Don’t let the headline fool you. This opinion column will not dwell upon those protesting the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Quebec, nor will it hearken back to post-Stanley Cup riots in Vancouver. In fact, if you interpreted “gross” as grotesque or disgusting, then you have missed the mark.
I am not focusing on the ample recent demonstrations of un-Canadian-like behaviours that have tarnished our peaceful image in the worldview; rather, I am playing on the connotative side of the word “gross,” which, ironically enough, equates to a number that just happens to be Canada’s age.
A dozen dozen years ago, Canada was officially forged out of the crucible of English and French colonialism. Back in 1867, the fathers of Confederation signed off on a vision of a country that they hoped would blossom into something wonderful. Little did they realize that four provinces would, in short order, expand into a “dominion” of 10 provinces and three territories (but sadly not the Turks and Caicos Islands). One hundred forty-four years may sound like a long time ago for many folks, but for us St. Albertans, who are in the midst of celebrating our 150th anniversary, we realize that, in many respects, 144 is not grossly old.
One does not have to go too far to see the indelible fingerprints left upon us from the past. The names of roads, malls and churches bring our forefathers to mind. Our city is doing an excellent job in showing us our roots and our youngest generation is being educated about the rich heritage our ancestors accorded us. We can see photos, read historical records and hear those rich stories handed down from one generation to the next simply by visiting with our elders and veterans. We soon discover that we can unearth much of our history and, inherent to the facts and figures, the movers and the shakers, we realize that there are lessons applicable for us today.
We gain a sense of the pioneer spirit — that almost superhuman capacity to endure hardship for the hope of gaining something better for those who follow. We gain awareness of the struggles and challenges that those early Canadians had to face in forging a future. We also come to realize in a most profound and empowering way that the story started so long ago is not finished. We are to be authors of the next few chapters. What will we write?
The recent fervour over Will and Kate has rekindled some of our earlier royal ties. Our collective conscience is more aware of our past colonial heritage and certainly more appreciative of how Canada grew up on the world stage to be the middle-aged middle power that is so respected by its peers. I hope we continue this storyline.
We were once subjects of the Imperial system before we converted to metric. As a post- centennial baby, I was reared on both systems. I am still fluent in both and can translate back and forth at ease, which is great when I travel to the United States. It is when I am not in Canada, however, that I realize just how much I love our great country. Joni Mitchell reminds folks that “you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.”
We have so much to be proud of as Canadians and so much more to look forward to. To tarnish our image, one that has been so great over the past 144 years, would truly be gross.
Tim Cusack has been a member of the Canadian Naval Reserve since 1985.
