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Barrhead Alberta church fires leave more questions than answers

Two church buildings close to Barrhead, AB set ablaze December 7 have left extra questions than solutions.

On December 7, round 7:52 p.m., Barrhead RCMP responded to a construction hearth at The Glenreagh Church on Vary Street 40 in Barrhead.

At 9 p.m. Barrhead RCMP responded to a second construction hearth at one other church constructing on Vary Street 54. Each church buildings had been Anglican, although an preliminary press launch from the RCMP incorrectly named one as a United Church.

The Barrhead Fireplace Providers attended each lively fires and extinguished the blazes shortly, however one was burned down and the opposite severely broken. An older mannequin two-ton truck was noticed leaving the scene on the Glenreagh Church and is believed to be linked to the fires.

“After the preliminary investigation from the hearth examiner, it was decided that the fires had been deliberately set,” mentioned an RCMP press launch.

“Till suspects are recognized and interviewed, their actual motivations stay unknown.”

Barrhead Fireplace Chief Gary Hove informed the Western Commonplace, “We all know the place it began, however we do not actually take numerous assets to determine what precisely lit it,” Hove mentioned.

“The Glenreagh one, that one began within the little French porch in the back of the chapel. After we acquired on the scene the again of the constructing was collapsing. One of many residents was driving by and observed a pickup that was parked on the church about quarter-hour earlier than it was set on hearth.”

Hove mentioned each church buildings represented a part of the native heritage.

“It’s simply actually unlucky that any individual would gentle these little pioneer church buildings on hearth. The one was inbuilt 1913. It was moved up there to protect it,” he mentioned.

“The opposite one was initially within the city of Barrhead they usually relocated it on the market simply to protect [it] as a result of it is a pioneer church as effectively. However that one was completely destroyed. Individuals nonetheless used them for weddings and a few baptisms and issues like that.”

Hove wouldn’t speculate on whether or not the fires had been repraisals for alleged atrocities at residential colleges.

“I don’t know. I don’t actually see. I stay underneath a rock,” Hove mentioned.

“So far as if that’s the reasoning behind it, I don’t know what it was.”

Church fires have change into extra widespread for the reason that Could 27 2021 bulletins that scans of soil disturbances beneath the Kamloops Residential Faculty may counsel 215 graves.

College of Calgary political science professor emeritus Tom Flanagan not too long ago co-authored the e book “” which argues the announcement has led to harmfully false and exaggerated assertions. Whether or not this led to the church fires is tougher to show.

“I hate to leap to conclusions based mostly on such circumstantial proof.  It could assist if the RCMP would launch some proof in regards to the motivations in regards to the males who’ve been arrested.  As occurs now, arrests are introduced after which the general public hears nothing additional,” Flanagan informed the Western Commonplace.

“I don’t know for certain why church burnings proceed in northern Alberta.  However the mixture of information factors in an indigenous route:

  1. A wave of church burnings began after the Kamloops announcement.

  2. There are numerous native folks in northern Alberta and numerous mission church buildings in distant areas — mushy targets.

  3. Among the many few arrests made, various the boys have Indian or widespread Metis names.”

Then once more, Flanagan mentioned, it’s potential “different motivations” are in play.

“After I was a teen, buddies of mine burned down an deserted constructing that was rumoured to have been a home of prostitution at one time.  It was simply their concept of enjoyable,” he mentioned.

“I feel the general public has a proper to know what’s occurring. Possibly indigenous persons are being unfairly blamed.  We will’t actually know with out data.”

Hymie Rubenstein, a retired professor of anthropology from the College of Manitoba, informed Western Commonplace many Christian church buildings have been burned since 2021 whose denominations had nothing to do with residential colleges. 

“I used to be additionally disturbed by how virtually no prices had been ever laid although this appears typical in most arson instances,” he mentioned in an e mail.

“Indigenous violence — if most perpetrators had been certainly aboriginal— usually appears to be random or induced by alcohol and substance abuse.”

The retired professor, whose is devoted to indigenous points, mentioned it was as much as columnists to opine whether or not these fires had an indigenous connection.

He pointed to a the place a former residential college scholar at Thunderchild First Nation in Saskatchewan mentioned she was glad her former college burned down and thought former college students in all probability did it.

Columnist John Robson informed Western Commonplace that “deranged people” had been guilty, however current “decolonizing” emphases could play an element.

“This ideology…casts Christians as oppressors and due to this fact violence in opposition to them shouldn’t be actual violence, simply ‘self-defence,’ Just like the completely loopy tendency of SJWs (social justice warriors) to line up with Hamas as a result of Jews returning to their homeland are by some means ‘settlers’ and the individuals who brutally chased them out are victims. And sure, clearly it’s related with the false narrative about residential colleges,” Robson mentioned in an e mail.

“Extra strident condemnation would assist, partly by forcing them to untangle their ideological commitments. However legislation enforcement could be more practical. Definitely if it had been mosques we’d be listening to condemnation. If it had been synagogues, effectively, condemnation and cheers.”

Retired Mountie Larry Comeau had comparable sentiments in an e mail to the Western Commonplace.

“Simply think about Trudeau’s outage if even one Mosque was torched,” Comeau mentioned.

“This lack of concern by the political class and RCMP on this direct assault on Christianity is downright horrifying. But Catholic Church buildings embraced the story line spouted by Trudeau of mass indigenous graves with out an in depth forensic investigation. Too many Canadians are all too prepared to just accept what Trudeau says as being truthful.”

College of Ottawa criminology professor Darryl Davies mentioned the church burnings had been “not throughout the scope of my experience,” however added, “Unusual issues are occurring on the earth nowadays that even defy a criminological clarification.”

The RCMP is investigating the reason for the fires. Anybody with related data is requested to contact the Barrhead RCMP at 403-674-4848 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously by telephone at 1-800-222-8477.

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