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The Niagara Independent, June 30, 2023 \u2013<\/em> Many Canadians now appreciate the full context of Justin Trudeau\u2019s comment back in 2015, when he surmised that Canada would become the \u201cfirst post-national state.\u201d Having just become Prime Minister of the country, Trudeau stated in that often-quoted New York Times <\/i>interview, \u201cThere is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada\u201d when it comes to our national identity.<\/p>\n Perhaps Trudeau was off-side to say that in 2015, however, as a result of his systematic approach through the last eight years, PM Trudeau and his political operatives have effectively been erasing Canadian history to achieve his post-national vision.<\/p>\n As a point of reference, Wikipedia<\/i> provides a definition of post-nationalism as: \u201cthe process or trend by which nation states\u00a0and national identities lose their importance relative to cross-nation and self-organized or supranational and global entities as well as local entities.\u201d The factors constituting the post-national process include shifting national economies to global ones, increasingly referencing global identities and beliefs, and transferring national authorities to multinational corporations and the United Nations.<\/p>\n In celebrating our country this weekend, let\u2019s consider some of the obvious ways the Trudeau government is revising and erasing the Canada\u2019s history to further his post-national vision.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.\u201d \u2013 George Orwell<\/i><\/p>\n From 2015 through to today, the overarching narrative of the Trudeau government is a woke progressivism that projects western culture as a hierarchy of power, one of oppressors and the oppressed. This woke world view is guilt-based, where success is achieved through force, and authority is undeserving.<\/p>\n In the last eight years, Canadians have been re-educated to understand our country is founded on genocide, theft, racism and oppression. It is therefore inappropriate, indeed unacceptable, to honour our forefathers\u2019 achievements and their mores, traditions, and identifying symbols.<\/p>\n And in reconciling the darkness of our country\u2019s past, the Trudeau government has set about to enlighten Canadians with a corrected record of cultural and societal legacies, one in which generations of \u201csettlers\u201d have no legitimate right to their accomplishments and should only harbour shame for past faults.<\/p>\n The Trudeau government\u2019s purposeful revisionism of the country\u2019s history has been unabated. There are many recent instances to cite. For example, on the eve of King Charles III\u2019s coronation, the government issued a media statement that the image of the royal crown was to be redrawn with the cross and fleur-de-lys removed from Canada\u2019s heraldry, replaced with a stylized snowflake and maple leaves. Canadians were also informed that there would be no further reference to the \u201cUnited Kingdom\u201d and \u201cDefender of the Faith\u201d in the title of our Canadian monarchy.<\/p>\n Similarly, this spring the government unilaterally announced it had redesigned the Canadian passport. The documentation was to be stripped of the historical images of the Fathers of Confederation, the Vimy Ridge memorial, the Famous Five, Champlain, the Northwest Mounted Police, the Stanley Cup, the Bluenose, and the Houses of Parliament. Even the most celebrated person in recent history \u2013 the beloved Terry Fox \u2014 was erased from the passport. In place of these iconic Canadianna images, the passport is to feature watermark pictures of a narwhale, Canada goose, a squirrel eating a nut, a man raking leaves, maple syrup, a barn, etc.<\/p>\n In the last few years Canadians have witnessed a series of acts that are cancelling recognition of our country\u2019s history within the public forum. There has been a rash of statutes defaced and toppled \u2013 from Sir John A Macdonald to Egerton Ryerson to Queen Victoria. Some statues \u2013 like those at Queen\u2019s Park and at the National Capital\u2019s airport \u2013 have been quietly removed and put into storage for \u201csafe keeping.\u201d Canada\u2019s first Prime Minister has had his name erased from schools, roads, and even at the aforementioned Ottawa airport.<\/p>\n John A Macdonald has also been taken from the country\u2019s currency. Recall a few years ago the government announced it was redesigning the country\u2019s bills and that the first alteration was to remove PM Macdonald, replaced by\u2026. (Can you tell me who is now on the $10 bill \u2013 without looking? Okay, now look. Who is she?)\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n In 2019, the federal cabinet issued a directive to review and revise more than 2,100 historic plaques and monuments nationwide to address concerns of the Canadian legacies of \u201ccolonialism, patriarchy and racism.\u201d Parks Canada oversaw revisions that \u201caddress conflict and controversy\u201d and \u201cpower dynamics\u201d; \u201cconfront the legacy of colonialism and its impact on Indigenous peoples\u201d; stress \u201cinclusiveness\u201d; and focus on \u201cdiversity of race, class, gender, sexuality, ability and religion.\u201d<\/p>\n In this same period, Canada\u2019s chief archivist purged more than 7,000 webpages on the Library and Archives Canada website, including those referencing PM Macdonald, Egerton Ryerson, and the War of 1812. It was explained that this was done to correct the government\u2019s account of the country\u2019s history, expunging documents \u201coutdated and redundant\u201d or that \u201cmay offend people.\u201d<\/p>\n On a related matter, perhaps the greatest affront to the country and its people is the Trudeau government\u2019s intent to amend the Citizenship Act<\/i> so that new Canadians will be permitted to swear their oath of allegiance online with a tick of a box. To add insult, as Blacklock\u2019s Reporter<\/i> reveals, upon completing the form on the government website immigrants will be mailed a memento maple leaf pin \u2013 made in China.<\/p>\n Canadian historian Gerry Bowler, a senior fellow of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, has been highly critical of the government\u2019s obsessiveness to erase Canada\u2019s history and our forefather\u2019s traditions. In an Epoch Times<\/i> editorial, Bowler advanced, \u201cThese acts are not trivial and they are not accidental. They reflect an attitude on the part of our elites that resents attachments to our past because they hinder their attempts to alter our behaviours, which they view as outdated, parochial, and selfish. It is a stealth campaign that proceeds step by little, undebated, step.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Mark Milke is another Canadian historian who has just published, \u201cThe 1867 Project \u2013 Why Canada should be cherished not cancelled.\u201d <\/i>This book is a collection of essays that distinguishes Canadian values and ideals found within the 19th century classic liberalism movement and the rich legacies of British government and institutions. Contrary to PM Trudeau\u2019s contention that Canada has no national identity, Dr. Milke identifies the core essence of Canada is found in our regard for individual rights and freedoms, the worth of the individual, rule of law, capitalism, and democratic government.<\/p>\n In an insightful True North<\/i> interview on the Andrew Lawton Show, Dr. Milke observed, \u201cThe point about history in a liberal democracy is that you build on the sacrifices and successes of the past, you don\u2019t deny the wrong things that have happened in the past\u2026. To take a simplistic view of history is to miss the full breadth and depth of human beings, and their age and ours.\u201d<\/p>\n As Milke, Bowler and many others will argue, a people\u2019s national identity is forged in the country\u2019s history and with its peoples\u2019 traditions and mores. No doubt, this is the very reason why the Trudeau government goes to such a great length to erase Canadian history and denigrate the country\u2019s past accomplishments.<\/p>\n Bowler summarizes this idea succinctly, \u201cA person without roots, without a memory, without a story can be easily influenced and cause no trouble to the authorities. A nation without a common history in which citizens can take pride cannot long survive.\u201d<\/p>\n So, this Canada Day, let\u2019s wave the flag and unashamedly celebrate our freedoms and good fortunes. Pay proper homage to the country\u2019s forefathers and reflect on their successes. And in this way, may the Canadian dream endure Justin Trudeau\u2019s post-national vision.<\/i> To all, happy Canada Day!\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n Chris George<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is an Ottawa-based government affairs advisor and wordsmith, president of\u00a0CG&A COMMUNICATIONS<\/a>. Contact:\u00a0ChrisG.George@gmail.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n