Is Quebec the most stubborn province of them all?

By Matthew Visser

he answer to the question posed by
the headline above, unfortunately,

is yes. Quebec is a province which
would love to be apart from Canada, but it
does not have the means to sustain enough
of an economic growth to keep itself from
going bankrupt. The problem with pro-
Quebecers and francophone’s who still
have hope for separating from Canada,
and brain washing their kids and others
into thinking that being a separatist is a
good thing for the homeland they love,
is that they give one of most beautiful
provinces in Canada a bad rap and make
Canadians outside Quebec have bad
opinions about them.

About one-third of Quebec
francophone’s define themselves as
Quebecers exclusively, while 39 percent
see themselves as Quebecers first,
Canadians second. An even sadder
number is the mere 18 percent of
Francophone’s aged 18-24 who define
having an attachment to Canada. This

age percentage is the group, which also
happens to be my age, which will grow up
not caring about the “actual” country they
live in. Despite having to live by “its”
rules and laws, they will grow up hating
the actual country.

This just shows how patronage
can be a beautiful and dangerous thing
but also that francophone’s are digging
themselves into a very deep hole with not
wanting to try and change their opinions
or move somewhere else where they
would be happier. How can one kind of
people in Quebec feel that being separate
from the rest of the rights and laws which
every Canadian has would benefit their
lives? Canada’s universal health care, for
example, is one of the best in the world
and every Canadian should feel lucky to
have this. Would the province of Quebec
have this if they separated? Probably not.

Just imagine going on a cross
country road trip and having to carry your
passport with you to go through Quebec.
And what if you didn’t speak French,
how long would those conversations be?

Now I know this sounds rather farfetched,
with more than 90% of Canada speaking
English, but this could be one of the
reasons why people in Quebec still
want to separate: to keep their heritage
intact for the future. I can say that until
I had lived in Montreal, I never cared
about the French language or put.an
effort forth to try and learn it. And how
arrogant is this of me just because I felt
that living in Vancouver, as if the Rocky
Mountains segregated me, that I did not
have to learn or know Canada’s second
national language? What if both English
and French were together Canada’s
national languages and that they both
got the same recognition all over the
country? For example, New Brunswick
is Canada’s only bilingual province. This
could change in B.C. with Mandarin
slowly becoming the second most spoken
language in the province. Maybe all
of Canada needs to be more like New
Brunswick.

When I lived in Montreal, which is
more segregated by race and languages

  

Bivaros

than the Lower Mainland, being bilingual
is a must. Without this, working and
living the life you want to live has to be
altered to only living a life you can afford,
which for me, was not too exciting. The
unfortunate fact is that there are still
people who live in Quebec and want to
see the province separate from Canada.
This makes me sad but also frustrated
because I love Quebec and now call
Montreal my home away from home.

I think this problem can be solved
as easily as becoming a little more
open minded to the Quebec culture and
heritage, while embracing the French
language. Quebec needs to get off its
high horse of “being different” from the
rest of the country; they should let the
rest of Canada into its world and way of
life. I don’t think that Quebec will ever
lose what makes it what is it is, which
includes being stubborn, having amazing
food, culture and landscapes. But maybe
sometimes the best thing to do to a
grumpy old man is to leave it alone.

 

Are we to blame for awful airport security?

By Matthew Visser

21 years of living, and based on the

experiences I’ve had in every major
Canadian airport, I can honestly say that
I hate flying and hate airport security
even more. However, I will not digress
nor rant to you, the reader. But let me say
that even just reading about the stupidity
of people, and what they bring in their
carry-on luggage, pisses me off.

I will not rant though, I promise.
After examining a picture in the paper of
confiscated items, I’d simply like to ask
that the next time you’re going through
airport security, and I will make sure to
do the same, to not bring a six inch knife,
pliers, monkey wrench, hammer or rake
(not a big rake, but a rake none the less)
with you. And that’s just to name the
tools I saw. On the other side, there were
countless over sized liquids. For your
information, you can only bring liquids
under 100ml that are in an over sized
plastic bag. The best I can remember was
in Calgary when I witnessed someone
trying to bring his own assortment of
alcoholic beverages on the plane. I guess
he really didn’t want to pay the $6 for a
beer.

I read that someone once tried to
bring a cobra on with him. Yes, one of
the world’s most poisonous snakes. I
suppose they just wanted to try and make
their own real-life version of Snakes On
A Plane. Other items I have also seen
people try and bring with them include

| flown a solid amount during my

hockey sticks, a chemistry kit (no joke
here, as I never thought someone would
try this) and a knife set (once again, what
was she thinking?). Not to mention all

of the small pointless items people bring
with them such as bottle openers, cork
screws, nail clippers, scissors and of
course, bottles of gels and liquids. I try to
not argue with airport security though as
they are the people who say if I can get
on my plane or not.

The thing I tell people who are
planning on flying, and ask the question
of if they are allowed to bring something
with them on the plane is: if you have to
ask, then the answer nine times out of ten
is no. But still people bring these items
and make every other person behind them
have to wait longer.

But then comes my argument of are
we, the people, at fault for making going
through airport security such a stressful
and annoying process? According to the
examples given above, the answer is
yes. But why do flyers then proceed to
bring such items, and others, onto a plane
thinking that they can?

After 9/11 airport security all
around the world went safely crazy and
made regulations for flying that make
it much more difficult to memorize for
the common man, who flies once in a
blue moon, and, in my opinion, made the
security officers’ lives that much.more
stressful and demanding. This is because
of people like the man from China who
put a mask over his head to illegally
get into Canada. It is these people who

make flying a hated
chore when it’s
really supposed to
be exciting and fun
because Lord knows
the security hates
being there as much
as you and I do.

 

 

 

 

 

   

B.C. youth to a conference
in Vancouver from August 19-21, 2011

If you're aged 18-30, live in BC, and want to
learn about transportation, sustainability and
planning, apply to attend by January 31, 2011.

See translink.ca/bcyouthsummit for full details!

We're inviting

— all expenses paid!

 

 

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