Canada’s is not a perfect history, but it is one that does not deserve to be vilified unfairly or torn down as something shameful. Photo Credit: iStock.
A characteristic of getting older is that “the good old days” are remembered more fondly than today’s environment. But this time, as we gaze out at our country on the anniversary of the October 7 massacre of over 1,200 Jewish citizens in southern Israel, one doesn’t need rose-coloured glasses to conclude that this is no longer the Canada it was.
For those living here and for those who chose to do so, this was the best country on earth. It doesn’t feel like that anymore.
It is not just the alarming outpouring of antisemitism we are seeing. So-called normal, everyday Canadians defending terrorists, celebrating the massacre, and demonizing their fellow citizens. They’re calling for the total destruction of another liberal democracy – the only one in the Middle East – and ignore the critical fact that there was a ceasefire in place before October 7. That is, until Hamis terrorists swarmed into Israel, brutally butchering, torturing, raping and kidnapping anyone in their path.
Reading today’s news stories is reminiscent of the early 1930s in Germany. Individuals of the Jewish faith are hiding their identity out of fear; Jewish places of worship, Jewish businesses, Jewish homes are being vandalized; Jewish individuals, including children, are being physically and verbally attacked in public, in their neighbourhoods, in their places of work.
This is in Canada, the country that likes to boast about what a tolerant, inclusive, multi-cultural nation we are; in Canada where some of our political leaders, with incredible arrogance and little deep understanding or knowledge of this decades long dispute, feel free to lecture Israel, supposedly our ally, on how it should deal with the existential threat it faces, how it should conduct a war for its very survival. The lack of moral clarity is breathtaking.
One can only imagine how Canada would respond if the United States started lobbing missiles into our communities. Oops, we would first have to have a functional military to even think about how to respond to such a violation of our national sovereignty. But wait, we have a Prime Minister who thinks we are a “post-national” country, that we do not have a “Canadian identity.”
Tell that to all the immigrants who have come here from around the world because we do have an identity that they want to be part of, we do have Canadian values of democratic freedom and respect, built upon a unique history. It is not a perfect history, but it is a history that does not deserve to be vilified unfairly or torn down as something shameful.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is always talking about sustainability when it comes to matters of climate. An important issue no doubt. But societies like ours – societies that people risk their lives to join and used to risk them to defend – need sustainable policies too.
And that means finding ways to bring people together, not dividing them into different political, racial, cultural or economic groups. Not believing that there is only one correct way of thinking and that anyone who does not share it, is somehow beyond the pale of acceptable society.
And not lecturing voters, as Trudeau likes to do, that their lack of support for his party is because they just don’t understand the issues of the day or because they are obviously racist or homophobic or misogynists or conspiracy believers.
Our once proud immigration system is broken. We can’t protect our borders. Our allies don’t invite us to the adults’ table anymore to discuss global security. Our health-care system is in tatters. Our education system seems more focused on the latest trendy “woke” issues instead of teaching our kids the hard skills they need to succeed.
Few young families feel they can hope to buy a house, unless they have well-off grandparents. Others struggle to keep food on the table.
Too many of our city streets and parks are home to individuals with untreated addiction or mental health issues. City residents are fearful of walking down the street or climbing onto a streetcar or municipal bus. Parking one’s car and expecting to find it there the next morning is now a gamble. Repeat criminals offend and re-offend with impunity, due to our “catch and release” bail system. The list goes on.
Fixing all this – assuming it is fixable – will take more than strong, principled and moral political leadership. It falls upon all of us, to demonstrate the same, in our neighbourhoods, in our schools and workplaces, in our broader communities.
Only time will tell if we can sustain what our forefathers have built.
Janet Ecker is a former Ontario Finance Minister, Minister of Education, Minister of Community and Social Services and Government House Leader in the governments of Premier Mike Harris and Premier Ernie Eves. After her political career, she served as the founding CEO of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, a public-private partnership dedicated to building Toronto region into an international financial centre. She currently sits on a number of corporate and non-profit boards, agencies and advisory committees.
Ms. Ecker received the Order of Canada for her public service contributions and was recognized as one of the “Most Influential People in the World’s Financial Centres” by Financial Centres International. She also received a “Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award” from the Women’s Executive Network and the Richard Ivey School of Business, among other awards. She is also one of the founders of Equal Voice, a national, multi-partisan organization working to elect more women.
