An editorial from the Winnipeg Free Press, published Aug. 6:
Oh, Canada.
The federal government kicked off the 150-day countdown to Canada’s 150th birthday — its sesquicentennial — Thursday. MP Jim Carr was one of nine federal cabinet ministers announcing the details of the countdown throughout Canada. Mr. Carr said the celebration, with a budget of $210 million, will include pop-up surprise events along four themes: diversity and inclusiveness; the environment; young people; and reconciliation with indigenous people.
In 1967, Canada went all out to celebrate its 100th birthday. In the Winnipeg Free Press, there were details of projects underway to commemorate the occasion, including the planting of 500 trees in Treherne, the creation of a centennial park in Fort Garry and the construction of ice rinks in St. Boniface, funded in part by the Manitoba government. Across the country, parades and fireworks were held to celebrate, along with the planting of 70,000 flowering crab-apple trees and a tour across the country by a 1,700-person military tattoo, complete with pipes, drums and gymnasts.
Expo 67, hosted in Montreal, was the jewel of the centennial celebrations. It opened April 27, 1967, on Saint Helen’s Island, in the middle of the St. Lawrence River. Buckminster Fuller’s iconic geodesic dome from the U.S. pavilion became the centrepiece, its futurist shape an enduring landmark.
The theme for Expo 67 was "Man and his World" and the exhibition was viewed as an opportunity for Canada to market itself as a country "on the brink of international recognition," as Canadian scholar Eva-Marie Kroller writes. This was "Canada’s Camelot," wrote the Vancouver Sun, with a growing population and a future that was bright.
Of course, political tensions were present behind all the patriotic rhetoric; unfortunately, those tensions remain to this day. The Hawthorne report, published in 1966, outlined how the residential school system was responsible for the poor health, poverty and inadequate education for Canada’s indigenous population. It is within that context that the "Indians of Canada" pavilion opened at the expo. Funded by the Canadian government, it was supposed to be a positive depiction, but First Nations organizers took the opportunity to demonstrate the inequality between aboriginal children and white children in education and social status. It was a significant step in the rise of civil rights activism within the indigenous community.
Fifty years later, Canada’s relationship with First Nations people remains troubled, and while the federal government is working toward the implementation of principles designed for reconciliation, the statistics on the eve of our 150th birthday tell a sobering story. Poverty rates for First Nations children living on reserves remain staggeringly high. A 2016 report published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found in Manitoba, 76 per cent of status First Nations children were living below the poverty line, compared with 16 per cent among non-indigenous children in the province. Moreover, high school graduation rates on reserves fall below 40 per cent, compared with 80 per cent off reserve. Access to clean, running water and fresh, accessible food also remains an issue.
The federal government’s last budget has made substantial investments in housing, water and education on reserves, but that money won’t be making a dent in the problems right away. Which leads to the question: in 2067, will we still be talking about this? Exactly how long should reconciliation take?
Winnipeg Free Press
