canadiana
finely crafted little gem
Rick Dennis Cowichan News
Montgomery's Tavern is an historical homage to the Tavern that stood near Yonge and Eglington in Toronto.
Many years ago as I stood outside the Occidental Hotel at the top of Bastion and Fitzwilliam looking out over Nanaimo Harbour I had the distinct feeling of of a heavy melancholy shadow that hung over my view. This was of course the site of the worst mining disaster in Canada's history. On May 3, 1887 one hundred and fifty miners lost their lives in an explosion at the No. 1 Esplanade mine. What made my feelings all the more intense was the awareness that almost 155 years later, on May 9, 1992 (almost to the day), in Plymouth, Nova Scotia , on Canada's east coast 26 miners had lost their lives in an explosion at the Westray Mine. The circumstances were tragically similar and it is heartbreaking to think that in both cases, over a century apart, the miners had complained to the mine owners, inspectors and government officials that conditions in the mines were extremely dangerous and that safety regulations were being ignored.
I Hear the Voice combines First Nations imagery with a little dose of Rasta testifying. I had the priveledge to work as a school counsellor at North Oyster School just outside of Ladysmith and close to the Hul'qumi'num First Nations Community of Shell Beach. With my trusty friend and social worker Bryan Gooden we made a point of not not only working with some wonderful children, but also visiting their homes and families overlooking the ocean. Not only did we spend time at places like the community health centre, we were invited to celebrations at the Big House, and perhaps most special of all we were accompanied by the tribal Chief, and trekked through woods to visit sacred bathing pools surrounded by ancient rock carvings.