70 years

That's how long it has taken for the Ring Road to become operational.  Why?  Because a couple of feet of it had to pass through Tsuu T'ina land and no government had apparently offered the residents enough money to let it go through.  

Actually, when I call it "Tsuu T'ina" land I mean Crown Land because all native reserves are on Crown Land, given them for their exclusive use.  But $225 million was all it took for them to finally agree to let it be built.  Oh, and another $68 million given to the few families that actually have to move.  The entire population of Tsuu T'ina is 2,052.  Do the math:  That's $144,249 per resident -- over and above what we give them every year.  What do they receive as a matter of course every year?  $16,800,000,000 for 1,674,000 million natives.  Do the math again and weep.  

That's an outrage!  

Unless I am reading the definition of Crown Land incorrectly, or the Indian Act, Canada owns the land, but we had to fork over $293 million to people who don't even own it??!!  What am I missing here??!! 

Today, one resident cut off his braids in protest on behalf of his family that had to be displaced.  Here's what this reserve looks like and the "sacred" land they had to leave:

What a waste of two beautiful braids.

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The big hullaballoo story here is about a school principal using the "n" word while teaching a class about avoiding the racial slur.  She apparently asked black students why it was OK for them to use the word, but not whites?  One of the students recorded the class (illegal, but who cares) and all hell broke loose!  A full-on investigation into this teaching moment has now been launched.  "There is no context that makes it acceptable for a white person to use the term," said Calgary's BLM spokesperson.  "This is the worst," one student railed.  "This is a power issue, where the principal has power over the students who have absolutely no power."

Really?  These days, students have all the power.  And anyway, who would ever use the word in daily conversation?  No one.  Adam Massiah, CEO of the United Black People's Allyship (there's a non-word for you, if ever there were one) said it was just another example of how systemic racism exists in Canada and in the educational system.  "White people can never use the term," he stressed.  "It parallels the historical context of the oppressor claiming power over the oppressed."  

Man, am I out of it!     

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On another note, does this sentence, part of a movie review in 'The Globe and Mail', make any sense to you?

"One of the greatest challenges of any biopic must surely be how to show the span and impact of a life, legendary or otherwise, within the length of a feature runtime.  Clocking in at just shy at 2 and 1/2, 'Frida' director Julie Taymor's latest film, The Glorias, confronts this obstacle with a heavy hand that elides complexities in favour of an idealistic and, some might say, ironically depoliticized view of its focus -- women's rights activist and trailblazer Gloria Steinem."

Me neither.