On Friday, November 7th, I attended the Remembrance Day ceremony at the elementary school where I live. I wore my ceremonial dress, as requested, and joined a couple of veterans who were also in attendance. During the singing of “O Canada”, for the first time in my life, I felt really conflicted. After 30+ years as a law enforcement officer in Canada, during the singing of our national anthem, it started to really hit home that the current Canadian government does not consider me to be a Canadian.
On Sunday, November 9th, the church I attend invited the veterans from the community and honoured them. Once again, as we sang “O Canada”, a series of unexpected emotions surged through me. I am 55+ years old and have spent over half of my life serving my country, only to find out that my government does not consider me to be a Canadian, but has rubber-stamped the US designation of me as a US person who just happens to be living in Canada.
I grew up on Campobello Island. When it was time for me to be born, my “pure” Canadian parents crossed the border to the nearest medical facility in Lubec, Maine where I was born. After spending a couple of days there, we returned home to Campobello. During my teen years, sports teams I played on often competed against American teams from Lubec, East Machias, Eastport, Machias and sometimes Calais. These games often took on special significance because, on our own small scale, we were representing our country. When in the US, if we spoke of Campobello, we would always refer to it as “over home” to the point that some of our closest American friends referred to us as “ovah homahs” (over homers).
I spent 4-5 summers while I attended university working at Roosevelt Campobello International Park. The park’s motto is, “A Legacy of Friendship”. To quote from the park’s website, “Roosevelt Campobello International Park is a singular example of international cooperation – jointly administered staffed and funded by the peoples of Canada and the United States.” Canadians and Americans worked side by side at this park commemorating an American president but located on Canadian soil (Roosevelt’s “beloved island”) – the Canadians got paid in Canadian money and the Americans got paid in American money. We were all the same, except they were Americans and we were Canadians (ovah homahs!). No one really differentiated much, except on the sports field – there we competed fiercely to do our respective countries proud!
I have never questioned my “Canadian-ness” and still don’t. Yet, the last two times I have sung our national anthem, I have felt strangely conflicted. I have been thinking about the fact that the Harper conservatives do NOT consider me to be a Canadian, as clearly stated by their spokesman Gerald Keddy when he made it clear that the government position is that I am a US person residing in Canada. I thought about all the comments I have read from people who consider themselves “pure” Canadians, who basically scorn my situation so much that they support giving away Canadian sovereignty to the IRS just to punish me. These people seem to have such disdain for people with some possible clinging US connection that they celebrate allowing the CRA to become a foreign office of the IRS.
Tomorrow, I will once again don my ceremonial uniform to commemorate Remembrance Day and honour those brave men and women who have paid with their lives to protect the freedoms we enjoy. I will once again proudly sing “O Canada” and undoubtedly struggle with the fact that our government has capitulated and sacrificed a portion of the population who are not “pure” enough because the US has deemed this to be the case.
But as I remember the brave men and women who paid the ultimate price to make me free, I will also remember that, if there is a hierarchy of “how Canadian” we are, it is not based on how “pure” we are. If there are “degrees” of Canadian-ness, those who are “most Canadian” are not necessarily those who are most “pure”, but those who are willing to take a stand to protect Canada from foreign governments infringing on Canadian sovereignty. By this standard, our current government and those commenters who are supportive of its actions regarding the FATCA IGA hidden in omnibus Bill C31 are “not very Canadian”.
If there actually are now degrees of Canadian-ness, to me those who are “most” Canadian are those who are going above and beyond the call of duty to force back the IRS barbarians at the gate that the Canadian government left open for them. Most (if not all) of them are not “pure”, but have some US taint and include (in alphabetical order): Gwen Deegan, Peter Dunn, Ginny Hillis, Stephen Kish, Tricia Moon, John Richardson, Lynne Swanson and Carol Tapanila (and others – those I have overlooked, please forgive me). Also included are the many who work tirelessly behind the scenes, most of whom I know only by the nicknames they post. They moderate and administer websites, post ads and articles and battle it out in the Comments sections following FATCA stories. Inch by inch, these warriors are gaining the upper hand in the battle for public opinion and educating those “pure” Canadians who seem only too eager to relinquish Canadian sovereignty to the US.
Tomorrow, I will do my best to focus exclusively on those brave men and women who gave their lives to protect our freedoms. But I know, during the national anthem, when those conflicted feelings again start to arise within me, I will also think about those who are continuing to fight for our freedoms. I hope I can eventually put those conflicting feelings behind me, knowing that the problem is not with me but with my government.
This post is not meant to in any way trivialize Remembrance Day and the sacrifices of our veterans. We cannot control the thoughts and emotions that confront us, and writing this was therapeutic as I struggle to come to terms with being a second class Canadian.
Canadian Cop
Thank you for your very moving story about the deep emotional reaction many of us have to these events. I find myself sometimes ashamed of being Canadian, something I never thought I would feel but I truly believe the real Canada is still there. What I am ashamed of is our present government that cares not for its citizens. Hang in there as I and others will continue to do. Thanks for your eloquence.
Thank you Canadian Cop in representing all Canadians in commemorating those who’ve fought and continue to fight for Canada.
I have to say that the alienation I felt right after our government signed the IGA was somewhat like feeling stateless. It felt awful. I quickly realized, however, it’s not Canada that did this but the Harper government. Governments come and go, some leaving legacies behind – lets not let Harper’s be a policy of discrimination in Canada. All Canadians deserve better.
Eloquently expressed, Canadian Cop. We all consider you to be an A-1 Canadian. The views of the clueless like Keddy? Pffft! We need to refuse to be defined by the likes of him or that foreign country which lies beneath the Canadian border.
Wow, thank you Canadian Cop. It is understandable that our anthem would bring out emotions about this whole situation. The park you describe is a wonderful example of what could have been. In a time where Europe is opening up borders and allowing free travel, the US is erecting walls.
Bravo. You are a first-class Canadian in my book!
That’s a great way to look at the situation, Bubblebustin. Yes, it’s not Canada that did this to us… just, sadly, the current government. I will remember that when I have my down moments, and I believe it will help.
I can fully appreciate your situation.
I have that feeling and then some. Some of us applied for citizenship in countries where we speak the language poorly and fit into the culture like round pegs in square holes. For me, FATCA is just a confirmation of my own status.
I’ve also, in the last days, coached some good friends whose one kid made the mistake of getting himself born in US some 10 years ago while his dad was working an expat gig. I coached them that he wasn’t likely to be ratted out, but that they should understand the situation and consider his get-out-of-jail-free card at the age of 18.
I kind of figured as much that the self righteous windbags in the US would have make the offer that couldn’t be refused.
On a related note, what kind of a friend would blackmail the rest of his friends other than that ‘exceptional’ friend?
I fully understand how you feel conflicted, Canadian Cop. After wrestling with the conflict of the reality vs. the indoctrination that I was fed in American schools while, and after I grew up, along with the treatment that we receive while we live abroad, it has only strengthened my desire to be Canadian and ONLY Canadian.
My family is now fully aware that I’m never coming back to the US to live, and that I’ll be applying for Canadian citizenship within the next couple of months. Some of them understand, and some of them, well, who knows? All I know is that what I want, what my wife wants, is what everyone else here wants as well, and that is to be free of this nightmare.
@Canadian Cop
I am quite moved by what you have written. I cannot truly put myself in your shoes. I feel like your post should be sent to each and every member of the Harper government and would hope at least a few would hang their heads in shame. Especially any who might happen to be veterans.
I have been to Campobello and Lubec (seem to remember a very funny sign for a greasy spoon right across the border, have a funny picture of it somewhere…) and East Machias, Eastport, Machias and Calais. We did a trip out that way one summer after a losing several close family members. It was a relief to get away and I felt quite at home; it was just like being a kid again, going an hour or two away for a weekend family reunion. People seemed friendly, and the only worry I remember was to get off the island before the last tide…..I can certainly picture what your upbringing was like and how utterly unexpected this “development” (for lack of a better word) must feel at this point in your life. I am likely a tad older than you and now begin to understand the bitterness I saw that pretty well took over my Dad’s life.
Maybe your feeling of disappointment in “Canada” is exactly the same as I feel about “America.” Just ideals. Not real. What was real was the experience you had with the people in your life and what was good about that was it didn’t matter which side of the border they were on. That’s the joyous part that you can hold onto. Someday, it won’t matter at all about all the rest………..
I appreciate your kind words. My feeling is that if one is lucky enough to have something they can do, it is an honor as well as a duty. I know you will understand what I mean. Don’t let them get you down. You have served and you have earned your right to be a true Canadian. Promise us all that you will remember that today not in spite of those who perpetuate this nonsense but because of them.
@administrators. I have thought a lot overnight about this and the many other moving and eloquent stories of the impact of CBT & FATCA on people’s lives emotionally, physically and financially.
I wonder if it would be useful to have a file on the website which just shows the stories with no dilution by comments. This could be a place where media, parliamentarians, anybody could come and directly and poignantly see the effects of these laws.
We see these stories posted when donating to ADCS, or here and there on various threads. I think putting them together in one place and kept up would help putting the human face on this tragedy.
Just a thought.
Canadian Cop: Reading your beautiful post is about as close to tears as I’ve come in recent years. I have been too angry to cry for the most part, but your post just about broke through. I, too, need to remember that Harper’s government is NOT “Canada”. Harper and his cronies will go down to defeat but Canada will still be here, “strong and free”. We will be here with her and, in the future, we will be unafraid once again. Stand tall today and sing your heart out! Just like the soldiers of the past who won our freedom, we will win this!
Thank you for your wonderful post!
I was very moved by your heart-felt story, too. I enjoyed a visit at Campobello Island in happier days before Obama/Harper. Thank you for your service as a veteran, and we stand with you in TRUE PATRIOT LOVE for our Canada.
Thank you for sharing your feelings Canadian Cop. Your story is a canary in the coal mine. No country should allow a law that causes anyone to feel so disenfranchised from their own country. What the Harper government has done by signing this IGA is dangerous to the very idea of what it means to be a citizen and worse they have done it to people like you who have already lived their lives in service to their nation! This is a black mark and shame upon Canada that I feel Harper will never live down. This feeling of not belonging is common among us. Neither country has bothered to protect us assuming and treating us all as criminals. It is heart breaking to read what you are experiencing. Let’s hope the law suit proves that that Canada will stand up for every single citizen equally!
Stand tall today, Canadian Cop.
What great comments I read here this morning from others feeling your raw emotion on such a day. The best one for all of us to remember, I believe and I hope, is about this not being Canada rejecting us, but the present Conservative government of Canada letting U.S. law override Canadian law instead of having a moral backbone to stand up for the rights of ALL Canadians?
Thank you from me and my family as well for all you have given Canada, YOUR COUNTRY, and for expressing so well the emotion it brings, especially today.
All this administration and the IRS wants is for you to renounce, because they fear you will claim your birth right and come here to live as a citizen after they have subdued all the current lemming like useful idiots who voted them into office and who will use the fourth unconstitutional branch of government, The civil service, to keep us subserviant to their needs of dictitorial socialists.
Whut?!?
If we were to renounce, how would the US get its money then?
What convenient group of scapegoats would they have if not us?
Who would be the man behind the tree after they agree to not tax you, and to not tax me?
Renounce? While they’re trying to build a financial Berlin Wall?!?
I now reject all Nationalism, we as a human species are all related. What a stupid notion that we must draw borders and wave silly pieces of cloth that we use to identify what team we’re on. My ancestry is British, Scottish, Irish and German, I was born in the US,raised in Canada, married an Italian. I represent everyone and no one.
Yesterday, I attended a graduation ceremony at the U of C, I proudly sat down through the playing of O Canada I think of myself as part of the human race and not member of team Canada, a country who has joined forces with other war mongering nations that I happily disassociate from.
“I don’t like ass kissers, flag wavers or team players. I like people who buck the system. Individualists. I often warn people: “Somewhere along the way, someone is going to tell you, ‘There is no “I” in team.’ What you should tell them is, ‘Maybe not. But there is an “I” in independence, individuality and integrity.'” Avoid teams at all cost. Keep your circle small. Never join a group that has a name. If they say, “We’re the So-and-Sos,” take a walk. And if, somehow, you must join, if it’s unavoidable, such as a union or a trade association, go ahead and join. But don’t participate; it will be your death. And if they tell you you’re not a team player, congratulate them on being observant.”
― George Carlin
Flags-
https://www.facebook.com/TheWarYouDontSee/photos/a.434890949865256.94132.164138183607202/803080996379581/?type=1&theater
Awesome post Canadian Cop. I wonder if any of the border babies whose parents were told by their hospital that their child`s birth would have to take place in the U.S. because of lack of facilities in Canada have thought about suing their province. If your provincial health care system is underfunded or poorly run and it results in you or your child being born in the U.S. then why not sue for costs? At the very least to recoup the high cost of doing an annual U.S. tax return , or perhaps the exorbitant costs to renounce the U.S. citizenship that you never would have sought in the first place.
Thank you for this Testimony Canadian Cop. It cuts deep.
Thanks for this, Canadian Cop. I appreciate your words immensely!
Perhaps someday, Sid. Perhaps we as human beings will one day evolve to where we don’t need flags and borders to define us, to segregate us, and to wage all sorts of nastiness against our fellow human being.
But until that happens, we’re best served by disassociating ourselves from the worst offenders.
MuzzledNoMore et al
Yes we deserve better than the Harper govt. and it may be defeated next year. The elephant in the room, however, is who replaces Harper? Justin Trudeau‘s resume is thinner than Obama’s, and the miniscule attention he has given to FATCA is shocking. The NDP will not be the governing party, barring a miracle, so what remains is for us is to catch the attention of Liberals. I’m not optimistic (which it pains me to say). Our disadvantage is twofold,I think: One, we’re largely middle-class folks with little to draw attention
to ourselves, and Two, we have American roots. We’re twice-screwed. Political relief will come from the Republicans if it comes at all unless Trudeau wakes up to this potentially large voting bloc. Anybody know any Liberal MPs?
Canadian Cop,
Would it be OK if I attached a copy of your story with a letter to some of my local media, the Globe and Mail and the next liberal candidate in my area to encourage them to cover the government response to the ADCS lawsuit. Your poignant account perfectly exemplifies the trauma associated with FATCA and the U.S. laws (CBT etc.)
You know, I do not believe that this feeling occurs uniquely on the Remembrance Day. In my case, it occurs every time I walk through my neighborhood. It occurs every time when they tell me I’m too old for this job. It occurs when I look at the RE prices that does not allow me to even dream about having a home. The level of the -ness depends on your ability to pay. The only distinction is the class distinction. We are indebted, confused, and weak, because we stopped fighting for the freedoms. We worship veterans, who went to wars to distant countries that had nothing to do with us, because our corrupted government said so. I will be proud Canadian in a moment when we will have a social justice, free education, and regulated housing market that would be accessible without having to take a mortgage for 30 years.