Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

A quiz for Joe Oliver: How many died building CPR?

Of railroads and pipelines In his rant yesterday against environmentalists and radicals, Canada's natural resources minister contrasted the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway with the approval process of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline. So I poked around and dug up some facts for his perusal.

But, first, a recap. A day before the hearings into the Northern Gateway pipeline, Joe Oliver released an open letter complaining that the regulatory process is broken and that "environmental and other radical groups" are slowing things down when it comes to forestry, mining and energy and energy projects.

Mr. Oliver was quite forceful, warning that such groups "threaten to hijack our regulatory system to achieve their radical ideological agenda.

As I wrote yesterday, if he's only looking for sanity in the regulatory system, I agree completely. Having said that, he didn't specify who he was talking about, and thus tarred everyone with the same brush. And there are legitimate concerns about various and sundry projects that should not be dismissed, or lumped in with Mr. Oliver's radicals.

Here's the section from his letter that also gave me pause: "Anyone looking at the record of approvals for certain major projects across Canada cannot help but come to the conclusion that many of these projects have been delayed too long. In many cases, these projects would create thousands upon thousands of jobs for Canadians, yet they can take years to get started due to the slow, complex and cumbersome regulatory process. For example, the Mackenzie Valley Gas Pipeline review took more than nine years to complete. In comparison, the western expansion of the nation-building Canadian Pacific Railway under Sir John A. Macdonald took four years."

Comparing the issues of building a railway in the 1800s to the environmental, First Nations and other concerns of today are, of course, ridiculous. But since Mr. Oliver raised the issue, there are some facts that should be noted.

First, thousands of Chinese workers were brought in to help build the line. Not only were they paid less, many succumbed to disease or died in work accidents. It was, of course, an ugly period of history. Here's how the Kids' Site of Canadian Settlement puts it:

"Between 1881 and 1884, as many as 17,000 Chinese men came to B.C. to work as labourers on the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Chinese workers worked for $1 a day, and from this $1 the workers had to still pay for their food and their camping and cooking gear. White workers did not have to pay for these things even though they were paid more money ($1.50-$2.50 per day). As well as being paid less, Chinese workers were given the most back-breaking and dangerous work to do. They cleared and graded the railway's roadbed. They blasted tunnels through the rock. There were accidents, fires and disasters. Landslides and dynamite blasts killed many. There was no proper medical care and many Chinese workers depended on herbal cures to help them.

"The Chinese railway workers lived in camps, sleeping in tents or boxcars. They did their own cooking over open outdoor fires. They mainly ate a diet of rice and dried salmon, washed down with tea. With their low salaries they could not afford fresh fruit and vegetables, so many of the men suffered from scurvy (a painful disease caused by a diet without vitamin C).

"The camps were crowded. Diet and living conditions were poor. Many got sick. In the winter it was very cold and the open fires were the only way of keeping warm. Whenever the workers put down more tracks, the camps had to be moved further down the line. When it was time to move camp, the Chinese workers would take down their tents, pack their belongings and move everything to the next camp, often hiking over 40 kilometres."

There were many other issues, as well, of course, notably the negotiations with First Nations, talks that ended with Treaty 7, and which are a source of debate.

"The Dominion of Canada, eager to secure land for the Canadian Pacific Railway, sought lasting settlements with First Nations in the West," according to Calgary Economic Development.

"Persuaded that such agreements represented the best hope for lasting peace and survival of their people, Southern Alberta's chiefs – notably Chief Crowfoot of the Siksika (Blackfoot) Nation – signed Treaty 7 in 1877. Under the terms of the treaty, First Nations ceded their traditional hunting territory in exchange for designated reserves and annual payments from the Queen and/or continued hunting and trapping rights in the annexed territories.

"Treaty 7 succeeded in securing the survival of Southern Alberta's First Nations, but at great cost. Adapting a traditional nomadic way of life to a sedentary agrarian existence was a difficult transition and the area following the new treaty was time of struggle and hardship for the Blackfoot."

Much of the documentation about Chief Crowfoot notes that he got a lifetime pass for the CPR, as did Albert Lacombe, the missionary who helped the railway in negotiations.

Perhaps, Mr. Oliver, there's a reason the railroad was built so quickly. And, hopefully, time has taught Canada how to proceed.

Original Article
Source: Globe 

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