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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1996-08-28, Page 5Arthur Black THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 1996 PAGE 5. Here's to Canada's buck-toothed national symbol You have to wonder who was in charge of the Canadian Brain trust when it came to choosing a national symbol. America opted for the ferocious bald eagle. Britain snagged the doughty, jut- jawed bulldog. France chose Winged Victory — an Amazonian warrioress with a sword in her hand and a don't-mess-with-me • look in her eye. And Canada? Canada settled for a rodent. The humble, hapless beaver. He's fat, he's dopey, he's bucktoothed. While the U.S. eagle is soaring, talons outstretched over all he surveys, and the British bulldog is shredding all corners and the French Winged Victory is lopping off heads to port and starboard, little Bucky Beaver is ... damming up moose pastures. His idea of a big night on the town is gnawing through the bark of a tag alder and hauling it back to his brush pile bungalow. The beaver. Having a beaver as your national symbol is like putting Mister Rogers in charge of a SWAT team. And yet... and yet... If the Canadian beaver is so bland and inoffensive, how come the Scots and the Swedes and the Chileans are cursing the A horrible law If any readers are in contact with Americans in the next little while, and the talk gets around to politics, you might like to point out that the United States has won the prize hands-down for the most idiotic law in the last 12 months. This is the Helms-Burton law which attempts to engineer an economic boycott of Cuba by punishing foreign firms who do business in Cuba, to.the extent of forbidding the officials of theie firms to enter the U.S., and to permit American firms and individuals with assets in Cuba currently being utilized by foreign firms, to take these firms to court in the U.S. Needless to say, the legislation has caused a storm of protest in Canada, Mexico and the European Common Market. A short time ago it was brought up at the G-7 conference in Lyon, France and the Americans were castigated for it, albeit in diplomatic terms. At the present time Canada has proposed legislation which orders Canadian firms not to comply with the Helms-Burton law; the same firms could face fines in Canada, if they choose to obey the American law rather than the Canadian law. When Mexican president Zedillo was recently in Ottawa he took an equally strong stand against the law. This was followed by a meeting of the Organization of American States, made up of all the countries of the western hemisphere. Although there were several abstentions, the vote against the American law was 23-1, with the U.S. understandably being the only country to little critter and telling him to go back where he came from? "Beavers are a plague", laments- Ander Uriarte, the forestry engineer in charge of Chiles National Environment Commission. "They are causing significant damage to forests throughout Tierra del Feugo and neighbouring islands." The beavers Senor Uriarte refers to all who have a figurative Maple Leaf tattooed on their backsides. They are descendants of 26 pairs of beaver that were "given" to Chile as a diplomatic nicety away back in the 1940s. Trouble is, when the beavers were released in the backwoods of Chile they found a land full of delicious trees...and no natural enemies. In Canada, wolves, coyotes and even bears dine regularly on beaver, keeping their numbers in check. Chile has condors,-foxes and mountain lions — but they have no taste for Canada's furry ambassador, so those 26 pairs have mushroomed into thousands upon thousands of beaver and their dams and their tree-munching are literally changing the face of Chile. And then there's Scotland. Years ago, a contingent of Canadian beaver was imported from Canada to live in an animal theme park on the banks of Loch Lomond. The park eventually closed and the animals were all shipped off to various zoos. All except the beaver which somehow got overlooked. The beavers went right on gnawing and damming and ... proliferating, as beavers are wont to vote in favour of it. On the heels of that vote the American delegation had the temerity to accuse the OAS of interfering in U.S. domestic affairs. In short the U.S. finds itself in this respect totally without allies. It is, as if Congress had decided that it was going to use a megabomb to kill a fly, and it did not really care who got hurt in the fallout. Jesse Helms, one of the progenitors of the infamous law, said as much when he was asked if the U.S. was willing to jeopardize relations with Canada, Mexico and the European Union. All he could reply was: "All we're saying is obey our law." It does not matter if it violates the sovereignty of all the above mentioned countries. To make matters worse the U.S. government is prepared to outright lie in order to defend its position. Perhaps the most egregious is that Canadians who do business with Cuba are dealing with properties which were stolen from Americans. To back up this claim it is alleged that the Cubans had been unwilling over the years to discuss compensation for the loss of these firms. This is most assuredly not the case. When it was pointed out to the American State Department that the Cubans had indeed made several efforts to negotiate with the U.S., the reply was that, while there were offers, the U.S. government did not take them seriously. In addition, many of the properties allegedly seized were taken from people who were Cuban citizens at the time and only later became Americans. do. Then, Scottish conservationists tried to re- introduce European beavers, a species that had been extinct in Scotland for centuries. The European beavers, alas, proved no match for their hardy colonial cousins. Our beavers it seems, are more, them, vigorous. The problem with Canadian beavers is that they are over-sexed. They mate enthusiastically with the European animals, which produces sterile hybrid offspring. It's not the first time Canadian beavers have dived head first knd uninvited into a European gene pool. They sexually infiltrated a similar breeding program in Sweden a few years back and blew it out of the water. So what are we to make of this meek and mild little butterball mascot of ours that has somehow raised the ire of Swedes, Scots and South Americans? Could it be that this diminutive paddle- tailed furball turns out to be the meanest international marauder of them all? Hard to say, but I don't hear diplomats from Stockholm, Edinburgh and Tierra del Feugo squawking about the depredations of American eagles or British Bulldogs. It's the Canadian beaver that's got them concerned. Perhaps it's time to change our motto. Forget Great White North. Lose. A Marie Usque Ad Mare. Let us-hang our new motto from the Bytown battlements and fly it high and proudly: LEAVE IT TO BEAVER! However, it was the American government, which 30 years ago said, that the principle of international law required that the plaintiffs be Americans at the time of seizure. Congress has never repudiated this law but the Helms-Burton law makes it legal for naturalized Americans to sue over properties that were expropriated when they were still Cuban citizens. Meanwhile Sen. Helms suffers from an even more advanced case of foot in mouth disease. His latest gaffe is to claim that the United States has, in fact, rescued all the protesting nations from tyranny. Perhaps he should take a refresher course in history; Canada has yet to be rescued by the United States from anything approaching tyranny. It was the U.S. which practised isolationism in both world wars until forced to enter. I'm not sure if Americans in general realize what a pariah they have become in the eyes of the international community on account of this infamous law. Washington seems to be saying that what is considered good for the U.S. must be good for the rest of the world, a refrain that has been used before. If Fidel Castro is such a threat, what about China whose human rights record is certainly no better than Cuba's if not worse? It can be argued that President Clinton signed the bill for political reasons only. Cuban Americans generally voted Republican in the last election and Clinton would like to reverse that. What better way to do it than to agree to a piece of legislation that is bound to please these voters. What a beautiful-case of penny wise and pound foolish! The Short of it By Bonnie Gropp It's the week of the blue funk It's the week of the blue funk. I have heard of people who suffer post Christmas depression, but for me, the week before school is one of the biggest down times. With the seasons pretty much at an end, the soccer field and ball diamonds sit virtually vacant, ghostly reminders of the summertime glory days. The pool empties and even now, a slight nip in the evening air foreshadows autumn's impending arrival. It wasn't always like this. I remember years ago, the anxiety of anticipation, the excitement of expectancy I felt preparing for my return to the hallowed halls of academia. Heading back to class meant last minute panic, seeing friends on a daily basis, new clothes and lastly, a chance to start out on the right foot with a different teacher. Which didn't always work. As in any situation, divergent personalities strain some relationships. In my years at school, I took my turns floating along the mainstream, as teacher's pet or on the hit list. Fortunately, the latter was only a two-time experience, because they were frustrating and confusing. Suffice it to say that while I'm sure my name would mean little to those individuals today, I often wish I could let them know how I remember them. Their contribution to my life deserves neither recognition, nor any further mention . In retrospect it's interesting to recall certain teachers. The majority did their job as it should be done, with nothing in particular to distinguish them from the others. They were kind for the most part, stern when necessary and helped me achieve success during my year with them. Every once in awhile, however, a young person will find themselves with a teacher who not only instructs but inspires. It is someone they will remember not just with fondess, but with gratefulness, for bringing sunlight to the mind, unearthing a desire to learn and nurturing fresh intellect to fruition. When I think of this kind of teacher I have an image of three who made learning for me not just easy, but exciting. I remember my first day of Grade 5 being terrified because I was going to be taught for the first time by a male teacher. My terror was short-lived; he made me realize that education, even science, could be fun. His patience and empathy also made it easy, and every day thereafter I could hardly wait to get to class. The other two teachers were both high school English teachers. Their encouragement gave me confidence, their love for their job gave their students a reason to love what they did. And the teachers who accomplish this, seldom know. Not many congratulate them; few come back to say thanks. It's a shame. Since reaching maturity I have been waiting for a chance to let those three know. In my eyes, at least, they had not just done their job well, they had excelled. They had not just taught me, they had taught me the pleasure of learning. And maybe perhaps, as we gear up for the ringing of the school bell next week, I might find some cheer in thinking that this year some students who have not as yet had that pleasure, may. International Scene By Raymond Canon