Gatineau Quebec - The case of the lost spike is solved.
 
Turns out it was right under the government's nose this whole time.
 
After the Star first published a story on the missing spike on Saturday, Heather Bradley, director of communications for the Speaker of the House, confirmed Tuesday that the missing historic symbol wasn't lost, but tucked away in a climate-controlled warehouse in Gatineau, Quebec.
 
"The spike was never lost, the Toronto Star didn't ask us about it. The Spike has been in our safekeeping since 2012," Bradley told the Star in an email.
 
The spike had originally been presented to then-prime minister Stephen Harper on 22 Jun 2006 coinciding with the government's official apology for the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act.
 
It was one of 300 ceremonial spikes presented to guests at the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885, and represents a significant moment in history for Chinese Canadians, according to Avvy Go, who was part of the campaign that successfully lobbied for the 2006 apology.
 
Chinese railroad workers, who were instrumental in the construction of the CPR, were banned from attending the ceremony.
 
"The whole history is important... the spike is just a symbolic part of it," Go said.
 
A decade after the apology, Go said she wanted to organize an anniversary event, and borrow the spike from the government for it.
 
But the spike couldn't be found, despite her best efforts to call everybody in the government who may have handled it.
 
"We thought maybe Stephen Harper might know where it was, so we contacted Stephen Harper's office... we were told it was maybe with National Library and Archives," Go said, adding she also contacted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office, but was told to ask the department of archives or the Canadian Museum of History.
 
Bradley told the Star that in order to borrow the spike, Go can call the curator in curatorial services responsible for it.
 
Go said she's happy the spike wasn't lost after all, but she's disappointed it's been out of the public view since 2012.
 
"Our original thought in presenting this spike to the prime minister is that it will be displayed to the public... to educate Canadians about the contributions of the Chinese to the building of the railroad," she said.
 
Her hope is that Trudeau will elect to display the spike in the House of Commons again.
 
If the government doesn't want to display it, Go said she's willing to find another home for it.
 
"There's no point in putting it away in the vault, where no one will see it, and nobody will understand the importance of the history behind, and the story behind, the spike," she said.
 
Anonymous Author.

OKthePK Joint Bar Editor:  I don't believe this is Canada's "Last Spike". Look closely at the photo and you can see the spike has been turned into a bottle opener. If this was truly "The Last Spike" then I'd like to see some provenance, which is most likely why it ended up stored in some anonymous Gatineau warehouse. Also, the article states, "It was one of 300 ceremonial spikes presented to guests at the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885...", I don't think so. Learn more about Canada's Last Spike in this article.