Thursday, July 1, 2021

From a friend (David Latimer) on Facebook: “Not just a day. We need a year of mourning. Cancel the Canada day celebrations nation wide. All of the resources earmarked for parades and fireworks and silly little plastic Canada flags should go to residential school investigations, reconciliation actions, clean drinking water for indigenous communities and the numerous other injustices this country constantly ignores.”

I don’t do a big celebration of Canada Day most years but this year I am acknowledging the day despite saying I wouldn’t. With the discovery of all the graves at various residential schools and the reluctance of the churches involved to release their records I just didn’t see much to celebrate.

But listening to some of the Chiefs and Elders I have heard them say that they are not asking anyone to cancel celebrations but to spend a bit of the day remembering their plight. They have said that no one living today made the laws that have so severely affected their lives; it is more important to focus on what needs to be done now.

I also heard an Elder say that right now their community doesn’t need anything; they need time to mourn, even though these atrocities have been common knowledge within their circles for many years.

So today, rather than wearing red, I’m wearing pink because I know that there are many, many good things about Canada. Also, it is hard to reconcile not celebrating the day when so many people, including many from First Nations, gave their lives for this country.

I’ve spent some time reading the findings of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation report; a very lengthy tome that it will take weeks to get through. It annoys me that only eight of their 94 Calls to Action have been implemented. At this rate, it is estimated that it will take until 2074 for all of the calls to be implemented. I’m also bothered that I can’t think of anything I can do, personally, to make Canada a better place for them.

And don’t even get me started on the drinking water situation for First Nations communities. I am trying to find a charity to donate to that is helping to solve the problem but so far I’ve only come up with one and you never know whether or not money is being spent in the way that you hope it is.

Happy Canada Day!