I thought I would wait to post this as there seemed to be a flurry of articles, comments, posts and rants about Canada Day at the beginning of July.
I am going to admit that before this year I had not given a great deal of thought to Canada Day. Most of the time I viewed it as a day off like the other summer holidays - Victoria Day, the August civic holiday and Labour day. When I was working, I tried to ensure that if July 1 was not a Friday or Monday (or weekend) that I could take the days off around Canada Day to enjoy some time with our family. Largely the holiday was a time to get together with family and friends. Sometimes we set off fireworks, but that was more for the excitement of our children than some designed celebration of Canada.
Am I a proud Canadian? Well, I am glad I am not an American. Teresa and I met a man from Austria while we were travelling through Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. As he admired (I think) our Canadian hats and t-shirts he commented that in the same way Austrians stress their nationality to ensure they are not mistaken as Germans, Canadians emphasize their identity to ensure they are not taken as Americans. I think he was right, at least for me.
I cheer for the Canadian Junior hockey team every year during the World Juniors and love it when they win the gold. I enjoy watching the Olympics, both summer and winter and proudly cheer whenever a Canadian or Canadian team wins a medal. I was hugely excited when Mike Weir won the Masters and root for Corey Connors and MacKenzie Hughes when they are close in a PGA event. I think Brooke Henderson is the greatest Canadian golfer of all time and love it when she wins a LPGA event. I always feel some pride when Canadians win a Nobel Peace prize, discover some kind of scientific breakthrough or join other astronauts in space.
I certainly am well aware that Canada is not perfect. I know that although many Canadians smugly consider themselves “better” than Americans, Canada has its own issues. I don’t think I ignored these issues but as I have stated in previous posts on my recent activism, I did not give enough thought to them. I certainly did not take any significant actions to try and highlight these concerns or to drive change.
As some of you know, one of the main focuses in my volunteer work at Amnesty International is with the National Gender Rights Group (it started as the women’s action group and has transitioned into focusing on gender rights). A significant portion of our time is directed at Indigenous women and girls. I have volunteered for a sub-group focusing specifically on Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls. Despite that, I felt that I needed to improve my awareness and education on the history of First Nations people in Canada. As I often do, I turned to reading as a way to increase my knowledge.
On Canada Day I read 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality by Bob Joseph. The book is excellent. Well written, easy to read and incredibly informative, I learned a great deal about the Indian Act. The fact is, I knew virtually nothing about this piece of Canadian legislation that has caused tremendous hardship and discrimination against First Nations people. Next, I read The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North American by Thomas King. Another excellent book. Although the book covers history in both Canada and the US there is lots of incredibly well-researched and well-written information on First Nation People in Canada. The book is often difficult to read and as with the first book, it demonstrates the racism and discrimination against Canadian First Nations people, led primarily by the Federal government. Five Little Indians by Michelle Good was the third book I read. Although fiction, it is based on true stories and follows five Indigenous Canadians as they struggle with the impact of residential schools on their lives. The book is unpleasant and difficult to read but gives you a real sense of the horrors that took place at residential schools and the lasting impact it had on the students. The last book I read as part of my project was How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. Although the book focuses on issues for black people, primarily in the US, I found many of the principles applicable to the situation with First Nation People in Canada. I thought the most powerful statement in the book was, "it is not enough to say you are not racist". That is too passive, too neutral. To be an antiracist means that you are seriously taking actions, changing behaviours and supporting antiracist policies. I need to do more of this.
After reading these books I have a much better understanding of the damage inflicted on First Nations people in Canada. I can appreciate the calls for reconciliation, reparations and meaningful agreements between the Federal and Provincial governments that will allow First Nations people, their culture, language and way of life to prosper.
The last part of my “Canada Day project” was to consider whether we should continue to celebrate Canada Day. I definitely better understand the sentiment of not celebrating Canada Day. Although I will never appreciate it personally, I see how insulting it must be for First Nation people to have Canada celebrated given how they have been treated over the past 200+ years.
I will say, however, that I have a hard time supporting the elimination of Canada Day. I do think the celebrations should be scaled back or eliminated. I don’t think any level of government should be sponsoring fireworks or mindless celebrations. Instead, I think Canada Day should become a time of reflection for Canadians. We can reflect on things that Canadians should be proud of (and there are still things to be proud of). But we also need to honestly and sincerely think about the hurt that has been caused to so many Indigenous Canadians. I think this should start with a sincere dialogue of the impact of Canadians and the Canadian government on First Nations people. With some effort by governments, private companies and with the support of Indigenous groups, Canada Day could become a time of National reflection. Hopefully, that day of reflection would turn into actions that would improve Canada as a whole.
I am not naive about the challenge this represents. If we want to be a better country and proud Canadians, I think it is worth the effort.
As always I am interested in your thoughts and feedback, you can reach me at thethirdperiod.ca@gmail.com
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