--- title: Many are Cold… But Few are Frozen description: Winter is the source of my country's innovation. image: http://deepeningcommunity.ca/sites/default/files/imce/breaking-1174643_640.jpg --- [![20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Administration/Tamarack%20Logos/20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png?width=200&height=47&name=20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png "20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange")](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) # Many are Cold… But Few are Frozen Posted on August 5, 2016 [By Al Etmanski](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/author/al-etmanski) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) *Many are cold… but few are frozen* Those words by the exquisite writer [Anne Michaels](http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/anne-michaels/) provide a glimpse into the source of Canada’s ingenuity. You can’t understand Canada without understanding that you are never very far from winter here. Our ingenuity comes from snow, ice and a harsh cold climate. Yes, it is warming. But it is still pretty cold in most places for a good portion of the year. ![](http://deepeningcommunity.ca/sites/default/files/imce/breaking-1174643_640.jpg) Despite winter we survive and thrive. And have created a country well on the way to peace, justice and equity.  Not fast enough and certainly with glaring omissions and commissions. We are still learning to take better care of each other as well as our forests, water, air and indeed all life. For the first 300 years, European settlers survived in the upper half of North America thanks to the helpfulness and generosity of the original inhabitants. From indigenous people we gained a perspective on our interconnectedness.  We learned it is nature based and that social innovation, unlike other types of innovation, emerges from adversity. Thanks to indigenous people we also learned to become hunters and gathers of such values as collaboration and cooperation.  These principles guided our actions. Otherwise we would have died. Ultimately they shaped the design of our country. And set us on an imperfect and constant search to preserve and nurture the preciousness that we have in common. Winter is the source of my country’s innovation. What is the source of yours? EH! *“We need to be more protective of not just our families and children and what is precious to us, but of course the land because we are an extension of that land that we love so much. We must now speak environment, economy, foreign policy, health and human rights in the same breath. Everything is connected.” *([Sheila Watt-Clothier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila_Watt-Cloutier) author “[The Right to be Cold](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/sheila-watt-cloutier-touts-inuit-right-to-be-cold-in-new-book-1.2998375)”) Musical selection this post can be none other than [Mon Pays](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH_R6D7mU7M) by the great poet and composer [Gilles Vigneault](http://agora.qc.ca/dossiers/Gilles_Vigneault). *"Mon pays ce n’est ne pas un pays, c’est l’hiver."* (My country is not a country, it’s winter.) Topics: [Community Innovation](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/topic/community-innovation), [Cities Deepening Community](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/topic/cities-deepening-community) ![Al Etmanski](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/file-2407408260-jpg/Headshots/Speaker_Headshots/2015_Al_Etmanski02.jpg) ### By [Al Etmanski](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/author/al-etmanski) Al Etmanski is the President of PLAN (Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network) and has been a leading advocate for people with disabilities and their families in Canada for more than two decades. He is widely recognized as a visionary thinker in areas of social policy, community development and individualizing services for people with disabilities. Al is an author, advocacy consultant and social inventor who specializes in finding innovative, non-governmental solutions to social problems. ## Related Posts [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/ABCD-2.png)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/three-benefits-of-asset-based-community-development-abcd-for-communities-and-governments?hsLang=en-us) #### [Three Benefits of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) for Communities (and Governments)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/three-benefits-of-asset-based-community-development-abcd-for-communities-and-governments?hsLang=en-us) [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/pexels-lina-kivaka-1740897.jpg)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/a-year-in-review-with-deepening-communities?hsLang=en-us) #### [The Holiday Season Brings out the Best in Our Communities](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/a-year-in-review-with-deepening-communities?hsLang=en-us) [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Living%20Labs%20Infographic%20.png)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/place-based-innovation-a-new-community-centred-approach-to-community-change?hsLang=en-us) #### [Place-Based Innovation: A new community-centred approach to community change](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/place-based-innovation-a-new-community-centred-approach-to-community-change?hsLang=en-us) [![BACK TO THE LATEST](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/316071/e6ffa9bb-4467-4833-8ecc-eb340b11d829.png)](http://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/316071/e6ffa9bb-4467-4833-8ecc-eb340b11d829) [![20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Administration/Tamarack%20Logos/20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png?width=3401&name=20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png "20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange")](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) ### Tamarack [Home](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) [Latest](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest) [Events](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/eventlisting?hsLang=en-us) [Donate](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/donate?hsLang=en-us) [About](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/whoweare?hsLang=en-us) ### Follow Us [** ** ](https://www.facebook.com/TamarackInstitute) [** ** ](https://twitter.com/Tamarack_Inst) [** ** ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/tamarack-institute-for-community-engagement)   In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth we honour and acknowledge that our work occurs across Turtle Island (North America), which has been home since time immemorial to the ancestors of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples. ### Subscribe Be in the know. 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