"canada is just a better country"

As I mentioned, one of my nieces (C1) and her boyfriend (C2) are spending a week here before C1 begins university next month.

C2 lived in Canada for 7 months last year, playing hockey in one of the higher-level junior leagues. He has hockey friends throughout Ontario and was hoping to get together with some. I was skeptical. C&C don't have a car here, and I was assuming hockey buddies wouldn't be driving great distances to see each other. Shows you what I know, as our home has become reunion central for guys from Barrie, Newmarket, Orangeville and wherever else. This also means C&C can go enjoy themselves while we are glued to the Red Sox-Yankees series. Very nice.

[Hockey fans may be interested in knowing that Ron Ellis's nephew had dinner with us last night. Just a random factoid for anyone who cares.]

While Allan and C1 went to the beer store and the LCBO for reinforcements, C2 and I had a very interesting chat. Smart guy, this C2. We had a wide ranging conversation - initiated by him, I swear - about the differences between Canada and the US. War was a major topic, as was health care, the environment, government lies, treatment of veterans, same-sex marriage, abortion rights... you name it. C1's conclusion: "Canada is just a better country". To paraphrase, it cares about people more. It isn't the bully of the planet. It's more accepting of difference. And if there's a draft, I'm coming here, to stay.

I was heartened by this 19-year-old, white, heterosexual, beer-drinking hockey player having such an open mind and a progressive view of the world. It made me feel hopeful.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

11 things you should know about u.s. presidential elections

Image
Here are some facts about US elections. There are mountains of evidence to support each of these. If you have doubts, do some homework. This is merely a summary of facts. 1. The Electoral College. Up to 50% of votes in any state are wiped out. Canada has first-past-the-post voting based on ridings (Parliamentary seats), but imagine if all of Ontario was one riding -- 51% and winner take all. 2. Partisan oversight. Elections are governed on the state level, and the person in charge of them represents a political party. There is no equivalent of Elections Canada. Imagine, for example, if Jason Kenney's party ran elections in Alberta, and oversaw vote-counting and potential recounts. 3. Voter suppression. This takes place on a dozen different fronts. In many states, registration is complex and very limited. There are onerous ID requirements. Voters can be and are disqualified based on any number of arcane laws. Voter list are "purged" -- hundreds of thousands of voters dro...
Read more

"at your library" column in the north island eagle: two columns suddenly without relevance, part 2

This ran after the library was closed... and it's about a resource that can only be accessed in our branches! Ancestry Library: Your Library Can Help You Discover Your Roots Many Canadians are interested in learning about their family background. After all, unless you're an Indigenous person, your ancestors were once newcomers to this land. Where did they come from, and what was life like there? Why did they decide to leave their original country, travel to a strange place, often on the other side of the globe? And where did they all go? You probably know some of their stories, but you may have family in Canada or elsewhere that you've never even heard of. For some people, genealogy becomes an absorbing fascination, even an obsession. Folks travel around the world to see what remains of a family village, or learn a new language so they can read original letters. For others, just a dip into the information now and again is enough – interesting and fun. Whatever your level of...
Read more