Peace Tower flag on display in Belfountain

June 29, 2017 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
The spirit of Canada Day is very evident in Belfountain, especially at the rear of the General Store.
A large Canadian Flag is on display, and store proprietor (and former local MP) Garth Turner says there’s quite a story behind it, including the fact it was flying from the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill July 1, 1992, which was the 125th anniversary of Confederation.
He said it started in 1991, during Canada’s involvement in the Gulf War, when an Orangeville disc jockey named Ross Carlin was seeking a good recording of O Canada which he could play on his morning show as a sign of patriotism. He was unable to find one, and appealed to Turner, who was his MP at the time, for help. Carlin’s idea was to have the country’s major musicians get together to record a top-quality version of the national anthem.
Turner, in 1993, authored a book entitled Garth! Just What the Hell is Going on in Ottawa?, in which he devoted several pages to the story of “the revitalization of O Canada.”
He stated there was considerable interest and moral support for the project, but they were having trouble finding financing for the project.
“The call to Carlin’s local MP was a final shot in the dark,” Turner wrote.
He added he was able to find corporate sponsors over the next six months to finance the project, as well as a commitment for a TV special. It also attracted the talents of such prominent musicians as Gino Vanelli, Randy Bachman, Tommy Hunter, Rita MacNeil and Paul Janz. Similar efforts were also put forth for a symphonic version of O Canada.
Schools and radio stations all over the country received copies of the anthem.
Turner wrote he was able to persuade officials to have the new version of the anthem played as the finale at the Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill for 1992. He recalled there were more than 100,000 people on Parliament Hill three hours before the show, and the estimate the next day was that 500,000 had attended, including Queen Elizabeth.
“Randy Bachman played my guitar for O Canada,” Mr. Turner recalled this week, adding at the end they government gave him the flag that had been flying from the Peace Tower. “Twenty-five years, I’ve held onto the thing in a box.”
He said it’s 30 feet by 15 feet.
“It’s a big sucker! he declared. “Nice and crisp and clear and bright . . . it seemed appropriate for the 150th.”
“Belfountain is looking extremely patriotic this weekend, I must say,” he observed, adding he’s found it very heartwarming to see families stopping to have pictures taken with it.

This flag flew on the Peace Tower in Ottawa July 1, 1992, and it currently adorns the back of Belfountain General Store.

Garth Turner is flanked by Ian McCallum and Mike Ellis of the Belfountain Community Organization, who erected this flag at the back of the General Store.