6 — Wednesday, July 1, 1998 — North Shore News north shore news VIEWPOINT Yo Canada URE right. It has not been a banner year for Canada. The dollar continues to take a pounding against the currency of its southern neighbor. The country’s armed forces continue to have their once proud name through the mud — the latest humilia- tion delivered via the sordid and overblown revelations of sexual mis- conduct among the rank and file. And the country’s beloved game of ‘hockey suffered through what could be its worst year on record: shut out of a medal at the Winter Olympics; shut out ‘Of. the final rounds of the dreariest Stanley Cup playoffs in recent memory. - And the separatist chant continues - th the far east. : Flags, at half mast across the land, : indeed. But all i is far from lost. __.” Sute, we are soft in the centre when it comes to dealing with phoney refugees and other international scally- wags. We give far too much ear to whining special interest groups and other fringe personalities. We have a hard time deciding if such cornerstones of democracy as free speech are really worth the bother. But we remain blessed beyond measure. This land from sea to shining sea is still a place of unparalleled promise — despite all the best efforts of political poltroons and other career snake oil salesmen to the contrary. So, before you register your next complaint, take a look outside and thank your lucky stars that you are for- tunate enough to live in a place of civi- lization and grace. O Canada, indeed. Hard to beat. Take time out this Canada Day to cele- brate it. NOTHER INDICATION woRID a ReFEROGING i Too HARSH Wanted — for murdering a Ls Sewage dump dilemma of: icreatonal vehicle sewage is a common the: N )V... Rutherford and Country np stations ave" n closed. dumps: are“in. restricted RV camps Lake:and: ced a Forest. il :letter to our mayor, our association, we discovered this ast week Di ave sani- 1¢ one ¢ both city 1e‘caution’ that y ut had to, stay F) ‘we were carefully SEWAGE by day: led ‘us of “Chevy when his cousin sent a bali of methane éncour- gi dn’t the location of poste! ; sna located at tourist infor- unds or pull-through loca- r accidents.on the ferry? Will there because of creative dum mping? t’s~at. beaches’ or on-land, is a "where do ‘I’ dump?” ‘never an RV from a dealer, Should this eee a Public health “2, Menth Shere Mews, founded in 196983 an Independent cuburban newspaper and qualtied under Schedule 111, Paragragts 111 of the IF you would know what Canada — on this, its 131st birthday — is ail about, a recent book by one of the country’s most distin- . guished academics _is required reading. Its title goes to the very core of how we see ourselves (or too often don’t) nowadays as Canadians - ~ larg gely robbed of our past by _ today’s flourishing, polit- ically correct “victim” industry. Who Killed Canadian History? by Jack Granatstein (HarperCollins, 156 pages, $22) is a lament for our lost links with where Canada‘came from, links which the writer sees as the essential stuff of nationhood. Heaven }.nows, the retired York University historian, in 45 books and count!c:s articles, has donc his personal utimosi co set the record straight. But "he’s up'against daunting foes. Onc example right here in our North — Shore backyard is the recent “dethron- ing”. of ‘Emily Murphy. As a fighter f for women ”5 sight to be recognized as “per- . sons” and the British Empire’s first : female judge, she seemed an ideal role model after whom to name North Van’s shelter for battered women. Until earlier this year some zealot discovered Emily — full in tune with much 1920s thinking ad also been something of a white supremacist with ideas about improving the race through eugenics, Bye-bye in a hurry Emily Murphy House. Welcome in its place the oh so politically correct Support, Advocacy, Growth and Empowerment (SAGE for short) House. This is typical of the revi- sionist drivel Granatstcin attacks for destroying our sense of shared history, of a common identity. As a nation, Canada was built and advanced to an enviable role in ic WO rc white males an he feisty white females like Nellie Mei tung and Emily Murpi\; That’s the way it was and there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s point- less to relate part events to today’s stan- dards (even if today’s standards were automatically superior, which is often dubious). People do what they regard as right or appropriate in their own time and place. Only hindsight has 20/20 vision. So for Granatstein history is chronolo-.. By and ‘context — not something to “judge” but primarily something to appreciate simply as the explanation of - where we've come from. If we don’t know that, how can we ever know where. “we are going? But sadly, less and less geh uine Canadian history is being taught..In Ontario in the 1960s, history courses polic education.” ” ght. globalized” wo able Jo: f formed more than 11% of the high school: : Canada”. . curriculum, Today it’s around 6%. As'in | other. provinces, the only ‘compulsory his-.. tory course. now js “20 Century’ posicin ” Granatstein scorns it as “sociol: Ys OO the c history taught,” he says, “is that ers are in today’ Including dear,Canada’: — LETTERS yo THE epir OR: "Letters must include your name, full address & telephone number, VIA e-mail: trenshaw @ direct.ca Classified Manager Entire contents © 1997 North Shore Free Press Lid. All rights reserved.