Image Credit: The Canadian Press

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Forgiving Don Cherry, banning fur coats and other non-starters

Feb 27, 2020 | 4:39 AM

KAMLOOPS — WHEN WE REALLY WANT to know what Canadians are concerned about, a visit to change.org is a big help. That’s where anyone can start a petition on pretty much anything.

For example, there’s currently one asking the Banff Town Council to do something about a new clothing store that sells fur coats.

I’m with them on that one. Trapping wild animals is a barbaric vestige of our past.

The petition won’t get anywhere, though. A few years ago, RCMP agreed to swap their winter fur hats for good old Canadian wool toques but the plan was scrapped, thanks to the Harper government.

Among other petitions on change.org are one asking for a referendum in Alberta on leaving Canada and one trying to bring back a couple of actors to the soap opera Days of Our Lives.

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What might be the best petition is one demanding that Don Cherry get his job back. More than 290,000 people have signed it.

The petition acknowledges Cherry is not politically correct and “may not have been as careful as he should with his remarks,” but insists he shouldn’t have been fired. The fact people are still signing their support three months after Cherry’s firing says something.

That petition seems doomed to failure, just like the fur-coat petition. In fact, I doubt very many of these petitions are successful but maybe that’s not the point — they give people a chance to vent in a more meaningful way than trolling on Facebook.

As for Cherry, well, he did offer to apologize, though not fast enough. When a Canadian says he’s sorry, it’s usually good enough. But the deafening silence from the networks suggests a few hundred thousand signatures isn’t going to earn him forgiveness any time soon.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He writes five commentaries a week for CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.