Celebrating Canada Day — and doing your part

Tomorrow’s a good day to count your blessings for being in Canada.

At the core of it all? It’s good to be in a country that believes in the rule of law. That is the foundation of a nation, and a foundation Canada is widely respected for having.

Judges are not picked for their fealty to particular politicians or parties — we don’t have a Republican Supreme Court of Canada or a Democrat Supreme Court. Independent commissions pick justices at all levels for their legal skills and experience, and politicians appoint candidates from lists the commissions recommend.

(Though appointments sometimes skew toward eminently qualified jurists who may also have had histories with one political party or another.)

Federal electoral ridings are, likewise, chosen by an independent agency, Elections Canada, which also ensures elections are held in the same manner and with the same rules in every province and territory in the country. Independent groups set electoral boundaries, so gerrymandering doesn’t take place.

Our prime minister cannot simply issue executive order-style edicts based on their personal whim. Politicians are not above the law.

In other words, we have robust protections in the courts and in our political system to ensure power remains with the people and their democratically elected politicians.

And there’s more.

We are a comparatively wealthy country that ranks highly in indexes that measure happiness — though, ranked as the world’s 18th happiest population, we have slid a fair distance down from 2015’s fifth place overall. (Much of the decline is owing to poor scores from Canadians under 30 and those in marginalized communities.)

But even that is at risk, especially when we decide to pronounce over and over again that “Canada is broken.” Repeat something often enough, and people tend to believe that it’s true — even when it isn’t, and even when they may not have any experience of what “broken” really feels like.

Ask those who come from a truly broken country what their life experiences are, and you might find they would be more than willing to swap countries with you in an instant.

Canada may well be a country that, like many others, has serious issues. Issues that can, and should, be addressed. Crime, housing and health care are all pressing problems that require our attention, for certain.

But Canadians aren’t grabbed off the streets by faceless, masked militias. Doors aren’t kicked in for warrantless searches.

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Paul Samyn | Editor's Note

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And if you truly believe that Canada is flawed, you can do your part to make it better. It is, in fact, your job to help to make it better. Citizenship isn’t meant to be a comfortable recliner or a spectator sport. You can take part in our democracy: vote, campaign for politicians you support, even run for office yourself if you feel you have something to offer other Canadians.

Working together, living together, enjoying the things that make us a community and a nation, helping those among us who need our help.

But don’t simply complain and expect a politician — of any stripe — will magically make things better for you. They may echo your complaints to get your votes, but without the benefit of a clear and functional plan, they’re merely demonstrating the old adage that misery loves company.

What we need is something we saw a flicker of when U.S. President Donald Trump began to threaten us with annexation, and directly harm us with tariffs — we saw the willingness of Canadians to band together, to be united as a country, to set goals and to be willing to make sacrifices. Unity is refreshing after experiencing a long dose of the politics of alienation.

Make a better Canada. Be a better Canadian. And enjoy tomorrow … together.