There is a debate across the country about how to approach Canada Day this year. The recent discovery of children’s bodies in unmarked and mass graves has brought a new level of awareness to many. Canada Day Celebrations are being questioned as we are being confronted with hard truths about our history. And celebrating with fireworks while First Nations are mourning does not seem right at all.
On the one hand the City of Victoria has decided to cancel their virtual event on July 1st this year.
Victoria is cancelling its Canada Day broadcast, instead planning to work with the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations to create an alternative event at a later date, amid calls nationwide to cancel July 1 celebrations. ~Vancouver Sun
Others have followed suit:
Since then, some cities have decided to forgo parts of their usual Canada Day festivities.
Several communities in New Brunswick, including Saint John and Fredericton, have chosen to scrap traditional celebrations in light of the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential schools in Saskatchewan and British Columbia.Canada Day events will also be partially or fully cancelled in Victoria, Wilmot Township in Ontario’s Waterloo Region, and St. Albert, a city northwest of Edmonton in solidarity with mourning Indigenous communities. ~ Times Colonist
On the other hand, some leaders are calling for a reflective approach.
Murray Sinclair, the former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, said in a recent interview with The Globe and Mail that Canada Day should be reconsidered.
“Celebrating the creation of a nation that did this [residential schools] is something that really needs to be rethought. I think that the creation of the nation itself is an event that is worth recognizing, but celebrating it with a blind eye to the history of this country is just not the way things should be occurring any more,” the former senator said.
Perry Bellegarde, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said Canada Day needs to be a day of reflection and acknowledgment.
“It is a day to recognize that it is a beautiful country but there are some terrible things that have happened,” Mr. Bellegarde told The Globe last week.
Individuals are taking their own action:
In Fenelon Falls Ontario, Julia Taylor, Health and Environmental Activist. Family and Community Focused Owner of the Country Cupboard is taking a stand. Fenelon Falls is in cottage country Ontario and local businesses count on tourist time to help sustain their viability. This year Julia is not following the tradition of former Canada Day festivities.
We will wear orange, as well as fly an orange shirt instead of a Canada Day flag on our pole on July 1st. Our chalk board will say “Kanata” with the meaning “settlement or village”. We are thankful to live in Canada but we are disturbed to learn that our nation is founded on cultural genocide. We want to help fix it, and we want the First Peoples to know that we care. ~ Julia Taylor (and her team at Country Cupboard)
How are you and your family (and perhaps your business) going to be approaching Canada Day differently this year?
TRC-Bobcaygeon is finalizing our plans for July 1st. We will announce that soon.