‘Chase’ council revisits decision to vote down Every Child Matters crosswalk after community pushback

In the Village of Chase in Secwepemcúl’ecw, residents are pushing back against local government after councillors shut down a motion to paint an Every Child Matters crosswalk in recognition of Orange Shirt Day.

The proposal to commemorate residential “school” survivors, which would cost the municipality $625, was defeated at a Sept. 12 council meeting after two councillors voted against the idea — a decision that was met by community criticism.

Council is now set to revisit the matter Tuesday afternoon as an item of “unfinished business” being brought back by Mayor David Lepsoe under section 131 of the B.C. Community Charter.

Ashton Sweetnam, a 37-year-old resident of “Chase,” said the decision “speaks very loudly about the attitude of some council members in respect to Truth and Reconciliation.”

Sweetnam was one of several people who submitted a letter to the council questioning their choice to shut down the project.

“I’ve been in touch with some other individuals and members in Chase,” she said in a phone interview. “Community members are appropriately outraged by the situation, so we’re making plans to go back on Sept. 26 to attend the meeting and get support.”

The crosswalk is estimated to cost a total of $2,500, plus ongoing maintenance costs, which would be split equally between the municipality and the Adams Lake Indian Band, Neskonlith Indian Band and Skwalax te Secwepemcul’ecw — resulting in a payment of $625 for each participating community.

At the Sept. 12 Village of Chase council meeting, there was discussion about maintenance costs including the potential threat of vandalism and a comparison of the surrounding communities like Adams Lake not having a crosswalk of the same nature, according to council minutes. After some deliberation, the motion was defeated by Coun. Colin Connett and Coun. Fred Torbohm.

On Sept. 21, Adams Lake Indian Band Kukpi7 Lynn Kenoras-Duck Chief published a statement in which she called the decision “very upsetting.” She said her community and two others had been meeting with the Chase local government for more than a year about implementing a Truth and Reconciliation-related project.

“In particular, the message that it sends to children, youth, and intergenerational survivors as well as the residential school survivors themselves,” she wrote.

“The crosswalk would have been something to be proud of and to allow our children to continue to learn and talk about this important issue.”

The Village of Chase is located about 60 km from the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, which unleashed a national reckoning around residential “schools” after Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc announced in 2021 it found preliminary evidence of 215 children’s graves on the site.

Orange Shirt Day, also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, takes place each year on Sept. 30. Adams Lake Indian Band will marking the day on Saturday with an event at 1 p.m. in the band office parking lot, and is encouraging everyone to attend.

Mayor Lepsoe did not respond to a request for an interview before publication time. Kenoras-Duck Chief and the chiefs from Neskonlith Indian Band and Skwalax te Secwepemcul’ecw were also unavailable.