Back when photographing for a daily newspaper, Canada Day was usually pretty straightforward: lots of Maple Leaf flags, maybe some citizenship ceremonies and one of the few chances to photograph a fireworks show.
This year, though, a long pandemic and record-setting heat-waves gave way to the horrific confirmation of something long whispered but never really faced up to in Canada — the deaths of hundreds, maybe thousands of children in church and government run residential schools for First Nations children.
It has completely overshadowed any thought of observing the day, and hopefully it can be more an occasion of thoughtful introspection.
I thought I would take this thought in mind as I went to see a few places for myself today. Not with any preconceived ideas but just to see for myself and leave my thoughts open, as they can only be from a good long walk.
I went to the Forks, a place where rivers have met for millennia and people have also met for almost as long. And I ended the day seeing for myself the provincial Legislature, where a statue of Queen Victoria was toppled by a crowd at the end of a march to mark the coming to light this year of what most First Nations have known for a long time.
Lawrence Cormiere pauses on his walk to Portage and Main in Winnipeg to take part in a rally about hundreds of graves found at sites of former residential schools. Cormiere said he too attended one of the schools as a youth.
A statue of Queen Victoria lies on the ground at the Manitoba Legislature, Thursday evening July 1, 2021.
Flags representing young children who suffered and perished at residential schools in Canada dot the front lawn of the Manitoba Legislature, Thursday evening July 1, 2021.
A man takes a selfie atop a statue of Queen Victoria in front of the Manitoba Legislature, Thursday evening July 1, 2021.