Readers who've been following the Terry Fox stories on ORWELL TODAY will recall that I've got a problem with inukshuks being given so much prominence in Canadian culture - even to the point that they were a huge feature in the recent 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver (a rainforest city in British Columbia) thousands of miles south of the tundra where inukshuks roam (oops, I mean where caribou roam and narwhals swim -- inukshuks aren't a living thing). Here's from my article HONOUR TERRY FOX NOT LENIN-MAO:

....And why, during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics, wasn't Terry Fox honoured and symbolized above and beyond the nauseatingly stereotypical, politically-correct images of totem poles, bears, whales, sasquatches, marmots, moose, mounted police and the all-pervasive "inukshuks" - the statues made of stones that the Inuit use, or used to use, to find their way home on the barren Tundra. There's even one of those inukshuks in Stanley Park - standing 20 feet tall and weighing 70,000 pounds - where rightfully a statue of Terry Fox belongs. Afterall, Stanley Park was the final destination of Terry's 5,000 mile run across Canada and the place where he was planning to dip his artificial leg into the Pacific Ocean - just like he'd done at the beginning in St. John's Newfoundland where he'd dipped it into the Atlantic Ocean. And as if that's not enough reason for there to be a statue of Terry Fox in Stanley Park, how about the fact that Terry's middle name is "Stanley" and, in training for the Marathon of Hope, Terry used to run along the sea wall in Stanley Park.

I'm not alone in being offended - as a true-blooded Canadian - that the organizers of the Vancouver Olympics (held in Terry Fox's own home town) didn't take the opportunity to honour Canada's most beloved hero of all time.

Here, from the Toronto Sun, February 2, 2010 is the article TERRY FOX SNUB AN OLYMPIC FLAMEOUT expressing the thoughts of someone who knew him intimately: ...Terry Fox seems to be a hero in India but not so much at the Olympics in his own hometown. It was a monumental snub, just minutes from the very place the Marathon of Hope dream was conceived. And the person who was with Fox on his very final step of the 1980 Marathon of Hope wonders if Terry not being highlighted at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics is a sign of something even worse to come. "I worry about his legacy", Lou Fine said Monday from his Sudbury home. Thirty years on, the former Canadian Cancer Society Northern Ontario director -- Terry's "father on the road", as Fox's mother, Betty once called him -- says his biggest fear is 30 years from now the legendary one-legged runner will be nothing more than a footnote. "It can die, don't kid yourself", said Fine, who turns 84 Wednesday. Lou's concern showed itself to be real Friday night when Terry's image, voice, tears and accomplishments -- not to mention the cancer research development advancements because of his existence -- were not part of the opening ceremony. "The show was still good but I was surprised," Fine said..... Aboriginal culture was appropriately celebrated as were Canada's bears, whales, sky, harvests, mountains, snowboarders and even well-paid Canadians such as k.d. Lang, Ashley MacIsaac, Bryan Adams and Nelly Furtado. But no Terry. It was as if Terry, who died of cancer June 28, 1981, was not a unique all-Canadian hero. His meaning to this country was, just like that, watered down -- so much so NBC actually called him Michael Fox and accidentally showed a picture of fellow Canadian great Michael J. Fox. It's kind of sick that the anarchist protesters got more media attention.... Speaking to a B.C. TV station, straight-talking Betty Fox rightfully said.... It was a little disappointing". She is not the only Canadian disappointed....

I have nothing personal against inukshuks, or their territory of origin, and actually find inukshuks quite interesting to look at and fun to put together. I took photos of inukshuks when last in Vancouver, ie the one at English Bay -- next to the massive statues of the Communist Chinese laughing out loud at us -- and the one at Stanley Park (where a statue of Terry Fox should be). See HONOUR TERRY FOX NOT LENIN-MAO and LENIN-MAO MOCK CANADA OLYMPICS

Actually, Nunavut (where inukshuks originate) separated from Canada's Northwest Territories in 1999 and formed their own territory. Its people - the Inuk who speak Inuktitut - no longer live the nomadic lifestyle but congregate instead in villages dependent on their funding from the Canadian taxpayer, as do other aboriginal native tribes. However, as elsewhere in Canada, the funding often doesn't reach the general population, and isn't usually used for their benefit either. See INUIT HELL IN HAND BASKET

Nunavut (from Inuktitut) is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993. The creation of Nunavut -- meaning "our land" in Inuktitut -- resulted in the first major change to Canada's map since the incorporation of the new province of Newfoundland in 1949. Nunavut comprises a major portion of Northern Canada, and most of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, making it the fifth-largest country subdivision in the world. The capital Iqaluit (formerly "Frobisher Bay") on Baffin Island, in the east, was chosen by the 1995 capital plebiscite. Other major communities include the regional centres of Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay. Nunavut also includes Ellesmere Island to the north, as well as the eastern and southern portions of Victoria Island in the west and Akimiski Island in James Bay to the far south. Nunavut is both the least populous and the largest in geography of the provinces and territories of Canada. It has a population of 29,474, mostly Inuit, spread over an area the size of Western Europe. Nunavut is also home to the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world, Alert... The territory has an annual budget of C$700 million, provided almost entirely by the federal government. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin designated support for Northern Canada as one of his priorities for 2004, with an extra $500 million to be divided among the three territories.... Wikipedia

I can't remember when it started happening that inukshuks became a symbol of Canada almost to the same level as the totem pole which has been around forever. Here's how one of Canada's most renowned writers describes the prevalance of inukshuks from his book PLANET SALT SPRING, by Arthur Black. I borrowed it from the library as a book-tape, and transcribed the chapter below:

If you should someday find yourself on that jewel in the Gulf Island's necklace called Pender Island a word of warning for you - you will meet a monster. Just past the Mountie Depot and right across from the Community Hall you will see, guaranteed, a terrifying figure rearing up on its hind legs -- brawny arms akimbo like a ravening Silverback grizzly intent on turning you into lunch. Chill, this monster doesn't move -- can't, it's made of stone. It is, of course, an "inukshuk". Oh dear, another one, to go along with the outsize inukshuks already in place in English Bay, not to mention the stone behemouths in Monterey Mexico, Guatamala City, Washington DC and Oslow Norway.

Now don't get me wrong, inkukshuks have their place, but it isn't Mexico, Central America, Europe or the wilds of the American capital. Their place is north of 60 on the treeless barrens where inukshuks do what they were historically created to do -- serve as a navigation guide, a marker for hunting grounds or a tundra totem indicating an emergency food stash. Those inukshuks are beautiful, iconic and beyond useful -- they're critical to human survival. But nowadays I see inukshuks by the Pat Bay highway driving into Victoria. I see mini inukshuks on the forest path I walk my dogs on each morning. They don't indicate north: 'this way to the narwhals' or 'frozen caribou buried here'. What they indicate is that some knucklehead with nothing better to do decided to leave his mark on an otherwise fairly pristine landscape. My dogs do the same thing but I carry plastic bags to deal with that. Do you know where the biggest inukshuk in the world is? Not in Tuktoyaktuk or in Ellesmere Island -- it's in Schomberg, Ontario -- Southern Ontario -- a farming community about 30 miles northwest of Toronto. Now trust me, I grew up in Schoenberg. It has a Massey Ferguson dealership, an IGA and the Schoenberg Midgets hocky team. But its connections to the far north -- extremely tenuous. So why then an inukshuk in Schoenberg? -- Well, simple: advertising. 'Come to Schoenberg -- get a snapshot of hubby and the kids next to that "big stone thing" -- maybe do some shopping while you're here'.

So what's the big deal? Well, the big deal is symbols are important and they lose their power if they become diluted. There's an inukshuk on the flag of Nunavet -- that's powerful. But an inukskuk on a T-shirt over the legends 'My folks went to Schoenberg and all I got was this lousy T-shirt' -- that's not so powerful. But maybe I'm being unduly alarmist. Other Canadian symbols relfect a pretty impressive durability. Afterall, consider the Canadian symbol Toronto's hapless NHL hockey team carries on the front of its jerseys -- and yet the Maple Leaf retains its mojo. And then, too, a symbol is just that -- a symbol -- you don't want to read too much into it. Somebody once confronted Sigmund Freud and asked him if the common cigar was not in fact one of those famous phallic symbols Freud was always talking about. Freud paused, thought for a moment and replied "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar". But then, Freud pretty much had to say that. He had one in his mouth at the time.

Speaking of inukshuks on T-shirts, I have one too. In April 2008 I participated in the Vancouver Sun Run -- a 10-km road race -- which was the culmination of a 13-week nordic-walking clinic I attended to learn proper technique for using the poles for "four-wheel drive" (total body workout) while walking.

Two years later, in September 2010, on the way to climb Terry Fox Mountain in Valemount, BC, I wore the T-shirt on a hike to Helmcken Falls in Wells Gray Park as a warm-up for the big climb the next day.

The backpack I'm wearing is special because it's the same one I used in Scotland in 2004 on the hike to George Orwell's house -- the place where he wrote his masterpiece NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR which is the inspiration behind the creation of my ORWELL TODAY website. See PILGRIMAGE TO ORWELL

My hiking partner, Carol, is special too because she is the sister of Terry Fox's best friend, Doug Alward, who drove the Marathon of Hope van across Canada in 1980 and kept track of every mile Terry ran. See TERRY'S FRIEND DOUG CARRIES TORCH

When Doug came to my town to run a race Carol phoned me up and we met at the park to watch it. This led to our getting the idea to climb Terry Fox Mountain, which, seven months later, we were on the way to do when we hiked to the waterfall first. See LOOKING FOR TERRY FOX MOUNTAIN and CLIMBING TERRY FOX MOUNTAIN

All the best,
Jackie Jura

China sets its sights on Nunavet's iron ore, Financial Post, Oct 2, 2010
China has set its resource-hungry eyes on another Canadian industry, as state-owned Xinxing Pipes Group Co. agreed to invest up to $1 billion into an iron-ore-mining project in Nunavut. Xinxing announced Wednesday that its subsidiary, Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes, has formed a joint venture with Toronto-based Advanced Explorations Inc. to develop a proposed magnetite mine in Roche Bay, Nunavut. Iron ore is the main ingredient in steel. The investment comes as China ramps up its iron ore imports globally in a bid to keep up with the country's domestic steel industry. And that's good news for Canadian iron ore companies, which could see new investment after long losing out to gold, diamond and other mining operations in accessing capital. "I think there's plenty of room for the industry to grow substantially here," said Bart Melek, global commodity strategist for BMO. "Some of the companies -- especially in isolated parts of the country like Baffin Island -- have massive capital expense requirements, and Chinese capital or (capital from) anywhere else for that matter is welcome. These companies need lots and lots of infrastructure to make their mines work." Under the deal, Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes -- one of the world's largest manufacturers of cast-iron pipes -- will inject $20 million into the Roche Bay project to complete the mine's feasibility study. Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes will invest a further $30 million when the study is completed. If everything checks out, Xinxing could provide $1 billion for the mine's capital requirements. Xinxing, along with its affiliate China Huaxin International, will also acquire 19 per cent of Advanced Explorations' stock at a price of 25 cents a share, valued at about $5.3 million as part of the deal. In return, Advanced Explorations has agreed to provide Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes with half of Roche Bay's iron ore output. "These are very exciting times in iron ore as indicated by M&A activities in the region," said John Gingerich, chief executive of Advanced Explorations. "The global demand for iron ore has brought international focus to the world's emerging opportunities." Much of that global demand is being stoked by China. Even a government campaign to cut steel production hasn't managed to reduce forecasts for Chinese production of the metal. Analysts expect steel output to hit 620 million to 630 million tonnes this year, up almost 10 per cent from 2009. And while Australia, Brazil and India remain China's largest iron ore suppliers, the country appears to be diversifying its suppliers. "China is running out of good, high-quality iron ore," Melek said. "They are being forced to increasingly import a lot of the metal for materials because they have high costs and inefficient mines that simply are not enough." Increasingly, China's imports are coming from countries like South Africa, Ukraine and Canada. Iron ore from the three countries more than doubled in 2009 from a year earlier, says the General Administration of Customs in China. Last year, China imported 8.65 million tonnes of iron ore from Canada, up 130 per cent from 2008. Canada is the world's eighth-largest producer, but many proposed mines -- like Advanced Explorations' Roche Bay project -- lie in northern regions that require vast capital to develop. Investment from China will likely continue to provide the biggest opportunity for iron ore mining companies in Canada. "China will need to continue to import mass amounts of iron ore, and it's probably wise for them to diversify somewhat away from Brazil and Australia," Melek said. "A geopolitically stable company like Canada makes sense". See CHINA DEVOURING CANADA'S METAL and CHINA NICKEL FOR OUR KINGDOM

HONOUR TERRY FOX NOT LENIN-MAO and LENIN-MAO MOCK CANADA OLYMPICS

INUIT HELL IN HANDBASKET

PILGRIMAGE TO ORWELL

TERRY'S FRIEND DOUG CARRIES TORCH

LOOKING FOR TERRY FOX MOUNTAIN and CLIMBING TERRY FOX MOUNTAIN

This image at top of page from Terry Fox google search

Inukshuk art at Toronto's Pearson airport angers some Inuit in Nunavut, CBC News, Sep 27, 2017
The way three inukshuks displayed outside Toronto's Pearson International Airport are structured has angered some Inuit. The pieces, outside Terminal 1, were purchased by the federal government for installation at the airport in 1963. They were built by Kiakshuk, an elder from Cape Dorset, Nunavut, and member of the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative. At some point, the works were disassembled and transferred into storage, then they were reassembled. But some say the configurations are disrespectful to Inuit culture. A CBC Nunavut Facebook post of the photos drew dozens of comments, with many pointing out the structures do not resemble traditional inukshuks. An important symbol in the North -- and one that adorns the Nunavut flag -- inukshuks can have many meanings, from symbols of hope and friendship to literal and spiritual guideposts. But they can also indicate an area that should not be approached or touched. One inukshuk in Toronto especially upset Piita Irniq, who has built several of the symbolic structures across North America and served as a commissioner of Nunavut. While old photographs show the inukshuks look much the same before and after reassembly, Irniq says he believes the inukshuks were assembled incorrectly at some point.... Old photographs show that despite being reassembled, the inukshuks look much the same. The inukshuks have been in their current location on the curb outside the Terminal 1 departures entrance since 2002.... Smith said Toronto Pearson is like a front door to Canada for many people, so the airport wants to rectify the issue....

China's Northwest Passage Ambitions Could Challenge Canada's Sovereignty, HuffingtonPost, Apr 22, 2016
China wants to run tankers right up our Northwest Passage. Not to find the hand of Franklin. But to ship goods to North America's East Coast and challenge Canadian jurisdiction over Arctic waters. A guidebook produced by China's Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) shows that the People's Republic wants to use Canada's northern waters as a shortcut to the Atlantic, The Globe and Mail reported. Ships currently have to reach it through the Panama Canal -- a route that takes about 40 per cent more time. The 365-page "Arctic Navigation Guide (Northwest Passage)" pitches the Northwest Passage as a shipping route by noting that the Nunavik, an ore-carrying ship, made the first unsupported voyage from Deception Bay, Que. to China in 2014. "There will be ships with Chinese flags sailing through this route in the future," MSA spokesman Liu Pengfei said Tuesday.... The Northwest Passage is a route that runs from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans via a series of channels through the Arctic.... Canada has asserted its jurisdiction, over the Northwest Passage -- but other countries, such as the United States, claim the region is international waters. China hasn't said where it stands on Canada's authority over the waters. But there are concerns over whether Canada even has the resources to assert its sovereignty there. Observers say Canada needs more than the five icebreakers it currently has on hand. China's interest in the Northwest Passage could represent "the biggest direct challenge" to Canada's sovereignty over the waters, University of Calgary professor Rob Huebert told The Globe and Mail. For its part, the federal government is paying close attention. Joseph Pickerill, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion, told The Guardian that no one has an automatic right to sail through the passage...

TERRY FOX ATLANTIC WATER JUG

INUKSHUK & TERRY FOX STATUES

FOX FRIEND ALWARD CHANGED CANADA

CANADA'S KOREAN WAR TRAIN WRECK

TERRY FOX NEWFIE VODKA

CLIMBING TERRY FOX MOUNTAIN

TERRY FOX MONUMENTAL PERSON

LOOKING 4 TERRY FOX MOUNTAIN

MY TERRY FOX MEMORIES

TERRY'S FRIEND DOUG CARRIES TORCH

HONOUR TERRY FOX NOT LENIN-MAO