There is far too much of this rewriting of history going on today. Why should anyone be concerned that Canada’s first prime minister was a drunk? Or was it his attitude towards our aboriginal people—that he shared with many others of the time? Why are some silly people now trying to hide him?
And do you really think that calling our aboriginal peoples “indigenous” will make them “from here?” So, their ancestors came to North America a thousand years or so before any Europeans? So, what? The land is plenty for us all to share.
But we keep hearing of people who insist on removing statues and rewriting history. They are the ones who need to get a life.
There is a picture of Sir John on my den wall as I write. He gives me inspiration. For Canada of 150 years ago, John A. was a progressive guy. He saw this country with ties of steel rails stretching from sea to sea. He saw Canada’s potential for greatness—and he (quite) frequently raised a glass of whisky to wish it well.
There is another picture on my wall of a distant relation—Oliver Mowat. Cousin Oliver was premier of Ontario in 1893 when the picture appeared on the front page of the Saturday Globe. The headline story was about Ontario’s Grand Old Man. He served a total of 24 years as premier of the province before serving in the federal cabinet of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.
History tells us that cousin Oliver was the biggest problem in Sir John A.’s path back in the beginnings of Canada. He fought for provincial rights in defining federal and provincial rights. He is the cause of still today, our federal and provincial politicians taking their arguments to the supreme court.
Environment minister Catherine McKenna recently asked the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada to come up with an easy answer to people who want to remove statues and other recognition of people who at one time contributed to Canada. It does seem odd that a politician needs to ask an antiquities board how to handle small-minded people?
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Copyright 2018 © Peter Lowry
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