The Guelph Lecture - On Being Canadian 2009 - John Ralston Saul
This year's keynote speaker is John Ralston Saul, whose most recent book -- A Fair Country: Telling Truths about Canada -- is certain to inspire debate about what it means to be Canadian. Saul describes our federalism as a "harmony through balanced relationships" -- and links it directly to what Europeans found when they arrived in Canada, and what they adopted for themselves in so many ways. In fact, he makes the case that we must re-integrate the Aboriginal perspective into the core of how we imagine ourselves, including how we imagine a new concept of progress. Should we be successful at this, Saul argues, we would be at the forefront of an international movement -- one that people are actually reaching for in the face of the current environmental crisis. He also points out the role of the arts in moving this thinking closer to the mainstream.
Saul, sometimes called "one of Canada's great political and economic thinkers," is internationally recognized, having published ten works of non- fiction and five novels. He has been awarded the Premio Lettarario Internazionale (Italy), the Pablo Neruda Medal, the Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction, and twice he has received the Gordon Montador Award for Best Canadian Book on Social Issues. John Ralston Saul is a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres de France (1996) and a Companion of the Order of Canada (1999). He is currently General Editor of the Penguin "Extraordinary Canadians" project and is actively involved with a number of Canadian cultural organizations.