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Book review: The Wild Horses of the Chilcotin: Their History and Future, by Wayne McCrory

Dec 4th, 2024 by

I am stating up front that there is no pretense of objectivity in this review. The Chilcotin is my favourite area of British Columbia, and I had the good fortune to see a herd of the wild horses that are the subject of this book. They were magnificent.

This book addresses several topics. One of them is, where did the wild horses come from? The genetic studies show that the horses in the Brittany Triangle, an area that includes Nunsti Provincial Park, are descendants of horses brought to Mexico by Spanish colonists during the 16th century. They were traded to First Nations further north, and this trade eventually extended to western Canada. The key point here is that they were already present when European explorers and settlers arrived in the British Columbia interior. (Mackenzie’s expedition was 1792-93, and Simon Fraser’s expedition was in 1808.) The wild horses east of the Brittany Triangle have a more diverse lineage; there was deliberate breeding with horses brought from Eastern Canada.

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Book review: Not On My Watch, by Alexandra Morton

Jun 24th, 2023 by

This book (available here) was written by a remarkable and courageous woman, Alexandra Morton of Echo Bay, British Columbia. It has 335 pages (not including notes), but it took me a long time to get through it. That’s because it contains several stories. Two of them are Morton’s personal history, and the picture she gives of life in the remote coastal communities of British Columbia. It’s something that most people who have spent most of their lives in Vancouver and Kelowna know nothing about.

Mostly, though, it’s the story of her battle against salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago off northern Vancouver Island. It began in 1989, and didn’t end until February, 2023.

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Rafe Mair honoured by the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society

Oct 17th, 2020 by

Rafe was the posthumous recipient of the annual Harry McWatters Founders Award.  The award was given to Mair in recognition of his leadership in the creation of estate winery licenses in 1979.  While there were many people who helped promote the idea of smaller estate wineries, it was Mair in his capacity as Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs who brought the legislation forward to the Bennett government.

Full press release

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Rafe’s latest book now available for mail order

Nov 8th, 2017 by

Here: Politically Incorrect: How Canada Lost Its Way and the Simple Path Home

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Iconic broadcaster and political commentator Rafe Mair remembered at private service

Oct 31st, 2017 by

by Simon Little and Niki Reitmayer at Global News: Iconic broadcaster and political commentator Rafe Mair remembered at private service

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The Tyee Launches the Rafe Mair Memorial Fund For Environmental Reporting

Oct 24th, 2017 by

As a politician, broadcaster, advocate and speaker of truth to power, Rafe Mair was crucial to the public conversation in B.C.

When, just two weeks ago, he died at age 85, the tributes poured out.

Rafe left provincial politics for the airwaves, his radio shows reaching people not just in B.C. but across Canada with his hard-nosed commentaries and fearless interviews, always in defence of the province he loved.

When his radio employer dropped him despite top ratings, The Tyee was pleased and fortunate to provide Rafe a home. For over a decade, he was a regular Tyee columnist enjoying zero censorship, as he himself proclaimed. Here at The Tyee, Rafe was free to wield facts and common sense against forces of greed and destruction — and to defend B.C.’s natural legacy.

Rafe Mair earned the title “conscience of the province,” as Tyee Founding Editor David Beers stated the day after he passed away.

That is why The Tyee is honoured to announce that we — with your help —will be launching the Rafe Mair Memorial Fund, dedicated to funding investigations and solutions reporting about environmental issues in B.C. As Rafe regularly reminded us, there is no shortage of stories to cover, whether it be Site C, fracking, mining, wild salmon, pipelines, run-of-river generators or forest habitat. And we invite you to add your own topics to the list. Read full article at The Tyee

Paul Watson weighs in: Rafe’s Ocean of Courage: Paul Watson on His Friend, and Building a Legacy

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Trevor Lautens: It was never anything personal

Oct 20th, 2017 by

Article by Trevor Lautens in North Shore News: Rough Rafe: It was never anything personal

Earlier article by Lautens: Bombastic broadcaster recalls talk radio heyday

Excerpt:

He wore an XXL-size personality and brandished a Napoleonic bravado in attack. (Daring a one-way ticket to Elba?) Always in motion, Rafe kicked up so much dust that his career in the Bill Bennett cabinet – health, environment, constitutional adviser – is almost lost in the memory clouds.

He’s proud of it. His own cryptic list: ‘‘Enabled cottage wineries. Beat back banks. Also fought several environmental battles including Kemano Completion Project, saved Skagit, placed moratorium on uranium, stopped killing of wolves.’’

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Jon McComb on Rafe Mair

Oct 20th, 2017 by

CKNW broadcaster John McComb salutes his mentor Rafe Mair for unparalleled journalistic excellence and talking publicly about depression.

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Joseph Planta: Remembering Rafe Mair

Oct 17th, 2017 by

Rafe is remembered by his friend and former producer Shiral Tobin and former CKNW reporter George Garrett, with clips from interviews he did with host Joseph Planta. Audio clip

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Riding with Rafe: 10 years of stories from a BC icon

Oct 12th, 2017 by

Rafe Mair in Campbell River in 2009, speaking out against GE’s $5 Billion proposed Bute Inlet private power project (Image: Damien Gillis)

Few people are lucky enough to work with, let alone become close friends with one of their heroes. Over the past decade, I got to ride shotgun with mine: legendary politician, broadcaster and environmental defender Rafe Mair. But on our many road trips around this great province, hosting townhall meetings on pipelines, tankers, hydropower, wild salmon and the public interest, it was me who did the driving. Rafe supplied the music – from his ipods full of jazz and old-time classics – and, of course, the stories. So many good stories. As we remember Rafe, following his passing at the age of 85, I’d like to pass on a few.

Now, this is not meant as hagiography to gloss over Rafe’s imperfections, which he readily acknowledged were many – rather as my own recollections of the tales my friend and mentor told me and the adventures we had together. Read full article at The Common Sense Canadian

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