Canada Day 2021... A day to reflect

By Mimi Moore

Why it is important to “observe” Canada Day 2021??Canada Day is a national holiday that marks the 1867 creation of this country and ALL that it represents since: the good, the bad, the ugly and the tragic.

Canada is a great place to live and has so many riches, achievements, and accomplishments to its credit from its universal healthcare system to the discovery of insulin, the creation of the pacemaker, the telephone and wireless radio transmission; the creation of IMAX technology and a host of green technologies and well, basketball (yes, Canadian James Naismith invented basketball!).?Canada has been and continues to be a welcoming nation to millions of migrants and refugees from all over the world.?

Canadians are generally known as genuine, peaceful, and upstanding citizens and it is true also that our country benefits from a solid reputation here and abroad.?There is a lot to be proud of.

BUT like many other great places to live in the world, Canada is far from being perfect and it is not without its current challenges, difficulties, painful and shameful past.?

Canada's history is anchored in colonialism and it is nothing short of an abysmal account of violent dominance over Indigenous People who were first here, established and thriving on this rich, abundant, and precious land called Turtle Island.

As unmarked graves of many Indigenous children continue to be tragically uncovered, it is a solemn opportunity for Canadians to take advantage of Canada Day to hold silence, reflect on the past, mourn individually and collectively; and stand in solidarity with Indigenous People.?It is an opportunity to pause, extend a hand of friendship and dream of a better future for everyone, including and especially for our Indigenous family.?

To be whole, our country needs reconciliation - real and meaningful reconciliation.?

RECONCILIATION is a collective endeavour, a collective responsibility.?It means recognizing what Indigenous Peoples across the country have had to endure and what they have lost – and what they continue to endure to this day.?

RECONCILIATION means recognizing how Indigenous Peoples have been traumatically and systemically harmed and disadvantaged on so many levels through intergenerational cycles – cycles that persist to this day.?

RECONCILIATION is about acknowledging on a grand scale the devastation caused by Canada as a colonizing nation.?It is about apologizing and taking the necessary steps to redress past transgressions and establish a respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

In the spirit of reconciliation, today is not a day to celebrate.?Canada Day 2021 presents an opportunity to bring everyone together to observe and reflect on the past, exercise compassion and empathy, and contemplate how we can all take part in this necessary rapprochement.?

May our history, as painful as it is, inform our healing future in constructive, meaningful, and tangible ways.?

Like this post. Share this post. Write a post. Write to your local MP. Write to the Prime Minister. Be part of the way forward.

I remain hopeful that in years to come, we will once again celebrate Canada and its many riches – including its success at reconciliation with its Indigenous Peoples.