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www.mediumonline.ca
Volume 35, Issue 11
Remembering the fallen On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month each year, we share one moment of silence out of respect for those who have died in the cause of defending this nation.
ANDREW HAMILTON-SMITH FEATURES EDITOR
In a sombre and respectful ceremony in front of the South Building last Tuesday, the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) paid respect to those who have fallen while in defence of their country. Just before the eleventh hour, the Canadian flag was lowered to half-mast – traditionally done to indicate the death of a soldier – while the Last Post trumpet echoed across the pond. At precisely 11a.m., the assembly fell silent for two minutes, a ritual that has been observed since the First Great War. Student Union President Wasah Malik performed a rea----ding of “In Flander's Field,” written by a First World War surgeon named John McCrae. His internationally recognized poem was written at a base hospital near the front in Belgium (Flanders) shortly before he died. One line from the poem in particular stands out on this occasion: “if ye break faith with us who die/We shall
not sleep, though poppies grow/In Flander's Field.” This is the ninetieth anniversary of Remembrance Day, the date and time of which relates to the Treaty of Versailles, signed on the eleventh hour on November 11, 1918, officially bringing the First World War to an end. Following the Great War, as it was called at the time because it was known as “the war to end all wars,” communities throughout Europe and North America built memorials and cenotaphs to honour the fallen soldiers from that conflict. After the Second World War, Remembrance Day came to include casualties from all wars, including the 97 Canadian troops killed in Afghanistan. “An important thing to always remember on Remembrance Day is why we celebrate it: The soldiers, both past and present. Whatever one’s views are about war in general, and particularly the war in Afghanistan, all of that is irrelevant on this day,” commented UTMSU Vice-President External Dhananjai (DJ) Kohli. Kohli went on to add that the day is not about celebrating war, but rather remembering the pain of senseless death. Ian Orchard, Principal and VicePresident of UTM, also spoke to those gathered, along with the hon-
photo/Matthew Filipowich
Amidst flags and ceremony, UTM paid solemn tribute on Tuesday to those who have fallen in defence of Canada. our guard commander, Police Services Manager Len Paris. Campus security staff and the Erindale College Special Response Team (ECSPERT) were in attendance, and oversaw the lowering of
the flag. After the bagpipes played the “Lament,” the flag was raised up the pole again, bringing the observance of the ceremony to a close. Similar such ceremonies were held across the country simultaneously,
including the St. George campus, where there is a majestic gothic tower next to an intricately-engraved wall listing all the U of T students who have died in war throughout Canada’s history.
Blue covenant: Maude Barlow on the global water crisis ANDREW HAMILTON-SMITH FEATURES EDITOR
photo/Dan Rios - courtesy of The Varsity
Recently appointed as the United Nations’ first Commissioner of Water Access, Maude Barlow spoke to a large audience last Friday in the Great Hall of Hart House about the current global water crisis. All over the world “we are seeing life and death struggles over access to clean water, and many of these can be related to the privatization of water and water sources,” observed Barlow, who went on to note that Turkey and Chile have recently announced plans to sell off entire rivers, disregarding the people who live near those w aterways and depend on them for survival. Since nearly half the world’s pop-
ulation lacks access to clean water – and glacial sources in the Himalayas that supply billions of people in China and India are rapidly vanishing – the issue of control over global w ater supplies is already critical. With too many people competing for too little water, it is not surprising that private enterprise sees this as an opportunity to make money. “However,” warned Barlow, “this is not an issue of simple economics, but rather one of human life, dignity, and rights.” “Here in Canada we think that our water supply will never run out,” added Barlow, noting that nearly twenty per cent of all fresh water on earth is located here. With such a tremendous surplus of fresh water, Canada is in a unique position to play a leading role in the
fight against global poverty, disease and suffering. However, Barlow points out that “there is no decent legislation [regarding water rights] at the federal level in this country,” and even those laws that do exist are routinely disobeyed. For example, mining operations and paper mills draw huge amounts of water from public reservoirs, and replace it with polluted byproducts, often violating federal environmental laws w hich are only weakly enforced. The Alberta tar sands are high on her list of offenders, apparently taking three million barrels of water per day from what little water exists in northern Alberta, mixing it with oil-sand. continued on page 2