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A Very Saturn-Uranus Canada Day

Today is July 1 — Canada Day. Normally I would be using my platform here to say lots of nice things about what a great country we are, how we are the preferred destination for many immigrants and refugees, and so on. I’d probably throw in something about our healthcare system, and how we consistently rank at or near the top of various measures of “best countries in the world to live in.”

I can’t do that this year. This year, Canada needs to face its shadow.

This year Canada is having its Saturn Square, and that’s a time when a person, or indeed a nation, can have a bit of an identity crisis. It’s a time when you have to face some of the mistakes you’ve made and do something to correct them. That’s what Canadians face here on Canada Day this year.

You see, for over a century Canada had something called the Indigenous Residential Schools Program — mostly just called “residential school”s now. This was a system where the Canadian government, in association with churches (but mostly the Catholic Church) committed cultural genocide. The people of Canada’s First Nations had, by law, their children taken away, and forced to unlearn their languages, give up on their traditions, accept Christianity, and sometimes far worse.

This went on for over a century until the 1990s. There was rampant disease and neglect and abuse… and more. I urge you to look this up for yourself, because to be honest I’m finding this all a little too heartbreaking to write much more about.

In the last month, the unmarked graves has started showing up. There were nearly 1000 of these at two different former residential schools. And as I sat down to start writing this. another 182 unmarked graves of children were discovered at a third school.

There are thousands of unmarked graves of forgotten children out there. in Canada. And only now are we even thinking about a dedicated search for more.

Canada, “born” July 1, 1867 at midnight in Ottawa, is now facing its Saturn square, having been born with Saturn at nine degrees Scorpio, as well as the opposition from transiting Uranus. This is turning out to be a major identity crisis for our nation. And this is all because things have been uncovered that we should have known and should have talked more about ages ago. There has been what’s called the Truth and Reconciliation Committee. And yes, more Canadians now understand the wrongness of what happened than did before.

Hopefully Canada will have the decency and common sense to address this matter as fully as it absolutely deserves. Hopefully by this time next year I’ll be able to fly my maple leaf flag with a little more pride, but not this year.

Not this year.