What does the Canadian flag mean to you? The answers to that question are as diverse as Canada itself. For some, it stirs notions of pride, of accomplishment, of history and of place. For others, it is a symbol that carries the painful legacy of cruelty, racism or even genocide. To mark this Canada Day, the Star asked a series of Canadian writers for their thoughts on what the red-and-white maple-leaf flag symbolizes in our complex modern era. This piece is one in a series of their responses.