Photo Credit: Catherine Swift
Now for something completely different. This column is being written as I ride on the Rocky Mountaineer, a train that runs many different routes throughout Canada and the US, notably through the beautiful Rocky Mountains at various locations. This had been a bucket list type of trip for me for some time, and finally happened. The rail strike almost derailed it, as the Mountaineer uses CN and CP rails tracks and if they were not operational this trip would not have been able to take place. Thankfully, service resumed at the last minute and we were able to travel after all.
The trip we chose started in Vancouver, had a mid-journey stopover in Kamloops and will end in Banff over a two-day period. If you like train travel, this trip is for you. Stunning scenery, a very comfortable train with giant windows to enjoy the amazing vistas and great service. Not inexpensive but the value for money is certainly there. Interestingly, most of the other passengers were Americans so lots of interesting discussions took place. Of course, politics was a popular topic of conversation.
Many of the Americans were interested in the Canadian system of government. When they heard that Canada does not have term limits for governments they were surprised, and one person commented “it sounds like a South American dictatorship.” Given our current Trudeau regime, it was hard to disagree. The impending US election was much on peoples’ minds, with most of the Americans aboard expressing their frustration with not having much of a choice in terms of how they wanted to vote. Considering the perception that the US electorate is sharply divided along partisan lines, this totally unscientific survey of our fellow train travellers did not confirm that, but rather showed that more people were disappointed with the choices available than were hardline partisans that would vote a certain way no matter what.
We travelled along the Fraser River for quite some time, through places like the chainsaw carving capital of Canada (who knew?), Hell’s Gate, where the Fraser River gets so narrow that the rapids are crazy, Rainbow Canyon with its stripes of different coloured rock and the Jaws of Death gorge. Clearly our ancestors who first colonized these areas had very colourful imaginations. What was interesting was the fact people in many of the small communities we passed through stopped to wave at the train as it passed by. I asked the staff why this was and they said it was just a spontaneous reaction to something they saw happen every day. Of course we waved back.
We also travelled through areas where fires had clearly wiped out major areas of the forest. Interestingly, although the trip involved an ongoing commentary from employees from the Rocky Mountaineer – who were all very charming and lovely – there was no commentary on the stretches of forest which clearly had been subject to wildfires. Seem that it wasn’t sufficiently politically correct.
Prior to the train trip, spending a couple of days in Vancouver was instructive as to how Vancouverites were leaning in the upcoming BC provincial election. As seems to be the case in so many places right now, folks in Vancouver were pretty fed up with the incumbent NDP government that has been in power now for seven years and is getting long in the tooth. The current Premier David Eby has never faced an election as Premier, and has made a number of bad moves such as planning to cede the oversight of a considerable amount of BC territory jointly to indigenous groups, which would have been an administrative nightmare that had the potential to destroy the provincial economy. He also took an anti-Semitic stance on several issues including involving a Cabinet colleague and has overseen a provincial budget with continued out-of-control spending.
Recent public opinion polls indicate that the relatively new Conservative Party, led by John Rustad, is narrowly in the lead. It’s quite surprising that given current poll data, BC looks to be leaning more Conservative than some locations in Edmonton. Even typically left-leaning Vancouver Island is backing the Conservatives with more than the support for the NDP. The election is still a couple of months away on October 19, but at this time it appears that the provincial Conservative Party is about the win its first victory.
As for my time in Vancouver, I hadn’t been there in about 8 years and things have definitely deteriorated. We all hear about the misery on the Downtown Eastside of the city, but even in the most upscale areas of the downtown core there are addicts zoned out on drugs passed out on the sidewalk. Sadly, this is one more indication of what a disaster the so-called “safe supply” drug policy has been for so many Canadians. While BC was the first province to ask the federal government to decriminalize drugs, including hard drugs, their disastrous experience with this experiment led them to reverse their position and recriminalize illicit drug use in public spaces a few months ago. Unfortunately, the hangover from the earlier drug policy remains, with many people suffering as a result. Hopefully BC’s experience will help other provinces craft effective approaches to our national drug abuse challenge.
I have been fortunate throughout my career to travel across Canada many times and meet Canadians in all parts of the country. Quebec may consider itself to be a distinct society, but anyone who has experience with all parts of Canada realizes that we have many distinct societies, all with their own culture and idiosyncrasies. Although politicians may try to divide us for their own partisan purposes, experiencing different parts of Canada brings home how much we have in common, what a truly decent and civilized nation we are, and what we should all be proud of despite the many challenges we currently face.
She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.
