Celebrate Canada’s successes

On Sunday, Canadians across the country will celebrate Canada Day, whether it’s at a parade, enjoying a fireworks display, attending a cake-cutting ceremony, or watching the festivities from Parliament Hill on television.

The pride and passion we have, as Canadians, is obvious from coast to coast, 365 days a year and not just on July 1.

Our editors literally began getting goosebumps when we put together our Canada Day special edition (see tomorrow’s print copy of Okanagan Weekend for a 32-page special). Seeing pictures of smiling Canadians with maple leafs painted on their faces was inspiring.

In the valley, thanks to literally thousands of volunteers, funding from all levels of government, and the generosity of local businesses, we have wall-to-wall celebrations.

From the massive fireworks display in Osoyoos, to three days of free family fun at Westside Daze, to non-stop, live music at the Penticton Rotary Ribfest, our valley is a truly great place to celebrate.

The word we need to remember is “celebration.”

July 1 is a celebration of Canada’s accomplishments, our history, our people, our unique geography.

Quick, somebody cue “Summer of ‘69.”

But, in troubled times, many use Canada Day as a time to reflect on our past sins, our failures, and everything that’s wrong with Canada. Save it for another day. In our own lives, we seldom use birthdays and anniversaries to tell our loved ones what we’ve done wrong in the past. Why should Canada Day be any different?

Although our country is far from flawless, we are still a great nation, one that’s very kind and generous. Most other nations have an extremely high opinion of Canada. We’re held in high regard.

We even have a sense of humour about ourselves. When Hollywood pokes fun at Canada, we always laugh.

With political unrest around the globe, even as close as our neighbours to the south, we have so much to be grateful for.

Let’s give politics a rest for a few days and celebrate who and what we are — Canadians.