All photos courtesy of restoreouranthem.ca

10

| eature

0 Canada:

Nicole Halseth
News Editor

ccording to an article on BBC

World News, “a group of
prominent Canadian women have
launched a campaign to make the
English-language lyrics to Canada's
national anthem more gender-neutral.”

This push comes after a previous effort
by Senator Vivienne Poy to change
the lyrics was rejected in 2010 by the
Canadian government as led by the
Conservative Party. Senator Poy first
introduced a bill in Parliament regarding
the possibility of revising the lyrics

of the national anthem in 2002. In
2010, Prime Minister Harper consulted
with Parliament on the issue of the

bill. However, after backlash from

the Conservative Party, the bill was
dropped. At the time, a spokesperson
for Prime Minister Harper, Dimitri
Soudas, claimed “we offered to hear
from Canadians on this issue and they
have already spoken loud and clear.
They overwhelmingly do not want to
open the issue.”

The group advocating for this change
includes many prominent figures in
Canadian society, such as former
Prime Minister Kir Campbell, well-
known author Margaret Atwood,
Senator Nancy Ruth and retired
Senator Vivienne Poy. It also includes

Sally Goddard, the mother of Nichola

Goddard, who was the first female

Canadian soldier killed in a
combat situation. They are

encouraging
Canadians

Restoring Balance to the Anthem

to participate in the initiative by

appeaiing
to Prime Minister Harper's government.

Their objection is largely over the line
“in all thy sons command.” According
to the group, a change to this line in
order to make it gender-neutral would
better reflect the “the equality of all
Canadians.” The group is advocating
changing this line to “in all of us
command;” a change they say is long
overdue. The current official lyrics

of O Canada, in Atwood's opinion,

suggest that “only male loyalty is being

invoked.” Additionally, in an article
on the Globe and Mail website,
Ms. Goddard believes altering the

lyrics “would recognize the heroes,

ALL TH
ALL OF

leaders and teachers who have made
Canada what it is today - regardless
of their gender.’

This line has already been revised
in the past. In 1913, "thou dost in us
command’ was changed to the current
version: “in all thy sons command.” The
advocacy group, known as Restore
Our Anthem, believes changing it to
their proposed version would "have
the same meaning’ as
the original version. On
their official website, the
group states that "restoring
the anthem to reflect
its original version is
the simplest way to
encapsulate the
equality of all
Canadians.”

Currently, the leader
of the opposition in
government, Tom

Mulcair of the

has dismissed the new
effort to change the lyrics.
According to an article on the

BBC World News website,

New Democrat Party,

Mulcair states that the anthem is
“wonderful” as it is, and that “we seem
to have agreed on the English and
French versions as they are and | think
that's probably a good thing.”

More information about this subject
can be found at the Restore Our
Anthem website: http://www.
restoreouranthem.ca/

This is not the first, and likely will not be

the last, time that a group of individuals

has wished to change the lyrics of our
national anthem to make them more
equal and reflective of the current
social situation.

Buried within the lyrics of O

SONS
US

Canada are more controversial words
and phrases that reflect times as they
used to be, and not necessarily how
they are today. If the effort fo change
one aspect of our national anthem is
undertaken, should it not be expanded
to include broader equality issues than
just gender equality?

Another issue that has arisen within
the discussion of changing our national
anthem is the lack of secularism within
the lyrics. One of the main groups

in this effort is the Canadian Secular
Alliance. Though they stand for more
than just changing the lyrics to the
national anthem, changing the lyrics is
one of their core initiatives. According
to their official website, the group
recommends that “the government
should remove the reference to God
from Canada’s national anthem, and
return to the original words that existed
prior to the introduction of the God-
reference: "O Canada, glorious and
free’ instead of “God keep our land
glorious and free.”

Their arguments for this are, as seen
on their website, “Canada’s national
anthem currently invokes the blessing

of a deity who is dismissed as non-
existent by 1 in 4 Canadians,” and “the
mention of God in the anthem is not
trivial - it has real social and political
consequences.”

Currently, according to the 2001
Census of Canada, 4.8 million
Canadians (16.2% of the population)
identified with no religion. Since

the official census in 1991, this is

an increase of 49.3%. Additionally,

this group of people identifying as
having no religion was the second
largest group in Canada, following
the Christians and outnumbering

all other religious groups. In a poll
conducted in May 2008 by Harris/
Decima, it was also revealed that that
23% of Canadians in total, and 36% of
Canadians under the age of 25, claim
they do not believe in any god.

Above and beyond excluding those
individuals who claim to have no
religion or do not believe in any type
of god, the current lyrics also allegedly
exclude those with religious affiliations
other than Christianity. These groups
include Muslims, Jews, traditional
Aboriginal religions, Hindus, Buddhists,

and Sikhs, among many others. Though
these groups may not

be the documented

majority throughout
Canada, they
are nonetheless
vital in their
communities
and throughout
Canada as a
whole. As well,
in many regions
of the country,
the majority
may actually
be something
other than
Christian. This
phenomenon will likely
continue to grow as
Canada continues

to be a settlernent
destination for
individuals from
around the
world, and from
a wide variety of
backgrounds. Many of
these individuals will
likely wish to express