Commentary
British Columbia’s social pioneers
As a provincial election approaches, it is useful to reflect on our history and collective efforts over more than a century to build a fair society. Here is an eloquent overview provided by Daisy Webster, MLA for Vancouver South, as she moved the Speech from the Throne in the BC Legislature following the election of the province’s … Continue reading
“On y va pas à Siberia” (We will not go to Siberia)
December 21st marks the anniversary of the mutiny in Victoria of soldiers, French-Canadian conscripts mostly, who defied the orders of their masters in 1918. The soldiers refused to march to the docks to be sent over to Vladivostok, Russia — in the opening volley of Canada’s Siberian Expedition, a failed attempt by Canada and its Allies … Continue reading
On the Borders of Bolshevism
“On the Borders of Bolshevism: Class, Race, and the Social Relations of Occupied Vladivostok, 1918-19.” Comparativ, 22 (October 2012): 72-86. Read Here (0.15MB PDF) Abstract. In Vladivostok after the revolutions of 1917, power was in flux. Rival state and non-state actors vied for legitimacy, a geopolitical conflict that translated into local and human relations—a process mediated … Continue reading
Доктор философии из Канады обещает через год представить в ДВФУ свою книгу о гражданской войне
Одним из участников международной конференции «Гражданская война и военная интервенция: уроки истории», проходившей в ДВФУ 25-26 октября, стал Бенджамин Айситт, доктор философии из университета Виктории (Канада), автор множества книг, статей, монографий. Темы его научных интересов – история, политика, социальная жизнь Канады. Доктор Айситт выступил на конференции с лекцией на английском языке «Canada and the Allied … Continue reading
Radio interview: Labouring British Columbia
Listen to this radio interview on The City FM, Vancouver, from September 4, 2012, where I discuss British Columbia’s labour tradition and current labour issues with host Andrew Longhurst: Link to City FM radio interview, September 4, 2012 Download City FM radio Podcast
De Victoria à Vladivostok
Ce livre incontournable et stimulant fait revivre un chapitre oublié de l’histoire du Canada et de la Russie : le périple de Victoria à Vladivostok, en 1918, de 4200 soldats canadiens envoyés en renfort dans la guerre contre le bolchevisme. Il éclaire la manière dont l’Expédition sibérienne a exacerbé les tensions au sein de la société … Continue reading
Paul Phillips: Community Builder (1933-2012)
Fernwood resident Paul Phillips died peacefully in his home on May 18, 2012 — a community builder and troublemaker to the end. Here is an interview with Paul and a biography that I wrote for the Fernwood News in 2006. Paul discusses purchasing Little Fernwood Hall, street closures and creating Fernwood Square Link to Paul’s … Continue reading
Vancouver Island’s rail heritage and future
Watch Youtube video This 8mm film footage shows Vancouver Island’s Esquimalt & Nanaimo railroad in the 1950s, shortly after the introduction of diesel. As we consider the future of rail on the island in the 21st century, I urge my fellow Victoria City Councillors to exercise foresight and plan for the future — by ensuring that … Continue reading
Remembering the Victoria mutiny
On December 21, 2011, I helped commemorate a forgotten mutiny of French-Canadian soldiers that occurred 93 years ago at the corner of Fort and Quadra streets in downtown Victoria, as the 259th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (Siberia) embarked for the port of Vladivostok and service in the Russian Civil War. I first discovered … Continue reading
Documentary Film Trailer
Watch the Documentary Film Trailer on Youtube | En Française Learn More! Read about Canada’s Siberian Expedition in the Legion Magazine Visit the Siberian Expedition Virtual Exhibition & Digital Archive
Victoria mutiny of 1918 revived in call for justice
Councillor leads charge to clear names of French-Canadian soldiers who refused to fight in Russia By Derek Spalding, Victoria Times Colonist, December 22, 2011 Victoria city councillor Ben Isitt was sitting in the basement of the University of B.C. library 12 years ago when he discovered a historical event that he thought shed light on … Continue reading
Feds needs to invest in E&N
Letter to the Editor of the Victoria News, 10 December 2011 A letter writer suggests that rail service along the Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E&N) corridor “doesn’t seem to fit Via Rail’s mandate” (“E&N track is dead thanks to inaction,” Dec. 9). But what then is Via Rail’s mandate? Is it to focus exclusively on inter-city rail service in vote-rich Ontario and an over-priced, … Continue reading
In solidarity with the 99%
Victoria, like cities across Canada, North America and the globe, has become a site of contestation, where young and old people have drawn a line in the sand against a system they believe is built upon inequality and exploitation. These visionaries offer the brightest beacon in a generation of the possibility for a better world. The … Continue reading
Interview on CKNW Radio: On Jack Layton
Ben was interviewed on CKNW Radio Vancouver on August 23, 2011, the day after Federal New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Jack Layton passed away. Isitt comments on the political significance of Layton’s career and death, after he led his party to a historic 103 seats in Canada’s House of Commons — its best showing ever, … Continue reading
On Jack Layton’s passing
The man knew how to eat pizza. With the same seriousness of purpose and concentration that drove his political life, Jack Layton devoured two loaded slices of pizza pie at a hole-in-the-wall place on Rue St-Denis in bohemian Montreal. Jack stacked the slices one on top of the other, face in. I was captivated by the … Continue reading
Canadian Hero
It is with admiration that I read Brigette DePape’s explanation of why she disrupted the Throne Speech in Canada’s Senate chamber. The 21-year-old parliamentary page from Winnipeg has now been fired for her defiant act. On June 3rd, she stood stone-faced in the centre of the sterile red chamber of privilege, holding a sign reading … Continue reading
Race to the Bottom
Letter to the Editor published in the Daily Gleaner (Fredericton), 4 June 2011 Re: Story published May 30 called, “Time to reform public-sector pensions, city told” The Fredericton Chamber of Commerce is wrong to attack the pension benefits of city workers. While pension reform may sound harmless, it threatens workers whether they have pensions or … Continue reading
Harper majority bad for Canada
Day 1 of Steve Harper’s “stable” majority government is accompanied by news that the PM has appointed three rejected Conservative candidates to the sheltered unelected refuge of graft and privilege – the Canadian Senate. But today’s major policy announcement is the more ominous – the dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board, an important institution founded in response … Continue reading
Predictions of NDP’s death unfounded
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 29 January 2011 Surely Adrian Raeside has been following B.C. politics long enough to know that it is naive to depict the NDP as a “dying party” (cartoon, Jan. 21). The New Democratic Party is no stranger to controversy or internal debate. It is composed … Continue reading
Deal with root causes of homelessness
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 26 August 2010 Re: “Picnic brigade reclaims patch of Pandora Avenue,” Aug. 22. I live in the immediate vicinity of downtown Victoria, with all the social problems of homelessness and substance misuse outside my doorstep. I would, of course, prefer that poor people had housing … Continue reading
