Seek the Summit

A Fair Country

Reading “A Fair Country” by John Ralston Saul.

I find the premise appealing.

Saul argues that Canada, rather than being born of the two solitudes (English & French), we are in fact a Métis nation, heavily influenced and shaped by aboriginal ideas. This can be seen in our deeply held positions on egalitarianism, a proper balance between individual and group, and strong our leaning towards negotiation over violence. Saul argues these are all aboriginal values that Canada has absorbed through the last 250 years.

As I said, I find the premise appealing, and I see within it the possibility, a way through, a resolution to the history of devastation Canada’s First Nations continue to experience. For if First Nations are recognized as among Canada’s founding peoples, I can’t help but believe there can be a brighter future for all of us.

At some level, I wonder if it’s not simply another form of cultural appropriation, that we’re trying to once again put aboriginals in a position they’re not interested in taking. But there does seem within this idea the opportunity to come together.

His comments on immigration are also quite timely, and in particular, he make a strong point that the conservatism seen within some groups of new arrivals is nothing new, and is nothing to be afraid of, that Canada has seen this throughout its history:

There are those in Canada wo are as panicked as the Europeans about the country being so open. They talk a great deal about our values – usually in a vague but urgent manner – and worry about the presence of so many immigrants from extremely conservative religious and social backgrounds. They forget that that has almost always been the case.

Did the Northern Irish arrive in Canada in the nineteethn century open-mined and ready to learn French while reaching out to Catholics? Did the attitudes toward women’s rights of many Portugues men from the Azores match those of most established Canadians? What about the attitudes of Serb and Croat immigrants to each other? What about the Finnish communists who went to cut logs in northwestern Ontario? Or the Italians from small southern villages? The whole Canadian experience of immigration has been one of experimenting with adaptations. It’s not about humiliating people by shutting them into preconceived models.

Again, there’s opportunity in these words.