Sep 15 2006
A little friendly Canada-bashing..
PDB stirred up a bit of a flurry over at View from the porch in her post about the school shooting in Montreal titled I ain’t goin’ out like that. The comment was;
“Anon: Keep in mind, this is Canada we’re talking about here. Even if this dude burst into Ecole Polytechnique’s 1911 Gunsmithing 101 class and all the students were holding fully functional sidearms, he still would have taken them all out.
Canadians are soft, docile, toothless creatures indoctrinated from birth that violence never solves anything, and that the best thing to do when the Morlocks come for you is to relax, offer no resistance and let them have their way with you in the hopes that they’ll let you live to see a grief councillor.
To put it mildly, frak that.
Disregarding the two firearms I have in arms length to me at the moment, I can identify at least ten items on and around my desk that I could use to kill an attacker. Hell, I’d rather be armed with a pointy stick and a furious rage than a death ray and a rabbit’s timidity.
Guns, knives, mace, saps, etc., are all tools. Your weapon is holstered ‘twixt your ears.“
He explains his dislike, nay hatred, of our country in his post entitled tempest in a Tim Hortons cup (and in an older entry Patriotism by contrast).
So tell me why you love or hate this country. I’m dying to know, in a soft, docile, toothless sort of way natch.
Why do I love Canada? The question makes me kind of uncomfortable, at first. I’m Canadian, and as such was raised to be vaguely suspicious of gushy, emotive, overdone displays of patriotic ostentation.
Better ask why do I live in Canada? It’s a good place to live; one of the best on Earth, and by my standards a significantly better place than the other prime candidates, the U.K., the U.S., or Anzac.
It’s uncrowded; we have wilderness at our backs; lots of it. We have a functioning democracy and our political discoures retains a modicum of good manners and polite dialogue. We have effective social programs. We have a health care system that covers everybody, and works. We haven’t declared an illegal war of oppression on pretexts so trumped up they make “the Poles have attacked our radio station at Gleiwitz” sounds credible. Ever. And then re-elected the perpetrators.
Our gun control laws are annoying, but tolerable. Our winters rock. We’ve got some gorgeous geography. The hunting and fishing remain good. Montreal (which is a wonderful city despite the tradition of school shootings). We have the respect of most of the rest of the planet, and with reason. We brew good beer. We’re open, tolerant, and multicultural.
Do I love Canada? Hard to say. I’d say that loving your country in the sense that whatshername would probably use is the product of a little too much propaganda washed down with an excess of jingoistic groupthink; it’s the kind of love Soviet children were taught by the motherland to express. It’s flagwaving hysteria. Do I tear up when I see the flag displayed? No. Do I get emotional when I hear Oh Canada? No. Do I revere our Prime Minister as if he were royalty? No (and I didn’t his predecessors either).
I live here because I choose to. I live here because I understand our laws and system of government and consider them to be one of the best engines for generating prosperity and felicity that humanity has ever devised. It’s allowed me to pursue my ambitions and arrive at a pretty close approximation to my ideal lifestyle, before my fortieth birthday. I vote, because here I know my (paper) ballot will be counted. I volunteer as a monitor at elections because I can, and because it means something. Canada works, dammit. Really, really well.
I choose to live here despite the fact that I pay over fifty percent of my income in taxes. I don’t mind this. The remainder lets me live as I wish, and most of the my tax dollars do get spent on things that I approve of. Like feeding welfare recipients and providing medical care for myself and my fellow citizens. Those tax dollars go to buy something I’m not sure anybody who’d object to it in my place could understand.
I swore an oath to uphold the laws and duly constituted authorities of this country a while back (those rumours about the serment d’office beginning “All hail the Lords of Darkness…” are false). I’ve kept it, not that that’s been any great challenge in a country where the laws are for the most part quite just and the authorities usually reasonable. Would I fight to defend Canada? I’d volunteer in a heartbeat, if needs be. I’m not entirely sure what the Forces would do with an overweight, near-forty myopic lawyer with one heart attack under his belt, but hopefully, they’d find something.
So yeah, I guess you could say that I love Canada. I love the place in a way that’s probably a little bit more intellectual and less visceral than the Hallmark Fourth of July card or Stalinist May Day Rally slogan sense, but shows a greater understanding and personal commitment.
On due reflection, I can say that I love Canada, not because I was taught to recite the psalms of its civic religion in kindergarten, but because it’s a sensible, pleasant, prosperous, peaceful and frequently beautiful place to live. It may be a Western constitutional democracy like many others, but this one is mine.
i couldn’t have put it better myself.
i love this country of ours. and on some day’s when i watch tv or see the flag. i do feel inside that i am a part of something bigger and greater then me. now excuse me as i go get a beer. CHEERS!
Touchy subject.
Patriotism is a bit of a difficult thing for me personally. I won’t go into overly specific detail, but several times in my life, I have felt that Canada has turned it’s back on me, at least in a philosophical sense. I’m not enough of a meglomaniac to suggest the idea that the entire country or even it’s government has ever even known I’m alive, let alone deemed me worthy of it’s contempt, but I’ve felt really kicked by “Canada” so many times, I no longer know if you could call me anything resembling a “patriot”.
I’ve had my government tell me that I’m a threat to national security because of my family, I’ve had my government declare the election over before the votes in BC have been counted and been told point blank I can’t even apply for a job because I’m British Columbian(You had to be French). I also shook my head in disgust numerous times as the Canadian government made boner after boner, both in left and right wing governments.
I certainly retain a strong loyalty and identity with the Crown. I know part of that comes from how I was raised, along with my penchant for history, as to why I hold the Crown so dear.
The problem is, that self-same penchant for history has given me a very indepth look at how this little confederation called Canada has operated for it’s entire history. Were there high points? Sure, the history of the confederation is certainly nothing to be ashamed of, with several moments that should have defined us as something more. The key word there is “should”. But they didn’t. While it’s easy to provide the universal British Columbian(Or Albertan)response of “Because Trudeau was an idiot”, the fact is that Trudeau was at best, a local political force in Ontario and Quebec. He ignored us and we ignored him. I think that’s the part that hammered his supporters and Chretien the hardest after he died: When we politely told Ontario and Quebec that Mount Logan was not going to be disgraced with his name, it stunned them. While Trudeau was the most important PM in Ontario/Quebec history, he was and always will be a nobody here in BC. So, much to the annoyance for the overwhelming majority of western provinces, we can’t blame everything on Trudeau. The slips and “opportunity lost(s)” of the history of confederation happened before, during and after Trudeau’s regime.
I certainly don’t hate Canada, in fact, I’m not really the “hating” type. I’m a pretty unique creature, so to avoid hypocracy, I avoid hating. Heck, I’ve even had a civil conversation with my ex-wife from time to time.
I think that if you wanted a good analogy for where I am with “Canada”, she’s an old girlfriend that I had, who I broke up with, not with a stormy drama, but more with one of those drifting apart from the tides of life. Inside, the love is there, but the gap is too far, the world has turned too far and you know that it’s not love, but more the pro forma gestures of “old love” that’s past it’s expiry date. When I bump into her on the street, there is an awkwardness and polite distance that neither side really feels comfortable with, but doesn’t quite know how to bridge and isn’t sure they’d want to cross back over in any case.
I guess I’m saying that Canada lost me years ago and I don’t think either of us miss each other that much.
I’ll keep it shorter than the average post here. I love Canada because we can be simultaneously shoft and cuddly and then go to work and be the best snipers in the world.
After this incident in Montreal it’s folly to think we’re ‘better’ than anyone else. We’ve obviously got our societal problems that spawn guys like that. Every country does.
I would hope Canada can deal with the fallout more equitably and less knee jerk, to all aspects of the case, not just the gun issue. But I don’t think anyone could treat a situation like this without takeing a side or two.
Is it enough to think we live in a country where this happens ‘less often’? Pretty cynical.
I’m with Teddy.
I love this country because while being called fence-sitters (in a bad way) we declared Martial Law on our own city and rolled tanks down Main Street. Until recently, I’ve always felt Canada lets its actions speak for it. I don’t think we’ve fallen that far.
I certainly don’t see Canada as a empire in decline like the States. And it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling to know that it helps to wear my flag when I travel.
She’s been good to me so far. No one else will have me.
well, people find all kinds of things to blame when they can’t explain to themselves why they aren’t happy.
Thank goodness Rochester was just across the water to give him hope. LOL
Canada is great because she doesn’t ask us to drink the kool-aid.
We don’t “Rah! Rah!â€? look how great we are. Look how great the war is going. Our troops are over in Afghanistan trying to do the best they can for that country after *ahem* somebody bombed the heck out of it. Do you hear the PM saying “Rah! Rah!â€? We’ve overcoming evil; we are winning against incredible odds. Nope!
We can burn the flag; we can say bad things about our leaders (even hit them in the face with a pie). We can form new political parties that occasionally have a chance of gaining enough power to make change.
Oh, and we have a democracy…. everyone repeat after me: when you cast your vote your vote counts. Sure it counts for .0001%. It however is not controlled by an electoral college. I do not know why there is so much voter fraud in America (and there is, bribes, dead people voting, polling stations in poor neighbourhoods mysteriously opening late, having non-working equipment or what not) It would be much faster just to bribe the electoral college representatives. Sure in 24 states they have laws to punish “faithless electors” but they have never been invoked. Before you spread democracy to the rest of the world why don’t you start at home? (And yes Canada could to better at representing the voters, I know many leaders have gotten a majority of the seats without a majority of the popular vote BUT we aren’t spreading “good government” to the rest of the world)
I left a comment on “tempest in a tim hortons cup” but it looks like it didn’t make the cut, or it was “cut”, so I hope you don’t mind if I leave the comment for him here:
Radmila said:
“Everytime a jackass leaves Canada, somewhere on the clear waters of Canada a beaver sighs with delight”.
You said “beaver”.
But yes if America is so much better don’t let the door hit you on the way out. (Or whatever the equivalent would be)
LOL…I like my mother in laws version:
“Let the doorknob hit you, where the dog should have bit you”
I’m sorry, what slays me most about this entire matter is that we act like we’re discussing a country as if it’s composed entirely of one homogenous group of people sharing the same ideas, beliefs, strengths and weaknesses.
No country possesses that uniformity. By extension each country is comprised of individuals with widely differing opinions and beliefs.
In my limited experience both Canada and the US are nearly identical in these respects. It remains the reason I defend the US when I get involved in the inevitable anti-US sentiment. I’ve spent some time in various corners of the US and have found the same rednecks, vehement liberals and average everyday people living both North and South of the border.
If we’re talking about people being fundamentally different on either side of the border then I see no evidence supporting this assertion, despite my desperate patriotic wish that there was indeed something to prove it.
If we’re talking about the ideal that is the US (Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness) or Canada (peace, order and good government) then those currently at the helm of both countries have fallen short of the bar set out for them by our respective founders.
Meh, show me paradise and I’ll apply for a visa. In the meantime I’ve yet to be told why this country is so worse off than others.
I love this country.
My ancestors fought and died for this country in two world wars, Korea…hell, the first ancestor of mine who died in defence of this country was back in the early 1700’s, defending a port from inland native attack.
Now? Now we get crapped on by the government. That’s not the bad part, though, the bad part is that the government is allowed to do it, because people either a)Honestly don’t know that the government steals from them and passes laws that make their lives harder with no benefit, or, b) have been trained to “support their government”, no matter what.
Isn’t there something slightly wrong with that? Doesn’t this remind you of certain communist nations?
So, I suppose I really love the country. It’s so rich in history, it’s dripping in raw wilderness if you know where to look, and even the cities are fun places to visit (except Toronto, sorry guys, but I’ve never met a Torontonian who’d give me the time of day if they weren’t trying to sell me something.). I guess what I really hate about Canada is it’s government, and, I suppose, the people who let the government do the things it does.
An opinion from “down south”: Canada is a physically beautiful place, and every Canadian I’ve met OUTSIDE of Canada has been abundantly cool. (My family took a trip to Quebec, and while accepting our greenbacks, there were some folks who were recognizably rude to my family at the time 12 year old self- Ontario was very much the opposite on two separate visits, just seemed like nice folks).
I guess there are some things about Canada that, were I to be Canadian, I’d want to change. They’re the things that a lot of US-Americans who say “why can’t we be more like Canada” say they want, and similarly, they’re the things the the Canadians with an anti-American bent have listed here. I guess that’s why they say political opinions are like…
As for the soft, docile, toothless thing.. umm, Canadians have been giving up their lives in Afghanistan, sometimes to “friendly” fire, yet they’ve stuck with a difficult endeavor. If the Canadians didn’t feel like Iraq was the right thing to do, you have the freedom to decide that. We (your southern neighbors) can’t and shouldn’t misrepresent that. That’s why Canada’s not part of the US.
And on the same topic, the 42,000+ Canadians who gave their lives, the 54000+ wounded, and 1.1 Million who served in ww2 would probably disagree about that toothless thing…
As stated, that was 42,000 Canadians that gave their lives in WW2. People on our side of the border righteously gripe that Europeans oft forget our sacrifices of WW2, but 42,000 people is a lot to forget… I’ll post something to that extent shortly on pdb.
Give everyone guns that way everyone will be armed to fend of the once a year mass shooter that might appear in your midst…. Allowing millions of more guns to be lost, stolen, used, to flood around, yeah good plan there Mac. I refer back to this…
http://www.malfeus.com/wordpress/?p=11
BAN EVERYTHING AND ALL WILL BE SAFE!
or
LEGALIZE EVERYTHING AND ALL WIL BE SAFE!
course thats just my Opinion…
Oh and as to why I love Canada
… I am Canadian.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I would like to mention up front that I’m a citizen of the United States.
I always thought that Canada would be a great place to live, until I started to work for the police in my home town of Columbus, Ohio USA. On occasion I would have to exchange info with a counterpart up in Canada, and I was rather shocked by the attitude you Canadians were all too happy to voice. It seems that I had to be educated toot sweet.
See, all the problems in Canada are the fault of the United States. Why, I never knew!
If some punk shoots a store clerk during a robbery, it is our fault. (The gun passed through the US on its way to Canada, natch.) Some street gang works their way up to major drug dealers, and they were inspired by organized crime figures down here. Even if a drunk strangles his wife or abuses the kids, it is because his brain was subverted by violent American TV.
My moment of satori was 16 years ago, but things have hardly improved. In some ways it has gotten worse, mainly in the way that Canada looks to the United States for protection while ignoring her own responsibilities.
There are a few small, well trained units in Afghanistan who are giving good service, but the rest of your military is a complete joke. Your equipment has been allowed to rust away, your training is pitiful, and you can’t even make the budget to get outmoded stuff refurbished before you take delivery. (HMCS Chicoutimi, anyone?)
Thank goodness your border guards are finally (finally!!!) getting armed so they can actually do something besides run away if the unthinkable happens and lives are on the line.
Mugwug is the most clear headed Canadian I’ve ever come across, and he is right that there is a fundamental difference between our societies and systems of government. There is nothing wrong about being a Canadian, or with Canada itself. I just wish you guys would stop saying there’s something wrong with the US and it’s citizens.
James
There are a few small, well trained units in Afghanistan who are giving good service, but the rest of your military is a complete joke.
Um, 2,000 troops including the NATO brigade HQ is a touch more than “a few troops”.
Thank goodness your border guards are finally (finally!!!) getting armed so they can actually do something besides run away if the unthinkable happens and lives are on the line.
This is not going to go as smoothly as some will hope. Based on my experience(Mugwug will vouch that my depth of experience with CBSA is deeper than most), they are not armed for several very good and valid reasons. The staff is neatly divided into three groups: 40% who are ambivilant about firearms because they know that effective law enforcement doesn’t come from your belt, it comes from a professional approach, 40% who do not want to be armed because Comrade Trudeau has conditioned them to fear guns and then the remaining 20% that are the dead reverse of the first group: They have serious credibility problems with both the public and thier co-workers. Remember the old adage about “If you have to tell people you’re in charge, you’re probably not”? This is the group that never figured it out. They have no ability to gently approach the situation, nor play officer friendly nor evenly apply enforcement. You know the guy who writes up people for not being precisely 30cm from the curb? You know the guy who has fifty things on his duty belt and is constantly fingering as many weapons as he can? This is that group. These ones want the guns because they think that once they have all of the toys, people will finally respect them. And to be blunt, they scare the crap outta me.
Overall, I hear where you’re coming from and you raise valid points. The problem is that you’ve had a very limited experience with Canada and don’t see that there is no such thing as a “Canadian culture” or “Canadian values”: We’re too different from coast to coast to coast.
well james i think that is a profoundly realistic take on things. although i would have to disagree with the training aspect.
as to corupting our minds with american tv thats bull. all that is, is some person saying somthing or other as to make sence or find a scapegoat in a bad situation. the person makes the decition. and tv is’nt that bad that it could create a mass murderer. its the mindset that does. not american culture.
although guns crossing the border are a problem i think that closer partnerships between both countries police services would have a better impact on it. (dam gun registry, fighting the problem, that is where the money should have been spent).
as to somthing being wrong with the US or its citizens?…. well i think that its not the people of the US that something is wrong with but the goverment and policies. both countries citizens are so simmilar that the resentment may come from the global policies of the goverments that ignight the thoughts of discontent.
that been said. although we have disagreements or good fights. we are there for each other in diferent ways. (not all militaraly)as in sept 11 the stranded americans on canadian soil were very quikly taken care of as best possible without a second thought. the lucky ones were invited to say at peoples homes. regardless of nationality we are all human, and that showed the best in a bad situation.
adam
“The problem is that you’ve had a very limited experience with Canada and don’t see that there is no such thing as a “Canadian cultureâ€? or “Canadian valuesâ€?: We’re too different from coast to coast to coast.”
WoW..that is a awsome accurate take that a lot of canadians seem to forget as well.
James: Ah, the “Blame the US” game is a long standing tradition. We’ve become rather accustomed to pointing the finger at our southern neighbors, and absolving ourselves of any blame for domestic problems. I am certain the US has had an influence in this country, both positive and negative. That’s the nature of close proximity, and sadly we do not get to pick and choose the good from the bad. Simply blaming the US is a cop-out however, in this you’re absolutely right.
Our military. Tough call, most Canadians with even a passing knowledge of our armed forces would agree that they have been allowed to languish for some time. Underfunded, underequipped, understaffed. It seems efforts are being made NOW to rectify this, but the damage to our military is easier to inflict than to repair.
That said our country, our soldiers, have been disproportionately active in peacekeeping missions over the years. We’ve seen a steady flow of fatalities and casualties over the years.
The 2,000 Canadian troops in Afghanistan is a small commitment when compared with the US (and coalition) involvement in Iraq, but represents a significant commitment for us, particularly given the casualties suffered to date (again dwarfed by the US numbers, but high for us).
Armed border guards? I’m agreeing with Greg on this one, although I’ll add that things will work themselves out over time, with only a few incidents to work the media into a frenzy.
Finally, any developments on the blog front?
-GRIN-
Greg: “..The problem is that you’ve had a very limited experience with Canada and don’t see that there is no such thing as a “Canadian cultureâ€? or “Canadian valuesâ€?: We’re too different from coast to coast to coast..”
Ayup. Same as the US.
Adam: “..both countries citizens are so simmilar that the resentment may come from the global policies of the goverments that ignight the thoughts of discontent..”
True. The president of the US doesn’t represent each and every citizen of the US, Americas foreign and domestic policy was not the subject of a unanimous referendum. The same applies equally here.
This was my earlier point. If I hold every US citizen responsible for the actions of the US government, then I am equally responsible for the actions of my government. While in abstract terms this is technically correct (without delving into the “your vote counts” issue) it makes me responsible for Paul Martin, and I don’t accept that.
Overall, wow…good stuff here guys, I definately have to read my own blog more often.
-GRIN-
“Some of my best friends are Americans”
Seriously, though, it saddens me to see the U.S. becoming a ‘failed democracy’ (2000 Florida shenanigans, 2003 Texas redistricting, ongoing voting machine irregularities, &c., &c.). It also upsets me to see the ‘Land of the Free, Home of the Brave’ losing its freedoms (Patriot Act, unsanctioned wiretapping, &c., &c.) and increasingly becoming the realm of the fearful.
Because, as we all know, whither the U.S., so also to at least some degree, Canada. I love this country, but fear for the loss of MY freedoms in the face of increasing pressure from the U.S. to ‘harmonize’ and worry about our getting sucked into ill-advised American foreign adventures.
Fine, we’re both the same. America can be the 11th province or Canada the 51st state and no one would notice, right? We can have their health care system or they get our gun control laws or lower the age of consent to 14 (or 16 if that’s already kicked in). It would take minutes it would be so smooth.
If the “distinction” goes east and west it goes as north and south as well, unless you want to keep speaking in vagaries. In that case, yeah: We’re both affluent (depending on who you ask) western countries that alternate condemning and praising our government, yuppies and rednecks as the mood suits us.
I haven’t been in all corners of the States (only two), but have plenty of friends who have, and never felt as if they were just going down the road. They described it as a kind of bizarro-world Canada with bigger servings of food, Plexiglas guarding the gas station attendants, and attitude just for asking directions. This hardly counts as damning evidence, just the impression they get visiting friends and relatives for a few weeks a year. To ears that don’t want to hear it doesn’t mean shit, and that’s fine, too. The US is smaller than Canada with ten times as many people packed in, it’s going to be different. Better or worse is up to the people, but it’s going to be different. New York’s good side and bad have no comparison in Toronto, just as Canada’s McDonald’s doesn’t offer fries in a large drinking cup as large (whether that’s cool or not is still up in the air for me, but it’s one more difference). My boss, Will and Uncle Hank all agree we’re not the same, for better or worse.
When I said “Empire in decline” I was comparing what America was when I was a kid to what is seems to be today. The feelings of invincibility is fading, the world aid starting to get received as bullying and the space-aged war machine getting stymied by rebels with AK-47s and pyjamas.
I wasn’t blaming the US for any of our problems. If we know the guns are coming across the border, well, we’re watching it too, right? We’re an intelligent, semi-independent nation that doesn’t need our collective hands held. If I’m looking down my nose across the border it’s because even if we do have our own Guantanamo Bay, we hide it better. Give Harper time, though, we’ll get there and I’ll shut up.
Militarily, I work with an ex-US Air Force NCO, two former British Army (Armour and Infantry) and a few reservists. They agree the US and Canada’s armed forces have a lot to be proud of, and as long as they stay proud they’ll shine equally in their own ways. Corny, I know, but none of them even thought of the usual dreck about how incompetent one or the other is. It certainly made me feel like a 1st class Heel for ever believing it. Funding, support and use is a matter for the brass, and they were all grunts and refused to offer opinions citing a lack of understanding. I’m currently in the process of re-assessing my own opinion, so I’m going to hold back my own deeper thoughts.
Perspective works wonders. You could be Russia.
Hehe, deep breaths Mike, deep breaths…
I never claimed the countries or their citizens were entirely interchangeable, but they’re not entirely different either.
Your examples of the US difference is true of most Canadian cities after dark, pre-paid gas pumps and gas jockeys that speak through a grill and accept money through a sliding tray are not uncommon in Toronto or Vancouver after dark.
As for the attitude, have you asked directions downtown recently? Have you been asked for directions downtown and been helpful? I know I haven’t.
With respect to the “guns coming from the US” issue. It’s so much crap, we are a soveriegn nation and responsible for our own border security, it’s not like the US government is sending arms into our country (But were they to consider it they should contact mugwug_007 “at” yahoo.ca, all arms shipments welcomed!), it’s criminal elements sneaking illegally obtained firearms across the border.
Our military? I’ve said it too many times to count. I have always been proud of our soldiers, not quite so proud of our “army”, and genuinely disappointed in our politicians.
-GRIN-
Sorry to go off like that, OT makes me testy.
However, more often than not, I get a nice reception downtown. I still get downtown attitude, but I’ve sturck up conversations aplenty waiting in line for tea. I’m often the one giving directions, and I make it a point to be as Canadian as possible about it.
As for the attitude, have you asked directions downtown recently? Have you been asked for directions downtown and been helpful? I know I haven’t.
Are you still playing the “Send the tourists into a war zone” game? You also have to remember that “helpful” is all a matter of perspective.
Yeah, Yeah Torontonians are alll soooo terribly rude that I spout off my opinions in person… RIGHT!
I spend time online so I can be the person I want to be in real life, but politeness was too beaten into me.
While, I am rarely helpful with directions (because honestly I don’t know where anything is. Honestly I can’t even describe where the bus stop is in my own neighbourhood because I can’t remember the name of the street it is on) I do stop and talk to basically anyone that says anything to me. And I have rarely run into this alleged Toronto Rudeness (Except maybe from retail staff and that isn’t rudeness it is apathy caused by wages that are out of line with the cost of living in Toronto and bad management).
I have to say I am soooooo sick of Toronto bashing; it is even more endemic to Canada than America bashing. A fair number of Canadians are capable of seeing that America is a vast a varied place, but it seems that most people from outside of Ontario and a fair number of former Torontonians are unable to see that Toronto is made up of individuals.