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On top of that, “transformative legacy projects will change the capital’s urban landscape.” Anything that was due to take place this year is considered to be a transformative legacy project. That includes light rail, the Ottawa Innovation Centre and the Ottawa Gallery and Arts Court redevelopment. The city has even thrown in its effort to fix up Main Street, or screw it up, depending on your perspective.

There will be Canada Day celebrations on the Hill, of course, but that happens every year. The fact that Bono will grace the event and perform one song has been portrayed as big news. At least his name is more recognizable than most of the mid-range Canadian talent that will flesh out the show.

All of this could be seen as a bit underwhelming, but one has to be sympathetic to the organizers’ dilemma. Part of the problem is that the country’s 150th birthday is no more significant than the 149th was or the 151st will be. It’s more than that, though.

Those of us old enough to remember Canada’s 100th birthday will recollect a nation that was proud of its past, excited about its present and optimistic about its future. That’s not the case today.

Our national history is being recast as primarily a story of colonialism and exploitation of Indigenous Peoples by the “settlers,” as all non-indigenous people are now known. The writings and actions of historical figures such as Sir John A. Macdonald are judged as if he lived today.

Personally, I have always admired the people who came here with little or nothing and undertook the task of clearing 100 acres of forest to make a farm, or built an industry or a national railroad, or worked together to make disparate provinces into a country.