This video was made to provide insights into the Métis people and their contributions to British Columbia. Western and Northern Canada had a unique political environment for 200 years. The Hudson’s Bay Company was the legal government according to King Charles II Charter. Parliament tried several times to overturn the Charter and open the vast territory to settlement but it failed. It was only in 1858 when the West Coast statutory grant expired and finally in 1870 with the purchase by Canada that settlement could proceed. But during those intervening years, the collision of the industrializing great Britain with the hunter gatherer societies of Canada created the need for a new people that was an indigenous response to the changing needs. The ethnogenesis of this people often manifested with race people. HBC prevented its employees from becoming settlers by requiring them to return to Montreal after their contracts to get paid. They developed new cultural norms like holding land individually and excelling in communications and technology. They developed hybrid languages like Michif and Chinook Jargon. Métis people were a significant presence on the West Coast before the creation of British Columbia before 1858 and before the province joined confederation in 1871. Kumtuks is a video blog that shares knowledge and explores new narratives especially related to British Columbia. Some quotes and descriptors have been adjusted for clarity and brevity. Please subscribe if you would like to be notified of new videos. If you would like to receive commentary and invitations and support more videos https://www.patreon.com/kumtuks Sam Sullivan narrates this video. He is a Member of the Order of Canada, a former Mayor of Vancouver and Cabinet Minister responsible for Cities, Culture and Transit, a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia and an Adjunct… Read More »Insights Into Métis History
British Columbia
The story of urban reform in Canada can be understood in terms of waves. Vancouver history can be better understood through this analysis.
James Douglas and the Colony of British Columbia
The story of urban reform in Canada can be understood in terms of waves. Vancouver history can be better understood through this analysis.
Brexit, Canada and the American Revolution
The story of urban reform in Canada can be understood in terms of waves. Vancouver history can be better understood through this analysis.
History of British Columbia Cities: Three Waves of Urban Reform
The Municipal Reform Act of 1835 initiated by Earl Grey brought cities in the UK into the modern world. This reform wave hit Canada in the form of the Baldwin Act of 1849 which set the standard for all Canadian cities.
History of British Columbia Cities: First Wave Urban Reform
The Progressive Movement arose in the late 1800s in the US. It was a reaction against the corruption and incompetence that came out of earlier democratic reforms. Science, technology and professionals were revolutionizing life; people were hopeful about applying these to civic government.
History of British Columbia Cities: Second Wave Urban Reform
The emphasis on technology and professionals arising out of the Second Wave of urban reform was not the panacea we had hoped for. Citizen groups pushed back against experts in Canada’s Third Wave of urban reform.
History of British Columbia Cities: Third Wave Urban Reform
British Columbia has two systems of government – parliamentary and municipal Parliamentary is rooted in law making, Municipal in law keeping. Legislative versus Judicial. These forms are used around the world but descend from the Kingdom of Wessex, of Alfred the Great who unified England. Wessex was divided into Shires governed by a Shire Reeve or Sheriff, which retains its law and order connotation. Each Shire was divided into ‘Hundreds’; an area of one hundred households. Each Hundred had a Court of property owners that met monthly. Each Hundred Court had a Reeve to implement the Court’s decisions. Two Knights of each Hundred were called by the Sheriff annually to set the ‘Farm’, or food rent, from which our word comes. As population grew and towns evolved, so did the governance model. Our municipal governments come from the Hundred Court – a Reeve with a Council of property owners. Many British Columbian Mayors were called Reeves. And the requirement for Council Members to own property only ended in 1973. The French invaded England and William the Conqueror laid siege to London, but his first legislative act granted it a Charter of Liberties in return for loyalty. Between his son King Henry First and Henry Third, they raised money and weakened Shire landowners by granting hundreds of towns Royal Charters, making them Boroughs. Borough: a town with a wall, a charter, and no feudal overlord Towns might have fences but Borough meant ‘settlement with a wall’. Borough Charters granted self government, but most importantly, access to the Royal Courts, the heavy volume leading to our Common Law. A resident of a Borough, called a Burgess, was a freeman, with no feudal overlord. Boroughs had Councillors, Aldermen and a Reeve who Kept the King’s Peace. Our city… Read More »Parliamentary and Municipal Government in British Columbia Explained
Parliamentary and Municipal Government in British Columbia Explained
Good urban planning and densification is often stymied by political processes that allow small groups with vested interests to veto good proposals. Fixing this design flaw will improve municipal governance and allow better urban planning.
How to Fix Cities and Make Them More Affordable
Many languages lent words to Chinook Wawa: Nootka Jargon, French Canadien, Salishan Chehalis, English, and, of course, Chinook. | Kumtuks videos