Why did I pick that tree for the header?

I chose the Japanese maple for this site's photo header because it says so much to me. It is a maple, not a sugar maple but one that shows the red colour year round. It is exquisite in its form and gracefulness. It communicates the multicultural nature of our country better for the purposes of this dialogue about our country than the standard maple does.

When I was a little girl, my next door neighbours were the Murphys, an older couple whose children had all left home. They were gardeners and a Japanese maple held a special place in their yard. The Murphy's were a wonderful, warm couple. They also had Canada's oldest Tulip tree in their yard and it stood silent sentinel over my childhood. It is strange what impresses children and the Japanese maple impressed me. As an adult, I have planted at least one Japanese maple, preferably with the most delicate of leaves, in the yard of just about every home I have lived in. I now have one in my front yard and another in the back garden. Their year round colour provides a contrast to all of the green that surrounds them.

Somehow that speaks of Canada itself to me. Every immigrant who comes to Canada with good will to start a new life brings something of infinite worth and beauty to our mix. We do not want them to be whitewashed into submission but to elevate us all into a higher level of understanding and perspective. As they shake off the fetters of the unproductive parts of their past, we hope to elevate each of them in return. Canada is a place for futures that are formed from ideas and good will.