Mature, less mature and incremental: how federal politics touched us this week
OTTAWA — There’s so much Canada-red and white on Parliament Hill that when the hundreds of thousands of bleary-eyed partygoers finally finish toasting the country’s 150th birthday this weekend, they will be seeing Ottawa awash in a pink haze.
Viewing Canada through rose-coloured glasses was the tone of the week, as politicians repeatedly waxed poetic about the wonders of our history and the potential for our future.
The stand-off between police and indigenous protesters on the Hill, on the other hand, was anything but poetic. Activists aiming to build a teepee on the grounds came nose-to-nose with tense Mounties on Wednesday night. The RCMP arrested a handful. But they eventually shared tobacco with the group and helped move the teepee to a more prominent spot.
Government insiders had been bracing for demonstrations for months. But instead of the discord they feared would dominate Canada 150, there were weeks of discourse about reconciliation, culminating in Friday’s visit to the teepee by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire.