Lord, how we Canadians love to puff out our chests whenever another report comes out about what a wonderful country this is to live in. To hear us talk, you'd think we were the most broadminded, compassionate people on Earth. And some of us are.
Folks such as Glynden and Diane Cross, captains in the Salvation Army, who not only talk their Christian values but walk the walk.
This week we met with the Crosses when they came to our office to plead their case for an emergency shelter to care for the needy in our community. And while it's easy for most of us to go to bat for the children in our community who need added daycare and early childcare spaces (as we should), most of the time we prefer not think about the druggies and folks struggling with mental health issues.
What the Crosses need are volunteers now to be trained for next winter when the howling winds and storms create an enormous need for shelter. And good old Canadian cash won't go amiss either. If you can help, give them a call. They'll bless you, and so will their God.
Another example nationally where we, the majority of smug Canadian citizens, have failed miserably is in ignoring the need for a new Canadian Citizenship Act. It's hard to feel pumped about our country when an elderly woman is in the last stages of renal failure in the United States and we won't let her come home to die. Or when a senior citizen who has lived in Canada most of her life finds out she's not a citizen because her parents weren't married when she was born in England. And to add insult to injury, she finds out when she goes to apply for a driver's licence, which she did only to comply with the laws in the province she was visiting.
The vast majority of us want to be good citizens. We want to care for the poor and downtrodden and folks at the end of their lives, but until we stop picking and choosing the causes we'll support, that just won't happen.
Hearing Don Chapman and Melynda Jarratt testify in the Senate made us think long and hard about the privilege of citizenship. Reading the story of the Crosses made us realize how lucky the majority of us are. These are examples we would all do well to follow.
We, the work family of Lorraine Wareham, join with her many friends on the Coast and the North Shore in sending our deepest sympathy in the loss of her husband, Lindsay. Condolences can be mailed to our office at Box 1388, Sechelt, V0N 3A0 or dropped off at 5485 Wharf Road in Sechelt.
