{"id":12571,"date":"2025-12-13T04:09:32","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T09:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/?p=12571"},"modified":"2025-12-20T14:20:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T19:20:28","slug":"a-canadian-christmas-carol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/?p=12571","title":{"rendered":"A Canadian Christmas Carol"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Christmas story by Chris George\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

With apolog<\/span><\/span>ies to Charl<\/span><\/span>es Dick<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>ns and the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>wondr<\/span><\/span>ous<\/span><\/span>\u00a0legacy of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The Chris<\/span><\/span>t<\/span><\/span>mas Carol<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>here is a m<\/span><\/span>odern day story of the<\/span><\/span>\u00a0s<\/span><\/span>pirit\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Jacob Marley<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0wh<\/span><\/span>o<\/span><\/span>\u00a0last evening\u00a0<\/span><\/span>visited\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a weary Canadian<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>cynical soul w<\/span><\/span>ho has lost\u00a0<\/span><\/span>all\u00a0<\/span><\/span>hope for h<\/span><\/span>i<\/span><\/span>s\u00a0<\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span>ation and its promise.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>As<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Marley\u00a0<\/span><\/span>successfully\u00a0<\/span><\/span>illuminated the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>crevices of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Ebenezer <\/span><\/span>Scrooge<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s heart of stone,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>he appears\u00a0<\/span><\/span>this\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Christmas Eve to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>fore<\/span><\/span>w<\/span><\/span>arn\u00a0<\/span><\/span>our Canadian (let\u2019s call him\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Canuck<\/span><\/span>)<\/span><\/span>\u00a0that there\u00a0<\/span><\/span>needs to be\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>spiritual<\/span><\/span>\u00a0reawakening<\/span><\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>appreciate and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>ensure\u00a0<\/span><\/span>all that is\u00a0<\/span><\/span>possible<\/span><\/span>\u00a0for Ca<\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span>ada<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Marley tells Canuck he is to be visited by three apparitions\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As the story goes, the Ghost of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Christmas Past\u00a0<\/span><\/span>ferried Canuck back to 1890, to a snowy December night in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Kingston<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Ontario<\/span><\/span>. There he came face-to-face with John\u00a0<\/span><\/span>A.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Macdonald<\/span><\/span>\u00a0sitting in front of a fireplace with a blanket pulled up over his 75<\/span><\/span>\u2013<\/span><\/span>year old frame. Macdonald was preoccupied writing campaign notes<\/span><\/span>. E<\/span><\/span>arly in the new year he\u00a0<\/span><\/span>is planning\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to lead his Conservatives into<\/span><\/span>\u00a0an election with the cry of \u201cThe Old Flag. The Old Policy. The Old Leader.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The PM\u00a0<\/span><\/span>seems a<\/span><\/span>s determined as ever that his National Policy w<\/span><\/span>ill\u00a0<\/span><\/span>ensure the young country w<\/span><\/span>ill\u00a0<\/span><\/span>survive the ambitions of American politicians and businessmen.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Canuck\u00a0<\/span><\/span>is<\/span><\/span>\u00a0fascinated by\u00a0<\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>\u00a0elder\u00a0<\/span><\/span>figure hunched over,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>absorbed in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>his\u00a0<\/span><\/span>work. Indeed,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Macdonald had won\u00a0<\/span><\/span>five\u00a0<\/span><\/span>majority governments for the Conservative Party and by all accounts had realized his remarkable dream of a united Dominion from sea to sea. It was he who advanced the scheme of a confederation in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the decade leading up to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>1864; who became\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Canada\u2019s first prime minister<\/span><\/span>; and who forged a national\u00a0<\/span><\/span>conscience\u00a0<\/span><\/span>by laying down a ribbon of steel and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>demanding\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>steadfast\u00a0<\/span><\/span>loyalty to Westminster democracy<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Macdonald was responsible for the c<\/span><\/span>ompletion of the Intercolonial Railway to Halifax and celebrated the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>engineering feat\u00a0<\/span><\/span>link<\/span><\/span>ing<\/span><\/span>\u00a0east\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>west via\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>transcontinental CPR<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>As an exemplar\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Parliament<\/span><\/span>arian<\/span><\/span>, PM\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Macdonald championed protectionist trade measures against the U.S. and negotiated the entry of provinces\u00a0<\/span><\/span>PEI,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Manit<\/span><\/span>o<\/span><\/span>ba,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>B<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>C<\/span><\/span>.,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the acquisition of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>all\u00a0<\/span><\/span>lands in between. F<\/span><\/span>or these accomplishments,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the knighted\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Sir John A. Macdonald is to be forever regaled as the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>chief architect of Confederation<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and the primary\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Founding Father of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>budding\u00a0<\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span>ation<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Canada<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the quiet of his den, Macdonald sipped his mulled wine.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Canuck thought of the PM\u2019s love of alcohol<\/span><\/span>\u00a0an<\/span><\/span>d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0then of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>t<\/span><\/span>he\u00a0<\/span><\/span>many\u00a0<\/span><\/span>blotches on the PM\u2019s political career. Yet, as he watched Macdonald scribbling the campaign notes he\u00a0<\/span><\/span>was\u00a0<\/span><\/span>sudden<\/span><\/span>ly\u00a0<\/span><\/span>overcome by the magnitude of th<\/span><\/span>is\u00a0<\/span><\/span>man\u2019<\/span><\/span>s perseverance in<\/span><\/span>establishing a country that aspired to the laudable\u00a0<\/span><\/span>principles of peace,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>order<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and good government<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Clearly, t<\/span><\/span>h<\/span><\/span>e illustrious results of this man\u2019s work\u00a0<\/span><\/span>must not be taken for granted.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Then,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in what seemed to be a blink of an eye,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the Ghost of Christmas Present took Canuck by the hand and led him to a remote prison in China. There behind\u00a0<\/span><\/span>bars<\/span><\/span>\u00a0he met a thin, unhappy\u00a0<\/span><\/span>figure<\/span><\/span>\u00a0who he identified as\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Michael Spavor<\/span><\/span>. \u201cThe two Michaels\u201d as all Canadians have come to know them\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u2013 Spavor and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Michael\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Kovrig<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u2013 are spending their\u00a0<\/span><\/span>third Christmas\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in cells<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Canuck shivered at the thought that the two Michaels have been l<\/span><\/span>anguishing\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in captivity<\/span><\/span>\u00a0now for almost\u00a0<\/span><\/span>7<\/span><\/span>50 days,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>away from their families and friends, and from their country.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Canuck reasoned it was not right\u00a0<\/span><\/span>that\u00a0<\/span><\/span>these men were held as payback for the arrest of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Huawei Technologies\u00a0<\/span><\/span>executive\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Meng Wanzhou<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>His mind w<\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span>ndered to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>disturbing accounts of other Canadians who were jailed by the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Chinese C<\/span><\/span>ommunists. Behind\u00a0<\/span><\/span>bars\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in China\u00a0<\/span><\/span>meant\u00a0<\/span><\/span>rounds of tiresome\u00a0<\/span><\/span>interrogation<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>infrequent\u00a0<\/span><\/span>meals, and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the cellblock\u00a0<\/span><\/span>lights\u00a0<\/span><\/span>shining\u00a0<\/span><\/span>24 hours a day.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>There were reports that the two Michaels also spent time in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>over<\/span><\/span>crowded\u00a0<\/span><\/span>cell<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>. The communists had\u00a0<\/span><\/span>denied\u00a0<\/span><\/span>them visitors, news of the outside world, and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>any\u00a0<\/span><\/span>word from home.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

S<\/span><\/span>tupefied, Canuck\u00a0<\/span><\/span>thought how\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Communist China is so unlike Canada (even though,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>he\u00a0<\/span><\/span>mused<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0PM Justin Trudeau admires\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Chin<\/span><\/span>ese G<\/span><\/span>overnment and it seems h<\/span><\/span>e\u00a0<\/span><\/span>has accommodated and made excuses for countless Chinese misdeeds).\u00a0<\/span><\/span>It troubled him to think how little C<\/span><\/span>anadians consider the foundational underpinnings of our country<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Obviously, the two Michaels knew\u00a0<\/span><\/span>too well\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the differences\u00a0<\/span><\/span>between our countries<\/span><\/span>. On\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>one hand, Canadians can be grateful for our luxuries of abundant food, clean water and warm surroundings. On the other hand, the Michaels\u00a0<\/span><\/span>are being\u00a0<\/span><\/span>held by a suppressive government\u00a0<\/span><\/span>that has<\/span><\/span>\u00a0little regard for\u00a0<\/span><\/span>freedom<\/span><\/span>\u00a0of speech and movement<\/span><\/span>, for an independent judiciary, for individuals\u2019 rights and possessions.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Though\u00a0<\/span><\/span>this year\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in Canada we may have seen\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Trans Mountain blockades\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and Maritime lobster pound standoffs, we have not experienced the tragedies of the Uighur Muslims\u00a0<\/span><\/span>or Hong Kong democrats.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span><\/span>here are many contrasts to be made mused Canuck, yet here sits Spavor. If we do not speak out\u00a0<\/span><\/span>about our difference\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and defend our\u00a0<\/span><\/span>liberties<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>but for the grace of God go I.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Without warning, t<\/span><\/span>he\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come<\/span><\/span>\u00a0grabbed Canuck and sat him down in an office, in front of a woman pounding away on a keyboard. He scanned the desk and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>determined\u00a0<\/span><\/span>he had somehow skipped through time to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the year\u00a0<\/span><\/span>2050<\/span><\/span>. Canuck\u00a0<\/span><\/span>was visiting an editor of Ottawa\u00a0<\/span><\/span>parliamentary p<\/span><\/span>ublication,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The Hill Times<\/span><\/span>, who was preparing<\/span><\/span>\u00a0a<\/span><\/span>\u00a0year-end\u00a0<\/span><\/span>edition.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>He saw on the screen, t<\/span><\/span>he cover story read \u201c<\/span><\/span>States of Alberta and Saskatchewan Celebrate 25<\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Anniversar<\/span><\/span>y<\/span><\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The editor\u00a0<\/span><\/span>looked up into\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the computer screen to her news team; the meeting\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to review<\/span><\/span>\u00a0the papers\u2019 editorial line-up<\/span><\/span>\u00a0commenced<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Alberta and Saskatchewan\u00a0<\/span><\/span>cover article\u00a0<\/span><\/span>will\u00a0<\/span><\/span>feature the economic\u00a0<\/span><\/span>boom of the<\/span><\/span>ir<\/span><\/span>\u00a0resource-based industries\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and how these former provinces flourished as part of the United States.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Three accompanying pieces\u00a0<\/span><\/span>are\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>provide\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a full picture of the former\u00a0<\/span><\/span>country Canada<\/span><\/span>:\u00a0<\/span><\/span>1)\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a review of the s<\/span><\/span>ocialist reform<\/span><\/span>s undertaken in t<\/span><\/span>he\u00a0<\/span><\/span>R<\/span><\/span>epublic of Canada<\/span><\/span>;<\/span><\/span>\u00a02)\u00a0<\/span><\/span>trade and resource development\u00a0<\/span><\/span>news\u00a0<\/span><\/span>between British Columbia and China<\/span><\/span>; and, 3)\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>R<\/span><\/span>epublic\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><\/span>appeal to international bodies to assist with\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Russia\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and Chin<\/span><\/span>a military\u00a0<\/span><\/span>encroachments in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>its\u00a0<\/span><\/span>northern territories.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There are t<\/span><\/span>wo\u00a0<\/span><\/span>p<\/span><\/span>arliamentary columns<\/span><\/span>: one to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>cover\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the U.N.\u2019s latest terms for the Republic\u2019s debt payments, and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a second one on\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the newly imposed goods and services tax of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>33<\/span><\/span>\u00a0percent.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The lead\u00a0<\/span><\/span>year-end\u00a0<\/span><\/span>editorial\u00a0<\/span><\/span>will\u00a0<\/span><\/span>speak to how Canadians should be forever grateful<\/span><\/span>: t<\/span><\/span>he Republic of Canada\u00a0<\/span><\/span>is\u00a0<\/span><\/span>providing w<\/span><\/span>omb to tomb state programing<\/span><\/span>, including a guaranteed income for a majority of the population.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>A\u00a0<\/span><\/span>secondary editorial\u00a0<\/span><\/span>is\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>draw a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>compar<\/span><\/span>ison between\u00a0<\/span><\/span>how past Canadian protest<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0that\u00a0<\/span><\/span>removed\u00a0<\/span><\/span>statues of Sir John A. Macdonald\u00a0<\/span><\/span>are\u00a0<\/span><\/span>much like\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>current mobs\u00a0<\/span><\/span>who\u00a0<\/span><\/span>are pulling down the statues of the Republic\u2019s Founding Father Justin Trudeau. The<\/span><\/span>\u00a0underlining\u00a0<\/span><\/span>message in this editorial\u00a0<\/span><\/span>is<\/span><\/span>: Canadians\u00a0<\/span><\/span>must\u00a0<\/span><\/span>take lessons\u00a0<\/span><\/span>from\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and not erase their history.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Ghost of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Christmas Yet to Come<\/span><\/span>\u00a0dropped Canuck back into the comfort of his bed where he stretched from his fetal position.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>What a dream\u2026 what a nightmare! Could it be? Would it be?\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Canuck\u00a0<\/span><\/span>immediately\u00a0<\/span><\/span>jumped out\u00a0<\/span><\/span>from under his sheets and hurried to the window. He chortled.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>No doubt, Jacob Marley and the apparitions had\u00a0<\/span><\/span>given\u00a0<\/span><\/span>him\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a great gift \u2013 and there was much, so much he must do in 2021.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This was first published in the Niagara Independent, December 25, 2020:\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/niagaraindependent.ca\/a-canadian-christmas-carol\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Return to a 2025 Christmas Wish<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Christmas story by Chris George\u00a0 With apologies to Charles Dickens and the\u00a0wondrous\u00a0legacy of\u00a0The Christmas Carol,\u00a0here is a modern day story of the\u00a0spirit\u00a0Jacob Marley,\u00a0who\u00a0last evening\u00a0visited\u00a0a weary Canadian\u00a0\u2014\u00a0a\u00a0cynical soul who has lost\u00a0all\u00a0hope for his\u00a0nation and its promise.\u00a0As\u00a0Marley\u00a0successfully\u00a0illuminated the\u00a0crevices of\u00a0Ebenezer Scrooge\u2019s heart of stone,\u00a0he appears\u00a0this\u00a0Christmas Eve to\u00a0forewarn\u00a0our Canadian (let\u2019s call him\u00a0Canuck)\u00a0that there\u00a0needs to be\u00a0a\u00a0spiritual\u00a0reawakening\u00a0to\u00a0appreciate and\u00a0ensure\u00a0all that is\u00a0possible\u00a0for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,85],"tags":[76],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12571"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12571"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16488,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12571\/revisions\/16488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}