Close call

Whew!
One can only imagine the collective embarrassment among people from coast to coast to coast—not to mention the ensuing mass exodus to that saner land south of the border—had Don Cherry being chosen as the “Greatest Canadian” on Monday night.
Fortunately, clearer heads prevailed and Mr. Cherry (who was ranked as high as second in late October) wound up a distant seventh behind winner Tommy Douglas, generally touted as the “father of medicare.”
On the other hand, the bombastic force behind that great Canadian institution, “Coach’s Corner,” did finish ahead of Sir John A. Macdonald, Alexander Graham Bell, and Wayne Gretzky, which is scary enough.
Actually, how Don Cherry even warranted inclusion in the top 10 candidates vying for the title of ‘Greatest Canadian” ranks right up there with the secret of the Caramilk bar. Surely Pierre Berton, a Canadian icon who passed away just yesterday, deserved that honour.
Let’s face it, Rick Mercer, Mr. Dress-Up, and the Friendly Giant would have been better choices, or Joe from “I Am Canadian” fame. Or at least one woman.
CBC deserves credit for dreaming up the show, which, at the very least, exposed Canadians to the achievements—and flaws—of some of the people who have shaped our country over the years.
And in the end, values like universal health care (Mr. Douglas), devotion to a cause (Terry Fox), multiculturalism (Pierre Trudeau), and peacekeeping (Lester B. Pearson) triumphed over xenophobic tirades.
We can all breathe easier knowing Don Cherry didn’t win. What’s shameful is that he was even in the running at all.