We will celebrate Canada Day on Friday and it should be a day of great excitement that relates to our freedoms and policies that governments over time have made. The US supreme court decision on Roe-v-Wade on Friday marked a significant difference in how we as Canadians view abortion and the splits in American society on the question.
It clearly defined that woman in the United States do not have the same rights to control their bodies that women in Canada do. They do not even have the same equal rights as men do. The right to decide to make a choice to either continue a pregnancy or terminate it in Canada remains the private personal decision of the woman. Not so in the United States after Friday’s Supreme Court ruling. The court turned all those decisions back to the 50 state legislatures creating 50 different sets of rules, rather than one set of rules for the country. In many states abortion is now prohibited.
After hearing the decision and the commentary, I reviewed the opening segment of the HBO series “The Newsroom” that premiered in 2012. The opening segment had the news anchor Jeff Daniels playing Will McAvoy answering a question “Why is America the greatest country in the World?” and his answer shocked the university class when he debunked the notion.
Today it makes me think that Canada is one of the greatest countries in the world. While the US is ranked fifth highest with 17.4 maternal deaths per 100,000 births in pregnancy, Canada ranks 11th with 7.5 deaths per 100,000 births.
The difference lies in the provincial health care prenatal support women receive in Canada. Following the birth or adoption of a child, we offer parents paid parental leave – something most US states do not. We offer child support long after the birth that is not available in the US. Our health system offers compassion and care while the US system looks at every patient in terms of profit and loss.
The other big decision from the US Supreme Court stated that neither states nor the federal government has the right to restrict the carrying of guns. In Canada we have the second highest ownership of firearms after the United States, but we do not have the constitutional right to bear arms that is found in the United States constitution. Instead through legislation, Canadians have agreed that guns are dangerous, and their use and movement has been restricted. As Canadians we find that comforting.
I fly the Canadian flag most of the year at my home. I am not a freedom fighter, but a proud Canadian celebrating the country in which I live. Over the course of our history our country has made mistakes, but our legislators and courts have had the courage to recognize those programs that hurt First Nations People and we are working at reconciliation to right the wrongs of our past. It is an important freedom to be able right the wrongs and to celebrate the cultures that make Canada a unique nation.
Former Publisher
Fort Frances Times
