I had another topic in mind when I sat down to write this column but that changed when I was preparing for it and reread a couple of comments that were, to me, of far more consequence and importance than what I was planning to write.
One of those comments said that the “flag issue” has proven to be no more than a tempest in a teapot. Another stated that when our house is on fire, we have more important things to worry about than the flag on the front porch.
I beg to differ in both instances.
This Thursday we will once again pause to remember and to honour the thousands upon thousands of Canadians, of many cultural backgrounds, who gave their lives in multiple conflicts. They fought and died for Canada, for the preservation of our freedoms, and for our right to determine our own destiny as a democratic nation. With due respect, there is no situation that is more important to remember and to honour.
One time-tested way we show our respect and our sorrow, when it is appropriate, is to lower our national flag to signal nation-wide grief and remembrance. We did this for the Indigenous children who never came home from residential schools, and we will most appropriately do that for generations to come every September 30. We also lower our flag when people with extraordinary and distinguished service to Canada pass away. And we lower it every year as an integral part of our recognition and remembrance of those who have fought and died for our freedom and under our flag.
But that was almost not going to happen this year because a flag cannot be lowered until it is first raised, and our prime minister declared that our flag would remain indefinitely at half-mast until Indigenous leaders said it could be raised. He and he alone allowed our flag, the symbol of our sovereignty, to be used as a bargaining tool and to be effectively held hostage. That is not a tempest in a teapot to be quickly forgotten or forgiven.
Ironically, it is the Indigenous people in Canada who came to the rescue in fully honouring on November 11 those who fought and died for our country. It was not the prime minister. It was not the Canadian government. It was a Mohawk Indigenous community that was the first to say that our flag should be raised so that it can be lowered on Remembrance Day.
I found it extremely uncomfortable, if not embarrassing, to hear the prime minister say that his government was working closely with Indigenous groups “to find a solution to raising flags”. It appeared he was going hat in hand to get back something he should never have given away in the first place.
And, again, it was Indigenous people who came to the rescue. Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, RoseAnne Archibald, recognized that this issue that was foisted upon them was not a winner and needed to be resolved or it would eventually negatively affect her people. We do not know, and may not ever know fully, what the final deal was but she moved quickly and decisively to avoid protracted and unnecessary tensions. Our flag will fly high again.
A national flag is much more than simply a logo. It is a mark of sovereignty and a hallmark of pride. It is flown and worn by many because we love our country and are proud to be Canadians. To lower our flag indefinitely, as our prime minister attempted to do, surpassed regret and sorrow and bordered on collectively hanging our heads in shame. I am not aware of any other country in the entire world that has done that.
I am concerned that lately, on many issues, we are being emboldened to embrace a culture of shame—shame for our past and shame for many of the paths we are following today. It seems to me that we are continually apologizing for one thing or another and rarely celebrating our achievements or encouraging excellence in finding real solutions to complicated issues.
In terms of Canada, I do not accept that our house is on fire. It is true, we face many challenges: climate change, horrendous debt, outdated infrastructure, systemic poverty, and national disunity. But these issues will not be resolved by a sense of shame, by beating each other up, by making us feel badly about who we are or by insisting on ‘my way or the highway’ solutions.
It is my experience that we work best and achieve the most when we are positively motivated and not when we are hounded for failing. We have to feel good about ourselves, to believe in our ability to resolve issues that may appear to be insurmountable, and to take pride in what we accomplish. Our ‘house’ will never be on fire as long as we believe in ourselves and what we are capable of doing. We will never achieve that through a culture of shame.
I, for one, am proud to be a Canadian. Of course we have warts, but nevertheless for a relatively small country on the world stage, especially in terms of population, we continue to punch well above our weight. However, the more negative we become as a nation, the more we disrespect ourselves, the more we apologize and the less we actually achieve, the more our position of influence and leadership in the world will decline.
To succeed in the challenges we face, Canada must be a strong and proud nation. Our flag represents so much about who we are as Canadians and what we can accomplish together. To let down our flag is to let down Canada.
That is why I will always worry about the flag on the ‘front porch’ of our nation. Fire or no fire.
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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Mr. Markle; Consider leaving “it for others to raise again”. What might that signal to Indigenous people? We care/are concerned enough to leave the conversation space for you to have a say in the matter? Is that not a respectful reminder that they exist as Canadians in this country, let alone first Canadians? Not just in the past, but in the present as well.
There is a time to wear heavy boots, there is a time to wear peace-making shoes. This was a time for our country leaders to wear peace-making shoes. JT has done the right thing. My goodness, even MP Scott Aitchison participated in local Indigenous memorials! Surely that is setting a positive example.
To some it may seem to have been ‘a tempest in a tea-pot’, but I’m sort of partial to seeing the Maple Leaf snapping at full mast. I have lowered our flag a couple of times this past year, (tomorrow I will do it again) but only for a day each time.
And I question the pronouncement ‘end of story’; because our PM hauled it down and left it for others to raise it again. I understand why it was down; acknowledge the distress the lowering was to point out, but not that it was left for others to deal with. But I don’t see him as much of a leader, and find myself among the 2/3 of the population who didn’t vote for him.
I don’t think there has ever been a national leader, elected or otherwise, that has allowed their country’s flag to be treated that way. I wonder if Guiness has been notified, because PM Trudeau, and because of him ,we, must certainly hold the record.
Not a record I’ll mention to anyone.
My thoughts mirror yours, Hugh. Thanks for putting them into words for others to consider.
The flag is indeed important, but traditional flag protocol should not be so rigid as to supercede every other emerging situation. Sometimes a little flexability is needed. Trudeau said at the outset that in view of the very large numbers of unmarked graves, Indigenous people should have a say in the related flag protocol that affects them. He did exactly as he said he would do, and Indigenous leaders responded appropriately. That was an important step in the long and difficult jouney to reconciliation. End of story.
We Will Remember Them !
Mr. Mackenzie;
Once again, the flag issue in and of itself is over. The flags will be raised at full mast. You allude to the advice coming from the Indigenous community – does that not represent the respectful decision-making in light of the reasons for lowering it in the first place?
1] there have been Several ways to interpret the actions concerning our National flag – some positive, negative, and neutral, Not just one!
2] there has been plenty of ink spilled from such writers as (National Post) John Ivison (?sp), Conrad Black, and Rex Murphy, to say nothing of (Doppler) Sally Barnes and Hugh Mackenzie with mainly a “scary” negative interpretation.
3] the outcomes to the flag issue are also Several in number, reflective of those negative chastisements.
4] within moves towards resolving the underlying reason for the flag-lowering in current context are such perspectives involving National resilience, accountability, acknowledgement, responsibility, grief
5] from the get-go, the government has been “blamed and shamed” for the length of time the flag has been lowered, so much so, that it is a distraction from such issues as Provincial COVID management and world Climate Change.
6] I agree we have much to do, very large challenges. The flag issue is resolved, please let it rest in peace. Otherwise, these flag commentaries become a suspicious gaslighting technique for the public fabric to endure (reflective of the DT style to the south).
Hugh, so well said! The flag thing was/is embarrassing. Every time I drive up Hwy 11, and see the big flag at the Walmart, I cringe. Enough s enough! Leaving the flag at half mast for half the year totally cheapens and denigrates the whole concept of “lowering the flag”.
We should lower the flag in memory of Bill Davis, one of the most honourable politicians most of us have ever seen (his signature is on my high school diplomas, lol), and yet with this ever-present shampology of the Trudeau government, it becomes awkward, if not impossible to honour this former statesman. Thanks for this.
The flag on our house was never lowered. Our esteemed leader Trudeau, a virtue signaling coward, has no jurisdiction here.
The rest of my countrymen may choose submission ( I suspect disinterest) but I’ll be dragged to jail before I obey his synical diktats.
There should be a set period for Canada’s flag to be lowered. It should not be up to a politician.