On March 24th 2013, I left from Saskatoon International
heading to Ottawa. Upon landing at Ottawa International, the reception was
frosty as nobody knew anybody. This feeling quickly melted away for me because
of an all-boys street hockey game outside in the parking lot. After making up
our sleeping areas, we had an orientation session. The first night was
uneventful & busy.
Monday was easily one of my favourite days (However, I
can’t say I had anything approaching a “bad day”) as we visited Parliament Hill.
We went straight to the Commons Chamber and sat in on Question Period, where
there was a very spirited debate on the PM’s greeting of pandas rather than the
greeting of 250 Indigenous activists assembled on the Hill itself. Almost
immediately afterwards, I headed up to meet Ralph Goodale MP. We had a good
half-hour discussion covering a wide range of topics, from the 2013 budget to
Jean Chretien’s golfing. It was easily one of the best talks I’ve ever had.
After a quick breeze through downtown Ottawa, we went back to the Terry Fox
Canadian Youth Centre, the nucleus of the entire program.
On Tuesday we had a very enjoyable tour of Ottawa,
which included an inspiring stop at Rideau Hall where we walked up and down the
long path of the great house, where I reflected on the majesty of Canada,
considering we could walk right up to the Governor General’s residence without a
security check or security accompaniment. After that, the Dutch ambassador Wim
Geerts demonstrated just how strong of a relationship that the Netherlands &
Canada share. The third big event of the day was a demonstration of Canada’s
love for peace; by one of the finest servicemen I’ve ever had the honour of
meeting, Major Wayne MacCulloch. He spoke about his service abroad, including in
Kosovo & Haiti. After that, we went to the Beechwood Cemetery, where we
participated in a touching candlelight vigil in memory of those who made the
ultimate sacrifice for us & our freedoms.
Wednesday was a big discussion day, and we had presentations from 3 career
diplomats, and it was great of them to share their wide breadth of experience
& knowledge with us.
Thursday was the most fun day we had, we toured the
Diefenbunker at CFB Carp outside of Ottawa, and we got to see an Ottawa Senators
home game (they won 3-0 against the NY Rangers) After that, we demonstrated
“Vignettes of Canada”, which were skits showcasing our home provinces where my
fellow Saskatchewanians showed considerable improv talents.
Friday was the most memorable, and it forever shaped my vision of Canada. We
saw a citizenship ceremony, where I almost got emotional, because of the sheer
pride in the values that were being expressed at that time. After that, we had a
farewell banquet where everybody was dressed to the 9’s. We then had a talent
show where I MC’ed along with a very capable New Brunswicker who provided
exceptional French translation. Afterwards, we had a “talking stick” ceremony.
Everybody made their point, and I’m glad I was able to hear what they said.
There were quite a few emotional goodbyes, and I made a resolution to meet them
all again sometime in the future.
