Happy Canada Day!

Happy birthday to one of the best nations on Earth. How lucky are we? Gay marriage hasn’t been an issue here in a decade. We don’t have to worry about dying in a hospital emergency room because we lack sufficient insurance. Even though we rank 12th worldwide for number of guns per capita, we don’t have to worry our kids will get shot in the schoolyard. You won’t serve jail time if you get caught smoking a joint, let alone chewing gum. And whatever your opinion is on these facts, your right to state it is protected.

What a great country we’ve built. And what a great city.

If you’re looking for a way to celebrate the day, you won’t have to look far. Check out free fireworks at Ashbridges Bay, Mel Lastman Square or Downsview Park. Head to Etobicoke’s Centennial Park for Ribfest. Queen’s Park has a family-friendly day planned with a rocket-making workshop, face painting, crafts, midway rides and Canadian beatbox champ Scott Jackson. The quirky Toronto Fringe Festival kicks off today, too, with 148 shows for theatre-lovers. Black Creek Pioneer Village has horse-drawn wagon rides and heritage-inspired ale — and if you really want to feel patriotic, you can watch 40 brand-new Canadians take part in a Canada Day Citizenship Ceremony as they become citizens.

There’s no lack of controversy this week, as John Tory (rightfully) points out the hypocrisy of Toronto Community Housing putting $725,000 into renovating their Rosedale headquarters, we continue to debate the sex-ed curriculum, the HOV lanes raise hackles, and carding fades from the headlines. But, what we have is so much greater than the sum of all our parts, and so worthy of celebration.

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Speaking of those dreaded HOV lanes, police are reporting a noticeable increase in collisions on GTA highways since they kicked in. It can’t be correlated directly, but it hardly seems coincidental that there were a dozen collisions on Monday morning versus none the same day last week.

Whether it’s due to the unfamiliarity (and perhaps tetchiness) of drivers or an increase in enforcement is unknown, but police are saying it’s a familiar scenario for anyone tracking similar previous game routes in London and Vancouver, and that it’s not unlike the first snowfall of the season.

You’ll find three-person HOV lanes (was the additional person really necessary?) along the QEW and Gardiner, Lake Shore Boulevard, Jane south of the 407, and Highways 401, 427 and 404 from 5 am to 11 pm for the duration of the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games.

The number of collisions dropped to just one on Tuesday morning, which hopefully means our adjusting is happening fast. The penalty for being caught using the lanes inappropriately is only $85, which for some may seem like a gamble they’re willing to take, but it goes up to $110 plus three demerit points on OPP-patrolled routes. More importantly, though, being a scofflaw in your own self-interest runs counter to the spirit of such games. I hope everyone will remember that being the world-class city we like to claim we are means embracing the fair-weather disruptions we face from time to time, whether it’s a road closing for a marathon or the enormous presence of these long-anticipated Games.

Even if you don’t care about sports, you have to admire the dedication, sacrifice and sheer mettle it takes to rise to the top of a competitive field. The Parapan Am Games in particular touch me. To face physical adversity with courage and pride is admirable in itself, but to overcome disabilities that might turn lesser folk into couch potatoes and pursue sports at the highest level is something these athletes should be very proud of, however they finish their events.

When you’re sitting in traffic the next few weeks, steaming because you’re late for a meeting or a date, think about what these athletes have accomplished, take a deep breath, put on some Howard Stern and relax.

If that doesn’t work, think about the fact that the Pan Am Games, unlike those stuffy old Olympics, include wakeboarding, water skiing, and roller skating. How cool is that?