Today is definitely a somber holiday without a lot of overt celebration. The weather isn't nice enough for a cook-out (though I did manage to get outside and read for a bit before it started raining). While Canada is doing much much better on the vaccination front and may well catch up to and even surpass the blue states, it is still deemed too risky to have large crowds gathering, so there weren't any major fireworks displays planned in most cities. A handful of cities have cancelled their events in response to the many unmarked graves recently found at former residential schools. The Catholic Church, which ran many but by no means all of these schools, is seen as foot-dragging in terms of apologizing for its role in this as well as refusing to hand over records. In response, activists are setting fire to Catholic churches throughout Canada. It looks like it will be a long, hot summer (figuratively and literally), and the mood isn't great. While not really a popular theory, I find it a positive that Toronto is still under Treaty 13, and while I am sure that this treaty is often strained to the breaking point, the people living here and in other parts of the GTHA have less to be ashamed about than virtually all Americans (where treaty breaking is a way of life), though this isn't much help for the people living in Ottawa or Vancouver where the land is unceded and technically stolen. I have absolutely no idea how this will play out, since one would imagine following through on Reconciliation means regularizing the status of these cities, which would likely require reparation payments in the billions.
Personally, I will still celebrate Canada in a low-key way. It has never been as amazing a place as it thinks, but it is better than so many of the alternatives. The hard core right-wing probably make up no more than 15% or so of the population, as opposed to well over 30% in the U.S. (and more damningly having taken over the Republican Party). I mean if the Liberals would get over their fear of coalition governments and change the electoral system to a proportional one or even one with instant run-offs to ensure no politician was elected with less than 50% of first-place or second-place votes, then the Liberals and NDP would basically run Canada forever (maybe the Greens too, though they look like they are completely imploding this year).
Where Canada really disappoints is in its environmental policy. Bill C-12 which was just passed is a good first step towards getting serious about reducing our emissions, but the reality is that Canada has always had a colonial mentality and is built around resource extraction and will only follow other countries' lead. It will likely be one of the last to actually stop extracting fossil fuels (and I don't have that much faith in any other advanced economies actually following through on their commitments). But that is an on-going issue where it seems that humans are going to fail the test. I would be most glad if I am wrong and the optimists are right, but not only do I think we are far past the tipping point but things will just keep accelerating. I was going to go on, but I'm just getting myself down. They'll be plenty of time for morose posts about the climate emergency later.
What will I actually do today? My son is actually off visiting some friends in Scarborough. I'm not 100% comfortable with this, but he's been fully vaccinated and his friends are either fully or partially vaccinated. I guess there is only so long you can keep the young folk from gathering, as they have been so deprived of all the social activities that they need along the way towards adulthood. (I'm so glad that he has one more year left in high school and may be able to go to a dance or two and will get an in-person graduation.) Since he's not around, I'll watch one of the movies that I don't think he'd be into. I was thinking maybe the first film in Ray's Apu Trilogy, but decided that The 400 Blows (which is also somewhat downbeat) is shorter at least.
I was going to catch up on a streamed Tafelmusik concert but the ticket sales had ended. If I hadn't been quite so obsessed with getting those reviews in over the last few days, I probably could have swung it. C'est la vie...
I'll probably read a bit more of Don Quixote. I am getting close to the end now. It's been a long time coming. I read Ralph Gustafson's Impromptus (before it started raining), and I may read a few of his other later collections, as I am gearing up for a review of his final works. I'll probably put up a review of Stanley's Vancouver, though that might wait one more day.
I actually did a bit of weeding a few days back, and the front yard still looks ok, so that's one thing I don't have to do today.
The other day I was scanning some of my very first creative writing efforts. Sadly, they are quite terrible SF stories written by a teenager, but I am thinking of taking one silly idea from one story and using as the seed of an absurd playlet for SFYS (as that deadline is creeping up). I can probably knock that off in an hour or two.
Anyway, enjoy the rest of the day whether you are celebrating or boycotting Canada Day this year!
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