An Untidy Package (1997)

The 1992 cod fishing moratorium threw nearly 35,000 Newfoundlanders out of work. It was the biggest single layoff in Canadian history and nearly a third of the workers affected were women. In An Untidy Package we meet five women from small coastal communities whose lives were irrevocably changed by the death of the cod fishery. Many feel as though their lives have been placed on hold, and the pressure is on to readjust and relocate. But job prospects are not good elsewhere, and their ties to their communities are powerful. Some women who spent years in the fishery are considered ineligible for the federal government's TAGS compensation program. Others find that the money they receive is barely enough to make ends meet. And all of them would prefer to work for a paycheck. The women featured in the film represent communities under siege--and their stories illustrate the legacy of downsizing and job cuts across the country.