The CMHR hasn't filed any financial reports for the past nine months. What are they hiding? The last advance from the federal government was turned over in December. They were supposed to be collecting IOU's from donors throughout the year to keep in the black. Was there a problem with the collections? Is that why the museum is still not ready to open? They made a big stink about holding the opening ceremonies the day before the museum's announced opening date. But when that date (Sept. 20) came around, they were nowhere near ready for visitors. Only 4 of 11 galleries were open to ticket holders, 9000 of whom were allowed in for free because the museum couldn't charge admission to less than half the exhibits. Even then, the 4 open galleries were still unfinished. Watching a CBC cameraman zoom in on a plywood board screwed to a wall, with the reporter asking a museum flak what was supposed to go there, was ...
The origin of the Usher of the Black Rod goes back to early fourteenth century England . Today, with no royal duties to perform, the Usher knocks on the doors of the House of Commons with the Black Rod at the start of Parliament to summon the members. The rod is a symbol for the authority of debate in the upper house. We of The Black Rod adopted the symbol to knock some sense and the right questions into the heads of Legislators, pundits, and other opinion makers.