Indigenous Canadian here. I advocate for my community and my family on all the things that Canada has done to us in the past. I remind people of all of that and some of it is terrible history.
I'll still remind people today ..... but at the same time I do know that this is a great country and many people are trying to come to terms with the past. I've been to many countries in the world .... over 30 countries ... so I know that we live in a great country.
My dad attended residential school and he was miserable and terrorized there .... but before he died and all through his life, he always enjoyed Canada Day because it was a day to make it fun for us kids. We can remember the politics but we can still celebrate the significance of what this country is and continues to be.
Great perspective. Unfortunately we can't change the past. We can only do what we can to help the people, the environment, alive today and that will live tomorrow. We have to uncover and keep the knowledge of the past to inform what and how we do.
Thank you for your perspective. This day is still celebratory to me but it definitely invites more reflection and awareness than ever before. I hope fellow Canadians are also pausing today to reflect on our past, both good and bad, and the values we want to hold as we move forward.