CKNW Editorial
for March 6, 2001

British Columbia has a proud history even though you’d never know it reading Canadian history or even contemporary news outlets. Some of the history is colourful, some of it significant, some both. What it is not, is well recorded.

There are good writings on it of course – I think of the histories done by Walter Sage and Margaret Ormsby – I was privileged to have been taught by both and Jean Barman’s wonderful West Beyond the West. To this list must be added Peter C Newman’s series on the Hudson’s Bay Company. Robin Fisher and the late David Ricardo Williams have added much useful stuff. I have long thought that Peter Newman, who is not a native British Columbian but has lived here long enough to combine the accuracy of observation with the detachment of a "foreigner" would be a first rate choice to do a popular history of our province.

What we have not done is properly honour our ancestors. I propose, for consideration by both the NDP and the Liberals, the creation of a department of government to be called the department of heritage. Now I know that there are archives, museums and other similar things already in the government and perhaps my idea might become a branch of a larger ministry called, for example, the Ministry of BC Heritage.

I believe that much of what I propose ought to be in and around the Parliament precincts in Victoria. Although many would want recognition spread around, Victoria is the capital and the place you should go to see history recorded.

Much of what I will recommend is by way of statues and I do so because they become a constant and visual reminder of who we were. And I would use the perimeter of the legislature grounds for statues. I would stay off the main lawns, with one exception I’ll mention in a moment, and use the borders … along the street and driveways.

I’m going on memory now – a most dangerous thing to do – but as I recall it, only Queen Victoria has a statue there. What about Sir James Douglas, arguably the founder of BC? Surely he should be smack dab in the middle of the large front lawn for all to see. And though one could argue that the Parliament Buildings themselves and the Empress Hotel across the street are his monuments, what about our great architect, Francis Rattenbury? And what about Emily Carr? Bruce Hutchison?

And, believe it or not, there are politicians too. I don’t suppose many would support John McCreight, our first and somewhat less than illustrious premier or the second, the rather strange man named William Smith who called himself Amor de Cosmos but surely we would agree on Sir Richard McBride. And what about John Oliver and Thomas D. Pattullo? And, of course, W.A.C. Bennett?

There are prominent aboriginal BC heroes too who should be honoured. One thinks quickly of Frank Calder

As always, the devil is in the details. I think that we start with a body to make selections but here again it gets a bit tricky. For if we set up a system where only the "establishment" get considered we will have a situation like the Order of B.C. or Order of Canada where none who dissent outside the permitted parameters of dissension in this anally retentive land of ours will be let in. We would reject Clare Culhane, for example, for even though she was a tireless worker for the downtrodden, she worked for prison inmates and was a communist to boot.

Part of the problem could be overcome by copying sports – there would have to be a waiting period, say 25 years which would just let W.A.C. Bennett be considered. But more than this, I think it should be a matter for a committee of the legislature and that there should be a commissioner appointed by the legislature to make recommendations based upon submissions to him. I’m not thinking of another high paid officer of the legislature – he or she could be paid a modest honorarium or per diem.

I believe that this is important and has been discouraged by those who think somehow that it’s wrong for a province to have its own heroes. But surely we don’t lessen our greater love of country by remembering who we were and who made us what we are today. And I by no means want to remember just politicians. We have Victoria Cross winners to remember … captains of industry and leaders of the trade union movement … we have mariners and pioneers in aviation. The list goes on.

This should be done around the province as well. I would start with provincial legislation, for example, declaring that Rattenbury designed buildings – the Old court houses in Vancouver, Kamloops and Nelson to just name three – are heritage buildings. I think that funds ought to be made available to help regions of the province remember their own in an appropriate way. I believe, for example, that Peter Wing, long time Mayor of Kamloops, was the first of Chinese origin to be first magistrate anywhere in Canada should be remembered in his home city helped by provincial shared funding.

This is not gut wrenching stuff but I daresay that most British Columbians would support a move to help us all remember who came before us and what they did.