July 1 celebrations have come again. This time the world of a year ago looks so different. Covid has changed the heart(s) of our country in many ways. The celebrations in Ottawa are looking a lot like the construction goings-on at Parliament Hill. There are fences and patrol units to keep some of our citizens out. It is a no go zone.
This year’s July 1st celebration will be away from Parliament Hill due to not only the construction fences but also the anxiety that there needs to be more control because of what happened last January. There are scores of police in the streets. Can we still trust the average Canadian to behave themselves? The mess of those winter days have not disappeared in fact it is not only the crowds that have become unruly, some people claim so also has the government itself. F**k Trudeau signs can still be seen proudly worn on the T-shirts of some Canadians. Yes, those meek and socially entwined and careful shy – I’m sorry?! – folk have changed. We seem to be more interested in ourselves then in the whole of us. Can we still pull together?
Some politician are no longer discussing policies but are calling for a radical throw-out of policies and institutions, even the Bank of Canada. Oh, and Freedom! cries are now heard in the streets of Ottawa by those who want no system, no rules at all. They say the “mandate” constraints should be gone, finished. We have had enough!
Echoes of historic situations that ended in tragedies. Count the times!
Where will all this end? Does the road ahead look murky to you? When will we be able to pull together and look at the whole rather than at our own navel? Do we know where we are going (or end up) with all this? Only God knows. O Canada!
Have a blessed summer and appreciate your communities.
JS July 6, 2022
Note:* Counting the years since 1861 Confederation of the three British North America Regions to create the Dominion of Canada. On 1st July 1867, through the British North American Act, the Canadian Federation was created. It was not till Nunavut joined in 1999 that the Canada as we know it today was established.
On the Road 