Happy Canada Day!!!!

[podunklander]

Wishing all friends up North a great Canada Day :D!!!

[charlene]

Thanks!! - I'm taking it easy today-it's a gorgeous day here in Toronto on Canada's 141st birthday..

[Auburn Annie]

Yes, yes, happy Canada Day for all our northern neighbors (and my hubby!)

BTW check out these "Tunes from across this might land" at http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=78cf61cd-71e3-4297-a9a0-bc055919235d

Guess who leads the list?

[charlene]

and it is #1 as it should be..
lol

[talbot10]

Thanks!! - I'm taking it easy today-it's a gorgeous day here in Toronto on Canada's 141st birthday..

Have a wonderful day Chrazo! My best to Lisa!
Bill

[charlene]

Thanks Billyboy! We're just back from 3 weeks in Sarasota..reality sucks.
lol

At the Jays game tonight in Seattle there will be a flyover of 4 NORAD planes - 2 American and 2 Canadian to celebrate 50 years of NORAD and Canada's 141st birthday. Martha Cormier who is an RCMP member and sister of Blue Jay player Matt Stairs from New Brunswick will also take part in the pre-game ceremony.

Game time is 10 p.m. EST.

GO JAYS GO!!

[charlene]

I'd like to share this wonderful article from the Toronto Star on this Canada Day.

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/452001

What it means to be Canadian

We are a series of disparate stories held together by our deep desire to be decent

Jul 01, 2008 04:30 AM

Rochelle Burns

In 1967, a non-Canadian tourist bought me lunch in Europe. It was in exchange for one of my Canadian flag logos on my backpack. That was the first time I really thought about how "wow" the rest of the world thought it was to be a born-in-Canada Canadian.

About 35 years later, I was appointed a citizenship judge. This is what I learned between those two events about what being Canadian really means.

Outsiders say, "You Canadians are so polite." Watch it. That can be a euphemism for, "You're rather naïve." Let me set the record straight. We are polite; we are compassionate. Being polite and compassionate are not synonyms for naïveté but for open-mindedness.

Canadians see the other side of the point.

We do not make much of a fuss about this exceptional national trait. We are understated. As Canadian communications guru Marshall McLuhan once put it: "Canadians are the people who learned to live without the bold accents of the natural ego-trippers of other lands." Elsewhere there are blustery, glitzy, look-at-us pageants. Elsewhere there are shouts from the spires of revisionist history. Notwithstanding, all is deafened by the understatedness of Canadians.

When you feel comfortable with who you are, you do not have to make noise.

Travelling abroad makes Canadians want to come back and kiss the ground of their country, no matter how much fun the journey was. If you ask Canadians why, they often go blank. They know, yet cannot quite put it into words. It is another form of our understatedness.

Those from other countries, however, have no trouble articulating Canada's merits. Actor Jane Fonda once said, "When I'm in Canada, I feel this is what the world should be like."

Canadians see Canada as the place where one complains about ice and snow. But remember, part of our Canadian identity is that we see the other side of any point. Snow and ice also mean skiing, hockey, snowmobiling and tobogganing.

To me, one of nature's most serene beauties is a windless Canadian snowfall. When you are 6 years old, you can stand outside and stick your tongue out to catch the flakes.

When you are 60 years old, you can appreciate that the symbol of the Order of Canada is a snowflake, illustrating that all recipients are like snowflakes, all unique. And polite and definitely able to see the other side of the point.

I wonder why we are like this. We are a country of immigrants. We always have been. We come from all over bringing with us all of the planet's faiths, outlooks and styles of living. I have a theory that the overwhelming majority attracted to live in Canada already had in them the gift of seeing the other side of the point. We attract who we are.

That is why Canadians are not tolerant; Canadians are accepting.

The word "tolerant' is pejorative. It means people put up with those they deem to be different from them. This is an insult. This is not what being Canadian is.

Canadians have a great sense of accepting others. We walk down the street and feel it is normal to hear a world full of accents and languages.

Being accepting means it's okay for someone else not to belong to your group.

Being accepting means you know groups to which you do not belong accept you.

Being accepting means you see the other side of the point.

We have forged a country from sea to sea to sea through our ability just to accept. It works for us like few countries in history have ever been privileged to know.

I remember when I began to teach in Toronto's inner city in the 1970s. A dental hygienist from the Caribbean worked in my school. I loved chatting with her because she was so honest and caring. One day she invited me to her home along with her multitude of friends. Everyone but me was from the Caribbean. I was the outsider.

Yet I felt totally at home. They understood the difference between "tolerate" and "accept." They saw the other side of the point.

And so did the "universal man" at one of the ceremonies over which I presided as a citizenship judge. I nicknamed him that because his skin was a mixture of worldwide hues. His physiognomy also displayed a universality. Eighty new citizens from 37 places around the world sang "O Canada" at the end of the ceremony. As the words emanated from his mouth, the tears poured from his eyes. He was looking upward, perhaps toward God or a departed loved one.

Whatever was going on, the "universal man" was pouring his heart out singing a song about the country of his choice. Watching him, I struggled to maintain my composure through the half English and half French words that tripped so easily from my lips. I felt grateful for all the blessings of Canada; he looked overwhelmed.

Just to write about such remembrances makes me feel Canadian. But I have not given a specific definition of what it is to be Canadian that would fit neatly into the Oxford dictionary of the soul. I haven't because I can't.

The best I can do is offer my "feeling theory." Canadians, whether born here or choosing to come here, are a series of disparate stories held together by a deep-down commonality of wanting to be decent. How Canadian; how delightful.

Rochelle Burns is a social historian, former teacher and former citizenship court judge.

[BILLW]

Very cool Char ! Enjoy your day - I'd love to be at that Jays game, eh?

Bill :)

[mandoann]

I'd like to share this wonderful article from the Toronto Star on this Canada Day.

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/452001

What it means to be Canadian

We are a series of disparate stories held together by our deep desire to be decent

Jul 01, 2008 04:30 AM

Rochelle Burns

In 1967, a non-Canadian tourist bought me lunch in Europe. It was in exchange for one of my Canadian flag logos on my backpack. That was the first time I really thought about how "wow" the rest of the world thought it was to be a born-in-Canada Canadian.

About 35 years later, I was appointed a citizenship judge. This is what I learned between those two events about what being Canadian really means.

Outsiders say, "You Canadians are so polite." Watch it. That can be a euphemism for, "You're rather naïve." Let me set the record straight. We are polite; we are compassionate. Being polite and compassionate are not synonyms for naïveté but for open-mindedness.

Canadians see the other side of the point.

We do not make much of a fuss about this exceptional national trait. We are understated. As Canadian communications guru Marshall McLuhan once put it: "Canadians are the people who learned to live without the bold accents of the natural ego-trippers of other lands." Elsewhere there are blustery, glitzy, look-at-us pageants. Elsewhere there are shouts from the spires of revisionist history. Notwithstanding, all is deafened by the understatedness of Canadians.

When you feel comfortable with who you are, you do not have to make noise.

Travelling abroad makes Canadians want to come back and kiss the ground of their country, no matter how much fun the journey was. If you ask Canadians why, they often go blank. They know, yet cannot quite put it into words. It is another form of our understatedness.

Those from other countries, however, have no trouble articulating Canada's merits. Actor Jane Fonda once said, "When I'm in Canada, I feel this is what the world should be like."

Canadians see Canada as the place where one complains about ice and snow. But remember, part of our Canadian identity is that we see the other side of any point. Snow and ice also mean skiing, hockey, snowmobiling and tobogganing.

To me, one of nature's most serene beauties is a windless Canadian snowfall. When you are 6 years old, you can stand outside and stick your tongue out to catch the flakes.

When you are 60 years old, you can appreciate that the symbol of the Order of Canada is a snowflake, illustrating that all recipients are like snowflakes, all unique. And polite and definitely able to see the other side of the point.

I wonder why we are like this. We are a country of immigrants. We always have been. We come from all over bringing with us all of the planet's faiths, outlooks and styles of living. I have a theory that the overwhelming majority attracted to live in Canada already had in them the gift of seeing the other side of the point. We attract who we are.

That is why Canadians are not tolerant; Canadians are accepting.

The word "tolerant' is pejorative. It means people put up with those they deem to be different from them. This is an insult. This is not what being Canadian is.

Canadians have a great sense of accepting others. We walk down the street and feel it is normal to hear a world full of accents and languages.

Being accepting means it's okay for someone else not to belong to your group.

Being accepting means you know groups to which you do not belong accept you.

Being accepting means you see the other side of the point.

We have forged a country from sea to sea to sea through our ability just to accept. It works for us like few countries in history have ever been privileged to know.

I remember when I began to teach in Toronto's inner city in the 1970s. A dental hygienist from the Caribbean worked in my school. I loved chatting with her because she was so honest and caring. One day she invited me to her home along with her multitude of friends. Everyone but me was from the Caribbean. I was the outsider.

Yet I felt totally at home. They understood the difference between "tolerate" and "accept." They saw the other side of the point.

And so did the "universal man" at one of the ceremonies over which I presided as a citizenship judge. I nicknamed him that because his skin was a mixture of worldwide hues. His physiognomy also displayed a universality. Eighty new citizens from 37 places around the world sang "O Canada" at the end of the ceremony. As the words emanated from his mouth, the tears poured from his eyes. He was looking upward, perhaps toward God or a departed loved one.

Whatever was going on, the "universal man" was pouring his heart out singing a song about the country of his choice. Watching him, I struggled to maintain my composure through the half English and half French words that tripped so easily from my lips. I felt grateful for all the blessings of Canada; he looked overwhelmed.

Just to write about such remembrances makes me feel Canadian. But I have not given a specific definition of what it is to be Canadian that would fit neatly into the Oxford dictionary of the soul. I haven't because I can't.

The best I can do is offer my "feeling theory." Canadians, whether born here or choosing to come here, are a series of disparate stories held together by a deep-down commonality of wanting to be decent. How Canadian; how delightful.

Rochelle Burns is a social historian, former teacher and former citizenship court judge.

Thanks for posting this great article, Char! Knowing it was Canada Day made listening to Gord today extra special. Many years ago I took the train across Canada from Vancouver to Quebec City, and have many great memories of the trip (one being the thunderstorm in Toronto!)

Happy Canada Day to all !

[RM]

Hope it was a festive celebration.

I have a question : While channel surfing a couple of days ago, I ran across an interview with environmentalist David Suzuki (I'm familiar with the Lightfoot connection) on the Weather Channel of all places. I didn't see the whole piece, so I'm not sure what metrics were being referred to, but it was mentioned that Canada ranked 29th out of 30 nations. Suzuki stated something to the effect that Canadians are not as eco-friendly as they think they are. I was a bit surprised.

Any thoughts ? (sorry for the lack of details)

[charlene]

He's everywhere..he does commercials for energy savings with EnerStar appliances/lightbulbs etc.
We all think we do enough but sadly we don't..changing lightbulbs isn't enough but we all think we're doing our part. It will take so much more than that..
there's a lot of chatter up here about Suzuki's apparent hypocrisy as he travels constantly in planes and has a huge home out west..sort of like Al Gore talking the talk but not walking the walk..but getting big bucks anyway..
I do what I can and have reduced my usage of water/electric and gas/paper etc. in the last several years. Don't own a car and use transit when I can or walk. I try tolive by the three R's..always have,..
Buying carbon offsets is not the big answer it seems to be..it's a guilt free way to keep doing what you do without giving up anything or changing your life to reduce the impact you make..while money is spent for wind farms, alternate energy methods etc. it doesn't stop the misuse of energy or waste..
anyway..I'd like to know what they were referring to..hmmm...

[jj]

Hope it was a festive celebration.
it was mentioned that Canada ranked 29th out of 30

are you sure the article wasn't referring to our mighty Maple Leafs?;)

[charlene]

that would be 30th out of 30 JJ..


check your e-mail dude..

[Yuri]

David Suzuki seems to permeate the Canadian airwaves these days. Years ago I used to value his opinion but find him to be too radical these days. He continually exudes a "It's my way or the wrong way" attitude. Now, I've never been fond of politicians, however when Suzuki suggested that politicians who fail to act on global warming issues (Kyoto) should be jailed, he just lost me. I also read an article by a local reporter who asked him why two of his rather large houses in British Columbia appeared to have lights blazing in every room he responded to her with "F**k off." Now, is that how a verbally articulate, socially conscious deep thinker cultivates attention, admiration & respect? He does have a tremendous following...
But that's just my opinion - Gord's and your own may vary.
(recall that Gord mentions Suzuki in the 'NO Hotel' preamble - Gord & Suzuki below)

[RM]

Thanks for the insights into the Suzuki issue. I hate it when people don't practice what they "preach".

I tried to find the data that was referred to in the interview, but there are so many tables, graphs, and charts out there that it becomes bewildering. I'm not about to become a scientist at this stage of my life.