“What’s your father’s occupation?” the teacher asked the new student in class.
“He’s a magician,” he replied.
“How interesting!” said the teacher. “What’s his favourite trick?”
“Sawing people in half,” was the boy’s quick response.
“Wow!” exclaimed the teacher, and then asked, “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“One half brother and two half sisters,” answered the boy.
Canadians may be feeling like they need the services of a magician to make the current issues we’re facing disappear. Issues like the required values attestation in order to apply for summer grants, controversy concerning Canada’s gun laws and the Cannabis Act.
[emember_protected for=”2″ custom_msg=’For more on this story, please see the Mar. 30 print edition of The Cross Roads.’]
Service Canada has begun avoiding gendered forms of address when speaking with the public, changing father and mother to parent number 1 and parent number 2.
Refugee statistics by the end of 2017 were at 20,000 along the Canada-U.S. border. In January 2018 alone, 1,500 people were stopped by the RCMP between official border points. That’s five times higher than January of last year. Typically January has the lowest number of crossings. Rather than addressing the safe third country agreement, the government set aside $173 million for irregular migration and managing border costs.
Bill S-239 still needs to be addressed before the next election. It would prohibit registered third parties from accepting contributions from foreign donors. Why? Because 114 third parties in the 2015 election spent $6 million and many of those parties were funded by the U.S.-based Tides Foundation, which is known for holding anti-Canadian oil campaigns.
Though we may feel like we could use magic to make all of the above, and more, disappear, what we really need to do is make our voices heard to our MPs and senators. Letting our voices be heard is the one benefit of our democracy that we cannot afford to neglect.
And in our everyday lives, we can endeavour to be people of integrity, always having the courage to do the right thing in the right way.
An example of this is a true story about a woman who was helping five North Koreans defect, when they were suddenly thrown into prison. The Laotian government demanded a fine of US$700 for each North Korean, and the woman had no money left to give.
She was slumped in a chair at a coffee house, not knowing what to do, when an English-speaking western tourist asked if she was okay.
When she confided in him, he made a phone call to a friend and then told her he had decided to help her. He walked across the street to an ATM and returned, handing her the cash she needed.
This woman, who had been raised in North Korea, had never had a stranger treat her as a friend for no other reason than it seemed to be the right thing to do. All her life she had learned that trusting anyone outside her immediate family was dangerous. But because of the kindness of one man, her views about human nature were transformed.
That’s what this Easter season is all about. Easter is about a living Saviour who resides in all those who invite Him into their lives. It’s about serving others with all our hearts, and helping to transform our communities into safe havens. It’s about having the courage to do the right thing in the right way, standing up for justice, because justice always leads to a better life.
It’s not magic; it’s a trillion times better than magic.
[/emember_protected] 
