Reader has “anthem pride”

June 15, 2016 · 0 Comments

An Open Letter to MP Leona Alleslev, Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill:

When I read recently that you are very active in trying to change the language of Canada’s national anthem to become gender neutral, I was puzzled.
How would this actually help women?
This appears to be a frivolous activity taking time and energy away from real issues that your government should be dealing with. I am a woman and none of my female friends have ever been the least bit offended by the language of our national anthem.
There is no legitimate reason to change wording in our anthem that is dear to so many Canadians.
Your response to why the wording should be changed was “because it is 2016”. That response reminds me of the type of flippant shallow response that teenagers use in response to a question that they don’t have a legitimate answer to.
This term is a conversation stopper and can be used to justify almost anything. We have serious issues involving abuse of women including violence against women, “honour killings”, human trafficking in the sex trade, female genital mutilation, murders of aboriginal women by their relatives and friends, etc.
A gender neutral national anthem has no connection to improving the lives of women and wasting time on this is not something to be proud of.

Shelley Wister
Aurora