Category: Canadian history

Another Reason for Honouring Veterans on Remembrance Day

Here is a column that clearly outlines the proposal by Lisa MacLeod to make remembrance Day a statutory holiday in Ontario.[click here]

 Local MPP Lisa MacLeod’s proposal to make Remembrance Day a statutory holiday is a good idea that is long overdue. Our veterans and their sacrifices are surely as worthy of celebration as Queen Victoria’s birthday or the Civic Holiday.


The fact that Ontario is one of only three provinces not now recognizing Remembrance Day with a statutory holiday is a pretty good indicator that our province is out of step. The situation is particularly discordant here with federal public servants getting the day off, but most other people having to work.


What MacLeod wants to do is put Remembrance Day on the same plane as Christmas and Easter. In other words, a real statutory holiday where everything shuts down. That would prevent it from becoming just another day off to catch up on shopping.

Don’t forget to vote in the poll this week. As well it turns out Ontario is truly out of line with the rest of Canada when it comes to honoring our veterans.

Dief The Chief

 

One of the more insightful tributes to our 13th prime minister John Diefenbaker  the first master of mass communication in Canadian politics.

source Montréal Gazette

While the 1960 Bill of Rights did not have the entrenched constitutional character of the 1982 Charter of Rights, many key provisions of the Charter were first articulated in the Bill of Rights.More than a decade before official bilingualism, Diefenbaker made government cheques bilingual, and introduced simultaneous translation to the House of Commons.The themes of diversity and empowerment were found in the appointment of the first woman, Ellen Fairclough, to Cabinet. He gave aboriginal Canadians the right to vote without losing their treaty status. When Mulroney campaigned against apartheid in South Africa in the 1980s, using the Commonwealth as his platform, he was taking a page from Dief, a quarter century earlier.Diefenbaker’s appointment of the Hall Commission, led by Saskatchewan Judge Emmett Hall, was a landmark that led directly to medicare.The Glassco Commission reshaped the organization and administration of the federal government. The Bladen Commission led to the Auto Pact.A decade before Pierre Trudeau’s recognition of Red China, Diefenbaker opened the door with wheat sales.And then there was his northern vision, with its Roads to Resources program. Half a century later, Harper has made Arctic sovereignty, sustainable development, and the autonomy of northern peoples a centrepiece of his policy agenda.



Sir John A. Macdonald honoured as Canada’s Founding Father in Scotland

Sir John A. Macdonald the first Prime Minister of Canada and surely in the pantheon of Conservative leaders was honoured in his birthplace of Scotland earlier today. Not only did he unite us as a country politically. As well he created the conditions for a geographic union by building the Canadian Pacific Railway. These are all Canadian achievements spearheaded by a Conservative leader. Truly it was a Conservative dream that built Canada but it is Canadians that make it great.

Scotland has long enjoyed a close bond with Canada and its people. It is a relationship which stretches back centuries and continues today with our strong social, cultural and economic links.
“The early Scots who left these shores from the Highlands, and elsewhere in Scotland, left an incredible mark on Canada – you only need to look at how many towns, rivers and mountains have been named in honour of Scottish explorers, traders and adventurers to see the impact they had and the affection in which they are still held.
“Sir John A. Macdonald is one of Scotland’s most famous sons and had a huge impact on Canada and its people. He is credited with creating the building blocks of the modern country we all know today and has strong links with the Highlands and Baden och.”

Sovereigntists Fight Over The Same Old Battleground Again

 

The Plains of Abraham are being fought for all over again. Apparently a Sovereigntist group is upset about public money going to what they see, as an Anglo takeover of a French music and cultural festival. Now I don’t agree with separatists on any issue or vision for the country. However,  these groups still represent a sliver of Quebec’s culture and political class. In this case I think they are totally overreacting. Over half the passes for this festival/venue are sold already for acts such as, The Black-Eyed Peas. Obviously the people of Quebec aren’t that concerned about a quota when it comes to their culture and festivals. Quebec culture is a great piece of the Canadian mosaic and should not be overly protected nor regulated to it’s basest by people who are afraid of the withering vine of time. Quebec culture is what helped create this great  Country called Canada and it will be here at its end.   So please give it a rest already, and think of Canada as a whole!