BILL FLICK
A joke — and maybe not a joke — repeated just about now in a presidential election year is, “If (fill-in-the-blank) wins, we’re moving to Canada!”
But what if you actually did?
Flick
As a public service, we’ve been there for the last two weeks, specifically checking it all out for you and your forthcoming move.
OK, that wasn’t the exact purpose.
It actually was a fall foliage cruise, to leaf-peep, countryside-ogle and firsthand experience our north-side neighbor, organized by Direct Travel in Bloomington. It launched in Montreal, went up the St. Lawrence River, and through the provinces of Quebec, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, as we were joined by 40-plus other Central Illinoisans.
But besides having a great time, dining, touring and ogling photosynthesis at its autumnal peak, we also asked of the natives who we met along the way, “Hey, what’s it like to live here?”
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The results were, in many a case, surprising.
School, as an example, in Canada isn’t the same. Their year begins Sept. 7 and ends June 28. Schools also are individually administered in each province.
In Quebec, for instance, kids go from kindergarten through 11th grade. Then they do two years of “post-secondary school,” followed, for those who desire, by four years of college. Largely funded by the government, it costs a student only about $2,000 a year to go to college.
Fall colors are shown in Quebec City, north of Montreal.
BILL FLICK, THE PANTAGRAPH
There aren’t many sports bars. Go into what looks like one on a Sunday and, unlike in America, where such places are lined with wall-to-wall TVs, you’re lucky to find one TV.
“In Canada,” as one at Island Folk pub in Sydney, Nova Scotia, laughed, “we go to the bar to get away from TV.”
In America, everyone says, “ya know what I mean.” But in Canada, every other sentence ends with an “‘eh?” or “ah,” and everyone is called “Bud,” even if your name isn’t Bud.
A country known and boastfully proud of its politeness, as one puts it, “People say, ‘I’m sorry,’ even when you didn’t do anything that deserves an apology.”
It’s hockey over baseball and football as national pastimes.
There is absolutely no such thing as a 425-foot home run or a 32-yard touchdown run. Canada’s all metric.
Instead of Starbucks, they have Tim Horton’s. Everywhere. “If you don’t have it running through your blood, you are not a Canadian,” muses Karen Cross Kirk, a 1980 graduate from Normal Community High who has lived in Nova Scotia for 30 years.
Real estate is high. What is a $150,000 home in B-N is $400,000 in Canada.
Poutine, a very popular dish in Canada that involves French fries and cheese curds covered in a brown chicken gravy.
BILL FLICK, THE PANTAGRAPH
Especially popular among foods are “poutine,” French fries and cheese curds, covered with a brown chicken gravy (although yucky sounding, it’s actually pretty good), and a donair, seasoned beef shaved from a meat cone roasted on a vertical rotisserie, then wrapped in a pita and topped with a sweet sauce.
Not much left of this tasty poutine dish in Canada.
BILL FLICK, THE PANTAGRAPH
While we in the U.S. gripe about having roughly 21% taken out of our paychecks for federal and state taxes, Social Security and Medicare, Canadians only go wide-eyed at such a “low” amount.
They can, says an accountant-type with whom we chatted, have more than 40% of their paychecks taken by various taxes. Additionally, at a store, they pay a steep 15% sales tax on everything.
But there is a payback: 45% of their taxes go toward health care, so medical bills are a fraction of what Americans pay. And education is more funded. (Teachers’ average annual salary is reportedly $85,000.) Minimum wage is $15.20.
However, while medical care in many areas of Canada is “free,” there’s a wait. Getting your knee replaced can take scheduling it three years in advance.
Alcohol, gasoline ($7 a gallon) and marijuana are heavily taxed.
It costs $200 a year for your car’s license plate — but that includes liability insurance, so everyone is covered. Insurance is thus cheaper.
Big in Canada are kitchen parties. As Karen Cross Kirk jokingly puts it, maybe not jokingly: “All gatherings here happen in the kitchen — eating, drinking, partying and passing out.”
Also interesting: Upon entering the home, everyone takes off their shoes — always. You walk around in another’s house in socks or a pair of slippers that you specially bring with you.
A few days in Canada is largely like going back in time.
Homeowners hang their clothes on clotheslines. (When’s the last time you saw a neighbor dangling their undies and T-shirts with clothespins?)
The accordion is a popular bar-band instrument.
Pantagraph columnist Bill Flick and his wife, Nancy, amid a chilly Canadian autumn.
BILL FLICK, THE PANTAGRAPH
They aren’t nearly as safety minded. In our time in Canada, we hardly saw a bicyclist, and when we did, none were wearing a helmet. Didn’t see a COVID mask, either.
Instead of just singing about Christmas partridges, they eat them, too. Literally. After hunting them.
In Canada, almost everyone hunts. Almost everyone has a gun. But the murder rate is three times lower than the U.S., and guns, they will tell you, are rigidly registered, catalogued and policed, and assault weapons are fully banned.
As one gent in Saguenay put it, “You don’t need an assault weapon to kill a moose.”
Meanwhile, Canadian complaints do sound a lot like America.
“The cost of living right now,” says Karen Cross Kirk, “is outrageous; there are a lot of homeless; the grocery-store-price gouging (post-COVID) is crazy.”
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Trump versus Harris? If you do a straw-poll, it’s about an even split on the leadership qualities of our two U.S. candidates.
But in a country outwardly proud of its politeness and niceness?
“We’re sort of all wondering how and why you’d want that one guy,” said Ollie Bourque, a 79-year-old tour guide in Baie Comeau, a town of 20,000, echoing many. “He is so mean. He even calls people names!”
In Canada, sovereign land of apologizing instead of accusing, nastiness — even among politicians — just doesn’t play well.
I apologize, of course, for saying that.
But you might say in Canada that polite trumps all.
Yolanda Alonso, a blogger, artist and entrepreneur, has photography on display at Bloomington Public Library, called “Celebrating in Two Languages.” The exhibit celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month and features 21 photos of Latinos in Bloomington-Normal.
Photos: Bison meet Indy Fuel in first Bloomington home game 🏒
Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison defenseman Thomas Stewart (22) skates during the team’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Indy Fuel goalie Ben Gaudreau (31) guards the net behind Bloomington Bison forward Gavin Gould (91) and Fuel defenseman Luc Salem (4) during the Bison’s preseason game last Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Indy Fuel forward Jordan Martin (28), Bloomington Bison goalie Mark Sinclair (29) and defenseman Mitchell Smith (26) are shown during the Bison’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Indy Fuel forward Brandon Saigeon (17) and Bloomington Bison defenseman Thomas Stewart (22) skate near the glass Saturday at the Bison’s first home game in Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison forward Jamie Engelbert (11) tussles with Indy Fuel forward Colin Bilek (6) during the Bison’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Indy Fuel and Bloomington Bison players tangle for the puck during the Bison’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Indy Fuel forward Brandon Saigeon (17) and Bloomington Bison forward Jamie Engelbert (11) face off during the Bison’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison forward Connor Lockhart (73) skates during the team’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison forward Connor Lockhart skates during the team’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison and Indy Fuel players cheer as officials break up a fight betweenBison forward Jamie Engelbert (11) and Fuel forward Colin Bilek (6) during the Bison’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Indy Fuel forward Jordan Martin and Bloomington Bison defenseman Mitchell Smith (26) skate during the Bison’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison defenseman Reilly Webb (44) and Indy Fuel forward Sam Ruffin (29) follow the puck during the Bison’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison defenseman Reilly Webb (44) skates during the team’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison defenseman Reilly Webb (44) skates during the team’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Indy Fuel forward Kevin Lombardi (23) controls the puck while pursued by Bloomington Bison players, including forward Connor Lockhart (73), during the Bison’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Players for the Bloomington Bison and Indy Fuel skate during the Bison’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison defenseman Dante Fantauzzi (25) and forward Linus Hemstrom (9), and Indy Fuel forward Ethan Manderville (14) skate during the Bison’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Indy Fuel forward Ethan Manderville (14) and Bloomington Bison forward Linus Hemstrom (9) look for control of the puck Saturday during the Bison’s first home game at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison defenseman Dante Fantauzzi (25) skates ahead of Indy Fuel forward Ethan Manderville (14) during the Bison’s first home game Saturday in Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison goalie Mark Sinclair (29) and defensemen Thomas Stewart (22) and Brendan Pepe (74) skate during the team’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
A Bloomington Bison staff member offers a hand to one of the participants in an on-ice tricycle race played between periods Saturday at the Bison’s first home game in Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison defenseman Thomas Stewart (22) wrestles with Indy Fuel forward Nathan Noel (10) on Saturday during the Bison’s first home game at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison defenseman Thomas Stewart (22) fights with Indy Fuel forward Nathan Noel (10) on Saturday during the Bison’s first home game at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Linesmen Will Glick (40) and Aaron McCrary (50) confer on the ice during the Bloomington Bison’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Players for the Bloomington Bison and Indy Fuel prepare to restart play during the Bison’s first game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Players for the Bloomington Bison and Indy Fuel prepare to restart play during the Bison’s first game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison forward Linus Hemstrom waits for play to begin again during the team’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison forwards Dalton Duhart (19), Gavin Gould (91) and Connor Lockhart (73) confer on the ice during a break in play Saturday at the team’s first home game in Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison forward Connor Lockhart prepares for play to restart during the team’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Players for the Bloomington Bison leave the ice during the team’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison defenseman Josh Martin (24) tangles with Indy Fuel forward Nathan Noel (10) during the Bison’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison forward Matthew Cassidy (20) skates during the team’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison forward Matthew Phillip (18) skates during the team’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Players for the Bloomington Bison and Indy Fuel mingle on the ice during a break in play at the Bison’s first home game Saturday.
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Bloomington Bison
Linesman Aaron McCrary (50) motions to a player during the Bloomington Bison’s first home game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Players for the Bloomington Bison and Indy Fuel prepare to restart play Saturday during the Bison’s first home game at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Indy Fuel forward Jordan Martin (28) and Bloomington Bison forward Linus Hemstrom (9) prepare to restart play Saturday during the Bison’s first home game at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Players for the Bloomington Bison line up to thank goalie Mark Sinclair (29) after the team’s first-ever home game Saturday in Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Bloomington Bison goalie Hugo Ollas (30) guards the net during the Bloomington Bison’s first game Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bloomington Bison
Branding for the Bloomington Bison is shown Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
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Bill Flick is at bflick@pantagraph.com.
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Publish date : 2024-10-20 00:00:00
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