Editorial: Ottawa Life Magazine
Michelle Rempel Garner’s searing critique of Principal Aaron Hobbs strikes at the heart of a deeply concerning issue: the erosion of respect for Canada’s military traditions and the skewed interpretation and perversions of ‘inclusivity’ that overlooks the country’s diverse sacrifices in service. Hobbs’s appalling action on November 11, 2024, goes beyond a single school’s Remembrance Day ceremony; it underscores how ideologically driven decisions by ill-informed and uneducated people in public offices of trust—especially those involving youth, overshadow core Canadian values and disrespect the very foundation that holds our hard-earned democracy.
Principal Hobbs’ comments, dismissing Remembrance Day as “a white guy who has done something for the military,” reflect such a stunning and profound ignorance of Canada’s rich military history and the sacrifices of veterans from all backgrounds that he should resign or be fired with cause. Men and women of every race, faith, and ethnicity have served side by side to protect Canada’s pluralism, and Remembrance Day is meant to honour them all equally. By reducing it to a divisive, simplistic stereotype, Hobbs has shown a willingness by design or ignorance to risk alienating and confusing students, who deserve an education rooted in truth, respect, and unity.
His comments reveal an unfit leadership approach for an educator, especially during a ceremony of national significance. The role of a principal is to promote unity, respect, and a balanced understanding of history. Hobbs’ actions did the opposite, politicizing a day intended to unite Canadians across all backgrounds in gratitude.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner’s call for Hobbs’s resignation (see op-ed below) isn’t about a political stance; it’s about preserving the integrity of Canadian values, ensuring students receive a balanced education, and protecting the spirit of Remembrance Day and honouring the sacrifices of those who died or were injured in the service of Canada.
This controversy is a wake-up call for educators to foster inclusivity without sacrificing respect for the sacrifices that built our nation.
The following text is reprinted from x.com/MichelleRempel:
“A white guy who has done something for the military.”
This morning, reports of an Ontario public school principal’s ludicrous decision to politicize his school’s Remembrance Day ceremony is making national news for all the wrong reasons.
But the reason he used to justify his decision was equally as egregious (see below).
I suppose what he did shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone – a sizeable portion of Canada’s educational system has fallen prey to a homogeny of woke thought that wouldn’t think to question this man’s incredibly stupid decision. In fact, it was probably encouraged, and will likely be defended.
Enough.
These sorts of things should not go unnoticed, and change is desperately needed. I encourage you to speak up, too.
Here’s my open letter to Principal Aaron Hobbs and colleagues in the Ontario legislature.
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Dear Principal Hobbs,
This morning I woke up to reports that you royally screwed up your school’s Remembrance Day ceremony by choosing to play a song that engendered division and anxiety within your student body.
And then, when confronted by members of your school’s community about this dangerously irrational decision, you reportedly said this:
First, let me congratulate the students who blew the whistle, took this to the media, and confronted you—well done. It gives me hope that despite having the grievous misfortune of having their education overseen by you, they’ve been able to retain a sense of right and wrong.
My colleagues in the Ontario legislature must take this matter seriously. Canadians across the country are watching their response to your actions closely. I will be, too.
Now, onto the substance of the matter.
The actions you undertook politicized your school’s Remembrance Day ceremony. It made kids who feel persecuted for their faith within their own community right now extremely uncomfortable. It divided your student body on a day when it should have been united in reverence for the sacrifices of Canadian men and women in defence of our pluralism and during a time when there’s unrest in our streets.
And then, this:
“A white guy who has done something related to the military.”
I’ve plumbed the depths of ignorance of this comment and have not yet found its end.
Do you not understand how divisive this false belief is? The defence of Canada is colour blind – ask anyone who serves. The contributions of men and women from every faith and ethnic background, including Indigenous persons, to Canada’s Armed Forces are well documented. That people of diverse backgrounds stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our pluralism is the miracle of Canada. Remembrance Day is when we are charged with honouring Canada’s military for the courage of their action, not the colour of their skin. It terrifies me that a person in charge of the education of hundreds of diverse students does not seem to understand any of this.
But your comment/belief also taints the contribution of countless men who died in service to Canada. The truth that your woke self needs to understand is that, yes, tens of thousands of white men died to protect Canada’s peaceful, democratic pluralism. You owe your ability to freely spew your ignorance to their sacrifice, and you dishonour the freedom they won for you by infecting students with your preening idiocy.
Years of peace and prosperity have lulled Canadians like you into thinking that no power can take away what we have, or worse, that we have nothing to defend (I wrote a piece about this yesterday, you should read it). As an educator, you have an important role to play in imparting the sacred obligation of Remembrance within our children. And yet, here we are.
I am married to “a white guy who had something to do with the military” – served over twenty years in one of our allied country’s military. He would have given his life to protect freedom and to liberate those being persecuted from evil. Anyone serving in Canada’s military has done and will do the same thing. Their families (Do you know how challenging a deployment is for a military family? Do you know what it’s like to be a spouse to someone with PTSD?) also sacrifice in defence of our nation. You don’t know anything of this, even though, as an educator, you should. Your lack of knowledge is terrifying.
On Remembrance Day, you had one job – to unite your student body in gratitude for those who sacrificed to protect the miracle of our nation. Your grade is 0/5, F, needs extensive remediation.
You should seek to disabuse yourself of your lack of knowledge by serving those who serve our country. I challenge you to do something to take yourself off your false moral high-horse, like working to provide help to homeless veterans, or listening to military families who have a loved one out on deployment.
Shame on you; you dishonour our country. Your students should pay you no heed.
Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner, PC MP
Member of Parliament, Calgary Nose Hill
Proud Wife of a White Guy Who Had Something To Do With The Military
