O’Canada controversy
Posted Feb 11, 2011 04:22:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Not all MPs are singing the same tune when it comes to O’Canada.
A group of Liberals, including MP Carolyn Bennett, have begun singing their own version of the anthem that is bilingual, gender neutral and secular.
Not everyone is happy with the move. Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. He says having a debate about the anthem would be “damaging,” saying it’s supposed to be something that unites us all as Canadians.
Del Mastro says the anthem used to be the one time of the week when MPs of all strips were united.
He says the Conservatives looked into changing the anthem a couple of years ago but Canadians were overwhelmingly against it.