Category Archives: Canada

The Blacks in Canada

28 Sunday Jun 2020

Posted by in Aboriginals, Black history, Canada

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Depiction of Loyalist refugees on their way to the Canadas during the American Revolution,  (Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

The image above belongs to: https://howardpyle.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html

 

The Royal Proclamation of 1763

  • the Capitulation of Montreal
  • from 1760 to 1763
  • the Royal Proclamation 1763

We have seen that the slaves in Nouvelle-France were mostly the Indigenous people of North America who themselves had slaves. Slavery between Amerindians is humiliating, but it is not racism. Amerindian nations fought one another and the better warrior enslaved rival and lesser warriors.  For the purpose of this post, suffice it to know that as France grew more vulnerable. France was outnumbered. After losing the battle of the Plains of Abraham, thus named because the land where the battle was fought belonged to fisherman Abraham Martin, Montreal capitulated, but its native allies were no longer protected. (See The Capitulation of Montreal, Canadian Encyclopedia.)  In fact, they were at the mercy of the inhabitants of Britain’s Thirteen Colonies. They feared a land rushes, but Chief Pontiac, an Ottawa leader, fought the Thirteen Colonies quite successfully, which he could not do indefinitely.

 

Pontiac-chief-artist-impression-414px.jpg

No authentic images of Pontiac are known to exist. This interpretation was painted by John Mix Stanley. (Photo and Caption Credit: Wikipedia)

To protect Amerindians, England issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763, providing Aboriginals with a vast reserve. The territory was large and nearly impenetrable. Later, the Act of Quebec (1774) ended attempts to assimilate the former New France. A very large province of Quebec was created, which, in the eyes of American patriots, was an Intolerable Act.

The Thirteen Colonies
Upper and Lower Canadas

The light pink shows the land where the Indigenous population of Canada could live without fear of losing their land. In 1775, Louisiana belonged to Spain. In the second map, we see Quebec as it was in 1791, under the Constitutional Act. We also see part of Rupert’s Land.

The Revolutionary War

The future United States signed a Declaration of Independence on 4th July 1776 and it then fought its Revolutionary War, or War of Independence, from 1675 to 1783, defeating Britain. This victory was formalized by the Treaty of Paris 1783.

United Empire Loyalists: the Constitutional Act of 1791

  • shift in demographics
  • slavery
  • White loyalists and Black loyalists

However, among Americans, some families and individuals did not approve of independence. They fled to the large British province of Quebec. To help United Empire Loyalists, the large Quebec was divided into two Canadas: Upper Canada and, lower down the St Lawrence, Lower Canada. The Constitutional Act, which divided the Province of Quebec, was legislated in 1791.

The Constitutional Act did not divide the province of Quebec into an English-language Upper Canada and a French-language Lower Canada. The Eastern Townships,[1] the area of Quebec where I live, was given to the Loyalists and their slaves, whom they were allowed to bring to Canada as part of their property. The Loyalists also settled in Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The arrival of the Loyalists was a blessing and a curse. The future Canada welcomed the Loyalists, Whites and Blacks. However, the citizens of the former New France were a minority.

White Loyalists and Black Loyalists

There were Black loyalists who had earned their freedom by fighting with Britain against the future United States had earned their freedom. They settled in Ontario and New Brunswick, but most tried to settle in Nova Scotia.

 

AricanNovaScotianByCaptain_William_Booth1788

The earliest known image of a black Nova Scotian, in British Canada, in 1788. He was a wood cutter in Shelburne, Province of Nova Scotia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Blacks in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia would be Black slaves’ best destination. Although the Imperial Act of 1790 assured slave owners that they could retain Black slaves, in 1788, Nova Scotia abolitionist James Drummond MacGregor from Pictou “published the first anti-slavery literature in Canada and began purchasing slaves’ freedom” (…).  He set an example. Many Nova Scotia Loyalists freed their slaves. (See Slavery in Canada, Wikipedia.)

However, a total of 3,500 Black Loyalists left the current United States. Nova Scotia would be home to many, were it not that white Loyalists attacked Black Loyalists.  The Shelburne Riots that took place in July 1784 revealed racism. White Loyalists were given the best land, which they felt entitled to as White Loyalists. So, in 1792, 1300 Black loyalists left for Sierra Leone, where they would be free and would govern themselves.

Until recent reforms in immigration, about 37% of Canada’s Black community lived in Nova Scotia.

The Act Against Slavery, 1793 (Wikipedia)

Vrooman vs Cooley

Ontario slave owners opposed the enfranchisement of Black slaves. In Ontario the case of Chloe Cooley, is a sad example of entitlement. Chloe tried to escape an abusive owner, Sergeant Adam Vrooman. He had bound her in a boat in an attempt to take her to the State of New York, to sell her. She protested violently and the event, witnessed by William Grisley, led to the passage of the Act Against Slavery of 1793. On 14 March 1793, The event was reported to Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe. However, Vrooman had not broken the law. Loyalists could bring their slaves to British North America. He also noted that in 1760, the French inhabitants of Lower Canada had been allowed to keep their slaves. Yet, despite the reluctance of the several representatives of the government of Upper Canada, the Act Against Slavery of 1793 was legislated.

Let us read the letter Sergeant Vrooman wrote to the authorities. He used the law to perpetuate an abuse. In this respect, his letter is a classic:

[…] been informed that an information had been lodged against him to the Attorney General relative to his proceedings in his Sale of said Negroe Woman; your Petitioner had received no information concerning the freedom of Slaves in this Province, except a report which prevailed among themselves, and if he has transgressed against the Laws of his Country by disposing of Property (which from the legality of the purchase from Benjamin Hardison) he naturally supposed to be his own, it was done without knowledge of any Law being in force to the contrary.
(See Chloe Cooley and the Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia.) 

Laws can be used to wrong a human being. In this respect, the fate of Chloe Clooney is a classic. In the eyes of slave-owning Loyalists, ownership had no limits. If so, what a nightmare for a woman.

The arrival of the Loyalists led to the Constitutional Act of 1791, which separated a large Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada. French-speaking Canadiens lived in Lower Canada, part of which was the Eastern Townships, given to Loyalists. I cannot make sense of the Constitutional Act of 1871. It received royal assent in June 1791 and it seems an attempt to assimilate French-speaking Canadians.

The Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada received royal assent on 9 July 1793, but in Upper Canada, slavery was not abolished until 1833. However, the Underground Railroad, helped slaves flee to Canada. United Empire Loyalists had taken their slaves with them, as property. But Blacks that escaped were no longer owned.

Conclusion

I will conclude here. We must introduce the Underground Railroad, an organization that helped Black Slaves flee to Canada. I am reading The Slave in Canada by William Renwick Riddell. It is an Internet Archive publication. I have looked for videos and saw one about the Royal Proclamation of 1763. It features a rush for land which is called freedom. It is as though the proclamation deprived the colonists of their freedom. Does freedom allow human beings to displace and destroy other human beings? An Aboriginal was not seen as a person, nor was a mortal whose colour was not white. I must close.

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Sources and Resources

 

Love to everyone ♥

I’ve not been well and may need to close my blog.

_______________
[1] “Under the terms of the Constitutional Act of 1791, the Eastern Townships were open to settlement and a land rush followed. Most of the 3,000 or so settlers came from the United States. A few were Loyalists, at least in spirit, but most simply wanted land and had no strong feeling about nationality. Many more immigrated from the British Isles, including Gaelic-speaking Scots.” (See Eastern Townships, Wikipedia)

Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea)

Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea)
(courtesy National Gallery of Canada/5777) Painting of Joseph Brant by William Berczy, circa 1807, oil on canvas.

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28 June 2020
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Rupert’s Land: Amerindians, Métis, and the Red River Colony

14 Sunday Jun 2020

Posted by in Aboriginals, Canada

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a man wearing a microphone

Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation

Above is a picture of Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. Mr Adam claims he was the victim of police brutality, which is unacceptable. However, although they may be the very devil, I would hesitate to put The Royal Canadian Mounted Police on trial. In my life, they have done what the police is supposed to do: to protect and to serve.

—ooo—

In fact, the killing of George Floyd has led to accusations, resignations, dismissals, or a form of revisionism. Some of these are convincingly justifiable, others, less so. There can be no doubt that there are rotten apples in nearly every basket, but although racism is a serious problem in the United States, I could not extend the term “racist” to every American. Too many Americans oppose racism for me to generalize. Moreover, Barack Obama, an African-American, was elected to the Presidency of the United States and proved one of its finest presidents.

Macdonald, Sir John A.

Sir John A MacDonald (The Canadian Encyclopedia)

 

cbb299c8-c0b7-460c-add9-2e245342dc9b (1)

The Métis provisional government (Wikipedia)

Aboriginals in Canada

  • Rupert’s Land
  • The Royal Charter of 1670
  • Aboriginal title
  • What of the Red River Colony?

I nevertheless researched the topic of Aboriginals in Canada and Blacks in Canada. However, this post is about the indigenous people of Canada. It cannot go further. It is about Amerindians after Confederation and the “purchase” of Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company, chartered in 1670. In Wikipedia’s relevant entry, by virtue of the Royal Charter, Rupert’s Land, which was bought by the first four confederated provinces of the future Canada, could not include territory already settled and inhabited by the indigenous people of North America.

However, this did not settle the issue of Aboriginal title over the land. At the time the Royal Charter was granted in 1670, the Crown did not have the authority to give jurisdiction of sovereignty over the territory already settled and inhabited by the indigenous people of North America.
(Rupert’s Land, Wikipedia)

Therefore, it appears that, by virtue of the Royal Charter of 1670, the “purchase” of Rupert’s Land by the first confederated provinces precluded settling land that was settled by the indigenous people of North America.

For that matter, could the first four provinces of the Canadian Confederation resettle the Red River Colony? The Red River Colony was established by the Earl of Selkirk who purchased and settled the Colony to give a home to dispossessed Scottish crofters (See Crofting, Wikipedia). However, the Red River Colony was soon home to retired voyageurs, and to several members of the disbanded Régiment de Meuron and De Watteville Régiment. These were Swiss mercenaries and veterans of the War of 1812. The Red River Colony was multicultural and bilingual. It was also home to English-speaking Métis and French-speaking Métis. It was Louis Riel’s Canada, officially bilingual and bicultural, and eventually described as multicultural. But it wasn’t so until the Official Languages’ Act was passed, in 1969. The Red River Colony was bought and settled land.

There are times when “officials” act too quickly, but under the Royal Charter, could the Red River Colony be part of Rupert’s Land?  This is questionable. Yet, after the purchase of Rupert’s Land, descendants of United Empire Loyalists rushed west to get land. But it was not a Wild West.

Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald first began planning a permanent force to patrol the North-West Territories after the Dominion of Canada purchased the territory from the Hudson’s Bay Company.
(See The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Wikipedia.)

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was established in 1873 and was first named the North West Mounted Rifles and renamed the North-West Mounted Police. Although Quebec and Ontario have their own provincial police corps, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is Canada’s national police force, so, as soon as it was appointed, settling west in Canada was policed. But, in a policed Canada Amerindians were nevertheless sent to reservations and French-speaking Canadians had to live in the Province of Quebec because of the Orange Order. Sir John A. MacDonald and three other Prime Ministers of Canada were members of the Orange Order.

In an earlier article, I quoted the Canadian Encyclopedia:

Its members generally viewed Roman Catholics and French Canadians as politically disloyal or culturally inferior.
(See Orange Order in Canada, The Canadian Encyclopedia.)

I will close by stating, once again, that the purchase of Rupert’s Land was not consistent with the Royal Charter. Officials may not have read the details or may have reached an agreement that ignored the Royal Charter. Land was taken that belonged to Amerindians. They were not given a word to say, nor were the Métis. As for the use of French outside Quebec, the Orange Order (Wikipedia), Orange order (The Canadian Encyclopedia) would not allow it. They had no tolerance for the French and despised Catholics. Four Prime Ministers of Canada were Orangemen. Louis Riel’s Canada was born in 1969, when the Official Languages Act was passed, but Amerindians have lived on reservations, and I wonder whether this arrangement was the best. Confederation was followed by sending children to Residential Schools. Canada’s aboriginals were compensated for the harm inflicted on children who attended these schools.

During the years I taught at Saint Francis Xavier University, a young woman came to talk to me. She was taking a course I taught. She told me she was Amerindian and that she would therefore pass the course. I could not understand what she wanted. In the end, I had to tell her that I did not base grades on race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, religion, etc., but on the quality of one’s performance. She could, however, come to see me, if she experienced difficulties with the subject matter. She could also phone me at the office or at home. I would help.

Before closing, I should note that there is confusion concerning the word “race.” In French, race means “breed” and “race.” In l’abbé Lionel Groulx’s L’Appel de la race (The Call of the Race) race is breed or roots. I never included L’Appel de la race as necessary reading in my classes on French-Canadian literature. However, it is central to what is called “la question des écoles,” French-language schools outside Quebec, an issue one cannot remove from the discussion.

A discussion of the War of 1812, is relevant to both the Amerindian and Métis populations. Individual Amerindian chiefs negotiated treaties with the White. The famous Tecumseh opposed these treaties. He favored a centralized body of indigenous people. Tecumseh was killed on 5 October 1813, at the Battle of the Thames during the War of 1812.

There is/was racism in Canada and there were racial wrongs. Many Chinese died building a rail road across ranges of mountains. Moreover, the Japanese were sent to camps. As for the Indigenous people of Canada, they had a right to their land, and French-speaking Canadians should have been allowed to move west. They faced the school question, la question des écoles, which takes us back to Louis Riel. It is possible that the Royal Charter was amended officially, but I doubt it.

I must read further, but for the time being, I would urge demonstrators to be extremely careful. Covid-19 could kill millions. Demonstrations are very dangerous.

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Sources and Resources

The Canadian Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
Britannica
Newspapers
http://nationtalk.ca/story/featured-video-of-the-day-joseph-boyden-on-louis-riel-and-gabriel-dumont

Love to everyone 💕

© Jean-Marc Philippe Duval, studio Spinner, Nancy – SACEM, Paris.

BB1568zS

Theresa Tam, Canada’s Top Doctor

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Micheline Bourbeau-Walker, PhD
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Chronicling Covid-19 (18), Pause

06 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by in Canada, Covid-19

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Theresa Tam, Promoting Vaccine Confidence.jpg

Tam speaks at a 2019 World Health Assembly event in Geneva (Wikipedia)

Dr Theresa Tam

The novel Coronavirus has taken many lives in Canada, 90% of which were in Quebec and Ontario. Moreover, we have no way of knowing whether persons who have recovered will be as they were before they contracted Covid-19. I caught the H1N1 virus in early February 1976 and developed what used to be called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It is now called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Covid-19 could trigger other illnesses.

Quebec is reopening, but the number of cases is nevertheless rising though not significantly. It has been ascertained that fewer people are infected on days when rules are observed. Social distancing and wearing a face mask protect people. However, the government is testing everyone.

As you know, most of the victims were living in long-term care facilities. Premier Legault could not recruit the health care givers he needed. So he has taken action. Ten thousand individuals will be trained as orderlies. Training will be condensed, but it is not for the Armed Forces to be doctors and health workers outside the Armed Forces are working as though they had been dispatched to a mission abroad and are remunerated accordingly.

The training of orderlies cannot be delayed due to the expected second wave of Covid-19. The Government must act now. The last time I looked at figures, there were 55,000 applications. Orderlies will be paid close to $50,000.00 a year, with all fringe benefits, such as a pension plan. Moreover, the Armed Forces leave in mid-September. They were a blessing.

It would be my opinion that Premiers have worked responsibly. I did not know monsieur Legault, but the pandemic has lifted a veil. Moreover, Premier Legault has appointed a Secretary for Anglophone Affairs. We must live in harmony with one another.

This logic may seem a little a cracked, but it has occurred to me that Anglophone Canadians may wish for French-Canadians to keep their language. We owe Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Justin Trudeau’s father, an officially bilingual Canada. Later, he described Canada as multicultural.

I am nor returning to the killing of George Floyd. This post is a pause.

—ooo—

According to CBC News figures, as of May 5 there were more than 62,000 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases and 4,166 people had died.

There are 93,726 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

  • Quebec: 52,143 confirmed (including 4,885 deaths, 17,098 resolved)
  • Ontario: 29,403 confirmed (including 2,357 deaths, 23,208 resolved)
  • Alberta: 7,091 confirmed (including 146 deaths, 6,611 resolved)
  • Nova Scotia: 1,058 confirmed (including 61 deaths, 995 resolved)
  • Saskatchewan: 648 confirmed (including 11 deaths, 608 resolved)
  • Manitoba: 287 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 284 resolved), 11 presumptive
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 256 resolved)
  • New Brunswick: 136 confirmed (including 1 death, 120 resolved)
  • Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)
  • Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
  • Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)
  • Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
  • Nunavut: No confirmed cases
  • Total: 93,726 (11 presumptive, 93,715 confirmed including 7,637 deaths, 51,501 resolved)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2020.

Love to everyone 💕

Gabriel Fauré‘s Cantique de Jean Racine
Conductor Paavo Järvi

Two men on an asphalt surface, behind a black van on which the letters "EAPOLIS" is seen, with a license plate ending "ICE". One man has light skin, a blue shirt with identifying badges on his chest and shoulder, black pants and boots, and black sunglasses pushed to the top of his close-shorn head. He is kneeling with his left knee and upper shin resting on the neck of the other man, and his right knee out of sight behind the van. The other man is lying prone, with his left cheek pressed against the asphalt close to a painted line. He is dark-skinned, with similarly short hair, and is not wearing a shirt; His mouth is slightly open, his eyes are closed with his eyebrows raised, and his arms are down, not visible behind the van. The kneeling man has his left hand in a dark glove, with his right arm hidden behind the van, and is looking at the viewer with his eyebrows slightly lifted and mouth slightly open. A frame from a witness video, showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck (Wikipedia)[/caption]

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Chronicling Covid-19 (17): Agnus Dei

30 Saturday May 2020

Posted by in Canada, Covid-19, Pandemic

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Agnello di Dio, particolare della Crocefissione di Matthias Grünewald (it.wikipedia)

I have already reported that thousands of young people flouted the rules on Saturday 23 May, in Toronto. It has been suggested that the lockdown had flustered these young people. The lockdown has been difficult for all of us, but despite the gradual relaxation of confinement measures, the coronavirus remains and the young people had to obey regulations. Transmission of the novel coronavirus is rapid and, in too many cases, deadly. I hope the students will now join or cheer the people fighting Covid-19.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/canada-surpasses-7000-coronavirus-deaths/ar-BB14Okk6

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2020/05/30/montreal–letat-durgence-renouvele-jusquau-4-juin

See the source image

Montreal (mtl.blog)

https://www.mtlblog.com/things-to-do/canada/qc/montreal/covid-19-in-montreal-sparks-balcony-concert-this-friday

The pandemic in Canada is making more victims. Quebec still leads and Premier Legault has asked the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, to deploy the military. It is not altogether normal for the Military to work in long-term care facilities. Their role had to be defined.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/troops-on-pandemic-duty-to-get-benefits-paid-to-soldiers-serving-abroad/ar-BB14MClK?ocid=msedgdhp

Quebec is currently recruiting a large number of orderlies who will receive a decent salary. Their training will be condensed, the need being enormous and urgent. The province is hiring a small army of health care workers.

As you know, their syndicate negotiated for medical doctors, fees up to 2,500$ (1,635.25 Euros) per day, which the government cannot afford. Day-care is also very inexpensive in Quebec, and tuition fees are the lowest in Canada. Combined, such programmes may not be sustainable.

There are Covid-19 cases in the education system. Schools were reopened outside Montreal, but no parent should allow his or her child to attend school. It means hiring help, but help may not be too expensive. There’s no point. One infection multiplies into several infections. Although lockdowns are a form of paralysis, they may be required if citizens do not see that precautions are the freedom they possess. We need certain services and, although the governments are generous, people want to return to work.

Our Prime Minister does not want to offend others, but Canada should not open its border to the United States. Both the United States and Canada need to protect their citizens. A New Brunswick doctor travelled to Quebec and returned to New Brunswick without respecting the 14-day quarantine. He or she had to be suspended. That doctor is a possible and probable source of infection. One does not travel to Quebec, especially Montreal. It’s not safe.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/2-new-coronavirus-cases-in-nb-doctor-connected-to-outbreak-in-campbellton-suspended/ar-BB14LHIj?ocid=msedgdhp

One cannot say that the pandemic has benefits, but Covid-19 has exposed flaws in the system and monsieur Legault spoke to the press in both French and English. Both Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Quebec Premier called in the military. I don’t know how Ontario doctors responded, but, to my knowledge, Quebec could not recruit the medical doctors it needed. I realize that there were risks. Yet, circumstances were and remain dire.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/ford-says-hes-done-taking-bullets-for-union-members-who-wouldnt-id=msedgdhpocid=msedgdhpnspect-care-homes/ar-BB14Ipwr?ocid=msedgdhp

The world is being tested, but if we work together, all will be normal and, perhaps, better than it has been.

—ooo—

The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 2:35 p.m. ET on May 30, 2020:

There are 90,161 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

  • Quebec: 50,651 confirmed (including 4,439 deaths, 16,070 resolved)
  • Ontario: 27,533 confirmed (including 2,247 deaths, 21,353 resolved)
  • Alberta: 6,979 confirmed (including 143 deaths, 6,218 resolved)
  • British Columbia: 2,562 confirmed (including 164 deaths, 2,170 resolved)
  • Nova Scotia: 1,056 confirmed (including 60 deaths, 978 resolved)
  • Saskatchewan: 641 confirmed (including 10 deaths, 570 resolved)
  • Manitoba: 283 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 278 resolved), 11 presumptive
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 255 resolved)
  • New Brunswick: 128 confirmed (including 120 resolved)
  • Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)
  • Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
  • Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)
  • Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
  • Nunavut: No confirmed cases
  • Total: 90,161 (11 presumptive, 90,150 confirmed including 7,073 deaths, 48,068 resolved)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2020.

The Canadian Press

Love to everyone💕

Mozart’s Coronation Mass
MOZART. KARAJAN. POPE JOHN PAUL ii. CORONATION MASS. AGNUS DEI. LIVE. KATHLEEN BATTLE: Soprano. WIENER PHILHARMONIKER. 06/29/1985.

Agnus Dei, c.1635 - c.1640 - Francisco de Zurbaran

Agnus Dei de Francisco de Zurbarán (wikiart.org)

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Covid-19 (16): The Freedom we have …

28 Thursday May 2020

Posted by in Canada, Covid-19, The Armed Forces

≈ 4 Comments

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Dr Li Wenliang (Photo Credit: The Standard, UK)

a group of people standing in front of a crowd: A statement released by the City late Saturday night says thousands of people packed Trinity Bellwoods Park on one of the first warm days of the year, flouting physical distancing regulations.

© Dr. Eileen de Villa / Twitter A statement released by the City late Saturday night says thousands of people packed Trinity Bellwoods Park on one of the first warm days of the year, flouting physical distancing regulations.

Looking at the photograph above, I cannot help remember earlier posts. You  may recall that once the lockdown was being lifted, Quebec Premier François Legault urged Montrealers returning to the workplace to wear a face mask. The province was about to reopen, but the virus had not gone away. A lady, a journalist I suspect, stated that the Premier, monsieur Legault, was walking a fine line. He wasn’t. I believe the lady was referring to Quebec’s Bill 21, which imposes complete secularization. But the wearing of a mask is a health measure.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford listens to speakers at the opening of a new Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto on Monday, May 25, 2020.

© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn Ontario Premier Doug Ford listens to speakers at the opening of a new Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto on Monday, May 25, 2020.

Freedom

  • an anecdote
  • flouting rules
  • Trinity Bellwoods Park

I once told my students that they had kept me awake most of the night and that they should know better. It was frosh (first year students) week. Someone objected that students were adults and that consequently they were free.

Free, I exclaimed? First, I said that since they were adults and therefore free, I would no longer telephone campus security, but the RCMP (the Royal Canadian Mounted Police). Second, I explained to them that one’s freedom ended where the freedom of others began and that this they had to remember for the rest of their life.

On 23 May, thousands of sun worshippers gathered in Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods Park defying all regulations. They did not stand at a distance from one another and they did not wear a mask, which is now recommended by Canada’s top doctor. Premier Doug Ford had to extend the state of emergency.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/trinity-bellwoods-park-to-get-painted-physical-distancing-circles/ar-BB14HWRN?ocid=msedgdhp

We were unprepared, but they knew…

When outbreaks of Covid-19 reached Canada, we were not prepared. But last Saturday, if a person did not know about aggressivity and transmissibility of novel coronavirus, that person had spent the entire lockdown in a coma. Therefore, it would be my opinion that these  young people were engaging in reckless endangerment of human life, no less. There was a flare-up, une flambée, which forced Premier Ford to extend the state of emergency. 

https://www.cp24.com/news/it-s-selfish-officials-disappointed-to-see-large-crowds-at-downtown-toronto-park-amid-pandemic-1.4951953

Canadians have received a great deal of information regarding Covid-19. At no point, did anyone say that the pandemic was over. On the contrary, Premiers and top doctors stated, in both English and French, that Covid-19 was here to stay and recommended the wearing a mask after the lockdown. It may be that Covid-19 will never go away completely. In Montreal, the situation is still critical, but I have not heard of violations of regulations. People wear their mask. In fact, persons using public transportation will be given a face mask and subways will not be crowded. It must end.

The Freedom we have …

It would be useful for people to look upon social distancing and the wearing of a mask as the freedom we have. The virus may linger, but if precautions are taken, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, doctors, opthalmologists, dentists, taxi drivers, etc. will be available. We need services. During the lockdown, nearly all services were closed. As well, thousands of people are now tested everyday.

The Armed Forces

Members of the Canadian Armed Forces were not doing what they do normally. But we could not have managed without them. They worked relentlessly in long-term care facilities, cleaning and sanitizing these facilities, and helping feed patients. Premier Legault will ask that they remain until September while CHSLDs are refurbished and air-conditioned. This is work that cannot be postponed. The province is also hiring healthcare givers for these nursing homes. The Armed Forces have now been called in Ontario where long-term care facilities are built like Quebec’s and are understaffed.

To my knowledge, no one in my building has been infected.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/military-report-reveals-what-sector-has-long-known-ontarios-nursing-homes-are-in-trouble/ar-BB14EL4s?ocid=msedgdhp

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/video/news/military-report-on-quebec-long-term-care-homes-released/vi-BB14GTxd?ocid=msedgdhp

Would that Dr. Li Wenliang had been heard. Instead, he was silenced, reprimanded, infected and died.

RELATED ARTICLE

There are 87,481 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

  • Quebec: 49,139 confirmed (including 4,228 deaths, 15,319 resolved)
  • Ontario: 26,483 confirmed (including 2,155 deaths, 20,372 resolved)
  • Alberta: 6,901 confirmed (including 139 deaths, 6,048 resolved)
  • British Columbia: 2,541 confirmed (including 161 deaths, 2,122 resolved)
  • Nova Scotia: 1,053 confirmed (including 59 deaths, 975 resolved)
  • Saskatchewan: 634 confirmed (including 8 deaths, 549 resolved)
  • Manitoba: 281 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 269 resolved), 11 presumptive
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 260 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 255 resolved)
  • New Brunswick: 122 confirmed (including 120 resolved)
  • Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)
  • Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
  • Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)
  • Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
  • Nunavut: No confirmed cases
  • Total: 87,481 (11 presumptive, 87,470 confirmed including 6,760 deaths, 46,085 resolved)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2020.

The Canadian Press

Love to everyone 💕

—ooo—

Frederica von Stade: Trois airs français

Three airs français arranged by the Norwegian musicologist Arne Dørumsgaard. From a recital in Edinburgh, 1976, with Martin Isepp, piano.

479px-Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_033

The Good Samaritan by Rembrandt (Wikiart.org)

© Micheline Walker
28 May 2020
WordPress

Chronicling Covid-19 (14): The Mask

15 Friday May 2020

Posted by in Canada, Covid-19, Pandemic, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

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William_Blake_-_Sconfitta_-_Frontispiece_to_The_Song_of_Los

The archetype of the Creator is a familiar image in Blake’s work. Here, the demiurgic figure Urizen prays before the world he has forged. The Song of Los is the third in a series of illuminated books painted by Blake and his wife, collectively known as the Continental Prophecies. (Photo and caption credit: Wikipedia)

Covid-19

As Quebec was starting to reopen, Premier, le Premier Ministre, François Legault urged the population of Quebec to wear face masks. His audience was not entirely patient with him. Was this a change of policy?

Let’s see. Two months ago, after the Government of Quebec announced a lockdown. I saw residents of my building huddling by the mailboxes, less than two feet apart. As I was rushing down the hallway to safety, I walked past a woman who was saying that she didn’t believe in this virus. To my knowledge, take-out restaurants, such as McDonalds, were locked down, but I knew about the remains of a chicken that were thrown down the garbage chute, naked. As you know, my neighbours are mostly perfect, but these particular neighbours are not. The remains of a chicken should had been put in a bag and then dropped into one of the composting bins.

After two months of isolation, one may be confused. So, I phoned the authorities in order to ask if a policy was in place regarding the delivery of food to persons living in a condominium or an apartment building. I explained that sons and daughters, holding bags filled with groceries and other supplies, were ringing mother’s apartment and waiting for her in the lobby. Mother came down and picked up the bag or bags. However, delivery men were riding up and down elevators and walking along corridors carrying take-outs. If they came to my building, they also went to other buildings and various houses. They could spread the virus during a lockdown.

The authorities, or the person who took my call, did not know whether a policy existed, but she felt that social distancing precluded the delivery of meals to an individual’s apartment. Owners were to go to the lobby and pick up what they had ordered. I therefore suggested to the Committee that, during a lockdown, it seemed somewhat risky to let people circulate in the hallways. In fact, I wondered why we did not have a concierge monitoring access to apartments. The telephone and television system did not go the distance. Could we presume individual owners would be cautious? No, I thought, not if they threw down the chute, unwrapped, the greasy remains of a chicken. These neighbours must be newcomers.

We now return to Quebec’s Premier. I reflected that if François Legault was urging people to wear a mask, it was not a change of policy, but altogether consistent with lifting the lockdown when the coronavirus remained a genuine threat. The government feared that allowing untested people to return to work may lead to flareups, hence the Premier asking, but not dictating, the wearing of a mask. This led to more impatience. Why wasn’t the wearing of masks compulsory (“obligatory” said monsieur Legault)? He explained that it was not “obligatory” because masks were not easily available. Canada had ordered masks from China, which had arrived, but which were defective. They were not approved by Health Canada. Ironically, Canadian-approved N95 masks were being sought by Chinese counterfeiters. In short, some Quebecers do not have access to masks.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/canadian-approved-n95-mask-targeted-by-chinese-counterfeiters/ar-BB1446bM?ocid=msedgdhp

As you know, Covid-19 caught everyone unawares. For instance, the novel coronavirus hit Montreal like a bomb. It was a Canadian version of the “tsunami” Milan’s doctor Giacomo Grasselli had described so aptly. (See The Coronavirus. 3). The outbreak of Covid-19 surprised Italians just as it surprised Canada’s doctors, in Montreal especially.

The outbreak has therefore led to decisions, some of which were revisited and reversed. I should tell you that the Quebec government will not reopen schools, Montreal schools, in particular, until September. Some daycares remained open during the lockdown. Given flareups, reopening schools on May 19th was not appropriate. Flareups herald a second wave of Covid-19 that could be the same as the second wave of the Spanish flu of 1918, deadlier than the initial outbreak.

In Quebec, Muslims cannot wear the burqa, but the government was approving the wearing of facemasks. Was this another contradiction? A burqa conceals the face and the body. It can therefore be used to conceal a weapon. Masks cover the nose and mouth as do certain Islamic veils, but the purpose of masks is protection from a virus one can inhale. The virus is a weapon.

No, it was not a contradiction. The coronavirus enters one’s nose and mouth. Coughing has therefore become a potentially lethal weapon. If one is infected with the virus and coughs without wearing a mask, one may inadvertently spread the highly transmissible coronavirus to a person who does not wear personal protective equipment. If everyone wears a mask, everyone is protected to a significant extent. The mask is not a violation of a person’s privacy, but protective personal equipment, which explains why Premier Legault is urging Quebecers who are re-entering the workplace to wear a mask. The virus may be with us for a very long time and it is coriace, tough, coriace as coriace can be.

But, let us hear monsieur Legault.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/fran%C3%A7ois-legault-now-recommends-quebecers-wear-masks-when-they-go-out/ar-BB13Zbev?ocid=msedgdhp

Distancing saves lives. It would therefore be my opinion that until our top doctors and scientists find a vaccine or a cure, good masks are our only protection.

I agree with Premier Legault. If one re-enters the workplace, one wears a mask. A mask could allow us to revive our hope and let us rebuild our economy. We can now see the Himalayas, not to mention the stars. The new economy should be a different economy, one that does not pollute the air and cause global warming. However, Premier Legault linked the wearing of a mask to a revival of the economy we know. The two are inextricably linked:

Opening up businesses could hinge on Montrealers wearing masks in public — something Legault has been pushing for several days.

“We will still give ourselves a few days to take a decision on retail businesses,” Legault said. “A crucial element that would help us to reopen is for the majority of people to wear a mask in public.” (The National Gazette)

It may be years before the coronavirus is defeated. Scientists may find a vaccine and a cure, but this may not happen in the near future. Working from home can be extremely difficult and it is at times impossible. So if masks can protect us, let us wear masks.

Sources and Resources

The National Post
The Montreal Gazette
The coronavirus in Quebec
Montréal-Nord
Wikipedia entries
MSN

Love to all of you 💕
I’m quite sick, but a neighbour noticed. She knows everyone. She was worried and phoned me.

This BBC video will probably be erased, but it is funny. This video may lead to another. (Credit: The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.)

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Brave soldiers in Montreal (MSN)

© Micheline Walker
15 May 2020
WordPress

 

 

 

 

P. S.
The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4 a.m. ET on May 15, 2020:

There are 73,401 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

  • Quebec: 40,724 confirmed (including 3,351 deaths, 10,829 resolved)
  • Ontario: 21,494 confirmed (including 1,798 deaths, 16,204 resolved)
  • Alberta: 6,457 confirmed (including 121 deaths, 5,205 resolved)
  • British Columbia: 2,392 confirmed (including 135 deaths, 1,885 resolved)
  • Nova Scotia: 1,026 confirmed (including 51 deaths, 909 resolved)
  • Saskatchewan: 582 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 398 resolved)
  • Manitoba: 278 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 252 resolved), 11 presumptive
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 248 resolved)
  • New Brunswick: 120 confirmed (including 118 resolved)
  • Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)
  • Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
  • Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)
  • Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
  • Nunavut: No confirmed cases
  • Total: 73,401 (11 presumptive, 73,390 confirmed including 5,472 deaths, 36,104 resolved)

The Canadian Press

—ooo—

 

Chronicling Covid-19 (13): Reopening

08 Friday May 2020

Posted by in Canada, Covid-19, Pandemic

≈ 3 Comments

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800px-Balthasar_van_Cortbemde_-_The_Good_Samaritan

The Good Samaritan by Balthasar van Cortbemde (Wikipedia)

479px-Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_033

The Good Samaritan by Rembrandt (Wikipedia)

I’ve been away for a long time. I had to attend to various little duties and I remain very sad. So many have died and they are mostly older people, the poor, the black, the homeless. Covid-19 does not discriminate, but too many victims had no shelter or false shelters.

Scheherazade

For my part, an old injury resurfaced: ulcers. I also remembered my mother teaching us that death, God Himself, came in the night, like a thief, and took us away. Vigilance was necessary. We prayed before going to bed, but all I had to ask God was to wait another day. Asking for more would burden Him. Scheherazade told the first part of a tale that so intrigued the king that he let her live another day to hear the remainder. He didn’t kill her until the story had been told in full. Centuries later, perhaps millennia, a little child in Quebec prayed so her death would be postponed by one more day.

As you can see, Covid-19 has taken its toll on me. Why am I thinking that death will take me in the middle of the night? That feeling is best described as archaic, but we die.

Schools

Today’s big debate in Quebec and the rest of Canada is whether and when to reopen schools. Life at home with the children may be too difficult. In theory, schools were to reopen on Monday, May 4th, but although governments have a duty to provide children with an education, reopening was postponed until May 19th , but the government will not demand that parents send their children to school. Reopening may again be postponed. The virus is still active and remains lethal in too many cases. Viruses run their course and find epicenters. The State of New York and New York city were the United States’ epicenter. I hope therefore that United States President Trump will bail out the State of New York. In Canada, Quebec was targeted and Montreal was Covid-19’s epicenter. All one could do was create rules of engagement: washing one’s hand, distancing, wearing a mask and locking down infested areas.

We have learned, however, that long-term care facilities could not cope with this new reality. One could not distance patients or residents so, the staff of these homes were overwhelmed. Many walked out for fear of catching an easily transmissible virus.

We have also learned that certain populations were more vulnerable than others. The old are at risk, but also the black. Scientists have therefore begun studying vulnerability. I quoted Dr. Vinh-Kim Nguyen in my last post. (See RELATED ARTICLE)  Dr Vinh-Kim Nguyen has been studying Aids/Sida, and his regional area of expertise is West Africa (see Dr Vinh-Kim Nguyen). Studying regions, populations, and the origin of a pathogen is legitimate. Other scientists study the benefits and harm attached to confinement.

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© Pierre Obendrauf. “We’ve done things in grocery stores to make them safer,” says Dr. Jay Kaufman, regarding the plan to let other businesses in Montreal reopen on May 18. “If we can go into a store safely to buy a head of lettuce, we should be able to go into a store and safely buy a pair of shoes.”

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© Provided by The Canadian Press, Dr Theresa Tam

Canada’s top doctor, Dr Theresa Tam is continuing to focus on her work, despite allegations of conspiracy with China. Determining the origin of the outbreak is necessary, but accusing Dr Theresa Tam of conspiracy with China smacks of racism. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has defended Dr Tam.

https://globalnews.ca/video/6903338/coronavirus-outbreak-when-it-comes-to-anti-chinese-sentiment-freeland-says-a-canadian-is-a-canadian-is-a-canadian

One of the good news is that an antibody could prevent infections. This is progress. But  we are dealing with the novel coronavirus. It is a new virus and it may have infected people months before its breakout in Wuhan.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/groundbreaking-discovery-of-antibody-which-prevents-infection/ar-BB13AyKM

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/shutdown-must-end-with-safety-measures-says-mcgill (this link has expired)

It has been noted that the poor are at risk. Montreal’s outbreak has affected the residents of Montreal-North. Its residents are poor. They do not have computers, cell phones. In short, they did not have access and protective garments (PPE). Finding masks, gloves and shields, PPE, has bedeviled the pandemic, but it killed the poor and the homeless. Shame on us.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling for a national policy on contact tracing, even at this point. Had such a policy been put into place at an early date, it would have lessened the severity of the pandemic. But it seems we were all caught by surprise.

https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB11L7dC.img?h=579&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=1175&y=632

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/ontario-calls-for-a-national-strategy-on-contact-tracing-of-covid-19-cases/ahttps://globalnews.ca/news/6907247/coronavirus-doug-ford-local-medical-officers-testing/

However, testing is slow, which is the main problem. Had it worked immediately, the Spartan cube could have helped determine who was infected and who wasn’t. This would have benefited the economy. However, the Spartan Cube has not proven as reliable “in person” as it did in a lab. Adjustments have to be made. This is a sign of the times. Covid-19 is a new virus and we were not prepared when it hit.

Both Doug Ford, Ontario’s Premier and François Legault, Quebec’s premier, hesitate to lift the lockdown. It could backfire, so everyone is worried.

There is some validity to the notion of herd immunity, but there can be no doubt that self isolating and distancing have spared countless lives. It is as in Giovanni Boccacci’s Decameron. Therefore, Premiers Doug Ford of Ontario and François Legault of Quebec are not pushing people back to work. They are testing, and testing, and testing, but cannot test everyone.

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2020/05/update-on-canadian-armed-forces-response-to-covid-19-pandemic.html

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Conclusion

I believe this is my last post on the pandemic. It tested us and researchers will have much to study. I have in fact discovered areas of learning. Our top doctors are the heroes of the day. Dr Bonnie Henry of British Columbia looks very tired, but women want to purchase the shoes she wears. Premiers Doug Ford and François Legault joined hands in battling a common enemy that has yet to be defeated. There may be a second and a third wave. I expect changes in many sectors.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/a-matter-of-trust-covid-19-pandemic-has-tested-public-confidence-in-science-like-never-before/ar-BB13LaM5?ocid=msedgdhp

I offer my deepest condolences to the persons who have lost a dear one or dear ones.

The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4 a.m. ET on May 8, 2020:

There are 64,922 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

  • Quebec: 35,238 confirmed (including 2,631 deaths, 8,673 resolved)
  • Ontario: 19,121 confirmed (including 1,477 deaths, 13,569 resolved)
  • Alberta: 6,017 confirmed (including 114 deaths, 3,809 resolved)
  • British Columbia: 2,288 confirmed (including 126 deaths, 1,512 resolved)
  • Nova Scotia: 1,007 confirmed (including 44 deaths, 708 resolved)
  • Saskatchewan: 531 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 329 resolved)
  • Manitoba: 272 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 243 resolved), 11 presumptive
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 244 resolved)
  • New Brunswick: 120 confirmed (including 118 resolved)
  • Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 26 resolved)
  • Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
  • Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)
  • Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
  • Nunavut: No confirmed cases
  • Total: 64,922 (11 presumptive, 64,911 confirmed including 4,408 deaths, 29,260 resolved)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2020

RELATED POST

JS Bach, Partita in A minor, BWV 1013 —Emmanuel Pahud

See the source image

Girl Sleeping by Rembrandt (art.com)

© Micheline Walker
8 May 2020
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Chronicling Covid-19 (9): Testing

15 Wednesday Apr 2020

Posted by in Canada, Covid-19, Pandemic

≈ Comments Off on Chronicling Covid-19 (9): Testing

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Prefatory miniature from a moralized Bible of “God as architect of the world”, folio I verso, Paris ca. 1220–1230. Ink, tempera, and gold leaf on vellum 1′ 1½” × 8¼”. Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna 2554. (See Bible moralisée, Wikipedia.)

The Spartan Cube

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/spartan-covid19-test-kit-new-1.5530669
video

Production

The Spartan Cube, a Covid-19 testing device, is exclusive to Canada. I suspect that Spartan Bioscience is unable to manufacture an extremely large number of cubes. The Spartan Cube is a DNA analyzer that isn’t brand new. Spartan Bioscience adapted a test used to diagnose Legionnaire‘s disease. As I noted, in an earlier post, the cube is about the size of a large coffee mug, which makes it portable, and results are available in a half hour. It was developed in less than 25 days and could perhaps be improved. But it might suffice to replicate and manufacture the Cube in facilities outside Canada. The Spartan Cube will be available to Canadians at the beginning of May.

Distribution

At the moment, we are told to self-test according to symptoms and phone if symptoms are severe. This is a way of tending to the sick. But our economy cannot survive if the healthy cannot leave home and work.

I would propose taking the cubes to the people in unsophisticated, but disinfected buses. The test would be administered by health professionals and, for safety reasons, I don’t think people should enter the bus. However, people should be comfortable and could sit in a second bus.

For many health professionals, a half hour is too long. But, quite frankly, at the testing phase, most people will test negative. Care is not given at that time.

Residences for the Elderly & Hospitals

Covid-19 attacks the elderly who have entered a residence. These individuals cannot self-isolate easily. They eat in a dining-room. They use common areas and most do not have a private room. I believe wards are a mistake as are unlimited visiting hours and unlimited number of visitors.  We have turned hospitals into institutions where people get sick.

We also need masks, gloves, ventilators, beds, people who disinfect the street, etc. These are in short supply. We therefore need businesses that would manufacture the materials needed by health-care professionals and the public.

The novel (new) coronavirus is an unknown. We learn something new every day. So, in no way should we allow persons who test positive not to be treated. Nor should those who have been hospitalized return to work prematurely. In North America, the disease has not peaked.

A long time ago, I posted articles on illuminated manuscripts. Jean de France, duc de Berry, had the Limbourg brothers ornament his Très Riches Heures. Jean de France died of the plague, so did the artists who made his Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, duc de Berry. All died in 1416.

Humanity has suffered too many natural disasters, but we have not been taking good care of Mother Earth or our societies. After this calimity, we will need to revisit many areas. The poor live in cramped quarters and the not-so-poor in areas that are simply too small.

Love to everyone 💕

Georg Philipp Telemann

99957-050-F95C3124

© Micheline Walker
15 April 2020
WordPress

Walter J. Phillips’ Manitoba

02 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by in Canada, Canadian art

≈ 12 Comments

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Little Log House, a woodcut, by Walter J. Phillips

Walter J. Phillips (25 October 1884 – 5 July 1963) was born in Lincolnshire, England and studied at the Birmingham School of Art.

He moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1913 where he lived for 28 years. He died in 1963 in Victoria, British Columbia. He was a resident artist at the Banff Centre, then known as the Banff School of Fine Arts. He became a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. I love his art.

Phillips was very interested in Japanese prints. The work shown above is a woodcut.

Many new Canadians first settled in Winnipeg. My husband’s grandmother, the wife of a British aristocrat, was sent to Winnipeg. Her husband claimed their son was conceived by a “lover.” I suspect he wanted a younger wife. Fortunately, her son received a good education and always looked after his disconsolate mother.

You may remember that Winnipeg had been the Earl of Selkirk‘s Red River Colony. After Rupert’s Land was purchased by a fledging confederation (c. 1867). Louis Riel negotiated Manitoba’s entry into Confederation. He was hanged in 1885 for the execution of Orangeman Thomas Scott. Orangemen prevented French-speaking and Catholic Canadians from settling in the land the legendary voyageurs had opened up. They were educated in English-language schools. The matter was not solved until the Official Languages Act of 1969, and not altogether.

Moreover, the newly confederated Canada sent Amerindians to reservations. Many Canadians have Amerindian ancestry, prairie Métis, primarily, but also the people of Quebec and other provinces. Many settlers to New France married Amerindian women because France was not sending women to its colony. 

The Great Plains

I lived in Regina in the late 1970s, but my work was not related to my professional qualifications. I was offered a position as translator in Winnipeg, but decided to accept a teaching position at St. Francis Xavier University, in Nova Scotia. I loved Nova Scotia, but regret my decision to teach at StFX. Everything went wrong. The life of a translator would have suited me and I loved the prairies. One could see forever.

So here I am. Probably a descendant of an Amerindian who lived in the 1600s and the former wife of a British aristocrat. My past has been leaping at me from behind. Do you think this is a temporary disorder, or am I about to write a book?

What will 2019 bring?

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation just published an interesting document which I am enclosing:

Ode to Manitoba winter: Love it or hate it, season has inspired artists for 200 years

It features this lovely painting.

Season’s Greetings to everyone 💛

Our Street in Winnipeg, 1933, by Walter J. Phillips. (Loch Gallery, Calgary) (the CBC)

 

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Walter J. Phillips’ The Red River in Winter, 1927, shows the blue shadows on snow that he loved. (National Gallery of Canada)

© Micheline Walker
2 January 2019
WordPress

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Huron Noël, or “Jesous Ahatonhia”

31 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by in Canada, Christmas, Folklore

≈ 6 Comments

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Ojibwa Camp Northern Shore of Lake Huron by Frederick A. Verner (1873)

Indian encampment on Lake Huron, by Paul Kane (1848–50)

Missionaries to New France had to adapt Christianity so their converts could understand it. Amerindian languages were simple languages that did not provide “black robes” with ways of expressing abstract notions. To befriend Amerindians they therefore chose to sing with their congregation.

“Jesous Ahatonhia”

The best-known piece composed for Amerindians is the Huron carol entitled: “Jesous Ahatonhia.”  It was composed in 1643 for the Hurons at Ste Marie, in all likelihood, by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary, who was tortured to death by Iroquois Amerindians and has become a mythic figure. The Huron Noël belongs to Canada‘s répertoire of Christmas carols. The melody was borrowed from a French song entitled: Une jeune pucelle (A Young Maiden).

Jesous was translated into French by Paul Picard, an Amerindian notary at Quebec City and, into English, by Jesse Edgar Middleton. It was then adapted for voice and piano by Healey Willan (ca 1927), an Anglo-Canadian organist and composer (12 October 1880 in Balham, London – 16 February 1968, in Toronto, Ontario).

I have written down two stanzas of the Huron carol and two stanzas of its French translation, and a full English translation. To access the French lyrics, please click on Jesous Ahatonhia.

Huron lyrics

Ehstehn yayau deh tsaun we yisus ahattonnia/ O na wateh wado:kwi nonnwa ‘ndasqua entai / ehnau sherskwa trivota nonnwa ‘ndi yaun rashata / Iesus Ahattonnia, Ahattonnia, Iesus Ahattonnia /  

Asheh kaunnta horraskwa deh ha tirri gwames / Tishyaun ayau ha’ndeh ta aun hwa ashya a ha trreh / aundata:kwa Tishyaun yayaun yaun n-dehta /  Iesus Ahattonnia, Ahattonnia, Iesus Ahattonnia / 

French lyrics

Chrétiens, prenez courage, / Jésus Sauveur est né! / Du malin les ouvrages / À jamais sont ruinés. / Quand il chante merveille, / À ces troublants appas / Ne prêtez plus l’oreille: / Jésus est né: In excelsis gloria! 

Oyez cette nouvelle, /Dont un ange est porteur! /Oyez! âmes fidèles, / Et dilatez vos cœurs. / La Vierge dans l’étable / Entoure de ses bras / L’Enfant-Dieu adorable. / Jésus est né: In excelsis gloria! 

English lyrics (Huron Noël) 🎶

‘Twas in the moon of wintertime when all the birds had fled
That mighty Gitchi Manitou sent angel choirs instead;
Before their light the stars grew dim and wondering hunters heard the hymn,
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria. 

Within a lodge of broken bark the tender babe was found;
A ragged robe of rabbit skin enwrapped his beauty round
But as the hunter braves drew nigh the angel song rang loud and high
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria. 

The earliest moon of wintertime is not so round and fair
As was the ring of glory on the helpless infant there.
The chiefs from far before him knelt with gifts of fox and beaver pelt.
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria. 

O children of the forest free, O seed of Manitou
The holy Child of earth and heaven is born today for you.
Come kneel before the radiant boy who brings you beauty peace and joy.
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.  

I attempted to copy this post, written six years ago, but couldn’t. I rewrote it.

RELATED ARTICLES

Sources and Resources

  1. Timothy J. McGee, The Music of Canada (New York, London: W.W. Norton, 1985)
  2. The Canadian Encyclopedia
    https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/jesous-ahatonhia-emc

 

A Happy New Year to everyone 💛

Sunset, Whitefish Bay, Lake of the Woods by Walter Phillips, 1919 (AGC)

© Micheline Walker
31 December 2018
WordPress