Museum finds itself under fire over disabled policies

A visitor to Prince Rupert taking in the sights of the city from one of the visiting cruise ships has questioned the Museum of Northern B. C.'s attitude towards the disabled.

An incident at the museum which saw Kent McDaniel of Seattle forced to make a decision to leave his motorized wheel chair for the museum's manual version, left the visitor less than impressed with Prince Rupert hospitality and garnered national attention from his complaints about the attitude of Museum officials. His complaints have been picked up in stories by such newspapers as the Vancouver Sun and Edmonton Sun, to name a few.

The option of changing wheel chairs was according to McDaniel not possible, as his condition of cerebral palsy requires him to balance himself in a sitting position which his motorized chair apparently makes allowances for.

Despite the presence of a full time care provider accompanying Mr. McDaniel, the museum citing dangers to young children and other visitors chose not to allow the motorized wheel chair into the museum.

McDaniel was so incensed with the Museum's approach that he has suggested that he may very well likely never visit the country again and found Curator Susan Marsden to not be a particularly good ambassador for the museum, the city or the country for that matter.

Depending on Mr. McDaniel's intentions, we suspect that the incident could become a file with the the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, which will no doubt be looking over the B. C Human Rights Code, to see if the publicly funded Museum stepped outside of those guidelines.

As the Daily News discovered upon contacting a member of the Civil Liberties Association, depending on how the guidelines are viewed in regards to this incident, there could be the possibility of litigation, never a positive trend for a public institution.

The controversy at the Museum comes as the summer tourist season comes to an end and the cruise ship lines do their year end surveys of the markets they call on. Having unhappy passengers reporting back to the ship with tales of unfortunate incidents, could in the long run have an impact on future port calls in the city, not to mention make the job of Tourism Prince Rupert that much harder when it comes to highlighting Prince Rupert as more than just a place to wait for the Alaska or Queen Charlotte Island Ferries.

One suspects that Curator Marsden may be receiving more than a few phone calls this week as the story expands. From Human Rights officials, tourism officials and assorted media interests, all no doubt finding the story something of interest.

The Daily had the first draft at it, featuring the incident as its front page story in Friday's paper.

WHEELCHAIR USER CLAIMS BRAKES WERE PUT ON VISIT
Tourist's trip soured after he was refused entry to museum, claims discrimination

By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Friday, September 19, 2008

Pages one and two

When Kent McDaniel disembarked the Rhapsody of the Seas in Prince Rupert two weeks ago, he had hopes of exploring one of the finest museums in British Columbia.

Unfortunately, the 32-year-old Seattle resident said his small taste of the port city was soured when he arrived at the Museum of Northern B.C. on Sept. 3 and was told his motorized wheelchair was not permitted inside the building. Born with cerebral palsy, McDaniel has been confined to a wheelchair for most of his life and requires constant help from a full-time caregiver, who accompanied him on his Alaskan cruise.

McDaniel was told by Museum of Northern B.C. Curator Susan Marsden that the only way he could enter the museum would be to have his caregiver put him into a manual wheelchair, which McDaniel said he was unable to use because he does not have the ability to balance himself in a sitting position.

"I asked if the Canadian government had any equivalent to the Americans with Disabilities Act, and I was less-than-politely told that Canada did not," said McDaniel. "I left Prince Rupert pretty upset. I'm so appalled by this I'm thinking of never coming back to Canada, because I'm worried this is how all of Canada treats disabled people. From a United States citizen's perspective, [Marsden] does not represent your community very well at all."

Marsden said McDaniel wasn't denied access to the museum, because he was offered the use of a museum wheelchair that was not motorized, which he declined.

"It's a motorized vehicle. It puts the other visitors at risk because it's motorized," said Marsden.
"We have toddlers and lots of children, and it's very crowded on cruise ship days, so it puts the other visitors at risk.

"And we exist to care for the collection, so that's also important."

Marsden said there is already an extensive record of documented accidents involving motorized wheelchairs, including incidents at museums including the Smithsonian, where collections have been damaged.

Marsden believes motorized wheelchairs fall into an area of legislation that has not kept up with current technology and needs to be addressed by the province, along with other potential safety hazards such as the use of oxygen tanks.

"We're actually getting legal counsel working on the proper wording for our policy in case it ever becomes an issue," said Marsden. "Our wheelchair has sides on it just like his did, and we provide a guide or somebody to push the wheelchair around if they need it. We also provide guides for people who are blind. So we have a policy of making the museum accesible to all handicapped people."

Murray Mollard is the Executive Director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, and was shocked to hear about the circumstances which prevented McDaniel from accessing the museum. Mollard said he had never heard of a similar policy because there are specific provisions in Canada that provide protection for people against unequal treatment.

"It's hard to believe in this day and age that would be the type of reception that was given to this gentleman," said Mollard. "This seems like a classic case of discrimination, and the museum should probably apologize to the individual immediately before they face some kind of litigation."
Section 8 of the B.C. Human Rights Code states that "a person must not without a bonafide and reasonable justification deny to a person or class of person any accomodation, service or facility customarily available to the public or discriminate against a person ... because of race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex or sexual orientation of that person."

Every penny counts!

When you’ve double counted five million dollars and face a bit of setback to your financial plans, the idea of shaking the couch cushions for a little loose change seems sensible.

While there’s no couch to shake at the Museum of Northern BC, there is a gift shop and City Council has decided that the taxes generated by that retail outlet in the Museum should be delivering a dividend to the city.

Over the years, the city has not collected revenues from the Gift Shop which has had a tax exempt status, that all changed with three readings to the tax exempt bylaw.

The Monday Daily News had details on that change as well as the history of city’s financial involvement with the Museum Society.

MUSEUM ABOUT TO START PAYING CITY SOME TAXES
Tax exempt status for gift shop is withdrawn
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday October 15, 2007
Page three

Only those parts of the Museum of Northern B.C. that do not generate any profit or compete with other local businesses will be exempt from municipal taxes this year.

The city gave the first three readings to its tax exemption bylaw on Tuesday, but agreed to amend the bylaw to ensure the museum gift shop would not be getting a free ride.

“When we went through this last year, there were certain questions that arose about certain exemptions, that not the whole of the property fit the tax exemption,” said Coun. Sheila Gordon-Payne. “I am talking about the museum and I am wondering if we are continuing to give the whole building an exemption or if we have corrected that process.”

Businesses competing with the gift shop in tourist and jewelry items have complained in past years that the museum had an unfair advantage, and asked council to level the playing field. Building owners who rent retail space have also complained.

Because of time constraints to pass the 2007 bylaw, staff had intended to continue to give the entire building the exemption, however council passed an amendment to the property, divvying it up between the taxable and the untaxable – the portion that houses the museum itself.

‘The rest of that building, including the part that is rented out, is in direct competition with folks around town who rent out space and those folks pay taxes,” said Coun. Tony Briglio.

Gordon-Payne asked that last year the list was prepared by staff who were relatively new, however council did make a commitment to correct the situation this year.

Briglio added that the city in the past gave the Royal Canadian Legion a tax exemption for its building, however it charged taxes on the section of the building that operated as a bar/pub

“We vehemently held to that argument – that they were in competition with others in the city,” he said. “It is incumbent on us to charge any part of the building that is in competition with other businesses the equivalent of the taxes charged to any other citizen of Prince Rupert.”

The Chatham Complex, which includes pace formerly used as home of the Tsimshian Tribal Council, the site of Prince Rupert and Port Edward Economic Development Commission and Northwest Community College, was purchased by the Museum Society in 2004 with a $2.5 million loan from the City of Prince Rupert.

At the time, the city was providing the museum with $192,000 in rent payments and council decided it would be better to buy the building. The loan arrangement with the city stated the city would put the rent payments towards the loan and the Museum Society would pay back the balance of $2.5 million loan within five years. According to the city’s 2006 financials, in 2005, the city paid $82,000 toward the principal of the $2.5 million loan on behalf of the museum.

The Daily takes the museum to task

The Daily News vents more than a bit on the front page of Monday’s paper, over an unusual PR move by the Museum of Northern BC. With the Dundas collection arriving on the North coast for a six week exhibition, the Museum left the Daily News and a number of other local media outlets off the officially invited list to Thursday’s exhibit opening, nor did they get the invite to an information session scheduled for Friday.

With a couple of out of town media outlets apparently granted access, the local media have taken to comparing their notes on the events and putting their take to the developments, including an interview by one Daily news reporter with the other reporter originally tasked to the event.

The issue of media availability is one that should be addressed by the museum and does seem a tad strange in this particular case. Indeed it would certainly be interesting to learn what led to the decision made by the Museum on this issue. However, it would be nice to see the Daily News express similar outrage to other events around the city which seem to disappear into the realm of closed sessions and detour onto that road known as internal matters.

There are surely many other local issues that the paper could also speak out over besides missing out on a gala opening, resulting in a fair amount of rather self serving media spin. The Museum’s original decision seems to be rather wrong, but the over the top outrage at the Daily seems a bit over dramatic as well.

The paper has the right and the responsibility to explain why they may or may not have covered a story; as well as any roadblocks put in their way. But with the tone of their coverage they almost made themselves the story, which isn’t particularly the best way to present a balanced viewpoint.

The thrust of the outrage seems to be over access to the participants, or in this case lack of it. The paper and other media for that matter could probably have contacted any number of participants for interviews prior to (or after) the event, providing for comprehensive background detail, if being shut out of the main event was going to prove problematic.

The paper expressed disappointment and indeed shock and anger at their fate with a comprehensive listing of the slights on pages one and three, as well as an editorial on the issue on pages four and five.

BIG DAY AT MUSEUM PASSES LARGELY UNREPORTED LOCALLY
Viewers, readers, listeners miss out on local coverage.
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, March 5, 2007
Pages one and three

Artifacts given up as part of the Metlakatla tribe’s conversion to Christianity returned to the North Coast on Thursday the same way they left – largely under the cover of darkness.

The Museum of Northern B. C. denied Northwest media official access to the opening of the historic returns of the Dundas collection and the stories of the Tsimshian elders who spoke of their significance on Thursday evening.
This, despite the fact that there were several empty seats at the event.

The museum then denied media outlets, who tell the news and stories about people from Prince George to Haida Gwaii, access to, or simply did not invite media to, another event during which the elders spoke to a group of museum curators Friday morning.

This despite the fact that the Daily News has learned a reporter from the Globe and Mail newspaper, headquartered in Toronto, was invited to attend the opening Thursday night – as were an out-of-town film crew.

“I was shocked and more than a little bit angry. I don’t much care if people don’t take a liking to me personally but my job is to represent the people of the Northwest and to help them share their stories with one another,” said James Vassallo, reporter for the Prince Rupert Daily News, who was blocked from the Friday morning briefing by curator Susan Marsden after earlier being told he could attend.

“I find it horrific when people think they have the right to control the public’s access to information.”

Many of the artifacts in the Dundas Collection, which were given up by the Metlakatla tribe to Anglican missionary William Duncan, have been viewed in the past as politically sensitive because of the traditional religious significance of some items and the way in which they were obtained. The collection was acquired by the Rev. Robert James Dundas while visiting Duncan’s mission in October 1863 in Old Metlakatla, near present day Prince Rupert.

The collection was auctioned amid the glare of attention from around the world by Sotheby’s in October 2006.

The opening of the first exhibit of the Dundas Collection in Tsimshian territory was significant because local people would be the first to see the items before they are exhibited nationally and internationally.

However, the absence of local TV, radio and newspapers in an official capacity meant many were denied the chance to hear and see what Tsimshian leaders had to say at this culturally significant moment.

“This whole thing was handled incredibly poorly given the history of these artifacts and their significance to First Nations in the area,” said Vassallo. ”It’s also particularly offensive given this exhibit is being funded publicly by local taxpayers through the Museum of Northern B. C.”

The city of Prince Rupert donates $165,000 annually to the museum and took out a $2.5 million loan several years ago on behalf of the museum so it could remain in the Chatham complex.

The Royal B. C. Museum, which is coordinating the cross-Canada tour, said it had nothing to do with organizing the opening. It was in the hands of the Museum of Northern B. C.

MEDIA BAN MEANT LOCAL PEOPLE MISSED OUT
It was disappointing not being able to bring our readers a first-hand account of the arrival of the Dundas Collection at the Museum of Northern British Columbia.
Earle Gale
Editorial
The Daily News
Monday, March 5, 2007
Pages four and five

The internationally-important collection of mainly Tsimshian artifacts was officially received back onto the North Coast and unveiled at a special ceremony on Thursday afternoon.

We had wanted to be there to witness the occasion and initially intended to have a front-page story about the event and a page of photographs in the Friday paper.

Understandably, several readers have since asked us what happened at the event on Thursday and wondered why they have not seen a story.

Unfortunately, we were unable to cover the event because the press was excluded. We were told that the event was being kept on an intimate scale and that the small scale and the inclusion of a bar service meant that only a few people could attend. The press was not to be among them.

We admire and cherish the Museum of Northern British Columbia enormously but remain convinced that excluding the press from such an important event was the wrong decision.

Clearly, there is a long list of people in line in front of the press when it comes to deciding who should be invited to attend such an event. But by excluding local newspapers, radio stations and television channels, local people were denied the chance to read, hear or see a locally produced first-hand account of what happened when the Dundas Collection completed its long journey home.

We believe all local media should have been invited to attend.

We have since been told that a reporter from the Globe and Mail and a film crew from APTN was allowed into the event on Thursday: the media ban apparently only impacted local journalists.

By excluding the local media, local people were denied a chance to hear a locally-produced story about some of the benefactors who purchased items at the recent auction and who graciously allowed the collection to remain intact and exhibited to Canadians.

Local people were denied a first-hand locally produced account of the comments and emotions shared by chiefs and elders as they gazed upon artifacts that had been fashioned by their ancestors.

And local people were denied a locally-produced chance to share in a historic moment.

Future generations were denied the chance to leaf through archived local papers to re-live this important moment.

Only the hundred or so people with invitations to be in the room go to experience what we have since learned was an emotional and proud moment. Only they got to hear the words of wisdom uttered by the elders.

We have since spoken at length with representatives from the museum board and explained why we think the media should have been allowed to witness the event.

We are confident that similar future events will be handled differently.

There is no doubt that the museum is an incredibly important local institution – one that is important on the national and world stage - and one that we would love to work with more effectively in the future.

But, regardless of how future events might be conducted, we cannot help but feel regret that local readers, viewers and listeners were not able to find out what happened at last week’s event – one of the most important museum events seen here in decades- from local media sources. It was a moment in history that will not be repeated.

Coming soon, to a museum quite near you!

The Dundas collection is coming to Northwestern BC, the recently purchased artifacts from a New York auction house, will stop at the Museum of Northern BC for six weeks from March 1 to April 14th before they move the Royal BC Museum in Victoria for an extended stay until July 4th.

The Dundas collection as it became known as was acquired in 1863 by the Rev. Robert James Dundas during a stop at Metlakatla. The hereditary chiefs of the Allied Tsimshian Tribes of Lax Kw'Alaams and Metlakatla agreed that the travelling exhibit of this collection should begin its journey in the Northwest and asked the Museum of Northern BC to host the opening of the collection.

When the collection came up for bid in October of 2006 it became the focus of a concentrated approach to making sure that a number of the items could be returned to Canada, with numerous participants pooling their money to reclaim as many of the artifacts as possible.

The Royal British Columbia Museum offered up the following press release to announce the touring dates for this very important part of Birtish Columbia history.


Dundas Collection coming to British Columbia
VICTORIA, BC, Jan. 9 /CNW/

- A collection of significant First Nationsartifacts purchased at a New York auction last fall is coming to BC forexhibition this spring.

The first stop for the Dundas Collection of Pacific Northwest FirstNations art will be the Museum of Northern BC, located in the traditionalterritory of the Tsimshian First Nations. The collection will be at the PrinceRupert museum, March 1 - April 14. Then it moves to the Royal BC Museum,April 27 - July 4.

The 36 artifacts to be exhibited on behalf of nine owners are the mostsignificant and spectacular items from the Dundas Collection, and includetwo wooden face masks, two rare clubs made of carved antler and a clan hat.The collection, acquired by Rev. Robert James Dundas in 1863, in OldMetlakatla, near present-day Prince Rupert, was auctioned by Sotheby's inOctober 2006.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to take a leadership role inreturning this historic collection to Canada," says James Easton, whorepresents the owner of the largest group of artifacts. "Very rarely does achance present itself to make a contribution of this importance to FirstNations and Canadian culture, and we are honoured to be part of it. We arelooking forward to the opening celebration in Prince Rupert and toparticipating in future exhibitions in other Canadian cities."

Future exhibition dates and venues, yet to be confirmed, will beorganized by exhibit coordinator, Donald Ellis of Ontario's Donald EllisGallery, in conjunction with the Royal BC Museum.

"We are honoured to be hosting this exhibition and assisting with thetour," says RBCM CEO Pauline Rafferty. "This is a superb and significantcollection of First Nations artifacts. The generosity of the people whopurchased these items in the name of preserving Canadian history isastounding."

Representatives from RBCM and Museum of Northern BC have worked closelywith chiefs and elders of the Allied Tsimshian Tribes of Lax Kw' Alaams andMetlakatla to develop this exhibition.

"The hereditary chiefs of the Allied Tsimshian Tribes of Lax Kw' Alaamsand Metlakatla agreed that the travelling exhibit of this collection shouldbegin in Tsimshian territory, where these important cultural pieces originatedand where our children and elders would be the first to see them," saysspokesperson James Bryant. "The owners of the pieces agreed to our request,and we appreciate that very much."

For Susan Marsden, curator of the Museum of Northern BC, "it is truly anhonour to have been asked by the hereditary chiefs to host the opening exhibitof this collection in their territory. The Museum of Northern BC is alsograteful to the owners of the collection for the privilege of exhibiting theseexceptional Tsimshian works of art. The carved spoon we purchased at theSotheby's auction in New York - with financial help from the Royal BC Museum -will also travel with this collection."

For the latest Royal BC Museum information, visit www.royalbcmuseum.bc.caor call (250) 356-7226.