Canada urged to swap beaver emblem for bear

[CHIMO]

By contrast, she derides the lowly beaver as a "19th century has-been," a "dentally defective rat," a "toothy tyrant" and a nuisance that wreaks havoc on its environment.

Eaton acknowledges the beaver's involuntary role in founding Canada — providing the fashionable pelts that fuelled the fur trade — but she says it's now time for a change.


"A country's symbols are not constant and can change over time as long as they reflect the ethos of the people and the spirit of the nation," Eaton told her Senate colleagues Thursday. "The polar bear, with its strength, courage, resourcefulness and dignity is perfect for the part."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/offbeat/story/2011/10/27/north-polar-bear-emblem.html

[apocalypsehow]

1. Boy, the fun a naughty mind could have with this headline...

:rofl:

Rec, just because! :thumbsup:

[Zyzfyx]

2. Ooooooooooh yeah!

Rec 3 :evilgrin:

[Kennah]

3. Who's baring their beaver?

[Scuba]

4. Symbolic. She wants a soon-to-be-extinct mammal. What's that tell you?

[formercia]

5. I think an Oil covered Goose would be better

considering how many wildfowl have died in the Tar Sand retaining ponds.

[polly7]

6. If she hasn't got anything more important to do than this,

at least she could read up on the odd environmental study.

[formercia]

7. If all they wanted was the fur

Why didn't they just shave the Beavers and let them go? :evilgrin:

[Darth_Kitten]

8. Thank the 19th century for your family's fortune, lady...

The Eaton empire was created in the 19th and carried over into the 20th century. You married the name, don't embarrass it.

[Marnie]

9. Beavers dams slow the flow of creeks and allow soil and

nutrients to settle out, over time filling the creek but creating fertile meadows that lie next to a year round water supply.

Exactly the types of spaces most necessary for her ancestors to have chosen to settle on and farm.

[OswegoAtheist]

10. If Canada wants to get rid of a "19th-Century has-been"...

...they should start with the Senate itself.

Oswego "#occupyoswego" Atheist

[Prometheus Bound]

11. This idea will not go far.

Not much sense, that woman.

[GliderGuider]

12. Somehow, "If you're Canadian, show us your bear!" doesn't have quite the same panache...

The Canadian wilderness was opened up by French fur traders who chased beaver all through Canada's north woods...

The opportunities for lowbrow humour are endless.