Canadian Values

As Canadians, some of our values as a country are: equality, when one respects everyone’s rights, beliefs, and cultural differences and everyone has the right to speak out and express their own ideas even when others may disagree; we also value freedom of thought, speech, religion and freedom of peaceful assembly; we value peace and we are proud of our non-violent society; law and order is also valued as we respect democratic decision making.

When most people from different countries think of Canada they usually think: living in igloos, “eh”, how polite we are, maple syrup, and hockey. When Canadians think of being Canadian, we tend to think of our Charter Rights and Freedoms, welcoming Immigrants and refugees, Tim Hortons; we also love watching are playing hockey outside or inside, and recently the Raptors and “We The North” have given us another reason to be proud of being Canadian.

In my opinion Canada is the best country in the world is filled with a lot of proud citizens.  I believe that Canadians are proud of the Charter Rights and Freedoms. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms are very important to a lot of people that live in Canada. There are lots of Immigrants and refugees that come to Canada and for them to have freedom is very important as it is something they may not have had in their previous country.  In Canada, we accept everyone.  We believe that everyone is important and valued.  People who come to Canada with different religious or cultural values are also accepted and included.  Although we want people to become Canadian, they are encouraged to keep their cultural values. We are privledged to live in a country that relies on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

I consider myself Canadian not just because I am a citizen but because my whole family is Canadian as well, my ancestors came from Wales to Canada over four generations ago. I am truly a Canadian in the way that I treat others.  I believe everyone should be accepted for who they are and should be respected because of that.  I also really enjoy learning about different cultures and I love hearing stories of how people ended up living in Canada.  My family are also huge hockey fans (they play and watch hockey) and of course, Tim Hortons is the hot beverage of choice. We often give thanks and appreciation for being able to live in such a beautiful and respectful country.  Our Charter of Rights and Freedoms are one of many reasons why we are proud to be Canadian.  Can Canada improve?  Absolutley.  We have a long way to go in our treatment of our indigenous people.  I think that we have the foundation set and I am hopeful that there will be progress made soon so every person in Canada will also consider themselves proud to live here.

Wharnsby, Tim. "Canada coach Ducharme learned his own golden rule." CBC, 6 Jan.

   2018, www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/

   canada-sweden-world-juniors-championship-wharnsby-1.4475730. Accessed 8

   Jan. 2018.

Durham Immigration Portal. "What are Canadian values?" Durham Immigration

   Portal, 2010, www.durhamimmigration.ca/creating%20community/Pages/

   WhatareCanadianValues.aspx. Accessed 2018.

My Ancestors

I am 4th generation Canadian on both sides of the family; my mom’s side of the family is from  Ireland and Scotland, my grandpa’s father is unknown; my dad’s side of the family is mostly Canadian but when my ancestors came to Canada (5 generation ago), they came from Wales and Ireland. I know my genealogy because I grew up living around the corner to my Great Grandmother, my mom also has family trees for both sides of my family. Growing up my Great Grandma was still alive (she passed away three years ago) and throughout my life she would tell me stories about what life was like when she was younger. She would tell me about what is was like living through both world wars and how different the school systems were compared to today, she would also tell me about her parents.

My family told me that my ancestors on my dads side moved to Canada because of the famine, however I’m not sure why my mom’s side of the family came over but I think it is probably because of the same situation. When my dad’s ancestors moved to the country they settled in Ontario and we have been living around the same place ever since. Over the years my family has also shown me different historical areas  where they grew up and told me stories about their childhood and such. The connection I maintain to my ancestors and my family is how we all live within a 30 minute range from everyone and we visit each other a lot; most of my extended family also live in the same area so we see each other quite often. As a family we also celebrate everything together, birthdays, holidays, and sometimes we have dinners just to catch up. I am very close with my family and they are very important to me.  When I am older I will maintain this connection to make sure my children have a strong relationship with their family. This is an image of my Great Grandma and Grandpa’s farm house, it has been recently updated but they built this house themselves when they bought the land around the 1940’s. It was a working farm until the 1980’s.

My ancestors matter to me because they are the ones that shaped my family and the ones who set the example, they made my family traditions, religion, our norms and beliefs. I think the history of my family and my ancestors are cool in the sense that they are the ones who started my family from way back. In my family it is very important that we are all close and that we see each other often because we believe that everyone should spend time together and we should all have a strong relationship. When I am older I will carry on that value because I also think it is important to be close with your family. I also think it is important to carry on the religion my ancestors passed on to us, my mom’s side of the family passed down our christianity and when I am older I will want to take my children to church as well. Along with religion I also think it is important that my brother, parents and I should live nearby so we can see eachother often and so that my children know that there’s always someone nearby if they need any help or need anyone.

Erwin, Krista. Interview.

Giving Back for the Holidays

When we think of Christmas, usually we think of spending time with family, playing games or going out for fun activities; opening presents christmas morning around the tree; and especially an appetizing christmas dinner. Most families living in Canada look forward for christmas dinner because it’s time we spend with the people we love; what some people do not recognize is that most people take this dinner for granted. Although most families in Canada can afford their Christmas dinner, there are a lot of families who can’t afford this special meal around the holidays. My family believes that no one should have to feel the pressure of not having enough money for the christmas holidays; my family also believes that people who are less fortunate, deserve to be happy and well looked after especially during the holidays. For the last 8 years my family and friends have gone to volunteer at food banks in the local area. Every year we help the food bank with: sorting certain canned or boxed goods into separate barrels; making a boxed dinner with the canned goods we already separated from before; sometimes there’s clothes that were donated as well as food, so we help sort clothing along with making boxes. A few years ago, we invited my brother’s hockey team to come help us at the food bank, they were super excited because as we’re making boxed dinners, they turned it into a scavenger hunt and a race. The boys kept score of how many boxes they made and the next year we went, they would try to make even more than last time. I don’t think they realize how this race they were having helped so many families in need of christmas dinner. Not only did they feed these families but they took a lot of stress off of these families that struggle to purchase their basic needs. I love this tradition and I am so happy that my family volunteers at the food bank to give back to local families in need; every year, this makes me feel so glad that I helped feed families for christmas. When i get older and I have a family of my own, I want to carry on the tradition because I think it’s important to help your community.

Winthrop Web Services, W.W.S. Food Bank. estacadafoodbank.org/. Accessed 2017.

Erwin, Krista, K.E. Interview. By Isabelle Erwin, I.E. 25 Oct. 2017.