It may or may not be known by all of you that there has been a take over battle raging over the Hudson Bay Company, Canada's oldest company. A company so important to national identity that kids learn about the trading post in the junior years of highschool. As of very recently (I'm not certain of the exact date) this national treasure has been bought by Americans or an American. An American multi-millionaire by the name of Jerry Zucker has bought the company for $15.25C a share. This is just another example of how the Canadian national identity is being eroded while we sit back and watch it happen, and enjoy it for that matter. It won't be long until everything that is "ours" is "theirs". The question remains as to whether this is really a good thing or not. Economists will shake their fists in the air saying that it cannot possibly be anything but a good thing while patriots (if there are any) will be fighting to keep whatever we can authentically Canadian. It will be an interesting process watching the Hudson Bay Company change. Zucker claims that he has no intention of changing the Bay quite yet but it is only a matter of time. Until then I will hold onto the memories of visiting the legendary department store with my Gran and Grandad on a Sunday afternoon.
p.s. In regards to some of the comments I have received regarding my entry on Stephen Harper shaking his kids hands, if I'm losing things to "pick on" why did the provincial and some national news cover the exact same thing? How a person is with their family can strongly illustrate what kind of person they are. Also, I will give the benefit of the doubt to Harper, perhaps he did actually want to take his kids to school and did take time out of his schedule to do that. However lets not lose sight of the fact that he has advisors now planning his every move and taking your kids to school makes a nice front page picture of a new Prime Minister a large chunk of the country has trouble liking and trusting.
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3 comments:
Would that be the 'large chunk of people' that voted him into power?
Or was it the 'large chunk of people' that were ripped off by the Liberals for the last time?
Or rather the 'large chunk' that like to judge people by their appearances...instead of the abilities to do the job right?
i understand what you are saying - but let's be realistic; the national news is biased and if he had hugged his kids they would have said 'he only hugged them because of the photo op'. they are going to find whatever faults they can nit pick - in any politician. i'm not naive - i know that there is no such thing as a perfect politician....but some people are focusing on all the wrong things.
and also; my 5 year old is embarrassed to be hugged when i drop him off at school....now add cameras and a totally new *public* environment...it has to be very awkward for the kids. how a person is in public with national news cameras all around doesn't say much about that person at all. if anything - it proves that they are human.
In regards to the Harper comments...
I agree that media is usually biased, and like to sensetionalize the trivial. However, this time it does matter, because the election of Harper is not just a question of policy change, but a question of what kind of people Canadians will be, and what the nation of Canada will stand for. To hug is human and emotional. To shake is socially formal. You shake the hand of someone who you do not know, but respect, usually because it is advantageous for you to respect them at the moment (employers, strangers, etc...). And when it is advantageous to do so, Harper will smile and shake your hand. But when it is no longer advantageous (for his vision of Canada anyway), he will turn his back on you. (It's impossible to turn your back on someone while hugging someone. Or at the very least, extremely rude). Canadians were presented with the option of survival through compassion, and survival through competition. So let the rat race begin. Harper may be the man to 'do the job right', but if that job consists of tossing a good portion of the canadian population overboard to swim for shore, then you can count me out for this cruise.
And on the HBC issue: Yes, it sucks that Canada's oldest company, and the first chain of retail stores in the world is no longer owned by Canadians, but to say it's no longer Canadian ignores the fact that it's been run like an American company for years anway (Although the HBC store downtown always did have a more pleasant air to it than other retailer. Well, if you avoid the perfume/makeup section that is. I'm pretty sure working there for extended periods of time qualifies you for a diagnosis of clinical insanity)
But then again, I could be completely wrong :P
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