Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and the resulting geo-political sabre-rattling stirs memories of Cold War preparations in North America for nuclear attacks.
Many Canadians and Americans will recall bombing drills at school and work that made cowering under desks and scattering to bunkers a sad but regular part of life.
North Bay, of course, was on the Soviet radar as an important military base for the West that was part of the NORAD defence system, complete with BOMARC missiles.
The city’s largest ever construction project was the building of the Underground Complex carved out of the escarpment, a three-storey facility designed to withstand a direct blast with up to 400 personnel able to live for months in case the worst happened. Maybe it’s a blessing it hasn’t been filled in yet as the search for alternative uses, possibly for data security or tourism, continues.
As a reporter, I was lucky to ride the bus down the long ramp to the massive vault door for ‘The Hole’ not long before it was all but moth-balled. I have a hard time imagining working down there at a radar screen shift after shift, slowly turning into a mushroom while watching and waiting for catastrophe (there was a large stone sculpture of a mushroom at the entrance). YouTube and Zoom journalism during our COVID winters may be similar.
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It’s important history. When you have a moment, visit the Canadian Forces Museum of Aerospace Defence at CFB North Bay to discover or reacquaint yourself with that surreal and dark reality.
It’s not that long ago the Soviet empire collapsed and the city’s strategic military value declined to the point where half the U.S. and Canadian personnel were removed. If it was not for the fight led by Nipissing MP Bob Wood, there likely wouldn’t exist an above-ground NORAD facility and there would have been further military cuts, which may have included airport runway support.
North Bay’s military past goes much further back than the Cold War, though, with locals fighting and dying in battles across the globe before, during, and after the First and Second World War. British soldiers came this way around the time of the War of 1812, and of course, Anishinabek allies of the time were drawn from this territory, with more of both choosing this land for their families as Lower Canada filled up.
Without a doubt, the area displays a deep pride and commitment to military service and when bombs explode across the waters we feel it here.
The North Bay Museum has several exhibits dedicated to various aspects of that history, including the famed Algonquin Regiment. That’s why it’s only natural the 52nd Biennial Convention of the Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Provincial Command her in North Bay, May 14 to 17. Delegates from 393 Legions across Ontario are expected to attend the event at Nipissing University, as well as guests from all over Canada, including Provincial Presidents from other provinces.
But this column isn’t dedicated to the brave women and men drawn from the city and surrounding towns, villages, and Indigenous communities to wear uniforms to participate in war efforts.
The atrocious Russian invasion reminds me I am descended from those who left Europe for a better life on this continent. My mother’s father was of the Hawrish branch that made a living as sod-busters in Saskatchewan and I remember visiting a great aunt who settled in Pennsylvania along with many other Ukrainians. There was also a great uncle who lived his days in a little apartment in Toronto somewhere.
I don’t know their history well, my mom’s family was fractured early and often in Sault Ste. Marie and not many formed strong cultural connections to Ukrainian groups anywhere. We are also part German from my grandmother’s side and two of my uncles came to follow that root, one eventually teaching on the military base there and another serving in the Canadian Forces there with some involvement during the Russian-linked war in Bosnia. I also have cousins who served in the military, one wondering why he was in Afghanistan, considering the recent reversal of concern about the Taliban.
Admittedly, I only really mentioned my Ukrainian roots when I met others or when pierogis were being served. I also joked on stage a few times about my Ukrainian nose and eyebrows. Slightly stronger is my connection to my father’s Irish and Welsh lineage – also leaving their homeland during or due to troubled times to get a new start in Canada. Their links stretch back a bit further to pre-Confederation life here in the earlier part of the 1800s, with the Dale part of the clan joining the initial immigrant branch near Shawville, Quebec before settling down in the Ottawa Valley.
As the daily bombardment of news echoes with live updates from the Russian shelling of Ukraine cities, I find myself rooting through vast mountains of history and thinking a lot about the implications of war and strife so many families feel these days.
Among the most important chapters are how various waves of immigrants to Canada were treated after their arrival, often greeted with disdain and subjected to harsh ethnic and cultural prejudice. It’s not quite akin to racial prejudice but it’s merely a shade away.
Just the other day, I was talking to Sandy O’Grady about the local Italian Canadian community’s plan June 5-12 for recognizing the federal government’s apology for internment as “enemy aliens” during the Second World War. The apology was issued in the House of Commons in May 2021, but COVID pandemic restrictions prevented its reception in communities like North Bay.
O’Grady said Canada has a habit of vilifying its own people if they come from a country they currently oppose during war times. She cited how Ukrainians were persecuted similarly during the First World War, while the Japanese and Jewish people were interned in the Second World War along with Italians and Germans.
She said a series of events are planned through the Davedi Club, including a celebration of the recovery of the Italian community in northern Ontario. Watch for details and maybe drop by the North Bay Museum and see the exhibit dedicated to the subject.
Museum curator Naomi Hehn also pointed me to the Columbus Centre project where video interviews with O’Grady and the late Tony DeMarco share their family history and the long-lasting impacts of the internments.
One of the largest internment camps in the First World War was near Kapuskasing, where 1,300 prisoners were forced to labour through tough conditions. I worked in Kap for a while and several years after leaving a plaque was installed to describe that chapter of history:
KAPUSKASING INTERNMENT CAMP 1914 - 1920
When the First World War began, Canada established internment camps to detain persons viewed as security risks. Prejudice and wartime paranoia led to the needless internment of several thousand recent immigrants. The majority were Ukrainians whose homeland was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. One of the largest camps was built across the river from here at a remote railway siding. Despite harsh conditions, some 1,300 internees constructed buildings and cleared hundreds of acres of spruce forest for a government experimental farm. In 1917 most were paroled to help relieve wartime labour shortages. Thereafter the camp held prisoners of war and political radicals, including leaders of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike.
For those interested, there’s a good piece I found that gives a lot of background about the whys and wherefores of Canada’s “over-reaction” at the time. I found it here.
This paragraph captures some of the experience, although there’s so much more to it:
“In the spring of 1916, a serious riot erupted at Kapuskasing. It was ignited by several prisoners transferred from the Petawawa internment camp where they had refused to work after being forced to do so during religious holidays. They continued their resistance at Kapuskasing and were soon joined by most of the established inmates. The dispute culminated in a confrontation in which guards used firearms and bayonets on the prisoners, seriously wounding a dozen.”
More than 100 died in such prisons with seven killed for trying to escape back to their former freedoms. The Canadian Encyclopedia quotes a survivor of internment that helps frame my thoughts these days. I’ve found myself reflecting a lot on past and current “flexing of fear and hate” for the “others” during tough times and this captures the frustration of watching history repeat itself.
“What was done to us was wrong. Because no one bothered to remember or learn about the wrong that was done to us it was done to others again, and yet again. Maybe there’s an even greater wrong in that,” said Mary Manko Haskett.
I believe Russia should be convinced as soon as possible to end its war on Ukraine. Sanctions and whatever is necessary should be on the table, under it and behind the wall as well. I thank Liz Lott for giving me one of the flags she picked up at the Ukrainian Centre in Sudbury, it flies at my highway mailbox with the hope the people there can continue their brave fight against Russia’s attempt to expand its empire again.
But I shudder at the hatefulness being inflamed by officials and media mouthpieces targeting anybody or anything Russian, including athletes and performers. Just leave those not in uniform out of it. Let’s hope such misplaced anger doesn’t encompass Russian Canadians like it did Ukrainian, German, Italian, Japanese, Jews, etc.
If you’re feeling frustrated by the war and would rather not lash out at people of any nationality, race, or creed, there is a way to turn that energy into a positive vibe.
Two Nipissing District residents are joining forces to help buy protective vests for Ukrainian citizens fighting against invading Russians.
The Vest Project, a non-profit partnership formed by business owners Cindie D'Agostino and Lori Burns, is raising funds locally to purchase safety gear from established and trusted organizations in Ukraine. They are organizing several events so watch for the news. They even have a website you can visit here.
Contact them here.
Every once in a while, an opportunity knocks for you to give somebody else a fighting chance. Kinda like paying it forward in a coffee lineup but to save lives.
Dave Dale is a veteran journalist and columnist who has covered the North Bay area for more than 30 years. Reader responses meant as Letters to the Editor can be sent to [email protected]. To contact the writer directly, email: [email protected] or check out his website www.smalltowntimes.ca
