A Tribute: The Canadian Plumber

In a nation which takes for granted a variety of comforts, conveniences, and necessities that are unmatched by any country on earth, too little thought is given to the individual who, perhaps as much as any other factor except Nature itself, is responsible: The Canadian Plumber.

Oxford defines plumber as "one who installs, repairs, and maintains pipings, fittings, and fixtures involved in the distribution and use of water..." This approach is out-of-date, however, since the modern plumber deals with the safe and efficient conduit of all fluids so essential to today's mode of living: oxygen, hydrogen, petroleum, natural gas...

In a society beset with energy shortages and environmental problems, the Canadian plumber takes on the added responsibility of ensuring minimum waste of precious resources and maximum conservation and enjoyment of the fluid bounties of Nature.

Canadian plumbers, like most master craftsmen, are self-made rather than born to their expertise, which is aquired through years of arduous training, education, practice, experience, and application.

Nature is of course the greatest plumber of all: it conveys the life-giving fluids through mountain brooks and underground streams and wells, or via the mixed blessings of wind, rain, snow, storm, and fire. But once it has performed its basic functions, it asks Man to take over...

Whether it be pure water to drink, hot water in which to bathe, sewers and piping for the disposal of waste, storm drains for safety, furnaces for comfort and warmth, irrigation systems for making the prairies bloom, the nation has a debt of gratitude to the Canadian plumber.