The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - The Weekend Special #50

Episode Date: February 26, 2021

Your best answers to the question: What was your favourite Canadian speech quote?  Lots of entries from across the country as well as a special letter opening the program from a listener in Japan.

Hello there, Peter Mansbridge here with the latest episode of The Bridge. It's Friday, it's your day, in just a few moments, the Weekend Special. And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here. Week 50 coming to a close. And that means the weekend special. It means your letters, your thoughts, your questions, your comments. And this week it's very focused because I asked a question, I guess, when was it, Tuesday? And there have been a lot of responses to that question. And the question was, name a Canadian speech and speech maker

that still resonates in your mind, something you heard either from history or from your own lifetime. Something that you think that belongs up there in the lexicon of great speeches by Canadians. Some of you cheat a little bit. You kind of came up with phrases that you'd heard, not necessarily from a speech, but from a comment,

but still one that resonates through time. So we're going to get to that. On this, the day after the debut of Good Talk, exclusive on SiriusXM, 5 p.m. Thursdays, repeated at noon on Sunday. Bruce Anderson, Chantelle Hebert, and myself discussing the kind of issues of the day and of the time

on the Canadian political scene. So we had a great figure show yesterday, at least I thought so, and a lot of mail came in yesterday during the evening and overnight. And great to hear it, and I'm glad you liked it. And I thought I'd read one letter because they came from across the country and literally from around the world. As people were listening to either The Bridge yesterday or Word About Good Talk. Good Talk is exclusive to SiriusXM, so that means you actually have to subscribe to SiriusXM. Now, right now, they've got a three-month free trial offer. So if you want to listen to Good Talk on a weekly basis for the next three months,

you can do that for nothing. And that'll give you a determination of whether you want to keep listening to it or not. And SiriusXM is heard across North America. So wherever you are in North America, you can tune it in either, you know, in your car or as a streaming service on your phone. So last night I was getting mail from different parts of North America,

a wonderful letter from a fellow in Los Angeles. But this one, this letter is referring to kind of our work overall and its connection to home. It comes from Shailesh Shukla. Greetings from Tokyo. I'm a Canadian living in Tokyo, missing home, and COVID fatigued. Aren't we all? Highly appreciate your podcast. That's this one, The Bridge.

I've been tuning in regularly since last year. I binge listen on every Saturday after a hectic week at work. It's already Saturday, I think. It's already Saturday in Tokyo. We're close to it. It's my go-to place to keep me centered, informed, and calm in these times. The podcast has kept me close to Canada and all that is good about Canada. Thank you for asking listeners who write in to share their stories,

also to mention which place they write from. It helps me visualize all those wonderful places across Canada. It's a small gesture, but for those far away pining for home, it means a lot. Thank you. And I underline that because it means a lot to me as well. I like to get a sense of the country from the letters that we get. So we get a sense that, you know, different regions of the country are listening.

And we've certainly got that over time. Your podcast is the number one place for me to go, along with old episodes of Rick Mercer Reports. Just talking to Rick the other night, Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe, Corner Gas, and the latest CBC News, especially at issue. Which brings me to my request. I'm super excited about Good Talk with Chantelle Hebert and Bruce Anderson. I agree with Bruce. I not only love to hear Chantelle,

but also the animated way she and all of you engage in the discussion. Hence, is it possible to put the show on YouTube, where we not only listen, but watch the three of you engage? Hope you can make it possible. With many thanks, Shailesh. Well, let me tell you, we're exploring a number of different ways to get the good talk discussion out there because exclusive to Sirius XM means it's exclusive to North America which would make it hard for Shalish to hear it although we're going to move it into the podcast stream on Sirius XM which there's you know I don't understand all these rates but there's a very attractive rate to get the podcast stream where you'd get all the podcasts that SiriusXM is doing. And they are just moving big time into the podcast business.

And therefore, you'd be able to get any number of them. Anyway, that's coming out in the next few days or weeks. The YouTube idea is a good one. I think Bruce mentioned it to me once. Why don't we do that? And I think that's one idea that the serious people are also looking at on how they might do that. I mean, technically, we know how to do it. It's just logistically how that would be done.

But we'll keep you informed on that, obviously. Anyway, thank you, Shailesh, for your interest. And I know it's shared by a lot of people because we've seen a lot of mail on it already. Okay, let's get to our issue of the day, which is great Canadian speeches. You know, aside from this one, this one that you're listening to right now, it's definitely going to go down. It's one of the great Canadian speeches, right? You know, you might want to write it down right now. Yeah, okay, fine. Melissa Hillman writes from Sydenham, Ontario.

I couldn't go to sleep without sending you my suggestion for great Canadian speeches. Really? Really? You couldn't go to sleep without sending you my suggestion for great Canadian speeches. Really? You couldn't go to sleep without writing this letter? Melissa, you may need to think about that. Anyway, with the biggest of caveats that it's not actually a speech at all it was a message to canadians however and it was delivered by someone who devoted his life to our nation and was the leader of the official opposition a number of people suggested this melissa's suggestion for canadian words of wisdom was delivered

posthumously by Jack Layton. In his final letter to Canadians, he laid out his vision of a country he cared so deeply for. My favorite part is found at the end. My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful, and optimistic,

and we'll change the world. He couldn't have foreseen the times we're living through now, nearly 10 years later, but his words speak to me as I contemplate our current condition as a nation. Thanks for suggesting that topic. I needed to revisit that message. All the best to you, Peter. All right, thank you, Melissa. All right, thank you, Melissa. Sydenham, Ontario. Penny Stone writes from Edmonton.

Probably one quote that really caught my attention and I will never forget. Pierre Trudeau spoke against the Meech Lake Accord. I will just quote the last line. I think we have to realize that Canada is not immortal, but if it's going to go, let it go with a bang rather than a whimper. Penny writes, I'll never forget the look on his face as he said those words. Pierre Trudeau pops up quite a bit in here, but he's not alone.

Brian Smith writes from Kelowna, B.C. And Brian says he's retired to B.C. after 53 years in Ontario. Kelowna's a beautiful, beautiful city. Hello, Peter. Love your broadcast and listen to it every day. Miss you on the national, blah, blah, et cetera, et cetera. Regarding great Canadian speeches,

I'd like to offer one from Prime Minister Lester Pearson. In 1967, at the height of Canada's centenary celebrations, General Charles de Gaulle, President of France, stood on the Montreal City Hall balcony on July 24th and proclaimed, Vive le Quebec libre, long live a free Quebec. This was perceived as great support for Quebec separatists and a major diplomatic slight for the Dominion of Canada. And that's what we were still called, the Dominion of Canada in 1967. Prime Minister Lester Pearson went on national television the next day and angrily retorted, this is the quote,

the people of Canada are free. Every province in Canada is free. Canadians do not need to be liberated. Indeed, many thousands of Canadians gave their lives in two world wars in the liberation of France and other European countries. The incident ushered in a generation of frosty relations between Canada and France, which stands as a watershed in Canadian-English-French relations. You're right, Brian. It was a moment. De Gaulle, I'm pretty sure, left early. Basically, I'm not sure they actually asked him to leave, but he took the hint when he heard Pearson's speech, and he left.

My buddy Mark Bulgich wrote in. Mark's the co-author of Extraordinary Canadians, that book that was a number one instant bestseller. Still available at Amazon and Indigo and your local bookseller. Number one on the book list, five weeks in a row, just before Christmas. And still selling well. And still available. Anyway, Mark got excited by this opportunity, and he wrote a whole list of suggestions of potential speeches,

but I'll give you a couple of them. He says, of the ones I actually heard, I think Pierre Trudeau at the Washington Press Club in 1968 highlights my list, where he said, remember this one, living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt. That's still sure holds true doesn't it

mark also mentions justin trudeau's eulogy for his father and the lion jetem papa brian mulroney's phrase you had an an option, sir, in his debate with John Turner. And one that actually came in a number of times, but Mark says it's often misquoted, as it was, in fact, in some of the letters I got. Wilford Laurier, 1904. The 20th century shall be the century of Canada. Those were the actual words. Great line. Didn't really hold true Might have been a century early

Right? Let's assume this will be the century of Canada Cliff Lewis in Port Coquitlam, BC Mark, by the way, is in Toronto Cliff Lewis from Port Coquitlam, BC. When you spoke of great Canadian speeches on Tuesday's podcast, one speech immediately jumped to mind. It rivals most of the greats.

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien stood before the House of Commons and delivered a brilliant speech of condolence. The Trade Towers attacks, September 2001, had just occurred. Here's a passage that really reverberates in my consciousness. There are those rare occasions when time seems to stand still, when a singular event transfixes the world. There are also those terrible occasions when the dark side of human nature escapes civilized restraint and shows its ugly face to a stunned world. Tuesday, September

11th, 2001 will forever be etched in memory as a day when time stood still. You know, we're coming up on the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. And for a lot of us, it really does seem like yesterday. 20 years. A long time. But those memories, for those of us who were alive on that day, will never be forgotten. Michelle Dextra, Canada, Ontario.

You have to be our age to remember this night and René Lévesque's speech. And maybe you also have to be a Francophone to remember the impact of his words to the crowd gathered at the Paul Sauvé Center after the defeat of the first referendum for Quebec independence on May 20th, 1980. Remember that night too. That was part of the CBC coverage of both referendums, 1980 and 1995. The crowd cheered him for over 10 minutes when he arrived on stage, and many in the crowd were crying, and they sang Mon Pays. When he was finally able to speak, he began by saying, and I'll translate this to the English, If I understand you correctly, this is after all 10 minutes of applause for him,

If I understand you correctly, you are saying, until the next time. He gave the Quebecois population hope. A la prochaine fois. Until the next time. Now, though I come from a family that believed in an independent

Quebec, I have never believed that it could be a reality. And I love living in a bilingual, bicultural country. I certainly understood those who did. For me, those who believed in an independent Quebec did not hate Canada or Anglophones. They just believed that Quebec needed to be its own country. I cannot bring up Mr. Levesque's speech that night on May 20, 1980, without thinking of Jacques Perrizeau's speech after the defeat of the 1995 referendum. It was not an eloquent speech. He blamed the defeat

on money and the ethnic vote. He essentially took away hope of an independent Quebec. Those are not words or speeches that the majority of Canadians may remember. Not so sure about that. But in my opinion, they have had a significant impact on Canada. Thanks, Michelle. Those are good choices, too. And, you know, when I suggested this idea the other day, I didn't think I was going to get a lot of entries,

but there have been a lot, and they keep on coming here. Stephen Magogie. Magogie. Not sure of the pronunciation, Stephen. Stephen's in Trenton. He enclosed a number of quotes. I'll read a couple of them anyway, because some of them we've already had.

Pierre Trudeau, 1970, October. It's more important to maintain law and order than to worry about those whose knees tremble at the sight of this army. That's when the army was in the streets to protect law and order, is what we were told during the October crisis. Sir John A. Macdonald in 1895, and the Macdonald reputation has taken a battering in the last year or so,

and people are still arguing and debating whether that's appropriate. He was, of course, our first prime minister. This quote from 1895, the rights of the minority must always be protected, and the rich are always fewer in number than the poor. Get it? And this one comes without a name attached to it.

It's apparently a pedestrian in St. John's, Newfoundland, April of 1990. Stephen says that pedestrian said in one of those, you know, we call them streeters. And the question was about Meech Lake. The answer was, Meech Lake, wherever the damn place is, is full of sleazy bastards up to no damn good. And you wonder why Meech Lake didn't pass. Valerie Keith in Aurora. Here's a Canadian valerie keith in aurora

here's a canadian hero as soon as you mentioned this week's assignment assignment just i'm handing out assignments i immediately thought of terry fox even though his wasn't a political figure he made many public appearances where he was expected to speak. However, none of his speeches stood out as much as his quotes. As a retired educator, I always use Terry Fox as an example of perseverance, having a growth mindset and a leader in Canada. One quote that particularly speaks to me is,

anything's possible if you try. Each year, people around the world continue Terry's Marathon of Hope. Not only his words, but his actions make him a legend. Jeff Lavery in Orleans, Ontario. He has a Justin Trudeau line. He actually has a number of things from Justin Trudeau, and they're from the eulogy he gave for his dad at Pierre Trudeau's funeral. It was the eulogy he gave at his father's funeral. The entire eulogy was very well done.

However, the part that stands out to me the most was when he spoke of making a joke about another politician on the other side as a way to please his father. I believe the joke was aimed at Joe Clark, you're right, who was at that point the opposition leader. Prime Minister Trudeau wasn't too happy about it and took Justin to meet the gentleman. I believe this happened in the parliamentary restaurant

up on the sixth floor of the center block on Parliament Hill. And Justin had made a crack about Joe Clark and Pierre Trudeau took him and said, come with me, and they walked over to Joe Clark's table. I think it was the way it happened. The part is this. This is out of the eulogy. He spoke to me in a friendly manner for a bit, and it was at that point that I understood

that having opinions that are different from those of another does not preclude one being deserving of respect as an individual. Because simple tolerance, mere tolerance, is not enough. We need genuine and deep respect for each and every human being, notwithstanding their thoughts, their values, their beliefs, their origins. That's what my father demanded of his sons, and that's what he demanded of his country. He demanded this out of a sense of love, love of his sons, love of his country, and that's why we love him so. Justin Trudeau from the eulogy for his father.

And thank you, Jeff Lavery from Orleans, Ontario. Still to come, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, the letter of the week, that and a couple of others in just a moment. Okay, well, I said, Letter of the Week is coming up. It's always the last one, you know, the last one that I read on Fridays,

on the weekend special, get you through the weekend, the last letter, whatever the topic may be on the week, or even on weeks where there is no particular topic, save the last one, which I try to read in its entirety, if it's not too long. And we'll get to our winner this week in a moment but first a couple others this one's from Glenn Ward in Hammonds Plains Nova Scotia I wanted to

put my two cents in on everlasting speeches as a Nova Scotian I have to say that two cents in on everlasting speeches. As a Nova Scotian, I have to say that forever and a day now, Stephen McNeill, the outgoing Premier, right, will be remembered for uttering the words, stay the blazes home. That's part of his COVID strategy. It's become part of the lexicon of maritime life,

and our province is safe because we all listened. But my number one memory of an unforgettable speech came from the incredible orator Stephen Lewis at Jack Layton's funeral. So I said, this came up a number of times and it's worth reading again. Stephen reading, Jack's writing, what Stephen called a manifesto of social democracy. The line that has become Canadian famous, and I think about every year on the anniversary of Jack's death, comes around, is this. My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear.

Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful, and optimistic, and we'll change the world. Glenn says, I consider myself a nonpartisan, but this, in my opinion, is one of the most important quotes for a hopeful society. Can't disagree with that. Follow that.

Follow what was in Jack Layton's own letter to Canadians before he died, and we'd have a better world. You know, I've often wondered what would have happened if Jack had been successful in his fight against cancer and stayed with us for a while. Remember, he was opposition leader. The leader of the NDP was leader of the opposition

in the Stephen Harper government. Well, not in the government, during that government. And a lot of people thought he could become prime minister one day. I mean, they had, what was it, over 100 seats? So, unfortunately, he didn't and after he passed away the ndp's power in the house gradually ebbed away to where now it's the fourth party could jack layton have ever become prime minister would it have been a dominant force in the opposition if he had lived would Justin Trudeau have

rose to power you know history plays this wonderful game for us every once in a while it's the what if game you know what if JFK had not been assassinated? What if Martin Luther King had lived? What if Bobby Kennedy had lived?

What if, what if, what if? There's a lot of what ifs. This is one of them. What if Jack Layton had lived? Next letter comes from Robert McKenzie in Toronto. And I like this one. There were a number of people who entered the discussion on this particular suggestion.

Here's what Rob writes. As a civilian member of the Canadian Air Force Pipe Band in the early 2000s while living in Ottawa, I was very fortunate to hear Governor General Adrienne Clarkson speak on many occasions. Ms. Clarkson is a great speaker, and unlike most public figures, she was known to write her own speeches. Her eulogy at the internment of the unknown soldier at the war memorial in Ottawa on May 28, 2000, stirred national emotions.

As journalist John Fraser put it, I couldn't summarize it any better. And you're right, Fraser was bang on on that. I was there. I was there sitting with Jack Granatstein, the historian. We were doing the live coverage and commentary during the return of the unknown soldier, a Canadian soldier who died on the battlefields in World War I near Vimy Ridge, I believe. And he was brought home to represent all those who died known only to God.

And when you think about that and you stand there, that war memorial, you are tugged by many different national emotions. Anyway, Rob sends along a few short excerpts from that speech. And as I said, many people did. I thought this was the best summary of them. They were all good letters. So here's the first one. We don't know whose son he was.

We do not know his name. We do not know if he was a father himself. We do not know if his mother or wife received that telegram with the words, Missing in Action, typed in electrifying clarity on an anonymous piece of paper. We do not know whether he had truly begun to live his life as a truck driver or a scientist, a miner or a teacher, a farmer or a student? Did he have brown eyes? Did he know what it was to love someone and be loved back? Did he read poetry? Did he get into fights? Did he have freckles? Did he think nobody understood him? We do not know where he came from. The only certainty about him is that he was young. If death is a debt we all must pay, he paid before he owed it. He is a symbol of all sacrifice.

He is every soldier in all our wars. Some of the words of Adrian Clarkson, May of 2000, at the ceremony attached to the Tomb of the Unknown at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Whenever you're there, if you get the chance, please take it and stand by that. You will, as John Fraser mentioned, have many national emotions stirring inside you when you stand there.

So thank you, Rob, and thanks to all of those who sent in suggestions around the Adrian Clarkson speech on that day in May of 2000. Cam Tate writes, I think Cam's in Alberta. My favorite speech, May 1987, a day after Rick Hansen arrived back in Vancouver. Patrick Reed introduced Hansen at the huge British Columbia Place homecoming. I was there that day. You know, we were covering that live. It was a day I got to actually know Rick quite well, and we're still good friends today.

Patrick Reed was the father of Amanda Reed, whom Hanson married. He told the story of the first family Sunday dinner that Hanson had attended. Now, you have to imagine the scene, as Cam writes. There were five steps leading to the front door, Hansen pulled himself and his chair step by step. Mr. Reed, who was actually opposed to Hansen's world tour, watched behind the living room window. When Hansen reached the top step, he lifted himself back into his chair, and rang the doorbell. Mr. Reed answered the door and asked Hanson how he was going to wheel around the world. Step by step, sir, Hanson said, the same way I got here. And he did just that.

He traveled around the world in his wheelchair. Remarkable man, Rick Hansen. Thanks, Cam. That's a good one. Here's the last one. And this is special to me. It touches a number of issues, all of which mean something to me and I think mean something to a lot of you as well. This suggestion, this letter, comes from Bill Flowers in Amherst, Nova Scotia. Here's what Bill writes.

In response to your invitation to quote great lines from Canadian leaders, I would like to suggest this one from the great Indigenous leader, the late Chief Dan George. He said this, Of all the teaching we receive, this one is most important. Nothing belongs to you of what there is, of what you take, you must share. I'm going to read that again. Of all the teaching we receive,

this one is most important. Nothing belongs to you of what there is. Of what you take, you must share. So Bill concludes, I think this statement goes to the heart of all debate about colonialism, land rights, access to resources, inclusiveness, and self-government. It is an indigenous worldview that if people in positions of power understood it and practiced it, this country would be that much better off. Hear, hear, Bill. And hear, hear

to the late, great Chief Dan George. Thank you so much, all of you, for sending in your ideas and your thoughts, your letters about what to you is kind of the quote, the big quote

from a speech or a comment by a Canadian, could be a famous Canadian, maybe not, but we got lots of them. And I love the way you responded to it. And I love the nature of where those responses came from all over the country. It's great. Okay. A couple of things about next week. We'll start the week, obviously, as we always do. In the 50 weeks we've been doing this daily show,

The Bridge, spurred on by COVID-19. On Mondays, we always try to set the scene as to where we are on the pandemic story. And we will on Monday with a special guest, as we do every Monday. Wednesday, on Smoke, Mirrors, and the Truth, we're going to look at part two of our series on energy. If you heard this past Wednesday, we talked about oil and whether oil was slowly drifting away.

But even the oil companies, some of them were saying, we're done. We're going to start decreasing production. It's time for other energy sources. And this week, we're going to look at one of those other energy sources, and it's electric vehicles. I wrongly called them electronic vehicles earlier in our discussion on this topic. They are electric vehicles, EV. And we'll have a special guest along with Bruce and I on Smoke, Mirrors, and the Truth, and we'll deal with the electric vehicle issue.

Tuesday, I'm looking at maybe doing something on Bitcoin. In spite of what I've said, I don't understand cryptocurrency. I don't understand Bitcoin, but because it's been going crazy, I think we better do something with it, and we will probably on Tuesday. Thursday, you know now. Good talk on SiriusXM later in the afternoon,

5 o'clock Eastern, and replayed Sundays at noon Eastern. And right now, you can get, as I said earlier, you can get a free pass into SiriusXM to get good talk. You can sign on now, SiriusXM.ca. Three months free. So that's Thursday, and Friday will be the weekend special. Coming up within a couple of weeks, I mentioned this last week. I'm really excited about this. I've done the pre-interview or the interview already,

because that's the way it works with new books. But Caleb Dahlgren, does that name sound familiar to you? He was one of the humble Broncos who survived that terrible bus crash and caleb's written a book and he's the first survivor to do so and it's a really good book i gotta tell you and we have a great conversation so that's coming up within a couple of weeks. Looking forward to hearing that. So that's a snapshot of the time ahead on the bridge. I'm Peter Mansbridge. Thanks so much for listening.

Have a good weekend. Have a safe weekend. Stay healthy. Do all the things that you know that we have to do. We ain't out of the woods yet. We're getting close. We're getting close. We're getting close. There's some positive signs,

but there are still reasons to be extremely cautious. And you spell cautious variance. Okay? So be cautious, stay well, stay safe. I'm Peter Mansbridge, looking forward to talking to you again on Monday