EvanL
06-15-2004, 11:49 AM
Chirac forgot the Canadians
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PARIS - In May 1994, as the 50th anniversary of D-Day approached, Bill Clinton invited six historians to the White House to ask them what he should say at the ceremony the next month in France.
All were American except for the esteemed Briton, John Keegan. When his turn came, Mr. Keegan advised the president: "Don't forget the Canadians."
He was impressed that Canada had landed at one of the five beaches on the coast of Normandy, overcome stiff resistance and punched deep inland. He knew the seminal role Canada played that momentous day, and the other roles it had played in the war. He also knew that Canada had the world's fourth-largest military in 1945.
Still, in his remarks marking the 60th anniversary of the landings, President Jacques Chirac of France, who was the host, virtually ignored Canada. His omission -- if not outright insult -- was unnoticed in Canada. But it said something about Canadians, their sense of memory, dignity, and self-respect.
Naturally, Mr. Chirac heaped praise on the United States. He said that the Americans had put "their ideals, their might and their courage" to liberate France. Of course, he also paid tribute to Great Britain as "the last archipelago of liberty."
But of Canada, which lost 359 sons that day, Mr. Chirac had little to say. "Soldiers came from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand," he noted, as if Canadians were a sideshow rather than the main event. "They came from Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Greece. There were Poles, Czechs and Slovaks among them."
There. That was it. All you had to know about Canada on D-Day was that it was comme tout les autres, fighting with the Norwegians (37 dead), the French (19 dead), the Australians (13 dead), the New Zealanders (2 dead) and the Belgians (one dead).
Mr. Chirac didn't mention that 15,000 Canadians waded ashore under the banner of the Queen's Own Rifles and Le Regiment de la Chaudiere at places called Courseulles-sur-Mer and Bernieres-sur-Mer. Or that the Canadians gained more ground that day than any other Allied force and suffered casualties in the Normandy campaign approaching those of the Great War.
No, while the Governor General and the prime minister of Canada looked on, while hundreds of veterans gathered a few miles away at Juno Beach, Mr. Chirac was telling the world what everyone else had done at Normandy, including the Free French. Canada? It was just an accessory.
Perhaps this was an oversight, recalling George W. Bush's failure to include Canada among the many nations he thanked after Sept. 11. Perhaps Mr. Chirac didn't know what happened at Juno Beach or those who died there, many of whom lie buried at the touching cemetery of Beny-sur-Mer. Perhaps he didn't know about Putot-en-Bessin, which was liberated by the Winnipeg Rifles. He ought to speak to the mayor, who honoured an old soldier from Canada in the town square the day before.
Or perhaps it wasn't an accident after all. Some suspect that Mr. Chirac is angry at Paul Martin for unseating Mr. Chirac's friend, Jean Chretien. It's an interesting argument. Mr. Chretien was here a few days before and dined with Mr. Chirac. They like each other. In fact, renewing the frayed relationship between France and Canada may have been Mr. Chretien's greatest foreign policy achievement.
But whether or not this was the greatest snub since Charles de Gaulle's outburst in Montreal in 1967, it shows how hard it is for Canada to get its due in the world. Call it the incredible lightness of being Canadian.
It's largely our own fault. If we are so ignorant of our history -- ask a fourth-year university student about D-Day and weep -- we shouldn't be surprised that others don't know much either. After all, why did it take 59 years to build a Canadian memorial at Juno Beach, and why did the initiative come from Wal-Mart?
If we are so lacking in confidence in ourselves that the prime minister must apologize for missing the funeral of Ronald Reagan, during an election campaign, what do we expect?
If we are so colonial in mentality that our media actually think it important when a nameless U.S. official implies that Mr. Martin's tribute to Mr. Reagan isn't extravagant enough, who will respect us?
If we are so dismissive of our institutions that a leading historian could say of the prime minister's decision to ask the Governor General to attend Mr. Reagan's funeral ("that's what Adrienne is paid for," sniffed Robert Bothwell), no wonder foreigners don't take us seriously.
It's about memory, dignity, independence, self-respect. The Canadians who landed in Normandy 60 years ago understood that. Their children and grandchildren do not.
Andrew Cohen is an associate professor of journalism and international affairs at Carleton University.
E-mail: andrew_cohen@carleton.ca
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PARIS - In May 1994, as the 50th anniversary of D-Day approached, Bill Clinton invited six historians to the White House to ask them what he should say at the ceremony the next month in France.
All were American except for the esteemed Briton, John Keegan. When his turn came, Mr. Keegan advised the president: "Don't forget the Canadians."
He was impressed that Canada had landed at one of the five beaches on the coast of Normandy, overcome stiff resistance and punched deep inland. He knew the seminal role Canada played that momentous day, and the other roles it had played in the war. He also knew that Canada had the world's fourth-largest military in 1945.
Still, in his remarks marking the 60th anniversary of the landings, President Jacques Chirac of France, who was the host, virtually ignored Canada. His omission -- if not outright insult -- was unnoticed in Canada. But it said something about Canadians, their sense of memory, dignity, and self-respect.
Naturally, Mr. Chirac heaped praise on the United States. He said that the Americans had put "their ideals, their might and their courage" to liberate France. Of course, he also paid tribute to Great Britain as "the last archipelago of liberty."
But of Canada, which lost 359 sons that day, Mr. Chirac had little to say. "Soldiers came from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand," he noted, as if Canadians were a sideshow rather than the main event. "They came from Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Greece. There were Poles, Czechs and Slovaks among them."
There. That was it. All you had to know about Canada on D-Day was that it was comme tout les autres, fighting with the Norwegians (37 dead), the French (19 dead), the Australians (13 dead), the New Zealanders (2 dead) and the Belgians (one dead).
Mr. Chirac didn't mention that 15,000 Canadians waded ashore under the banner of the Queen's Own Rifles and Le Regiment de la Chaudiere at places called Courseulles-sur-Mer and Bernieres-sur-Mer. Or that the Canadians gained more ground that day than any other Allied force and suffered casualties in the Normandy campaign approaching those of the Great War.
No, while the Governor General and the prime minister of Canada looked on, while hundreds of veterans gathered a few miles away at Juno Beach, Mr. Chirac was telling the world what everyone else had done at Normandy, including the Free French. Canada? It was just an accessory.
Perhaps this was an oversight, recalling George W. Bush's failure to include Canada among the many nations he thanked after Sept. 11. Perhaps Mr. Chirac didn't know what happened at Juno Beach or those who died there, many of whom lie buried at the touching cemetery of Beny-sur-Mer. Perhaps he didn't know about Putot-en-Bessin, which was liberated by the Winnipeg Rifles. He ought to speak to the mayor, who honoured an old soldier from Canada in the town square the day before.
Or perhaps it wasn't an accident after all. Some suspect that Mr. Chirac is angry at Paul Martin for unseating Mr. Chirac's friend, Jean Chretien. It's an interesting argument. Mr. Chretien was here a few days before and dined with Mr. Chirac. They like each other. In fact, renewing the frayed relationship between France and Canada may have been Mr. Chretien's greatest foreign policy achievement.
But whether or not this was the greatest snub since Charles de Gaulle's outburst in Montreal in 1967, it shows how hard it is for Canada to get its due in the world. Call it the incredible lightness of being Canadian.
It's largely our own fault. If we are so ignorant of our history -- ask a fourth-year university student about D-Day and weep -- we shouldn't be surprised that others don't know much either. After all, why did it take 59 years to build a Canadian memorial at Juno Beach, and why did the initiative come from Wal-Mart?
If we are so lacking in confidence in ourselves that the prime minister must apologize for missing the funeral of Ronald Reagan, during an election campaign, what do we expect?
If we are so colonial in mentality that our media actually think it important when a nameless U.S. official implies that Mr. Martin's tribute to Mr. Reagan isn't extravagant enough, who will respect us?
If we are so dismissive of our institutions that a leading historian could say of the prime minister's decision to ask the Governor General to attend Mr. Reagan's funeral ("that's what Adrienne is paid for," sniffed Robert Bothwell), no wonder foreigners don't take us seriously.
It's about memory, dignity, independence, self-respect. The Canadians who landed in Normandy 60 years ago understood that. Their children and grandchildren do not.
Andrew Cohen is an associate professor of journalism and international affairs at Carleton University.
E-mail: andrew_cohen@carleton.ca