ALEX MUNTER
My parents came to North America from two different countries and met in Canada — at a French class for newcomers. They married during our nation’s centennial year, 1967, and, a little while later, along came me.
I guess you could say I was a centennial project!
So maybe it’s not that surprising that I’ve always felt deeply grateful that, in the lottery of life that is one’s place of birth, I ended up winning a pretty big prize — being born a Canadian.
Most of us understand how blessed we are to be Canadian. People whose arrival here is a more recent part of their family story — nearly 50 per cent of Ottawa residents are immigrants or the children of immigrants — perhaps feel that most acutely. It’s easy to imagine how just one or two different life decisions by our parents would have shaped our lives differently on another part of the globe. Of course, unless you are of Algonquin heritage, every single Ottawan traces their roots to someone who came here from somewhere else.
And as our country marks 150 years, we certainly face challenges as a community and a country. Too many of our neighbours are being left out of prosperity, including the people who were here first. Our planet is in trouble. Preachers of hate are taking up too much airtime.
But look around you. In Canada, there are far more reasons to be hopeful than to despair. Technology is creating new possibilities. Canada is attracting talent. As a society, we cherish symbols of respect and solidarity. And, most importantly, the millennials are a formidable force, and they are shaping a better planet. I see them every day at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and the Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre. They are our patients and, increasingly, the parents of our patients. They are inventive, open-minded, curious, independent, tech-savvy, creative and the best-educated generation yet. Twenty years from now, there will be 1.2 million more kids than there are today, millennials will be running the country, and the best and the brightest from around the world will have continued to enrich Canada.
This one-man centennial project is looking forward to the #Canada150 celebration. #Canada175 will be even better! Alex Munter is the president and CEO of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.