Thread: Canada Day

Many countries have black pages in their history books. The Dutch have been slave traders and committed crimes in their former colonies.
Canada and the Netherlands are democratic countries that do not turn a blind eye to crimes committed in the past.

How different things are in less democratic countries. Stalin's crimes are still verboten subjects in Russia, Turkey flatly denies the Armenian genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire, China is trying to hide its crimes against Tibetans and Muslim minorities etc.

I am happy to live in a country that does not walk away from crimes committed in the past.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Here's an example. Let's say that Adolf Hitler had a son. Would you imprison him? Would you bring him up on charges and hang him if he had done nothing wrong? The question of his heritage and lineage has nothing to do with the atrocities that his father committed. Now, let's say on the other hand that Adolf Jr was trying to continue or revive the third Reich. In this case of course you do whatever needs to be done to stop and punish him. If there is anything in Canada that still needs to be corrected then by all means correct it. Here in the US we are now trying to rewrite history, we are tearing down statues of people who did great things and changing the names of products because someone who is looking for it might be offended by something that was not intended to be offensive. At the same time we are erecting statues of George Floyd, a criminal, a drug addict and a thug who was breaking the law and resisting arrest when something really unfortunate happened to him. This is totally out of control and has to stop. I'm telling you now that we are going to see a horrific backlash if that continues. Right-wing fringe groups are growing and multiplying in membership because of these sorts of actions that are forcing regular people into extremism. If we don't learn from history then we have no excuse when it repeats itself.

The Statue of Egurton Ryerson was pulled down at Ryerson University in Toronto because he was one of the architects of the residential school system, Ryerson University is going to be renamed it seems.

Dundas St in Toronto is also going to be renamed:

On Monday, a report by city staff said that the name of the street had to go, saying it was “in direct conflict with the values of equity and inclusion that the City of Toronto upholds.” The issue has been under review since last September.

The legacy of Dundas, a Scottish politician who never visited Canada, has become defined by his involvement in 18th-century parliamentary debates in Britain over the slave trade.

University of Toronto historian Melanie Newton, who has studied the effects in the Caribbean of Dundas’s time as secretary of state for war, said in an interview that his track record cannot be ignored.

“This is a street name that celebrates the history of enslavement … and slaughter of people who look like me,” said Prof. Newton, who is Black.

“For people who see this as, ‘Well you’re changing these names and it’s erasure,’” she added, “this is actually the process of us coming to a richer and better relationship with our past.”

Originally Posted by BobH

Nothing at this point can eliminate or compensate for the harm done. Canadians at the very least should be angered and upset at what has been done in their name by their own government over a long period of time now that it is all out in the open.

Bob

So they were Canadian then and the Canadian Government, not Europeans.

I rest my case m'lord

Originally Posted by STF

I have to ask or I won't sleep.

Why were your people run out of Europe?

Because they were protestant.

Edit: technically I guess they were not "run out" they could have stayed in France and been executed.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Because they were protestant.

Ah got it, I'm an original protestant, one of henry VIII C of E (Church of England) it was illegal in the days Bloody Mary.

Originally Posted by BobH

The we would be in the collective sense as in the government and any religions. I don't expect any Canadian to dress in sack cloth and flail themselves in atonement. Nothing at this point can eliminate or compensate for the harm done. Canadians at the very least should be angered and upset at what has been done in their name by their own government over a long period of time now that it is all out in the open. The government has already formally apologised but nothing from the highest level of religions involved. It's past time for the heads of the religions involved to come to Canada and apologise in person for the harm that they have inflicted. I guess they can't find their big boy pants.

Bob

Anyone who is alive today who committed atrocities and injustices is liable. Should a hospital or medical association be brought down because leeches and a bone saw was the way to do things? People and institutions evolve. Government included. What difference would it make if the govt officials dressed in sackcloth and beat themselves with whips? Nothing. Human history is full of atrocities. Maybe a go fund me for the neanderthals who were killed off and or bred out of existence? These things should be taught in schools. And we should remember those lessons. Lest we repeat them.

Well, from the only country that uses the term "eh?" more than the Canuck..
Happy Canada day.

Originally Posted by Grazor

Well, from the only country that uses the term "eh?" more than the Canuck..
Happy Canada day.

Thanks eh.

I'm sorry but I just can't go along with this whole public apology thing, especially second or third hand. First of all it is meaningless. Second of all it perpetuates a culture of dissension. There has to be a statute of limitations on wrongs otherwise we have what we see in the middle east where you have people's who have been wanting to kill each other for thousands of years. We have to fix what is a currently existing problem then leave it in the past. Forgiveness is not for the forgiven only it is moreso for the one forgiving.

We all might be saying the same thing in very different ways. There has to be a sincere apology given and sincere forgiveness granted to create a point where it is possible to constructively move forward and not repeat the past mistakes.

Bob