WEBVTT

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Hi, My name is Kiefer Sutherland.

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Many of you may know me as an actor

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but there is something in my background

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that you may not know.

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Something which I am very proud of.

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I'm also the grandson of the late Tommy Douglas,

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a Premier who brought a enormous change to Saskatchewan

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and the rest of Canada.

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He was also the first leader

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of the New Democratic Party.

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Using his voice in a recording

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that he had made in 1962,

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we'd like to share a story with you.

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A story that he made famous as early as 1940

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It's a story of a place called Mouseland

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And it's as important today

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as it was many years ago.

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It's not just a piece of History,

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it's really one of the best explanations,

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you'll ever hear about why Canadians, like you and me,

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support the New Democrats.

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The NDP and the members of the United Food and Comercial Workesrs Union

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across Canada

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are proud to present this animated version

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of Mouseland,

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It's a message worth preserving

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for generations to come

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and for current generations.

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So, please, join me now.

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It's my grandfather. He takes us to a place

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that he called Mouseland.

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It's the story of a place

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called Mouselanda.

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Mouseland was a place where all the little mice lived and played,

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were born and died,

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and they lived much as you and I do.

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They even had a Parliament.

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Every four years they had an election.

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They used to walk to the polls and cast their ballots.

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Some of them even got a ride to the polls.

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And got a ride for the next four years afterwards too.

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Just like you and me.

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And every time on election day

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all the little mice used to go to the ballot box

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and they used to elect a government.

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A government made up of big, fat, black cats.

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Now if you think it's strange that mice should elect

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a government made up of cats,

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you just look at the history of Canada for the last 90 years

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and maybe you'll see that they weren't any stupider than we are.

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Now I'm not saying anything against the cats.

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They were nice fellows.

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They conducted their government with dignity.

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They passed good laws -that is, laws that were good for cats.

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But the laws that were good for cats

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weren't very good for mice.

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One of the laws said that mouseholes

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had to be big enough so a cat could get his paw in.

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Another law said that mice

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could only travel at certain speeds

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-so that a cat could get his breakfast

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without too much physical effort.

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All the laws were good laws,

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for cats.

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But, oh, they were hard on the mice.

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And life was getting harder and harder.

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And when the mice couldn't put up with it any more,

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they decided something had to be done about it.

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So they went en masse to the polls.

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They voted the black cats out.

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They put in the white cats.

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The white cats, the white cats had put up a terrific campaign.

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They said: "All that Mouseland needs is more vision."

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They said: "The trouble with Mouseland

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is those round mouseholes we've got.

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If you put us in we'll established square mouseholes."

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And they did.

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And the square mouseholes were twice as big

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as the round mouseholes,

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and now the cat could get both his paws in.

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And life was tougher than ever.

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And when they couldn't take that anymore,

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they voted the white cats out and put the black ones in again.

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Then they went back to the white cats.

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Then to the black cats.

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They even tried half black cats and half white cats.

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And they called that coalition.

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They even got one government

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made up of cats with spots on them:

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they were cats that tried to make a noise like a mouse but ate like a cat.

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You see, my friends, the trouble wasn't with the colour of the cat.

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The trouble was that they were cats.

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And because they were cats,

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they naturally looked after cats instead of mice.

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Presently there came along one little mouse

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who had an idea.

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My friends, watch out for the little fellow with an idea.

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And he said to the other mice,

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"Look fellows,

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Why do we keep on electing a government made up of cats?

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Why don't we elect a government made up of mice?"

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"Oh," they said, "he's a Bolshevik.

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Lock him up!" So they put him in jail.

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But I want to remind you:

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that you can lock up a mouse or a man

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but you can't lock up an idea.

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As my granfather would have wanted,

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the message of Mouseland,

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is for all the people of Canada.

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We hope you have enjoyed this production

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and we hope that this has left you

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with something to think about.

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Thanks to the short film I think Tommy Douglas's words

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have as much life and meaning today

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as when he first spoke them.

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Thank you very much for joining me.

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Subtitles by: Yolanda Juarros Barcenilla http://www.educarueca.org