Flag deserves more respect

Page 5

Dear Editor:

I have just received the October issue of Windspeaker, and I would have to say that, as a Canadian soldier presently serving overseas in Bosnia, I am appalled at the way the Canadian flag was treated in Vancouver. I am Plains Cree from Cowessess First Nations in Saskatchewan, and I have been proudly serving in the military for 22 years. While I do support the Mi'kmaq in their struggle for their fishing rights, I cannot condone the action taken against the flag. The following verse, by Charles M. Province, can explain my feelings about the respect the Canadian flag should receive.

It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves under the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.

The protesters do have a right and the freedom to express themselves, however, to myself and many Aboriginal veterans, that flag has special meaning.

Before expressing disgust with the government by burning the flag or spitting on it, one should reflect on the meaning of the Canadian flag, and how many Canadian soldiers have died since the flag was created. We have already lost two soldiers here in the past two months. Their coffins were draped by the Canadian flag, the same symbol in Vancouver that is on the front page of your October issue.

Brian Innes

Master Corporal

Camp Maple Leaf, Zgon

Bosnia and Herzegovia