***Editor's Note: The following Open Letter to the Mayor and Council of Quesnel first appeared on the local FB group Quesnel In Action on July 21st, the same day that Mayor Simpson had the Quesnel Gold Pan City sign removed from its old location at the start of the Barkerville Hwy and Hwy 97 North. The Author of this letter Debra Cann McKelvie administers Quesnel In Action.
Preface to the Letter from Quesnel In Action: Do not comment unless you read the entire report. Yes, It's extensive. It shows that the relocation of the gold pan was kept from the public and not voted on by Council until Oct. of 2019. At that time, a committee of local folks opposed to the relocation was formed to get a petition started which has since been hand delivered in early May to Mayor and Council. The report given by the City Manager on June 23, 2020 is the main focus of the report, however we have taken it several steps further to show you, the public, the actual minutes and relevant reports on the issue of relocating the gold pan. Judge for yourselves. Thank you for taking the time to get through this and PM me if you have any questions as I will not be fielding questions here.
July 21, 2020
Open letter to Mayor and Council City of Quesnel
Re: City Manager’s “fact check” on relocation of gold pan - June 23, 2020
Last fall, after it was first made public that the City had voted at a meeting to relocate the gold pan to the rail yard, I requested all the information through FOI regarding the relocation of the gold pan over the past three years. Mainly, in view of Mayor Simpson asserting that the gold pan was simply a marketing “gimmick” from the 80's and the matter of relocating the gold pan had been settled two - three years, or perhaps two years previously by Council, and therefore was a done deal.
I am confused, as will you be, at the report given by our City Manager at the Council meeting on June 23, 2020 unless there are two sets of minutes, one for the City and one for the public.
It is interesting to note that at the Council meeting just prior to June 23, 2020, the City Manager was given license in a policy resolution to oversee and reprimand the Council members. To my knowledge this should not be the mandate of any City Manager as politics and the operations of running the City are to be kept strictly separate.
Quite frankly, I was shocked at the footage I watched of the June 23, 2020 Council meeting as I certainly had NOT discovered the same information as the City Manager. I thought it best to have another serious examination of the materials sent to me and to do some careful research of my own. Not only was our senior member of Council completely shut down by our Mayor because he questions and sometimes opposes the status quo, he was not given anywhere near his 15 minutes to defend the allegations against him. What did Ron Paull want to say?
From what I have seen and not heard from our Council members through reaching out personally (with respect to the relocation of the gold pan) to all of our Council members via email and hand delivering a 600+ name petition is puzzling. The silence from our elected officials, other than the Mayor, with respect to the matter is doubly puzzling. I can only come to the conclusion that the bullying and intimidation by the Mayor of our Council members is out of hand and must be addressed.
Swiss Policy Research (SPR), has published a recently updated report titled, Facts about Covid-19. This is a comprehensive report loaded with factual data, expert opinion and comprehensive analysis. The report’s summary of 30 “facts” strongly contradict the official narrative and raises serious questions about the need for, and effectiveness of such drastic reactions as those that have been imposed by most governments around the world. I had thought to select only a few from the list but ultimately decided to provide the entire “overview” which includes numerous links to essential sources:
A decision passed by Quesnel's City Council back in January of 2017 to remove the Quesnel Gold Pan City sign located at the junction of Hwy. 97 North and the Barkerville Hwy and relocate it in the downtown core next to the train station has flared up three years later sparking local citizens in the community to voice their concerns in the media and holding a major Protest Rally that took place on May 31st, 2020 at the sign's location
The Gitxsan: Betrayal of a Nation by Arthur Topham January 27, 2004
“We know that justice and generosity can flourish only in an atmosphere of trust. For if individuals and minorities do not feel protected against the possibility of the tyranny of the majority, if French-speaking Canadians or native peoples or new Canadians do not feel they will be treated with justice, it is useless to ask them to open their hearts and minds to their fellow Canadians.”
– Pierre Trudeau, April 17, 1982
The irony contained in the Globe & Mail’s January 27, 04 front page story “Throne Speech has native focus” sure was not lost on the 50 Hereditary Chiefs of the Gitxsan Nation and their 5000 band members living in the north-western region of central British Columbia.
Just weeks ago, on the 14th of January, this same group of frustrated, disillusioned, yet determined people, filed a lengthy and controversial Complaint to the Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) and the federal Minister of Justice, Mr. Irwin Cotler citing a shocking list of grievances against an array of highly prominent B.C. judges, lawyers, law firms, politicians and corporations all linked to a host of crimes ranging from misconduct to deceit, bribery, corruption, obstruction of justice and complicity, the sum of which has devastated and endangered the 33,000 square kilometre area of their traditional lands.
First and foremost of the complaints is the conduct of B.C.’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Donald J. Brenner while presiding over the “restructuring” proceedings related to a large forest products company in Prince Rupert, B.C.; one in which the provincial government held controlling interest and declining revenues. That initial example, shown in great detail within the lengthy submission, exemplified at the onset the serious nature of the many other accusations of fault contained within the document, illustrating once again the seemingly endless challenges which have plagued the treaty process in B.C. for decades.
Readers may recall that it was this same First Nation that captured headlines across the country during the latter part of the Mulroney era when what the Claimants describe as “arguably the most important case in Canadian jurisprudence” the Gitxsan Wet’suwet’en land claims trial, known as Delgamuukw, finally concluded with judgment on March 8, 1991, after 374 protracted court days stretching over a three year period.
According to Ron Jackson and Robert Jackson, the two signatories of the Complaint representing the 50 Hereditary Gitxsan Chiefs and their people, the original Delgamuukw trial was a staggeringly complex and insidious deception that saw figures from all levels of government, the judiciary, industry and the media conspiring to foist upon the general public, and specifically the Gitxsan people themselves, a horrendous “legal” hoax which would allow the B.C. government to further augment its power over the traditional territories of the Gitxsan Wet’suwet’en for the benefit of all vested interests except the indigenous inhabitants of the region themselves.
The list of characters in this epic drama of alleged deceit and corruption is so inclusive that it leaves no stone unturned insofar as the various levels of government and the judiciary are concerned. In fact the list of adversaries aligned against this beleaguered Nation has, in the eyes of the 50 Hereditary Chiefs, virtually eliminated any possibility that the Gitxsan Complainants might receive justice in their home province.
One of the better known secrets of the Cariboo is the fact that every Saturday night out in the little community of Cottonwood on the Barkerville highway the locals from around the area and Quesnel get together in the little log hall and play country music and dance the night away
This video here will give viewers an idea of the type of music being played. Enjoy.
In a secular age permeated by political correctness and enforced cultural pluralism where expressions of "Happy Holidays" perennially strive to overtake Christian tradition it's gratifying indeed to know that in BC's Cariboo region the Spirit of Christmas still lives on!
Beginning on Saturday the 13th of December, 2014 and running through to Monday the 15th Barkerville once again hosted their annual Victorian Christmas festivities and judging from the first day the event was enthusiastically attended and bound to be a success.
It was our first experience in traveling up to the old gold mining town of Barkerville to partake of Victorian Christmas and the day was blessed by perfect weather with bright blue sunshiny skies and the temperature just around freezing, conditions well suited for an old-fashioned sleigh ride around the town.
My wife and I had heard about the event in the local media and on Facebook where mention was made that the Hanson Family Singers out of Oregon were going to be performing at the Methodist Church in Barkerville where they would be sharing their "Treasures of Christmas" by singing traditional Christmas carols. It was something that both of us were interested in hearing and so we set out Saturday morning excited to spend a wintery day in BC's historic mining town.
The reception centre at Barkerville had been set up with displays for visitors showing many authentic historic Christmas images that the past had produced to celebrate this annual religious holy day as well as promotional displays to help out the Friends of Barkerville, a group of non-governmental local citizens who act in an advocacy capacity to enhance the experience of one of B.C.'s oldest and world famous historic sites.
A number of miniature displays were on hand some set up before the backdrop of the town painted by the Cariboo's famous Gold Rush artist Jason Curtis.
Even the old gold miners from day of yore were given the Santa Claus treatment to brighten up their suspended animation with coloured lights and flowing white beards.
Reid Street in downtown Quesnel was a virtual photographers dream come true this October 31st. Parents came from everywhere with their children and older kids and adults thronged the streets wearing their Halloween finest. The mood was festive and the shops and their staff were also enjoying the special occasion and handing out treats to all the little ghosties and ghoulies and comic book heroes. Enjoy!
