Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 30, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba A13 Winnipeg free press comment editor monday october 30, 2006 Gerald flood 697-7269 and beyond in Alberta even Trade unionists want a shot at picking the next tory Leader one party state i f politics makes for strange bed Fellows the conservative Leader ship race in Alberta to replace Premier Ralph Klein is becoming a veritable orgy. We be got liberals jumping in bed with conservatives and Trade unionists snuggling up with the tories too. We have so Many strangers in bed Caligula should be in the race. A few weeks ago Frank Bruseke the president of the Alberta teachers association who a also a former Liberal la from Cal Gary announced he a taken out a tory party membership. Not Only that Bruseke is urging his 33,000 Mem Bers to buy tory memberships. And not Only that the Alberta building trades Council ? an umbrella group of 16 unions with 48,000 members ? announced it would buy up to 10,000 tory memberships and give them away to its Union members for free. Understandably the news made head lines. It was As though the United Auto workers were endorsing Stephen Harper. So Why Are Alberta Union members flirting with the tories Well after having their noses pressed against the Bullet proof window of right Wing political Power in Alberta for generations Albertas left leaning citizens finally see a Way in ? through a crack in the door called the conservative leadership race. Unlike traditional leadership races which rely on a Dele Gate selection system ? such As the Federal Liberal contest now underway ? the Alberta conservatives choose their Leader through a one person one vote system much like a general elec Tion. Pretty much anybody 16-and-older can join the tories and vote in the leadership race. Compared to a general election it wont take Many votes to win. Ralph Klein after All became Premier by winning just 46,000 votes in the 1992 tory Leader ship race with a disproportionately Large number of ballots coming from conservative Rural Alberta. With that in mind there is an inevitable logic to what the labour groups Are doing. As a flyer distributed within the Sheet Metal workers Union pointed out this is your Chance to pick a labour Friendly Leader in the . Party. Like or dislike the party we need to choose their Leader. We need the working albertan to have a voice in and Brusek ers logic is identical i think there a a Good Chance this person is going to be Premier for two years before we have a provincial general election ? so Why not vote for him ? and have a direct so in theory if the teachers and construction workers got together they could pretty much pick Albertas next Premier. Of course that a not How its going to happen. Its notoriously difficult to get Union members in Alberta particularly teachers to pull together in one direction. You might As Well get a Herd of cats to dance Swan Lake. However even if Only a few thousand Union members get involved in the race they could perhaps swing the results to favour a More labour Friendly candidate. Perhaps. One problem is that a labour Friendly conservative in Alberta is the very definition of an oxymoron. The other is that this strange twist of events has raised a troubling question what has happened to democracy in Alberta some Politi Cal observers have begun calling Alberta a Post democratic state a one party state where the opposition parties Are no longer a Factor. The president of the Alberta federa Tion of labour Gil Mcgowan wrote an editorial a few weeks ago saying Union members who join the tories Are sending the implicit message that resistance is futile and As a result they re making it More Likely that the tory one party state will hang on no matter How unhealthy that might be for our but its not Only traditional unionists who Are upset by the shift in the political landscape. As one Long time tory complained to me is this what we want ? mass memberships from groups that hate our guts if it want so serious it a be funny. Of Heck go ahead and chuckle anyway. Give a Giggle to the thought that Good old Alberta tories Are afraid their party is about to be hijacked by special interests groups. Or at least a different kind of special interest group. Move Over big business ? and make Way in the tory bed for big unions. Graham Thomson is a columnist for the Edmonton journal. sometimes Nice Guys like Bob finish first m embers of the know it All class have chastised voters who think candidates personalities Are More important than their policies. But these voters Are Correct. And its Why Bob Rae Ontario a former nip Premier will Likely do Well at the Liberal leadership convention in Montreal in a few weeks. Personalities Are important in politics today because promises Arent Worth much. A candidate May fully intend to implement his or her policies but then something comes up. Changes can take place at lightning Speed in our glob Al Economy. Some of them Are unexpected. These changes May make it impossible for a politician to go Forward with even his or her Favourite policies. Or a new Issue May pop up that is far More important than those in a candidates platform and must be dealt with immediately. Voters understand they can to predict Many of the things that will happen during the course of a politicians term of office. So they Are inter ested in the personalities of candidates ? How Well will they handle the unexpected these voters definition of personality usually includes a persons skills character coolness values ? and whether he or she is a Nice because i be muddled around in politics i a often asked about politicians. I a rarely asked about their policies. I a often asked what Are they like anyway the emphasis on personality has Given Rae a big advantage in the Liberal leadership race. For one thing Rae actually has Little Box tells Story of loneliness despair Toronto. His Uncle Jackie a stage and to per former died two weeks ago. He and Rae a father Saul helped put food on the fatherless family table As part of a vaudeville troupe called the five Raes of Sunshine. Rae has tried to turn what some believe to be a weakness ? his five troubled years As Premier of Ontario ? into a personality strength. He says he has experience. He knows now what to do. And because he has some of the Liberal party a Best economic brains working with him his eco nomic policies Are Strong. A Day after his piano playing gig Rae gave a major economic speech. Another possible weakness ? his late conver Sion to the Liberal party ? has also been spun around. The fact he quit the nip and later joined the liberals Means he is open minded a personality trait much valued by liberals. Liberals love to say they Are an open tent party accepting people from All walks of life. Rae his fans argue is just another convert. Hallelujah these same fans also argue that Rae snap past May attract voters worried about the Fate of Canadas social programs. Rae a biggest personality plus however May be that he is different from prime minister Stephen Harper. Harper Many canadians would agree has worked hard and has had astounding Success for a Leader of a minority government. Rae a biggest personality plus May be that he is different from prime minister Stephen Harper a personality. According to the delegates to whom i have spoken he is approachable witty and Blunt when he has to be. And he has a Hobby ? playing the piano Well and writing pop songs. How Many politicians do you know who have a Hobby they re Good at Many of us think there a something wrong with people who Are workaholics. Last week Rae played at a gala fundraiser in but he is a bit stiff. Rae is not. His Many years in the Public spotlight have made him comfortable in Small or Large groups whether these groups Are for or against him. Look at it this Way Bob Rae is not Robert but Stephen Harper is not Steve except to . President George w. Bush. Certainly some conservatives Are going to pick on Rae snap past and his lacklustre years As Ontario a Premier. Many in Ontario i a told have not forgot ten Rae Days ? holidays Public servants were forced to take because the government had financial difficulties. But Rae a supporters Are hoping Many canadians will get tired of these attacks and say in effect quit picking on Bob he a a Nice a Nice Guy who May Well finish first. Tom Ford is managing editor of the issues network. i to a Box with a lot of history and it needs to be returned to its owner. The woman ill Call Kokum grandma ? who does to want to be identified ? noticed it right away at a local Church rummage Sale a few years ago. The Box sat on a Long table along with other curios and castoffs. Like Many garage Sale shoppers Kokum said she hid her excitement and waited a couple minutes before picking it up. Then she nonchalantly asked about the Price. It was a very reasonable Low Price. They did to even look at it says Kokum. So i bought we re sitting in the retired woman a sunroom where Light shines on her table of afternoon work filling halloween bags with assorted goodies and then carefully tying them closed. I brought it Home and looked at it inside and out. And right away i could Tell that is somebody a Little treasure. It has to be says Kokum. I thought i be got to try to get this Back to the rightful owner. Somehow or another i have a feel ing its a Young after answering a phone Call in the Kitchen she comes Back with the Box. She places it Down gently beside me. Its carefully bundled in Bubble wrap. Its roughly five inches Square and three inches in height. The sides have tiny dovetail joints. They Are delicate yet Strong enough to withstand the years. Two slivers of Darker Wood Are inlaid in its handle. Fine workmanship. I Trace my fingers gently along the hand painted school Emblem ? Choo Utla residential school ? that sworn and Dis integrating. 1952 is also painted on it meaning the original owner is Likely in his 60s or 70s. Kokum says she thinks the boy made it in woodworking class. The Box smells of nothing. Not Cedar not Pine not any thing. No clue to what its made of or what it held. Maybe the varnish has stolen its scent. I open the Box gingerly. Its almost like a jewelry Box. Maybe it was made for a mom or a sister Kokum said she contacted a few organizations and Media but nothing Ever came of it. There a a Chance we agree the owner in to alive. But she still wants to reunite the Box directly to the owner ? or the family. That piece of work is a part of history says Kokum. I have a feeling its very important to him. Its like a miss ing piece of his Young life. And maybe that missing piece will help him rebuild his Puzzle. To retrieve his the chances of finding the owner Are slim. Over 100,000 children were placed in residential schools across the country. For decade after decade generation after generation. Many of them Are silent now. Kokum believes this boy ? now a Man ? is still alive. She never went to residential school but says she can relate to the experience. Sometimes there is an existential loneliness when one is in a residential school Many times that feeling of Lone Liness can be very Sharp says Kokum. Sometimes i think that a what he must go we discuss How the Box got to the local rummage Sale and the meaning of the various words carved on the sides of the Box ?2nd meaning of Choo Utla ? laugh ing was there a contest the Box a owner had won maybe the Box was a prize Given out that year. There Are so Many missing pieces in the history of our families that have gone to residential school. Answers that we need As to what happened to our families says Kokum. Many of us did to get to know our Brothers and Sisters who went there or who passed and so the Hunt begins. A Google search shows Choo Utla residential school want from the West coast at All like wed guessed. Its in car Cross Yukon about 50 Miles South of Whitehorse. That a Tagish and tlingit country. The school opened in 1891 and was run by the anglican Church. In 1965 when the Powers that be were realizing what a Complete failure residential schools had become they closed Down. Indian children could to be folded into White people after All. Yes there were a few who survived unscathed but for the most part indians struggled with the loss of their identity ties to family and Community and the shame of abuse. I find a faded Black and White photo of Choo Utla. Its a Small school reminiscent of a farmhouse. It housed 40 pupils and eight staff. One source says the children were orphans but another says they were taken from their Homes by Force. says the residential school was named Choo Utla because of a Mountain Waterfall located nearby. Its the Indian word for laughing that a it for now but there a More dig Ging to be done. This Humble wooden Box May offer a residential school survivor some closure. Maybe their hands will once again hold the Box lovingly in their Lap. Or maybe they la Burn it and release it to the Cre Ator. Maybe they la throw it against a Wall. Or maybe they la Bury it along with memories they be held on to. Its their Choice. So Well keep searching. Let me know if you can help. ;