LTE: Hudson Bay Company announced that they were going to auction off the Royal Charter of 1670

STOP TALKING AND DO SOMETHING!

It’s all well and fine that the leaders of all our Federal political parties pledge their allegiance to Canadian nationhood in the face of Donald Trump’s annexation noise, but when push comes to shove, do they do anything?

Sadly the answer seems to be no.

Just recently the Hudson Bay Company announced that they were going to auction off the Royal Charter of 1670 that created the Company and in the process, gave away approximately one third of present day Canada that belonged to Indigenous peoples.  While the significance of this colonial arrogance cannot be ignored, neither can the fact that its historical significance ranks with an original copy of the Canadian Constitution, as it formed the basis of the creation of modern day Western Canada and provided Imperial protection from American incursions into lands north of the 49th parallel.

Sadly, to my knowledge not a single Federal politician has insisted it be kept in Canada.  Why?

Equally unfortunate, Professor Cody Groat at the University of Western Ontario, has proclaimed that there is “zero legislative mechanism,” to see it is kept in Canada.  Groat then goes on to dismiss the Canadian Cultural Export Review Board, which could, in all probability, save this key piece of Canadian heritage, if the political and financial will was there.  Instead, Groat poor mouths the government’s attempts to preserve our heritage by stating that museum’s are chronically underfunded, as if that is an excuse not to do anything.

As a former museum curator, I was underwhelmed by the lack of initiative by our cultural sector’s ability to complain rather than do something.  I thought, and still believe, that if you were passionate enough about saving our heritage you stopped whining and went fundraising and guess what, people and corporations were willing to help, all you have to do is ask.

And again I ask, what are our local political candidates going to do about saving this priceless piece of Canadian heritage if they are elected?

You can bet a cup of Tim Horton’s coffee that the original copy of the American Constitution wouldn’t leave the U.S. if it came on the market.

Now why is this important to Cornwall and SD & G?

The modern Hudson Bay Company was created in 1821, when the British government forced its fierce and successful rival the North West Fur trade Company, to merge with it, to ensure its survival and hegemony over the Canadian West.

Any knowledge at all of our early European history will reveal that Eastern Upper Canada was settled by leading Nor’Westers Duncan Cameron, Simon Fraser, John Duncan Campbell, John McDonald of Garth, John Macdonell, Hugh McGillis, John MacGillivray and David Thompson.

In one of those twists of history, I was hired to establish Inverarden House to reflect the life of two of these Nor’Westers.  As part of my responsibilities I had to raise funds to furnish the house and learn about the material history of both Companies.  This knowledge led to me being hired as one of a team of appraisers from across Canada to evaluate the Hudson Bay Company’s donation of archival documents and artifacts to the Province of Manitoba in 1994.

Honoured to be able to take part in such an important appraisal and to see this three hundred year old plus collection in person, I will never forget the strange experience I had when introduced to the Canadian Minister of Culture, who asked me one of the silliest questions he could have thought of.  I expected to be questioned about the significance of Indigenous Chief “Big Bear’s” musket I was examining when he was introduced to me.  Instead, he said in a most superior tone of voice “Mr. Appraiser how much is that gun worth?”  I looked at him straight in the eye and replied: “Mr. Minister, how much is Canada’s heritage worth to you?”  His assistants gasped, he smiled and understood.

Let’s hope that our museum community and next government, also understand, and do something!

Ian Bowering.
Cornwall