Part 3

Steve: I remember when I went to the end-of-the-year dinner; some of your members said that they very often go down to the citizenship ceremonies to welcome new immigrants. Could you tell us a little bit about the background there?

Bob: That's right, I should have mentioned-that's one of the other functions that we've had here for years. The typical citizenship function is about seventy-five to eighty new Canadians being sworn in, and that happens at least two or three times a week. The Canadian Club has tried to be at least at one of those functions every time, every week-only one every day, rather, of the three days that they're held. So we are the first person to talk to the new Canadians after the judge have officially announced that you are now Canadians, and we talk about the fact that we are a civil society, and what that means. We talk about that they should get involved in Canada, get involved in the community. They should integrate with other Canadians, and they should become and feel that they're part, and they should speak up, and they should do their best to make this a better country. That's what we promote, and that's what we try and encourage them to do at each and every one of these ceremonies. Steve: Now one of the sort of phenomena of the modern world seems to be that people participate less and less in organizations. There have been books written about it. Bowling Alone, I think, was one very famous book. People are no longer "belongers." People used to belong to all kinds of associations. Is it difficult for you, in that kind of a, perhaps a more selfish world, where people have so many different interests, and they don't belong to these community organizations? And you mentioned yourself, that you were more-there was more involvement, say, twenty years ago than there is today in the Canadian Club. How do you fight that?

Bob: We fight it with great difficulty. I think it's part of our television era. People are-we've generally become more couch potato and less activist in society, generally, so I'm aware that service clubs, who have provided so much support to this country, particularly small-town Canada- Steve: Like the Rotary. Bob: The Rotary Club, the Kinsmen, Kiwanis-and they do very much, and their support is noticed more in smaller towns than the big cities. But down on Richard Street here, I think it is, there's a big, beautiful Rotary park, that has just been-in the last year, it's been completed, so that these service clubs are very critically important, and I think organizations like the Canadian Club, we have to encourage people to get involved. Speak up, get involved in our society, help to make this a better world, and certainly a better country. It's an uphill fight, but I don't think that we dare stop encouraging it. Steve: Well, perhaps the final point, too-those people that do get involved nowadays seem to be more committed to sort of very specific interests, their own little group, whether it be a professional group, or nowadays you have defending the interests of a different sexual orientation, or a different ethnic group, or whatever individual axes that people are grinding. It's more difficult, perhaps, to get motivated, for everybody, for the common good. What's been your experience? Bob: I totally agree with that. I would call our celebration of Canada-our values, our culture, etc.-we're obviously a generic organization. We don't have any specific, vertical, narrow spectrum that we're dealing with. We welcome men, women of all ages and all backgrounds to participate and be part of our organization, and come out and learn from some of the speakers that we've had. We've had some very interesting speakers. We get ambassadors from the U.S., and we get speakers from all over the country and some beyond Canada. I should mention that our president of two years ago had to resign early, because she and her husband, both Vancouverites, were committed to building a school in Afghanistan, and they have done that. They have established a school for both sexes, which is unique, and they have committed an awful lot of their own money, and certainly a lot of their own time, to establish this, and they have a personal, hands-on relationship with the president-the newly-elected prime minister-of Afghanistan. And if he comes back to this continent, we've been assured he's going to come and speak to our Canadian Club. Steve: Well, I think that's a very positive example of selflessness and commitment to others, and maybe we could just leave our conversation on that note, and thank you very much for taking the time. Bob: It's been my pleasure, Steve.