Bilingual Stop Sign in Ottawa

Welcome to my new series, the “Canadian List of Ten”! Ten weeks, ten posts, ten lists and one hundred new Canadian things for you, from food to language, from city to weather.

Contrary to popular belief, Canadians don’t speak Canadian. Most speak English, or French, or even both.

Overall, Canadian English is quite straightforward. There are local accents (for example in New Brunswick) but overall, the English Canadians speak is very close to American English. In writing, Canadian English does use some UK English spelling (which I can never seem to remember, like “color” vs. “colour”) and you may hear some UK English expressions that are not popular in the USA.

But Canadian English also has words or expressions not found, or not widely used, in other variants of English. Do you know these ten?

1. Toonie/ loonie: The “toonie” is the Canadian two dollars coin (the one with a polar bear on it). The “loonie” is the gold-colored one dollars coin which bears images of a common loon, a well-known Canadian bird. And like in the USA, the ten cents coin is called “a dime”.
2. Pop: in Canada, soft drinks are often referred to as “pop”.
3. Double-double: when having your coffee fix at Tim Hortons, you may hear people asking for a “double-double”. It means they want their coffee served with two cream and two sugars (maybe to make it drinkable… let’s face it, Tim Hortons coffee is only extremely hot brown-colored water after all!).
4. Dépanneur: this one puzzled me for a long time. A “dépanneur” in France is a repairman or a mecanic. “Dépanner” someone means to “help someone”. So when I heard “we need to go to the dépanneur”, I automatically assume it was some kind of breakdown mechanic. But in Québec, a “dépanneur” is actually a convenience store! Anglophones in Québec and in some parts of Ontario use the word “dépanneur” as well.
5. Hydro: in Canada, an “hydro bill” doesn’t refer to water but to electricity. This is probably because most of the power is supplied through hydroelectricity.
6. Newfie jokes: French make fun of Belgians, Canadians make fun of Newfoundlanders. “What do you call a Newfie sitting in a tree wearing a suit? A branch manager“.
7. The states, down south, our southern neighbors: obviously, the U.S.A. Hate them, love them, we can’t ignore Uncle Sam. The U.S.A are Canada’s largest trading partner and a lot of American culture is exported in Canada. Plus, we like to visit them, especially when the Canadian dollar is high.
   
8. Interac: this is usually a synonym to “debit card”. Interac is the network through which are done financial transactions. For example, if you buy something in a store, you may pay with cash, a credit card or “interac” (your debit card, with fund directly withdrawn from your checking account).
9. Anglophone/ francophone: A person with English as the first language is called an Anglophone. The corresponding term for a French speaker is Francophone. These expressions are mostly used in Québec and some parts of Ontario where people could be either French or English speakers.
10. Eh: imitating Canadians is easy — just start saying “eh” after each word! In fact, Canadian don’t use it that much. “Eh” shows continued interested: “it’s cold eh, I drove this morning“. It can also be used to turn a sentence into a question: “fucking cold, eh?“. Or even to show agreement: “I know, eh.”

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You hadn’t pictured me as a metalhead, had you? Well, I’m not usually into heavy metal but I love Metallica. I had heard the band was great live and I couldn’t wait to attend the concert in Ottawa.

Unfortunately, what was bound to happen happened. I was searched upon entering the arena and couldn’t go in with my beloved camera. Fear not: I’m so addicted to photography that I still managed to sneak out a smaller digital camera — ah! Don’t expect DSLR quality pictures this time, but I’m still quite happy with the result. Think of it as photojournalism: reporting live (well, a day later) from the mosh pit!

One of the best parts of the concert was definitely the crowd. Metal fans are loud, fun and take their concerts seriously. Yet, because they are Canadians, they are polite and don’t go into knife fights in the mosh pit. Love them. The two guys in front of us, for example, prepared their seats before the show: they went back-and-forth to the bar and lined up 15 cups of beer on the floor, at their feet. Drunk them all, trust me. I actually had to wash all of the clothes I was wearing because I could smell beer, even though I didn’t drink anything!

The music was awesome: the band is definitely worth seeing live. They interact quite a lot with the crowd and they were quite funny — in a dark metal kind of way. This is the kind of concert where you can’t help pumping your first in the air, throwing the devil horns and screaming “nothing else matter”.

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To non-initiated people, it’s hard to explain what is going inside a Canadian’s head right before winter. It’s a mix of fear and pride, a mix of apprehension and excitement.

Winter can be fun, at first. The first snow fall is usually beautiful: a pure white blanket covering the city, covering the dirtiness (and the potholes). The following storm is stronger and next thing you know, you are shoveling two feet deep of snow to get out of the house. Daily tasks can be a pain: getting up in the cold, getting dressed, getting around — all that takes longer.

But the slow descent into winter is also somewhat soothing. We are like animals: we eat more, we stay home and we (try to) sleep longer. After all the excitement of the summer and the long days, it’s somewhat comforting. So let’s all grab a cup of hot chocolate and snuggle in layers of thick sweaters.

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Terry Fox Statue In Front of the Parliament (Ottawa)

Welcome to my new series, the “Canadian List of Ten”! Ten weeks, ten posts, ten lists and one hundred new Canadian things for you, from food to language, from city to weather.

There are great Canadians in all fields: sports, science, arts, social sciences… Thousands of Canadians from all backgrounds and all origins helped improve this world, one way or another, through the centuries.

Today, I invite you to get to know ten of them. Like all lists, this one is subjective — I had to make a choice among all the great Canadians out there. But I’m waiting to hear from you: who should be added to the list?

So, in no particular order, here is the list of 10 great Canadians.I’m sure you know at least a few, and I know you will be impressed by some of their achievements.

1. Terry Fox: he was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer treatment activist. He became famous for the Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada run to raise money for cancer research, which Fox ran at the age of 21 years old with one prosthetic leg. He started his run in the Maritimes, through Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. He was forced to stop because of his health and died one year later. Canada celebrated his young hero and the marathon of hope is still ran every year to raise money for cancer research.
2. Norman Bethune: he was a Canadian physician and medical innovator. Bethune is best known for his service in war time medical units with the Chinese Communists during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He is still viewed as a hero in China. He died in China right before the the beginning of WWII.
3. Pierre Trudeau: he was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968, to June 4, 1979, and from March 3, 1980, to June 30, 1984. He is still a controversial figure today and always arise passionate reactions, both very positive or extremely negative. He is famous for establishing the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, promoting Canada’s multiculturalist policy and implementing the official bilingualism politics.
4. Margaret Atwood: she is a Canadian author, poet, critic, feminist and social campaigner. She is most famous for her novels, but also for her poetry. She is also involve in politics and spoke against the Conservative government.
5. Louise Arbour: she is the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and a former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. She indicted then President Slobodan Milošević for war crimes, among other state leaders.
6. David Suzuki: he is a Japanese Canadian science broadcaster and environmental activist. Since the mid-1970s, Suzuki has been known for his TV and radio series and books about nature and the environment. He has been a long time activist to reverse global climate change and patiently educate people throughout the world.
   
7. Alexander Graham Bell: he was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone. Although he was born in Scotland, he moved to Canada as a young man. His interests were very varied and he is also credited as the inventor of the metal detector.
8. Kenojuak Ashevak: this Inuit artist is regarded as one of the most notable pioneers of modern Inuit art. She designed several drawings for Canadian stamps and coins. She is most famous for her drawings, prints and sculptures and she is one of the ambassadors of Inuit art around the world.
9. Frederick Banting: he was a Canadian medical scientist, doctor and Nobel laureate noted as one of the co-discoverers of insulin. In the 1920, the Parliament of Canada granted him a life annuity to work on his research. His discovery is estimated to have saved over 16 million lives, worldwide.
10. Julie Payette: she is a Canadian engineer and a Canadian Space Agency astronaut. She went to space twice and she is now Chief Astronaut of CSA.

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When I was teaching, carrying lunch with me wasn’t a great option. First, I would often teach in various ministries throughout the day. I didn’t have access to a fridge nor a microwave. Plus, carrying my lunch around all day, going from one class to the other, wasn’t very practical. So I would often buy lunch, usually a sandwich or a soup.

But with my new job came an office, a proper kitchen, a fridge, a microwave and even a toaster. I can now bring my lunch to work and save money. Woohoo!

Not so fast. What to take for lunch? Left-overs are always an option, but even though we cook most evenings, we don’t always have some. If I were in France, I’d be bringing baguette sandwich, but I find sliced bread sandwiches a bit boring.

So I started to cook on Sunday nights. First, the quiche. For those who don’t know what it is, a quiche is a French baked dish. The custards is made off eggs and the filling can be basically anything from vegetable to meat. Quiches are expensive at the supermarket here, so I decided to make my own.

Here the recipe I use:
– One pie shell
– 4 eggs
– Ricotta cheese
– Cheese (grated cheese, feta, anything you like)
– Vegetables: zucchine, onions, red bell pepper, mushrooms

1. Mince the veggies and cook them in a pan
2. Meanwhile, mix  the 4 eggs and about 200 g of ricotta cheese in a bowl. Make sure it’s not lumpy and add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Put the veggies in the pie shell. Add a bit of cheese over the mix if you like. Pour the content of the bowl and decorate the top with mushrooms, red peppers etc.
4. Put in the oven for about 30 min, 400F.

Easy and good! I usually use non-fat ricotta cheese and a bit of feta cheese inside.

Ready to Bake!	In the Oven
Looks Ready...	Yummy!

I also make cool salads without lettuce. In a big bowl, I mix:

– Basmati rice (or any non-sticky type of rice)
– Corn
– Tuna
– Tomatoes
– Avocados
– Red Bell Peppers
– A bit of tofu

And I usually use some low-fat Balsamic Vinaigrette as dressing.

Salad

A Big Bowl of It!

So, now I’m curious. What are you eating at lunch? Do you have any easy recipes to share?

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A primary group should get the flu vaccine as soon as possible: people under 65 with chronic health conditions; pregnant women; children 6 months to less than 5 years of age; people living in remote communities; health care workers involved in pandemic response or the delivery of essential health care services; and populations otherwise identified as high risk. As for the rest of Canadians, it will be up to them to show up at their local vaccination clinic.

So, should we get vaccinated? I’m wondering. I don’t believe in massive conspiracy theories but yet, as your average Canadian, I can’t help being confused by all the mixed information we have been getting so far.

First, is the vaccine safe? The WHO is bracing for a second wave of H1N1 outbreak this winter. As a result, some suggested that the production of the swine flu vaccine have been fast-tracked and haven’t been fully tested. I do believe the Ministry of Health Canada has pretty high health security standards and I can’t imagine it bowing to political pressure, so this is not what bugs me the most. However, I am concerned about the vaccine side-effects. For example, I’m allergic to quite a few medicines, including some antibiotics and even anaesthetics. Is the vaccine safe for me? Would the benefits of immunization outweigh the risks?

One of the problems is that in Canada, we are facing a severe shortage of health practitioners. Like most Canadians, I don’t have a general practitioner. When I’m sick and when I need it, I just go to the walk-in clinic. While the care provided is usually good, most patients see a different doctor each time — basically, whoever is on duty — and consultations are often a bit rushed. Therefore, we lack health care practitioners who know our health history and could discuss with us the benefits and the risks of the vaccine. And I’m sure getting a professional’s opinion on the vaccine would really help to debunk some myths and make people more comfortable with their choice. 

Yet, it is true that getting vaccinated is a public health issue, not just a personal one. Some people cannot get the vaccine (infants, for instance), so it’s up to us to protect them. The more people immunized, the less are the chance of worsening the pandemic. So, are we just being selfish?

Generally speaking, I am being more careful. I wash my hands often and more than once, I shot other passengers in the bus dirty looks because they were coughing on me. I use the hand sanitizers made available in most public buildings. I try to have a balanced and healthy diet, to rest — basic common sense, with turning paranoid.

One major issue that worries me is the lack of social welfare in North America and our labor laws. Officials are urging people to stay home when they are sick to avoid spreading the infection. However, a lot of people don’t get sick days. In Canada, for example, those who work for employers that regularly employ at least 50 employees are entitled to personal emergency leave, which is basically unpaid, job-protected leave of up to 10 days each year. Most casual or contract workers don’t even get that. And a huge chunk of the working population don’t get paid sick days. For example, when I was teaching, we had 2.5 paid sick days a year! Unless you work in the public sector or for major companies, you are unlikely to get good social benefits.

The effects of this kind of social policy could be disastrous. How many times did I see co-workers coming in sick before they didn’t have any more sick days and couldn’t afford to lose a few days’ wage? How many times did I show up at work myself, instead of resting at home, just because I didn’t want to lose a day worth of salary? How many times did I drag a cold for weeks because I hadn’t taken the time off to rest and to get rid of it?

It seems to me that if governments are serious about curbing the pandemic, various Employment Acts throughout the country should be updated to guarantee all workers some kind of paid sick leave.

So, how about you? Are you going to get vaccinated? Why and why not?

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Harveys on Baseline and Merivale (Ottawa)

Welcome to my new series, the “Canadian List of Ten”! Ten weeks, ten posts, ten lists and one hundred new Canadian things for you, from food to language, from city to weather.

I must admit it, I’m not a fast food person. I can’t even remember the last time I visited one — I’m still too French to eat a greasy burger and fries. That said, when I first came to Canada, I did tasted most of Canadian’s fast foods and diner-style restaurants. There were only McDonalds’ and Quick (the French fast food) where I grew up and I was quite amazed by the number of franchises, Canadian or American, in Canada.

But it was only a few months-long phase and I now tend to go to ethnic restaurants or local places. I like a burger once in a while but I’m picky: I want a nice grilled burger, with real fresh meat.

So here a list of the top Canadian restaurants, fast food and coffee places. You must know at least a few…!

1. The Works: this restaurant only exists in Ottawa where it has 5 locations but I couldn’t resist adding it to the list. It specializes in “gournet burger” and has a long menu of very funny and weird combination. You can have a peanut butter burger, some come with fried eggs, blue cheese or bananas. Each burger has a name (for example, “Don Cherry”, “Crappy Tire”, “Hold The Phone”, “Johnny Be Goat”).
2. Extreme Pita: the company was founded by two Canadian brothers, in 1997, in Waterloo, Ontario. They sell a variety of pita wraps with stuffed with North American ingredients as well as more ethnic ones, such as hummus.
3. Joey’s Only: the largest seafood restaurant chain in Canada started in… Alberta. The menu features a variety of seafood dish.
4. La Belle Province: this is a well-known fast-food eatery in the province of Quebec. The first location was opened in the 1970s in Montréal… by a Greek immigrant. The menu features the usually greasy spoon items, some with a local twist, such as poutine, burgers, smoked meat sandwiches and bagels.
5. Mr. Sub: this sandwich shop originally from Toronto is the third largest submarine restaurant chain in Canada. It sells submarines, footlong sandwiches stuffed with fresh ingredient and made to order.
6. A&W: the Canadian fast food restaurant chain has nothing to do with the American A&W anymore. It is famous for selling Root Beer, a carbonated soft-drink popular in North American (and yes, alcohol free).
7. Swiss Chalet: it is a chain of Canadian family restaurants originally founded in 1954 in Toronto, Ontario. It is best known for rotisserie chicken and smoked barbecue ribs served with sides such as fries, gravy sauce, beans etc.
8. St-Hubert: this casual dining restaurant franchise is the 16th largest restaurant chain operating in Canada. Most of its locations are in Québec (including a busy one at Montréal airport). It specializes in rotisserie chicken.
9. Harvey’s: this fast food is the second-largest Canadian-established restaurant chain behind Tim Hortons, and is the fourth-largest burger chain in Canada. It serves hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, onion rings etc. Burgers are grilled in front of the customers, who then get to pick among 11 different toppings and condiments. It is also famous for its “Free Original Hamburger Day” held every year: any body can come in and claim a free burger. Huge queue ahead!
10. Tim Hortons: the Canadian fast food restaurant, known for its donuts and coffee, is a huge business in Canada. It has 2,939 outlets in Canada (more than McDonalds has!) and accounts for 22.6% of all fast food industry revenues in Canada. Yep, that much. Canadian are addicted to their “Timmies”, even though I still don’t get why. The restaurant are are packed, not exactly nice and comfy (drive through is the way to go) and the coffee isn’t great. But this is Tim Horton’s, a part of Canada!

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The Office Essentials

I have my own office. An office with a door, a desk, a computer, a phone, a whiteboard and drawers. I also have a very cool magnetic pass to get around, one with my picture on it. I have a favorite lunch place and I hate Monday mornings. I got a new job, in the office. I feel like a lucky girl.

I loved teaching. Yet, after four years, I decided it was time for a change. Teaching is draining and doesn’t pay much, plus we always depended on various contracts and no contract equalled no pay — this isn’t great in the middle of the recession.

Teaching taught me a lot. I was 22 years old when I started and my students, who were all civil servants, were usually at least twice my age. I didn’t know much about Canada at the time and I knew even less about the government, politics or second language training for that matters. I learned as fast as I could because every morning, I was facing a class of executives who, for the most part, would have probably rather be swimming with sharks than learning French. Being taken seriously, both because I was an immigrant and a young woman, wasn’t easy. Trust me: I won’t ever be afraid to speak in public after this work experience.

I was terrified during my first classes. At the time, I had very little work experience. I had worked briefly in France as a student and then had a position in Hong Kong. After I arrived in Canada I went from small contracts to small contracts, usually in the customer service industry. I had no idea what I truly wanted to do nor did I know what I was able to do. University in France doesn’t exactly prepare you for the real world.

I kept on telling myself I should find something better but kept on postponing. Making barely enough to survive was good enough. I wasn’t picky: my generation grew up with the fear of unemployment and job insecurity.

One day, shortly after I got my permanent resident visa, the staffing agency I was working with called my for an assignment. When I asked for more specific information about the job, the woman on the phone was very noncommittal. Being my usually silly self, I wrote the address down and didn’t ask further questions. The following morning, I ended up in a warehouse and I learned my task consisted of stuffing envelopes. I was a fucking human envelope-stuffer and no a productive one, mind you. My hands were cold after a few hours and I kept on getting paper cuts. But I stood in the middle of the cold hangar all day, folding letters, opening envelops after envelops and putting — of all things! — firearms licenses applications in them. I was seething with frustration. What the hell was I doing there? Wasn’t it anything else better I would be good at?

This was my wake-up call. At the end of the day, I used the manager’s phone to call the staffing agency and let them know I wouldn’t be coming in the following day. They didn’t sound surprised — it was a shitty job. That night, I spent several hours writing a better resume and in the morning I left home with as many copies I was able to print. It was January and the weather was very cold. I started in one of Ottawa’s main street and dropped off my resumes at a few language schools. A couple of hours, cold and tired, I went back home. By the time I got there, the first school I had dropped my resume at had already called back and wanted to see me for an interview. I was hired, opn the spot and started the following day. I stayed there for almost four years. It was my first real job.

Looking back, it’s funny that I have never been formally trained for any of the positions I had. This is a huge difference between France and Canada. In France, you need to have a degree matching exactly the job offer, otherwise you have no chance. In Canada, being willing to learn and having the relevant skills from previous experiences means more than a degree.

So, I’m back to the office culture, which I only briefly experience when working in Hong Kong. It is less crazy and the work is more intellectually challenging. So far so good!

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Concert Atmosphere

Welcome to my new series, the “Canadian List of Ten”! Ten weeks, ten posts, ten lists and one hundred new Canadian things for you, from food to language, from city to weather.

Today, we will start with music, something I really enjoy (and you may have noticed it given the number of concerts we went to!). Yes, singer Céline Dion is not the only Canadian in the industry. Sure, some Canadian-born artists moved to the U.S.A and became famous there. But Canada still have some great artists and bands.

Of course, this list is somehow biased: I’m more into rock music and I’m sure I’m forgetting many greats bands and artists — this is just a sample of what Canadians bring to music! The list doesn’t follow any particular order.

1. Bryan Adams: Bryan Adams was born in Kingston, Ontario and he is one of the most famous Canadian rock-singer. He is most famous for his singles “Summer of 69″, “When You’re Gone”, “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”. I bought the On A Day Like Today Album in 2000 in China and brought it back with me in France. My friends and I loved the cheesy love songs lyrics back then and we even saw him live!
2. Neil Young: he was born in Toronto, Ontario and grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His style is between folk-esque accoustic rock and hard rock. His most famous songs include “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)”, “Sugar Mountain”, “Southern Man” and “The Needle and the Damage Done”.
3. Crash Test Dummies: The Crash Test Dummies are a Canadian folk rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are best known for their song “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” and the hilarious “Superman’s Song”, the complaint of the superhero.
   
4. The Guess Who: this is another 1970s rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. While you may have never heard of them, I’m sure you are familiar with the song “American Woman”, which was covered later by Lenny Kravitz.
5. Alanis Morissette: Alanis is from Ottawa, Ontario and is a pop rock singer and songwriter. She became famous with her album “Jagged Little Pill internationally” in 1995, with singles like “Hand in My Pocket”, “Ironic” and “You Learn”.
   
6. Rush: Rush is a heavy metal band from Toronto, Ontario. They made a come back in the mid 1990s and “One Little Victory” was the hit single.
   
7. The Barenaked Ladies: this is an alternative rock band from Toronto, Ontario. One of their famous song is the funny “If I Had $1000000″ hit.
8. Nickelback: I’m going be honest, I don’t know why I’m listing this band that I can’t stand. Oh yeah, right, so that I can say bad things about it…! Nickelback is a band from Alberta and probably one of the the most commercially successful Canadian groups recently. To me, each song of this band sounds the same, and apparently I’m not the only one since the Rolling Stone magazine stated that the album was “is so depressing, you’re almost glad Kurt’s [Cobain, Nirvana's lead singer who killed himself in 1994] not around to hear it“.
9. Billy Talent: this is a punk rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. The band was formed in the 1990s but gained mainstream success only fairly recently. The band is famous for its songs “Fallen Leaves” and “Rusted from the Rain”.
10. The Tragically Hip: the Hips are probably the most popular Canadian band in Canada and their concerts are invariably sold out. The band from Kingston is great live and lead singer Gordon Downie is famous for his rants and monologues in between songs. They usually sing about life in Canada and general Canadiana, such as in “Blow at High Dough”, “Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)”, “Fifty Mission Cap” and “The Lonely End of the Rink”.

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