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"The 20/20 vision of the Canadian Identity"
by Andrew Cardozo
Instead of driving ourselves to despair in search of a definition for the
Canadian identity, each of us should take a seat at the nearest keyboard and type out a
list of things that make this country unique. What you will likely find is that defining
Canadian values and symbols is really quite easy in broad brush strokes.
The list I came up with was most encouraging. I called it a 20/20 vision of Canada. It
is a clear vision and if we want, we can still have it in the year 2020. (This 20/20
approach to things by the way, is not my invention.) What I listed were 20 core values and
20 symbols. What more do we need to convince ourselves that we have a life?
20 examples of our core values (existing or desired) include: democracy, the rule of
law, human rights, the importance of family and community, equality for women and men,
health care, care for seniors, free school education, affordable colleges and
universities, a free market economy with some state intervention, presence of labour
unions, bilingualism, multiculturalism, voluntarism, freedom of expression and
association, freedom of religion and respect for religion, respectable status for
Aboriginal Peoples, equality for people with disabilities, a social safety net,
immigration and respect for our history. Some of these are universal values while some are
uniquely Canadian.
20 Examples of our national symbols include: the Canadian flag and the maple leaf, the
Canadian constitution and the Charter of Rights, Canadian citizenship, the map of Canada,
the Monarchy along with the Governor General and Lieutenant Governors, federal-provincial
relations (and the interminable bickering), the RCMP, the Armed Forces, the Snowbirds,
Parliament and Legislative buildings, the Supreme Court of Canada and our judicial system,
the Coat of Arms, the Order of Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Canada
Council, Canada Post, national transportation systems - air, rail and highways, hockey and
the Stanley Cup and football and the Grey Cup.
Then think about our natural heritage such as the Rockies, the Prairies, the Arctic,
the Great Lakes, the Gaspé and the Atlantic. And our wild life such as the beaver, the
loon, the Canada goose and the moose.
Remember the historical pictures of our past: the fathers of Confederation, native
elders, immigrants at the Halifax dock, prairie farmers, D-Day and Expo '67? Well, may be
that's more than twenty.
We can also list 20 cultural icons like Robertson Davies, Salome Bey and Gilles
Vigneault; or 20 business tycoons like Conrad Black (of course) and Ken Thompson; or 20
feminists like Nellie McClung, Doris Anderson and Sunera Thobani; or 20 sports figures
like Mirriam Bedard, Donovan Bailey, Elvis Stojko and Joe Carter (Oh no he's American!).
As I prepared my 20/20 list, it struck me that in our drive to muscle down the deficit,
federal, provincial and municipal governments have been watering down many of these values
and symbols over the last decade. And under the guise of restoring traditional morals and
ethics we are scaling back on certain rights. Beyond that, look at the professional hockey
and football leagues gasping for life. And consider air and water pollution that is eating
away at our natural and wild life heritage.
The choice about whether we want this type of 20/20 vision for the long term is ours to
make.
The high points of Canadian history are characterized by accommodation and compromise.
The question is, do we go the same route or do we try a hard-nosed in-your-face approach?
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