Aug 22
On Friday I quoted The Toronto Star‘s reference to Rick Mercer as one of Canada’s great educators.
They must be right, for this morning I woke to the sad news of Jack Layton’s death, and my first thoughts were of Rick Mercer.
No, not really.
But a lot of what I remember about Jack Layton came through The Rick Mercer Report.
Aug 19
This Friday I bring you another great, sadly unread, Canadian book.
Well, its not really a book. It’s a paper version of what you could watch every Tuesday night on the CBC at 8 pm. Well, every Tuesday between October and April, that is.
“No one on TV has done more to teach Canadians about their own country than Mercer,” says the Toronto Star.
And, despite the Toronto Star’s recent gaffe claiming Canucks GM Mike Gillis called Rick Rypien ‘crazy,’ (the writer quoted a vandalized Wikipedia article rather than the actual interview with Gillis), I think they got this one right.
There’s a good reason my niece’s Social Studies teacher used clips from The Rick Mercer Report in her Friday classes.
Rick is one of our national educators. And frankly, we could use one. Read more
On Wednesday I wrote about a sadly unknown feisty woman in history.
Today, I write about a sadly unread great Canadian book. It’s not the great Canadian novel. Though, it may make you want to write the great Canadian novel.
No, this is your manual on How to Be A Canadian. As evidenced by, ehrm, the title.
I bought this book ten years ago for my American husband. He wasn’t quite my husband yet. The prospect of moving to Canada from the greatest country in the world made his patriotic heart quiver with nervousness (as it should). But the Ferguson brothers description of what defines us (hint: Canadians are always defined by negation, as in, I am NOT American), unites us (see below), and makes us awesome (the ability to poke fun at every inch of our land, people and government), made David laugh and say, ‘ok, I might like it here.’ Read more
Lana Meredith 