I suppose I could have asked for one more thing to make yesterday an even more perfect day.
I could have asked the Great Polar Bear God of the Great White North to make it stop raining, and make spring feel like spring not winter.
But that would have been greedy, because for me at least, yesterday was a great day to be living in the New Canada.
For starters there was this decision that provided justice, at last, for women in Prince Edward Island.
Prince Edward Island expects to be providing abortions by the end of the year, as the country’s last holdout gave up its opposition in the face of a legal challenge from a women’s advocacy group. The last elective abortion on the island was in 1982.
Which many women's rights activists had worked so hard and so long to finally achieve.
And what I particularly enjoyed was that it was the Charter of Rights that won the day again.
So it was great to see the son of the man who brought in that Charter tweeting his approval.
And standing up for women's rights again, at a time when so much misogyny is in the air.
And this was a bonus.
Because transgendered Canadians have never had a Canadian Prime Minister even recognize that they exist, let alone celebrate their lives. So it couldn't be more welcome.
And then there was the news that the economy might finally be recovering.
Canada’s economy posted its best month since mid-2013 in January, in a broad-based growth spurt that provides the strongest sign yet that the country’s fortunes have turned the corner.
Which was great not just because it's good news for the unemployed, and the government's spending plans.
But also because it made the Cons look like losers. Again.
With Jason Kenney leading the pack...
As only he could.
Because for him and his depraved leader it was always only about Alberta, and never about Canada...
And they are sorry losers.
But I think what gave me the greatest pleasure yesterday was reading another story in a foreign magazine praising Justin Trudeau.
But also giving the rest of us some credit.
Trudeaumania isn’t just about him, it’s about the country he represents. Who else is still pulling off the whole hopey-changey thing, still surfing a wave of sunny progressive feeling when the US and much of Europe are increasingly convulsed with rage against either poor migrants or privileged elites, or both?
Perhaps it feels different if you live there. But from the outside at least, Canada seems to be pulling off the elusive trick of remaining tolerant, relaxed and at ease with itself in challenging circumstances with more aplomb than most.
And praising our country for being a progressive model, after so many years of having been seen as a pariah nation thanks to this monstrous beast...
Who shamed us over and over again in the eyes of the world.
And yes, what a difference an election can make.
And how different is the New Canada and this prime minister...
Who has somehow managed to repair our image abroad, something I thought would take years, in just a matter of months.
Oh sure, I know we have a hard slog ahead of us, and we have to keep pushing for real change so we can be as good as I know we can be.
But isn't it great to be living in a decent and truly Canadian country again?
Great Furry God of the Great White North now make it all even MORE perfect for your humble servant Simon.
If that's possible.
Lift me even higher.
And bring me summer as fast as you can...
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11 comments:
"But from the outside at least, Canada seems to be pulling off the elusive trick of remaining tolerant, relaxed and at ease with itself in challenging circumstances with more aplomb than most." Yes we've very lucky so far. Let's be progressive BUT still keep our sense of culture and security. I was in Sweden recently and I saw how being "progressive" has made the country extremely dangerous in some parts. My cousin (who lives there) says many women refuse to go out at night, and homosexuals are afraid to hold hands in public. This is going to get worse in years to come, the media refuses to report on problems. Liberals pushed for more and more immigration, more diversity and now there is a rape epidemic going on among other serious problems (terrorism, no go zones for police). The people liberals want to protect and help the most (women, LGBT) are the first who suffer. Then of course, the far right fires up it's rhetoric and it's all downhill...
Sure you can laugh and say it could never happen in Canada, but I'm sure Brussels had sunny ways at some point. ;)
Trudeau forbid that people should be allowed to commit infanticide at taxpayer expense.
Domine Iesus, semper memoriam in tui me amoris. Because stuff like this could easily make a guy forget!
That and, parce nobis non plus, Domine Deus iustitiam tuam.
That was uplifting
Thank you Simon
It made me want to sing Etta James, At Last, when I heard the PEI had finally joined the rest of Canada and women had achieved equality, when it came to control over their own bodies.
Yes, Trudeau's hand stand is pretty remarkable. How many world leaders can do that. Loved it.
Now if you lived in B.C. yesterday and today, it was so warm, it was 20 degrees here on Vancouver Island. I'm sorry it rained in Toronto, but hey you do have the Blue Jays.
Hi anon...I'm aware of the horrible situation in some European countries, and you're right we can't led our new sunny ways blind us to the terrorist threat. But the reason we have been able to avoid what is happening in other countries,is that we are a tolerant and diverse society, where you don't find the kind of ghettos you see in places like France and Belgium, where the unemployment rate fuels the alienation of Muslim youth, and leads to the kind of resentment that can have tragic consequences. The more successful our society, and the fact that we have an ocean separating us from the Middle East and not the porous borders of the EU is our greatest defence against terrorism....
Hi anon....I'm sorry I did study Latin and I even had a private tutor, but I'm afraid I forgot everything he taught me. But as for the abortion issue, I think it should be a woman's choice. Nobody enjoys having an abortion, but having an unwanted child is worse for both the mother and the child. And it wasn't fair that while women in other provinces could get a safe abortion, those in PEI couldn't....
Hi Willy...thank you I'm glad you liked it. It's the kind of post I enjoy writing the most. I have been exposed to quite a lot of suffering and death, I live in constant pain from an old motorcycle injury,, and right now I'm on crutches. So I do try to be as optimistic as possible about life, and cheer up myself and others as much as I can. And after the hellish years of the Con regime, I can't conceal my happiness...
Hi e.a.f...yes it wasn't fair or Canadian to force women who needed an abortion to leave the province so I'm glad that injustice is finally over. And I really like the way Trudeau stands up for women's rights and those of the LGBT community. But as for your 20 degree days I'm green with envy. It's a very strange situation, we didn't have much of a winter, and now we're not having much of a spring....
I think and you can call me ignorant, but it may have something to do with that global warming/climate change thing. ;)
I don't know. I am just a layman,.....but... I Think that is what we call Climate change/Global Warming......but then again all those scientists masquerading as Politicians say different. lol. Ladies and gentleman you have to be brain dead not to see that our environment is changing.
Wow that was strange.
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