Sir Isaac Brock Had The Right Stuff for Canada

Queeston Heights Niagara River

I spent Canada Day in the Niagara Falls area.  It is a beautiful part of Canada long taken for granted by the folks in southwestern Ontario.  Go there and see the rest of the world.  It is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world.  People from southwestern Ontario should take better advantage of it.

Brock’s Monument at Queenston Heights is always my first destination when I go to Niagara Falls.  It is a beautiful place and serves as a welcome relaxing backdrop before you descend toward the carnival like nature down at “the falls.”

What strikes me about the place is the not only the leafy surroundings but the monument itself.  Built long before Confederation the monument salutes Brock from the grateful people of “Upper Canada.”  It goes on to tell how Brock saved them from enemy invaders.  In our 2006 world, it’s hard to believe we needed General Brock to save us from the Americans.

For whatever reason standing there I feel more Canadian than almost any other place.  I can just imagine the citizenry of the time deciding on raising this monument toward the guy who saved Canada.  Almost 200 years later I’m standing there on the same ground with a totally different vision of our country.  I bet Sir Isaac Brock and the boys never thought about the “multicultural inclusive” Canada of the 21st century.  At times I’m sure it must of seemed like a lot of bush and trees.

Fast forward to this past weekend when Canada celebrated its 139th birthday.  We don’t think of the Americans as invaders anymore.  Thankfully General Brock fought them off successfully, even though it cost him his life.  Now we are fighting over whether we should have passports to cross over that same Niagara River which Brock fought over.

It has been a long time since then.  Brock did what he did.  The young men at Vimy Ridge, Ypres and Paschendale did what they did.  The brave Canadians who stormed Utah beach did what they did.  That is they died so Canadians could have the country, which we have now.

For my readers I’m sure you are all enamoured with this country and what it means to you.  Sure we have our problems.  We even have separatists in Quebec who want nothing to do with this wonderful country of ours.  So what do we do?  We actively engage them, even paying federal MP’s with separatist persuasions.  After the last referendum on separation, which was won by the federalists with less than 1% of the vote, my good friend and East West sidekick Dr. A.K. Enamul Haque faxed from Bangladesh the message, “What happens now?”

I told him as Canadians we just continue talking.  He was incredulous.  He said in Bangladesh there would be revolution in the streets with such a close political event.  I simply told him in Canada we don’t do that.  We live by the rule of law in the ongoing challenge of bending over backwards to treat everybody fairly.

This reputation has always preceded us internationally.  Peacekeeping teams in places like Bosnia and Cypress helped hone that “honest broker” reputation.  9/11 changed that and today we find ourselves in armed conflict in Afghanistan.  Being Canadian in 2006 at least on the international stage isn’t quite what it used to be.

Take my few trips to Bangladesh as an example. . On my first visit in 1993 I put red Canadian Maple Leafs on my luggage. When I went back in 2000 I didn’t put the maple leafs back on. I thought that a bit over the top.  However, when I went back for the first time post 9/11 in January 2003 I kept my “Canadian-ness” under raps.  It was a uneven time and you could feel the “pressure” of being “western” in a Muslim land.  Putting maple leafs on my bags in my mind would have represented an “enhanced target.”

Maybe that’s a bit over the top, but it’s the way I felt.  Yes, I was asked my opinion about Osama bin-laden and yes I hid behind my “Canadian-ness” when the going got rough.  In far off lands being Canadian can mean not being American.  If General Brock could of lived to see that day, he surely would be turning in this monument.

Still, Canada is what it is, one of the richest, most transparent and free countries in the world.  In and around Canada Day I like mentioning that in my writings.  With all its warts Canada is still the place to be.  Continue to celebrate it long after Canada Day weekend fades from your rear view mirror.