Canada Day 2021
Happy Canada Day Oakville North-Burlington! Each July we celebrate our country and reflect on what it means to be Canadian. We have so much to celebrate this year, as more and more Canadians are vaccinated, and we can look ahead to gathering together as a community soon.
While Canada Day celebrates all that makes our country great, we must be honest about the reality of Canada’s history and foundation on the unceded lands of Indigenous Peoples. The horrific discoveries at residential “schools” have reopened trauma for survivors who suffered physical, mental and sexual abuse, and sometimes starvation at schools that took generations of Indigenous children from their families, communities and heritage in an effort to strip them of their language and culture.
Systemic racism is part of our history and part of our present, and we must all work together to ensure it is not part of our future. While racism against Indigenous, Black, Asian and Muslim Canadians, and other forms of racism and misogyny, has become more obvious in recent years, those who have experienced it tell us it hasn’t increased in Canada, there is just a new awareness of it. It’s time to call it what it is, call it out each time it occurs and unite together as a nation to defeat it. In Canadian democracy, this responsibility falls on each of us, and we can do this while also celebrating the many things that make Canada the best place in the world to live.
This Canada Day let’s commit to acknowledging the truth and moving to reconciliation, healing, acceptance, inclusivity, equity and to ensuring we can take pride in a nation that celebrates, uplifts and welcomes everyone who lives in it.