Posts with the Parliament tag

Barris Beat

Thank you, Your Majesty

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She’s gone now. Queen Elizabeth II died last Sept. 8, and was eulogized at Westminster Abbey 11 days later. Her son, the Prince of Wales, immediately acceded to the British throne as King Charles III.

“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother,” Charles said the day she died. “I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country … and by countless people around the world.”

While I’ve never considered myself a monarchist, I nevertheless do owe Her Majesty a debt of gratitude. (more…)

Barris Beat

Freedom by any other name

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Fielding a question about freedom proved to be the toughest.

I’d just finished one of my military history talks, this particular night. I had fielded a number of specific questions about the women and men I’d featured in my presentation. And one of the younger members of the audience put up his hand and asked the toughest question of the night.

“Your books are all about people fighting for freedom,” the young man said. “What does freedom mean to you?”

I asked him if I could collect my thoughts a second. (more…)

Barris Beat

Can we all just get along?

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Rodney King asking what seemed the impossible in May 1992.

It goes back 30 years, but I remember this solemn-faced man stepping toward a news camera in May 1992. He was neatly dressed in a jacket and tie. But he looked drawn, upset and extremely nervous. The man chose his words carefully. He looked into the lens and in the most genuine of expressions offered a simple statement and an even simpler question:

“It’s not right. And it’s not going to change anything. Can we all just get along?” he asked.

The man was Rodney King, the African-American construction worker who’d been beaten by four Los Angeles police officers in what they called an arrest for a suspected drunk driving offence in March 1991. (more…)

Barris Beat

In search of a new Governor General

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John Ralston Saul offered much insight to the role of a Governor General.

As we filed down the loading ramp toward the flight, there was one face in the group of passengers around me that looked familiar. Was he a TV host? Maybe a sports personality? Possibly a politician? As passengers began stowing their bags overhead, I realized he wasn’t any of those guesses I’d made on the ramp. Then, it hit me as I sat down beside him.

“You’re John Ralston Saul, aren’t you?” I said.

He nodded, smiled and said, “Or, as some call me, Mr. Adrienne Clarkson.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Hitler in a blue suit

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The Reichstag (German Parliament) torched in 1933 by Nazis.

They gathered in front of the presidential building. Business people, magnates and hand-picked allies were invited to attend and listen to their incumbent leader. The country faced a winter election. And those invited, that day, were told their leader would assure them of victory.

“We must stand before the election,” the leader said to the assembly of his faithful. “Regardless of the outcome, there will be no retreat. [If defeated] we will remain in power by other means, with other weapons.”

The date was February 20, 1933. The location was the presidential palace in Berlin. The election was the last election in Germany prior to the World War II. Seven days later, Nazi sympathizers used a secret tunnel to enter Germany’s national assembly building. Inside the Reichstag building, they scattered gasoline and lit the fire that would destroy all but the outer shell of the Parliament (not restored until German reunification in 1990). (more…)

Barris Beat

Democracy in the details

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Dr. Anand Doobay, at Markham-Stouffvile Hospital, an epicentre in the fight to save lives in a pandemic.  CBC News photo.

The point-of-view of the camera shows us whisking through a door with a “restricted access” sign on it. Around the gurney-in-motion, doctors, nurses and orderlies wear full personal protective gear, as we zoom down a hospital corridor. The CBC News reporter voiceover describes the medical staff coping with Markham-Stouffville Hospital’s COVID-19 case load.

“It’s like (the staff) is going to war,” reporter Wendy Mesley says. “Only they never know if they will win or lose.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Leadership in our darkest hour

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Winston Churchill greets public with signature V-for-Victory signduring Second World War.

It’s come back to me often the past few weeks. It’s the last scene from the movie Darkest Hour. Winston Churchill, just a few weeks into his wartime administration in May 1940, watches across the English Channel as Belgium falls to the Nazis. Then, France falls. Desperately, he entreats thousands of private boat owners in England to retrieve retreating British Army troops – 300,000 of them – from the beaches of Dunkirk. And he contemplates Hitler’s invasion of Britain, delivering in the House of Commons one of many momentous wartime speeches:

“We shall fight on the beaches…” he proclaims. “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Bridging social distance

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Warning sign posted at Uxbridge Arena, March 16, 2020.

We hadn’t seen each other or talked for a while. I had gone outside Sunday afternoon, partly to get some air, but also to escape the assault of bad news about the coronavirus pandemic. But suddenly this friend dropped by for a visit in my backyard. The conversation was really welcome, but of course it was mostly about things closing, Canadians trying to get home or when this all might end. Eventually I asked how he and his family were doing.

“OK, mostly,” he said, and he then gingerly explained a member of his family had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment.

“I’m sorry,” I said. But what I meant was, “Sorry that I let all this global chaos get in the way of caring about you and your family first.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Culture of daring

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As a diplomat in the 1950s, Lester Pearson earned the Nobel Peace Prize for a unique response to conflict.

On Feb. 24, after he learned that Teck Resources Ltd. had decided to withdraw its application to build a multi-billion-dollar oil-sands development project in northern Alberta, the premier of that province stepped to a microphone in Edmonton to express his displeasure with Ottawa.

“The federal government’s inability … let us down,” Jason Kenney told the audience. Then, the premier continued with an oft-employed threat he’s used lately, that he will now seek “greater autonomy for Alberta (using) every tool available.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Evidence we’re winning

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Jennifer O’Connell explains how MPs voted unanimously on a long-awaited installation on Parliament Hill.

During her speech at the Sam Sharpe statue unveiling, last Friday night, MP Jennifer O’Connell became emotional as she explained that the day before, Members of Parliament had voted unanimously to install Tyler Briley’s sculpture of Sam Sharpe in the Centre Block of Parliament in Ottawa.

And when Seamus O’Regan, the minister of veterans’ affairs, quizzed her about the community groundswell of support in Uxbridge that had brought this motion to the House, he seemed genuinely impressed.

“Who are these people?” O’Regan asked her. “What is it about Uxbridge?” (more…)