OPINION
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EDITORIAL
Be loud, be proud Ottawa
C
apital Pride returns to Ottawa starting this weekend. The theme for this year’s festival is Be Loud, Be Proud. This is a message that all Canadians can take to heart, to celebrate our nation’s acceptance of all citizens regardless of their race, language, religion or sexual identity. These are basic human rights entrenched in Canada’s Charter, despite lingering opposition from fringe groups. Canada’s good example is even more noticeable when compared with our international counterparts. Russia, for instance, has drawn criticism from across the globe for a law that bans gay pride rallies and forbids even discussing homosexuality with youth. The Russian sport minister pledged to hold athletes attending the 2014 Sochi Olympics accountable if they went out on the streets and attempted to “propagandize.� The move was criticized by John Baird, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, who said the Russian minister’s statements were “an incitement to intolerance which breeds hate.� But Baird’s comments immediately drew fire
from Real Women of Canada. The conservative women’s group said Baird’s comments stepped on the toes of another country’s sovereignty, family and religious values. Defending a country’s action based on its cultural/socio-religious identity is a tired argument that too often has been trotted out for public display in the aftermath of human rights abuses. The rights and freedoms of the individual are a basic human law that predates and supersedes the sovereignty and constitutions of nations. Real Women’s comments were immediately slammed by Canadians across the country, highlighting the cultural shift from intolerance to acceptance that has taken place over recent decades. This national movement toward tolerance is by no means strictly a Canadian phenomenon. Recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered rights are gaining acceptance across North America and Europe, albeit at different rates and to different degrees. In the United States, even the Grand Old Party has grudgingly accepted the inevitability of gay marriage. As Sam Cooke once so eloquently wrote, change is gonna come.
COLUMN
Quebec offers unique European experience for visitors
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e recently ventured to the Eastern Townships of Quebec to visit my husband’s family. Our weekend trip cemented two ideas in my mind: It’s really frightening using the province’s infrastructure; but maybe the money spent on cultural protectionism over the past five decades has been worthwhile. I mean, there’s just something about Quebec, isn’t there? You really do feel like you’re in another country. It’s not just the sinkholes and crumbling bridges. There is a provincial warmth melded with a European class among the people there that I’ve yet to find in other places in Canada. It’s politically incorrect to say this in some circles, but there is truly a distinct culture in Quebec. The Quebecois don’t just talk differently from the rest of Canada; they also eat differently, greet differently and share their opinions in a unique way. And much of it comes down to the preservation of the family meal. It’s the way they linger over the preparation of food that stands out in my mind. It’s the way wine is central to the occasion.
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Unlike the rest of us who are stocking up at the LCBO before a long weekend, most Quebec families I know keep a box of wine in the fridge for informal occasions. But when there is a more formal gathering, one can count on the celebratory pop of the cork of a slightly upscale vintage. Everyone partakes, and even some of the older kids get to have a sip or a small glass. And people are very relaxed about drinking, generally. The wine is as important to them as the food. It isn’t guzzled, but drunk slowly between small bites. I realize I’m romanticizing a bit here, but there is, in fact, some hard evidence to back what I’m saying. Believe it or not, the Quebecois actually shop for food differently from the rest of us.
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Ottawa South News EMC - Thursday, August 15, 2013
Believe it or not, the Quebecois actually shop for food differently from the rest of us. This appreciation of food is benefiting their waistlines. Because although – according to a Nielsen survey conducted last year – the Quebecois have a sweeter tooth than the rest of us, they also have some of the lowest rates of obesity. Finally, a study published by the Vanier Institute for the Family a few years ago found that people in Quebec are more likely to sit down multiple times per week for a family dinner than
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According to a study commissioned by a national grocers association last year, the Quebecois are much more likely to visit the store daily to purchase precisely what they need to cook a particular meal, for example. They also demand a much broader selection of meat – not just striploin steaks and boneless chicken breast, but also bison, various cuts of lamb and venison. And they buy smaller portions. Not just of meat, but of other things too.
those living elsewhere in Canada. It’s around the table, noted the authors, that parents are best able to connect with children, and that people can debate issues of the day or share their ideas and emotions. From food to thought, there is a true richness in Quebec I haven’t experienced since I lived in Europe for a few years. If that weren’t enough to make me want to spend more time over the border in La Belle Province, the fact that I can purchase wine and beer at the camp store in their provincial park clinches the notion that I should “travel abroad� more often.
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