Book Review: Great Canadians

Great Canadians: Twelve Profiles of Extraordinary People 

Author: Angela Murphy

Publisher: Folklore Publishing, paperback, 142 pages, including Acknowledgements, Introduction, and Notes on Sources

Reviewed by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

The Author 

Angela Murphy, at the time of this volume’s publication, was, among other things, a full-time writer with an extensive and varied background in education. She held positions as a university lecturer, public school administrator and curriculum consultant before deciding to pursue a career in writing. She has written children’s books, magazine articles, and as a freelance literary reviewer for Canadian newspapers. Her previous book, Notorious Escapades, was one of the first books in the Great Canadian Stories series.

Contents

In addition to the Acknowledgements, Introduction, and Notes on Sources, there are 12 chapters. The chapters include: Chapter 1: Margaret Atwood, Chapter 2: Tommy Douglas, Chapter 3: Terry Fox, Chapter 4: Wayne Gretzky, Chapter 5: Sir John A. MacDonald, Chapter 6: Nellie McClung, Chapter 7: Marshall McLuhan, Chapter 8: Emily Murphy, Chapter 9: Lester B. Pearson, Chapter 10: Louis Riel, Chapter 11: David Suzuki, Chapter 12: Pierre Elliott Trudeau. 

In her Introduction, Murphy observed five “common threads” present in the lives of these 12 Canadians. Readers will notice that of the 12, only 3 of them are women. At the end of her Introduction, after providing a number of reasons why more women were not included in this volume, Murphy states: “If you would like to suggest names for a future book on Great Women of Canada, please forward your ideas by e-mail...” (pp. 10-11). There is, in this Great Canadian Stories series, a volume entitled Canadian Women Adventurers: Stories Of Daring & Courage, by Tamela Georgi & Lisa Wojna. 

One of the features of this volume, which yours truly appreciated was a quotation attributed to each of the “Great Canadians” at the beginning of each chapter. Margaret Atwood’s reveals the quintessential Canadian trait of doing what one does without making a fuss or drawing attention to one’s self: “I am a writer, and a reader, and that’s about it” (p. 12). Sir John A. MacDonald’s highlights his sense of humour in the face of difficulties: “Be philosophical, and if Fortune empties a chamber pot on your head, just smile and say, ‘We are having a summer shower’” (p. 45).

Brief Observations

To encourage readers of this review to read this volume, here is a tidbit from each of the 12 extraordinary people. 

In addition to being a highly acclaimed novelist, poet, and literary critic, Margaret Atwood has been a peace and social justice advocate for Amnesty International and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Tommy Douglas was diagnosed with osteomyelitis, and may have had his leg amputated. However, a doctor performed an experimental surgery for free, which saved Tommy’s leg. Tommy may have been highly motivated to introduce medicare in Canada because of that free surgery. 

Terry Fox’s 5376 kilometre Marathon of Hope raised $24.7 million dollars for cancer research, and his legacy lives on around the world as people in 60 countries run every year to raise money for cancer research.

In the 1980s, Wayne Gretzky won the NHL Hart Trophy every year for 8 years as most valuable player, as well as the Art Ross Trophy as NHL’s leading scorer 6 years in a row. 

In addition to Sir John A. MacDonald’s political vicissitudes, his 13 month-old son died, his first wife Isabella Clark struggled with her health and eventually died, and his daughter Mary that he had with his second wife, Susan Agnes Bernard, was physically and mentally disabled, and his law practice went bankrupt. All of these factors led him to turn to the bottle. 

Nellie McClung had a life-long passion for reducing the inequalities between girls and boys, women and men, and was one of the famous five who successfully advocated for women to gain the right to vote and be regarded as persons. In addition to being a wife, mother, teacher, and social justice advocate, Nellie was also a successful author, and the first woman to become a member of the CBC board of governors in 1936.

Marshall McLuhan was an intellectual’s intellectual. He earned a BA and PhD from the University of Cambridge, was a professor and expert on the media and communication, and became a Roman Catholic convert. 

Emily Murphy was the first woman magistrate in the British Empire, and a member of the famous five. She was also the first female on the Edmonton Hospital Board, an author who, among other things, wrote popular articles under the pen name, “Janey Canuck.” 

Lester B. Pearson was the son of a Methodist minister. He studied at Oxford University, became a lecturer at the University of Toronto, met and married one of his students, Maryon Moodie, and in addition to becoming Prime Minister of Canada, he was honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Louis Riel was a Métis spiritual and political leader. Even though Riel was regarded as a rebel and hanged as a traitor, his legacy lives on today as a hero who was a social justice advocate for his people. 

David Takayoshi Suzuki, even though being of Japanese descent, could not speak Japanese. His fishing trips, exploration of pristine forests and lakes and camping with his father most likely inspired David to learn more about the natural world and become a world-famous scientist and television personality. A long time spokesperson for environmental protection and preservation, David, along with his second wife Tara Cullis, also a scientist, created the David Suzuki Foundation. 

Pierre Elliott Trudeau, in addition to being Prime Minister of Canada, was the son of Jean-Charles Emile Trudeau, a millionaire Montréal lawyer. Pierre travelled widely around the globe. He went on a walking tour of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. 

This volume will inspire those interested in Canadian history. 

Book Review: Canada and Climate Change

Canada and Climate Change

Author: William Leiss

Publisher: McGill-Queen’s University Press, hardcover, 181 pages

Reviewed by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

The Author 

At the time of this volume’s publication (2022), William Leiss was/is a fellow and past president of the Royal Society of Canada, an officer of the Order of Canada, and professor emeritus at the School of Policy Studies Queen’s University. He is the author of several books, including Mad Cows and Mother’s Milk: The Perils of Poor Risk Communication.

Contents

This volume is the second one of the Canadian Essentials Series, published jointly by McGill-Queen’s University Press and the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. It contains Tables and Figures, Preface, Introduction, 1 What Is Climate? 2 The Pleistocene and Holocene Epochs, 3 Predictions of Climate Science, 4 Trusting Climate Science, 5 Canada: Negotiating Climate Change, 6 Treaty Framing and Climate Science, 7 Managing the Risks of Global Warming, 8 Canada: Mitigation, Impacts, and Adaptation, Reminiscences and Acknowledgments, Appendix 1: Notes and Calculations for Table 6.4, Appendix 2: The Risk Approach in IPCC’s AR6, Impacts of Climate Change, References and Sources, Index. 

Brief Observations

The author begins by stating that in light of the copious written material on climate change, to write yet another book “might well be regarded as a monumentally foolish endeavour” (p. xi). He refers to the polar ends of the pendulum regarding attitudes toward climate change in fossil-fuel-producing countries, which have paralyzed politicians, thus failing to reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions for the past thirty years. The audience Leiss hopes to reach is “the educated general reader,” and “secondary-school students, as well as college and university students enrolled in introductory courses” (p. xii).  One of the purposes of writing this volume is to affirm the legitimacy of climate scientists and their research, as well as highlight how countries have responded—or have failed to respond appropriately—to climate science research and reports. 

Leiss suggests that Canada needs to tackle three things in response to climate change/crisis: Mitigation—the how and why of reducing GHG emissions; how Canadians will likely need to adapt to climate change/crisis, and justice/equity—Canadian responses to achieve goals with consequences for all of humankind. 

As early as the nineteenth century, a connection has been made with CO2 (carbon dioxide) and the warming of the earth’satmosphere. It came to the fore again in the twentieth century, but alas, humankind failed to take it seriously enough to do anything about it. 

It wasn’t until 1988, at the International Conference on the Changing Atmosphere: Implications for Global Security, held in Toronto that the Canadian federal government and the governments of other countries started to make promises to reduce GHG emissions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has, in thousands of pages, warned the nations of the tragic consequences of ongoing climate change/crisis, which will only worsen if significant action is not taken. However, the agreements, including the one in Paris in 2015 have not been binding. Nations have set goals to reduce GHG emissions by 2030 and 2050. Scientists predict that surpassing a 1.5 degree C warming threshold by 2030, and a 2 degree C threshold by 2050 will likely be catastrophic. So far, Canada and other nations have drastically failed to reach these goals, and most likely will not reach them for a variety of reasons. For example, the oil and gas industry is still funded with billions of dollars, and China is still building coal plants. The developed nations are not spending enough money to fund alternative, environmentally-friendly energy sources in the developing countries. Far too many people doubt the research of climate scientists and live in denial of climate change/crisis. The federal and provincial governments lack the political will to act significantly to reduce CO2 and other GHG emissions. 

This volume is informative, challenging and depressing. Hope for the future is required to motivate citizens, governments and industry to move more quickly to reduce GHG emissions. We need more than analysis, facts and figures, treaties and agreements. Therefore the author could have concluded this volume with a couple of chapters on contributions of First Nations and environmental organisations, and how citizens can connect with them to advocate and work for change and make a difference. Specific stories of what First Nations and environmental organisations are doing and have accomplished would inspire hope for the future.