This 1991 cartoon from the National Film Board of Canada is based on a popular 1949 Canadian folk song, "The Blackfly Song," by Wade Hemsworth. Hemsworth himself prepared and performed a special version of the song tailored for this cartoon.
The original song by Wade Hemsworth and this cartoon are loosely autobiographical. Hemswoth was part of a survey team that traveled to what is now the Little Abitibi Provincial Park in Northern Ontario to select a possible location for a dam. This led to the construction of the Abitibi Canyon Generating Station.
Although he was mentioned in the original song and this cartoon, according to Wade Hemsworth, "Black Toby" was not part of the Abitibi survey team. Hemsworth met him on another survey mission.