Ron Carlson's plans have been foiled by bureaucrats.
And now it is hitting the news.
If you have been following Ron Carlson's very interesting and different search for Franklin graves using fly-over thermal photography closely on his blog (as we have), then you will already know the almost Kafka-esque permitting mountain he attempted, and failed, to climb.
Carlson provides the gory details here (short version) and here (long version). Carlson remembers that he is not the only one to receive this kind of treatment from the Nunavut Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth (CLEY) here.
Carlson wonders if CLEY and Parks Canada are jealously protecting Franklin relics and possible Franklin finds (most especially the lost ships themselves) for themselves. And even if they are, in fact, going so far as to collect possible search expedition sites and technologies from the elaborate and detailed applications for permits they have no intention of providing.
Perhaps that is why we haven't heard a single word from or about Bear Gryls "find" in the James Ross Strait area.
Maybe with this kind of publicity, we will get some reaction from the bureaucrats at CLEY. Even if they don't explain themselves, and why criminal charges and threats of jail time were necessary for such innocuous activity, they could at least lay out some clearer criteria for when they may actually issue a permit.
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2 comments:
The comments on the CBC page (linked above) are good examples of the problem. The posters automatically revert to accusing Ron Carlson of "treasure hunting" and undertaking a "destructive" search. Furthermore, they paint Ron as an uncaring "rich" person who is just looking for some sort of thrill or adventure. Here we've got people that immediately jump to a conclusion about the person involved based on only the slightest description.
If it were not for small private searches, NgLj-2 would never have been found and the work done there, by trained archaeologists, would never have happened. Franklin enthusiasts understand that the government has only very limited resources that are often needed for other things. Therefore, if a Franklin enthusiast can find a new site (or a ship) it will save the resources for the trained archaeologists to do the excavation and preservation.
Stenton says here in this article: "I can't think of any reason why a well-resourced, competent, professional team wouldn't get a permit,"
Then I ask why was the overly qualified team with Procom denied in 2009 and also the Woodman team, with world acclaimed archeologists? Clearly the government is protecting Franklin finds for government workers who don't have the funds to peruse their own personal missions. And on every one of these occasions, the CLEY/Parks Canada team has culled and copied the original permit application ideas right after rejecting those permits. AUV's this year? That's copying Procom's technique! Interesting now, all of a sudden this summer, this particular facet is incorporated into the government plan. Clearly a pattern to all this.
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