Dominion of Canada Day Luncheon

C.R. Charlton

To help celebrate Canada's birthday, the Empire Club of Canada and the Royal Commonwealth Society, Toronto Branch, are honoured to have fifty members of the renowned Toronto Children's Chorus, who will offer a musical rendition. This group of boys and girls, aged nine to sixteen, under the musical direction of Jean Ashworth-Bartle, has performed with the Toronto Symphony, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and this summer is performing in Europe.

Toast to Canada and the Commonwealth The Hon. Bette Stephenson, M.D.

Minister of Education and Minister of Colleges and Universities, Province of Ontario.

Dr. Stephenson

Ladies and gentlemen: In honour of the 117th birthday of our magnificent country, would you rise and join me in a toast to Canada and the Commonwealth of Nations, our extended family.

Reply to Toast to Canada and the Commonwealth MGen. Bruce J. Legge, C.M.M., K.St.J., E.D., C.D., Q.C. National Chairman, The Royal Commonwealth Society and Chairman, The Empire Club Foundation

MGen. Bruce Legge

Madam Chairman, Mr. Chairman, Madam Minister, distinguished guests, members and friends of our two organizations: It is a great pleasure for me to respond to the typical brevity of the Honourable Minister in proposing the toast to Canada and the Commonwealth.

I can assure you, of course, that her brevity in no way reflects her love of country-it is much longer than that. Actually, I must tell a little story because the Minister would feel hurt were she not recognized in this way. The Pope eventually died, reported to St. Peter and was asked to wait in the waiting room. There were other people going and coming and a person came in that took precedence to the Pope in being attended to by St. Peter. The Pope intervened and said, "St. Peter, how is it that a person like me who has been Pope and very devoted to my Christian duties, is superseded by someone else in entering heaven"? St Peter replied, "Well, I think holiness has nothing to do with your merit, but it has to do with the fact that this is the first Cabinet Minister from Ontario we've ever had apply for admission to Heaven and of course we've already had platoons of Popes".

Well, Madam Minister, we know your position on Canada and the Commonwealth and the Crown and it is just perfect as far as the members of these clubs are concerned. It is good that we remember our 117th birthday and I think Bob Hope was very much in point when he said you really have to start worrying when the cost of the candles is more than the cost of the cake. One hundred and seventeen candles is quite a lot for a country, but if you consider the five-thousand year history of China or the three, four, five-thousand year history of the Jewish people we are not exactly an ancient organization.

We should also remember the War of 1812 to 1814, where Canada's nationality was really formed, particularly at the Battle of Stoney Creek (which I mention simply because the Honourable Lincoln Alexander knows all about Stoney Creek coming from Hamilton as he does). At that great and famous battle the British Canadians and Indians managed to infiltrate at night some 600 soldiers into a large American encampment of 3,000 people and of course won a great victory. However, in the year 1812, Napoleon had 600,000 troops marching on Moscow, so we have never been a very numerous or important country save and except for what we stand for!

I think, Madam Minister, if I may say so, that the Sesquicentennial shows what we stand for and I know that everyone here would want to felicitate General Lewis for the absolutely marvellous job that Toronto has done in celebrating the 150th anniversary of our great city.

As a member of the Bicentennial Commission, I want to make this point. In 1784 when this part of the world was first populated, Edmund Burke said in the House of Commons that it was passing strange that His Majesty's possessions in British North America were populated by disenfranchised Highlanders, by retired soldiers, by French Canadians, by Indians and by Tories who were driven out of the Thirteen Colonies. Canada started with an assortment of people and we have a marvellous assortment of people in Canada. In the Bicentennial Commission we say that it does not matter when you came to Canada but it matters that, like General Lewis, you are a Canadian by choice. If you want to reside and be a Canadian in Canada then you are as Loyalist as the ancestors who came here in 1784.

On this Happy Birthday occasion, Madam Minister, I thank you for what you are, for what you stand for in the government of Ontario, and for your toast to Canada and the Commonwealth.