Didn’t take long for ‘racism’ charge

It didn’t take long for someone to call me “racist” over last Saturday’s column.

“You may try to say your  not a racist, but your words tell us other wise,” wrote Kathleen Manuel in an email that appeared in yesterday’s In box. Manuel is a Secwepemc language teacher and took offense to my comments about the Secwepemc language.

If you read Saturday’s column, you’ll know I was comparing perceptions between natives and non-natives about each other. At one point I wrote that “I understand the importance of bringing back indigenous languages — how can you have a healthy, vibrant culture if your language is gone?” And I added, in brackets, “It seems no two people, of any descent, are able to even pronounce Secwepemc the same way.”

It was an exaggeration, of course, and maybe a little tongue in cheek, based on what I hear from politicians in particular who attempt the word. They all have some trouble with it. Even Chief Shane Gottfriedson has taken lessons in the Shuswap/Secwepemc language so he can use it, especially on public occasions. Good on him.

It simply emphasizes the dire straits in which native languages find themselves. Indeed, many are already extinct and more are endangered. That’s a terrible thing. It’s an excellent thing that Kathleen Manuel has taught the Shuswap/Secwepemc language to 100 students. Good on her, too, because young people are the real hope for rescuing these languages.

But why is it OK to call someone a racist for even mentioning it, and for identifying examples of misunderstandings between natives and non-natives?

All of which perfectly makes a key point I was getting at with the column: the “racist” label is so readily thrown about that most people are afraid to even talk about the differences and issues between natives and non-natives. It’s so bad now, it would seem, that you aren’t even allowed to mention someone else’s racism without being called a racist yourself.

Real racism is easy to identify and easy to find. Don’t insult those who want to do something about it.

Krueger, Lake can’t win for trying

Well it just surprises the heck out of me that the railway-tie issue has become a political football. B.C. New Democrats today are accusing Terry Lake and Kevin Krueger of “trying to rewrite history” in their position that ACC hasn’t fulfilled its “social licence.”

They say our two MLAs supported the project until public opinion changed their minds. That’s a bad thing, according to the NDP. Of course, if Lake and Krueger were saying the project is great and they’re with it all the way, they’d be accused of not listening to public opinion.

Some days a politician can’t win for trying. Anyway, here’s the press release:

“Instead of trying to rewrite history B.C. Liberal MLAs Terry Lake and Kevin Krueger need to take responsibility for not ensuring a full environmental assessment was done before permits were issued to build a plant that would burn toxic creosote-soaked railway ties near downtown Kamloops, say New Democrats.
 
“The B.C. Liberal government could have ordered a full environmental assessment of the project before issuing permits to the company, but instead of advocating on behalf of their constituents, both MLAs were quick to dismiss the concerns of the community and support the toxic project:
 
“·        B.C. Liberal MLA Terry Lake criticized the people of Kamloops for being ‘emotional’ about the plant, and expressed his support for the proposal, saying, “being a politician is tricky, for sure, because you want to please everyone. I’ve learned that you can’t please everyone. You have to live up to your own principles. If people don’t like that or don’t respect me for that, then I’ll go back to neutering cats and dogs.” (CHNL, The Jim Harrison Show, Jan. 14, 2010)
  
“·         B.C. Liberal MLA Kevin Krueger expressed his support for the plant by saying “I know that various people are saying very emotional things about it, but we trust scientists and engineers when we get on airplanes. When we permit sewage and water treatment facilities. When we write permits for industry. And I’m satisfied that people have done their jobs, and that our health and safety is not going to be compromised by this facility.” (CHNL, Jan. 15th, 2010)”

Meanwhile, of course, the New Democrats and leader Carole James are, according to them at least, the good guys.

 ”Mr.Lake and Mr. Krueger’s decision to ignore the concerns of Kamloops residents until opposition to the project reached a fever pitch has increased the likelihood of a costly legal battle for the province, and their continuing reluctance to call for a full environmental assessment- which is what residents want- shows that their sudden conversion on this issue is shallow one.”

Of course, there was no provision for a traditional environmental assessment under the current process, but there certainly will be a very thorough de facto environmental assessment via the appeal, so all the politicking is so much blather. 

Memories of duck-feet soup

Over the years, the annual TRU Foundation Gala has become the big social event, and last night was no exception. It was packed as usual, and raised a tremendous amount of money for the good work done by the foundation.

In trying to find an interesting new theme each year, dinner at the gala can be a bit chancy, and hasn’t always found the mark. Last night, I admit I had my concerns about the Forbidden City theme, as it included a dinner of roast duck and pork belly. Duck is one of those dishes you love or hate. If it’s good, it’s okay; if it’s oily it’s really bad.

The TRU culinary arts staff and students pulled it off. As is often the case, there was a bit of compromise involved, since true Chinese food (as opposed to the pretend Canadian version involving rice and almond chicken) can be quite disturbing to the Western taste.

I was reminded of trips to China that included such dishes as duck-feet soup (seriously, duck feet in a broth), duck tongues (toasted up and served as a snack, sort of like potato chips), pigeon heads, shark-fin soup, stewed hooves, frog bellies and other delicacies. There is no part of an animal, it would seem, the Chinese don’t find a way to eat. Not being an adventuresome eater, I always found myself girding my stomach and giving it all a taste in order to avoid an international incident, but it was a challenge.

Not to worry at the gala. It was all done in such a way that you could enjoy at least enough of it to get into the spirit of the thing. It always amazes me how they can put together a very special meal and serve it to 400 people all at once. Tremendous job.

What we need is to figure each other out

Armchair Mayor column for Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010

When you’ve been at this as long as I have, you get called a lot of things — racist, woman hater, redneck, even New Democrat.

I’ve been called all of the above, and deny them all — and am quite confident my record in life proves it.

A prominent local doctor, apparently unable to think of anything better, or worse, to call me, once labeled me “stupid” in writing. (Having personal knowledge of this man’s atrocious bedside manner, I simply considered the source.)

‘Racist’ is just about the worst thing anyone can call you, though. I was once accused of being a racist by a band chief at a public gathering at UBC called to debate the facts and myths of the Chilcotin War, an event in our province’s history that occurred in 1864. The basis of the insult was that I disagreed with his characterization of what had happened. Ergo, I must be racist.

That’s what people do. If you disagree with them, they look for ways to discredit you. Being called a racist if you challenge the way things are being done by First Nations is common enough that a lot of people are afraid to speak up.

On the other hand, the true racists don’t give a damn. Like the gutless wonders who hide behind anonymity and fill the Internet with their bigotry. Like the disgusting nut bar who accused Aboriginal Cogeneration Corp. president Kim Sigurdson of being a “f…… money hungry crackhead Indian.”

It pains me to repeat even that much of that person’s hateful diatribe, but sometimes you have to hear it or read it to truly understand the depths of race-based hatred.

That bigotry lies beneath many a principled cause, and it can easily bubble to the surface. I’ve been grateful that, while I disagree with a great deal of what opponents are claiming about ACC, the battle is being fought for the great part on environmental issues, not race.

Nevertheless, it’s there. On an unrelated matter, a letter to the editor a few days ago urged that native Indians stop “whining” and “join the rest of us.” It wasn’t racist per se, because the role of First Nations in Canadian society is legitimate grist for discussion. But it touched off an online debate that has been, at times, thoughtful and, at others, at least bordering on racist.

I will pause here to note that even someone with a name like Rothenburger can have a few drops of Indian blood — several of my ancestors were native or Metis. Though I’m proud of that, I’m not a registered Metis and I don’t consider myself worthy of the title. But it’s given me a special interest in the history and culture of our aboriginal peoples.

So let’s set aside for a moment the true racists, native and non-native, and try to understand why there’s such a gulf between average natives and average non-natives who would rather just all get along.

I understand why many Canadians chafe under the knowledge that status Indians get special tax breaks. I also understand that, while it’s not so evident in our neck of the woods, Indians in many parts of Canada live in appalling conditions.

I understand the intensity of commitment to land issues, the feeling of disenfranchisement that time can’t remove. But I also understand why some non-natives get annoyed whenever someone gets in front of a mike and welcomes everyone to Secwepemc territory.

I understand the importance of bringing back indigenous languages — how can you have a healthy, vibrant culture if your language is gone? (It seems no two people, of any descent, are able to even pronounce Secwepemc the same way.) Yet people struggle with the insertion of those numeral 7s in the middle of the English alphabet and wonder how that’s supposed to help anything.

Non-natives, some anyway, are frankly sick and tired of hearing about “aboriginal rights and title,” Delgamuukw, “extinguishment,” land claims and “meaningful consultation.” On the other hand, if my great-grandfather’s land was taken away from him and I was living with the consequences I think I’d be seriously pissed off.

It’s not hard for me to see why rights and title are so important to native people, but I can’t see how an Austrian ski team using the slopes of Sun Peaks to train on is a problem for anyone.

Non-natives, I think, have a legitimate curiosity about why Indian bands are not more accountable for how they spend federal support money. Natives, I’m sure, figure it’s nobody’s business but their own.

I guess I can even understand why some people can’t figure out why Indians a generation removed from residential schools continue to “whine” about it, but I also get that that kind of hurt doesn’t go away quickly.

By the same token, while I can see why natives harbour grievances that span several generations, I can also see why non-natives are confused as to why they’re constantly being blamed for the sins of their grandfathers.

If I had an actual answer to any of this, we could do away with treaty commissions, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, lawyers and mediators.

I’ll say this, though: if there’s anything good in this cultural divide, it’s that it reminds us of the fact we aren’t all the same, nor should we be, nor should we try to be.

We just need to keep working, respectfully, to figure each other out.

AROUND TOWN: While Cowboy continues to be first choice for downtown coffee drinkers, a lot of caffeine addicts are trying out the unique Italian blends at Café Ariana, corner of Lansdowne and Third. . . MP Cathy McLeod is busy meeting with anybody and everybody who has opinions about what should be in the upcoming federal budget, and figures she’ll have the equivalent of an MA thesis to write in time for a meeting with PM Harper in Vancouver shortly. . . Annual TRU Foundation gala is on tonight with a Forbidden City (that’s the ancient royal palace in Beijing) theme. Dinner? Roast Beijing duck, of course. Among auction items are an imported Chinese sword, porcelain artwork by Metis artist Terry Jackson, and a whole bunch more.

Wasting public money on so-called polls

It’s amazing how many good ideas can come forward when a dozen intelligent, informed people sit down in a room. MP Cathy McLeod invited the chamber of commerce board to meet with her for an hour this morning as part of the pre-budget consultation process and there was no shortage of ideas on where the feds should put their priorities over the next while.

I’m sorry to harp on this, but the change in manner from our last MP is so refreshingly pleasant I can’t help it. Instead of lecturing us on how things are done and should be done, McLeod listened carefully, took her own notes, asked relevant questions and made us feel sure she’ll take it all forward to the prime minister.

And provided coffee and muffins to boot. After the meeting, she and I had a chance to talk about railway ties for a few minutes. She has her views, I have mine, but she’s capable of a reasonable discussion.

I wish I’d remembered to ask her about those constituency mailers that bug me so much. The latest one includes what has become the norm for those things — a pseudo survey on what constituents think.

“Do you think the prime minister is on the right track?” was one question. “Do you support the federal government’s action for Canadian families?” was another.

Really, to what possible use can the answers to such vague, self-serving questions be put? They are, to put it bluntly, a waste of paper.

Tony Milobar passes away

I was saddened this morning to learn of the passing of former Kamloops City councilor, and father of our current mayor, Dr. Tony Milobar, who died around 6:30 a.m. at Royal Inland Hospital.

I well remember Tony as a councillor when I covered City Hall shortly after coming to Kamloops to work. I remember him as simply a very nice man who did not take politics too seriously, though he did make an unsuccessful run for mayor.

No doubt, his own past involvement in council made him especially proud when son Peter was elected to council and then, a year ago last November, succeeded in becoming mayor. I chatted with Tony about that as he sat in Peter’s campaign headquarters after the election results were in, and you could tell how happy he was for his son.

Tony Milobar was a man who served Kamloops well in many ways, and his family will have his legacy of achievement to remember. Sincere condolences to Maryann, Peter and their families.

Enjoy the ceremonies, Mr. Mayor

Back in the armchair after a couple of weeks and catching up on everything from small to large, but the troops seem to have done just fine without me.

Looking into the issue of Olympics tickets today. A lot of people seem to have their shirts in a knot over politicians accepting tickets to the Olympics, as though it represents some kind of graft. Or, at least, an insult to all those who are unable to attend.

Gifting to politicians is a sensitive issue, but let’s remember these are the people we’ve chosen to represent us, so let’s let them do that, shall we? Chilliwack mayor Sharon Gaetz is in the news for turning down tickets to the opening ceremonies, noting the optics would not be good.

On the other hand, Kamloops mayor Peter Milobar has accepted tickets to those same ceremonies. Who’s right and who’s wrong?

Both pairs of tickets were offered by the B.C. Lottery Corp. but the source is not of key interest here. Is it right for a mayor to accept such a freebie?

I say yes, no problem. In Milobar’s case, our city is home to the head office of the Lottery Corp. but, again, that’s not really the issue. The issue is, what is so wrong about a mayor attending the opening of one of the biggest international events in our province in recent memory?

Travel expenses and the acceptance of gifts are both important issues, and mayors should not take either lightly. But this is well within the realm of mayoral responsibilities and fully justified.

As for Gaetz and her concern that taking the tickets would contravene the Community Charter (that’s the legislation that governs what municipalities can and can’t do), she has nothing to worry about. No contravention involved.

Gaetz comes off as a bit of a grandstander, while Milobar is doing the right thing. But, as he told me today, “It’s one of those things where you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”

All work and no play…

Being otherwise engaged, I was unable to attend last night’s torch festivities, but I knew I’d be missing something good. Kamloops is especially accomplished at putting on a show.

By all accounts, and especially reading today’s Daily News, a great time was had by all.

This whole torch thing is hype, of course, designed to get people involved in supporting the Games, but there’s nothing wrong with that. At the same time, it provides an occasion for people to get together, enjoy themselves, and feel good about where they live. (As Rex Murphy said the night before, Canada is defined by the way we treat each other, and it’s worth celebrating.)

I’m constantly annoyed at all the Scrooges who have made it their mission to ruin the Winter Olympics for everyone else. These complainers are of the mind that life is all about one thing — whatever their thing happens to be. They’re the same ones in our own community who carp about too much money being spent on the arts.

In their view, everything we do should be about the less fortunate, about social issues, health care, poverty, housing, drug addictions — and never about the joy of life for our citizenry as a whole. Kamloops has nothing to apologize for in that regard — we are one of the most caring, giving communities on this earth, and the same could be said about B.C. and Canada.

There’s nothing wrong, and everything right, about pausing every now and then just to celebrate and enjoy, and celebrating and enjoying athletic excellence is as good a reason as any. Regardless of the Games, or the arts, or any other form of entertainment, all those very important social causes will still be waiting for us the next morning, and we’ll still fight to do something about them.

How dull life would be without time to play.

Rex Murphy reminded us of something important

Last night’s speech by CBC commentator Rex Murphy was one of the most entertaining, inspiring even, that I’ve heard in a long time. Murphy was sponsored and hosted, in the main, by the local branch of the Canadian Home Builders Association, and I’ve never seen more people packed into the Campus Activity Centre.

Murphy is known for his sharp wit and clever turn of phrase, and he could easily have turned them against the nation’s political and cultural foibles, for there’s much to criticize. Instead, he talked about what is right with this country. If only our city’s angry people — those who constantly carp about our failures, about not getting enough — could have been there. They would have been ashamed.

Not that Murphy didn’t touch on some notable and not-so-notable mistakes of history, but he didn’t dwell on them. For the first half hour, he kept the crowd in stitches with a constant barrage of one-liners, beginning with the likes of, “I work for the CBC so I’m unaccustomed to speaking to a large audience,” and “I don’t get out much, especially by invitation.”

The Cross Country Checkup host professed not to consider himself a journalist, comparing his connection to journalism to that of a street walker with the department of highways.

But it was his characterization of Canada that was truly uplifting. Murphy’s charming Newfoundland lilt, combined with his natural way with words and his obvious passion for his country reminded the room of how blessed we are in comparison to most of the world.

Due to history, accidents of geography, and by construction, “we have build an entire nation centered on certain cardinal understandings of each other,” he said. “Everyone in this entire country is my neighbour,” where “a certain kind of social and civic code” governs how we treat each other.

With a mixture of anecdotes, jokes and examples, Murphy made everyone there realize once again that we live in the best of countries and the most caring of communities.

If anyone else had been at the podium delivering the same message, it might have come off as corny or even insincere, but Murphy is a gifted messenger who is anything but insincere. He spoke for well over an hour, and it seemed like five minutes. At the end, everyone left feeling a little better about our place in the world than when they arrived.

An evening at the Mayor’s Gala

Syd and I attended the Mayor’s Gala For The Arts with Al and Leslie Guthro on Saturday night. Nice event — low-brow and casual compared to the other annual galas despite being billed as “elegant.” This one was actually supposed to be the 2009 gala but the mayor had a scheduling conflict last fall.

All the politicians were there. . . .can you imagine Cathy McLeod, Terry Lake, Kevin Krueger, and Peter Milobar (plus councillors Tina Lange, John O’Fee, John DeCicco, Denis Walsh and Pat Wallace) all in the same room and railway ties not being mentioned even once?

Other than the arts, the main topic for the evening was cowboy hats. Right off the bat, emcee Alan Corbishley, who’s still relatively new in these parts, innocently slighted a big part of our local heritage, economy and lifestyle by telling the audience how nice they all looked — and how great it was that nobody was wearing a cowboy hat.

When it came MLA Kevin Krueger’s turn to speak, he gently pointed out Corbishley’s faux pas, informing him that the reason the brims of cowboy hats curl up is so three cowboys can fit in a pickup truck.

Back at the mike, Corbishley desperately tried to attone, falling all over himself apologizing and professing to actually like cowboy hats. If he’d back-peddled any harder he’d have landed in the kitchen. A show of hands indicated at least half the people in the room own a cowboy hat. Corbishley’s apologies were so sincere and comical that he was forgiven; and I’m certain that if he gets a return gig at next year’s gala he’ll be wearing a Stetson.

A little later, there were some groans when he complained about the increasing lack of support from government for the arts. Krueger, of course, is the provincial minister in charge of arts funding. Thus began another apology. It was taken in good fun and, all in all, Corbishley  was the entertainment highlight of the evening.

Receiving the Mayor’s Award For the Arts was educator Rhona Armes; runners up were artist Trish Sellmer and drama teacher Sheda Petersen, who once suggested high school student Milobar should forget drama and focus on shop.

Milobar noted that there’s talk of a brand new theatre within the next seven to 10 years, a notion that is getting some support from the arts community. It would be great if that’s the case, because only a few years ago, when I proposed putting the $2.5 million cost of renovating the Sagebrush toward construction of a new theatre, the late David Ross of Western Canada Theatre, and symphony president Ray Zacharias were adamantly opposed.

But that’s a story for another day, perhaps in the City Hall series.