WITLESS BAY, N.L. — The big red Liberal bus made its way through some deeply blue territory to kick off the last week of the 2019 election campaign.
After stops in St. John’s, Mount Pearl and Paradise, Liberal Leader Dwight Ball turned his attention to Bay Bulls and Witless Bay on Monday afternoon. The Ferryland district has Liberal Janis Ryan, Tory Loyola O’Driscoll and independent Chris Molloy (who previously ran for the New Democrats in the district) running for election, seeking to replace retired PC MHA Keith Hutchings.
The Ferryland district holds the distinction of being the longest-held district by any party in the province. The last time a Liberal was elected in Ferryland was 1966, when Joey Smallwood was premier.
The Liberal campaign focused its attention on Pennecon and the impact one of the province’s largest companies has had on the district.
Pennecon, which donated $17,550 to the Liberals in 2018, runs the marine base in Bay Bulls and employs about 150 people, most of whom live in the district. The heavy civil company is finishing Astaldi Canada’s work on the Muskrat Falls project.
But there’s another project just down the road that has Pennecon executive chairman Larry Puddister’s attention these days.
The Smiling Land Organic Farm sits about a 10-minute drive from Bay Bulls, down the Witless Bay Line.
The 350-acre organic farm aims to be a completely environmentally friendly production, with plans to use wind to generate power for the farm. Because of the harsh weather conditions in the area, the farm will largely use greenhouses for its food production.
Puddister says he’s had the idea for the farm for years now.
“At the heart of this, really, it’s a social enterprise. I know it needs to make money in order to be successful, that’s not lost on me, but it’s not the primary goal. The primary goal is to create a sense of community here,” he said.
When it’s open, the farm will employ “at least” 200 people, Puddister says.
On top of growing potatoes, turnips, carrots and even cucumbers, the farm will have beehives and organic livestock, and even offer horseback riding as therapy for those dealing with mental health issues.
Puddister has spent about $2 million on the farm so far, with more to be spent. So far, there are no funding commitments from the provincial or federal governments for the farm, but requests will be made as the project advances, he says.
A government briefing note says the project will “assist Government of NL’s The Way Forward” by providing agriculture to the area, to help the province’s shaky food security. As it stands, the province would run out of fresh food in less than a week if no fresh produce were shipped to the island.
Another inspiration for Puddister is his late son, Jacob Puddister, who took his own life in 2016 at age 21.
“This is about a legacy,” said Puddister.
“The stables will be called the White Raven stables. The White Raven is a bit of symbolism for Jake.”
The Liberals will spend Tuesday touring eastern and central Newfoundland.
Twitter: DavidMaherNL
