When Canada said goodbye to a rough year in 1982
CBC newsrooms across Canada signed off by singing Auld Lang Syne
Given its high unemployment numbers, especially in the Maritimes, 1982 was a year a lot of people were happy to see come to an end.
"The final unemployment statistic for 1982 was a gloomy one," said Knowlton Nash, host of CBC's The National, on the last day of the year.
He said in the month of October 1982, compared with a year earlier, unemployment claims had jumped by 79 per cent.
He added that 1,113,000 Canadians had filed for unemployment insurance benefits that month.
Eye on the Atlantic region
As part of a cross-Canada regional survey airing all that week, correspondent Michael Vaughan was tasked with the final report on the economic prospects for the Atlantic provinces.
"Nova Scotia signed an offshore energy agreement with Ottawa last March," said Vaughan, describing the sole sector that was "going well in the East."
An estimated $2 billion in exploration was projected to take place over the next three years, he said. But it wasn't enough to make up for the challenges other industries faced.
"The problem is that many other sectors of the economy need attention here," said Elizabeth Beale of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council.
Forests, fish, mines all affected
A decline in the New Brunswick forestry industry and mining had shrunk that province's economy by "four or five per cent," said Vaughan.
And in Newfoundland and Labrador, "falling fish prices" had contributed to "serious cuts in government revenue," he added.
Prince Edward Island wasn't exempt from the economic fallout, either.
"Potato prices were unacceptably low again," said Vaughan. "And this year there were fewer tourists than in the past."
Goodbye to all that
Nash had a timely surprise for viewers still tuned to The National that New Year's Eve.
"By the magic of satellite, in uncertain tones, we sing happy new year through all seven time zones," he rhymed.
With that, staff assembled in CBC newsrooms across the country were seen and heard singing the traditional Scottish tune Auld Lang Syne.
Edmonton, Saskatoon, Montreal, Halifax, Regina, Sydney, N.S., Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa all took turns with the song.
"Happy new year from Washington," said the four members of the CBC bureau in Washington, D.C.
Before it was over, viewers saw Nash and an assortment of reporters and crew gathered to help ring in 1983.
"And from all of us in the studio, happy new year to all of you!" he said.
