EDITORIAL: B.C. not blemish-free

In the wake of a long weekend officially meant to celebrate this beautiful province, it’s worth pondering what B.C. Day really means to a place made up of 25 per cent Canadian newcomers.

Whose heritage did we acknowledge on Aug. 4?

Those who were born here? Those who moved west from across the country seeking warmer winters? Those who immigrated from half a world away? All of the above?

On Monday, communities across the province enjoyed numerous events.

This year, the federal government upped the ante for provincial pride, providing $6.6 million for BC150 celebrations as Canada’s western-most region contemplated 150 years of history since it was founded as a Crown colony.

Although the province is now a multicultural mecca, it didn’t always welcome newcomers with open arms.

In 1886, B.C. imposed a head tax on Chinese immigrants to restrict access to this country. A few decades later, impossibly strict immigration rules continued to confound would-be Canadians.

In 1914, nearly 400 hopeful immigrants from India spent two months aboard the Komagata Maru off the coast of Vancouver when they were denied entry.

But perhaps the worst case of discrimination has been against the province’s original populace – B.C.’s First Nations people, who were only granted the right to vote less than 50 years ago.

Once rich in aboriginal culture, more than 30 indigenous languages used to be spoken. But thanks to ardent assimilation strategies, only 0.3 per cent of British Columbians now cite an aboriginal language as their native tongue, according to 2006 census statistics.

And modern-day aboriginals continue to struggle to find their place in a land that was once their own.

Official apologies have been offered to the injured parties, but perhaps the best way to mark B.C. Day is for everyone to vow not to repeat the discrimination that mars our province’s past.

– The Burnaby NewsLeader