Contested Histories of Racialization and the Legacies of Sir John A Macdonald

The year 2015 marked the bicentenary of Sir John A. Macdonald’s birth and sparked renewed interest in his legacies and the contested histories of race and racialization in Canada. One version of a monolithic history of Canada venerates Sir John A. Macdonald for his role as Canada’s first Prime Minister, a paternal figure of Confederation, and a nation builder who implemented projects of infrastructure and industrial development (i.e., Canadian Pacific Railway) and systems of land tenure and ownership. This dominating story of Macdonald’s legacies reflects a historical canon of biographies, dramatic plays, musicals, guided tours and monuments such that Macdonald’s history is conflated with a founding history of Canada. By contrast, diverse and different stories about human erasure, physical and cultural displacement, and assimilation—notably, of Black, Asian, and Indigenous peoples—are made marginal by the dominating discourse of so-called Canadian national progress. The essays presented in this issue of the Journal of Critical Race Inquiry (JCRI) (Volume 3, Number 1) contest dominant interpretations of the legacies of Sir John A. Macdonald by offering theoretical, performative, and experiential analyses of Canadian history, race, colonialism, and Indigenous cultural resurgence.

Nuptse & Lhotse Go to the Rockies by J. Asnong

Asnong, Jocey. Nuptse & Lhotse Go to the Rockies. Victoria, BC: Rocky Mountain Books, 2014. Print.Nuptse & Lhotse are sibling cats with a sense of adventure. Finding inspiration in the Canadian Rockies, author and illustrator Jocey Asnong sends the cats on an adventure through the Canadian Rockies to help Mrs. Jasper find her missing cubs, Yoho and Kootenay. The cats along with Mrs. Jasper travel through the scenic highlights of Mountain Parks, from the Valley of the Ten Peaks to Lake Louise, along the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks to the Spiral Tunnels and up to the Columbia Icefields, with a stop to ski along the way.The story is straightforward, with simple language that works for beginner readers or reading aloud. A map at the beginning situates the events of the story, a comparison of a teddy bear to a grizzly bear is lighthearted and informative, and a maze illustration works with the plot of finding the lost cubs and is a fun activity while reading. It is the illustrations that bring the story to life by combining pencil crayon drawings with collage to create a layered visual experience leaving something new to be discovered with each read. Seamlessly incorporated into the text and illustrations are aspects of mountain geography and culture. This includes an explanation of the blue-green colour of the mountain lakes that is part of the cats’ stop in Lake Louise and homage to legendary mountain photographer Byron Harmon. These details make good entry points for further classroom learning and connect to a number of curriculum areas.The publisher, Rocky Mountain Books, is known for publications that celebrate mountain culture and Nuptse & Lhotse Go to the Rockies is an excellent addition to their growing catalogue for young readers. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Lauren WheelerLauren Wheeler is a Program Lead at the Alberta Museums Association. When not assisting museums across Alberta, Lauren likes to explore and relax in her hometown of Canmore.

Environmental Management and Mitigation: Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines Project

The Northern Gateway Pipelines project drew more attention from the Canadian public than most in recent Canadian history. Northern Gateway has proposed to construct and operate an oil pipeline, a condensate pipeline, associated facilities, two tunnels, powerlines, multiple pump stations, a land tank terminal, and a marine transportation terminal to be located near Kitimat, British Columbia. Not since the Canadian Pacific Railway has a project raised the interest of Canadians. The regulatory review and assessment process for Northern Gateway was extensive. The Canadian government established a Joint Review Panel to preside over the assessment and review process. To ensure that stakeholders and potentially affected aboriginal communities were heard, the Panel embarked on an extensive public hearing and consultation program. They received thousands of letters of interest, and 4,300 requests for public statements. The Panel heard from approximately 1,200 registered participants in 19 locations. The regulatory hearings spanned a period from September 2012 to June 2013. Opposition to the project stemmed primarily from concerns about the effect of oil spills on freshwater and marine environments and human use. Others were concerned about the expanded development of oil sands. The environmental assessment undertaken by Northern Gateway was extensive, as was the mitigation proposed by the project to avoid or minimize environmental effects resulting from the project. The project incorporated new and innovative approaches to minimize environmental effects. The paper introduces the project and the latter part discusses the extraordinary measures proposed and undertaken to minimize potential risks to the environment.

Technology Puts Out the Firemen

Summary The following text analyzes the dispute which culminated in a strike involving the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen and the Canadian Pacific Railway. It deals with the complex problems of technological change in a continent-wide economic setting, and suggests structural modifications of the unions concerned in order to adequately cope with them.

Paperless Track Inspection Record Keeping and Compliance

Traditionally railway track inspections have been recorded on paper. As technology advances, so does the ability to record track inspections utilizing a paperless system. A paperless system allows for many advantages including rapid report generation and oversight to ensure compliance. This paper briefly reviews the development and use of the Digital Track Notebook paperless track inspection record keeping system. Detailed in the paper is how the system complies with CFR 213.241 Electronic Record Keeping on items such as amending and data retention. Additionally this paper discusses how the system ensures regulatory compliance with Federal Railroad Administration and Transport Canada rules concerning inspection frequency and modes. Lastly, the paper discusses the deployment of the system in Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).