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Something we can all agree upon

Who was Canada's worst?

 

Ted Knudtson

For the Calgary Herald


November 6, 2004

 

 

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is tearing our country apart. Our publicly funded national broadcaster is driving a wedge between Canadians, exploiting our differences and exposing our lack of unity. What is the offending program? The Greatest Canadian.

Since spring, the CBC has been encouraging Canadians to nominate individuals they feel are qualified to be the greatest Canadian, a sort of historical Canadian Idol without the choreography. Through Internet voting and phone-in polls, the CBC compiled a list of the 50 favourite Canadians, then whittled it down to 10. Weekly profiles of the top 10 are followed by the opening of polls during and after each program. On Nov. 29, the winner will be crowned.

But, with the first episode, viewers noticed the absence of women and people of colour in the top 10. Many viewers were put off by Don Cherry's inclusion, while other considered by some more worthy of the title -- Nellie McClung, Norman Bethune, Bobby Orr -- missed the cut. A Winnipeg disc jockey got on the list (edging out Laura Secord for 34th). Apparently, in a town like Winnipeg, you can get behind anything.

The CBC states its mission is to "build bridges among Canadians, between regions and the two linguistic communities," and to "build mutual understanding among Canadians." But, this contest, which puts people with different values in conflict, is bound to be divisive. A Cherry fan, for example, is likely to have a different standard for greatness than a David Suzuki supporter.

Many Canadians find the concept of anointing one Canadian the greatest to be rather an American approach. Canadians tend to be patriotic, but quietly so. We have never been very comfortable exalting our heroes. Canadians seem to prefer poking fun at celebrity rather than worshipping it, Avril Lavigne fans aside.

Now, a web-based movement called The Most Embarrassing Canadian endeavours to bring Canadians back together by inviting Internet surfers to nominate and vote for the famous person they are most ashamed to call Canadian.

While just the term "the greatest" can spark an argument, everyone can agree on what they find shameful: Weighing the relative social value of insulin versus the telephone can be tricky, but Canadians are universally embarrassed by Ben Johnson's steroid use. Judging the accomplishments of Pierre Trudeau and Sir John A. Macdonald will start a debate, but most Canadians can agree that Dar Heatherington should have stayed in Las Vegas.

As with the CBC project, TMEC will select a top-10 list of finalists and then choose The Most Embarrassing Canadian from among them. In the process, TMEC might just accomplish a feat not attained by constitutional accords, unity referendums, or even beer commercials -- the formation of a Canadian identity we can call our own, leaning neither left nor right, but proudly in the middle, our tongues planted firmly in our cheeks.

The Most Embarrassing Canadian is located at: http://www.airenet.com/thelazyk/TMECIntro.htm

© The Calgary Herald 2004

 

 

 

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