Canadians have every right to celebrate our special day

By Lethbridge Herald on June 30, 2023.

Tomorrow is July 1, the day we celebrate the founding of the country we call Canada, the country we call home.

As every year, many will feel there is nothing to celebrate due to injustices done to Indigenous peoples through the conduct at residential schools and ongoing discrimination towards them.

The LGBTQIA+ community is still being discriminated against by some in our midst and like our Indigenous friends and neighbours rightfully deserve to be respected.

But is discrimination as widely spread as we are being led to believe? 

Have Canadians not come to a better understanding of minorities and apprecation for others in this country? 

Are the majority of those who aren’t part of the Indigenous or LGBTQIA+ communities biased and prejudiced in their opinions and actions?

As journalists our job is to question everything and everybody – nothing and nobody is above that.

 We often have to walk on egg shells when it comes to handling certain issues and stories because we risk ourselves being accused of racism and bias, accusations which most often are blatantly false and inflammatory. 

Nobody in this world is above questioning or criticism, just like nobody is below praise and acknowledgement for their contributions to society.

People of many different races, sexualities and religious beliefs have played important roles in the development and growth of Canada for which we have every right to be proud to call our home. We have many reasons to celebrate Canada Day.

Those who insist injustices are daily being perpetrated by every element of Canadian society are perpetuating a falsehood. People with political and social platforms need enemies to retain in power and to push their ideologies and beliefs. Some will do so without any recognition or acknowledgement they are not being fair and truthful with their followers.

Power is about control. From religious and political leaders to social justice advocates, the loss of power is a real possibility if they can’t control the narrative they want broadcast regardless if there exists any truth to that narrative. 

We are in a dilemma here – our country has become so angry that speaking out for fairness can subject a person to accusations of intolerance and worse.

We in the media know that all too well. Many media outlets have quit pasting their company logos on vehicles, some journalists may feel compelled to hide in the background while covering events because there exists a false idea we are biased no matter what we write or broadcast.

This country will not continue to flourish – it can’t – without journalists. We are the conscience of our communities whose job is to hold all – not some – but all – accountable for their actions and their words. 

But some in our country feel they are above that. This notion is patently false. 

If this wonderful country of ours is going to progress, we need to understand that nobody is above scrutiny. 

We need to recognize and celebrate the contributions of all Canadians and on July 1, we can do that by coming together as a community to rejoice in all that is great and beautiful about Canada – which too often we are expected to feel embarrassed and ashamed about. We have no reason for either.

Compare Canada to other countries around the world and you will see how enlightened, how progressive and understanding Canadians are. This is worthy of celebration. Not just on Canada Day, but every day.