Caption: Blair Ghent, Canada, Credit: Chris Brookes
Image by: Chris Brookes 
Blair Ghent, Canada 

Oil Worker

Series: WORKING
From: Homelands Productions
Length: 00:08:02

Chris Brookes profiles a Canadian oil worker and his wife who live apart for weeks at a time. Read the full description.
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Oil Worker
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Homelands Productions

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Pam Pardy and Blair Ghent left good jobs in Toronto to return home to rural Newfoundland. They thought the quality of life would be better there for their son Brody. But work is hard to come by in Newfoundland, and soon Blair found himself joining the thousands of unemployed men from the island commuting 3,000 miles to the oil sands fields of Alberta. The oilsands are huge, and raise huge questions about the planet's energy future. But for Blair and Pam, they raise more immediate questions -- like who will help Brody with his homework, and whether their marriage will survive all the separation. Chris Brookes' profile is part of the WORKING series from Homelands Productions. 

Oil Worker | 00:08:02

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Piece Description

Pam Pardy and Blair Ghent left good jobs in Toronto to return home to rural Newfoundland. They thought the quality of life would be better there for their son Brody. But work is hard to come by in Newfoundland, and soon Blair found himself joining the thousands of unemployed men from the island commuting 3,000 miles to the oil sands fields of Alberta. The oilsands are huge, and raise huge questions about the planet's energy future. But for Blair and Pam, they raise more immediate questions -- like who will help Brody with his homework, and whether their marriage will survive all the separation. Chris Brookes' profile is part of the WORKING series from Homelands Productions. 

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

Pam Pardy and Blair Ghent [pronounced with hard G, as in god] left good jobs in Toronto to return home to rural Newfoundland. They thought the quality of life would be better for their son Brody. But the collapse of the cod fishery in the early 1990s took the rest of the island's economy down with it, and soon Blair found himself joining thousands of unemployed Newfoundlanders commuting 3,000 miles to the oil sands fields of Alberta. The oilsands are huge, and raise disturbing questions about the planet's energy future. But for Blair and Pam, they pose a set of more domestic challenges. Chris Brookes' profile is part of the WORKING series from Homelands Productions.

OUTRO:

That was Chris Brookes reporting. WORKING is produced by Homelands Productions in collaboration with Marketplace Radio. To see pictures and hear audio, go to working.homelands.org. While you're there, you can also tell the world what you think about YOUR job.

Additional Credits

WORKING is a collaboration between Homelands Productions and Marketplace Radio. Major funding comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Related Website

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/segments/working/oilsands.html

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