Some issues seem to never go away. Resettlement is one of them. It carries many pictures and emotions. People remember places they felt they had to leave. Some of these people did very well in the places they moved to, but resettlement still left a bad taste. Communities and families divided over it. Some people never made the better living that the government said was waiting on the other side of the water. J.R. Smallwood had great dreams of industry. But mostly these were just dreams. They did not create the jobs that would make moving easier. Sometimes, people were moved to places where there were not enough jobs for the people who already lived there.

But there is another reason why resettlement stirs up such bad feelings. People lost the right to choose. People have always moved, but when they are ready and for their own reasons. When people decide to move on their own, they feel free to choose the lives they will lead. Resettlement took this freedom away from many people. The government "men in suits," the politicians and priests, put them under pressure. People suddenly had a say in the lives of their neighbours. All of this got in the way of people making their own free choices. Most people feel that there are a few basic rights that people must have. One of them is the right to choose where to live.

A small boy stands by codfish as big as himself.
For hundreds of years, the fishery gave small
Newfoundland communities the will to survive
into the future. Photo circa 1960s.