Our National Expression

Perhaps it is just the fact that I am one of the few Canadians who live in my house this summer, or perhaps it is the sign on the GO bus that I saw a few days ago, but I have finally realized what the national expression for Canada is. There is a stereotype that the expression for Canada is "eh" and I feel that I should set the record straight. The national expression for all Canadians is "Sorry."

I never realized how apologetic of a country we are until I saw a sign on the GO bus that said "Out of Service . . . Sorry." This is probably the only country in the world where the buses apologize for being out of service. When Canadians bump into someone else on the street, it is never a contest to see who can accuse the other person of doing it deliberately. It is a competition to see who can say sorry first.

I probably come from one of the more apologetic families in the world. My sister and I will apologize for everything. If you ever want to lay blame on someone for something, come to us. We seem to be completely content to accept the blame for the weather, the traffic, the lack of a food in the house, aches and pains that you may be suffering at the time and anything at all that may be bothering you about the state of the world. I will say sorry for things in the world that there is no way I would ever have control over. Even if I became the President of the United States, I still would not be able to control over these things. This point may be moot since I would probably just apologize for everything anyway.

Some days, it would be nice to not apologize for everything. It would be nice to not feel guilty for everything that happens that shouldn't. Maybe one day I will figure out a way to be more like the Americans. They never apologize for what is happening. They just simply go and do what they think they need to do. Perhaps that is really what separates Canada and America. The national expression of sorry.

Canada Day

This Canada Day has been an interesting one for me. There is the fact that I am working in a Canada Day which hasn't happened in a long time, but that is not the defining factor of this Canada Day for me. This will be the first Canada Day that I have spent with people who are for the most part not Canadian.

That comment is not meant to imply that I have anything against those who are not from Canada. In fact, a few of my closest friends are not from Canada and that number just seems to keep growing.

My morning began surrounded by those from Uganda, Ukraine, Iran, Brazil and Nicaragua. It is hard to argue with the fact that all of those places are very different from the country I call home. It was interesting to listen to the discussion that was going around me, comparing the differences between our countries. It is because of that discussion that I am particularly proud to be able to call Canada my home today.

Here, there is no persecution for religious beliefs at any time. There is no mandatory military service. No one carries guns in the streets just because. There is very little in bred hatred or even dislike of any other country. There are no rules here that limit the role that women can play in society or in the relationships that they are allowed to form. Schools are free and higher education is supported. There is freedom of speech and freedom of movement. There isn't a blistering heat all year round. The heat here is confined to the months when road work becomes so popular.

There are so many differences between the countries that were represented for me on Canada Day. I guess the similarity is that we all love Canada enough to spend a part of our lives here.