March 1966 — VOL. 47, No. 3 —
A Citizen of Canada
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To be a citizen of Canada to be a citizen
of no mean country. She may be an old-fashioned country in
some ways; she has differences of language and economics and
perplexities in government: but her foundations are solid
and the spires of her many faiths point to the same ideal.
There is something vital and singular about being a citizen
of Canada. As J. B. Brebner said in his presidential address
to the Canadian Historical Association in 1940: "Canadianism
is made up of over three centuries of successful struggle
with a recalcitrant environment, of over a century's original
and successful political adaptation and inventiveness, and
of a kind of conservatism which history has shown can be converted
by adversity into stubborn, indomitable will."
We have assembled in Canada the adventurous spirits of numerous
races in surroundings favourable to the creation of a great
citizenship. They have brought with them vivid ideas and principles
a thousand years old. No commonwealth ever wished for more
ideal conditions than are provided by the contribution all
these people can make toward the good life.
Centennial year offers us the opportunity to mobilize our
imagination and our institutions in a vigorous national effort
to improve knowledge about citizenship and expand participation
in it. This will require commitment, energy and time from
every well-disposed person and association, but we must not
postpone it or the very undoing of our way of life could begin.
Canada is something we are building. Canadians are on the
move. They have been on the move west and north ever since
Louis Hébert ploughed that first patch of farm land
in the shadow of Port Royal in 1604 and then moved westward
in 1623 to plant his seeds in ground that is today the Upper
Town of Quebec. We are participating now in space exploration.
Canada was the third nation to have a satellite in orbit around
the earth.
Canada has developed her thinking, too. This is a nation
with its own cultural and political and social identity, and
not merely a marginal tribe of French and English adventurers
united only by the desire to make a living. Canada's first
government, made up of French and English cabinet ministers,
proclaimed in the speech from the throne at the first session
of the first parliament that "a new nationality" had come
into being. From that time on, people had the opportunity
to realize their highest potentialities as citizens of a democratic
national state.
But having made ourselves sovereign as a nation we must
now behave intelligently as citizens.
The roominess of life
It is a pity that we worry so greatly about our diversity,
because it is just this diversity that gives Canada individuality.
Out of manifold talents and different ways of looking at things
come originality, strength, and a forward-moving spirit. Out
of our heritage have come our basic freedoms, our democratic
way of life, our art, literature and music. Most important,
we have inherited the spirit of challenge, of exploring and
pioneering. We are pushing forward on many frontiers, geographical,
scientific, cultural and spiritual.
Canadians have always encouraged the newcomer to join them,
and have been eager for him to find the roominess of life
that Canada offers. This is a land where every man and every
woman can find a place in society suited to his or her inclinations
and capabilities. It is a country where the ordinary citizen,
no matter how humble, has a chance to better his life. But
he must accept the spirit of our institutions. It is upon
observance of the spirit of the laws and customs by which
we live that the worthiness of our citizenship is tested.
In a democratic country like Canada the right to vote is
a priceless gift of citizenship. Our way of government does
not compel everyone to vote, but democracy may fall into disrepute
if those who enjoy its rights and privileges fail to exercise
them. In the general election of 1965 only 74.3 per cent of
eligible voters cast their ballots.
Voting is not the only duty of a citizen. You cannot vote
democracy and then go home and forget it. Democracy needs
to be lived by every citizen so as to create the moral and
spiritual atmosphere in which the government must operate.
The elected representatives have to be assisted, inspired,
and sometimes prodded, by public opinion if they are to provide
the conditions in which men and women may set about making
themselves happy.
Meaning of citizenship
Good Canadianism includes social membership. A citizen is
not only an individual but a member of a family, one of a
community, a member of a province and of the nation and of
the world.
Being a citizen means more than having technical knowledge
of the government of the country. It implies the possession
of an ideal, a sense of values, and a theory of what life
in Canada may become. It takes in the whole scale of thought,
knowledge and behaviour.
A citizen is not content to be an anonymous face in the
crowd, an unknown quantity to his associates, an item on his
employer's pay-roll, a tenant to his landlord, and a non-participating
member of a union, church, trade association or fraternal
society.
Above all, the citizen is not a hanger-on. He does not look
upon the nation as a co-operative business possessing great
wealth in which all citizens have a right to share. The thoughtful
citizen distinguishes between security, which means being
taken care of, reducing him to the status of a baby, and stability,
which does not give anything for nothing but makes sure that
effort brings reward. The citizen must stand straight and
proud, resisting any theories that would undercut the principle
of personal accountability and self-respect.
The business of growing up into a good citizen, or of becoming
a good citizen upon coming here from another land, is not
a matter of learning political science but of taking on maturity.
This is made up of two parts: being healthily independent
and being what one should be as a social creature.
A good citizen develops his talents for the maximum benefit
of himself and society. Canada does not seek to standardize
men's minds, producing deadly commonplaceness. Instead, it
seeks co-operativeness and goodwill, and flexibility in the
face of change dictated by intelligent appraisal of a situation.
Democracy and freedom
Good citizenship is important to those who think that democracy
is worth more than a couple of cheers at a patriotic gathering.
Citizens in a democracy are free and upright people who take
pride in governing themselves and do govern themselves.
Democracy is a spirit, not a law. It provides the environment
for bringing out the extraordinary possibilities in ordinary
people. Personal effort is of the greatest significance in
keeping democracy on the rails and progressing.
Canada's democracy is democracy in a changing society. It
is not imprisoned by a rigid constitution that declares: "This
is the extent and the limit of freedom which citizens shall
enjoy for all time."
Other nations have changed, too, some of them for the worse.
They thought their best way was to turn over their lives to
unrestricted political control. They found temporary relief
from some worries and gained the illusion of future security,
but they lost their democratic liberty and sacrificed the
prospect of gaining what their individual qualities fitted
them to enjoy. Others have moved with brash arrogance into
the state where they believe that "freedom" and "liberty"
convey the right for every man to do as he likes.
Democracy is something learned, not bestowed or legalized
or seized. We learn about it by studying or working alongside
people who do or say things unusual to us, and by listening
sympathetically to people who question some of our assumptions.
Without the interchange of ideas the human race would still
be sitting in primitive darkness.
Democracy presupposes the right of every minority, even
of only one person, to dissent from the opinions of the majority.
As George W. Brown wrote in Canadian Democracy in Action
(J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., Toronto, 1947): "Whatever democracy
is, it is not government by brute force but by persuasion.
It is a sense of fair play, of justice and sportsmanship in
the highest sense of that term."
Democracy provides certain freedoms: of speech, of discussion,
of assembly, of the press, of vocation, of ownership, of residence,
of movement, of worship, of political belief, of association,
and freedom from unjust arrest.
We know that we are free when conditions permit us to make
greatest use of our capabilities as individuals, and to develop
to our full capacity materially, intellectually and spiritually.
Charters of "Rights" should make clear that these charters
do not set forth what men would like to have, or what men
can manage to get, or what the State thinks it can safely
allow them, but what men must have in order to function fully
and freely as men. The only protection of these rights is
the understanding of them by the people and the determination
to preserve them, not only for themselves but for all other
citizens. We acquiesce in the loss of freedom whenever we
are silent in the face of injustice to anyone.
Many roles to play
The citizen has many roles to play on the nation's stage.
He is a good neighbour. As a member of the community he
will have real consideration for the feelings and needs of
other people. He will support his institutions, and will give
people of another religion or race the same consideration
as he expects. He will set apart some of his time and put
forth some effort to help his neighbours to make the community
a better place to live in. He will take an active part in
helping his neighbours to make the government of the community
work better.
Plutarch, that extraordinary writer of the first century,
drew attention to the importance of the contribution of humble
citizens. "You will have no wars to wage," he wrote to a friend,
"no tyrants to put down, no alliances to consolidate. The
utmost you can hope for is to abolish some petty abuse, fight
some bad custom, revive some charitable foundation, repair
an aqueduct, rebuild a temple, adjust a local tax." These
are duties well worth doing, he said.
The good citizen knows the important problems that face
his representatives in municipal, provincial and federal government.
He studies and discusses these problems so as to make use
of the knowledge when he goes to vote. This is an inescapable
duty, because the strength of a democracy depends upon its
electorate being well-informed.
The citizen as a parent will teach his children to distinguish
between right and wrong, and inspire them to prefer what is
right. He will teach his children to get along well with other
people, encourage them to get a suitable education, and teach
them to accept more and more responsibility for their actions
as they grow toward maturity. The first-rate citizen adds
to good fellowship in his family the plus value of understanding.
He guides and directs, participates sympathetically in the
ups and downs of adolescent life, and provides fruitful soil
in which young people develop settled roots. His children,
governed by principles, are unlikely to be led astray by demeaning
whims.
Sense of responsibility
It is evident, then, that more than the privilege of being
inserted on the tax roll is meant by becoming a citizen of
Canada. The essence of good citizenship is the acceptance
of responsibility, and every citizen is under bond to do his
best in caring not only for himself and his family but for
society.
Citizenship is not something for passive minds. The lonely
person who stands on the side-lines watching the parade, speculating
and conjecturing and criticizing, and thinking how much better
the show might be, is not a citizen, for citizenship demands
participation, involvement, and contribution. No man gains
a feeling of significance in life if he lives in isolation.
First of all a citizen must do what all good people are
expected to do, and then he must do what his own particular
position in the world demands of him and puts him in position
to do. Pericles, Athenian statesman of the fifth century B.C.
said: "We do not allow absorption in our own affairs to interfere
with participation in the city's."
Canada is being enriched every year by the cross-fertilization
of many different minds and many different abilities. Citizens
are showing how people can be themselves and at the same time
be part of the nation and of the human race.
Our democracy is a way of living in which the people rule
by discussion and compromise. You do not need to be the same
as the man next door, but he and you need to have the same
ideas about citizenship while differing as to the details
of administration. Everyone going somewhere through a crowd
must step aside, keep his elbows in, back up or advance, according
to conditions.
The most conspicuous enterprise of the citizen is that of
discovering or creating relationships of sharing, not only
the business and government of the land, but space, thought,
esteem, dignity and tolerance.
The citizen has a lifelong assignment in human relations
if he is to share actively in the human enterprise. He belongs
to a society of people united by agreement as to the things
they love and working toward them.
Sense of values
The citizen needs to cultivate sharp-witted tests of values,
or he will find himself at the mercy of professional purveyors
of mistaken theories.
Canadians have reached their present high standing among
the peoples of the world by developing discrimination in the
quality of things and ideas. If there are people who invoke
new ways and praise new systems, they do not go so far as
to say that democracy has been tried and found wanting, but
only that democracy has been tried and found difficult. The
new ways are not said to be better, but easier.
It would be sad indeed if Canadians were to be seduced by
this specious plea into casting away what has been so painfully
built up by their ancestors and themselves. But, as Churchill
said in addressing the House of Commons in 1945: "Very often
the eagles have been squalled down by the parrots."
People are likely to become confused by the babel of tongues,
and to be misled into thinking of what keeps men apart rather
than what brings them together. The surly nibbling at the
institutions of democracy by people who have no hammer for
building but only a torch for burning comes of a long line
of destroyers. The Hittites, mentioned in Genesis as a powerful
nation, have left nothing but the reputation of having destroyed
many things which other people had built up with great pain
and care.
Some critics of Canadianism are anarchists, people who profess
to believe in the right of every man to do what he likes.
Some are jingoists — whose name was used in a music hall
song in 1878 to set forth the character of rabid patriots.
Some are hostile people, full of aggressiveness, who are merely
showing evidence of immaturity of the sort that causes a small
child to scream when things do not please him.
But there is a reservoir of good sense and goodwill in Canadians
which will prevent mischief-makers from making headway. Public
opinion — and every citizen has some responsibility in
making public opinion — ought to be intelligent and well-informed
and constructive, in its own interests.
A dominant feature about Canadianism is that our people
have plucked beauty and satisfaction from dangerous crags
and out of gloomy crevices. They applied their common sense
and their sense of values to the situations of life so as
to acquire not only a way of living together that works but
some of the poetry of life itself.
Learning together
People who go through life with granite-like convictions
on every subject under the sun lead a cheerless existence.
They miss all the fun of exploring, all the challenge of debating,
and all the thrill of finding something new.
We are indulging in juvenile thinking if we expect life
to be always smooth, fragrant and responsive to our wishes.
Medical men must examine disease if they are to promote health;
music, to create harmony, must investigate discord; the citizen
has to learn what is ailing and discordant in society so as
to produce a healthy, harmonious nation.
It is natural that people should disagree on some points,
but to disagree because of ignorance is deplorable and to
disagree because of disinterest is not civil. This is why
the Citizenship Branch of the Department of Citizenship and
Immigration is charged with promoting greater understanding
on the part of all Canadians of the privileges and responsibilities
of citizenship. It publishes several books, available from
the Queen's Printer, Ottawa, and through Government book stores
in several cities, and it encourages groups, agencies and
organizations to participate in programmes designed to promote
mutual understanding and co-operation among ethnic groups.
The Canadian Citizenship Council, Ottawa, supported financially
to the extent of two-thirds by business firms, individuals
and voluntary organizations, was founded in 1940 to encourage
training in citizenship and democracy.
Look at old values
The essence of citizenship is found in its values, in its
preferences, its moral commitments, its deep loyalties, its
conception of the good life, its standards of excellence,
its measures of success, and its teachings regarding the things
for which and by which men should live.
This might be a good time for Canadians to look again at
some old values and principles, perhaps using a hammer and
chisel and sandpaper to remove the caked dust that covers
them. When workmen were cleaning the walls of a London church
they uncovered a sculptured tear-drop on a cherub's cheek.
What a touch of artistry; what an insight into the feeling
of the man who sculptured it, how real and alive it makes
the past appear!
The customs, principles and values associated with Canada
have taken their present form as a result of centuries of
adaptation to the pressures of environment and the necessities
of life. We cannot detach ourselves from vital principles
and live.
Take loyalty as an example. "Loyalty" is a noble word in
the catalogue of social virtues. It is a quiet love of family
and nation and a pride in the ideals which you are upholding.
Leonard W. Brockington, Q.C., LL.D., distinguished member
of the Canadian Bar, said in his radio tribute to Sir Winston
Churchill on the day of the State Funeral of "this chivalrous
and valiant knight": "No man had greater loyalty than Sir
Winston Churchill: loyalty to his friends; loyalty to the
memory of his father; loyalty to the great causes to which
he gave his unremitting toil; loyalty to all the sanctities
and the deep unspoken certainties of family life."
How precarious would be our Canadian way of life if we were
to fail in our loyalty to its principles. Being disloyal does
not necessarily mean insurrection and other forms of violence.
It can be what is called "incivism" — disloyalty to the
spirit of Canadian life by neglecting one's duty as a citizen.
The virtues of western society are the product of education
and discipline, and they need continued loyal support and
cultivation.
A sense of direction
Citizenship gives orientation to life. Instead of taking
a dark and brooding view of events, turning them into a sort
of "Götterdämmerung" — a twilight of the gods in which
frost and snow ruled the earth — our citizenship stirs
us to enjoy and contribute to the best sort of society yet
offered to people who are advancing together in search of
the good life. This is a time to read the record and find
our citizenship ten times more meaningful than it has ever
seemed before.
Of course, some will say: "all this is counsel of perfection:
things are not so simple." Good citizenship can be simple
if Canadians will think of it as not something merely legal
or intellectual, but something transcending law and reason,
something deeply felt, deeply believed, dominant even in our
dreams.
Canada exists in terms of each separate citizen of Canada,
and every person's contribution through active citizenship
benefits the nation. The worthy citizen is one who stands
upright so that he looks beyond his own toes to get a long
and wide view of the good of the whole country. It is upon
that good that his own good depends.
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