June 22 - One of the strangest aspects of life in Canada is the intense regionalism. Not because regionalism is strange (at least to someone of my age who grew up in the American West) but because the federal government tends to encourage it and all the divisive antagonisms that it involves.

You see, it comes in handy during election campaigns. So what if lies must be spread to keep the distrust at full agitation level, as Ezra Levant recounts in this column, Anti-Alberta bigotry:

So last week, Martin blasted Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, calling Klein's health-care reform package un-Canadian. "Unlike Stephen Harper, I will look Ralph Klein in the eye and I will say 'no.'," ranted Martin. From Ontario, of course -- not over the phone to Klein privately, not in a memo, but at an election event, using federal-provincial relations as a desperate partisan weapon. "Unlike Stephen Harper, I will defend medicare," he said -- defending it against Klein, the new Liberal demon.

Although nearly every province has private health-care facilities, Martin chose to attack only Alberta.

He did not criticize Ontario and Quebec, with their burgeoning private hospitals. Ontario and Quebec are run by Liberal governments.

The government of Alberta has kept Martin briefed about their proposed changes for months. Martin has never raised an objection, and Anne McLellan, the deputy prime minister, has repeatedly approved of such changes.

So there was no reason to criticize Klein's plans at all -- at least until they provided a scapegoat for the Liberals. And if Klein's plans provide a scapegoat, so do all the other provinces.

Given that the Liberal Party proclaims Canadian unity as their sole objective, why would they make statements that encourage anti-Quebec sentiments unless they prefer a Canada divided and thus weak?

But then we can't have the Liberals running on their record, now can we.

Posted by: Debbye at 06:31 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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1 My family is from B.C. and I lived there for a number of years as well. I'm not sure who my father's family liked least: Americans or Easterners. No one either side of my family had any use for Ontario or Quebec, and that was a fairly common sentiment in general. So, a few years ago, I finally visit the dreaded "East" and Nin and I stayed at this lovely lodge in the Haliburton Highlands (run by former French nobility no less)(nicest French folk I've ever met actually) and we chatted quite a bit with this ON couple before and after dinners. We'd had a few glasses of wine and I finally mentioned my predisposition to not trust a thing east of Manitoba. They laughed and laughed, and the husband assured me that he knew peoplel from the West thought anyone from ON, especially TO, was evil incarnate I told them I would be glad to report back that that was not the case.

Posted by: Ith at June 22, 2004 06:57 PM (C7QsI)

2 Ith, that lodge wouldn't just happen to be "The Domain of Killien", would it? (Forgive my vulgar curiosity; I've heard good things about it

Posted by: Jim at June 23, 2004 09:40 AM (MMmaD)

3 Jim, it would! That's kind of scary that you knew and all It is WONDERFUL! Just for the bread alone, it was worth it. I very much want to go back one day. I can't recall a much better stay anywhere else.

Posted by: Ith at June 23, 2004 11:17 AM (C7QsI)

4 Mmm, bread. You just can't match a proper loaf of bread, especially when you can smell it fresh from the oven. I've never been west of Ontario in Canada, but I've been to the east coast and love Cape Breton Island. You'd love it, Ith, especially with the heavy Scots influence. (Wait, I seem to recollect that you have been there?) The coastline is much like that of Northern California: rugged, mountainous and heavily wooded. It brings back some fine memories. Of course, Ontario looks down its nose at the Martimes, too.

Posted by: Debbye at June 23, 2004 07:47 PM (RtUPc)

5 I was in Halifax to see Nigel Bennett in Hamlet. Ummm, March of 2000 I believe. Loved Nova Scotia! and Cape Breton is a place I really want to visit. The bread at Killian is to die for. Fresh baked baguettes in the evening, fresh baked croissants in the morning with homemade jam. And they'll pack you a picnic lunch with a sandwich made from a baguette. Nin's fave was the smoked ham and grueyere (sp?) cheese. We were there in the fall, and the owner told me I had to come back in the winter because I had a good chance of seeing the local wolf pack. One day!!

Posted by: Ith at June 23, 2004 09:40 PM (C7QsI)

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