Not long after I came to Canada, I learned of the story of Terry Fox. His Marathon of Hope inspired millions of Canadians. Many Canadians to this date still draw strength from it. It is little wonder that according to a poll in 2020, 57 per cent of Canadians support replacing Laurier with Fox on the country’s five-dollar bill.
Since the Marathon of Hope, here have been a number of cross-Canada journeys on foot for various causes. The latest one was Canada Marches by veteran James Topp. Canada Marches began at the Terry Fox Memorial in Vancouver on February 20, 2022, and ended at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa just after 6pm on the eve of Canada Day. The final portion of the march can be watched here in its entirety.
Like Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope, the march received growing support from Canadians as James Topp and his team passed through stop after stop. Along the way, supporters were saying “thank you”. What were they thanking for? Even if one does not read the stories, one can still get a hint by reading why James Topp started marching in the first place. From the Canada Marches web page, the march had three goals:
James is protesting federal government mandates that require, as a condition for employment or continued employment, vaccination, testing, quarantine, and/or isolation;
James has stepped forward to speak on behalf of those personnel employed by the federal government or otherwise who have been denied access to employment and services, who have lost income and have suffered from damaged relationships due to the imposition of a medical procedure;
James has also stepped forward to speak on behalf of those who have, through the introduction of false constructs surrounding choices and consequences, been pressured into taking part in medical procedures that they would not otherwise have accepted.
For many Canadians who came out in support of the march, James Topp represented hope. Whereas Terry Fox gave hope to those who suffer from cancer, James Topp gave hope to Canadians who want to live a normal life in Canada without having to be subjected to an unnecessary and unwanted medical procedure. Unfortunately, unlike the Marathon of Hope, where then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau met Terry Fox in Ottawa, the current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was nowhere to be found. Nevertheless, a number of Members of Parliament did meet with James Topp before the completion of the march and a number of politicians also participated in the march in some form.
To me, the most inspiring aspect of Terry Fox’s story is the work he put in to prepare for his endeavour. It is only through hard work that changes at any level are possible, a point that James Topp highlighted in his speech (the entire speech can be watched here):
I decided to end this march at this location because the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier also means something to me. It holds the remains of a Canadian, a soldier who died in battle, who was unidentified. He is faceless to us yet he was there. He lived, he loved, he thought, and he died…It is a symbol of sacrifice and dedication…I have met thousands of people in my journey from Vancouver to Ottawa and a lot of them have lost hope. They feel lost. They are angry. They have lost faith in the system. So what is to be done?…What’s the answer? Not violence. Peace…It’s not easy. What’s easy is to be afraid. What’s easy is to hate. What’s easy is to insult others. That’s easy. What’s hard, and what you have to work at, is letting it go and looking for something positive. And redirecting your anger into something constructive…Working together is a challenge but you should take up the challenge.
May Canadians take up the challenge and work towards a nation that is strong and free.