Canada Day

This Canada Day has been an interesting one for me. There is the fact that I am working in a Canada Day which hasn't happened in a long time, but that is not the defining factor of this Canada Day for me. This will be the first Canada Day that I have spent with people who are for the most part not Canadian.

That comment is not meant to imply that I have anything against those who are not from Canada. In fact, a few of my closest friends are not from Canada and that number just seems to keep growing.

My morning began surrounded by those from Uganda, Ukraine, Iran, Brazil and Nicaragua. It is hard to argue with the fact that all of those places are very different from the country I call home. It was interesting to listen to the discussion that was going around me, comparing the differences between our countries. It is because of that discussion that I am particularly proud to be able to call Canada my home today.

Here, there is no persecution for religious beliefs at any time. There is no mandatory military service. No one carries guns in the streets just because. There is very little in bred hatred or even dislike of any other country. There are no rules here that limit the role that women can play in society or in the relationships that they are allowed to form. Schools are free and higher education is supported. There is freedom of speech and freedom of movement. There isn't a blistering heat all year round. The heat here is confined to the months when road work becomes so popular.

There are so many differences between the countries that were represented for me on Canada Day. I guess the similarity is that we all love Canada enough to spend a part of our lives here.