“The equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world … these principles have been confirmed in Ontario.”1
Your borders don’t define you.
Your people do.
We swim in your great lakes.
We camp in your parks.
Snowmen line the yards.
While wet mittens sit on the radiators.
Anishinabe, Missassauga, Mohawk, Algonquin, Cree, Ojibway.
India, Brazil, Sudan, Ghana, Greece, Poland.
Refugees and survivors.
A place to build a home.
From John Sandfield to Kathleen.
Banting and Best, Cuddy and Keelor.
French and English.
Cantonese and Farsi.
We sit amongst the trilliums,
while seeking shade under the maples.
Dancing in your clubs.
Skating in your rinks.
Driving on the 401.
Riding the 501.
A road trip to Ottawa or Thornbury.
Staring up at the stars from a dock on a lake.
Eating pho and schnitzel, or
Bagels and injera.
In our cities with skyscrapers and
our LCBO in the centre of our small towns.
We drink and play.
We kiss and dance.
We strive to be greater
than the sum of our parts.
We define ourselves by what we’re not,
and often miss who we are.
It’s ours to discover.
- Human Rights Code, http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90h19_e.htm [↩]