The Word - Vol 79

Happy Canada Day

Time to do some flag-waving! Tomorrow is July 1st, Canada Day, and also the birthday of a dear friend Patricia Taylor. For years we thought the national holiday was in her honour! Then we found that it wasn’t that at all, it was Canada’s birthday, an opportunity to wave our maple leaf flags, something we don’t do enough of these days.

​We Canadians are a funny lot. If a Canadian actor, athlete or celebrity is mentioned or shown on TV, we’re quick to say, “He’s Canadian!”, or if we’re watching a movie or tv show and a Canadian city is being used as the location but labeled as somewhere in America, we immediately identify the location as Canadian. We’re a relatively small country, but big on pride when one of our countrymen is successful. We’re especially proud of Michael J. Fox, Ryan Reynolds, and Michael Buble - Canadians from our own backyard. 

Here’s a question, can there be anything more Canadian than the red serge of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police? It’s a uniform that’s recognized around the world. My father-in-law was not only a member of the Mounted Police but rode in the world-famous RCMP Musical Ride! If the ride comes to a city or town near you, don’t miss the chance to see it. If “The Ride” doesn’t get your patriotic juices flowing, nothing will. 

Another international symbol of this country is the aerobatic team “The Snowbirds.” One summer day we sat on the upper balcony of Blue Frog Studios in White Rock as the Canadian Snowbirds put on a show over Semiahmoo Bay. At one point they flew right over our heads. It was quite a sight. The Snowbirds are as Canadian as you can get without putting on a red serge uniform.

If you really want to celebrate our national day, make sure you have these exclusively Canadian items on hand: Smarties, bannock, Nanaimo bars, maple syrup, Saskatoon berries, and of course Hawkins Cheezies! My sister lives in the U.S. and every time she comes to visit, she takes Hawkins Cheezies home for her American neighbour, or in her case, neighbor. You can’t get Hawkins down south, and her friend is crazy about them! 

Every July 1st we raise the flag at our summer cabin at Green Lake in the Cariboo. In past years we’ve attended Canada Day parties at the lake, and everyone came dressed in red and white. The barbecue got fired up and we gathered around the flagpole to sing O’ Canada and even better when you have Jacki Jamieson of “The Bells” fame singing alongside you. It’s always a very “proud to be Canadian” kind of day.

There are other great memories of our annual celebration.  In 1967 we welcomed the world to come and see what we were all about. It was Expo 67 in Montreal celebrating this country’s 100 years of Confederation. Perhaps you were in Montreal that marvelous summer. It was quite a party, we even managed to teach Bobby Gimby’s “Can-a-da” song to a group of girls from Detroit! It certainly rivaled Vancouver’s Expo 86 but had the extra element of being Canada’s 100th birthday. Montreal was a marvelous host.

We’re usually a quietly patriotic country, but who can forget the “I am Canadian" rant. It was a commercial for Molson Canadian beer in the spring of 2000. The ad starred a man named Joe, an average Canadian, played by Nova Scotian/Canadian actor Jeff Douglas. He stood in a movie theatre, with a cinema screen behind him showing different images relating to Canadian culture. The rant went like this…. 

Hey, I'm not a lumberjack or a fur trader,
And I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber or own a dog sled,
And I don't know Jimmy, Sally, or Suzie from Canada,
Although I'm certain they're really, really nice,
I have a Prime Minister, not a President,
I speak English and French, not American,
And I pronounce it "About", not “Aboot.”
I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack,
I believe in peacekeeping, not policing,
Diversity, not assimilation,
And that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal,
A toque is a hat. 
A chesterfield is a couch,
And it is pronounced Zed, not "Zee", Zed.
Canada is the second largest land mass,
The first nation of hockey,
And the best part of North America.
My name is Joe,
And I AM CANADIAN.
Thank-you.

You notice he very politely said thank-you! 

Recently I attended the swearing-in ceremony of 70 people from 26 different countries who became citizens of Canada. One of them was our son-in-law, Carlos. He is originally from Colombia and studied for a citizenship exam for his chance to become a Canadian. This was an exam that he passed easily, but our daughter and her friend took the test just for fun, and couldn't get a passing grade! We’re thrilled that he chose our country (and our daughter), and when we have a question about Canada, we’ll ask Carlos!

I think we sometimes take our Canadian citizenship for granted, but on that day, I felt proud that so many people not only wanted to become Canadians but worked hard to achieve that goal.

We’re not a perfect country, but we’re closer than most! Happy Canada Day! 

Till next week…
Wayne

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