I drove north last weekend to see my shadow, to use fifth gear again, to look out at something that was not familiar.
I wasn’t disappointed because thankfully, Canada’s still up there, all sunny and civil and kind.
Oh, Canada, land of immaculate campground restrooms and free firewood, land of public trails and parks and ice rinks and drivers who stop when pedestrians step into the street.
Tell me again the perils of northern socialism. I always forget when I drive across the border.
It had been 17 long months since I’d been inside the Maple Leaf Republic, and there have been some changes.
For example, at the main visitor’s center in Whitehorse, Y.T., there’s just one, large restroom for everyone.
That’s right, men and women do their business together, in one big room. It works this way. There are no urinals. Just stalls, and the stalls are nearly floor to ceiling. Turn the knob to lock your stall from the inside and a dial spins on the outside indicating your stall is in use. Just like on an airplane.
When you exit your stall and use a communal sink and mirror to wash your hands or primp your hair you may stand right next to a member of the opposite sex. Oh the wonder of it!
Here’s another. In Haines Junction, which is all of about five blocks long, the stop signs say “stop” in English and in Southern Tutchone, the original language of the area. No one seems to have a problem with this. No one has painted graffiti saying, “This is Canada. Speak English!”
In Canada, people are comfortable with other people speaking other languages. French, even.
Also in Haines Junction, the Kluane National Park is co-managed by area’s tribes. That is, the people who have been using the land there for thousands of years get a very real voice in how publicly owned lands are used. Canada’s prime minister has even apologized to indigenous people for their historic treatment at the hands of the white majority.
Last Friday’s Whitehorse Star reported that the Conservative Party of Canada had “given the boot” to Jonas Smith, a party candidate for the Yukon who had opposed workplace vaccination mandates and vaccine passport requirements.
A gang of whiny liberals make up the Conservative Party, surely? Nope. The Conservative Party of Canada supports lower taxes, small government, more transfer of federal government powers to provinces and a tougher stand on law and order issues, according to Wikipedia.
Apparently, they just don’t tolerate politicians under their banner who oppose reasonable standards of public health. This is a position the U.S. Republican Party might take if it hadn’t been hijacked by wing-nuts back in 1980.
In a nutshell, visiting Canada is like going to your grandmother’s house. You know you’re going to get double servings of comfort and sensibility. You’re reasonably certain when your head hits the pillow that cops won’t be kicking your door down in a hail of gunfire at 2 a.m. Plus, they have poutine.
Sure, many rich and talented Canadians have moved to the United States. They go for the same reason that U.S. citizens go to Las Vegas – to make a killing.
Meanwhile, rank-and-file Canadians – including people from all over the world who make the nation the #1 choice of refugees – might say in their most unassuming way: “We had a king once, but he kept us poor. We are not rich now, but enough is as good as a feast. And we are free.”
The future is here but you have to drive to Canada to see it.