Strange New Country

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"Salmon gillnetting in the turbulent waters of the Fraser River at the turn of the last century was dangerous, back-breaking work. When the powerful Fraser River Canners' Association fixed the maximum price per salmon at 15 cents, fishermen united in their determination to win a decent living, resulting in a number of strikes. Other strikes in that era may have lasted longer, many were more violent, but none drew such diverse groups--Indigenous, Japanese, white--into an uneasy, short-term but effective coalition. While united by the common goal of economic equality, strikers were divided by forceful social pressures: First Nations fishermen wished to assert their Indigenous rights; Japanese fishermen, having fled poverty in their homeland, were seeking equality and opportunity in a new country; white fishermen were angered by the greed of the tiny clique of wealthy Vancouver industrialists who controlled the salmon industry. In this compelling account, told with journalistic flair and vivid detail, Meggs leaves no room for doubt: this event marked BC's turn into the modern era, with lessons about inequality, racism, immigration and economic power that remain relevant today."--Provided by publisher