Quote:
Originally Posted by Grant Bowker
Just to stir the pot, which of the "two founding cultures" are you refering to? The original occupiers who "stole" the plains from the "first nations" (how many can be first? one? more?) or those perfidious English who snuck up on Montcalm's forces while the general was having a quicky with his (pur laine?) mistress?
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Grant, I make no apologies for either the English or the French and their treatment of our First Nations. It's simply a historical fact that in the development of any nation there are going to be winners and there are going to be losers...C'est la guerre, n'est-ce pas? The point I was making is that our original, and by that I mean French and English cultures came to Upper and Lower Canada back in the day as immigrants with the dream of carving a better life out of the wilderness. By their sweat and blood Canada grew into what it is today. And a lot of sweat and blood it was! I have my Grandfather's family journal telling of our family coming to Canada in 1782 after being run out of New York for being United Empire Loyalists. Samuel and Jemima Platt settled in Picton County with not much more than the clothes on their back and through back-breaking labour built a farm and a life in Canada. If they complained about what language the National Anthem was sung in, it wasn't mentioned in the family journal. Now, jump forward 227 years to the present day. Instead of being grateful to be allowed to live in one of the greatest countries on the planet, immigrants today are complaining that, Holy Cow! there is Canadian culture in Canada and they don't like it! Stop that singing "O Canada", and why can't I find the Grass Hockey game between Mumbai and Calcutta on Saturday night!?! Who the heck is Don Cherry and why is Ice Hockey so popular? Stop it! I don't like it!
P.S. as for the perfidious English sneaking up on the French, I believe it's called "Tactics".
Derek.