Essays are © 2006, 2007 Paul Chislett

Unions and the Iron Law of Oligarchy: A Sociological Perspective
Paul Chislett
Sociology 1015-03
Murielle Chalk
February 2, 2006

Unions and the Iron Law of Oligarchy: A Sociological Perspective

I

It may seem hard to believe today that unions are born out of the legitimate efforts of working people to improve social conditions. We can barely understand today how difficult and dangerous the lives of many working people were, at the turn of the 20th century. Unions have become highly bureaucratized organizations seemingly out of touch with their members. And so, many people believe unions are nothing more than another special interest group looking out for the welfare of well off workers. Yet, the history of the Canadian labour movement is fascinating and I believe is overlooked in the elementary and secondary school curriculums. Heron (1996) writes that this history is one of ordinary working people – the early craftworkers, the industrial factory workers and miners- struggling over decades to form a movement that could promote and defend their interests.

During my time as a technician for thirty years at Bell Canada, I became involved in the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP). I met and worked with many women and men who were committed to the ideal of workers having a direct say in as far as wages, working conditions, benefits and pensions were concerned. I became president of CEP Local 37 and out of this experience ran as an NDP candidate in the 1999 provincial election and the 2000 federal election in the Sudbury riding. Although my experience is not necessarily typical, I can personally attest to the fact that the union movement can certainly “radicalize” members through education and example of others who have gone before.

II

In this paper I will examine the seeming contradiction between the democratic ideal of unions and the tendency towards the “Iron Law of Oligarchy” developed by the German sociologist Robert Michels. In Schaefer(2003) Michels stated that even a democratic organization will develop into a bureaucracy ruled by a few. I will attempt to show why this came about in the Canadian labour movement and if it is possible to avoid this contradiction.

A short overview of what the early movement looked like is necessary at this point. Heron, (1996) explains that in the first two decades of the 20th century, skilled workers worked alongside semi-skilled machine operators. This was the era that brought in Taylor’s scientific management ideas and new factory clerical jobs were held by women. The working classes were a mix of immigrants and unskilled labour. Such an arrangement helped keep workers divided. These were not easy years to join a union and the times were chaotic for working people. Union militancy began to take shape and a renewed social movement was advancing the cause of working people. After decades of intense strike actions and two world wars, federal legislation was enacted in 1948 that provided a, “permanent framework for industrial relations in Canada” (Heron, 1996, p.76). This meant workers had, “… the right to negotiate the terms of their employment….certified unions soon pressed for wage increases, benefit plans…an eight hour day and paid vacations”(Heron, 1996, p.77). Heron (1996) goes on to say that workplace disputes were dealt with through a formal grievance procedure and arbitration.

So, from militant job action, to labour legislation the government and business got what it wanted – labour peace and workers won the right to collective bargaining and a dispute resolution system. Unions today are formal organizations tasked with performing collective bargaining and grievance processing. The sociological view from Schaefer (2003), shows that in the early days of union militancy, workers were members of an out-group; the in-group being wealthy industrialists. A middle-class didn’t exist as yet and in essence the middle-class could be viewed as the necessary creation by workers and owners of capital and the means of production to create a new in-group for the sake of capitalism and working class peace. Certainly unions are a reference group. I did not relate to the managerial in-group in my workplace, nor have I ever aspired to be a wealthy shareholder. I recognized that there are in-groups and out-groups within the workforce. Under labour law, all workers in a unionized workplace are union members. Those who choose to become active volunteers, however, form their own in-group versus other workmates who are content to pay dues but not be any more active. Martin, (1995) describes the process of rationalization and choice of group identity that I experienced:
Any one individual can be seen as occupying a social area where a great number of groups overlap, and in the course of his life he encounters innumerable possibilities of identifying with certain groups and adhering to certain organizations. Although many identifications are compatible, or made compatible by a rationalization process which deals both with the past and the present, to identify with one or several groups always amounts to selecting certain reference groups and rejecting others. It means an acceptance to participate in certain symbolical systems of which the person becomes actively or passively a carrier.

These symbolical systems may be part of the world in which he was born, they may also appear later in life and seem foreign to his early experiences. Whatever the case, when an adult is considered, identifications are always the result of a choice. Granted, the affective weight of the first stages of life, the social pressure exercised from in-groups as well as out-groups do influence, sometimes heavily, the choices that are made. (P. 5)

I accepted without question the hierarchy of the union without ever doubting the union was a democratic institution. An explanation as to why this was so is found here, “To Michels, oligarchy…was significant because it was an ‘unintended consequence’ of organization” (Lipset, 1956, p. 5). I understand the pessimism of some, who see unions as a sort of spoiled special interest group from a sociological view now. They are seeing the latent function of the union oligarchy as one in which the leaders protect themselves from being dislodged and having to return to the workplace. I always viewed unions ( and still do) in the context of a union’s manifest functionality in that the whole structure existed to advance the rights of working people.

Are unions an example of Weber’s ideal type of bureaucracy? Unions are all about equality, another seeming contradiction in an organization”plagued” by the iron law of oligarchy. They are also about empowerment and education. Weber, “avidly supported the efforts of working people to strive for self-determination through the trade unions” ( Titunik; Camic, Gorski, Trubek, Ed., 2005, p. 157). Weber, according to Titunik (2005), also recognized that unions helped members become active citizens and that unions promoted the ideal of people being citizens rather than subjects or in today’s concern, just unquestioning consumers. Weber, “believed that knowledge forms the mainstay of bureaucratic power. …knowledge acquired in specialized training” ( Titunik; Camic, Gorski, Trubek, Ed., 2005, p. 157).
First, let me go back to Weber’s characteristics of a bureaucracy (Schaefer, 2003). The CEP union does have a division of labour, from a national president through to treasurer to regional vice-presidents and on to national representatives who are the liaison between the national union and the volunteer local leaders. In the CEP the national reps are paid staff hired by the union. The officers are paid, elected officials. No union can function without the dedication and expertise of the volunteer local officers. There are also regional rank and file members who regularly attend executive board meetings, ( Chart # 2) as observers who then report back to local officers. These rank and file members serve as a check on the oligarchy and keep it accountable to the members. The union provides education and expenses for those volunteers funded from dues collected. The positive consequences are the fact that many workers acquire knowledge and skills many would never have dreamed of acquiring when they were hired by their employer. Negative consequences I know of is the very real danger of overload and burnout activists experience and the tendency to entitlement other local leaders acquire through the knowledge gained. Certainly, chart # 1, ( www.cep.ca) is a rather intimidating and corporate looking flow chart of the upper echelons of the CEP. There can be no doubt that this chart is a picture of an oligarchy and the attendant hierarchy of authority. Chart #2, (www.cep.ca) reveals the structure closer to the ground so to speak. The union hierarchy also has clearly written rules and regulations in the form of a constitution which can be amended at every national convention. It is a living document in that every local can submit resolutions to amend clauses; committees review the resolutions and submit recommendations to accept or reject a resolution which are voted on at the convention by delegates. Each local also has bylaws to function by. Gregor Murray (1992) that among all the social movements, the labour movement provides a challenging culture that makes people the, “subjects of their own histories ” ( Murray; Leys & Mendell Ed., 1992, p. 56). Murray (1992) goes further to write that the identity I found in being a wage earner, for example, helped encourage the, “worst bureaucratic reflexes of labour leaders who seek to control or stifle other social identities rather than learning to work with them and build upon them”( Murray; Leys & Mendell Ed., 1992, p. 56). I would say this is true of what is known as business unions which seek to maintain the oligarchy so that the only function is the maintenance of collective agreements. Progressive unions among which I count the CEP do seek to build coalitions with other social identities such as visible minorities, the environmental movement and poverty activists, and include them from within the union ranks by creating positions within the hierarchy. The oligarchy is expanded to the point that there is a broad representative membership at the top that looks as much like the general union membership in the workplace as possible. This idea of progressive unionism is why I feel comfortable with the union as my primary group and reference group. My identity as a member of the wage economy earned me a place in the reference group where I expanded my sense of identity to one of a member of a larger group with common values and goals – the betterment of the workplace and society in general – rather than accepting a passive role as wage earner/consumer.

III

Max Weber (Michels, 1962), was among many who, “stressed that the distinctive and most valuable element of democracy is the formation of a political elite in the competitive struggle for the votes of a mainly passive electorate” (Lipset, Introduction to Michels, 1962, p. 33). There are few electorates more passive than a union one and there is less competition as it is usually viewed as bad form to run against a sitting labour leader. In his introduction to the 1962 edition of Michels’ book “Political Parties” Seymour Lipset writes that unions are one party systems, “since they do not possess the basis for sustained internal conflict”( Lipset, Introduction to Michels 1962, p. 36). Lipset ( Michels, 1962), says that Michels found that it is charismatic leaders who often provide the necessary qualities to lead members through changes. Bob White of the Canadian Automobile

Workers is an immediate example when he led the union to break away from the American United Automobile Workers to form the autonomous CAW. Such leaders will pull along the existing oligarchy as well as the members by using the union bureaucracy to their best advantage. In the end, such leaders will face the members at convention to answer for mistakes or bask in the glory of success.

There was an interesting exception to one party rule in unions examined by Seymour Lipset. The International Typographical Union (ITU) did have a two party system and members often chose between the two in deciding union leadership at conventions. In explaining why this was so the authors write, “…democracy is strengthened when members are not only related to the larger organization but are also affiliated with or loyal to subgroups within the organization. …it is this approach which we have found most useful in understanding the internal political system of the ITU…”(Lipset, 1956, p.15).
Today, unions are too busy protecting workers rights in an age of massive economic restructuring to take the time to improve democratic traditions within their organizations. Better labour legislation to make signing new members easier would be a good start. Labour unions always have the handicap of reacting to actions of employers and global capital. The union structure may appear heavy and unresponsive yet they represent the best hope for workers in general and society as a whole. This is possible because of the commitment of union activists to forge coalitions among other social movements advocating for a better world. I will conclude with words from Gregor Murray (Leys&Mendell, 1992):
…the very location of the union organization in the employment relationship is an obvious source of strength inasmuch as wages and work are still powerful generators of social identity in a structural and organizational way with collective institutions and traditions that can protect and foster those identities. (P.56)

References

Camic, C., Gorski, P., Trubek, D., Ed. Ch. 6., Titunik, R., P. 157. (2005). Max Weber’s ‘Economy and Society’: A Critical Companion. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Heron, C. (1996). The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company. X, 29, 30-31, 77.

Leys, C., Mendell, M. Ed., Murray, G. Ch. 3. 56.( 1992). Culture and Social Change. Montreal: Black Rose Books.

Lipsett, S., Trow, M., Coleman, J.(1956) Union Democracy: The Inside Politics of the International Typographical Union. Glencoe, Ill.: The Free Press

Michels, R. (1962). Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy. New York: The Free Press. Pg. 32. Lipsett, S.

Schaefer, R., Floyd, R., Haaland, B. (2003) Sociology : A Brief Introduction Toronto: McGraw- Hill/Ryerson Limited. 126, 127, 130-131, 135.

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Prof. Karen Thistle

Gender Representation in the Media
Paul Chislett
November 14, 2006

 

Working and Reading Under the Glass Ceiling: An Examination of Five Daily Canadian Newspapers

Women working in the Canadian newspaper business have attained positions ranging fro reporters to publishers. Even with this progress, it is clear from this independent and privately financed analysis, progress is uneven and advancement seems to depends on arbitrary factors. The researcher kept an open mind, and hoped to see more progress for women in the newspaper business, however it is clear that the newspaper business is dominated by males and the news coverage is tilted in favour of male interests.

The five papers were analyzed for content in three sections: the front page, the editorial page, including letters to the editor, and the local or city pages. The five Canadian daily newspapers selected were: The Sault Star (Osprey), The Record (Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo. Torstar)), The Montreal Gazette, The Ottawa Citizen and The Edmonton Journal.(The latter three are owned by Canwest) All the papers are Saturday editions for October 28, 2006. The papers were at selected random, based on which newspapers were attainable for the same date. As a result, the information represents a snapshot of medium sized urban areas in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta.

The glass ceiling is a familiar term which, “… sums up all the frustrations of working women at every level who can see where they want to get to but who find themselves blocked by an invisible barrier.”(Flanders 1) While this paper isn’t about the glass ceiling phenomenon itself, the researcher was struck by the fact that out of five papers, only The Record and the Edmonton Journal had women publishers; and even then the publisher at The Record was ‘acting’ in that position. Of fourteen editorial positions, five were held by women and they were junior editorial assistant positions. As long as advancement is blocked, what readers see in the papers will be determined by a male oriented perspective. Because, “… mass communication is a profit-driven, advertising-supported business …” (Creedon 15), these business are not likely to change the way they employ women as the advertising revenue is dependent on a male dominated perspective. That is to say, if the news content changed to a more women orientated format, the paper may lose readers and therefore advertising. The two female publishers mentioned earlier, are surrounded by male owners and editors who control the hiring and firing decisions(Creedon 13), and they likely find that, “… workplace routines and norms force reporters to conform to dominant values, rather than acting on empowering values.”(Creedon 13) “Empowering values” may include challenging the entire capitalist system, and that task cannot be left to one group of citizens alone!
The Ottawa Citizen provided the most startling contrast between two stories for the researcher. Mid-front page is a 6 ½” by 6 3/4″ colour photo of a beautiful young woman holding her newborn baby. The woman, Gina Smith, is looking straight into the camera with a slight smile on her face. The text on the right left side introduces the story, which was generated by the discovery of human remains in the Rideau Canal. The male reporter writes that Gina has been missing for 20 months and, “ … those closest to her now have a growing fear that the woman who once hung out with outlaw bikers, starred in porno movies and sold her body to feed her cocaine addiction met a violent end…” (Seymour A1). Gina disappeared around the same time as two other women in Ottawa but, “… Gina’s case has caused barely a ripple … [t]his is the story of a woman who lived on the margins of society, a woman many people considered disposable.”(Seymour A1)
Page E7 has five photos; four arranged on the page, all roughly 3″ by 5″ with a 7 1/2″by 6 3/4″ of Gina as a young girl centered in the page. All are black and white and depict various family scenes: Gina with her mother, her grandmothers and with her brother. Pages E8 and E9 open out completely and most prominent is a 8 1/4″ by 13 ½” colour photo of police officers scouring the drained section of the canal where the remains were discovered. This section has two half pages of text. Page E10 features a black and white, 7 1/4″ by 6 3/4″ mug shot of Gina, taken the same year she disappeared. There are 28 column inches of text and then three more photos of varying sizes, ranging from 2 ½” by 3″ to 5″ of a female friend, Gina’s brother and of a man questioned in her disappearance. The total column inches of text on all pages are 116 ½”, with five female ‘experts’ providing quotes and four male quotes. This is significant coverage of a woman clearly wrestling with addiction.

In contrast, and in spite of the fact the total column inches for this male-centered story is 80 1/4″, the coverage of Ottawa mayoral candidate, Larry O’Brien is a portrait of a ‘man’s man’. He is a successful businessman with no political experience, an energetic life and a photogenic personality. The story opens on page E1 with a 7″ by 91/2″, colour photograph of Mr. O’Brien in a boxing ring, leaning against the corner with a huge grin on his face and a headline proclaiming, “ The Contender”. On pages E4 and E5 there are a total of ten black and White photos. The largest is a 6 3/4″ by 11 ½” of Mr. O’Brien with two other men receiving a business award. Eight other pictures show Mr. O’Brien alone, with other men, as a boy and with his two sons. The only woman in a picture is one of his great-grandmother with her husband, Mr. O’Brien’s father and uncle. There are two female quotes: one form his ex-wife and one from a sister.

The contrast between a successful male and a drug addicted female living a high risk lifestyle which may have resulted in her death is stark. This paper has four male editors and one female assistant editor and perhaps these two stories should have been covered in separate editions. The coverage of Gina Smith was fair and sympathetic, and it was too much of a contrast between genders for the same edition of paper. The idea to run the two stories in separate editions may have been a tough sell for a lone female editor.
The total male centered text was 171 3/4″ compared to 139 1/4″ over all the sections studied, so even the extensive coverage of Gina Smith didn’t overcome the male centered tilt of these pages. The total expert opinions quoted were 26 male to 10 female over all the sections studied. The editorial page featured a male and female, each from another Canwest paper. The letters page features a black and white, 7 1/4″ by 6″, photo of a woman who wrote to comment on a feature done on Alzheimer’s.
The newspaper the researcher judged to be the most balanced in terms of gender employment is The Record, serving Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo. The Record has a female publisher ( acting in the position) and one male and one female editor. The instances of male/female expert opinion are virtually even with 21 male quotes and 22 female quotes. Total column inches were more unbalanced however, at 135 1/4″ male oriented to 86 ½” for female oriented.

The front page is dominated by a colour photo, 6″ by 9 ½”, of a woman doing maintenance of a clock in a tower, and the photo is referencing the upcoming time change. The front-page headline is in bold letters announcing a cash infusion for hospital emergency rooms and the byline is female. In fact, the front-page has four bylines, two for each gender. The editorial page has two opinion pieces, both unattributed. The female acting publisher normally has a column in this space. A male political science expert is featured in a column amounting to 15 3/4″ of column space. The six letters to the editor are evenly split; three for each gender and roughly proportional in length.
Most significantly, an article which starts at the bottom of A1 covers female candidates in the municipal election. A 2″ by 3 3/4″ colour photo shows the female candidate at the door of a female voter. The caption informs the reader that the candidate is running in a field of older male candidates. The reporter is female and the coverage continues on A9.Six female quotes include comments by Kitchener MP Karen Redman. Her comments are used to illustrate how difficult politics can be for women. “It’s hard because sometimes I am not where my heart is…”, Redman explains, referring to time away from family.(Elliott A9)

Another expert quote is from Sandra Burt, a political science professor at the University of Waterloo. “She says there are currently more women enrolled in political science than men. When Burt graduated from the program in 1969, she was the only woman in her class.”(Elliott A9) In a quote that could apply to the newspaper business, Burt says, “We need women in politics to spark their interest. They need someone to look up to and say, ‘I can do that too.’”(Elliott A9)

The Edmonton Journal provides a front page with two colour photos. One, at the top of the page and measuring 8 ½” by 6″, is of two men standing with a stack of money. The male on the left, a well known Edmonton businessman, Michael Ritter, has been convicted of fraud; a charge, “… he had ferociously denied for years.”(Rusnell A1) Eventually he admitted he stole millions of dollars and may serve as long as ten years in prison.
The other photo is also colour, but measures, 4 ½” by 4″ and depicts a women being struck by a male police officer, while already handcuffed. The woman, “ Kristin Wilson … is suing city police for more than $6 million”, for injuries she suffered.(Sadava A1) Both articles are written by males, both have prominent headlines and both continue further in the A section of the paper. Ritter is portrayed as a “pillar of society”(sidebar A1) and that he “fell into disgrace”(sidebar A1). The whole affair was of his making, and Ritter appears to have been an expert con artist. A female victim is quoted as saying, “‘… I actually think the man has absolutely no conscience for any one of his actions…’” (Rusnell A16). The legal system is administering justice to Ritter. Wilson, on the other hand, appears to be a victim of the police. A Journal photographer had taken a series of photos, in another edition of the paper, showing Wilson being struck and falling face first to the curb during Stanley Cup celebrations. She wasn’t charged and was left to find her own way home. There isn’t any obvious gender conflict between these two stories. The researcher senses a ‘taste’ of a double standard here however, in that the newspaper coverage of Ritter may reveal a grudging respect for him while Wilson is could be viewed as one who should not have been in the crowd on the streets that night.

Montreal’s, The Gazette features a black and white, 11 ½” by 7 3/4″ portrait photo of six women walking arm in arm, all breast cancer and mastectomy survivors. The photographer is male. All the women are named, and each is featured individually within the paper with half page photos. The effect is to have the paper dominated by an important women’s issue. Newspaper editorials often take up the theme of a major story. However the editorial page features 21 ½” of column space to a comment of a Liberal Party leadership candidate. A 3 ½” by 5 1/4″ colour photo of two male candidates( there are no female leadership hopefuls) presses home the male dominated political story. Women may be disappointed in the lack of a followup editorial which could have reinforced the need for continued support for women survivors of cancer and cancer treatment and how their families must cope with the fear and uncertainty. Such an editorial would have been a useful way to wrap up breast cancer awareness month.
The Sault Star provides a colour, top of front-page, 6 ½” by 5″ photo of three women, in a fitness pool, celebrating their 80th birthdays.( Kelly A1) The women are smiling and the picture seems to invite the reader into the paper. The surrounding headlines call attention to provincial funding for emergency rooms and union calls for government help for the local paper mill. A total of five male quotes compared to two female quotes de-feminizes the page.

Contrasting the colourful front page is a large(7″ by 12 1/4″), black and white photo at the top of page A3 (Kelly). The depiction is of legion members with somber faces standing for a flag-raising ceremony. Three males are prominent, in front with three women in the picture; one on the far left and two with their faces partially obscured. Between the ‘feel-good’ front page picture and the obscured view of women legion members, one is left to ponder how important the role of women was in wartime. Today, women are combat troops as well as performing in ‘traditional’(in the sense that women did not perform in combat roles in the past) support roles. Page A3 also features three, approximately 2″ by 2″ black and white photos of three males; however, of the four articles on the page, three are written by female reporters. The column inches favour the two female reporters at 31″ for the three articles compared to 12 1/4″ for the male reporter. As far as expert opinion goes, of the six quotes, two are of women professionals.
As the smallest paper, The Sault Star has the highest amount of unattributed total column inches, at 76 3/4″. The other four papers have a combined unattributed column inches of 123 ½”. This means The Sault Star alone accounts for approximately 38% of all unattributed column inches in the five papers. The Star also has the least female representation of all the newspapers examined.

In conclusion, the numbers,(see chart, last page) suggest that editors are careful to maintain a female presence on the letter pages (46%), while editorial content and news are male dominated(see chart, last page, specifically the Byline and Editorial results for female percentages.) This study suggests that women’s progress in Canadian newspapers has stalled and women have not cracked the glass ceiling. There were female interest stories to balance the male interest stories yet the statistics show a bias towards male interests. Until women crack the glass ceiling, the news content will reflect mostly male values and interest. Meryl Aldridge confirms this:

In these days of corporate ownership, however, the ethos and conditions of news media employment are not determined by those at the head of the creative hierarchy like editors ( whatever the size of their egos and presence) but by shareholder value. It is this which places in doubt the model of assisted evolution…(Aldridge 620).
Perhaps this male dominated, profit-driven model has changed as much as it can be changed from within. Perhaps the route for women will be a separate one such as publishing collectives in order, “… to gain substantial control over their work, which enables them to structure both the product and the work process in accordance with their values and political goals.” (Crafton-Smith 43) We would all benefit from more in-depth coverage by women of women and their point of view and insight on any number of issues.

Works Cited

Aldridge, Meryl. “Lost Expectations? Women journalists and the fall-out from the ‘Toronto newspaper war’”. Media, Culture & Society. London: SAGE Publications. 2001.Vol. 23: 620.

Carpenter, Philip. “ Breast Cancer, Battle Scars and A New Kind of Beauty”. The Gazette. 28 Oct. 2006. A1, B1.

Crafton-Smith, Marilyn. “Feminist Media and Cultural Politics.” Women and the News Media. Ed. McDougall, Elizabeth. Toronto: Canadian Scholar’s Press. 2006. 43
Creedon, Pamela J. “The Challenge of Re-Visioning Gender Values.” Women and the News Media. Ed. McDougall, Elizabeth. Toronto: Canadian Scholar’s Press. 2006. 13

Della-Mattia, Elaine. “Who needs a conservation authority?” and “ Fratesi has his doubts about a city takeover of land and water.” The Sault Star. 28 Oct. 2006. A3

Elliott, Lianne. “Handful of candidates challenging the gender barrier.” The Record. 28 Oct. 2006. A1; A9.

Flanders, L. Margaret. Breakthrough. The Career Woman’s Guide to Shattering the Glass Ceiling. London: Paul Chapman Publishers Ltd. 1994 1-2

Kelly, Brian. “Life Aquatic.” The Sault Star. 28 Oct. 2006. A1

Kelly, Brian. “Remembrance Day poppies go on sale.” The Sault Star. 28 Oct. 2006. A3

Richardson, Linda. “Bail condition after armed home invasion is house arrest.” The Sault Star. 28 Oct. 2006. A3.

Rusnell, Charles. “The Man Who Wasn’t Real”. Edmonton Journal. 28 Oct. 2006. A1, A17
Sadava, Mike. “Woman demands $6 million compensation from police.” Edmonton Journal. 28 Oct. 2006. A1

Seymour, Andrew. “What happened to her?” Ottawa Citizen. 28 Oct. 2006 A1. E7-10.

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Prof. Maurice Switzer
Aboriginal Beat
February 12, 2007
Paul Chislett (0068086)

 

Kashechewan: Mainstream Media Coverage

Kashechewan is located on the south-west shore of James Bay at the mouth of the Albany River. The residents endured two evacuations; ( although they are no strangers to evacuations for ‘normal’ flooding) one in October, 2005 because of water quality problems and resulting illnesses; the other a few months later in May, 2006 when flooding and ice damage practically destroyed the community, forcing another, major evacuation; one that was to last three months and scatter the residents over much of Northern Ontario.

The Globe and Mail has covered the problems of the community and four articles are analyzed in this report: John Ibbitson wrote, “The end draws near for Kashechewan”, November 14, 2006; Bill Curry wrote,“Kashechewan natives balk at leaving home.” January 1, 2007; Kate Harries wrote, “Wave of suicide bids hits reserve”, February 6, 2007; and Jeffrey Simpson wrote, “With no economy, Kashechewan is lost, February 7, 2007. Except for Simpson’s article, all were on page A4 of the paper – the Canada section – and all articles were prominent, including B&W pictures. Simpson’s article was on page A19; the Comment section, and he is a nationally recognized writer. His opinion matters to many readers on any issue he cares to write about.

This essay will show that while the mainstream media practitioners are good at laying out the specifics of a certain condition, they generally fail to provide a historical perspective of problems in First Nations communities. While they may have the best of intentions, the consistent failure to provide a non-settler point of view in the coverage of FN issues means they do a disservice to FN peoples and the readership of their publications. The articles also rely on a heavy dose of pathos to drive home the seeming hopelessness of the situation. There is no analysis in these four articles, of what life was like before the white settler society began to impact the lives of the Cree people in the James Bay area.
Bill Curry states that residents are often evacuated because of bad water and flooding; (not technically true – some flooding has often occurred, with short evacuations necessary) that there is practically no employment, and homes are falling apart.(Curry, A4) He continues with the Pope Report that recommends that the Cree abandon their lands and move south which “… triggered a nationwide debate on the sustainability of the hundreds of other remote reserves in Canada.” (A4). Curry points out that the value of the lands may be increasing because of the presence of diamonds.

Both Simpson and Ibbitson agree that the community will never recover because it has no self-sustaining economy. Ibbitson flatly states that Kashechewan is “…doomed.” because “The logic of the market is implacable.” (Ibbitson, A4) From Simpson we are delivered more despair when he admits that, “[y]es, the traditional hunting, trapping and fishing will produce food, but it is unlikely to produce income.” (Simpson, A19). Not the Cree culture, nor any First Nations culture had a wage economy. The settler, capitalist economic system, born out of the intellectual efforts of European thinkers, was an alien concept for First Nations people. One could argue that capitalism itself, coupled with the residential school experience, brought the community of Kashechewan to its knees.
Is it really true that the land is only worth something to the white settler society? Curry writes that Treaty 9″… allowed Europeans to use native lands for mining and other purposes in exchange for reserves and annual payments of $4 each.” (Ibid) Yet, the diamond mines will be producing wealth not dreamt of by anyone in 1905. The Cree know better than anyone that it is not possible to eat diamonds. Some Kashechewan Cree may be interested in jobs at the diamond mine in Attawapiskat, reports Curry, but Deputy Chief Philip Goodwin says he only knows of a few who will get work at the mine ,90 kilometers away. (Ibid)

But the Cree know where the true value of the land lies for them, even if Simpson and Ibbitson don’t. It’s in the wildlife and other resources of the bush, such as“… fur, fuelwood, berries…” (Berkes et al, 350). A 1994 report in Arctic proves that calls for abandoning traditional lands is just an easy way out for politicians far removed from Cree history and lives. The authors state that harvests of wildlife and other products of the land were worth “… $9.4 million for the region or $8400 per household per year…”. (Berkes et al, 350)

While the authors do say sustaining a mixed economy will not be easy, they conclude saying “ Integration with the economy of the South, and the replacement of the traditional sector by [a] wage economy, as foreseen in the conventional view of development(e.g. Bolt, 1993:228) is not considered by the Cree as feasible or desirable.” (Berkes, et al., 359)
Harries’ article, probably the most sympathetic, simply reveals the results of one culture dominating another, destroying not only an economy, but also the will to live. She alone reports from Kashechewan itself. Her article opens with the evacuations and in the second paragraph, she notes the suicide of a 20 year old man. Surely a picture of hopelessness indicating residents aren’t able to survive. Her report is a good view of why it is not the Cree who are remote from us, rather that we are remote from them. She quotes a Health Canada official who says, “ At any given time, there are seven to nine nurses to address the health needs of the community…” ( Harries, A4). The Pope report says the number of nurses are less, and so it goes as the settler society argues among itself, while consumers of news gradually come to accept the community must move because of implacable problems.

The mainstream media are helping to close the door on alternatives for the Cree in Kashechewan. If there is one report on creating a mixed, sustainable and indigenous economy, then there are more, yet the mainstream media continue “… to be an all-too-complicit ally for sustaining racism in Canada while normalizing white privilege and power as natural and inevitable.” (Fleras, Kunz, 86). So is it simply and fatalistically the implacable logic of the market, as so eloquently put by Mr. Ibbitson? Are we to condone such a logic that justifies genocide and assimilation in our name? According to the Globe and Mail, these are hard and brutal questions best hidden from the masses.

Works Cited

Berkes, F. et al. “Wildlife, Harvesting and Sustainable Regional Native Economy in the Hudson and James Bay Lowland, Ontario.” Arctic. Vol.4. No. 4. Dec. 1994. 350, 359.

Curry, Bill. “Kashechewan natives balk at leaving home .” The Globe and Mail. 01 Jan.. 2007. A4.

Fleras, Augie; Kunz, Jean Lock. Media and Minorities: Representing Diversity in a Multicultural Canada. Toronto: Thompson Educational Products. 2001. 86.

Harries, Kate. “Wave of suicide bids hits reserve.” The Globe and Mail. 06 Feb. 2007 A4.

Ibbitson, John. “The end draws near for Kashechewan.” The Globe and Mail. 14 Nov. 2006. A4

Simpson, Jeffrey. “With no economy, Kashechewan is lost.” The Globe and Mail. 07 Feb. 2007. A19.

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Prof. Tom Gerry
English 2255Paul Chislett (0068086)
Feb. 28, 2007

Heatwave: A French Farce on the Lake

The moment the curtain rose, I felt I knew the little cottage by Leech Lake. The scene was of what we Sudburians would call a camp – a working class refuge from the drudgery of everyday life. Throughout the play the unused clothesline hung off the deck, as if mocking work. Perhaps the working class is better understood in the French-Canadian tradition, for in HeatWave all is not as it appears. This passionate play was about love, sex, death and life and all are fair game for the French comedy/farce tradition which employs “… deception, manipulation and open sexuality” (Dornbush). The dialogue is rapid, basic and funny; like sitting around the kitchen table telling family stories. The running line, “ Promise you won’t laugh …” reminded me that families rely on stock phrases to check on how safe it is to open up to another.

I was completely on the side of lovers Gisele and Yannick. The conflict between Yannick’s yearning for a stable future and Gisele’s struggle to let go of the past so she could accept her present, resonated with my own life experience. Because she is thirty years his senior, Gisele resorts to outrageous lies about Yannick’s past out of desperation to slow down events until her heart catches up. The lies are meant to make an excuse for who he is and yet, just as in I Love Lucy, the lies backfire.

With the arrival of her son, Louis and daughter, Louisette, Gisele has to catch up fast and that’s when the fun begins. Farce, as a literary technique usually involves a complex plot and fast moving events (Cuddon 307) The character exaggeration in this play pushes the comedic effect to the limit of what I would accept before writing off the story as just too silly. The playwright delves headlong into farce to arouse sympathy for Gisele and Yannick. I was moved to consider that life is too short and that we only have a small shot at true love. So what if that true love is unconventional by the standards of others! In fact the neighbour, Napoleon, represents the narrow-minded middle-class, with his socks and sandals, his measuring tape and drill; yet even he comes around to see that life has it’s interesting twists.

At the same time I was maddened by Gisele’s lies born out of a fear of being discovered to be living life as she wants to. I was practically cheering for Yannick as he pleaded with Gisele to tell the truth about their love for each other. Yannick’s exaggerated pouting, arm-waving, and near hysteria showed me that no mater his criminal record, he was a soft-hearted soul.

The open sexuality was a welcome break from the usual Anglo-Saxon puritanism that currently grips North America. Yannick’s casual, naked stroll from the beach begins the farcical romp into the heart of the play. Yannick loves Gisele while Napoleon lusts after her, Louisette falls for Napoleon, Gisele talks to her dead husband, Louis pines for Yannick, and in the end even the tow truck driver finds love.
The inevitable happy ending neatly completed the frantic pace of the play. Everyone found out that it is how we confront the small moments in life that tell the tale of our character. What seems impossible, whatever expectations we think others have; these are not important to our own well-being. Working-class culture is more complicated than it seems, and playwright Michel Marc Bouchard, mines the richness of this fact for all it is worth.

Works Cited

Cuddon, J.A. Dictionary of Literary Terms & Literary Theory. London: Penguin Books, 1998 307.

Dornbush, Libby. “Heat Wave leaves reviewer cold” Northern Life Newspaper, 13 Feb. 2007.