Maybe the most deserving question of this journey is: Why?
To answer that, it helps to reflect on a habit we Canadians are famously (and sometimes humorously) known for.
âCanadians frequently say âsorryâ due to a combination of factors, including a cultural emphasis on politeness, a desire to avoid conflict, and possible influences from British and French traditions. âSorryâ can express regret, attract attention, ease awkwardness, or simply act as a default gesture of civility.â
Iâm guilty of it myself.
But the real story lies between the lines. We say "sorry" to smooth things over. But smoothing something over isnât the same as fixing it. Itâs a plaster, not a cure. And somewhere along the line, I realized that âsorryâ only carries meaning when itâs backed by corrective actionâwhen it's followed by a sincere effort to make sure the mistake doesnât happen again.
Without action, âsorryâ becomes an empty ritual. A polite shrug at a festering wound.
So I asked myself: how do we, as a society, bring up hard, even controversial topics in a way that doesnât tear us apart? How do we confront things we didnât cause, things we donât like, things weâve inherited but still carry responsibility for?
Because hereâs the truth: if weâre not willing to act, we canât keep saying sorry.
CanuckDUCK was built from that realization.
Itâs a pathânot just to identify whatâs wrong, but to walk the difficult road toward resolution. Itâs easy to criticize from the sidelines. Itâs much harder to build something better, to ensure that the mistakes of the past donât echo into the future.
The goal, while complex, is rooted in a simple belief:
There has to be a better way to build the kind of society we wantâ
one weâre proud of, and never have to say sorry for.