It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since the last time I wrote about this special week when our family recognizes two national holidays, but here we are again…and so is COVID-19. Canada Day and Independence Day each take on a variety of meanings this year, many of which revolve around safety, history, and privilege.
In both countries, celebrations feel decidedly different, and not just because we’re weathering climate change and a global pandemic together. This year more than most, Canada and the United States are each attempting to reckon with their history somewhat, rather than conveniently waving aside the more problematic aspects between flags and fireworks. To what degree, of course, that reckoning is taking place has varied greatly from one city, community, or family to another. Like so many things, this season of introspection has also been shaped in decidedly different ways by the perceived priorities of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” or “peace, order, and good government.”
South of the border, the Biden administration has decreed Juneteenth National Independence Day a new federal holiday, giving the country two birthdays of sorts…one marking the beginning of the revolution, the other marking the end of legalized slavery. Having grown up in what is today referred to as the historic triangle of Virginia (between Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg) seeing the impact of the Gettysburg Address elevated to such a publicly comparable status as the impact of the Declaration of Independence is frankly not something I expected to see in my lifetime.
Coming on the heels of the Derek Chauvin verdict, it’s doubtlessly a meaningful observation by the government for millions of racialized Americans and their loved ones. I welcome the progress, but what remains to be seen is whether, in time, these holidays will be seen as dual opportunities for unity, or as having perpetually separate but equal relevance. Jesse Jackson’s quote about the fight for civil rights recently achieving “a first down, not a touchdown” still seems apt. If you’ve never heard of Juneteenth before, or have wondered why you may have been seeing a different kind of red, white, and blue flag flying recently, here’s a quick primer:
Meanwhile, here in Canada, recent discoveries of several mass graves have brought unprecedented national focus to another “peculiar institution” with a much more recent conclusion, the residential school system which separated generations of Indigenous children from their families. While topics like genocide, slavery, systemic racism, and ongoing discrimination are taught to most Canadian schoolchildren (beginning in kindergarten) today with generally less controversy than in the states, the enumeration of such atrocity has provoked fresh criticism of contemporary inaction regarding the calls to action identified by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of the Canadian government more than six years ago. If you’re interested in learning more, the excellent four-volume Indigenous People’s Atlas of Canada has a comprehensive section dedicated to the residential school system, as part of an entire book on Truth and Reconciliation as well as ones on First Nations, Inuit, and Métis history (and they’re all readable for free online).
For someone who still feels deeply connected to both countries, this summer begins marked by some haunting similarities to where we all were a year ago. Burning police stations on one side of the border have been succeeded by burning churches on the other. Statues are still toppling in both countries, as revered historical figures are re-evaluated. Mass media is becoming more reliant than ever on culture war topics, sometimes more concerned with sowing discontent than informing, while Silicon Valley billionaires skate clear of consequences for their erosion of journalism and democracy. If one takes a step back, however, from all the hashtags and buzzwords for just a moment, some significant differences are apparent across the 49th parallel.
This morning, on the 245th anniversary of those forty-five signatures under the Liberty Bell, the United States awoke to bifurcated headlines that had little to do with pyrotechnic displays or parades or even history lessons. MSNBC led the news cycle with Bill Cosby’s release and the ongoing failures by the federal government to investigate the January insurrection. Fox News chose to warn that America’s public school teachers are indoctrinating young white students with inappropriate guilt, and offered an opinion piece on why Joe Biden should get a mental health evaluation. Absent was any prominent discussion of Independence Day itself, let alone any recontextualisation of our founding fathers, or even basic information about public health recommendations regarding holiday celebrations.
The White House’s own web site didn’t have so much as a video clip or a sentence for the fourth, it was completely focused on the new administration’s infrastructure plan. Glancing across all the major news networks, I was surprised to find that I had to dive into search engines just to find out whether the capital was going ahead with huge crowds, parades, and fireworks this year (and of course, they are). Why such inconspicuous coverage of a major national event, aside from arguments about song selections?
During the past month as Canada Day approached and passed, Canadian public discourse was, in stark contrast, saturated with introspection and debate about our own holiday which reached a fever pitch this week. The very word “cancel” became so overridden that it was sometimes hard to discern in each headline or social media post whether someone was talking literally about calling off large gatherings for health reasons, or interrogating the idea of holding a national birthday party during a time of public mourning (there was plenty of both). The federal government’s web site directly addressed this right up to the holiday, calling for “a time to reflect” and conspicuously including occasions related to National Indigenous Peoples Day in its official “Celebrate Canada” nationwide list of events.
Yes, there were those in our political sphere who chose to make theatre, but many among all our major parties found that distasteful at best…and such stunts may have signalled a Conservative defeat in our next election. Even in some of the more problematic corners of Canadian online conversation, concern trolling didn’t get as much traction as I’d expected it to. Oh and, incidentally, no, Canada didn’t choose to gather hundreds of thousands of people into its municipal centres for parties and fireworks…because beside whatever else we’ve got going on we’re not in denial about the continuing dangers posed by an ongoing global pandemic.
On that note, I’d like to share something our family is celebrating with unrestrained joy…I’m now fully vaccinated!
Two weeks ago this Tuesday, I woke up on a sunny morning, helped set up the kids’ virtual school day, and then drove off to the nearest community centre that had appointments available. The process was simple, the staff were helpful, I was promptly checked in and shown to a seat, and a few moments later two friendly nurses named Nicole and Veronica rolled up a cart next to me and shot me in the shoulder. I now have my very own happy little receipt which states I was given “Moderna COVID-19 mRNA-1273” to follow up my initial inoculation with AstraZeneca and therefore have now received “two valid doses” just like our prime minister. Those receipts are the closest thing Ontario has right now to a vaccination certificate, so we now have two of them proudly displayed on our fridge. Side effects were minimal, and now we can hopefully look forward to much safer potential family travel later this summer.
While we’re eager to see our southern friends and family again, and we’re excited that border crossing is becoming easier, concern looms in Canada as many in the United States abandon safe face mask practices, choose not to accept readily available vaccination, and don’t seem to recognize the severity of the threat posed by the “Delta” variant which has spread across the Atlantic throughout North America (plus the USA already has an “Epsilon” of its own as well).
The widespread sentiment that I’ve been hearing among American friends is that the pandemic is over, and it’s long past time for everything to get back to normal, including a laissez-faire attitude toward non-essential travel. This concerns me greatly, and while some oppose the idea on various grounds, I side with most Canadians in strongly supporting some sort of vaccine verification process at our borders…at the very least I think it would be wise to integrate pertinent medical records into frequent traveller programs that already include biometric data such as NEXUS and Global Entry. It remains to be seen how growing tensions between our two countries will be resolved when current travel restrictions expire (or are extended) later this month.
For now, we wait, and watch…and as a family with dual residency who has been able to legally cross the border this entire time, we continue to do our own research as best we can and consider our own risk assessment. Our hope is to spend about a week in the USA later this summer, to join some extended family for a reunion in an isolated beach house (with enough time afterward to quarantine unvaccinated children before the next school year begins). Everyone over the age of twelve who’s planning to join us will have been fully vaccinated by then. We’ll see how world events develop throughout July and August, but with luck, perhaps my next update will include sunny photos from the outer banks of North Carolina? It’s been a painfully long time since I’ve climbed to the top of the Wright Brothers National Memorial or taken in the view from the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and boy do I miss me some Pigman’s barbecue.
Having recently begun our citizenship application process here in Canada, a final update worth mentioning is that last December, prior to the revelations leading up to this year’s Canada Day, a bill called C-8 made its way through our federal legislature, successfully becoming law. That law, which amends the Citizenship Act, sought to fulfill one of the calls to action that I mentioned earlier. The amendment took effect last month, which means no matter how long COVID-19 processing delays may forestall our being granted Canadian citizenship, when it does happen we will be taking a newly revised oath, which includes the phrase…
I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada, including the Constitution, which recognizes and affirms the Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
…and that’s exactly what we intend to do, just like these proud folks who recently became the first applicants to swear or affirm to the new language.
Thank you Canada, once again, for taking us in. We look forward to participating more fully in civic life here! We will continue to educate ourselves and our children about the history of the nation we’re being permitted to join, as well as the challenges it faces striving toward a “true north strong and free” for everyone who lives here.
This Ontarian Life 