July 1st was Canada Day, the annual celebration of this country that we mark as founded one hundred and fifty four years ago. It was unlike any Canada Day I’ve experienced. Western Canada, and particularly British Columbia, endured the hottest weather ever recorded here; weather that led to lightning strikes and fires, one of which decimated the town of Lytton which, for the previous three days, had surpassed the all time Canadian heat record, culminating on Tuesday at 49.7 degrees Centigrade or, for those of you who use the Fahrenheit scale, approximately 122 degrees. As I write this it is unclear how many lives were lost in the heat and fire. It seems the consequences of climate change are affecting us faster and more dramatically than most had expected.
Even without the weather, fires and loss though, there was something else about this Canada Day that made it stand apart: it came just as the country was coming to terms with the “discovery” of unmarked graves adjacent to Indian Residential Schools. There is little doubt more such graves will be discovered in the weeks and months ahead, forcing Canadians to confront a dark chapter in our history: the forced removal of indigenous children from their families and their placement in Indian Residential Schools where they were often neglected and mistreated.
Not surprisingly, there is almost universal shock at these discoveries in the non-native population, as it begins to understand the legacy of those schools and their role in the treatment of native Canadians throughout Canada’s history. They also begin to explain the seeming breakdown of aboriginal communities in Canada. And with that shock came a predictable call to “cancel” Canada Day. Many municipalities did cancel Canada Day celebrations out of concern for their effect on native Canadians in light of these recent developments although, given the native Canadians have been aware of these burial sites for years, it’s unclear to me how that would have happened.
What struck me most during these events is the reaction of some non natives who have become the fiercest advocates for cancelling and who, on social media, respond to any celebration of Canada with cries of “genocide” or “racist nation” which is in stark contrast to the messages of native leaders who, instead of demanding vengeance, have been remarkably restrained in their comments, generally calling for reflection and understanding and hoping this moment will speed the work of reconciliation. I wonder what inspires such fury and blindness to all that is good in Canada in these non native Canadians?
And then there are the criminal responses to the discoveries: burning churches, desecrating public spaces and destroying monuments to men and women who played a central part in the creation of Canada. As I noted in a previous blog, while the Catholic Church played the largest role in operating the Indian Residential Schools, other denominations also operated schools. But while the Catholic Church, thus far, has refused to apologize or fully cooperate with those investigating the schools, both the Anglican and the United churches have and have paid some restitution. That hasn’t stopped arsonists from attacking them too as churches across the country are being torched.
Mobs have also attacked, defaced and destroyed statues of Captain James Cook, Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth II, Sir John A. MacDonald and Egerton Ryerson. Some cheer them on but for most Canadians this is deeply offensive and an attack on our history. That’s recognized by leaders of the aboriginal communities who are asking whomever is behind these attacks to stop, fearing an angry reaction by non native Canadians, with this opportunity to advance reconciliation lost.
I have no difficulty with people expressing their views peacefully and, in fact, many Canada Day parades were replaced by marches and protests that were appropriate, but the criminal behaviours are profoundly un-Canadian. By that I mean they go against the strong ethos for negotiation, compromise and accommodation that is central to the Canadian experience. Without it, this country wouldn’t have come into existence, let alone survived for over one hundred and fifty years. It’s what compels Canada to seek reconciliation with its native population when almost no other country in the world does. Weakening it is dangerous and short sighted, and drives us into opposing silos that are much more typical of our American cousins than of us.
Also, if we cancel Canada because of past behaviour and decisions, why stop at the the treatment of native Canadians? Why not turn our backs on Canada for all its misdeeds throughout history? There are other people in Canada with grievances that arguably rival those of native Canadians. And yes, I’m from one of those groups:
What about Chinese Canadians who were systematically and statutorily discriminated against and excluded until well into the twentieth century?
What about the discrimination against Ukrainian immigrants to Canada up until late in the twentieth century, including their internment during the First World War?
What about Japanese Canadians who were interred in camps and had their belongings stolen by this country during the Second World War?
What about Canada’s attitudes towards Jews for most of its history, attitudes that led to discriminatory treatment and hard limits on Jewish immigration, not to mention refusing entry to Jewish refugees on the MS St. Louis in 1939, forcing them back to Nazi Europe where two hundred and fifty perished in concentration camps?
What about discrimination against south Asians and, particularly, the Komagata Maru episode where Canada refused entry to refugees from British India and forced them to return to Calcutta?
And what about Canada’s treatment of gays and lesbians through most of its history, treatment that saw us harassed, imprisoned, fired from the civil service, expelled from the military and actively discriminated against in almost all areas of our lives?
Like every other country, Canada’s history includes actions and attitudes that most condemn today. But, and this is a very big “but”, Canada is almost alone (with a nod to New Zealand) in trying to right those wrongs, at least in so far as events in the past can be righted. And that’s because of who we are as a people, a people who have succeeded against all odds to create a modern, wealthy, successful, multi cultural and multi ethnic country in terrain that is mostly hostile to human habitation. We continue that tradition as we welcome the downtrodden and oppressed from around the world.
The world is a better place because Canada is in it and that has been so for well over one hundred years. I’m not going to list the many good things Canada has done or is doing. Any reasonably informed Canadian knows that list as well as I. From its very beginning Canada required compromise and accommodation, a willingness to acknowledge mistakes and change course, correcting what was wrong and constantly reinforcing our vision of a tolerant and welcoming society for the future.
And that’s what it means to be a Canadian today.
just sayin
G
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