In this country, we have taken the horrible habit of rewriting our history lest we offend people. Not a wise reason to make such amendments of great importance. This is a sure sign, in my opinion, of an incredibly immature society incapable of facing its own history.
The latest long dead public political figure to raise the ire of some is the British Whig John George Lambton - aka Lord Durham. Aka Radical Jack.
A talented politician, Durham was made governor-general of all British North America and was sent by the British government to survey Canada (as well as the United States) on the heels of the 1837 Patriotes rebellion. While British merchants were asking for greater control in the economic affairs of Lower Canada, the government felt it was time to act.Durham's committees consisted of opponents of les Patriotes, he consulted with Upper Canadian reform leaders and he penned his own observations of life in the colonies. The Patriotes rebellion was not exclusively made up of French-Canadians nor was it exclusively a cultural rebellion. Rather it was made up of many nationalities including British who demanded responsible government.
The good Lord was then made famous by the Lord Durham's Report on the Affair of British North America in which he had the audacity to proclaim that Canada was "two nations warring within the bosom of a single state." (1838)
The report had three main components: 1) greater self-government for the colonies, 2) responsible government and 3) the union of the two colonies known as Upper and Lower Canada.
The third being by far the most controversial among nationalists. By his estimation, French culture in Quebec was stagnant and made little progress during the previous two centuries.
He concluded that ethnic rivalry was counter productive and recommended the union of Upper and Lower Canada. The thinking was to overwhelm the French advantage in Quebec. He further proposed that any freedoms and protection French-Canadians enjoyed under the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the Quebec Act of 1774 should be over turned.
In other words, assimilate the bastards.
The reaction against the Durham Report found its strongest voice and expression in Louis-Joseph Papineau with Histoire de l'insurrection du Canada first published in the magazine Progrès and later La Revue canadienne as Histoire de l'insurrection du Canada en réfutation du Rapport de Lord Durham (History of the insurrection of Canada in refutation of the Report of Lord Durham).The recommendation of the Union did not happened until Durham's successor did so in 1840 in what eventually became known as the Act of Union of 1840. For better or for worse, this signified a new direction for a country called Canada.
Ok. Enough of this. I don't want this to turn into a Durham slug fest. I almost forgot my point.
The history of any nation is bound to have acrimonious incidences that certain segments of a population are sure to have an opinion on. However, it is a part of the history and conscience of a nation.
But don't tell this to CEO of the NCC Micheline Dube who awkwardly stated, "The NCC acknowledges that the recommendations put forth by Lord Durham at the time are considered inappropriate for many and certainly controversial. We in no way intend to offend anyone and have subsequently removed the panel in question."
That panel being a a historic panel dedicated to Lord Durham.
Break out the liquid paper!
Absolutely shocking stuff. Could you imagine little revisionist committees, armed with red pens, myopically taking things out of context by making adjustments to various histories?
It's a bizarre state of affairs in this country. On one side we have a weak sense of history on the other we have nationalists and activists seeking to imprint their visions of this country.
The result? Well, antics like we have seen with the NCC.
It's a disgrace to Canadian history period. These people are not fit to preserve the identity of this country.
So. When will some jackass step up and ask that the Plains of Abraham be removed from history museums and textbooks? Should we take a look at the long list of questionable revered French-Canadian historical figures and demand they be removed from our metros under the guise of citizens being offended?
Why stop at the NCC? We have bigger fish to fry!
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