Like many Canadians, I'm an immigrant--though I've lived here almost my whole life. My family moved to this country from England in 1983, bringing with us a liberal yet still decidedly English set of beliefs and traditions. Even though I've never played hockey, my family will never summer at a cottage, and I'll never understand the appeal of prairie oysters, I nonetheless consider myself a Canadian and nothing else.
Well, no, I'm a British Canadian. That's one of the great things about Canada: you can be a Chinese Canadian, an Arab Canadian, or an African Canadian (A French Canadian is something different; what do you call a Canadian from France, anyway?). Canada is one of the few nations in the world where diversity is truly encouraged, where you can be a Canadian and another nationality at the same time with no conflict. Some people misunderstand this concept, I believe; they think there are two alternatives: American style assimilation, and ethnic ghettoization. Many Canadians think we have the latter, though they probably wouldn't use the term ghettoization. What I mean by it is the existence of culturally distinct groups living side-by-side but largely separate. While this certainly does exist in Canada (ever go to Markham? A good-sized chunk of Hong Kong has moved there over the last two decades), this is not how I see multiculturalism in Canada in general. Multiculturalism should be (and largely is) about the mixing of cultures, the sharing of ideas to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Canada exists as a rich and colourful mosaic, and the Canadian national identity is a vast superposition of its varied components.
Canada is not a perfect place: like almost anywhere else, the government is corrupt, democracy fails to adequately reflect the views of the people, the rich take too much and produce too little, the poor go hungry, the streets are dirty, the environment gets polluted, car culture destroys our living space, many people are intolerant, conservative, and closed-minded, and and most of all, the weather really sucks. Nonetheless, our country offers much: we are a tolerant, friendly, progressive, concerned country. As much as I oppose nationalism state power in general, the Canadian state is a lot better than most. Unlike our neighbours to the south, we make a genuine attempt at democracy, at serving the needs of people and the environment, at home and abroad. There are a lot of things I would change, but on the whole I have to say, I love this country, its land, its people, and what it represents.
So happy Canada Day, and to you Americans out there, happy 4
th of July in a few days. Remember: appreciate your country for its greatness, but never forget its significant flaws, and try to fix them.
Music: The Tragically Hip's entire discography on shuffle. Hey, they're the ultimate Canadian band and I'm feeling patriotic, okay?
