5 November 2010

Missing Symbolic Railway Spike Located

Ottawa Ontario - A missing ceremonial spike from the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway 125 years ago has been located, in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office.
 
Sun columnist Stephen Hume reported Friday that Chinese-Canadians had wanted to see the spike put on display in the Railway Committee Room in the Parliament Buildings, but this did not happen and nobody at the House of Commons could say where the spike had gone.
 
But an e-mail sent later Friday from Melissa Bhagat, Director of Multiculturalism, stated the spike turned out to be on display in a bookshelf in Harper's office.
 
"It's in the PM's Langevin Block office... not lost at all!" Bhagat wrote.
 
"It has been on display since the PM received it, but he is happy to give it up to the railway room if need be."
 
Railway historian Bradley Lee was relieved to hear it was located and said it is important for it to be on display to the public.
 
"It's very important for all Canadians to know that Chinese-Canadians had a very, very important role in building this country and have yet never been recognized for that contribution," he said.
 
The commemorative iron spike was one of the 300 presented to white VIPs and CPR dignitaries who attended the historic ceremony at Craigellachie on 7 Nov 1885, from which Chinese workers were excluded.
 
The spike was given to the Chinese committee seeking redress from the federal government by Pierre Berton, who had obtained it while researching his famous history of the building of Canada's transcontinental railway.
 
Editor's Note:  Is this the ACTUAL Last Spike? I'd like to see some providence other than it was obtained from Pierre Berton. See the Cathy English story about the Last Spike.