Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc

The mayor of Chase thought it would be an easy decision to approve a painted crosswalk intended to commemorate victims and survivors of Canada's Indian residential school system.

But a recent split council vote surprised him, leaving the Village to deny spending $625 on painting an "Every Child Matters" crosswalk, before a design or location had even been decided.

"Unexpectedly to me, two of the other councillors, for some reason I don't understand, didn't vote to do it," Mayor David Lepsoe said.

Lepsoe meets monthly with the chiefs of the three Secwepemc First Nations surrounding Chase, including Adams Lake, Little Shuswap and Neskonlith Indian bands. He said this proposal, modelled after a similar crosswalk in Kamloops, was proposed by Kukpi7 Lynn Kenoras-Duck of Adams Lake Indian Band.

He said the crosswalk would be a "good-spirited" move to connect the four communities, each spending $625 to paint the crosswalk in the community.

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Communities across the country have taken on similar projects in acts of reconciliation with First Nations communities, including the five-feathered crosswalk painted in Kamloops just last spring.

The downtown Kamloops orange crosswalk displays seven eagle feathers in a joint effort last spring to symbolize joint efforts toward reconciliation between the City and Tk'emlups te Secwepemc.

(SHANNON AINSLIE / iNFOnews.ca)

Lepsoe used his powers as mayor to bring the project back to the table for a second vote. It was split with a 2-2 vote last week, but one councillor was absent.

Councillor Ron Harder was out of province during the Sept. 12 council meeting, while Colin Connett and Fred Torbohm opposed the crosswalk.

"I'll just keep that to myself right now," Connett said when asked about why he decided to oppose the project.

He said he may explain more when it returns for a second vote, but added that he believes the cost will be much higher than $625 and he will still vote to oppose it.

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Torbohm declined to comment when iNFOnews.ca reached him by phone to ask about the vote.

"I don't think I can give you that information," he said, going on to say he won't "do business" over the phone.

When asked why, Torbohm said it was because of "security reasons," but further declined to comment when asked if he would prefer them over email.

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Executive director of a local non-profit, Ashton Sweetnam, said the vote was "fairly upsetting."

Sweetnam works for the Chase Young Learners Society, where the organization coordinates events and programs for children in the area. Specifying that she was speaking for herself and not for the organization, she was looking forward to a "community building" for all four communities to take on after coming back from devastating area wildfires.

"Most interested people assumed it would fly because it's pretty standard, you know? It's just a crosswalk," she said. "The cost was fairly minimal and it was a really great gesture towards reconciliation."

Lepsoe said he's hoping the two dissenters will reconsider their vote when they reconvene for another meeting.

"I brought it back and I'm hoping the other councillor (Harder) that wasn't at the meeting will see the light," he said. "Maybe the other two will, too. I hope so, because these are large issues. They're both new-ish councillors and I don't think they're realizing the ramifications of something like this."

With all five council members expected to be there at the Sept. 26 meeting, they will vote again, just a few days before National Truth and Reconciliation Day.

"Overall, to me this is a project the chief wanted to do, and I've learned in the past, dealing with First Nations, just do what the chief wants," Lepsoe said. "It was such a limited amount of money and I thought it was just going to be a simple thing."

Kukpi7 Kenoras-Duck of Adams Lake Indian Band wasn't immediately available for comment.

— This story was updated at 12:25 p.m., Sept. 20, 2023, to correctly state the next council meeting date.

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