The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Devils Lake and Frances The Devils Lake dispute, mainly between North Dakota and Manitoba, and more recently between Canada and the USA, has been making news from time to time even in the U.S. which normally pays little attention to Canadian problems. The dispute is long standing and is all about North Dakota's plan to drain water from land-locked Devils Lake which in recent years has caused hundreds of millions of dollars in flood damage to farms and properties. North Dakota's solution is to divert the water via a canal from the lake which has no outlet into the Sheyenne River, and eventually will make its way in to the Red River and Lake Winnipeg. Why the concern? Canada fears that the water will pollute the Red and Manitoba lakes with supposedly dreaded microorganisms that are not in our river system. Pollute the Red River? As all Winnipeggers know, the Red is already severely polluted with old cars, garbage, dead animals, and even dead bodies from time to time pulled out of its murky waters. The water has fouled beaches on the lakes with lots of algae in full bloom. Recently, Canada's Environment Minister pledged millions from the new "NDP budget" to help clean up the Red, money which Manitoba has sought for years. In May we visited Devils Lake and were awe struck by the sight of the flooding and the damage it has created. Devils Lake is a pretty little town, dependent a lot on agriculture, fishing, tourism, and a large native casino. The casino sits on high ground connected to the town by a dike-like highway with flood water on both sides. flood damage is massive, particularly to the farms just north of the Canadian border. There were lots of fishermen on the lake, and the casino did a thriving business in boat rentals and fishing supplies. There is also a campground with RVs and of course fishing boats. I talked to one gentleman getting out of his boat, and he said the fishing was great Ñ walleye, trout and jackfish. Sound familiar? He said the fish were good eating and popular in the local restaurants. Would you eat any fish caught in the Red River? I wouldn't! The dispute got real nasty in June as North Dakota got near to opening the diversion. Rhetoric from Gary Doer got louder and Paul Martin phoned President Bush to stop the opening. Doer demanded that the U.S. refer the issue to the six person International Joint Commission panel. The panel, with three from each country, rules on disputes between the two nations. The N.D. Governor and Senators, adamantly pushing for the diversion, refuse to do so as it will delay the opening and the flood damage will continue. The White House has not answered Canada's request. In Mid-June, belligerent and outspoken New Democrat MP Pat Martin waded into the issue, calling the Americans obscene names, demanding an end to Canadian energy exports to the U.S., and comparing North Dakota To North Korea. He was dressed down by his leader Jack Layton and rejected by Gary Doer, but praised by some of his fellow anti-American Manitobans. North Dakotans were not amused, and one official said he "felt sorry for Manitoba and Canada having to deal with a man like Martin." Doer cautioned that personal attacks were not helpful. As we know, Martin is no Rhodes Scholar but the former labor leader should have enough common sense to know that Canada is not going to cut off energy supplies to America. There would be a revolt in Alberta, and no doubt a vote to separate. Besides any American retaliation such as shutting down an automobile factory or worse would cost a lot of union jobs and harm our economy. Let's hope cooler heads will prevail. Of course there is a lot of politics involved. George Bush undoubtedly feels he owes Paul Martin nothing, and is more interested in solving the problem for North Dakota. The Governor and Senators from that State are looking after their own interests, and bush may need the two Senator's support for some of his issues, and so on. Pat Martin is just "blowing smoke." And Gary doer is really helpless in any dealings with the White House, as is Paul Martin, who obviously has little influence with the Bush administration. At this writing, referring the dispute to the I.J.C. is not going to happen, but the White House is trying to get a compromise worked out and talks are hopeful. One possible solution is a $20 million sand filter for the water but North Dakota says it is too expensive. There is also no doubt that something has to be done about the massive damage caused by the flooding of Devils Lake. In another matter, it looks like veteran Winnipeg Free Press columnist Frances Russell has overstepped her boundaries at least as far as many Christians and their organizations are concerned. (The Tory Party is used to her anti-Conservative articles and "conspiracy theories") In a June 3 column entitled "Christians Capturing Tory Party", she compares the power of the Canadian Christian Right to that of the USA, claiming the Republican Party has been captured by the Christian "absolutists' with the U.S. in danger of becoming a theocracy. She claims this worries a majority of Canadians. As usual Ms. Russell quotes obscure "experts' such As David Orchard, the Saskatchewan radical who ran for the Conservative leadership. Orchard rails against Harper and Peter MacKay and claims the new party is too right wing. Frances has it wrong. Of course George W. Bush is a born-again Christian, but the Republican Party has captured the Christian organizations and voters because they have similar beliefs and ideals, with the Democrats championing too many left wing social causes, antithetical to a lot of Christian beliefs. In the 2004 election in N.W. Florida which is normally 80% Democrat, Bush landslided to victory. Interviews with some of the "Crackers" showed even the registered Democrats liked Bush and his beliefs compared to John Kerry, and voted overwhelmingly for the President. In Canada, many Christians express values similar to Stephen Harper, most noticeably recently on the gay marriage issue, and support his party. This is a normal situation not a "capture of the Tory Party." As well, in Canada as in the U.S., Christians, Muslims, Jews and atheists have the right to support politically whomever they choose. It is not at all scary to a majority of Canadians. Russell's article drew a firestorm of indignation both in e-mails to the author and paper, and in Letters to the Editor. Angry readers threatened to boycott the paper and its advertisers. Companies threatened to pull their ads. The editor intervened and apologized for the headline, saying it was not Frances' fault and her article was not anti-Christian. His argument was weak as she most certainly appeared to be anti-Christian as well as anti-Conservative. In any case, the impressions that a reader gets from any writing is as important as what the author meant to say. Best bet is that there will be no more articles attacking "Christian Absolutism" and the like printed in this paper. Keep tuned for more to come.
