and then through the New Brunswick Nurses' Union, established in 1978. See Linda Kealey, “‘No More Yes Girls': Labour Activism among New Brunswick Nurses, 1964-1981” , Acadiensis, XXXVII, 2 (Summer/Autumn 2008), pp. 3-17.
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• On 5 December Project Director David Frank participated in a labour history workshop organized by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada in order to discuss plans for the commemoration of people, places and events of importance in Canadian labour history. The Ottawa meeting was attended by a number of staff and members of the board as well as invited specialists. David's paper for this workshop was entitled “Public Commemoration and Historical Engagement in Canadian Labour History” .
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November (2008)

• On 19 November Roxanne Reeves defended her M.A. thesis, “Collective Bargaining for New Brunswick Nurses by New Brunswick Nurses, 1965-1969: In Unity There is Strength” , which she prepared at the University of New Brunswick under the supervision of Linda Kealey. Her examining committee also included Professors David Frank, Department of History and Penny Ericson, Dean Emeritus of the Faculty of Nursing at the University of New Brunswick. The thesis examines the beginnings of collective bargaining by nurses in the province, with an emphasis on the role of the Social and Economic Welfare Committee of the New Brunswick Association of Registered Nurses. Roxanne held one of the New Brunswick Labour History Fellowships in 2006-08.
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• An essay by Rose Donovan, “The Saint John Dry Cleaning and Laundry Strike” , has been published in the latest issue of TimePieces: A Journal of Undergraduate History at the University of New Brunswick, Vol. 9 (2008), pp. 27-33. The paper examines the certification and recognition of a small local union represented by the Canadian Congress of Labour in 1946-47. It was prepared in a course on New Brunswick labour history at the University of New Brunswick in the autumn term in 2006.
  

October (2008)

• Nicole Lang participated in the 61st congress of the Institut d'histoire de l'Amérique française, which was held in Quebec City 23 - 25 October. To mark the 400th anniversary of Québec City, the symposium's organizing committee launched a broad reflection on the past as a theme affected by and influencing the present as well as on the place of history in the contemporary society. Under the theme “Présences du passé” , participants took up several topics including commemorations and celebrations of the past, the uses and misuses of history, the construction of sites of memory and the invention of traditions. Professor Lang presented a paper entitled “Les lieux historiques ouvriers en Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick” .
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• On 22 October Buzz Hargrove, the New Brunswick-born former national president of the Canadian Auto Workers, addressed a full auditorium at the Wu Conference Centre at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. Project Director David Frank introduced Mr. Hargrove as one of the New Brunswickers who had gone “down the road” as a teenager and went on to play an important part in Canadian labour history. In a lecture entitled “Looking Back, Looking Ahead” , Mr. Hargrove spoke about his life as a trade unionist and the current challenges he saw facing the labour movement. The session ended with a variety of questions from the audience, which included a large number of union and community members as well as students, staff and faculty. Raymond Léger, a member of the LHTNB research team, thanked Mr. Hargrove and presented him with two of the recent publications prepared by the project. The public lecture was sponsored by the New Brunswick Labour History Project and was followed by a public reception hosted by the Office of the Vice-President (Research), UNB. On the following day at the UNB fall convocation at the Aitken University Centre, Mr. Hargrove received an honourary Doctorate of Laws and delivered the Convocation Address to graduates.
  [ See Photograph 1 | Photograph 2 | Photograph 3 ] [ Read the News ] [ See website ]
• Graduate students associated with the project presented papers at the 10th Annual University of Maine/University of New Brunswick International Graduate Student History Conference, held at the University of Maine, Orono on 17-19 October. Doctoral candidate William Vinh-Doyle presented a paper entitled “The Challenges of Studying Public Sector Unionization in Canada: A Brief Historiography” . Jazmine Belyea presented “Women in the New Brunswick Woods, 1930-1960” which includes materials from the oral interviews she is carrying out as part of her M.A. thesis research. A paper prepared by M.A. candidate Roxanne Reeves, “Collective Bargaining for New Brunswick Nurses, 1965-1969” , was presented in her absence by Mark McLaughlin. In addition, Patrick Marsh, who will be working on an M.A. thesis on New Brunswick labour history, presented a paper based on his earlier work at Cape Breton University.
  
• The New Brunswick Labour History Project, in partnership with the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick, is pleased to announce the launch of the second part of a series of on-line teaching modules. Gathered together under the theme of labour landmarks, the three new modules consist of educational activities allowing students from kindergarten to Grade 12 to explore various memorials paying tribute to workers in our province such as The Fishermen by Acadian sculptor Claude Roussel and the Day of Mourning monuments, as well as plaques and sculptures dedicated to firefighters and forestry workers. For more information, see Nicole Lang and Nelson Ouellet, “Nouveaux modules pédagogiques en ligne sur l'histoire du travail au Nouveau-Brunswick” , Nouvelles de l'AEFNB, vol. 40, no 2 (22 octobre 2008), p.2.
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September (2008)

• On 28 September 2008 Bill Parenteau and Josh Dickison attended the NewBrunswick Social Forum in Fredericton and delivered an address entitled “Modernization and Resistance in the New Brunswick Woods, 1925-2008” . Theirpresentation highlighted the dissatisfaction with the pulp and paperindustry on the part of a variety of wood producer, community and citizengroups in the province and the unwillingness of the New Brunswick governmentto enact more inclusive Crown land policies or otherwise end the corporatewelfare policies that have sustained the industry for decades.
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• Nelson Ouellet participated in an international conference in Chicago, 18 – 20 September, entitled “Workers, the Nation-State and Beyond: The Newberry Conference on Labor History Across the Americas” . The conference was organized by the journal Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas in association with the Labor and Working-Class History Association (LAWCHA), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Roosevelt University and the Newberry Library. The conference gave Professor Ouellet the opportunity to present the results of his research on accidents in the workplace in New Brunswick in a paper entitled “The World-Wide War on Dependency: Injured Workers and the State in the United States and Canada” .
  [ See website ]
• The current issue of Our Times: Canada's Independent Labour Magazine (Vol. 27, No. 4), is a theme issue on “Monuments to Memory: Honouring Work and Workers” . The Labour History in New Brunswick Project is prominently featured in this issue, which draws on an interview with the project director and includes photographs of the Fishermen's Monument in Escuminac and the Cotton Mill Workers Monument in Milltown. The articles also include reports on the Alberta Labour History Institute, the Workers' Arts and Heritage Centre and other activities across the country. This issue remains on newsstands until November, and subscriptions are available from their website at www.ourtimes.ca. Our Times is an independent, pro-union Canadian labour magazine dedicated to promoting workers' rights and social justice.
  
• Press releases announcing our website were issued by the University of New Brunswick and Université de Moncton in advance of this year's Labour Day, which was celebrated on Monday 1 September. The website is described as an online Labour Day present for New Brunswick workers, with information of interest on the history of work and unions in the province. Project Officer Carol Ferguson was interviewed by the province-wide CBC afternoon radio programme “Shift” on 20 August, and an article about the website, “Une mine d'informations sur le monde du travail au N.-B.” was published in L'Acadie Nouvelle on 21 August. Stories appeared in several weekly newspapers, including La République (Edmundston), 22 août 2008, the Woodstock Bugle-Observer, 26 August 2008, the Miramichi Leader, 25 August 2008, and The Carleton Free Press, 2 September 2008. Several websites, including www.labourstart.org, nb.cupe.ca, www.canadaeast.com and www.jminforme.ca, also made the press release available.
  

June (2008)

• The New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity has awarded LHTNB research team member Nicole Lang a certificate in recognition of her work organizing a pay equity workshop held at the Edmundston campus of the Université de Moncton on 26 February 2008.
  
• The Annual Meeting of the Canadian Historical Association, which was held at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, 1-4 June 2008, featured three presentations by members of the Labour History in New Brunswick research team. Project Officer Carol Ferguson presented a paper based on our interviews with retired workers entitled “From Home to Factory: An Oral History of Young Men at the Chestnut Canoe Factory, Fredericton, New Brunswick” . Linda Kealey delivered a paper about the technology and organization of nurses' work, “‘More . . . than One Person Can Know': The Changing Nature of Nursing Work, 1950-1990” . David Frank presented the first instalment in a history of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour under the title “Provincial Solidarities: The Early Years of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour, 1913-1929” .
  

May (2008)

• On 9 May 2008 Bill Parenteau and Mark McLaughlin delivered a paper at a conference hosted by the New Brunswick and Atlantic Studies Research and Development Centre (NBASRDC) at St. Thomas University. The theme of the conference was “Exploring the Dimensions of Self-Sufficiency for New Brunswick” and their paper was entitled “A ‘Fundamental Cost that We Can't Deal With?': The Political Economy of the Pulp and Paper Industry in New Brunswick, 1960 - present” . The conference paper will be published on the NBASRDC's website, and a longer version of the paper is scheduled to be published in a selection of the conference papers in 2009.
  [ See website ]
• Carolynn McNally, a student in the Department of History and Geography at the Université de Moncton, Moncton campus and a holder of the project's fellowship for graduate studies, has been awarded a Canada Graduate Scholarship (2008-2009) by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for the completion of her M.A. thesis. Her research focuses on the right of widows to workers' compensation in the New Brunswick courts from 1914 to 1919.
  
• A full-day meeting of the LHTNB research team and community partners was held Wednesday, 7 May at the Centre étudiant de l'Université de Moncton, Université de Moncton, Moncton Campus. David Frank and Nicole Lang reported on the work of the past year. The morning included a screening of April 28 avril, a short digital promotion for the Day of Mourning pages on our website and ended with a discussion about a conference to be hosted by the project in 2009. The afternoon focused on research results. Four graduate students presented short reports: William Vinh-Doyle, “Catching Up: The New Brunswick Council of Hospital Unions (NBCHU) Campaign against Inflation, 1974” ; Roxanne Reeves, “Collective Bargaining for New Brunswick Nurses by New Brunswick Nurses, 1965-1969: In Unity There is Strength” ; Mark McLaughlin, “Pulp and Paper, Labour, and Community in New Brunswick from the 1960s to the 1980s” and Carolyn McNally, “Les accidents au travail, les veuves et le droit à la compensation au N.-B., 1903-1919” . Three members of the research team presented short papers on their current research: Nelson Ouellet, “Interdits de passage. Les accidentés du travail du Nouveau-Brunswick et l'expérience migratoire (1919-1930)” ; Nicole Lang, “Les monuments du Jour de deuil au Nouveau-Brunswick” and David Frank, “The Early History of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour, 1913-1929” .
  
• On 1 May David Frank spoke at the First Annual May Day Dinner sponsored by Saint John Labour Community Services and the Saint John and District Labour Council. His address was entitled “May Days: Traditions and Solidarities” . The well-attended event took place at the recently restored Lily Lake Pavilion in Rockwood Park and included a tour of the Warren Franklin Hatheway Labour Exhibit Centre.
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April (2008)

• A new book on social movement activism in Canada includes a chapter about Saint John's part in the 1976 Day of Protest against wage controls. Edited by Marie Hammond-Callaghan and Matthew Hayday, the book is based on conference presentations at Mount Allison University last year and is entitled Mobilizations, Protests & Engagements: Canadian Perspectives on Social Movements (Halifax and Winnipeg: Fernwood Publishing, 2008). In Chapter 11, “Why Us? The Campaign Against Wage Controls in Saint John, New Brunswick, 1975-76” , David Frank places the events in context and discusses the recent book by George Vair, The Struggle against Wage Controls: The Saint John Story, 1975-1976 (Canadian Committee on Labour History, 2006).
  
• The Day of Mourning ceremonies at Atholville on Sunday 27 April this year included special attention to labour history in New Brunswick. Following the annual Solidarity March from the AV Cell plant gates to the Day of Mourning monument, there were short speeches by Restigouche and District Labour Council President Rose Pitre, New Brunswick Federation of Labour President Michel Boudreau, Atholville Mayor Raymond Lagacé, Madawaska-Restigouche MP Jean-Claude D'Amours and New Brunswick Labour History Project Director David Frank. This was followed by a labour history workship at the Atholville Community Centre, where Nicole Lang gave a presentation on the history of Day of Mourning monuments in New Brunswick and David Frank discussed other labour landmarks in the province. The event was organized jointly by the Restigouche and District Labour Council, the Village of Atholville and the New Brunswick Labour History Project.
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• The most recent issue of the Revue de la Société historique du Madawaska was launched on Saturday, 12 April at the Salon du livre d'Edmundston. This issue focuses on the railroad and railroad workers in Madawaska over the course of the 20th century. Two articles in this issue were produced by LHTNB research assistants, France Couture and Maxime Turcotte. France allows us to revisit the exhibit “Témoignages de cheminots” presented at the Madawaska Museum from November 2006 to June 2007. She traces the origins of the exhibit, describes the most notable features parts and points out the importance of such an event for the region. Maxime focuses on the economy and activities within the Edmundston railway division as well as the importance of the Edmundston terminus during the 1950s. In carrying out his study, Maxime conducted several interviews with retired workers of CN. See France Couture “Témoignages de cheminots: un regard dans le passé des travailleurs du CN au nord-ouest du Nouveau-Brunswick” and Maxime Turcotte, “Les belles années de l'activité ferroviaire à Edmundston (1950-1960)” , Revue de la Société historique du Madawaska, vol. XXXVI, nos 1-2 (January - June 2008), pp. 46 - 56 and 57 - 67.
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• In the latest issue of Acadiensis: Journal of the History of the Atlantic Region Project Officer Carol Ferguson reports on the partnership relationships, education and training and knowledge mobilization activities of LHTNB during its first two years. The paper was originally presented at a forum on “University-Community Collaborations” at the Atlantic Canada Studies Conference at Saint Mary's University on 6 May 2007. See Carol Ferguson, “Re-Connecting with the History of Labour in New Brunswick: Historical Perspectives on Contemporary Issues / Nouveau regard sur l'histoire du travail au Nouveau-Brunswick: Les enjeux contemporains vus dans une perspective historique” , Acadiensis, XXXVII, 1 (Winter/Spring 2008), pp. 76-85.
  [ See website ]

March (2008)

• On 17 March former Saint John District Labour Council president George Vair spoke about his book The Struggle against Wage Controls: The Saint John Story, 1975-1976 (Canadian Committee on Labour History, 2006) to students in History 3332, The Canadian Worker since 1914 taught by Dr. Bonnie Huskins at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.
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• On 14 March Linda Kealey displayed the new LHTNB website feature “How Nurses Learned to Wear Two Hats: Professionals and Unionists” at a special exhibit of health-related research by University of New Brunswick faculty held at Fridays@Four at the Alumni Memorial Building on the Fredericton campus. To view “How Nurses Learned to Wear Two Hats: Professionals and Unionists” , click here.
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• The Canadian Committee on Labour History has announced that the 2007 Eugene ForseyUndergraduate Prize for 2007 has been awarded to Siobhan Laskey, a history student at the University of New Brunswick. Her essay, entitled “‘Employees Under the Law': The Challenge of Industrial Legality in New Brunswick, 1945-1955” , was prepared in a class on New Brunswick labour history taught by David Frank. Undergraduate and Graduate Prizes are awarded annually for work on Canadian labour and working-class history. For more information and deadlines for the current competition, visit the Canadian Committee on Labour History at http://www.cclh.ca/forsey.php
  
• On 12 March, two students presented their research on the activities of the Conseil régional d'aménagement du nord-ouest (CRANO) as part of the 7th annual Social Sciences Days held at the Université de Moncton, Edmundston campus. LHTNB research assistant Maxime Turcotte reported on efforts by CRANO to assist low-income wage-earners in Madawaska during the period from 1965 to 1980 and history student Jean-François Gagnon analysed CRANO's interventions in the agricultural and forestry sectors during the same period. The annual event is organized by the Social Sciences sector of the Université de Moncton, Edmundston campus and allows the best students to present the results of their research to the larger university community.
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• On 10 March Patrick Webber defended his M.A. thesis, “‘ For A Socialist New Brunswick': The New Brunswick Waffle, 1967-1972” , which he prepared at the University of New Brunswick under the supervision of David Frank. His examining committee also included Professors Gail Campbell, History and Don Wright, Political Science. Among the questions addressed in Patrick's thesis are the role of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour in provincial politics and the influence of the NB Waffle on the province's labour movement.
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• On International Women's Day, 8 March, University of New Brunswick graduate student Kim Dunphy spoke to delegates at the New Brunswick Federation of Labour's annual Women's Conference. Her presentation, “The Feminization of the Labour Movement in New Brunswick: Women in the New Brunswick Federation of Labour, 1913-1999” , was based on her M.A. thesis research, supported by a New Brunswick Labour History Fellowship. Delegates were also able to view a display based on the work of the New Brunswick Labour History Project. Other speakers at the conference, held at the Fredericton Inn, were Judy Rebick, CAW-Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy, Ryerson University, Paulette Sadoway, Atlantic regional director, Canadian Labour Congress, and Barbara Byers, executive vice-president, Canadian Labour Congress.
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February (2008)

•  “Fair Pay?” is the theme of our project's new blog, which was launched at a workshop on pay equity held at the Université de Moncton, Edmundston Campus on Tuesday, 26 February 2008. The workshop was organized in partnership with the Edmundston Regional Committee of the Coalition for Pay Equity. Nicole Lang addressed the causes and consequences of the wage gap between women and men in New Brunswick. Denyse Mazerolle, francophone vice-chairperson of the Coalition for Pay Equity and president of the Edmundston regional committee, Louise Guerette, secretary of the Edmundston regional committee, and Johanne Perron, coordinator of the Coalition for Pay Equity, gave a presentation entitled “Le Nouveau-Brunswick a besoin d'une loi sur l'équité salariale” . A period of discussion and the official launch of the “Fair Pay?” blog followed. The workshop was presented as part of the celebrations for International Women's Day 2008. Participants included professors, students, and members of the community. To read the blog entries and participate in “Fair Pay?” , open the link to “Our Blog” .
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• On Saturday 16 February 2008 the veteran union activist George Vair exhibited materials on Saint John's labour history as part of a community fair held at Market Square, Saint John during Heritage Week. The display included information on the New Brunswick Labour History Project website and copies of George's book published in collaboration with the project, The Struggle against Wage Controls: The Saint John Story, 1975-1976 (Canadian Committee on Labour History, 2006).
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• Our project was well-represented at an international conference that met in Montreal on 7 – 10 February under the title “Sharing Authority: Building Community – University Alliances through Oral History, Digital Storytelling and Collaboration” . Nicole Lang gave a regional case study of the project's experience in community – university partnerships in “Le projet d'histoire du travail au Nouveau Brunswick et la communauté du Madawaska: comment construire des partenariats durables.” In a session on Digital History, Nelson Ouellet discussed the preparation of teaching modules for the province's francophone schools in “Le Web 2.0 et l'enseignement de l'histoire du travail au Nouveau-Brunswick” . David Frank introduced and chaired the session on Working-Class Public History. The conference was sponsored by the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling at Concordia University.
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• On 22 February Bill Parenteau was a featured speaker at the first W. F. Ganong Colloquium sponsored by the Committee on the History and Environment of the Atlantic Region (HEAR) at Dalhousie University, Halifax. He called for more examination of the impact of state modernization programs on small-scale rural producers (farmers, fishers, wood cutters) and their communities. In particular, he noted that a fuller understanding of the post-Second World War modernization ethos will shed light on the experiences of the workers and communities displaced by such initiatives as CFB Gagetown, Kouchibouguac National Park and the Northeast and Mactaquac Regional Development Projects. Bill also stressed the benefits of combining the methodologies and conceptual frameworks of labour, social and environmental history.
  [ Read the News ]

January (2008)

• On 21 January Craig Heron, president of the Canadian Historical Association and professor of history at York University, gave a public lecture entitled “Workers and Public History: Twenty Years at the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre” at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. The Centre was established in 1988 in order to preserve and celebrate the culture and heritage of working people in Canada. Since 1996 it has held numerous exhibitions and public events in the refurbished 1860 Custom House in Hamilton, Ontario. One of the founding board members of the Centre, Professor Heron discussed the process of collaboration between trade unionists, educators and community activists in the course of its history. For more information about the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre or to see some of its on-line exhibits, visit www.wahc-museum.ca. Professor Heron's visit was sponsored by the New Brunswick Labour History Project and the School of Graduate Studies at UNB.
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• The New Brunswick Labour History Project in partnership with l'Association des enseignantes et enseignants francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick (AEFNB) have launched the first in a series of on-line teaching modules on the history of work in New Brunswick. Designed for classroom use in New Brunswick's francophone schools, the modules are a supplementary resource for students from kindergarten to Grade 12. For further information see Nelson Ouellet, Nicole Lang et Denise Paquette, “Premiers modules pédagogiques en ligne sur l'histoire du travail au Nouveau-Brunswick” , Nouvelles de l'AEFNB, vol. 39, no 4 (4 janvier 2008), p. 6.
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• On 17 January Project Director David Frank addressed the York-Sunbury Historical Society meeting at Old Government House, Fredericton. In a presentation entitled “Coal and Community: Minto Revisited” , he discussed the history of the mining community and the significance of the events of 28 July 1932, when three children and two men lost their lives in an abandoned mine shaft. The story of these events is presented on our site under theLabour Landmarks theme and published in “Minto 1932: The Origins and Significance of a New Brunswick Labour Landmark” , Acadiensis: Journal of the History of the Atlantic Region, XXXVI, 2 (Spring 2007), pp. 3-27.
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October (2007)

• The Acadian artist Claude Roussel, creator of Les Pêcheurs - The Fishermen, was inducted into the Edmundston Arts Hall of Fame on 28 October 2007. To mark this event, Nicole Lang, a member of the New Brunswick Labour History Project research team, published an article in the regional news weekly Le Madawaska. See Nicole Lang, “Le monument aux Pêcheurs: une œuvre majeure du sculpteur Claude Roussel” , Le Madawaska, 31 October 2007, p. A-9. See also the Escuminac project on our website.
  [ Read the News ]
• On 24 October the project hosted the distinguished British labour historian Neville Kirk, Professor of Social and Labour History, Manchester Metropolitan University for two presentations at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. Professor Kirk gave a seminar on his current research in trans-national and comparative labour history. He also presented a public lecture based on his most recent book, Custom and Conflict in the ‘Land of the Gael': Ballachulish, 1900-1910 (London: Merlin Press, 2007), which focuses on a little-known labour conflict in a rural industrial community in the Scottish Highlands. Dr. Kirk's visit was arranged in partnership with the Office of the Vice-President Research at the University of New Brunswick.
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September (2007)

• Graduate students involved in the project presented papers at the 9th Annual University of Maine/University of New Brunswick International Graduate Student History Conference, held at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton on 28-30 September. Carolynn McNally, Université de Moncton, presented a paper entitled “Les accidentés devant la justice au Nouveau-Brunswick, 1914-1920, perspectives de recherche” , and Kim Dunphy, University of New Brunswick, presented “The Early Women, 1913-1963: The First 50 Years of Women in the New Brunswick Federation of Labour” ; Carolynn and Kim are both holders of New Brunswick Labour History Fellowships for their M.A. studies. Other presentations by students associated with the project included papers by research assistant Matt Baglole, “‘We Have our Bigots': Contextualizing New Brunswick's Human Rights Initiatives Under Louis J. Robichaud, 1960-70” , and by doctoral candidate Mark McLaughlin, “As the World of Wood Turns: A Historiographical and Theoretical Survey of the Development of Eastern Canada's Forest Industries Since 1800” . Mark McLaughlin and Don Nerbas were the conference organizers.
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• The latest issue of the Revue de la Société historique du Madawaska was launched on 26 September at the Edmundston Convention Centre. This special issue highlights the centennial of the Edmundston Chamber of Commerce. Two features in this issue focus on the theme of work. Project team member Nicole Lang analyzes the strategies developed by the Chamber of Commerce to counter the effects of the crisis in the forest industry in Madawaska. Paul Gagnon, general manager of the Edmundston Chamber of Commerce, examines the steps taken by the Chamber to assist seasonal workers following changes to employment insurance regional boundaries by the federal government in July 2000. See Nicole Lang, “La Chambre de commerce et l'industrie forestière, 2000-2007” and Paul Gagnon, “L'assurance-emploi et les travailleurs saisonniers” , Revue de la Société historique du Madawaska, vol. XXXV, nos 1-4, janvier-décembre 2007, pp. 113-122 and 123-133.
  
•  “Life in the New Brunswick Woods” was the topic of a public workshop organized by the project in partnership with the Central New Brunswick Woodmen's Museum in Boiestown on 21 September. The workshop opened with a presentation on work in the New Brunswick woods during the first half of the 20th century by University of New Brunswick graduate student Jazmine Belyea and research team member Bill Parenteau. This was followed by a lively roundtable discussion led by former woods workers from the area. Topics included the introduction of new technologies to the logging industry, terms of employment and living conditions in the camps, and health and safety regulations for woods work in the decades after the Second World War. Earlier in the day, research team members and graduate students from the Department of History at the University of New Brunswick were taken on a special tour of the museum's 15-acre facilities by Vernon Dunphy and Bill Griffin retired workers who now volunteer at the museum. The day concluded with a reception organized by the Museum's Executive Director Bernice Price and the Board of Directors.
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• The current issue of the New Brunswick Nurses Union's membership publication includes a report by Linda Kealey. In “Exploring the History of New Brunswick Nurses” , The Parasol, vol. 68 (October 2007), pp. 34-35, Linda acknowledged the importance of the partnerships with the New Brunswick Nurses Union and the Nurses Association of New Brunswick for her research and the contributions of many nurse activists from the 1960s to the 1990s who generously took part in oral interviews which will be preserved in the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. In addition to academic papers, conference presentations and features for the website, Linda also reported that her work will lead to a book about the history of nursing in New Brunswick since the Second World War.
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• A paper by Michael Wilcox entitled “The United Oil Workers of Canada, Local 15 vs. Irving Oil: A Case Study in Labour's Postwar Settlement in New Brunswick, 1947-48” appears in the current issue of Khronikos, the online journal of history graduate students at the University of Maine. The paper is based on Michael's M.A thesis completed at UNB and was originally presented at the 8th Annual University of Maine - University of New Brunswick Graduate Student History Conference at the University of Maine in Orono 22 October 2006. Michael is a former New Brunswick Labour History fellowship holder and research assistant.
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• At a well-attended reception at the University of New Brunswick on 7 September former LHTNB research assistant Josh Dickison was presented with the first Malcolm Somerville Prize in New Brunswick History for his M.A. thesis, “Making New Brunswickers Modern: Natural and Human Resource Development in the Mactaquac Regional Development Plan, 1965-1975” . Josh completed his thesis at the University of New Brunswick under the supervision of Bill Parenteau. The Prize was established by friends and family in honour of the late Malcolm Somerville, who completed an M.A. thesis on New Brunswick history in 1976.
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• At the University of New Brunswick, the Eunice White Robertson Memorial Prize for 2007 has been awarded to Rose Donovan for a paper entitled “Saint John Dry Cleaning and Laundry Workers' Union, C.C.L., 1947: An Optimistic Experience with New Labour Laws in Post-War Canada” . Rose is an honours student in history. Her paper was prepared in a course on New Brunswick labour history taught by David Frank during the 2006-07 academic year.
  [ See website ]

August (2007)

• Nelson Ouellet and Denise Paquette gave presentations on teaching activities for the theme Le travail en Acadie to sessions sponsored by the Professional Development Council of the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick. On 27 August 2007 they presented at the École Mgr Marcel-François-Richard in Saint-Louis-de-Kent and the next day at the Polyvalente Louis-Mailloux in Caraquet. At the end of both presentations, Nelson reported that teaching units on technological change, the challenge of depopulation and workplace experience will be available online at the end of October for the use of primary and secondaryschool teachers in the New Brunswick French-language schools.
  
• The most recent issue of the Revue de la Société historique du Madawaska presents a full-length study prepared by a student in the course on regional history in Madawaska taught by Nicole Lang and Julien Massicotte last fall at the Edmundston campus of l'Université de Moncton. Students in the course were assigned to prepare research papers on the history of work in Madawaska in the 20th century. Christine Thériault chose to study the history of a business established by her grandfather. She traces the history of the family grocery business and the changes in management and work in the store over the period from 1936 to the present. See Christine Thériault, “IGA Extra Marché Donat Thériault ltée: De commerce de quartier au marché d'alimentation à grande surface” , Revue de la Société historique du Madawaska, vol. XXXIV, nos 3-4 (juillet-décembre 2006 [published August 2007]), pp. 2-71.
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July (2007)

• The 75th anniversary of the Minto Mine Disaster of 1932 was marked at the Minto Museum on 26 July 2007. Project Director David Frank presented Minto Mayor Gary Di Paolo with a set of copies of his article in the current issue of Acadiensis, “Minto 1932: The Origins and Significance of a New Brunswick Labour Landmark” for the use of the Village Council, Minto Museum, Public Library and local schools. He acknowledged the assistance of Minto Librarian and Councillor Mary Lambropoulos and other local residents in preparing this study. The event was attended by Marguerite Glenn Barton, the daughter of Vernon Betts, one of the miners who lost his life in the rescue efforts in 1932. The anniversary was featured in radio interviews on Information Morning on CBC Fredericton and on the evening television broadcast, CBC News at Six in New Brunswick.
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June (2007)

• A full-day meeting of the LHTNB research team and community partners was held Monday 25 June at the Wu Conference Centre at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. Reporting on the project at the end of Year Two, David Frank and Nicole Lang identified five main achievements: (1) the assembling of resources for historical research; (2) substantial progress in original research in historical documents; (3) student training through work opportunities and graduate fellowships; (4) successful collaborations with partners in events and research activities; (5) growing public dissemination through the website, workshops and community events. Six students working with the project presented short reports: Ben Conoley, “Lesson Plans for the LHTNB Website: Some Examples” , Courtney MacIsaac and Lisa Pasolli, “NBPEA to NBU: Association to Union, 1970 - 2004” , France Couture, “Témoignages de cheminots” , Kirk Niergarth, “Art and Labour: Saint John Artists in the 1930s and 1940s” and Carolynn McNally, “Les accidentés du travail devant la justice, 1908-1920” . Two members of the research team presented short versions of papers presented at academic conferences: David Frank, “The New Brunswick Labour Landmark: An Introductory Survey” and Linda Kealey, “No More ‘Yes Girls': Labour Activism among New Brunswick Nurses, 1964-1981” . In addition, Nelson Ouellet reported on work with the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick to create teaching modules on the history of work in New Brunswick, and Jane Fullerton, Director of the New Brunswick Museum reported on plans for a traveling exhibit on nursing in New Brunswick. The sessions adjourned to the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick for a reception to mark the deposit of archival materials by the New Brunswick Federation of Labour.
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• The importance of collecting labour history documents was recognized at a public reception at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick in Fredericton. The event, hosted by the Archives, marked the official donation by the New Brunswick Federation of Labour of some 200 boxes of records. Provincial Archivist Marion Beyea and NBFL President Michel Boudreau expressed appreciation for the role the LHTNB played in facilitating the deposit. University of New Brunswick Dean of Arts James Murray underlined the links the project has fostered between the community and the university. Project director David Frank recognized the LHTNB research assistants Kim Dunphy and Dana Brown for their work organizing the collection. More than 60 guests attended, including the Federation's recently retired executive secretary, John Murphy.
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• On 15 June Project Director David Frank participated with other New Brunswick researchers in a panel on the public dissemination of research results. This was at a Knowledge Fair organized for a meeting of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council taking place at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. The SSHRC is the major funding agency for research in the social sciences and humanities in Canada and is the sponsor of the Community-University Research Alliances programme.
  [ Read the News ] [ See website ]
• On 12 June Kirk Niergarth successfully defended his University of New Brunswick doctoral dissertation, entitled “Art and Democracy: New Brunswick Artists and Canadian Culture between the Great Depression and the Cold War” . The thesis was supervised by Greg Kealey; the examining board included David Frank of the Department of History, Donald Wright of the Political Science Department and Dean of Graduate Studies Gwendolyn Davies, who is also a member of the Department of English; the external examiner was Ian McKay, Department of History, Queen's University. This well-attended defence was held at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, where an exhibit featuring the work of Miller Brittain, one of the Saint John artists studied in Kirk's dissertation, remains on display until 16 September. Kirk is currently working for the project and preparing materials based on his dissertation for display on our website.
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• On 4 June Bill Parenteau addressed delegates at the 48th Convention of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour (NBFL) held in Edmundston. Bill highlighted the Day of Mourning monuments features recently added to the project web site as well as the progress of research on the presidents of the Federation. He noted the important role of the project in teaching students and training researchers in labour history.
  

May (2007)

• At their annual meeting in Fredericton on 30 May, the Nurses Association of New Brunswick (NANB) announced that the Arlee Hoyt McGee Collection of the Nursing History Resource Centre will be deposited at the New Brunswick Museum. This is a valuable collection for research on the history of nursing in New Brunswick, for which our project prepared an inventory and research guide during the summer of 2005. Representatives of the New Brunswick Museum and the family of Arlee Hoyt McGee were present for the announcement, as was Nicole Lang on behalf of our project.
  
• Linda Kealey and Carol Ferguson represented the project at Canada's largest annual academic gathering, the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, 26 May – 2 June 2007 at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. The theme of the Congress was “Bridging Communities: Making public knowledge – Making knowledge public” . Linda Kealey presented a research paper entitled “‘A Bitter Pill to Swallow': New Brunswick Nurses, Professional Identity and Collective Bargaining” to members of the Canadian Society for the History of Medicine and the Canadian Association for the History of Nursing. Carol Ferguson reported on the work of the project at the annual meetings of the Canadian Committee on Labour History and the Canadian Oral History Association.
  
• The lead article in the latest issue of Acadiensis: Journal of the History of the Atlantic Region is a detailed study of the circumstances surrounding the death of three children and two miners in a local mine shaft in Minto on 28 July 1932 and of the act of commemoration 50 years later. These events had a large impact on individuals and families as well as on the adoption of mine safety laws and the administration of workers' compensation in New Brunswick. See David Frank, “Minto 1932: The Origins and Significance of a New Brunswick Labour Landmark” , Acadiensis, XXXVI, 2 (Spring 2007), pp. 3-27.
  [ See website ]
• There was a high level of interest in the LHTNB project at the Atlantic Canada Studies Conference, which met at Saint Mary's University in Halifax on 3-6 May under the theme title “Knowledge in Action” . Project Officer Carol Ferguson reported on the origins and activities of our project at a session entitled “University-Community Collaborations” that involved three CURA projects. In addition the conference included research papers by Linda Kealey, “No More 'Yes Girls': Labour Activism among New Brunswick Nurses, 1964-1981” , Bill Parenteau, “Testing the Limits: Woods Work, the Minimum Wage and Industrial Relations in New Brunswick, 1930-1941” , Nicole Lang, “La crise dans l'industrie forestière: Les défis pour la communauté et les travailleurs du Nord-Ouest” , David Frank, “The New Brunswick Labour Landmark: A Reconnaissance” and Nelson Ouellet, “L'émigration aux États-Unis et l'activisme ouvrier en Acadie (1887-1949)” . The conference is the premier event for historians of Atlantic Canada and has met regularly since the early 1970s; this meeting involved more than 125 delegates and also marked the 25th anniversary of the Gorsebrook Research Institute at Saint Mary's University.
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April (2007)

• On 26 April Michael Wilcox defended his M.A. thesis, “Canada Veneers and Irving Oil: Labour and the Postwar Settlement in Saint John, New Brunswick, 1945-1949” , which he prepared at the University of New Brunswick under the supervision of David Frank. His examining committee also included Greg Kealey, History and Thom Workman, Political Science. Michael held a New Brunswick Labour History Fellowship for 2006-07 and also worked as a research assistant for the project.
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• On 25 April LHTNB research assistant Robyn Stiles and LHTNB graduate fellow Michael Wilcox visited Oromocto High School. They spoke about labour unions in New Brunswick to 32 Grade 11 and Grade 12 students in the Cooperative Education Program coordinated by teacher Erma Brian.
  
• A new bilingual website “Knock on Wood: The Forest at the Heart of Madawaskan Social and Cultural Heritage in Acadia” was launched Wednesday 11 April 2007 at the Université de Moncton, Edmundston Campus. The website was made possible by collaboration among several agencies, organizations and individuals, including many retirees from Fraser Papers. Nicole Lang was an active member of the academic team working on this project. This site will be very useful for both teaching, research and general interest.
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• At the University of New Brunswick the New Brunswick Labour History Fellowships for 2007-08 have been awarded to two students working on M.A. theses. Kim Dunphy, a graduate student in the Department of History, will be preparing a thesis on “The Feminization of the Labour Movement in New Brunswick: Women in the New Brunswick Federation of Labour, 1913-1999” . Brian Keenan, a graduate student in the Department of Political Science, will be preparing a thesis entitled “Nackawic: The Political Economy of the New Brunswick Forest Industry in the Era of Globalization” .
  

March (2007)

• On 30 March one of our project partners, the Canadian Union of Public Employees New Brunswick, hosted a book signing for George Vair's The Struggle against Wage Controls: The Saint John Story, 1975-1976 at their 44th Annual Convention in Fredericton.
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• On 20 March George Vair received congratulations in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick on the recent publication of his book The Struggle against Wage Controls: The Saint John Story, 1975-1976 (St. John's, Newfoundland: Canadian Committee on Labour History, 2006) from the Hon. Roly MacIntyre, Minister of Supply and Services. The book was prepared in collaboration with the New Brunswick Labour History Project.
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• In Edmundston on 16 March Nicole Lang and Rino Ouellet, president of Local 29, Communications, Energy and Paperworkers at Fraser Papers in Edmundston, participated in a round table on unionism in the 20th century forest industry. This event was organized by Professor Stephen Wyatt, Faculty of Forestry, Université de Moncton, Edmundston Campus.
  
• On 8 to 10 March David Frank attended a conference sponsored by the Centre for Canadian Studies at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick on the theme Mobilization and Engagement: Social Movements in Canada. He presented a paper entitled “Why Us? The Campaign against Wage Controls in Saint John, New Brunswick, 1975-76” .
  

February (2007)

• On 28 February more than 75 people attended the launch of the new book by George Vair, The Struggle against Wage Controls: The Saint John Story, 1975-1976 (St. John's, Newfoundland: Canadian Committee on Labour History) at the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John. The event was introduced by our project officer Carol Ferguson, with words of welcome on behalf of the co-sponsors from Ron Oldfield of the Saint John District Labour Council and Wendy Martindale of the New Brunswick Museum. There were short talks by our project director, David Frank, who edited and introduced the book, and by former Canadian Auto Workers and Canadian Labour Congress President Bob White, who wrote a foreword to the book. George Vair, the well-known local labour activist and former president of the Saint John District Labour Council, recalled the events of 1975 and 1976 and explained that he wrote the book to help make sure that this important chapter in local labour history was remembered. The evening ended with a standing ovation for the author and a reception and book signing in the Museum lobby.
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• On 13 February Project Officer Carol Ferguson spoke about LHTNB's research activities and graduate fellowships to students in History 4420, the Atlantic Provinces seminar taught by Professor Hannah Lane at Mount Allison University in Sackville.
  
• Bill Parenteau addressed the New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners during Sylvicon 2007, New Brunswick's annual forestry conference, on 14 February 2007 in Fredericton. In a presentation entitled “Forest Transformations: Crown Lands, Industry and Community, 1830-2007” , Bill discussed the transition from square timber to sawmilling and the rise of the pulp and paper industry in the 1920s, highlighting both the political machinations that were part of these structural changes and the impact on farmers, woodlot owners and forest workers. The theme for this year's Sylvicon conference was “Looking to the Past to Manage the Future” .
  

November (2006)

• The recently-published New Brunswick Book of Everything (Lunenburg, Nova Scotia: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing, 2006), edited by Martha Walls, includes a feature by David Frank, “Top Five Events in New Brunswick's Labour History” . The book also includes an entry by the New Brunswick-born president of the Canadian Auto Workers, “Buzz Hargrove's Five Top Words to Describe New Brunswickers” .
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• Additional archival materials have been added to the New Brunswick Federation of Labour (NBFL) collection at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB). On 23 November, Project Manager Carol Ferguson and Fred Farrell, Manager, Private Sector Records, PANB met in Moncton with NBFL Executive Assistant Jean-Marie Nadeau to transfer his papers to the Archives. Jean-Marie is leaving the NBFL at the end of 2006 after serving for ten years in his position.
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• On 3 November Seth Wigderson, University of Maine at Augusta, gave a seminar on “Defiant Franco-Americans and Deferential Yankees in the 1937 Lewiston-Auburn Shoe Strike” to faculty and students associated with the labour history project at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. Seth is the founder and moderator of H-Labor, the on-line labour history discussion list which fosters international academic discussion of labour history subjects.
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• On 2 November the project presented Julie Guard of the Labour Studies Program, University of Manitoba, in a public lecture on “Organizing Call Centres, Changing Unions: Rank and File Strategies” at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. You can read Julie's work in the August/September 2006 issue of Our Times: Canada's Independent Labour Magazine where it was featured as part of their ongoing series, “Talking About Organizing” .
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October (2006)

• At the 40th Annual Meeting of the Oral History Association 25-29 October 2006 in Little Rock, Arkansas, Nelson Ouellet took part in a roundtable entitled “In Pursuit of a Digital Breakthrough: Progress Report on the SOHP-UNC Library Initiative” . Nelson discussed the LHTNB oral history project along with Joseph Mosnier, Todd Cooper and Seth Kotch of the Southern Oral History Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
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• The project was well-represented at the 59th annual conference of the Institut d'histoire de l'Amérique française, which was held in Montreal on 19 -21 October. Three papers were delivered at a session entitled “L'Acadie au travail” held on 19 October. Nelson Ouellet discussed the preparation of teaching modules in a paper entitled “Une histoire publique du travail au Nouveau-Brunswick” . Project Officer Denise Paquette reported on oral history work in “Les voix du travail en Acadie: perspectives d'un projet d'histoire orale” . Research assistants Mélissa Duguay and Marc-André Fournier, both from the Université de Moncton, presented “L'activisme ouvrier des Acadiens: nouvelles perspectives sur l'émigration aux États-Unis, 1891-1948” .
  [ See website ]
• At the 8th Annual University of Maine - University of New Brunswick Graduate Student History Conference Linda Kealey gave the keynote address, “The Nurse is Worth It: Revisiting Women's Caring Work in New Brunswick” . The conference took place at the University of Maine, Orono 20 - 22 October 2006. Several graduate students associated with the project also presented papers: Todd Spencer, “Remembering the Firefighters: Searching for New Brunswick Memorials” ; Kirk Niergarth, “The Place of Healing and the Place of Art in New Brunswick” ; Michael Wilcox, “The United Oil Workers of Canada Strike and Labour's Postwar Settlement in New Brunswick, 1948” ; Kim Dunphy, “Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 2464: The Bethel Nursing Home Strike, 1981-1982” ; Don Nerbas, “Accumulating Capital in Saint John: T. McAvity & Sons Ltd. in the 1920s” .
  [ See Photograph 1 | Photograph 2 | Photograph 3 ]
• David Frank addressed more than 400 delegates at the 36th Annual General Meeting and Convention of the New Brunswick Union, which met 13 – 15 October 2006 in Fredericton. He pointed out that the convention theme, “I Stand By You & You Stand By Me” , expressed the idea of solidarity that is central to labour history. He invited delegates to explore our website and assist in the work of the project.
  [ See Photograph 1, Photograph 2 ]

September (2006)

• On 28 September Joshua Dickison defended his M.A. thesis, “Making New Brunswickers Modern: Natural and Human Resource Development in the Mactaquac Regional Development Plan, 1965-1975” , which he prepared at the University of New Brunswick under the supervision of Bill Parenteau. Josh worked for the project as a research assistant, carrying out oral interviews and assisting with the preparation of the Daniel MacMillan diaries for publication (see the May 2006 section of our Recent News).
  
• On Labour Day 4 September Bill Parenteau was a featured guest on the CBC morning radio programme from Saint John, which was broadcast throughout the Maritime Provinces. The theme for the day was “The Toughest Jobs in Maritime History” . Bill discussed the dangers of work in felling, hauling and river driving in the New Brunswick woods in the era before mechanization. Listen to Bill's interview on the CBC website below.
  [ See website ]

August (2006)

• Nicole Lang has written an article on the work of Acadian women since the 1950s which appears in L'Acadie Nouvelle, 4 August 2006, p.13. “Les Acadiennes et le travail: un bilan” is one in a series of articles written by Acadian women for the upcoming conference États généraux des femmes en Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick to be held in the Chaleur region 22-24 September 2006. These articles are the background documents for conference discussions on issues including health, work, child care, the women's movement and the rights of women. The articles appear every Friday in L'Acadie Nouvelle from July through September.
  [ Read the News ] [ See website ]
• On 3 August Steven MacPherson defended his M.A. thesis, “After the Boss: Discourses of Working-Class Empowerment in Marysville, New Brunswick, 1920-1954” , which he prepared at the University of New Brunswick under the supervision of David Frank. Steven worked for the project as a research assistant, undertaking oral interviews and other assignments. He is continuing his studies at Concordia University in Montreal, where he has received an internship to work at the Concordia Oral History Research Laboratory.
  

June (2006)

• A full-day meeting of the project research team and community partners took place on Wednesday 14 June on the Moncton Campus at the Université de Moncton. The agenda included discussion of a report on project activities presented by David Frank and Nicole Lang and an assessment of the website led by Nelson Ouellet. Short research reports were given by eight students working on the project this summer: Jean-François Ouellette, “Jour de deuil: Le monument à Edmundston” ; Todd Spencer, “Remembering the Firefighters” ; Dana Brown, “Organizing the New Brunswick Federation of Labour Papers” ; Marc-André Fournier, “Les migrations acadiennes avant la Crise” ; Jazmine Belyea, “Labour Unrest in the Forest Industries, 1919-1921” ; Mélissa Duguay, “L'Évangéline et le travail en Acadie, 1889-1949” ; Kim Dunphy, “The Bethel Nursing Home Strike, 1981-1982” ; and Amanda McQuarrie, “Learning about the Nurses” .In addition Nicole Lang reported on her research on the Escuminac Disaster of 1959 and David Frank reported on the importance of the Minto events of 1932. The sessions concluded with a discussion of research priorities and other current activities.
  
• On 7 June 2006 a labour history workshop on the crisis in the forest industries was sponsored in collaboration with the Edmundston campus of the Université de Moncton at the Musée historique du Madawaska. Paul-André Lapointe, director of the Department of Industrial Relations at l'Université Laval, gave a presentation on strategies adopted by local communities in facing similar crises in Québec since the 1970s, and Michel Soucy, a researcher in the Faculty of Forestry at the Edmundston campus, examined the causes of the present crisis in the industry. The current situation was placed in the context of the history of the Madawaska region by Nicole Lang, who also served as organizer for the event with the help of student assistants Jean François Ouellette and Elizabeth LeBlanc. There was excellent participation and discussion by members of the public, who included about 30 workers, unionists, students and professors. Team members Nelson Ouellet and Bill Parenteau also participated, and project director David Frank made final remarks at the end of the evening.
  [ See Photograph 1 | Photograph 2 | Photograph 3 ]

May (2006)

• The annual meeting of the Canadian Historical Association at York University, Toronto featured two papers based on the work of our project. At a session entitled “Commemorating Industrial Life” on 29 May 2006, Nicole Lang presented “Commémoration et histoire du travail au Nouveau-Brunswick: le désastre d'Escuminac” and David Frank presented “Minto 1932: The Origins and Significance of a New Brunswick Labour Landmark” .
  [ See website ]
• Nelson Ouellet presented the progress of the “Teaching with Documents” project to members of the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick during the annual general meeting held in Grand Falls, 27-28 May 2006. The presentation focused on the structure of the teaching tools and our participation in the regional workshops put together by the teachers for the end of August.
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• On 27 May 2006, members of Local 2464, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) marked the 25th anniversary of their local, which represents workers at the Mill Cove Nursing Home. Participants included Mary Moss, the first president of the local and many other past and present members. Recognition of the union followed a strike that lasted more than 12 months and is well remembered in provincial labour history. The project was represented by Dana Brown and Kim Dunphy who created a display of photographs and documents for the occasion. The celebration at the Jemseg Lions Club included presentations by Susan Barton, Raymond Léger and Joan Blacquier, who was the CUPE representative for the workers at the time the union was organized.
  
• The project web site was presented to members of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour at their mid-term conference, “Unions Working for Change” , on 24 May 2006 in Fredericton. Speaking to the delegates in attendance, Linda Kealey highlighted one of its interactive features - Our Blog - where visitors can participate in telling the history of labour in New Brunswick. The topic of the first blog is “Remembering Lofty MacMillan” . Another feature of special interest to Federation members is the announcement for the NBFL Solidarity Awards.
  
• Raymond Léger pays tribute to a former president of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour and later national director of organization for the Canadian Union of Public Employees in “Remembering a Giant: Lofty MacMillan, 1917-2006” , published in Our Times: Canada's Independent Labour Magazine, vol. 25, no. 2 (April/May 2006), pp. 36-37.
  [ See website ]
• War on the Home Front: The Farm Diaries of Daniel MacMillan, 1914-1927 was officially launched in public events at the United Church in Williamsburg and the Old Dance Hall at the Stanley Fairgrounds on Saturday 13 May 2006. The events featured a presentation by the editors Bill Parenteau and Stephen Dutcher and a reception attended by about 80 people. The book is a portrait of life and work in rural York County, New Brunswick during and after the Great War, published by Goose Lane Editions.
  [ See Photograph 1 | Photograph 2 | Photograph 3 ] [ See website ]
• Nicole Lang spoke to members of the Nurses Association of New Brunswick from the Edmundston, Grand Falls and Saint-Quentin area at their annual chapter dinner in Edmundston on 11 May 2006. Nicole explained the project, encouraging members to put forward the names of nurses to be interviewed or make other suggestions for the project.
  
• The current issue of a major international journal has published an invited article about our project: see David Frank, “Re-Connecting with History: A Community-University Research Alliance on the History of Labor in New Brunswick” , Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring 2006), pp. 49-57. The journal is published by Duke University Press and is the official publication of the Labor and Working-Class History Association.
  [ Read the News ] [ See website ]
• On 8 May 2006 the television program Crosby Live, widely seen on Rogers Television in New Brunswick, featured a discussion of the new book War on the Home Front: The Farm Diaries of Daniel MacMillan, 1914-1927,published this month by Goose Lane Editions. A portrait of life and work in rural New Brunswick during and after the Great War, the book was prepared by team member Bill Parenteau in collaboration with Stephen Dutcher, assistanteditor of the journal Acadiensis. Josh Dickison, an M.A. student at the University of New Brunswick, assisted in preparing the book as part of his work with us last year.
  [ See Photograph 1 | Photograph 2 | Photograph 3 ] [ See website ]
• On 1 May Nicole Lang, Nelson Ouellet and Denise Paquette took part in an “Evening of Solidarity” to celebrate International Workers' Day organized by the Moncton and District Labour Council at the Moncton Press Club. As part of the evening's program, Nicole talked about the research activities of the New Brunswick labour history research team and Nelson gave a presentation on the website to be launched in a few weeks.
  

April (2006)

• On 12 April David Frank spoke at a research retreat sponsored by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He gave a presentation on the origins of our project and on the challenges during the start-up year. He encouraged the participation of faculty and the support of university administrators in preparing proposals for the Community-University Research Alliance program.
  
• Nicole Lang spoke on 8 April 2006 at the launch of the latest issue of La Revue de la Société historique du Madawaska (vol. XXXIII, nos 1-2, janvier-juin 2005) during the 21st Salon du livre d'Edmundston. Nicole helped to edit and introduce this issue of the journal, which features several papers prepared in her course on regional history at the Edmundston campus of l'Université de Moncton. One of these is a study of the history of the Couturier Lumber Company at Baker Brook (1955-1986), prepared by Michel Michaud, a fourth year education student.
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• On Thursday 6 April a special screening of Elaine Brière's new film Betrayed: The Story of Canadian Merchant Seamen was presented in collaboration with the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John. On behalf of our partners the evening was introduced by Wendy Martindale of the New Brunswick Museum, and the film was introduced by Project Director David Frank. The film follows the history of the merchant seamen during the Second World War, the rise and fall of the Canadian Seamen's Union and the destruction of the Canadian merchant fleet since then. Following the screening, Project Officer Carol Ferguson chaired a discussion with the audience about this chapter and its place in local labour history. Several union veterans and merchant seamen shared recollections and discussed photographs from the time of the CSU strike in Saint John in 1949.
  [ See Photograph ] [ See website ]
• Nicole Lang, Nelson Ouellet and Denise Paquette, along with Robert Grégoire from the information technology division of the Université de Moncton, made a presentation before the members of the administrative council of the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick in Fredericton on 5 April. The objective of the meeting was to present the pedagogical themes that were selected as part of the grant proposal to submit at the end of November 2006 to the federal programme Francommunautés virtuelles.
  

February (2006)

• Denise Paquette and Nelson Ouellet, along with Robert Grégoire from the Information technology division of the Université de Moncton met with the board of directors of the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick (AEFNB) on 24 February. The objective of this meeting was to invite the AEEFNB to join our research team in its efforts to develop a series of teaching resources to be offered online, and to nominate two members of the association who would help us prepare a grant proposal to be submitted in November 2006 to the Francommunautés virtuelles programme. The warm welcome we received at the meeting was confirmed by a positive answer to the online pedagogical project. The next months will include several meetings and discussions with the AEFNB and its members.
  
• Nicole Lang gave a presentation to the executive committee of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour on Monday February 6th in Edmundston. The objective of the presentation was to talk about the activities of the research group since its creation and to give examples of forthcoming activities. Nicole talked about: research, workshops and other public events, the website under construction, the interviews, the conferences and annual meetings members of the research group attended, the publications, the fellowships and educational activities. A good discussion followed Nicole's presentation.
  

December (2005)

• Graduate fellowships in the history of labour in 20th century New Brunswick are offered by the New Brunswick Labour History CURA Project.
  

November (2005)

• Project director David Frank and Raymond Léger participated in a meeting of participants from the 15 recently funded CURA projects at the offices of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in Ottawa. They met with administrators and also shared experiences and discussed research plans and other activities with representatives from other projects.
  
• David Frank published a short biographical article on James Sugrue, the first president of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour. See “James L. Sugrue” , Dictionary of Canadian Biography (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005), XV, pp. 983-85.
  

October (2005)

• Denise Paquette, Nelson Ouellet and Nicole Lang held a session on “The Challenge of Managing an Oral History Project” , at the Moncton campus of l'Université de Moncton, that included Ronnie-Gilles Leblanc, archivist, Centre d'études acadiennes, and several staff from the Université de Moncton, including André Lee, executive director of technology, Denis Richard, communications and information systems officer, Sébastien Tremblay, librarian, and Robert Grégoire, co-ordinator of educational methods. The meeting allowed the participants to discuss our oral history project and methods for archiving oral interviews.
  
• Raymond Léger gave a presentation on the project to the 26th Annual North American Labor History Conference held at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, 20-22 October 2005. The North American Labor History Conference is the largest labor conference in the United States, drawing leading scholars in labor studies from around the globe.
  
• Linda Kealey and Nicole Lang addressed more than 180 nurses at the 31st Annual General Meeting of the New Brunswick Nurses' Union (NBNU) held in Fredericton, 17-20 October 2005. Delegates learned about the project and were encouraged to continue to put forward the names of nurses to be interviewed and other suggestions for the project. This appeal was repeated in FACT SHEET, the post-convention newsletter distributed to the NBNU membership.
  [ See website ]
• In a presentation to the executive of the Nurses Association of New Brunswick (NANB) meeting on 13 October 2005, Nicole Lang and Linda Kealey reported on the results of work carried out this summer at the Nursing Resource Centre. The Nursing Resource Centre, located in the NANB building in Fredericton, houses numerous historical documents, photographs, audio and video materials, artifacts and books related to the history of nursing. To conserve and organize the materials for research, Jim Whalen, formerly a senior archivist at the National Archives of Canada and now retired, worked with CURA summer student Madelyn Hennessey to prepare 100 boxes of documents and an accompanying finding aid. Under the supervision of Project Officer Carol Ferguson. Madelyn, later joined by CURA summer student Amanda McQuarrie, created shelf lists for the more than 3,000 photos and the audio visual materials. Copies of the finding aid, shelf lists and a report prepared by Jim on the document collection were presented to the NANB executive.
  [ See website ]

September (2005)

• Denis Noel, Historian, Sound and Moving Pictures, at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, gave a technical information session on audio standards for oral history to members of the CURA research team on 22 September 2005.
  
• Denise Paquette and Nelson Ouellet met with representatives from the New Brunswick Federation of Labour (Michel Boudreau, president and Jean-Marie Nadeau, executive assistant) and the Atlantic Region Office, Canadian Labour Congress (Jean-Claude Basque, educational representative) to discuss work in the Moncton region and make revisions to the questionnaires for oral history interviews.
  
• When John Murphy retired after 32 years as Executive Secretary of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour, a surprise retirement dinner was held in his honour. Raymond Léger, David Frank and Carol Ferguson were there to offer best wishes from the CURA project. Family, friends and labour leaders from around the province acknowledged John's many years of dedication to the labour movement in song, gifts and speeches on 10 September 2005 at the Beaver Curling Club in Moncton. John has provided much assistance to the project.
  
• On 2 September 2005, 144 boxes of archival materials of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour (NBFL) were moved to safe-keeping in the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB). NBFL Executive Secretary John Murphy, Provincial Archivist Marion Beyea and archivist Twila Buttimer were on hand, as well as CURA project director David Frank, to pitch in when help was needed. It was a real partnership effort ! This is a major collection of documents, including executive minutes, annual proceedings, correspondence and briefs, photographs and publications that will be important for research in provincial labour history for many years to come. In the next months student assistants will be working under the supervision of archives staff in organizing the collection and preparing a finding aid.
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August (2005)

• After attending the NBFL convention in May(1rst-3rd), David Frank prepared a commentary entitled “Numbers Make a Difference: The rate of union membership in New Brunswick is up, not down” which was published in Our Times: Canada's Independent Labour Magazine, vol. 24, n^o 3 (July/August 2005), pp. 14-5. The article is a discussion of a recent Statistics Canada study of membership in Canada and the way it was misreported in the media.
  [ See website ]

July (2005)

• On 28 July 2005 the CURA project and the Minto Public Library sponsored a Minto Labour History Workshop as part of the project's work on labour landmarks. David Frank gave a talk about the mine shaft disaster that occurred on 28 July 1932 and asked those attending to help tell the story of the plaque erected by the community to commemorate that event. The mayor, town councillors, UMWA local 7409 executive members and members of the public attended, including the daughter of one of the men who died in the disaster. Mary Lambropoulos, town councilor and public librarian, worked with the project to organize and publicize the event. CURA summer students Candace Mooers (who assisted in the research on Minto), Josh Dickison and Amamda Mc Quarrie were on hand to sign up those in attendance for oral interviews at a later date. The event was front page news in the August edition of the local paper, the Grand Lake Mirror.
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• Raymond Léger is featured in a story about the origins of the New Brunswick labour history project in Organize, the national magazine of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, vol. 8, no. 3 (Summer, 2005), p. 20.
  [ See website ]

June (2005)

• While attending the Australian National Labour History Conference at the University of Sydney, 30 June - 2 July 2005, Greg Kealey and Linda Kealey took the opportunity to talk about the CURA project in a session on “Practicing Labour History” . The paper appears as part of the published proceedings of the conference, “Re-connecting with the history of labour in New Brunswick: historical perspectives on contemporary issues” , in Greg Patmore et al. (eds.), The Past is Before Us: Proceedings of the Ninth National Labour History Conference (Sydney: Australian Society for the Study of Labour History with the Business & Labor History Group, June 2005), pp. 305-11.
  
• Linda Kealey attended the Hannah 2005 Nursing History Conference entitled “Identities, Diversity and Canadian Nursing History” at the University of Ottawa, 15-16 June 2005.
  
• The 100th anniversary of the Chestnut Canoe was celebrated on a beautiful day by the St. John River during the annual Fredericton River Festival. Partnering with the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, the CURA project set up a booth in Officers' Square in downtown Fredericton on Saturday 11 June 2005. Our display of historical documents and photographs was designed to locate men and women who had worked building the famous Chestnut Canoes. CURA summer students Josh Dickison and Candace Mooers along with Project Officer Carol Ferguson answered questions about the display, handed out information sheets on the project and signed up former employees of the Chestnut Canoe factory for oral interviews. A letter to the editor published in the local paper, the Daily Gleaner, also elicited inquiries.
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May (2005)

• David Frank reported on the project to the Canadian Committee on Labour History (CCLH) at their meeting on 31 May 2005 in London, Ontario. The CCLH promotes the study of labour history in a number of ways, including publishing the journal Labour/Le Travail.
  
• Nicole Lang, Nelson Ouellet, Bill Parenteau, Raymond Léger, Linda Kealey, Carol Ferguson and David Frank were all present and introduced to the delegates on 2 May 2006 at the Monday evening session of the 47th Convention of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour in Moncton. Under the title “A Useful History: Re-Connecting with the History of Labour in New Brunswick” , David Frank gave a short talk about the project and encouraged individuals and unions to assist by identifying people who should be interviewed, documents that should be utilized, events that should be studied and landmarks to be included in the work of the project. Paper forms were distributed to delegates and our on-line forms were demonstrated as well.
  

April (2005)

•  “Reconnecting with the History of Labour in New Brunswick: Historical Perspectives on Contemporary Issues” was officially launched at a press conference in Fredericton on 25 April 2005. Andy Scott, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, announced that funding from the Social Sciences Humanities and Research Council (SSHRC) had been awarded to a Community University Research Alliance (CURA) team to study the province's labour history. “With this research, we're going to tell the story of work and workers in New Brunswick, a story of how collective efforts helped improve the quality of life” , said project director David Frank.
  [ See Photograph ] [ Read the News ] [ See website ]
• Representatives from the community partners and the research team met following the official launch of the project to discuss the work for the year 2005-2006. Nelson Ouellet invited comments about plans for the web site and introduced the on-line forms that will allow partners and the public to provide information to assist in the research work. During the preceding year, members of the research team had individual meetings with all of the community partners to help prepare the ground for the project. As well, partners and the research team came together on 10 June 2004 for a workshop on New Brunswick Labour History featuring a keynote address by Professor James Green of the College of Public and Community Service, University of Massachusetts, Boston. James Green has worked on many public history initiatives over the last 30 years. Workshop participants received a copy of his book, Taking History to Heart: The Power of the Past in Building Social Movements (Amherst, Mass.: University of Massachussetts Press, 2000).
  [ See website ]