ok then
have a polar bear eating a beaver
A Canadian politician has rather deliciously insisted that vast tracts of his nation were opened by "the relentless pursuit of beaver", an agreeable concept that for some reason conjures an image of Silvio Berlusconi furiously paddling a kayak through white water rapids in pursuit of a fleeing supermodel. The description of …
...and knowing our history, the chap is exactly right. All of Canada was explored and settled by fur-traders. Unlike the USA, with its emphasis on the wagon-train and horse-rider, Canada was a land developed by those in canoes. Thus the beaver would be a good symbol on all counts. I always thought a dried beaver pelt would have been a better symbol for all of Canada than a maple leaf, which is associated with the east more than the west.
But after reflection, I realised that this could and would be taken in vain by teenage boys down the centuries, so it's just as well we chose a leaf for our flag.
Just like Canadians - Polar bears are big and scary!
There is a serous side to this. The senator is from the Candian equivalent of the Republicans and there have been a whole series of measures to make canada more US-Republican like. The armed forces are to be renamed Royal-Army, Royal-Airforce, Royal-Navy. National anthem is to be promoted in schools.
They have had a couple of narrow elections and in the last one the NDP (old-labour) came from nowhere to a close second so the conservatives want to make the country more conservative - along US lines.
They could easily have both a Polar Bear and a Beaver flanking a Maple Leaf or something.
But using a Polar Bear is risky in itself as global warming is driving them towards extinction - would such a symbol help raise awareness of their plight or quickly become a relic of a near-mythical creature.
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