About Canada

With its 33,759,742 people Canada is the 36th largest country in the world by population. It is the 2nd largest country by area with 9,984,670 square kilometers.

A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Canada faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and education services, as well as responding to the particular concerns of predominantly francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment.

The land now occupied by Canada was first inhabited approximately 16,000 years ago by aboriginal peoples. Starting in the late 15th century the British and French explored and settled along the eastern seaboard. The 19th century saw a rapid influx of European immigrants as the westward push that characterized the continent's development continued.

The beginning of the 20th century saw Canada's early involvement in World War I due to British control of its foreign affairs. In 1919 Canada joined the League of Nations independently of Britain taking control of its own foreign policy. Canada declared war on Germany during World War II three days after Britain, with the first Canadian Army units arriving in Britain in late 1939.

Today, Canada is characterized by its socially democratic programs such as universal health care, the Canada Pension Plan, and Canada Student Loans. In 2006, The Economist ranked Canada the third most democratic nation in its Democracy Index, ahead of all other countries in North and South America.

Excerpt from IfItWereMyHome.com.

Charest on primetime TV

Tout le monde en parle is a popular talk show on Radio-Canada. Broadcast weekly, it regularly draws over a million viewers from a potential audience of 7.8 million (BBM numbers do not take French Canadians from other provinces into account).

Last Tuesday, I heard on the radio that Premier Charest was going to be on the show this coming Sunday. With his recent lost at the Kamouraska by-election, disastrous polls and all the bad press he's been getting, I wondered what he could rely on to pull a positive performance from the show.

I got my answer this afternoon in La Presse [Google translation]. According to Raymon Bachand, Minister of Finance, the government is heading for a deficit of $3.1B instead of the $4.2B initially planned. That's a 25% reduction! That would be very good news if it weren't for the opposition pointing out that these new numbers are mostly the result of creative accounting. They're putting forward that provincial debt this year will, in fact, increase by $10B [Google translation].

Why would the government make such a shoddy attempt at spinning public opinion?... I wondered. And then it struck me... the recording of Charest's appearance at Tout le monde en parle is tonight. Is this just a coincidence or am I being paranoid?

An Anglo in Québec

Christopher Hall [Google translation] is a popular Québécois comedian. Although his mother tongue is English, he earns most of his living in French.

August 26th, 2007 marked the 30th anniversary of the Charter of the French language. Mr. Hall was invited to participate in the commemorations that marked the event. Here's an excerpt of what he said:
"I remember when it came into force because we had just arrived in Montréal; my father had accepted a job at McGill. We were living in Westmount and some people came at the door asking us to sign a petition against Bill 101. My father told them he wasn't interested because he felt it was normal for Québec to ensure the perpetuation of French.

They were flabbergasted; they just couldn't believe that he would say 'no'. That's when I learned the meaning of the word 'ostracized'. After that, not even Jehovah's witnesses came ringing at our door.

Of course, my father was right to do this, but I must say his commitment started way before that when we were living in Saskatchewan. He, and my mother, co-founded Saskatoon's French school 40 years ago and counting. They didn't want their children to have the same handicap they had, being English-speaking unilinguals.

I'm real happy for their ideal, but, for me, it was a 'pain in the ass'. I was getting kicked around by everyone. For Anglos across the street, I was a 'fucking frog'. For the Fransaskois I attended school with, I was a 'fucking bloke'."Click below to watch his speech [only in French] and learn how he takes a crack at how we speak French in my part of the world.



Of course, he may come across as "colonized" to some, but I love the way he takes the heat out of the linguistic duality of my hometown.

Comment of the day

A recent Globe and Mail article entitled "Looking for the cracks in medicare? Try the Ontario-Quebec border" takes a look at the effects of different provincial regulations on its respective residents. The story prompted this reaction from a reader:
"While Quebec wishes to exercise its autonomy from the rest of Canada, the rest of Canada is implementing its autonomy from Quebec.

Autonomy is a two way street."Click here for more from the author of this comment.