We’ve all done it before: when the sun rises
on a day marking an anniversary of something that went horribly wrong, we —
often silently — wonder if, because of the date, history will repeat itself.
The folks in Edmonton probably had that very thought today — hours before
darkness falls over the city and fireworks. Because this is the 12th
anniversary of the Canada Day aftermath that gave this city a bad image across
the country, if not North America.
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| ...a picture from July 2, 2002 |
Re-hashing details of what happened after 2
a.m. July 2 where crowds grew as high as 1,200 on Edmonton’s Whyte. Ave. is
pointless. Edmonton’s civic pride took a great hit, among other things. A City
of Edmonton report says the police costs and some clean-up of the riot exceeded
$312,000. The city had to pay for it, absolutely. But one can wonder if other
services had to be paired back or even cut.
Celebrating Canada Day is a national
tradition. We deserve to. We have every right to boast the maple leaf and wear
red and white colors with pride. We need to. But as we do that later tonight,
let’s take some pride in our cities, provinces, and of course, our country.
Let’s not harm anyone or disrespect any part of our country. Perhaps if we do
that we will honor the best way possible.
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...fireworks in Edmonton
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