Guest Writer:

John Lesow, B.Sc, J.D. has lived in the Pacific Northwest since 1978.  Prior to retiring in 2013, he was Western Territory Manager for Cascade Canada Material Handling Products and resided in Point Roberts. He served two terms on the Whatcom County Planning Commission from 2005-2013.  He is a past Board Member of the Whatcom Humane Society and Treasurer of the Washington Press Association. (WPA)  He is the recipient of (7) Communicator of Excellence Awards from the WPA for published articles on a wide variety of subjects, including Land Use, Tribal Casinos, entertainment profiles and automotive commentary.

A dual citizen, he now lives in North Vancouver, B.C.and is a contributing member of the North Shore Writer’s Association.

Who is Harshan Walia and Why Should She Be Fired?

July 8th…

 As I write this, news of yet another
Canadian church burning has been reported. This one in Prince, George, B.C.

The burning of Catholic churches on First Nation Reserves in British Columbia elsewhere over the past week continues unabated. More reports are coming in every day.

Who are the public advocates of this destruction ? The ones that make such criminal behaviour excusable?

Harsha Walia

One prominent figure is Harshan Walia, the Executive Director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.  Walia’s recent tweet on the church burnings,  “Burn it all down” has received extensive coverage in Canadian media.  Not surprisingly, there has been tacit support from the usual progressive suspects that routinely hide behind the skirts of visible spokespersons like Ms. Walia. 

What to do about Ms. Walia?  For starters, Fire her. Her continued presence is a cancer on the BCCLA. She needs to be excised as quickly as possible, before her poisonous rhetoric metastasizes and brings down the whole organization.

In an effort to get Walia’s take on the motivations for her now-infamous tweet, I attempted to contact her at the offices of the BC Civil Liberties Association in downtown Vancouver.  The offices are located a short drive from my residence.

Unfortunately, the offices are closed to the public. Emails and phone calls to the President, Policy Director and Ms. Walia have been ignored.

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What I have learned is this:

1. Ms. Walia is a recent hire, less than 6 months on the job. If she is axed, she will not be missed.

2. The BCCLA was founded in 1962.

3. The budget for the organization is 1.2 million (USD) a year.

4. Sources of funding include the The Law Foundation of British Columbia, and the Province of British Columbia. In short, a portion of the funding, including Ms. Walia’s undisclosed salary, is from the Canadian taxpayer.

The irony is that the same indigenous people that have suffered the church burnings on the First Nation reserves are the same ones that the BCCLA is committed to  defend.

Such are the hypocrisies of government funded non-profits, in British Columbia and elsewhere.

I am filing this today, in the interest of getting the story out to Washington readers that do not have close access to Canadian news. As well as physical access to the offices of the BCCLA in downtown Vancouver.

If and when Ms. Walia or any spokesperson for the Civil Liberties Association decides to come forward, I will update.

Don’t hold your breath. The standard procedure for governments and non profits in Canada in dealing with crises of their own making is to remain silent until the coast is clear.  That is what is going on now. It may be a long wait.