Brief Comment from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper
The Canada Day edition of The Globe and Mail – dubbed Canada’s ‘national newspaper” for our readers out there from other countries – ran a feature piece called “147 Reasons To Love Canada.”
Late Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson
One of those reasons, stated a contributor to the feature, is Lester B. Pearson, who served as Canada’s Prime Minister 50 years ago, from 1963 to 1968. And this is what a contributor to the feature, Canadian scientist and author Steven Pinker, had to say about this remarkable person, who was born in the last decade of the 19th century, and yet who left a legacy that has shaped the character of our country until this day.
“Deceptively dull, he (Lester B. Pearson) had a life of derring-do in sports, the military and diplomacy that would give James Bond a run for his money. He gave Canada many of the things it’s proudest of: universal health care, bilingualism, the abolition of capital punishment, non-involvement in the Vietnam War, and a national identity, symbolized by a new flag that was distinct from the Mother Country,” wrote Pinker.
“Most important, he won a Nobel Prize which (unlike a certain other North American leader) he actually deserved, for conceiving and implementing one of humanity’s greatest investments: the armed peacekeeping force.”
Pearson’s legacy, which the current government of Stephen Harper continues working to deconstruct, is a a reminder of why I have felt so proud to be a Canadian, just as I am sure it is for many others.
We could certainly use another leader of Pearson’s courage, compassion and vision now.
(NOW IT IS YOUR TURN. Niagara At Large encourages you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)
Niagara At Large 
A couple of years ago while visiting Niagara-on-the-lake I was surprised to see a gathering of what appeared to be military service people and on approaching I soon realized it was “Polish Servicemen in the Uniform of the Polish Army” Wondering what was unfolding i was soon to be told and that was; apparently a contingent of young Polish Canadians from the Niagara-on-the-lake area had had years ago volunteered for military service and all died in combat. This gathering was in honor of these brave souls and was in commemoration of their valor and love of country.
It seems the Polish Army attended along with a contingent of American and Canadian soldier.
While there I noticed an American Army vehicle and a young CANADIAN soldier wearing a BLUE BERET standing along side of the vehicles…I was shocked to see the BLUE BERET for I had assumed that HARPER and MacKAY had BURIED and/or DESTROYED this symbol of PEACE that so many young Canadian men and women who had stood between advisories and faced them down had worn with pride and Canadian Dignity.
I WILL ALWAYS REGARD THE “BLUE BERET” WITH PRIDE AND A SENSE OF SERENITY…… AND TO THOSE YOUNG CANADIAN WARRIORS OF PEACE……..GOD BLESS YOU STEVEN AND DOUG for keeping this legend alive
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