Editor:
Joe Biden recently said (when making Juneteenth a National Holiday): “Great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments… Great nations don’t walk away; we come to terms with the mistakes we’ve made.” We’re trying to figure out whether the Coast Reporter is coming to terms or walking away.
John Gleeson’s editorial in the June 11 issue (“Justice for day scholars was hard-earned”) applauded the settlement for day scholars of residential schools. An important step forward. Your June 18 issue recognized Indigenous Peoples Day, and included the 94 calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Every call to action acknowledges cracks in Canada’s past and present. Publishing this was 94 steps forward.
But John Gleeson’s opinion column in the June 25 issue (“A Canadian in Paris and other Canada Day characters”), while intending to celebrate Canadians on Canada Day, takes (in our view) a puzzling and troubling step backwards. While saying he agrees with the District of Sechelt‘s statement that we should recognize “the legacy of harm that has been caused to our Indigenous communities,” he goes on to say: “but as part of the healing process, and so as not to be completely demoralized by the dark side of our history, I’d add that it wouldn’t hurt either to reflect on the positive attributes of the historical Canadian, bearing in mind that the average Canuck of 50, 75, 100 years ago had no more to do with the residential school system than you or I have with Canada’s space program.”
We really object to those words and find this argument most unhelpful, on Canada Day or any day. Imagine if on October 3, the day of reunification of West and East Germany, Germany’s current leaders reflected on their history by noting that there have been many great German composers, poets, and scientists, and that the average German of 80-85 years ago had nothing to do with concentration camps. True, but hardly helpful. Instead, Germany has fully recognized its genocidal past, reconciled with victims, and come to terms with the mistakes they made. That’s what Canada needs to do to truly demonstrate the strength of our national character, not recounting positive descriptions of Canadians in literature and film.
David Marmorek and Betty Bronson, Gibsons
