Toronto city councilor pushes for ‘O Canada’ change
Interim city councillor Ceta Ramkhalawansingh will introduce a motion in council to request the federal government change the English words of Canada’s national anthem to be more gender inclusive.
In one of her only acts as a politician, interim city councillor Ceta Ramkhalawansingh wants to make history.
At Monday’s council meeting, Ramkhalawansingh will introduce a motion requesting the federal government change the English words of Canada’s national anthem to be more gender inclusive. If successful, singers of “O Canada” will eventually proclaim “true patriot love in all of us command” instead of “true patriot love in all thy sons command.”
Changing the national anthem requires an act of Parliament, not city council. But Ramkhalawansingh wants to push her colleagues in that direction.
“It’s my last city council meeting and I’m a feminist,” she said. “If you go back and look at the city’s history you will see the City of Toronto has provided leadership on many gender equality issues.”
The issue affects all women of Toronto, said councillor Pam McConnell, who seconded the motion.
“There’s a whole movement across Canada asking for this same thing. It’s terribly important for Canada’s biggest city to put forward their position while the government of Canada is evaluating these requests,” McConnell said.
The recommended changes are based on the national Sing All of Us campaign, founded by Senator Nancy Ruth, former prime minister Kim Campbell, author Margaret Atwood, former University of Toronto chancellor Vivienne Poy and educator Sally Goddard.
Before joining city council, Ramkhalawansingh was a municipal civil servant for three decades and retired in 2010 as manager of diversity management and community engagement for the city. She was appointed by city council in July to fill the vacant seat in Ward 20 after councillor Adam Vaughan was elected to the federal riding of Trinity-Spadina in a byelection. She’s not running in the Oct. 27 election.
Several attempts have been made to change the song: in 2010, the federal Conservatives promised a more gender-neutral wording but abruptly dropped the issue in the face of public opposition.
The issue came up again last fall, although polls suggested the majority of Canadians didn’t want to bother changing the words.
The original words, written in 1908, were neutral. “Thou dost in us command,” was later changed to “all thy sons command” and the song has undergone many iterations: in 1913, 1914, 1916, 1927 and 1980, when it became official through the National Anthem Act.
There have been nine private member’s bills since 1980 to change the words, according to the motion. In 1990, Toronto city council recommended changing the words “our home and native land” to “our home and cherished land” as well as the version advocated by Ramkhalawansingh.
“It’s such a small change with such a big embrace,” said Beth Atcheson of the Sing All of Us campaign. “Why are we tied to words that are written 100 years ago?”
source: Toronto city councillor pushes for ‘O Canada’ change | Toronto Star
.......................................
HUH, PC'ers (shaking head)
Interim city councillor Ceta Ramkhalawansingh will introduce a motion in council to request the federal government change the English words of Canada’s national anthem to be more gender inclusive.
In one of her only acts as a politician, interim city councillor Ceta Ramkhalawansingh wants to make history.
At Monday’s council meeting, Ramkhalawansingh will introduce a motion requesting the federal government change the English words of Canada’s national anthem to be more gender inclusive. If successful, singers of “O Canada” will eventually proclaim “true patriot love in all of us command” instead of “true patriot love in all thy sons command.”
Changing the national anthem requires an act of Parliament, not city council. But Ramkhalawansingh wants to push her colleagues in that direction.
“It’s my last city council meeting and I’m a feminist,” she said. “If you go back and look at the city’s history you will see the City of Toronto has provided leadership on many gender equality issues.”
The issue affects all women of Toronto, said councillor Pam McConnell, who seconded the motion.
“There’s a whole movement across Canada asking for this same thing. It’s terribly important for Canada’s biggest city to put forward their position while the government of Canada is evaluating these requests,” McConnell said.
The recommended changes are based on the national Sing All of Us campaign, founded by Senator Nancy Ruth, former prime minister Kim Campbell, author Margaret Atwood, former University of Toronto chancellor Vivienne Poy and educator Sally Goddard.
Before joining city council, Ramkhalawansingh was a municipal civil servant for three decades and retired in 2010 as manager of diversity management and community engagement for the city. She was appointed by city council in July to fill the vacant seat in Ward 20 after councillor Adam Vaughan was elected to the federal riding of Trinity-Spadina in a byelection. She’s not running in the Oct. 27 election.
Several attempts have been made to change the song: in 2010, the federal Conservatives promised a more gender-neutral wording but abruptly dropped the issue in the face of public opposition.
The issue came up again last fall, although polls suggested the majority of Canadians didn’t want to bother changing the words.
The original words, written in 1908, were neutral. “Thou dost in us command,” was later changed to “all thy sons command” and the song has undergone many iterations: in 1913, 1914, 1916, 1927 and 1980, when it became official through the National Anthem Act.
There have been nine private member’s bills since 1980 to change the words, according to the motion. In 1990, Toronto city council recommended changing the words “our home and native land” to “our home and cherished land” as well as the version advocated by Ramkhalawansingh.
“It’s such a small change with such a big embrace,” said Beth Atcheson of the Sing All of Us campaign. “Why are we tied to words that are written 100 years ago?”
source: Toronto city councillor pushes for ‘O Canada’ change | Toronto Star
.......................................
HUH, PC'ers (shaking head)
