There is a revolution going on in Quebec, right now.
The first flames of revolutionary zeal were seen in last night's provinical election results. A new, slightly right-of-centre, 'Separatist-Lite' party, the ADQ (Action Democratique du Quebec), has gone from being a small, independent third party to now becoming the official opposition. The Parti Quebecois, defender of the bastion of Quebec Separatism and advocate of a free and independent Quebec nation, has been relegated to third place. Jean Charest, the Liberal premier, almost lost his seat in the National Assembly. And the question of separatism in Canada and Quebec will never be the same again.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
U.S. Tax Madness
Taxes are always overwhelming, for everyone -- everywhere -- but trying to find answers to questions about the U.S. tax code is like trying to reason with HAL. "... I'm sorry, Dave ... I can't do that, Dave. ... Dave..." says the automated receptionist in my mind ...
In the process of trying to get my tax refund direct deposited in my Canadian-based, U.S. Dollar bank account, I did have an interesting chat with the Royal Bank customer service representative. He couldn't help me with the direct deposit business; in order to transfer funds to my account, you need first a three-digit institution number, then a five-digit branch transit number, then my seven-digit account number. However, the U.S. tax form asks first for a nine-digit routing number (my parents and I got into a lively discussion about the pronunciation of rOOting-vs.-rOWting -- apparently one pronunciation is Canadian and the other American, though I suspect it's simply regional), and then a seventeen-digit account number. Norman, my customer service representative, was able to get the routing number (money from the U.S. comes through JP Morgan Chase first, before going on to RBC Financial), but the seventeen digit account number remained a mystery -- to both of us. Norman suggested I 'simply call them up' and ask if they will do direct deposit to a Canadian bank (I'm sure there are other people who do this; I'm not the only Canadian who's ever worked in the U.S.) ... but alas, ... HAL...
Norm and had a good little conversation about my experiences as a Canadian in the U.S. though. Of course, he asked me the age-old question (the one everyone always asks me when I tell them I went to school in the states): what's it like? His kids were thinking of going to school in the U.S., and he wanted a blind, unbiased opinion from a stranger (...). I said, it's almost like here [Canada], only fewer things are free (i.e. health care, social services, a good public library) -- and only the strong survive. I found living in the U.S. to be fairly cut-throat -- not in the sense that anyone is out to get you, but in the sense that, in the U.S., one must raise raise one's voice in order to be heard. You need to be a vocal, pro-active personality in order to be successful and find what you want -- and in order to get what you want, you have to be able to ask for it.
Besides the challenge of living in a nation of extroverts after growing up in a nation of introverts, I told him that the second challenge was this: everyone assumes that, because Canada and the U.S. are neighbouring North American cultures, most things are exactly the same -- and that most institutions are completely compatible, when they most certainly are not. (Case in point -- the very difference and incompatibility between Canadian + American direct deposit information and routing (or Routing?) number practices. The irony that this customer service representative had no idea whether or not they could or would wire my cheque from the U.S. to the Canadian bank that he works for, and how, being a customer service representative, he might help me to arrange that -- I think the irony was lost on him.)
I told him how, when I first moved to Rhode Island, I had another banking problem, when my small-town Rhode Island bank branch failed to process a transfer of funds because the computer system was not set up to recognize foreign currency (transferred from my same Canadian bank -- an institution that also primarily deals in Canadian funds, but also in U.S. dollars!) . Norm tried to sell me on another bank service, RBC Centura -- which has branches in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. But what good would that do me, way up in Rhode Island?
I think I'll just do it the old fashioned way, and wait for my cheque to arrive in the mail -- like everybody else.
In the process of trying to get my tax refund direct deposited in my Canadian-based, U.S. Dollar bank account, I did have an interesting chat with the Royal Bank customer service representative. He couldn't help me with the direct deposit business; in order to transfer funds to my account, you need first a three-digit institution number, then a five-digit branch transit number, then my seven-digit account number. However, the U.S. tax form asks first for a nine-digit routing number (my parents and I got into a lively discussion about the pronunciation of rOOting-vs.-rOWting -- apparently one pronunciation is Canadian and the other American, though I suspect it's simply regional), and then a seventeen-digit account number. Norman, my customer service representative, was able to get the routing number (money from the U.S. comes through JP Morgan Chase first, before going on to RBC Financial), but the seventeen digit account number remained a mystery -- to both of us. Norman suggested I 'simply call them up' and ask if they will do direct deposit to a Canadian bank (I'm sure there are other people who do this; I'm not the only Canadian who's ever worked in the U.S.) ... but alas, ... HAL...
Norm and had a good little conversation about my experiences as a Canadian in the U.S. though. Of course, he asked me the age-old question (the one everyone always asks me when I tell them I went to school in the states): what's it like? His kids were thinking of going to school in the U.S., and he wanted a blind, unbiased opinion from a stranger (...). I said, it's almost like here [Canada], only fewer things are free (i.e. health care, social services, a good public library) -- and only the strong survive. I found living in the U.S. to be fairly cut-throat -- not in the sense that anyone is out to get you, but in the sense that, in the U.S., one must raise raise one's voice in order to be heard. You need to be a vocal, pro-active personality in order to be successful and find what you want -- and in order to get what you want, you have to be able to ask for it.
Besides the challenge of living in a nation of extroverts after growing up in a nation of introverts, I told him that the second challenge was this: everyone assumes that, because Canada and the U.S. are neighbouring North American cultures, most things are exactly the same -- and that most institutions are completely compatible, when they most certainly are not. (Case in point -- the very difference and incompatibility between Canadian + American direct deposit information and routing (or Routing?) number practices. The irony that this customer service representative had no idea whether or not they could or would wire my cheque from the U.S. to the Canadian bank that he works for, and how, being a customer service representative, he might help me to arrange that -- I think the irony was lost on him.)
I told him how, when I first moved to Rhode Island, I had another banking problem, when my small-town Rhode Island bank branch failed to process a transfer of funds because the computer system was not set up to recognize foreign currency (transferred from my same Canadian bank -- an institution that also primarily deals in Canadian funds, but also in U.S. dollars!) . Norm tried to sell me on another bank service, RBC Centura -- which has branches in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. But what good would that do me, way up in Rhode Island?
I think I'll just do it the old fashioned way, and wait for my cheque to arrive in the mail -- like everybody else.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Canadian Music Update
Two new, interesting, highly-anticipated albums have come out in the past week. One is the legendary Neil Young 1971 Massey Hall concert recording; the other is the Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible".
You may be thinking, what business do these albums have with this blog, or with Canada-U.S. relations, for that matter?
Well, for starters, both albums are from Canadian artists with international recognition -- and both are seen as being somehow particularly "Canadian".
The Arcade Fire are an eclectic, indie rock band from Montreal, and while their lead singer is originally from down south, most of the band members are Canadian. Neil Young was born and raised in Winnipeg and Toronto.
The Arcade Fire are pretty new on the scene, but they have rapidly ascended to 'indie superstar' status. At this moment, they could arguably be considered one of the biggest bands in the world. "Neon Bible", their current (and only their second) album, is #1 on the billboard charts in Canada and Ireland, #2 in the U.S. and the U.K., and #7 in Australia. Seeing major articles written about them in The Toronto Star and The New York Times Magazine ("One Very Indie Band," Sunday March 4th, 2007) has hammered this reality home: two years ago, they were a mostly unknown, funky, alternative art-rock group. Now, they are huge.
Why are they considered Canadian (or 'more Canadian' than other, less successful, Canadian artists)? I don't know. Maybe they aren't (chances are, many American fans of their music wouldn't take any notice of where they're from, unless they are expressly interested). But, being an avid follower of the Canadian music scene, I started listening to them two years ago, when their debut album "Funeral" began selling. Back then, they were being considered the next big (indie) thing in Canada -- and now, they are the next big ("indie") thing everywhere. So for Canadians like me, they feel like homegrown rock stars that have hit the big time.
Neil Young is a different kind of story; like many musicians of his generation (Joni Mitchell, The Band) when his career took off in the 1960s, hitting the big time meant moving to the U.S. and making his career as a musician there. Having lived most of his life in the U.S., he is probably just as often considered a classic American artist as a Canadian one. And because of his place as a major influence in the worlds of folk, rock, and singer/songwriting -- regardless of any nationally-influenced persona -- he retains a universal appeal.
But -- take Neil Young's work as an article of Canadiana, and you get a very different take on it.
When Neil sings the line, "Now I'm going back to Canada / for a journey through the past / And I won't be back till February comes" in the third verse of "Journey To The Past", you can hear the crowd at Massey Hall in Toronto swell with pride and applause.
And when The Arcade Fire's Win Butler croons, "I don't want to fight in a Holy War / I don't want the salesman knocking at my door / I don't want to live in America no more" (instead of the song's repeated refrain, "I don't want to live in my father's house no more") at the climax of "Windowsill", I am sure he is singing not only to the disaffected youth of America, but to a sentiment common among Canadians just north of the border.
And to tell the truth, there is a kind of pride in seeing this quirky, half-Canadian, art-rock collective attempting to take on such a cultural behemoth and a mammoth political foe.
Even if they are just a rock band -- it will be interesting to see how they fare.
You may be thinking, what business do these albums have with this blog, or with Canada-U.S. relations, for that matter?
Well, for starters, both albums are from Canadian artists with international recognition -- and both are seen as being somehow particularly "Canadian".
The Arcade Fire are an eclectic, indie rock band from Montreal, and while their lead singer is originally from down south, most of the band members are Canadian. Neil Young was born and raised in Winnipeg and Toronto.
The Arcade Fire are pretty new on the scene, but they have rapidly ascended to 'indie superstar' status. At this moment, they could arguably be considered one of the biggest bands in the world. "Neon Bible", their current (and only their second) album, is #1 on the billboard charts in Canada and Ireland, #2 in the U.S. and the U.K., and #7 in Australia. Seeing major articles written about them in The Toronto Star and The New York Times Magazine ("One Very Indie Band," Sunday March 4th, 2007) has hammered this reality home: two years ago, they were a mostly unknown, funky, alternative art-rock group. Now, they are huge.
Why are they considered Canadian (or 'more Canadian' than other, less successful, Canadian artists)? I don't know. Maybe they aren't (chances are, many American fans of their music wouldn't take any notice of where they're from, unless they are expressly interested). But, being an avid follower of the Canadian music scene, I started listening to them two years ago, when their debut album "Funeral" began selling. Back then, they were being considered the next big (indie) thing in Canada -- and now, they are the next big ("indie") thing everywhere. So for Canadians like me, they feel like homegrown rock stars that have hit the big time.
Neil Young is a different kind of story; like many musicians of his generation (Joni Mitchell, The Band) when his career took off in the 1960s, hitting the big time meant moving to the U.S. and making his career as a musician there. Having lived most of his life in the U.S., he is probably just as often considered a classic American artist as a Canadian one. And because of his place as a major influence in the worlds of folk, rock, and singer/songwriting -- regardless of any nationally-influenced persona -- he retains a universal appeal.
But -- take Neil Young's work as an article of Canadiana, and you get a very different take on it.
When Neil sings the line, "Now I'm going back to Canada / for a journey through the past / And I won't be back till February comes" in the third verse of "Journey To The Past", you can hear the crowd at Massey Hall in Toronto swell with pride and applause.
And when The Arcade Fire's Win Butler croons, "I don't want to fight in a Holy War / I don't want the salesman knocking at my door / I don't want to live in America no more" (instead of the song's repeated refrain, "I don't want to live in my father's house no more") at the climax of "Windowsill", I am sure he is singing not only to the disaffected youth of America, but to a sentiment common among Canadians just north of the border.
And to tell the truth, there is a kind of pride in seeing this quirky, half-Canadian, art-rock collective attempting to take on such a cultural behemoth and a mammoth political foe.
Even if they are just a rock band -- it will be interesting to see how they fare.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Maher Arar 's insane war with the United States
Ok, what the hell is this?
Here's what gets me the most:
Only two U.S. senators have come out to say anything about this case that makes any sense; they are Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Shout-outs to them for speaking up ... but come on guys, what's going on there now?
It seems childish an immature, but I think that this is a typically American attitude that is at work: stick with your original story. No matter how hairy things get. Then they can never accuse you of changing your mind or making a mistake. (Wouldn't want to seem too human, now, would we?)
I'm too upset to lecture on this topic; it's been all over the Canadian media for months (partly because the Canadian authorities actually had the guts to admit that they screwed up), but I'm sure it hasn't made nearly as much of a splash in the U.S. For more info on the Maher Arar Case, check out some of these links.
To read the Canadian Government's Official Maher Arar Commission: http://www.ararcommission.ca/eng/index.htm
For a summary of Maher Arar's story, check out the Maher Arar website: http://www.maherarar.ca/index.php
For an intelligent and poignant interview with Arar on CBC Radio's The Current, go to http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/podcast.html, subscribe to the Current podcast in iTunes (it's free), and download the September 19, 2006 podcast.
I don't know about you, but I was always taught that it is more graceful to admit when you've made a mistake than to continue to pretend that you are in the right when you have been proven wrong.Arar case closed, U.S. ambassador saysMar 01, 2007 03:11 PM
The U.S. ambassador to Canada says there won't be another review of Maher Arar's place on a security watch list for the time being.David Wilkins said today that his government completed a review of Arar's case a few weeks ago and stands by its actions.
He said the matter is now closed.
Arar can't fly into the United States even though he was exonerated of any terrorist ties by a Canadian inquiry.
He also received $10.5 million in compensation from the federal government and is currently suing U.S. officials.
The engineer was detained by U.S. officials in New York in 2002 and deported to Syria, where he was tortured while imprisoned for 10 months.
Here's what gets me the most:
So, what? They have a difference of opinion? The U.S. definition of "public safety" is more far-reaching and invasive to individuals than the Canadian one? Or perhaps Chertoff and Gonzales have another 'secret file' on Arar, and when they connect the dots between this file and that file, they can see that his family vacation in 2002 was indeed a terrorist operation; with his four-year old daughter as the possible point-person -- but of course, they aren't going to share that information with the Canadian government. That would just be silly.In January, U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said a secret file on Arar showed their decision was “appropriate.”
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said that Canadian officials looked at the file and found nothing to suggest Arar was a safety risk. (http://www.metronews.ca/story.aspx?id=33502)
Only two U.S. senators have come out to say anything about this case that makes any sense; they are Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Shout-outs to them for speaking up ... but come on guys, what's going on there now?
It seems childish an immature, but I think that this is a typically American attitude that is at work: stick with your original story. No matter how hairy things get. Then they can never accuse you of changing your mind or making a mistake. (Wouldn't want to seem too human, now, would we?)
I'm too upset to lecture on this topic; it's been all over the Canadian media for months (partly because the Canadian authorities actually had the guts to admit that they screwed up), but I'm sure it hasn't made nearly as much of a splash in the U.S. For more info on the Maher Arar Case, check out some of these links.
To read the Canadian Government's Official Maher Arar Commission: http://www.ararcommission.ca/eng/index.htm
For a summary of Maher Arar's story, check out the Maher Arar website: http://www.maherarar.ca/index.php
For an intelligent and poignant interview with Arar on CBC Radio's The Current, go to http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/podcast.html, subscribe to the Current podcast in iTunes (it's free), and download the September 19, 2006 podcast.
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