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Every Day A Special Day
Two years ago, a Liberal MP tabled a private members’ bill to proclaim the first Monday in February Mathieu Da Costa Day. This is probably the first time you will have heard of Mr. Da Costa, whose claim to fame is that he was a navigator of African origin who accompanied Samuel de Champlain on his first voyage to Canada in 1603. However undeservedly obscure Da Costa may have been in the past, political correctness has brought him to the fore in schools. For example, the Toronto Catholic District School Board is hosting a book signing on January 26, 2011 so that the board’s students can meet Itah Sadu, the author of Mathieu Da Costa, First to Arrive - a book written for young students. I have a feeling we are going to be hearing more about Mathieu Da Costa as time goes on.
But to me this feels discriminatory. I mean, what about honouring Canadian Norwegians by proclaiming Eric the Red Day? After all, Mr. Red was likely the first European to arrive in Canada. Perhaps I’ll write a book Eric the Red, Even More First to Arrive, and then take it around to schools. And how about honouring our British heritage by proclaiming James Cook Day? Mr. Cook was the first European to land on Vancouver Island, don’t you know. And we must never forget the contribution of our Jewish compatriots. After all, when General Geoffrey Amherst won Canada for the British in 1760, there were four Jews among his officer corps: Aaron Hart, Emmanuel de Cordova, Hananiel Garcia, and Isaac Miramer. We could call that one Hart-deCordova-Garcia-Miramer Day.
There are 203 sovereign states in the world, and untold ethnicities. Perhaps with a little effort, we could manage to honour them all.