Gravenhurst is a town emblematic of the Canadian dream. Even if you’ve never stepped foot in Gravenhurst, you could likely imagine its charm from that description alone.
Gravenhurst is in a peaceful and naturally beautiful region. We’re a town filled with residents that are kind to their neighbours, charitable and community-oriented. We love swimming, hockey, bonfires, and the snow. Our town doesn’t shy from honouring and displaying an individual a murderous dictator wrote a eulogy for, because of that individual’s support for that dictator.
Wait… you’re probably thinking what I’m thinking. That last part shouldn’t be in the picture.
Unfortunately, it currently is.
For those who do not know, Gravenhurst is home to the birthplace of Dr. Norman Bethune, a (in)famous health practitioner that chose to travel to China in 1938 to support the Chinese Communist forces on the battlefield under their leader Mao Zedong, a dictator responsible for the deaths of an estimated 65 million people. Yes, you read that correctly, 65 million. No leader in all of recorded human history is responsible for more deaths than Mao. Mao brutally suppressed dissent in the form of persecution and torture for those that criticized his government. This is no surprise for a man who coined the phrase, “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun”. Mao forced millions of people into labour camps and created policies that led millions to starve.
Despite these facts, Gravenhurst does not shy away from the fact that we are the birthplace of Dr. Bethune, a man which Mao admired. We have a statue of Dr. Bethune in our downtown, a tourist site in his honour, and a road named after him. Similarly, Parks Canada, which is empowered through the Government of Canada, has designated the “Bethune Memorial House” as a National Historic Site.
You may be wondering how a man that supported the most murderous leader in the history of the world is being honoured in our small Canadian town. Truthfully, it doesn’t make sense to me either. As a longtime resident of Gravenhurst, I am pretty certain my neighbours wouldn’t support Dr. Bethune either if they knew who he truly was and what he represents. In defence of my neighbours, I think this is a case of, “you don’t know something until you know it”.
Despite having a statue of Dr. Bethune in downtown Gravenhurst, I don’t believe most residents would be able to tell you a thing about him besides the fact that he was a medical professional. If you really have done your research about Dr. Bethune, you probably came across a fact or two you like about him. Dr. Bethune supported universal healthcare, he seemingly practiced in a manner that gave people access to healthcare that otherwise wouldn’t have it, he served as a medical professional for Canada in World War 1, and a medical instrument is even named after him that is still used today.
I admit, Dr. Bethune sounds like he did some good things, but, dare I suggest that Dr. Bethune’s positive qualities not outweigh his support for arguably the worst dictator in the history of mankind?
The purpose of this article is to let readers know who Dr. Bethune truly was. It is also to ask you to join me in requesting the Government of Canada to remove the Bethune Memorial House as a National Historic Site, and to request the Town of Gravenhurst to remove all recognition of Dr. Bethune from our town. This includes the removal of the statue of Dr. Bethune in our downtown, and the renaming of “Bethune Drive” to a real Canadian hero.
If at this point you disagree, or are on the fence about my request, I am happy to convince you otherwise in the second half of this letter.
To start, Dr. Bethune was either aware or unaware of Mao’s actions and beliefs. Any decent person would end their support of Dr. Bethune if they admit he knew about Mao’s brutality. So, if you support Dr. Bethune, you likely would argue he wasn’t aware of Mao’s actions and beliefs. However, Dr. Bethune being unaware of Mao’s brutality is unlikely. It is true that Mao did not lead all of China until the late 1940’s, and that most of the tens of millions of people that died under Mao occurred after he became China’s undisputed leader. Regardless, by the time Dr. Bethune arrived in China in 1938, Mao had been a leader in the Chinese Communist Party for a few years, and Mao’s actions had already led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
Additionally, Dr. Bethune was a self-proclaimed communist. Communism is contrary to the system of government Canadian’s cherish. We cherish the freedom of expression, the freedom of movement, the freedom to own things, and overall the ability to live how you want to live without interference. The freedoms we often take for granted in Canada is exactly what Dr. Bethune advocated against through his support for Mao and the Chinese Communist Party.
If you still have any doubt in your mind about whether we should be honouring Dr. Bethune, I would ask you this one question. Would we allow a statue of Dr. Bethune if he supported the Nazi party on the battlefield and if Adolf Hitler wrote a eulogy for him? We would not, and the reason for this is simple. We should not honour someone who promoted terrible individuals and ideas that are against the interests and beliefs of our country and citizens.
The purpose of putting up a statue of someone is because you’re proud of who that individual was and what they represent. Can we truly say that for Dr. Bethune? I would argue Dr. Bethune is not only someone who doesn’t represent Canadians or the people of our small town, he represents the complete opposite of what we stand for. Despite his assistance to Canada in World War 1, instead of continuing to help his community, staying in Canada, or even protecting democracy abroad, he chose to travel to China, help Mao, and pay the ultimate sacrifice for them and their immoral cause. In fact, Mao put the Chinese Communist Party in power, and is the reason China is what it is today. An authoritarian state that crushes dissent, surveils their citizens non-stop, and continues Mao’s legacy of torturing and murdering citizens, such as the well-known Tiananmen Square massacre and the recent persecution of Uyghurs.
It may sound strange, but I believe Dr. Bethune is only a recognized figure in Gravenhurst because of his support of Mao and how much he meant to the communist cause, not because of any sacrifice he made for Canada or our town. The reason I make this claim is because Gravenhurst has a statue, museum, and road named for Dr. Bethune but not for any other soldier that fought or died for Canada, or notable person from Gravenhurst. In fact, how do we honour our local heroes and loved ones? We have a memorial at the legion for many brave soldiers that fought and died for Canada in the name of decency and democracy. For many children that have sadly passed away much too young in our community we have a children’s memorial in the form of a gazebo at the end of a trail by the Marriott hotel on the way out of town. Yet, we recognize Dr. Bethune in various ways – an individual that doesn’t represent us one bit.
I kindly ask you to share this article, and sign the petition linked below to remove all recognition of Dr. Bethune from our town.
You can sign the petition here.
Thank you,
Jeb Spearman
Don’t miss out on Doppler!Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox three times per week!
Click here to support local news
@Brad Green, just admit you’re a radical liberal who supports communist dictators.
The Chinese tourists bring alot if not most of the desperately needed tourist dollars into this town. Do you want to sacrifice this in the name of more woke cancel culture?