Michelle Rempel Garner, Tory MP for Calgary Nose Hill, has spoken out about the City of Calgary plans for Canada Day, saying the they divide people on a day we should be celebrating togetherness..Last week, the city issued a news release, which said, in part, “As part of Canada Day 2023, The City will offer diverse, educational and inclusive programming for Calgarians to celebrate culture and community. Programming will be a mix of participatory, celebratory, and reflective experiences.”.“To end the evening on Canada Day this July, The City of Calgary will be piloting an enhanced pyrotechnic show featuring a visually stunning display of lights and sounds.”.The city added in its release there are cultural sensitivities around fireworks displays in relation to Truth and Reconciliation, plus July 1 marks the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Immigration Act, which the city says, “For many Calgarians this is a day of mourning or reflection.”.In short, Calgarians have to accept there will not be the traditional closing fireworks display..The city says the lack of fireworks will address “some of the cultural, community and environmental impacts previously experienced with traditional Canada Day fireworks,” said Franca Gualtieri, manager of Arts & Culture at the city..“Over the next year, we’ll engage with citizens, community groups and cultural groups to collect feedback to understand Calgarians’ preferences for Canada Day programming which will help guide future decisions around Canada Day fireworks.”.The city also said a pyrotechnic show will reduce “late-night traffic, noise and overcrowding issues around popular fireworks viewing sites across Calgary,” keeping streets clear, permitting emergency services vehicles to reach Calgarians faster in the event of an emergency” and “controlled pyrotechnics are less disruptive to Calgary’s animals and wildlife.”.But Rempel Garner says it’s divisive..“When our leaders make this choice a binary one, that as a people we can only do one at the expense of the other, we further divide our country instead of solving its problems,” she says..“Suggesting that Canada Day shouldn't be a day for any celebration does just that, and I won't allow my community to be pushed into that corner.". “Instead, we should celebrate the good that unites us, while taking real action to bring forth equality of opportunity and reconciliation.”.Ward 11 councillor Kourtney Penner said on Twitter that Calgary city council didn’t make the decision to ban fireworks, but council can fix the error, says Rempel Garner..“I know that some of my colleagues on City Council see cancelling aspects of Calgary’s Canada Day celebrations as a decision that serves our city well, and I trust that their hearts might be in the right place. But for all the reasons above, and as a Calgarian who deeply cares both about addressing past wrongs and the protecting future unity of our community, I implore them to immediately work to reverse this decision. It brings no good to our city,” she says..“Across partisan lines, I stand ready to work with them on meaningful paths forward to address issues that affect all of our shared constituents, because that’s part of what being Canadian means to me. Let’s celebrate that we have the right and ability to do that on Canada Day.”.“Celebrating the miracle that is Canada today — a welcoming, democratic, pluralism — doesn’t mean that we can’t also acknowledge and address reconciliation and the longstanding impacts of colonialism and racism.”
