Sept 10, 2024

As I write this, I am on board a Le Boat Horizon 3 flying bridge cruiser on the Trent Severn Canal. The boat has been just great, the Le Boat people have been wonderful, but the star of the show is the Trent-Severn Waterway itself and the Parks Canada employees who have been nothing short of awesome.

Recently, there have been some things that have really concerned me as a Canadian. I’ve been concerned about our international reputation and the fact that it’s become very public that we do not contribute the requested 2% of Canada‘s GDP to NATO. In fact, it reminds Canadians that our government possibly has underfunded our military and all of its people for sometime now. In the same vein, I would’ve also liked to see Canada do more to support Ukraine. I see this as a very important conflict. There has been a lot written about Canada‘s productivity levels. With the current focus on the elections south of the border and the booming American economy, I’ve seen a concerning amount written about the productivity of Canadians generally and about declines in our standard of living as a result.

I’ve always been very proud to be a Canadian. My father and many other ancestors have all served in the military. It’s a proud heritage. Now, we can all see that conflict in the Middle East as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine, represents a threat to our safety and security in Canada.

The Rideau Canal, managed by Parks Canada and also the Trent-Severn Canal were both massive engineering projects originally undertaken for military purposes. Neither location ever became embroiled in a war, but Canada was a very new and very small country when those massive undertakings were built and completed. Canada did it then and yet now, a century later, we are not willing to upgrade our defences.

I’m certainly glad there’s never been a major military conflict here and I am especially glad to see how beautiful and scenic our Parks Canada canals are. In the past week on our boat cruise, we had an opportunity to meet and talk to many of the Lock Masters and other staff on our trip. Everyone was knowledgeable, efficient, friendly and welcoming. The scenery was breathtaking too. My real point here is to say after my Le Boat Cruise on the Trent-Severn Canal system I am again feeling very proud to be a Canadian.

If you’re not familiar with the ‘Rideau or the ‘Trent, a wonderful way to discover them for yourself is on a boat cruise. These are truly treasures of Canada’s national heritage.

Andy Adams – Editor.