A Fair Country

John Ralston Saul

Image | BOOK COVER: A Fair Country by John Ralston Saul

In this startlingly original vision of Canada, renowned thinker John Ralston Saul argues that Canada is a Métis nation, heavily influenced and shaped by Aboriginal ideas: Egalitarianism, a proper balance between individual and group and a penchant for negotiation over violence are all Aboriginal values that Canada absorbed. An obstacle to our progress, Saul argues, is that Canada has an increasingly ineffective elite, a colonial non-intellectual business elite that doesn't believe in Canada. It is critical that we recognize these aspects of the country in order to rethink its future. (From Penguin Canada)
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From this book

We are a métis civilization.
What we are today has been inspired as much by four centuries of life with the indigenous civilizations as by four centuries of immigration. Perhaps more. Today we are the outcome of that experience. As have Métis people, Canadians in general have been heavily influenced and shaped by the First Nations. We still are. We increasingly are. This influencing, this shaping is deep within us.

From A Fair Country by John Ralston Saul ©2008. Published by Penguin Canada.

Author interviews

Media Audio | Unreserved : John Ralston Saul: Indigneous Peoples don't need sympathy, they need you to take action

Caption: John Ralston Saul explains why issues affecting non-indigenous Canadians should be important to all Canadians.

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More about this book