Today, the whole country was in a tizzy because two panda bears arrived at Pearson Airport. The two bears, a male and female whose names I couldn't be bothered to look up, will be spending the next five years at the Toronto Zoo before spending the five years after that in Calgary. It's a big deal because a) pandas are awesome and b) it was a deal negotiated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper himself on a trip to China last year.
Now, I have nothing against pandas, they're endangered creatures worth saving, and I'm sure the millions of people who will visit the animals in both zoos will get something valuable out of it. What Harper got yesterday at Pearson was a great photo op, but meanwhile in Ottawa, right outside the PM's office building no less, his presence as envoy might have been slightly more appreciated to people desperately in need of political appreciation.
A group of Aboriginal youth called collectively the Nishiyuu Walkers arrived in Ottawa yesterday. Initiated by an 18-year-old named David Kawapit Jr.,who lives in an isolated community called Whapmagoostui in northern Quebec, the Nishiyuu Walkers, inspired by the Idle No More movement, embarked on a 1,600 kilometre trek from their home on the coast of Hudson Bay to Victoria Island in the Ottawa River and on to Parliament Hill. The walk by Kawapit and about half dozen others became a greater inspiration, and by the time the group arrived in Ottawa yesterday they were 270 strong, according to organizers. In a day and age when the apparent laziness of youth is remarked upon and lamented, nearly 300 people made a 1,000 mile journey on nothing but their own two feet, with the supplies on their back, in the middle of a harsh, northern Canadian winter.
Perhaps they should have done it wearing panda suits.
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