Examples Of Defining Moments In Canada

Defining Moments in Canada

Canada today is very different from the Canada that was first established by the first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, in 1867. Even after WW1 and WW2, Canada as a country had not yet become what we know it as today. Since the 1950s, Canada’s identity was shaped by defining moments that illustrate growth and change. This can be seen through the following three examples: the baby boom, the 60s Scoop and Omar Khadr.

First of all, the baby boom of the 50s shaped Canada’s identity and illustrated growth and change. Many couples reuniting after the second world war and the large number of war brides caused the birth rate in the 50s to increase rapidly (Carlotta Hacker, 41). This resulted in the creation of the

Before the scoop, there were not many rights and freedoms appertaining to Aboriginal Peoples. They were confined to reserves when their land was taken away from them, with poor living conditions and unclean water. When they went to social services to seek assistance about the poor conditions for their children, social services decided that removing these children from the environment was an easier and quicker solution to the problem (Sharon Dainard and Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, The Canadian Encyclopedia). During this time, social services did not have to contact anyone in the children’s family or band leaders before removing them, meaning they could just walk in, take the child and leave. During the 80s, when the scoop was ending, the Canadian government introduced a new act, the Child, Family and Community Services Act, which made the notification of family and band leaders necessary before any child could be removed. Another change the 60s scoop brought to Canada was the priority of Aboriginal children adoption. Many children in the 60s Scoop were adopted by non-indigenous families, changing their culture and their entire personalities, as well. With the change, first priority of adoptions was given to extended family and clan members, following the other indigenous families, and finally non-indigenous

Omar Khadr was a 15 year-old Canadian translator, who was sent to Afghanistan, and was then convicted of killing Sergeant Christopher Speer, an American soldier, during a firefight (Colin Perkel, The Canadian Encyclopedia). He was sent to an air base for medical treatment and interrogation, but later transferred to the notorious prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was imprisoned there for almost 13 years, released only this past year. During his imprisonment, the American government ignored his juvenile status, despite strong Canadian arguments. After, however, due to unknown reasons, the Canadian government hardened themselves and started playing down Khadr’s age, a complete 180 from their view before.. Canada was later given permission to interrogate Khadr, only if they shared the videos with America, which they did. The Canadian Supreme Court then ordered the government to turn the videos over, which they ruled a violation of his constitutional rights as a youth suspect. At this point Khadr was offered a plea deal of admitting to five war crimes for an additional eight years to his sentence, which he accepted. His additional years were allowed to be served back in Canada, his home country. In Canada, however he was immediately