Another Seal Spotted

This baby seal was spotted hanging around behind the town office last week. – René J. Roy / Wreckhouse Press Inc.

A little more than a month after a harbour seal was spotted in the waters near Regional Street, a baby seal spent several days resting on the boat ramp behind the Port aux Basques town office. Nearby residents said that the young animal showed no signs of fear and that there appeared to be no mother or other seals nearby.

MHA retains portfolio

MHA Andrew Parsons (Burgeo – La Poile) has once again been sworn as Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology for Newfoundland and Labrador. Parsons was sworn in with the rest of cabinet in St. John’s on Thursday morning, Apr. 8.

Clean up week

Town Manager Leon MacIsaac responded to inquiries about the annual Spring clean up week, which is scheduled to take place again this year after May 24. The town plans to post notices with the exact dates and details in the coming weeks.

Social media gossip

Local Facebook groups and private pages were abuzz last week about an apparently unwelcome stranger.

Multiple posts, one with over 100 comments alone, showed pictures of a van bearing Texas plates. The van had spotted around Port aux Basques and other areas of the region. The posts included photographs of the vehicle and identified its driver’s social media profile.

Some commentators from outside the region also alleged that the same individual had been approached by the RCMP in another part of the province after complaints they had been seen talking to young teenage girls.

Despite these reports, Sergeant Terry Alexander of the Port aux Basques RCMP detachment stated unequivocally that there is no evidence the person who was the subject of these posts has been up to anything other than socializing.

“We did speak with the individual, and there is nothing to suggest anything he has done anything wrong,” confirmed Sgt. Alexander last Tuesday, Apr. 6.

The Facebook posts have since been removed, but not before some of the individual’s personal information had been shared repeatedly. That included their vehicle identification number, alleged criminal history and vehicle history reports, were published online and widely circulated.

Such activity is construed as doxxing. Doxxing is the act of revealing identifying information about someone online, such as their real name, home address, workplace, phone, financial, and other personal information. That information is then circulated to the public — without the victim’s permission.

News outlets across the country continue to report instances of so-called ‘plate-shaming’. Meanwhile restrictions around entry into the province are set to ease when the Atlantic bubble re-opens on Monday, Apr. 19.

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