'There'll be no turkey': Sombre Thanksgiving for Atlantic Canadians hit hard by Fiona
Darlene Hughes will turn 65 on Sunday, but it won't be quite the birthday -- or the Thanksgiving -- she had hoped for.
Hughes had planned a small party at her Charlottetown home with friends and family to celebrate her age milestone and the holiday -- but that was before the powerful wind gusts from post-tropical storm Fiona tore down power lines across the province.
Instead, she said in an interview Thursday, she'll be spending the weekend coping without light or heat and cleaning friends' homes for some extra cash. And for the first time, she and her husband will not be enjoying a Thanksgiving meal.
"Well, Thanksgiving," she said, her voice breaking with emotion, "I always cook a turkey. And it's always my birthday weekend. And there'll be no turkey."
It's a story that's playing out across Atlantic Canada: the holiday weekend has been dampened for thousands in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia who are still without power -- almost two weeks since Fiona hit on Sept. 24. About 4,000 homes and businesses in Nova Scotia spent their 13th day without power on Thursday, while almost 9,000 homes and businesses were still in the dark in P.E.I.
Hughes said she and her husband also have to cope with the mess the storm left on their property. "We're too old for this right now -- lugging branches and lifting branches and fixing fences. We've lost all our fences in the back."
On Thursday morning, Hughes's husband called a hotel to book a table for Saturday night so they can celebrate her birthday, but the cost was daunting. "We can't afford it," she said. "But he put it on his credit card and he said, 'We'll deal with it later."'
The couple are on a fixed income and have spent most of their money on food and gas since the storm. They had to throw out almost everything in their refrigerator and can't cook at home.
"We ate breakfast one day, and it was $44 to have breakfast, and that was just a breakfast like a bacon and eggs," she said.
"I got a coffee and it was almost $5 for a coffee. It was $4.25 for a medium coffee. Like really? Like, that's just crazy."
She paused.
"I'd rather drink vodka," she said with a laugh.
About 350 kilometres to the east, in Sydney, N.S., Robert Grafilo said he expects to have some sort of Thanksgiving dinner with the friends in whose home he and his family are living. Maybe even "a few drinks," he added.
But Thanksgiving dinner will come with a side of anxiety because Grafilo, a 45-year-old retail worker who grew up in the Philippines, needs to find a new home after the duplex in which he lived was crushed by a maple tree during the storm.
After the building was evacuated, Grafilo, his wife and their two boys, aged 10 and three, spent part of their savings on hotels for a week. When the power returned in parts of the city, close friends within the small Filipino community took the couple into their home in the Whitney Pier neighbourhood.
"What a time for this holiday (Thanksgiving) to come, as we are looking for a home. It would be normal, if this storm hadn't happened," Grafilo said.
Jhoy Agbada said she and her husband and their two children wanted to help the Grafilos by giving them a temporary place to stay. "I know that though they are smiling, they are heartbroken inside," she said.
"It's like I just want them to feel that they're not alone in this kind of situation .... We will celebrate it and have a simple gathering for Thanksgiving. We should still celebrate it because we should be thankful they are safe."
A few kilometres away, in the Ashby neighbourhood of downtown Sydney, Sona Sudharsan; his partner, Sandra Sudharsan; and their infant boy are also planning a Thanksgiving meal, though a tree is still leaning against the home they rent.
They'll be giving thanks for the return of power, for the members of the city's Indian community and for the Salvation Army, which delivered food during the dark periods following the storm.
"After a rough few weeks, we need some relaxation," Sona Sudharsan said.
Grafilo said he is thankful for friends and family who dropped off food and clothing during his family's sojourn in hotels. "We're thankful we're still alive, safe and sound. That's what matters."
Hughes said she's grateful for her husband and her health. "Well, I guess I shouldn't be doing so much complaining," she said. "And I'm not hungry. And I'm not cold right now. But I'm fed up. I'm just fed up."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.