Tag Archive: Twentieth Century


Sharon McIvor

Sharon McIvor

The local community college has a speakers series, its first event of the season last night featured a local member of their faculty, Sharon McIvor. Sharon has an activist’s bent to her career. She is A lawyer but generally refuses income from her place on the bar.  Does not like to practice criminal law,she has however a couple of presidents to her credit including O’Connor vrs Canada were she got on going revisions to the way victims statements are reviewed in sexual assault cases and the McIvor amendment to the Indian act that brought 46,000 grand children of the  Indian women that lost their status over time  through marriage. The women were restored in the 1980s by legislation but their grandchildren were not at that time.

Sharon voiced concerns on poverty oppression and missing or murdered women. she has a voice at the UN through a couple of committees .Sharon also voiced concerns about the relationship of First Nations with the Police. she also said that if it were proportional to population there would be about 19,000 missing or murdered non aboriginal women.

She feels that the way government is addressing issues is by providing money for training to groups, personal safety is the one she took ownership of for her people. She alluded to it being something but seemed less than satisfied.

Sharon McIvor says she was born in the Nicola Valley and can trace her mother’s side as always being here.

Today in History: November 5 1943

The World War Two bombing of the Vatican

In rememberance: 1944 D day.

Nelson Atkinson was a friend of mine  although a generation ahead I had some good times with him as he lived out his life after surviving the D day Normandy landing and its further push to the end of the Second world war. He had a logging truck here after the war for a time and hauled logs in a single axle Mac truck for Nicola Valley sawmills ( now Tolko industries.) later he was the maintenance man at the memorial arena. His wife worked for Ted Taylor another veteran and the local jeweler that sold me my rings for my marriage.

All these people thought that  they were lucky to be alive .

Nelson said that he was fond of turning up his collar on his Battle Dress tunic , when challenged by the Sergent ” that’s not regulation ” he replied ” who are we fighting here sarge the Nazis or what” . To be sure the man drove an ammunition truck across the mulberry, man-made harbour at Juno beach in 1944 but he raised an important question. “who are we fighting” as in all conflict it is not as simple as an apparent enemy as the fight is also about defining your values and what you will live for.

Nelson had a name sake. A man with the same first and last name, but Canon Nelson Atkinson was the priest at the local St Michael’s church on Chapman street and Granite ave. He was also the last commander of the local Mortar platoon support company, of the Rocky Mountain Rangers, here in town. The unit was cut and the armoury sold to a local service organization for a dollar in the 1070’s; so they are both gone. However the definition of what we are remains in part by those imputs and will go on in the mighty tension of time .

Cheers to what we are and who we fight  and its results that will affect us all.

Today in History: June 6,1985

The buried body of Wolfgang Gerhard is discovered to be that of Josef Mengele ” The angel of death” of the Nazis concentration camp system.

Elder recognition

The local public community college ,NVIT had a recognition ceremony yesterday with a lunch and a band called The Hatfields providing music.

Opinion:

The first nations people that run the school put a lot of stock in showin respect to  the earth and its systems including their elders.

Today in history: September 13 1812

War of 1812:A supply wagon is attacked  trying to relive Fort Harrison and becomes known as the Attack on the Narrows.