I spent Canada Day in an absurdly Canadian location – on a deck overlooking a pristine lake near a small town, somewhere in B.C.
And I mean classic: evergreen vistas, sparkling water, eagles circling overhead, the smell of wood smoke ... and bacon. Canadian of course.
This is Canada’s brand. Cue the loon.
But there’s another Canada these days. I’m talking about the one captured in North Shore News photographer Cindy Goodman’s marvellous photographs of the Canada Day festival on the North Shore. This Canada opens the door to its wide open spaces and beckons new citizens from everywhere to come join us. And they do.
And they all turn up and march in the Canada Day parade. Where else on earth do you see Korean drummers marching next to Scottish pipers, next to Sikhs on motorcycles, next to Iranian dancers, teenage gymnasts and City of North Vancouver Coun. Don Bell waving from an antique auto as the proverbial dog rides by in a scooter?
At a time when “diversity” increasingly means “divisiveness” throughout the world, Canada remains a shining beacon of earnest multiculturalism, reflected in the costumes and smiles of all the people who turned up to celebrate Canada’s 151st birthday on the North Shore on Sunday.
Justin Trudeau’s shine is a bit tarnished by tar sands these days, but the great declaration that helped him distinguish himself from Stephen Harper and get elected continues to resonate:
“A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian.”
And that spirit, the true spirit of our nation, was marching up and down Grand Boulevard on Canada Day.
Of course, not everyone buys into this great experiment of globalization on a local scale. Increasingly, from Virginia to Venice, people feel threatened as more and more of their neighbours come from somewhere else and look like somebody else. Experts predict Canada will be 80 per cent non-white in less than a century and in Vancouver seven in 10 will be visible minorities in less than 20 years. The Canada that celebrates its 175th birthday will be a much different place than Canada 151.
We’re all in on becoming the world’s most multicultural nation.
You can colour me (Canadian spelling) red and white and optimistic all over, mainly because during this transition, we’re led by a visionary prime minister who may underperform on pipeline politics, but understands and upholds the value of human rights and the need to protect them at all costs.
There are some who will argue that this great experiment in justice is founded on a profound injustice – the colonization of Indigenous people. There’s no denying that less than 300 years ago, the English and the French swiped the land from the First Nations and proceeded to systematically extinguish their identity. But the same national project that aims to create a society honestly based on human rights – regardless of the human – is also working to restore Aboriginal rights based on a finally recognized title. The rediscovery of Aboriginal title is as important as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and together, they represent the world’s most audacious liberal (Liberal?) experiment.
What about that beloved Canadian brand – cottage, pristine lake, wood smoke, maple syrup, moose etc.? And poutine, what about poutine? Well, Canadian tropes and clichés are more popular than ever. The 2010 Olympics proved that everyone, native and immigrant, is delighted to be festooned in maple regalia. On top of that, we’ve added a bunch of new festivals and holidays, from Lunar New Year to Norouz, Vaisakhi to Ramadan. Every day, something to celebrate.
From my vantage point here on the deck, I’d like to think the forces of darkness and division are on the wrong side of history. When it takes a few hours to circumnavigate the planet and everyone’s a citizen of the global village called the internet, we’ll never put the genie back into the bottle. Instead let’s put racism back in its cage before it runs amok.
To do that, nations must stand on universal values, values that transcend colour or creed. Canada is in the forefront of that movement, a sprightly, somewhat naïve pacesetter that could be in for a bloody nose, never mind a frostbitten one.
So at least once a year, roll out the maple leaf bunting, the costumed dancers and the dog on the scooter. We’ve still got some work to do.
No doubt, we always will.
Happy 151 everyone.
Journalist and communications consultant Paul Sullivan has been a North Vancouver resident since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of Madonna. [email protected]
What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.
