Happy 141st Birthday Canada. Our great country is another year older although it seems young compared to other countries we are still in our infancy and learning the ways of the globe.
In Canada we have many things to be proud of and one of the many is the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which was enacted to the Canada Act in 1982 and came into force on April 17, 1982. The Charter recognizes the supremacy of God and the rule of law stated in its preamble, which is a strong pillar to start an important historical document on.
Section two of the charter states that everyone has the freedom of conscience and religion; freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association.
Those four groups of freedoms are priceless and no one in our country should ever take them for granted. Each day there are people in other countries who are not allowed to have these same rights. We, as Canadians, should feel privileged that we are guaranteed these fundamental freedoms. Imagine for a moment if you did not have freedom of thought or belief or you could not freely assemble and associate with people, what would that be like? As a member of the press I can’t imagine not being able to write certain stories or have a government ban on what you could or could not write. With the upcoming Olympics in China, a communist country, the media who will be covering the event are not allowed to report from certain places and can only report on the Olympic activities and no other stories. As a journalist, from a democratic country going to cover the games, it might be hard to have all of these restrictions on what to cover.
The charter continues to list out different democratic rights such as the right to vote, mobility rights including every Canadian citizen has the right to move to and take up residence in any other province, legal rights, equality rights and more. This document is something that Canadians can be extremely proud of for the fundamental rights and freedoms that it gives Canadian citizens.
On June 20, 1868 a proclamation signed by the governor general Lord Monck said that Canada was to join in celebrations of the anniversary of the formation of the union under British North America provinces in a federation under the name of Canada on July 1. The holiday was established by statute in 1879 under the name Dominion Day. Although according to the Canadian government website there is no recorded ceremonies after the first anniversary except for the 50th anniversary of Confederation in 1917. At this time the new centre block of the Parliament Buildings was under construction and was dedicated as a memorial to the Fathers of Confederation and to the valour of Canadians fighting in the First World War.
Over the years the celebrations have changed and everyone has their own way to celebrate being Canadian. Canada has such a diverse culture, walking down the street you can always meet someone new who for the most part is friendly and welcoming. Canada welcomes all different cultures and is accepting of others, which is a great aspect of our country.
Growing up it was a day to hang out with friends, have a barbecue and swim in the pool. It was a day to relax and enjoy our beautiful country and it is still a great day to do that and I hope we will always have all of our freedoms. The last two years my Canada Day has been filled with rodeo action and I hope that this tradition carries on. Whatever your Canada Day plans were I hope they were great, the weather was nice, take time to think about what a great country we live in and take pride in our nation.