Canadian Values

Being Canadian comes with many values and privileges that are often overlooked by Canadians. Some of the values that we should be honoured to receive are equality, diversity, health, safety and democracy. Canada does not discriminate against different races, sexuality, and for the most part, gender. In the Canadian Charter Of Rights and Freedoms, it states that “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit… without discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex, age, or mental or physical ability” (P.E Trudeau, 1981). I really love that Canada is a free country, open to equal opportunity for everyone to strive, and that is why I believe many people immigrate here. Although Canada is claimed to be an equal country, there are gaps in that statement, as Canadian women earned 87 cents an hour for every dollar made by men in 2015 (Israel, 2017). Canada is not perfect, but contains significant less flaws than many other countries that would be so grateful to earn any significant amount of money for hard labouring jobs. Canada’s free health care is one of the biggest privileges, in my opinion, that Canadians receive. Our medicare system provides Canadian residents with reasonable access to medically necessary hospital and physician services without paying out-of-pocket. Canada is among only 5 countries to provide free health care, although many countries have attempted and failed. I personally believe that being Canadian is more than just being the stereotypical polite, hockey playing igloo inhabitant, but being Canadian is about accepting everyone, feeling safe to show expression, being confident that there is always a place to go to keep warm, heal up, or get the education needed to strive. To the rest of the world, we will always be known as the snow shoeing, moose loving, hockey playing, igloo living country, which does not bother me at all because some of the stereotypes are true, in a way. I find Canadians to be much nicer than Americans, as everytime I visit the United States, I am baffled by the amount of people that do not say thank you when someone has held the door for them, or do not drive with respect for others on the road. I know that not all Canadians are polite and friendly, but I find that most of them are. Hockey is also an association to Canada, and it is very true that our country exhibits some of the best hockey players in the world, and people are brought closer together by watching them strive and celebrating the game themselves. I have played hockey my whole life, so I can really relate that hockey is a big part of me, and a big part of Canada’s culture.

Works Cited

Fisher, Max. “Here’s a Map of the Countries That Provide Universal Health Care (America’s Still Not on It).” The Atlantic, edited by The Atlantic, The Atlantic Monthly Group, 28 June 2012, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/06/heres-a-map-of-the-countries-that-provide-universal-health-care-americas-still-not-on-it/259153/. Accessed 7 Jan. 2018.

Government of Canada. “Canada’s health care system.” Government of Canada, edited by Government of Canada, 22 Aug. 2016, www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/canada-health-care-system.html. Accessed 7 Jan. 2018.

Trudeau, P.E. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 1981. Historica Canada, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-charter-of-rights-and-freedoms/. Accessed 7 Jan. 2018.

University of Waterloo. “Reflecting Canadian values.” Canadian Index of Wellbeing, edited by

University of Waterloo, 7 Jan. 2018, uwaterloo.ca/canadian-index-wellbeing/about-canadian-index-

wellbeing/reflecting-canadian-values. Accessed 7 Jan. 2018.

English Ancestors

A photo of my great (x4) grandfather, James Allen Ransome

   My ancestors on my mothers side came from many places. These places include Ireland, Scotland, Germany, but most dominantly, England. I was able to gather information on my ancestors back until 1753. My great (x6) grandfather, Robert Ransome, was a farm implement maker in England, and passed it down to his son, James Ransome, who won many medals and prizes from the Royal Agriculture society, for their implement improvements. These two men were very inquisitive, always wanting to know how things work and understand them. I understand now where I have gotten my curious and motivated mind. I also got a better understanding of why I am interested in writing, as my great (x4) grandfather, James Allen Ransome, wrote a book entitled "The Implement of Agriculture", based off of his grandfather and fathers work. He even has his own page on a history website called "Grace's Guide" (https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/James_Allen_Ransome), which according to my grandma seems to have all the correct information about him, which I think is pretty cool. James Allen Ransome's son, Wilson Ransome, then moved to Canada in 1859, and we are not sure why. My grandmother Debbie believes it could be for better farming or more land. His brother Robert James Ransome followed him to Canada in 1861, and they both settled in East Garafraxa. My great great grandma, Mary Ransome, was born in East Garafraxa and then had my great grandma, who had my grandma and then my mother.

   I was able to gather this information from my grandmother, who says that her aunt had done previous research about our ancestry. As I mentioned before, we are not one hundred percent sure what pushed our ancestors to move from England to Canada, except that they may have wanted to come her for more land or better farming conditions. My family maintains some connections to our ancestors culture in England. We love tea in our family, which is a traditional English beverage, as well as crumpets or tea biscuits, which as I discussed in my Christmas tradition blog, is a tradition that we eat tea biscuits every Christmas morning. I enjoy hearing stories about my ancestry and find it fascinating to know how I got here, but I do not feel the deepest connection to my ancestors as some people may. I suppose our Christian religion was passed down from my ancestors and I intend to carry it on to the next generation of our family. Our religion also supports our biggest holiday and tradition, which is Christmas. I would love to share the tradition of Christmas with my children as it is very important to our family and has always been celebrated. According to my grandmother, we have always supported equality and respected everybody as a family, and I intend to place that attitude on the next generation as well. "We have always loved and respected the environment", my grandmother says, and we have been "taught to love the land and environment around us" (Holmes 2017). Since my ancestors were big farmers, we have all learned to respect the land. I am glad to have learned this new information about my ancestors and would love to hear more stories from my relatives in the future.

Works Cited

Grace’s Guide. “James Allen Ransome.” Grace’s Guide, edited by Grace’s Guide, Grace’s Guide Ltd, 4 Dec. 2014, www.gracesguide.co.uk/James_Allen_Ransome. Accessed 6 Dec. 2017.

Holmes, Debbie. Interview. By Jadyn Whyte. 4 Dec. 2017.

Tea Biscuits: A Christmas Tradition

The tradition to go to my grandparent’s house on Christmas morning was born before I was. Since I was born, my mom, my dad, my sister and I always get up at seven in the morning to drive out on the chilly morning of Christmas to visit my grandma and grandpa. My grandmother’s mother used to “always make tea biscuits on the morning of Christmas”, and it “brought [her] and [her] many sisters closer together”, because they would always get excited about this time (Holmes). As it brought her family together, she wanted to carry that to her children, and then, eventually, onto me and my sister. My grandmother adapted the tradition to cook and have my family over on Christmas morning from her mother, and her purpose was to bring us all together, like her mother’s cooking brought her and her family closer.

Since we have adapted this tradition, my sister has started to slowly take the reigns, as she added her famous cinnamon buns to the family tradition. I can definitely see this tradition continuing on through me, and especially my sister, as I am not the best chef. She will most likely take on the role of my grandmother when we are both older, and our families will continue this tradition on at her home. My family was not always super close with my aunt and uncle, but over the years, getting together on Christmas and uniting over our yearly sweet and salty treats has really brought us together as a family, and helped us to grow our bond even stronger.

Since my family does not really practice a certain culture, I relate to the essay “Cultural Baggage”, as me and my family are proud contributors to the culture of “none”, but practice important traditions that help our family grow.

                           

Works Cited

Food Network. Cinnamon Bun. Food Network, www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/almost-famous-cinnamon-buns-recipe-1973005. Accessed 27 Oct. 2017.

Holmes, Debbie. Interview. 26 Oct. 2017.

M Island Bistro Kitchen. Tea Biscuit. 1 Jan. 2012. My Island Bistro Kitchen,

myislandbistrokitchen.com/2015/05/17/tea-biscuits/. Accessed 27 Oct. 2017.