A Regrettable Decision by The Radio Amateurs of Canada

By now the news has made the rounds that the Radio Amateurs of Canada has announced that the organization will not be traveling to Hamvention in 2025. Among the reasons given by RAC President Mr. Allan Boyd (VE3AJB/VE3EM) are proposed tariffs by the United States government and comments made by President Donald Trump about Canada becoming America’s 51^st state. Mr. Boyd and individual Canadians have every right to an opinion on these matters. If a Canadian amateur radio operator has a strong enough conviction and decides not to attend a ham radio event in the United States, they should honor that conviction. However, I believe the RAC is wrong to allow politics to drive its decision not to attend Hamvention.

Amateur radio is a hobby that has a storied history of bringing people of different beliefs together through the medium of radio. As a boy, I remembering watching my father have a conversation with a Russian amateur radio operator. This was during the 1960s and the height of the Cold War. There were times when geo-political events impacted amateur radio. World War II shut down amateur radio operations throughout most of the world. Recently, Ukraine prohibited amateur operations for a time due its conflict with Russia. Certain nations do not allow, or severely restrict, amateur activity within their borders. But in those nations in which amateur radio is allowed individual amateur radio operators have the delight of finding out just how small the world is by having a conversation with an amateur in another country. Instead of focusing on differences, amateur radio operators can find common ground. Lifelong friendships have developed that transcend national boundaries and politics.

I am of the belief that amateur radio should be a-political. This does not mean individual amateurs should not have, or cannot voice, political opinions. Trust me. I am as political as they come. I purposefully avoid politics on my amateur radio social media feeds because politics, especially on social media, divides people. I am friends with fellow amateurs who are 180 degrees opposite of me on political, social, and even religious issues, but we share a common interest in our great hobby. Without the burden of politics, we can see each other as individual people. We do not have to agree on every area of life. I am not alone in this opinion.

The RAC should have taken a different approach to the issues that apparently provoked it to make its regrettable decision. Instead of focusing on the differences between nations, it could have focused on the things that bring the amateur radio community together. It could have embraced the opportunity to express its solidarity with American amateurs despite political tensions between our respective governments. This would not preclude individual opinion. It would, however, not encourage an organization that ostensibly speaks for a large segment of Canadian amateurs to promote division instead of unity.

There is still time for the RAC to rethink its position and change its statement. The current political differences between our two governments will eventually resolve themselves. Now is not the time to allow those differences to divide us. We should come together despite our differences.