Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: Statues, reconciliation and Canada Day 2021

Jun 11, 2021 | 10:55 AM

WE’VE SAID BEFORE that societies don’t erect statues of people they want to simply remember; they erect statues of people they want to celebrate, to venerate, to hold up as an example of a person of great character or achievement.

So when the statue of Egerton Ryerson on the campus of the Toronto university bearing his name came tumbling down last Sunday, it was probably just, even if it wasn’t done in a way the authorities might have approved.

Ryerson was an architect of early public school systems in Canada, and also conceived the most racist and segregationist elements of the country’s residential school system.

He’s someone we want to remember but not someone we want to admire, and the toppling of his statue will likely be followed in the not-too-distant future by the renaming of the university.

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The connection may not be immediately obvious, but this should inform how we look at Canada Day.

Like statues, holidays like Canada Day are meant to celebrate something.

There are musical performances and food trucks, fireworks and face paint.

Canada Day has always carried with it a decidedly different tone than Remembrance Day, as an example, because as much as we admire those who gave their lives in war, their sacrifices are not to be marked each year with exuberant merrymaking.

This year, July 1 feels a lot more like Remembrance Day than the Canada Days we are accustomed to.

No one should have been shocked to learn of the discovery of children’s bodies buried near the former Kamloops residential school, but it certainly brought disgraceful elements of this country’s history into sharper focus than they ever have been before.

A national outpouring of emotion has demonstrated that, in the days that have followed news of the discovery.

In that context, even countered by the joy we feel at the impending end of pandemic restrictions, a party hardly seems appropriate.

Perhaps this year, Canada Day should be more a chance to reflect on both the triumphant and the shameful chapters of our past – pledging, as our nation’s identity is continually forged every day, every year, every generation, that we will make sure our response to our past gives us reason to celebrate Canada Days in the future.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.