FIN

“Canada is not a melting pot like your country; it’s a mosaic.” Canadians see American history as a succession of violent events, and are happy to explain to you how their history differs: American settlers committed genocide against the American Indians, while Canadians treated their First Peoples with reverence and respect. Enslaved blacks in the South sought their freedom in Canada and not in New England before the Civil War. American draft dodgers fled to Canada during the 1960s to avoid the slaughter in Vietnam. Americans make war; Canadians are “peacekeepers,” etc. etc. etc..

Meanwhile, where we summer in Canada, Catholics still live on one side of the river and Protestants live on the other.

Acadians don’t speak to the Quebecois, and the Quebecois only speak to each other. Scots don’t go to the Irish festival; the Irish won’t sing “God Save The Queen” at the beginning of their festivals. No one goes to the Acadian festival except Acadians; but everyone goes to the Pow Wow, but makes sure they get off the reservation by sundown.

My wife and I go to all of them, mostly because they’re free.

How American!

Western Canada wants to break off from Eastern Canada; the Quebecois have as much as left the Confederation. The First Peoples have their own province – Nunavit – and thousands of reservations which are separate small nations throughout the country. Each of them is seen as bleeding revenue from the rest of them, but none of them wants to join the United States.

The welcome sign to our adopted Canadian city – Miramichi - is written in four languages: French, English, Celtic, and Metapenagiag. Miramichi has another sign proudly displayed on its water tank: “The Irish Capital of the World.” The population is barely 17,000.

So…is Canada the Garden of Eden for cultural diversity or a country that never got off the ground?

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