With Canada Day just around the corner, organizers of the celebrations here in Manitoba and across the country say they are trying to balance celebrations of national pride with reflections on the country’s troubled history with indigenous peoples.
Last year, some events across the country were canceled or kept on a smaller scale after possible graves were located at the former site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in BC, a discovery that opened the floodgates for similar investigations at sites of residential schools across Canada.
In Winnipeg, thousands of people dressed in orange took to the streets to honor residential school survivors a year ago, as part of a demonstration that ended with the toppling of a large statue of Queen Victoria in front of the Manitoba Legislature. .
That statue, along with a smaller one of Queen Elizabeth II, have not been reinstated, and Manitoba leaders said last week that the Victoria Monument was damaged beyond repair and will not be rebuilt.
Organizers of Forks’ popular Canada Day celebration have renamed the 2022 event “A New Day,” canceled the fireworks and promised activities that will be thoughtful and festive.
Saskatoon, Vancouver and Halifax are among the other major Canadian centers taking a new approach to the national holiday with a focus on reconciliation.
Read more:
Communities reinventing celebrations to honor indigenous peoples on Canada Day
Ethicist Neil McArthur told Global News that the debate over how to properly recognize Canada Day is one that may have more resonance in a city like Winnipeg, with the largest urban indigenous population in the country, than in other regions.
“I think it’s something that Manitoba is really at the forefront of,” he said.
“It’s something that’s happening in this part of the country and it’s probably going to be more prominent than in other parts of the country, but there are probably a lot of people who haven’t even heard of this debate.”
McArthur said he feels it’s important that Canada Day be recognized in some way as a way to bring Canadians together, at a time when we are more divided than ever.
“It’s a source of unity for us at a time when we’re really divided, and that could be the real importance of Canada Day this year,” he said.
“I think the first goal should be to make sure that we celebrate in a way that brings us together instead of driving us further apart.
“We have to balance celebration with reconciliation and respect… acknowledging the mistakes of the past and acknowledging the damage that still lingers will always be part of that.”
The holiday, he said, may have become something over the years that it was never intended to be: an excuse for Canadians to get drunk and nasty. The sober focus on reconciliation could provide an opportunity for people to recognize that the aspect of the party needs to be scaled back…especially since it’s meant to be a family party.
“It’s a great time to talk to your kids about what it means to be Canadian, about Canada’s history, but also about their future.”
University of Manitoba history and indigenous studies professor Sean Carleton told Global News that engaging with these kinds of difficult issues is part of being Canadian.
“I think everyone is free to celebrate and mark every day the way they want, that’s one of the many things that Canadians take seriously,” he said.
“However, what is happening is this open celebration that ‘Canada is the best’; that sentiment is not shared by many of our treaty partners…many of whom are still mourning the ongoing work and disclosures still being made. .
“(Canada Day) is an opportunity to maybe…find different ways to connect and build meaningful relationships with people on that day.”
— with archives from The Canadian Press
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