Reconciliation grows even more difficult
Count to 215 and think about each number — because that is the number of unmarked graves found at the residential school in Kamloops.
Each one is a child, taken from their families by us through our government. We don’t know how they died, but given their unmarked graves, it takes little imagination to see that the people responsible wanted to hide what they had done.
It is sickening to think of the scale of this in terms of the number of children who died and the length of time over which it occurred. People must have known.
As an Indigenous friend of mine from Kamloops said to me:
“Every non-Indigenous person residing anywhere in Canada should be ashamed. These were children, buried in unmarked graves by the Catholic church aided and abetted by the Government of Canada, whose publicly stated intention was to erase the Indian from the child. Bad look for Western civilization.”
If we have any sense of remorse and desire to atone for this, we must spare no expense to find every child’s identity and bring them back home to their loved ones to allow for them to grieve the unthinkable loss.
The reconciliation road just got significantly more difficult and I hope that we have not reached an impasse.
I know what emotion I would feel if any one of those children were my relatives, and it’s not forgiveness.
Grant Bierlmeier
Oak Bay
Logging second growth? No problem with that
Re: “Island rallies held for and against logging,” May 30.
It’s disappointing that the “Forestry Feeds My Family” signs being waved by the loggers at Lake Cowichan make it an us-vs.-them issue, which is not the point of the protests at all.
I spent several days at the Caycuse camp and can assure readers the protesters are fully supportive of the logging industry, as long as it harvests the second growth.
If the loggers agree, they would do better to join the movement protecting the old-growth forests, which would go a long way to ending the blockage once and for all.
If, on the other hand, they support the government and their employers in logging the old growth, they should, like the protesters, have the courage of their convictions and hold up signs reflecting that.
P.S., the headline perpetuates the same misunderstanding — the demonstration at Fairy Creek was NOT against logging.
Paul Nicholson
Victoria
Transition money would save the trees
When it comes to logging sustainably, the B.C. government is failing us miserably. The 14 recommendations from last year’s strategic report commissioned by the government, “A New Future for Old Growth,” have not been acted upon.
It seems that the government is intent on stepping up the speed of logging until there is no intact old-growth forest left!
I understand that the government is being loyal to workers in the forest industry. I understand that it is standing with the elected band councils in securing the jobs they count on to bring much-needed dollars into their communities.
But those jobs will be gone in a few years as the remaining few per cent of the giant trees are destroyed. Why not save the trees from the saws now, before there is nothing left to save?
The long term value of intact, alive ancient forest ecosystems far surpasses that of the short-term gain from selling the logs.
Much like the way the government provided transition financing for workers who lost their income due to COVID-19 over the past year, could they not provide those who would have gained income from old-growth logging with transition financing until new job opportunities are in place?
People and businesses are astonishingly creative and resilient when it comes to making a living. We are seeing that presently, as restaurants are trying to re-hire former employees who have looked for employment elsewhere, and found it.
Anke van Leeuwen
Victoria
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