Like many cities across the country, Calgary has traditionally held a firework display to mark and celebrate Canada Day. It was a fun and cost effective family event where folks could gather in a park and ring in another year of Canada existing as a nation. .In Calgary this tradition is no more. .There are several arguable reasons why firework displays should come to an end within a city. .Fireworks terrorize dogs and wildlife and veterans with PTSD can be shaken up by the artillery-like sounds. .Fireworks can awaken and annoy some people and they generate a lot of smoke in a city atmosphere that doesn't need more pollutants. .Those aren't the reasons Mayor Jyoti Gondek's city of Calgary has brought this longstanding and valued tradition to an end though. .Calgary is ending the fireworks display due to "cultural sensitivities related to ongoing efforts at truth and reconciliation with Canada’s First Nations." They also note that July 1st marks an anniversary of Canada's admittedly terrible Chinese Immigration Act from a century ago. .You see, to the woke, Canada is a nation of shame, horror and supposed genocide. For citizens to dare to take one day of the year to celebrate the creation and existence of Canada would be to insult aggrieved minorities. .We have seen this trend happening since GPR anomalies were discovered at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops (to date, no bodies have been found). Trudeau lowered the nations flag for half a year and we were all expected to be collectively horrified with ourselves for the alleged actions of past generations. Canada Day in 2021 was muted, and some people were even discouraged from daring to wear something red on that day. .The woke want to turn Canada Day into a collective day of shame rather than celebration. We are expected to gather to observe the day, but are also expected to hang our heads low in an act of self-flagellation while we are lectured with long land acknowledgements and stories of how horrific the nation has been. .In Calgary on July 1 this year, those who bother coming down to the event will be greeted with "a visually stunning display of lights and sounds that will be launched from the main stage at Fort Calgary." In other words, surplus Christmas light displays will likely be flashing to chants of indigenous songs after the audience has been chided for being curs who feel the nation should be celebrated. .As a longtime independence advocate, I guess I should celebrate this erosion of national pride. It only makes it easier to convince people the federation would be better off split into pieces. If we aren't even allowed to take a little pride in it on Canada Day, why should we bother maintaining it? .It's a sad loss of a fun tradition by a virtue signaling city administration. It will do nothing to further the cause of "Truth and reconciliation" but it will contribute to chipping away at the already weakened fabric holding Canada together.
