It’s July 1st – Canada Day – and our country is 152 years young. It’s fairly quiet today, with most stores closed. Some ARE open, mostly in tourist districts. While Adam and I no longer go down to the Eaton Centre for our holiday brunch at Eggspectation (it’s always super-crowded and the menu just doesn’t appeal to me anymore), we did take our little guy out for a stroll in our neighbourhood, picking up some lunch on the way.
I’m eternally grateful to not only be Canadian, but to live in this country. I’ve been following the protests in Hong Kong, where much of my family is from (and where many still live). To put it lightly, it just doesn’t look good and I would NOT want to be there right now. Knowing how things can be, one might not even have to commit what we call a serious crime to be extradited. If you’re, say, a comedy writer, you might be very concerned – any sort of parody could get you in trouble. Who knows what could happen. And yes, I’m very worried about everyone – this IS about my heritage, after all. But here, my right to the freedom of expression is guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I’m no comedic writer, but if I was, I don’t have to worry about being taken away/disappear from the public, just because I wrote something that poked fun at, say, Doug Ford. He can be offended and Tweet something out (like Donald Trump does EVERY SINGLE TIME Alec Baldwin is on SNL), but at most, I’d just have to apologize (if it was REALLY that bad). And perhaps get fired from the show I was writing for.
I’m also grateful that I can celebrate my multi-heritage, that I’m not “forced” to be one type of person or another. My idea of multiculturalism might not be what MANY people, especially diversity activists think it SHOULD be, but hey, at least people can’t sue me for, say, bastardizing heritage dishes (vegetarian fried quinoa topped with pico de gallo and hummus FTW! And yes, there’s a bit of soy sauce in that too). I may be criticized, again, mostly by diversity activists, but I’ve learned to ignore them (you can just do a search on this blog to see what I’ve written about this topic). I’m glad that my son is able to celebrate his even MORE diverse heritage and that discrimination because he’s multiethnic is illegal. I’m glad that in this country, there’s no ban on being of a certain religion or not being religious at all. I’m glad that this country has a stable government and that there’s little risk of electing someone who is extreme to the point that rights of some individuals could be taken away (even if many of us worry about a possible Conservative government come fall).
But worries aside, today is about celebration. Our little guy still only eats puréed foods and formula, but next year, he’ll be able to join us for dinner (we ordered Swiss Chalet this year – different from previous years when we ordered from Fresh). Will he like poutine? Butter tarts? Maple something or other? We hope so!
