A Different World Right Next Door

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Canada is a cultural dichotomy. We are a collection of very singular and – dare I say? – distinct peoples who have very little in common, yet are feebly tied together through pseudo-patriotic themes such as beer commercials and donut shops.

Confederation, that wonderfully impossible concept of complete and total Canadian national unity, has never worked and never will. One trip to a different part of the country proves that unequivocally.

That is what became apparent to me during my camping venture in British Columbia.

Every trip you take provides some memorable sights and experiences, and my friends, this one was no different. I had already known about the new provincial ‘carbon tax’ among others, so it was no surprise when fuelling up became a bit of a hit on the wallet compared to home (where it is bad enough).

What I didn’t expect was learning about a law passed last February which requires pre-payment before gassing up your vehicle. Called ‘Grant’s Law’, it was put in place after a gas attendant was killed after trying to stop the theft of $12.30 worth of gas.

Here’s where I have to be careful with my wording. While I can fully appreciate the situation and the public outcry after such a tragedy, the fact is the attendant should never have risked his life over $12 of gas. That’s what video surveillance is for.

At the very least, his employer’s should have given him the standard ‘if you are being robbed, don’t resist’ speech upon hiring.

It’s a reactionary law that won’t stop inside robberies. Pardon the crass, but it’s like trying to cure the headache by cutting off the head. The law is pedantic at best.

Moving past that, there were a few things which made the wife and I do double takes and head shakes. Some examples include:

-Every parking lot you see, even at provincial parks, are pay-parking. In fact, we noticed user-fees on almost everything you could see in the open;

- Hitch hikers are on every single road. So are ‘No Hitchhiking’ signs;

- Their green ‘Go’ lights at intersections flash for some reason;

- Racing-style two lane lights onto merge lanes (Vancouver);

- Cross-country trains cutting through the middle of public beaches (Salmon Arm).

There are more, but the one I can’t get around are the free-range cows. You read that right.

Traveling on the twisting and turning 80km/h highway towards the provincial campground we were surprised to see a ‘Caution: Cattle’ sign. Not as surprised as a few seconds later when we had to swerve to avoid cows on the highway.

First thought: the fence is down or broken. The wife pointed out the fact that there was, in fact, no fence. Subsequent chats with some locals confirmed it: cows rule the road in Kamloops…

We met more than our share of gracious and friendly folks all through B.C., of that there is no doubt. It’s the way of thinking that is different, not only for our two provinces, but for the entire nation.

While B.C. fights the environmental war with yet another useless, cash-grab tax, Alberta launches real action in the fight with a $2 Billion carbon-capture program. Even the way we choose to save the world is at odds.

No wonder national agreements are rare and unity is the ever-present cultural issue.