Falun Dafa Day in Ottawa

Wotta guy, the mayor of Ottawa. None quite like him. In so many ways, none of which particularly impress in a positive manner. His election proceedings left much to be desired. His electioneering promise was one that might have helped elect him but like Dalton McGuinty's promise of holding down taxes, there was no chance in hell he could accomplish that. His awkward performance as the chief elected officer of the municipality has been a sad comedy of errors.

But he did come back latterly from a tour of China launched as a 'business mission' feeling pretty good about himself. Wined and dined by the mayor of Beijing, meeting and glad-handing with other counterparts; Chinese mayors who somehow manage the affairs of cities huge magnitudes of size over the population of Ottawa, with problems Canadians don't have to face, coming to an arrangement with this guy.

China is, of course, an important country, a huge geography comprised of a whopping population speaking many languages, representing many cultures. Canada's politics, culture, society and concerns are simple in comparison to the excruciating pitfalls that face official Beijing. Administering a country of that geographical immensity and population size, facing ongoing problems relating to poverty, unemployment, environmental degradation, crime and clan and religious/cultural differences is enormously difficult.

There are those within Canada who claim that we are ourselves guilty of some level of human-rights offences. But it is China that squats relentlessly on portions of a geography not truly its own, that stamps down hard on religions it does not officially recognize, that imprisons and tortures and executes those whom it claims are enemies of the state. Let's talk about the Falun Gong, for example, a gentle religion that has millions of followers in China, but which has been officially proscribed.

China takes great offence at official recognition of Taiwan, of Tibet and the Dalai Lama. And of Falun Gong. But outside China, all are accorded great respect from other countries and individuals, as is their due. The City of Ottawa, the nation's capital, recognizes many festivals and makes many proclamations that duly recognize the legitimacy of heritage and cultural events; a tip of the hat at Canada's many and varied elements of our population.

In the past adherents of Falun Gong have mounted a Falun Dafa Day, a day of recognition and celebration, and never before has the city officially denied their right to freely celebrate; an official notice signed by the mayor proclaiming "Falun Dafa Day" in the city has always been forthcoming. Not this year. Mayor Larry O'Brien steadfastly refuses to honour the day, and will not sign the requisite proclamation.

His decision, he claims, is "in the interest of maintaining and developing a continuing stronger economic relation with a country that's going to be important to our future". For during that China trip, where Mayor O'Brien, with the diplomacy of his office in full gear, accompanied business leaders of the Capital, where some vital business contacts were made and even a contract signed. Along with pledges of enlarging on what already exists connecting the two countries' business and trade opportunities.

"Quite frankly, based on what I saw, the progress and the warmth and the happiness that I saw in China, it would be very difficult for me to try and create any kind of international incident", he explained to his questioners. That China qualifies the Falon Gong religion and movement as 'evil' and has officially outlawed it is one thing. Canada is a sovereign country where the movement is duly recognized and respected.

Mayor O'Brien is rather too invested with a personal sense of his inflated importance. Ottawa is a speck in the firmament of cities and countries of the world. We are also sovereign. And we give due respect to all the members of our population, as it should be done.