When I was seven I was hospitalized for a ruptured appendicitis. Not a fun few weeks: but that’s a story for another time. Before I was hospitalized my mum was reading a book to me at bedtime each night. A chapter a night. No chapter the night of surgery.

That book became very important to me. It became the first real novel I read on my own. My mum read a chapter or two during visiting hours. That was not enough. She left it with me and I finished it.

The book was “Owls In The Family”. The author, Farley Mowat. I went on to read many more of his novels.

They were stories that concerned Canadians. Young and old. They were growing up in urban communities, they were lost in the far north or they were fighting in the trenches of Europe. They owned dogs, or lived with dogs. They built boats and sailed them. They traveled to this great land and they traveled away from it. These characters loved Canada. These characters were Canada.

Farley Mowat is overlooked. His example of Canadian culture is ignored. But Farley Mowat is a true Canadian. His books should be compulsory reading for all Canadian students. Every new Canadian should be expected to have an understanding of Farley Mowat’s Canada.

Farley Mowat’s Canada is my Canada.

Canada Day

Canada enters its 143rd year this coming Wednesday. I’ve been here for 44 of them. That’s almost a third of Canada’s existence as a free independent state. A lot has changed in those 44 years! But you can’t change history! And you can’t change the characters that built that history. Unfortunately though, you can ignore them. And in Canada, I think we have.

Over the last few years we’ve watched as main stream media has told us who have been the most influential and important Canadians, which Canadians are a representation of that ever elusive true Canadian character. Watch this spot over the next week as I write about Canadians I believe to be the most important and representative of true Canadian character and culture.

Many will disagree with my choices but I hope it will encourage them and others to examine what the country means to them. And what really is the character of Canada.

Iran is on the verge of revolution, North Korea is threatening to launch a warhead, and Toronto has no garbage pick-up... Who died? Oh, Farrah did, that was sad... Who was that other one?

I must admit I was upset that Farrah's death was overshadowed as it was.