Written by Grace Tarrant

Thumbnail Photo by Parsa Mivehchi on Unsplash

Oral history is a qualitative research technique that is used to tell a story from the unique perspective of the interviewee(s) to gather and/or strengthen research. This method is valuable because it allows people who have first-hand experience of an event or occurrence to share their stories, which can both be therapeutic for the interviewee and helpful to the overall validity and accuracy of the research being done.

Oral interviews are significant because they aid in transmitting important histories that may have otherwise not been known to people who seek to learn about the topic at hand. Oral interviews conducted in research also help to preserve the history by using it in an academic setting that will then be accessible to people for many years to come.

In my own research, I am hoping to gather community perspectives via oral interviews so that I can better understand the impact and consultation process of policies surrounding the cod moratorium. The cod moratorium signified the closure of the cod fishery in Newfoundland in 1992, and was characterised as the single most significant layoff in Canadian history. The government attempted to minimise the pressure on cod populations leading up to the moratorium by reducing the number of fishers and then tried to minimise the economic impact of job loss by implementing adjustment policies after the closure.

Based on the available literature today on the cod moratorium in Newfoundland, there appears to have been very little community consultation leading up to the closure and following it. Due to this, there were many issues with the policies enacted, and very few of them proved to be efficient. Community members did not benefit from these policies as much as they should have, given many of the adjustment policies were conditional on individuals having certain levels of education and being able to move out of their smaller communities to access employment.

It seems very intuitive that having people offer their perspectives and opinions on potential policies that directly impact them would be efficient in the long run. However, this did not often occur. Likely, the people who are most impacted by the issue at hand will have useful and important perspectives that would help better the outcomes of the policy once enacted. Government members and policymakers are unlikely to have the same sort of in-depth knowledge of the specific community facing hardships regarding the closure unless they live there. Further, they will not have the same amount of knowledge on the fishing industry either, given that they do not work in it. It is paramount that those who will be most impacted by governmental decisions are adequately consulted by government officials before enacting them.

In Canada, we have a representative democracy. The citizens of Canada elect their local members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and Members of Parliament (MP) in order to work and enact change on their behalf. The government would cease to exist without the people to elect them. However, we are living in a time where many feel disempowered and disappointed in the government and local representatives. Rather than letting this allow individuals to take a step back from governmental conversations, they should be encouraged to participate. Community perspectives, oral history, and lived experience are all central to efficient and constructive policies.

In hopes of learning more about what a small fishing community endured during the cod moratorium; I will conduct interviews to gather information from those who fished cod in the years leading up to the closure. In doing this, I plan on centering their perspectives in my research, and to highlight the importance of community consultation and interactive governance approaches in the future. Often speaking to those who endured a difficult historical event or occurrence can be a preventative tool in the future to avoid making the same mistakes.

Oral history is important to consultation processes and should be made a priority when it comes to making governmental changes. The real experts are the ones who are most affected by what is being studied. So, if you’re considering doing a research project or undergoing a master’s thesis, make sure to include the voices of people with knowledge on your topic because they will likely see it as more than just a project.

Consultation and Oral History: What’s the Connection?

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