Who Were Calixa Lavallee and George Stanley?

 

Callixa Lavallee and George Stanley: how many Canadians know these names? Would today’s schools teach anything about them, they being part of Canadian colonial history?

Lavallee (1842-1891) was the French Canadian performer who composed O Canada in 1880, which finally officially became the national anthem in 1980 (replacing God Save the Queen), and George Stanley designed our flag – the elegantly simple red maple leaf on white background. Its design was chosen for its freedom from racial and tribal subtexts; surely we could all get behind a native tree? Maybe people could then, back in 1965 when it was adopted by Parliament, but we haven’t stayed behind it. Now we think anything that happened before the past fifteen ideological minutes should be condemned as “colonial”.

George Stanley, who died in 2001, was an academic, a military man, one-time Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick (1982-87) and recipient of the Order of and the Companion of Canada. That’s enough to blacken anyone’s name as colonialist. So has his statue been toppled yet? Does he even have a statue? His name isn’t bandied about like Macdonald, Campbell Scott, and Ryerson – although you’d think our flag-designer would have something to show for the mark he made on our history.

There appears to be only one statue of Stanley (plus a separate memorial plaque), but to reveal its whereabouts would be just asking for statue-toppling, or paint-throwing. George was rendered in copper seated on a bench with notebook in hand, perhaps checking a literary or historical reference … or sketching a flag-design. He looks quintessentially Canadian, leaning casually backward, wearing a tie, one leg crossed comfortably over the other, relaxed, musing, thoughtful. He leans back but you can tell that when upright he would stand straight. From the photo of his statue we get the impression he’d greet passers-by with equitable courtesy, exhibiting an “I am what I am” quality reminiscent of the subtle simplicity we might associate with a handsome dignified old maple tree.

Resting in safe obscurity his statue might survive, but for how long will Canada get to keep its flag, its anthem, and their references?

Municipalities demand elimination of white space from the Canadian flag

There's too much white space on the Canadian flag, charge municipalities and ethnic groups. They demand that the colours be changed to orange on a brown background. 

"What were they thinking in 1965 when this flag was adopted?" they ask. "Didn't they know white equals racist?"

Uh … no.  It seemed about as inoffensive and non-ideo-ethnically-divisive as a flag could be. It has a LEAF. Canada's full of LEAVES. 

Still, say those determined to be ideologically offended: "If there's a statue of that flag's designer (George Stanley) it needs to be knocked down. We will search the civic squares and parks where it may be lurking -- 'We shall fight it on the beaches, we shall fight it on the landing grounds, we shall fight it in the fields and in the streets …' "

Civil rights associations, however, advise that "caution" would be wise. Should there be a referendum? 

"No!" say anti-flaggists. "Referendums that include the whole voting public are artifacts of systemic colonialism smacking of systemic parliamentary f---g systemic democracy. We need to get past all that historical garbage."

The Society For Sane Thinking has issued a statement of disagreement. "Why adopt a background of orange and gloomy muddy brown on the flag?" they ask. "That seems to represent muddy thinking." Whereupon the rights groups charge that that just proves it.

Asked for their opinion, people in the street have varied reactions.

"Canada has a flag?" asks one.

"What a hue and cry about crying over a hue!" exclaims an exasperated senior.

"Canada Day should be a National Day of Pennant-Penance," suggests a morose skateboarder with dreadlocks.

Should George Stanley's statues be removed, if any exist, asks the journalist?

"Dunno," shrugs a teenager. "Is he the dude who made the Stanley Cup? Can't de-platform that."

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