TODAY'S RANT

April 20, 2000    Editor's Notes:    Today's Rant is a new feature of All About Homes....   Let us know what you think about housing issues in Canada.  The opinions expressed in the following editorial comments are not necessarily those of this editor.  Then again they may be... check them out for yourself and, if you're so inclined, do comment or write your own opinion...  Send to:  The Editor of All About Homes   We reserve the right to edit or delete information not suitable to users looking for information about Housing issues in Canada.  Read Previous Rants   Home Ownership Compromised   Cast of Clowns Doesn't  Amuse Condo Owners      Save the Ship

VANCOUVER - During the Second World War, a Canadian ship beat the odds by becoming the first vessel to navigate the risky Northwest passage. But it may not be able to overcome a final obstacle: sheer indifference.

In June, 1940 the small wooden schooner St. Roch left Vancouver and sailed into the history books on a secret military voyage. The mission: assert Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic islands.
It took the RCMP craft 28 months to make it — two winters held fast by ice in the North. It eventually became the first ship in 400 years of trying to make the trip from the West. Later it went back the other way, becoming only the second vessel in history to go through the Arctic from East to West. It also went on to became first ship to ever circumnavigate North America.
During its two decades at sea, the St. Roch ferried supplies to RCMP detachments, visited Inuit settlements, and helped police officers enforce the law.   In the 1950s, the schooner retired to Vancouver's Martime Museum, where thousands of people, including many children, come to learn about Canada's past. But the rotting wood is crumbling away and badly in need of repair.
"This has been a real important episode in Canadian history, and I'm quite sad that it's been neglected," laments Lewis Robinson, a retired geographer.    There's a pressing need to preserve the vessel, according to the museum's director, Jim Delgado.   "When (children) hear about struggle and sacrifice and self reliance, and they step on this deck it become real," Delgado says.   "And that's what's at risk, that's what we are in danger of losing ultimately in this ship," he adds. To preserve the St. Roch forever, the museum and RCMP are hoping a $3 million endowment fund can be set up.
To help raise money they've arranged to retrace the ship's original voyage with a volunteer crew in a much newer RCMP patrol ship.
Although some large U.S. companies have agreed to donate money to help pay for the trip, the crew is still about half a million dollars short.   Without more money, they won't be able to afford fuel, food, and insurance.  "For $500,000, one Canadian corporation that sees itself as exemplifying this nation, and whose marketing strategy is tied into it, they could save it," Delgado says.

HOME
All About Homes

Editor's Notes:    Today's Rant is a new feature of All About Homes....   Let us know what you think about housing issues in Canada.  The opinions expressed in the following editorial comments are not necessarily those of this editor.  Then again they may be... check them out for yourself and, if you're so inclined, do comment or write your own opinion...  Send to:  The Editor of All About Homes   We reserve the right to edit or delete information not suitable to users looking for information about Housing issues in Canada.  Read Previous Rants   Home Ownership Compromised   Cast of Clowns Doesn't  Amuse Condo Owners     Save the Ship