The Good Canadian

About this movie

"The true north strong and free" - Canadian National Anthem "The way to right wrongs, is to shine the light of truth upon them." - Ida B. Wells, journalist, civil rights activist Canada the good. That is the identity that most Canadians would recognize. It's the face Canada puts on internationally and at home as a way to define itself. Canada is a peacekeeper, a defender of liberty and a humane, empathetic nation that is willing to sacrifice a little of itself, so that its citizens can have healthcare and so that it can welcome people from across the globe. But what if that identity was hiding something? What if the face Canada puts on is just a mask that it wears, a mask to hide its true nature from others, and maybe even itself? That is the conflict at the heart of the new documentary The Good Canadian, from directors Leena Minifie and David Paperny. Using in-depth interviews with leading experts, whistleblowers, and inside accounts, the film explores the dark truth that lies behind the lie, by looking at the systemic inequities that exist between Canada the good, and the First Nations and Inuit whose ancestors have existed on these lands long before the nation of Canada. Opening with a shocking scene of family separation, The Good Canadian takes us on a journey through the claustrophobic corridors of bureaucracy that come from the Indian Act, into the depths of the systems that continue to marginalize First Nations people and communities. Tracing history to the present, it chronicles the history of dispossession from the theft of land, to Residential Schools, through to the current child welfare programs and gaps in healthcare that face Indigenous people. Minifie and Paperny use specific instances to delve deep into the systems that make inequality of this scale possible and make changing the system seem insurmountable. Using whistleblower interviews and an abundance of data, the film leaves little doubt as to the truth, and in doing so shakes the very foundations of a national identity, just as Canadian identity has found renewed vigor thanks to colonial threats by its neighbour to the south. Interviews with famed child advocate Cindy Blackstock, and national public health officer Dr. Evan Adams, give face to those that have stood up to the machine and sought change, while interviews with Canadians confronting these truths, from an accounting professor to a birth specialist, offer a way for the country to grapple with its true history and forge a way forward. The Good Canadian is the type of journalistic documentary that is a hallmark of Canada and a must-watch for all Canadians, as well as anyone who thinks they know the real Canada. By exposing the truth, Minifie and Paperny also present a map to facing these issues, a pathway for reconciliation, and frame the opportunity in becoming The Good Canadian.

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