Royal LePage - Your Community Realty, Independently Owned and Operated, (905) 731-2000
Jim Reid, Broker, (905) 731-2000
TALES FROM "BOB THE BEAVER"
"Bark of Rights"
by Bob the Beaver
The chief beavers were becoming concerned that our laws and regulations weren't being applied in a fair manner to all the Canadian beavers.
Some beavers were trying out some things that had always been wrong and they felt that they shouldn't be wrong anymore. Others felt that we should be more acceptable of the ideas and values of beavers in other countries. So, the chief beavers wrote a new birch bark law called the "Bark of Rights".
Well this law sounded pretty fair to everyone as it allowed almost anything and any kind of behavior a beaver could think up or try out. But the old laws weren't changed so every new behavior had to go to court to get the old laws struck down.
What a mess! We had to build more courts, hire more judges, train more lawyers and keep changing the rules for our policemen.
Well I'm not so smart as the chiefs and the judges, but it just doesn't seem to make any sense to me to give a beaver "rights" without first telling them their duties and responsibilities. Like I mean, I wouldn't let "Buckey" take my favourite log down the rapids unless I knew he would behave responsibly and take care of it, eh!
He would have to demonstrate to me that he respected the other beavers on the river. He would have to keep it under control for safety reasons. And I would expect him to respect our family's values in log design and spiritual symbols and beliefs. After hundreds of years, we have some traditions that should be kept as part of our Canadian beaver culture.
Only after "Buckey" agrees to these duties, responsibilities and heritage will he obtain "rights" to do things his own way that don't interfere with these sacred things to Canadian beavers. We have our own "Bark of Canadian Beaver Duties, Responsibilities and Heritage". All the "rights" are subjugated to these things before they are granted to him. This makes it much easier to decide which "rights" aren't acceptable to us.
Now - if I can only get the chiefs to see how important this is to all of us!