Have your say

More than symbolic

In her June 13 article It's a small amount, but a big symbol, Katherine Dow speaks of the treaties between First Nations and the Crown, and the resultant annual treaty payments, as a symbolic social event. But it's much more than that.

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 established the official process for negotiating subsequent Crown acquisition (read "expropriation") of title to Indian lands. Following the American Revolution, some 23 treaties were entered into in what was then Upper Canada.

The Robinson-Huron, Robinson Superior and Manitoulin treaties were signed during the period from 1850 to 1862. The largest community on Manitoulin Island proudly proclaims itself as Wikwemikong Unceded First Nation, as its chief in 1862 refused to sign the Manitoulin Treaty.

Commencing in 1871, there were some 11 numbered treaties, seven of which cover parts of what is now Manitoba. A number of those treaties also include "adhesions" to add additional Indian communities and terms to the original documents.

The numbered treaties cover the area from the Quebec border in northern Ontario, north of the CNR line through to the area north of Thunder Bay. Treaty No. 3 covers the area south of the CNR line and west of Thunder Bay to Lake of the Woods. With the exception of Treaty No. 9, which covers the northern half of Ontario, treaties No. 6-11 cover the remainder of what is now Saskatchewan and Alberta, plus parts of the Northwest Territories. It is noteworthy that virtually none of B.C. has been surrendered under treaty.

So the treaties themselves are a big deal to most First Nations, as they remain as both benchmarks and symbols of unfulfilled expectation in their relationship with Canada. Trivial treaty annuities are a symbolic reminder not only to First Nations, but to all Canadians, that "Indians" are the original stewards of our great country. Let's bear this in mind as we approach our national birthday on July 1.

J. HUGH McMORROW

Winnipeg

The new racism

Re: Baby bear outgrowing zoo but no public concern (June 14). I am 100 per cent behind the protection of all animals on this planet. But speciesism has become the new racism.

People are up in arms about a cute bear cub's chance of survival. The seal hunt is a constant point of contention. Puppy mills bring people to tears. Yet nobody cries about the deplorable conditions in which food animals are kept.

What about the animals we deem ugly enough to eat? Imagine spending your whole life cooped up in a cage only to be murdered and have your flesh devoured by a species that believes itself to be superior. Why is this still permissible?

Humans finally have enough knowledge about nutrition that we no longer need to feed on the flesh of defenceless animals. Yet we continue to do so because they are tasty.

If it had been a baby piglet found, would we be so concerned about its chance of survival? I just think that if someone is going to be an advocate for animals rights, they should do so in a much less hypocritical fashion. All animals on this planet have value and deserve a chance at life. Not just cute, cuddly bear cubs.

MINDY LICHTMAN

Winnipeg

The Ontario bear rehabilitation centre Bear with Us has offered to care for Makoon. An independent airline company has offered to provide free air transport. Still, the Manitoba government is refusing this opportunity.

LILY HOBEL

Toronto

Bring on 'enviropreneurs'

Re: Tick tock tick... (June 11). Sustainable development is just another euphemism for socialist central planning. Capitalism is what has proven itself to cure the world of what ails it.

What humanity needs is free-market environmentalists who understand the power property rights, common law and markets have in solving the problems of humanity. Enviropreneurs will be the ones who come up with solutions, as they will be motivated by profit instead of subjected to the central plan.

Gwynne Dyer neglects to mention that wealthy countries such as Canada have such a low birth rate that we are not even replacing ourselves. This suggests that the wealthier other countries become, the fewer people they will produce, too.

No one knows what the future holds for planet Earth, but we do know the central planners have brought misery to millions in the past. Mankind has been better off putting its faith in liberty than into nice-sounding theories like socialism that don't work.

CHRIS BUORS

Winnipeg

50 is fast enough

In his June 7 letter, 50 too slow for Grant, Allan Levine asks what sense it makes for the 50-kilometre-per-hour speed limit on the stretch of Grant near Nathaniel. I believe it's called "school zone."

Sarcasm aside, I'll bet that the people who get moving violations there are predominantly people who speed. No amount of tinkering with measuring devices or niggling about obscure theory in the courts will change that fact.

Keep the red-light cams. Keep the traffic-control officers. Let the speeders whine.

DAMON RONDEAU

Winnipeg

Off by a month

Regarding the entry for Today in Manitoba History for June 12, the date of the Guess Who's performance at the White House is off by a month and five days. The Winnipeg group played at the White House by invitation of Tricia Nixon on July 17, 1970. The event was in honour of Prince Charles and Princess Anne's visit to Washington.

The group had already met the royal siblings a few days earlier at a youth event in Winnipeg at the International Inn on July 15. Following this performance, bassist Jim Kale remarked to the royals, "We'll see you in Washington."

It was reported prior to their White House performance that the group had been requested by a White House press aide to delete American Woman from their set, "as a matter of taste." They complied and played Hand Me Down World instead.

JOHN EINARSON

Winnipeg

Artistic sympathy

So, Patt Dawson (At least we're sunny, Letters, June 11) is offended by the library sculpture. Was the article about it fully read?

The artist was blown away by the Prairie vistas. To quote: "When I got here, I was overwhelmed by the sense of space and the sky," Bill Pechet said. "If one doesn't look deep enough, you might perceive it as empty but there's tons of creative energy within that space."

Hardly "shameful and insulting."

STUART KAYE

Winnipeg

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 15, 2012 0