Liberal MP Gerry Byrne can’t often count on getting support from the majority of the people of this province but Monday he hit on a topic on which few could disagree.
The veteran politician got riled up when the presentation of an initial 60 Diamond Jubilee medals by Gov. Gen. David Johnston at a flashy ceremony in Ottawa didn’t include any Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
The ceremony was billed as being an honour for outstanding Canadians for their community work. Other ceremonies were held across the country but the fête in Ottawa was the jewel in the crown. Even if it was based on population, Newfoundland and Labrador should have received one mention of the 60.
After Byrne began his tirade, officials at the Prime Minister’s Office said two people from this province had been invited but had cancelled their trip to Ottawa on short notice and there wasn’t time to find replacements.
Byrne says he was told by Heritage Minister James Moore that flight delays caused the foulup but the MP for Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte wasn’t convinced. He says he checked all the airlines that left this province on Sunday and there were no delays listed on the airlines’ websites.
Byrne says it shows a “great insensitivity” on behalf of the government. It sounds like there is a song and dance underway in the nation’s capital to try to gloss over this insult to all the people in this province who give freely of their talents and time to make our province a better place.
Anyone in this province could name a handful of people in their communities — large and small — who deserved this honour.
We have, without doubt, more volunteers in this province than any other per capita.
In fact, this province would grind to a screeching halt is it wasn’t for the thousands of community-minded individuals who out of the goodness of their hearts keep schools and hospital running, raise money for worthy projects, search for lost people, pay for travel for the sick, distribute food to the underprivileged ... and help out in countless other ways we never hear of.
They are the glue that keeps us together and our lives bareable.
The sad part is, these volunteers would be the last ones who would expect a medal for what they love to do.
