Oh, Canada.

It's Canada day. 

I guess it's time to be a proud Canadian. 

But I'm starting to wonder if I'm the only Canadian standing in a crowd of painted faces having a hard time finding something to be proud of other than the corn dogs and a deep fried sense of freedom we've so recently realized doesn't really exist. 

But I'm sure just as surely as we learned its not okay to non violently protest our Governments unethical behaviour, we'll learn it's okay to be spied on. 

But is there even a chance to break a cycle that has already begun and shows no signs of slowing down?

Where do we look to first? Our cities? Our community? Maybe somewhere closer? Our homes? Our families?

Could it finally be time for parents to get their heads out of their 'iClouds' and remove technological babysitters from the hands of their infants?

Our minds are beautiful and limitless but possess the capacity to stunt, shrink, shrivel, be programmed and shelved. 

A child's developing brain does not possess the ability to decipher between the reality in your kitchen and the reality inside that iPad. As they grow, you can be certain they'll  develop a tighter grip on their iPad than they will on real life.

Not that our realty is anything to be proud of. 

A reality of oil spills, limitless government corruption, fast deals and instant meals. Flat screens and beauty queens. The praise of physical attraction and skill, and downright disinterest in the capability of the mind and all it shoulders. 

Within every one of us lies the potential to change the way things are. To change the Canada we live in. 

I'm just not sure I'm willing to settle with this version of Canada. 

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Is this the Canada you want to live in?

Where yor dinner is ready in 3 seconds because it was cooked in a microwave or picked up in a drive through because you didn't have time to make a real meal with real fruits and vegetables because you're working far harder than anyone should because a bank sold you a credit card with limitless possibilities?

Bottomless refills and endless choices? Is this our Canada? A frightful replication of a crippled American Consumption based state of mind? Is this our Canadian dream?  Was there ever a Canadian dream? Is it  a 25% poverty rate among aboriginal children in our own backyard? 

Is a declining literacy rate a Canadian Dream?

Is this the Canada you want to live in? 

Where you're told genetically modified food is just as safe for you as the heavy metal in your fillings and the fluoride in your water?

Is this the Canada you want to live in?

Where politicians spend more a year feeding their corrupt and corporate bloated bellies while your child's education system starves?

Is this the Canada we want to live in?

Where our natural pride is derived from the beauty of our natural surroundings and 'existence' of endangered species we proudly boast on coins and dollars. 

But for some twisted reason we would sooner compromise the beauty of this existence and the existence of this beauty for a monstrous natural resource sucking machine leaking its poisonous effluent into our streams, lakes and quality of life - for more coins and dollars. 

All in an effort to ship our irreplaceable resources off to an insatiable China - In the name of a Canadaian Future...? but we read it wrong. 

This is not a Canadian Future. It's a Future for a Few Canadians.

While many Canadians work their fingers to the bone to get out of more debt to consume more products shipped back to Canada from China.

These few Canadians represent monstrous multi national corporations with the interests of real Canadians at the bottom of their lists. 

These few Canadians occupy the Parliament Benches of your elected and trustworthy government.

The same government in the middle of an election fraud scandal, a crack smoking scandal and a breach of trust - the likes of which Canadians have never seen before. 

Still the Canada you want to live in?

A government that refuses to spend more money enhancing the framework of an antiquated education system leaving our 'future' with as few options as possible.

All while spending billions paving the way for the future of a few more Canadians representing the corrupt corporations willing to compromise and upheave every last drop, the resources, the makeup of our national identity, all we believe is beautiful, all for a big greasy pipeline directly to China. In exchange for a few more big payouts into a few more pockets. 

You see it is no longer Canadian oil. If it was Canadian oil, we wouldn't be in debt. 

Lets take Norway for a quick example. Norway has a proportionate amount of oil as Canada. But Norway has NO DEFICIT. Norway has a billion dollar SURPLUS. 

 - because instead of allowing monster foreign companies to extract, process and ship the oil (providing hefty kickbacks to a few government leaders and the likes) Norway has - hold your breath for a the use of the devils language: socialized their oil industry. 

Controlled by the people, for the people. What a ridiculous idea. 

Sure there are a Few Canadians in charge being soundly rewarded for our current arrangement. But outside of that, this is a corporations product. With amazing and bountiful rewards for,  just a Few Canadians. 

Meanwhile many Canadians struggle to feed their children. Many Canadians see no future for their education. Many Canadians are lied to and told their future is just as bright as their MP's Mercedes high beam head lights doing twice the speed limit through a school zone that will soon no longer be a school zone because well hey, we gotta cut spending somewhere. 

I'm a proud Canadian. 

But I just don't think this is the Canada I'm proud of.