Of Mozart, the First Nations’ question, national identity and mining

Opera reminds you of the virtues of clarity and honesty. The Magic Flute last night reminded me that a complex story succeeds by focus on the essentials and ruthlessly paring away of the platitudes. Applied to the British Columbia mining debate, this week I heard three speeches, the import of which was:

• The white man is here to stay
• Nunavut is receptive to mining - come we need you
• The B.C. First Nations want control of mineral resources