Editor of new book on Canadian history hits back at Canada’s ‘cancellation’

The editor of a new book on Canadian history says he wants to challenge the notion that Canada is a “genocidal” nation-state that deserves its historical figures expunged.

“Why do we bully people who are long dead, instead of trying to give them fair treatment or reasonable understanding and put things in context?” said Mark Milke, editor of “The 1867 Project—Why Canada should be cherished, not canceled.”

“You don’t have to deny the mistakes of the past. In fact, everyone should be aware of this. But an understanding of the past is what we’re trying to provide in the 1867 project, as well as a dive into some current controversies.

The book, due out July 1, features writings from 20 authors who examine topics such as critical race theory and identity politics, as well as major figures in Canadian history, through an objective lens.

“The authors challenge the naysayers and their caustic criticism, but also offer a positive way forward,” the book’s description reads. “They show how telling the truth, informed history and renewing a Canada where citizens reject divisions based on color and gender, and instead unite around laudable, time-tested ideas, will create a freer, thriving Canada for all. to create.”

Some of the book’s authors include Queen’s University law professor Bruce Pardy who examines critical race theories and Canada’s “compromised” institutions; media personality and Conservative candidate for the Durham region Jamil Jivani, who speaks of the fault of Canadians’ “self-loathing”; and scholar Chris Champion, who writes about the realities of the British Empire and its impact on the world.

The book’s name, “The 1867 Project”, refers to the year Canada was founded, and appears to be a play on “The 1619 Project”, developed by a New York Times journalist on the subject of slavery in the United States. States.

Founding fathers

Milke, who is also president of the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy, a think tank that aims to renew a “common sense approach to public discourse and policy in Canada,” compared the country to a “massive oak tree that has a much people’, but he has a sick limb.

He said the “chattering classes” think the oak should be broken down, “as opposed to pruning the branch.”

“The right thing to do when you see a branch that isn’t quite right is to prune it, and you make the tree stronger. But we have people today who literally want to cancel Canada. It’s a bit of a cliché by now – cancel culture – but it’s true and it happens too often,” he said, referring to the city of Calgary’s recent attempt to cancel Canada Day fireworks.

Milke said many people in Canada look back at the country’s historical figures and feel they should have been perfect, which he says shows “impatience and moral arrogance”. He pointed out that Canada’s founding fathers were classical liberals who believed in the rights of individuals.

Now they haven’t done it perfectly. Indigenous peoples were often ignored and institutional racism was a real problem. But I think, looking back and expecting 1867 [and] the founders to be perfect is part of the problem,” Milke said. “No one is perfect today.”

“And it also misunderstands the point of understanding or understanding history, at least in a liberal democracy like Canada,” he added. “The ideas that came from the 19th century formed the basis for us to expand the franchise to women [and] for indigenous peoples, to open up immigration to a much richer and deeper variety of people than ever before.”

Milke said the book is divided into three parts, with the first examining some of the recent claims, such as whether Canada is an institutionally racist country, the rise of identity politics and the “cancellation” of some college professors and journalists.

The middle section of the book addresses some of the “misunderstandings” surrounding many important figures in Canadian history, such as British Columbia’s first Chief Justice, Matthew Begbie, and Canadian residential school system architect Egerton Ryerson.

On the one hand, attorney Gregory Piasetzki examines how Prime Minister John A. MacDonald saved the lives of many Indigenous peoples through smallpox vaccinations, the creation of the North-West Mounted Police, and the making of peace treaties with Indigenous peoples that prevented the kind of massacres in the United States.

The final section of the book explores how Canada can be “refreshed” with a new identity based on a more positive message.

“The last part of the book is there is a potential for Canada to be free and [have a] blooming future? The answer to that is yes, if we unite around … laudable ideas that can be shared by all, instead of dividing people,” Milke said.