COAST TO COAST TO COAST
Voyage ‘that connects the country’
As a lover of Canada’s Arctic, Geoff Green couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the country’s 150th anniversary than to lead an expedition along its three coastlines.
A diverse group of Canadians is joining him on the 150-day voyage from the Great Lakes, down the St. Lawrence River, through the Northwest Passage and eventually down the Pacific coast to Victoria. They are making the journey in a refurbished Canadian Coast Guard ice breaker.
“We have the longest coastline in the world so we were thinking about a journey that connects the whole country,” said Green, who has taken many young people to the polar regions as head of the Students on Ice Foundation. “We want to bring the Arctic coastline into the national consciousness.”
But as Green and his team were planning the route, they realized they would be passing through numerous First Nations communities that have no interest in celebrating the last 150 years.
“We have an amazing country, but our country has done some terrible things in the past 150 years,” Green said on Monday.
In an effort to mend fences and increase understanding between Canadians and indigenous communities, the voyage of celebration has morphed into a journey of reconciliation. Along the route, participants will meet with First Nations communities to learn about their lives, cultural practices and difficulties with the Canadian government.
Before the ship left for Baie-Comeau on Monday, 25 participants listened to actress Kaniehtiio Horn talk about growing up as a Mohawk in Kahnawake. The group then visited a school on the reserve where children learn the Mohawk language and met with local band council members. “The journey could be a powerful tool and platform to tell stories and showcase people from coast to coast to coast,” Green said.
During her 10 days on the ship, Horn will have time over dinner to educate her fellow travellers about her community and learn about other parts of Canada. “If we are celebrating it, we should celebrate it by letting all the truth come out and be honest with each other,” she said.
The ship has been outfitted with a legacy room to allow for indigenous ceremonies and discussions about First Nation issues.
Raven Lacerte, who is from a First Nations community in central British Columbia, said she believes Canadians are ready to confront the injustices done to First Nations people over the years.
“Gord Downie is talking about residential schools and Justin Trudeau is speaking out about it,” she said. “I think there is space for tough conversations to understand why many indigenous people aren’t celebrating the 150th anniversary.”
News of the voyage has reached 8 million people on social media and they hope to reach 20 million people by the time the journey ends in Victoria in October. The trip will cost about $10 million. Ottawa and private sponsors are covering about 60 per cent of the cost.
The ship is carrying 60 people. About 30 are crew members and the rest are artists, musicians, scientists and invited guests. More than 5,000 people applied to participate in one leg of the journey, but only 300 were selected.
Green said he’s delighted that 36 First Nations communities have agreed to meet with the participants at stops along their 23,000kilometre coastal journey, dubbed Canada 3C.
“It’s an opportunity to look back, to assess where we are today, but also look to the future,” he said. “We all desire to have better country, but it can be better for everybody.”