【Supplementary Reading】
The following is a continuation from the supplementary reading in Chapter 13.It is an excerpt from“A Time for Action”，a document issued by the Canadian government in 1978 discussing why it was important to replace the British North American Act of 1867 with a new Canadian Constitution.
Values We Are Free to Choose
Once these values have been well integrated into the national consensus，we will at last be able to devote ourselves，serenely and without compunction，to the cultivation of Canadian diversity.Each community，for its own betterment and to some extent for the good of others，will be able to develop its language and its culture and its regional characteristics，whatever these may be.In all other respects we will be able to choose the values that shape our attitudes，our aspirations and our lifestyles，and to resist in all good conscience pressures from those who would impose on us，in the name of unity，a sterile and pointless uniformity.
For although some Canadians have until now been satisfied with too narrow a national consensus，one which excluded values essential to the unity，stability and prosperity of the Federation，others have attempted to extend the consensus too far.Canadian identity is not a steam roller，and one of the key goals of our federal system of government is precisely to preserve and promote diversity.Uniformity would make Canada totally uninteresting，and eventually deprive the country of its raison d’être.Northrop Frye，the well⁃known Canadian critic，has perhaps expressed the essential difference between uniformity and unity better than anyone：
Uniformity，where everyone“belongs”，uses the same clichés，thinks alike and behaves alike，produces a society which seems comfortable at first but is totally lacking in human dignity.Real unity tolerates dissent and rejoices in variety of outlook and tradition，recognizes that it is man’s destiny to unite and not divide，and understands that creating proletariats and scapegoats and second⁃class citizens is a mean and contemptible activity.Unity，so understood，is the extra dimension that raises the sense of belonging into genuine human life.
Learning to Live with Our Differences
Why do we tend to complain about the distinctive character of other Canadians，while clinging so fiercely to our own?Why is it often difficult for us to accept that the institutions and symbols of the Federation should respect and celebrate the distinctive characteristics of other Canadians，while insisting that ours be respected and celebrated?
The admission made by an Inuit from Povungnituk to the visiting ethnologist applies to us all.“And so ignorant are we”，he said，“in spite of all our shamans，that we fear everything unfamiliar.We fear what we see about us and we fear all the invisible things that are likewise about us，all that we have heard of in our forefathers’stories and myths.”
In many respects，Canada is a country which is still unaware of itself;it is therefore in many respects a country still afraid of itself.
In spite of all our“shamans”—our politicians，our intellectuals，our journalists—we are all too often unaware of what we have in common;so we fear that we may be too different to remain united as a country.
There can be no doubt that we are different;but we don’t quite know to what extent and in what ways.Thus we fear the imaginary harm which the distinctive features of other Canadians might cause us，but we find it hard to believe that our own differences might similarly frighten them;for we are very comfortable with what makes us different and have good reason to consider ourselves harmless.
Our forefathers have left us many stories and myths concerning aspects of regions and communities other than our own.But we are still too often unaware that things have changed and that these myths are false.
How can we dispel these outdated myths?How can we become aware of all the values and experiences we have in common?How can we establish the Canadian identity while learning to live with our differences?
The Means of Discovery
To this end we have means incomparably more powerful and more efficient than those which were available to earlier generations of Canadians.These include the airplane，the railways，the automobile，our education system，newspapers and periodicals，books，radios，television and films—in fact，everything that conveys human beings，their thoughts，their impressions and their hopes.It took La Vérendrye months to reach the Rockies;nowadays，a Montrealer can travel to Calgary in a few hours.It used to take months for news to travel from Halifax to Winnipeg;today，events can be relayed by radio or television in a few seconds.Books were until recently a luxury item which only the rich could afford;but mass publication has made them accessible to everyone.Not long ago，pictures could only be the work of artists，hanging in the homes of the rich，or else locked in the minds of the few who had the opportunity to travel;in our age television，photography and the cinema have brought an incredible wealth of images into every home.Our grandparents proudly remember the day when they heard a John A.Macdonald or a Wilfrid Laurier;today，radio and recording techniques enable us to replay at will the speeches of our politicians，to better understand and appraise them.
We therefore have all the means required to clarify the indistinct word heard by the poet Anne Hébert，and to bring forth the day and the light she glimpsed.But no government will ever be able to establish and develop the Canadian identity by way of legislation.Governments can help，support and facilitate the discoveries of Canadians;but this important dimension of the Federation’s renewal can only be accomplished by the Canadian people.
In a democracy，it is up to the people to decide where they will travel and what they will read，watch or listen to.Thus，it is up to Canadians to discover the similarities which bind us together and the differences from which spring our diversity and which we can agree to preserve together.