MAIL ONLINE: The Canadian government has been forced to backtrack over plans to make its national anthem more politically correct after a national outcry.
Three days after announcing the proposals to alter 'O Canada' to include the country's women in one of its lines, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said his conservative government would no longer be pursuing the idea.
The national anthem, which has existed for nearly 100 years, includes the line 'true patriot love in all thy sons' command'.
Originally, the line said 'in thou dost us command', but it was changed to the current line in 1980.
Mr Harper wanted to start a public discussion on whether to change the wording in a way that would not exclude the nation's women.
He is said to have initiated the idea on the basis of advice of a female senator, according to National Post columnist Don Martin.
The idea was included in a major policy speech on Tuesday, but by yesterday the public outcry was so strong Mr Harper dropped the idea completely. >>> | Saturday, March 06, 2010
