On December 23, 2018
© By John Arkelian
© Illustration by Linda Arkelian
We recently came across an op-ed piece about Canada titled “The
Canada on the world stage – illustration © 2018 by Linda Arkelian
Country the World Forgot – Again.” It’s a paean to a nation that has long punched way above its weight by the Irish journalist and author Kevin Myers. And it makes a good point. Consider Canada’s remarkable contributions – in war (making a hugely over-sized contribution to the Allied cause in both World Wars, in Korea, and in Afghanistan); in nation-building and compromise (somehow reconciling its two founding, and originally antagonistic, linguistic groups, and, belatedly, its aboriginal peoples); in international affairs (Canada practically invented peacekeeping and long was its dominant player); in tolerance (welcoming escaping slaves, and, almost a century later, draft resisters from our kin to the south, as well as refugees and immigrants from every corner of the world); in progressive causes (actively opposing such diverse evils as human trafficking, apartheid, gender inequality, and land-mines); in arts and entertainment (with a long litany of prominent novelists, actors, musicians, artists, filmmakers, and comedians); and in science, technology, and medicine (the polio vaccine, the remote manipulator arms used on U.S. space shuttles and on the international space station, the use of communication satellites, nuclear fission reactors, effective resource extraction and processing, agricultural innovation, and, less commendably, our role in developing the atomic bomb). More than that, Canada has been a loyal friend and steadfast ally to its closest partners, the United States and the United Kingdom. It is a founding member of two of the most successful and enduring defensive alliances ever conceived: NATO and NORAD. It proudly shares the world’s longest undefended border with its staunch friend, the United States (whom, coincidentally, it fought to a draw in the war of 1812).
For all its achievements and its mostly noble national character (there have been glaring past exceptions, like its ill-treatment of native-Canadians and its once closed doors to Jews and others), this ‘brave and modest’ nation is generally unknown, overlooked, and taken for granted. Myers’ essay appeared in the British newspaper, “The Telegraph” in April 2002, on the occasion of more deaths of Canadian soldiers who were engaged in protracted war-fighting in Afghanistan. Nearly 17 years later, his point is as valid and timely as ever. And it’s not just that Canada is obscure and overlooked on the world stage, it also continues to be ill-used by state and corporate actors alike, as our following two editorials – about Chinese bullying and about the latest corporate betrayal (this time, by General Motors) – address. Myers put it this way:
“It seems that Canada‘s historic mission is to come to the selfless aid both of its friends and of complete strangers, and then once the crisis is over, to be well and truly ignored. Canada is the perpetual wallflower that stands on the edge of the hall, waiting for someone to come and ask her for a dance. A fire breaks out, she risks life and limb to rescue her fellow dance-goers, and suffers serious injuries. But when the hall is repaired and the dancing resumes, there is Canada the wallflower still, while those she once helped glamorously cavort across the floor blithely neglecting her yet again…. [Canada] seemed to be a part of the old world, yet had an address in the new one, and that divided identity ensured that it never fully got the gratitude it deserved.”
Canada has languished too long as a wallflower. It’s time to stride the world stage with greater authority, self-confidence, and readiness to push back forcefully against those who threaten and abuse our goodwill and our core values. Canada needs to be a little less self-effacing and a lot less ready to quietly take punches without fighting back. In June 2016, President Barack Obama said, “The world needs more Canada.” More to the point, it needs a more assertive Canada.
John Arkelian is a lawyer and journalist; he represented Canada abroad as a diplomat.
Linda Arkelian is a dancer, choreographic, filmmaker, and artist.
Copyright © 2018 by John Arkelian
Illustration © 2018 by Linda Arkelian