I’m writing
this column during my annual summer visit to Ontario. I’m not
particularly drawn to the province’s phallic symbolism, and I rarely
get far enough north to enjoy the wilderness. Like so many of my
Bluenose brethren, I used to live here, and the friendship and familial
ties keep me bound here, year after year.
There are things I love about Ontario, having spent a significant
chunk of my life in four of its cities: its people, its food, its
landscapes and the multiculturalism of its southern half. There are
also many things about it that perturb me: its arrogance, sense of
self-importance, ignorance about the rest of the country.
Remember Rick Mercer’s Talking to Americans, in which he
ruthlessly used unwitting Americans to mock their own ignorance? I’m
tempted to mock Ontarians’ ignorance of Nova Scotia in a similar
fashion.
But, truth be told, I lack the comedic chops for that. Besides, in
chatting with a completely unrepresentative sample of them about Nova
Scotia’s environment, I’m actually pleasantly surprised by the
knowledge some of them have.
Sadly though, the issue they most associate us with is our ongoing
abuse of the Halifax Harbour. “Last week I read an article about a wave
of tampons washing up on a beach,” David, a municipal lawyer, tells me.
“That can’t be good for tourism.”
In fact, most of the Ontarian impressions I heard on our
environmental performance were negative. But maybe that is just what
people tend to remember best.
“I only remember when it’s something really big, or really
scandalous,” explains Melissa, a provincial government employee who
doesn’t have much of an impression one way or the other. She is aware
that the Sydney tar ponds are a serious problem but also remembers
hearing that the problem is being dealt with.
Molly, a photographer specializing in editorial and environmental
portraiture, mentions the dirty harbour and lack of progress on the
pesticide issue as two things she remembers from a trip to Halifax.
David is a veritable encyclopedia of Nova Scotia’s environmental
failures, citing our reliance on coal and nuclear, water quality
problems and even lack of leadership.
Conor, a comic book writer, is an exception. He has both positive
and negative impressions. “It seems that Nova Scotians live a bit
closer to the land,” he theorizes, “which creates this interesting
situation where they are more connected to it, at least more than we
are in Toronto, but where they also rely on exploiting it for
jobs.”
He senses, though, that we are getting better at understanding that
jobs and environmental protection can co-exist. “I think some of the
biggest challenges they face are related to dealing with the fallout of
past mistakes, like the fisheries.”
He also makes specific mention of Sydney as a place that is
struggling. “They seem to have lost everything: steel, fishing, coal.
Yet I know Nova Scotia is still using coal, just that they’re importing
it from the south now.”
Despite these challenges, he has cautious hope for our new NDP
government. “It will be interesting to see if they can shake their old
reputation, where anything they do is scrutinized by conservatives
looking to see where the policy is costing them jobs. I don’t think the
NDP in Nova Scotia function quite like that anymore, but whereas
Conservatives or even Liberals can create economic policy easily, it’s
harder for the NDP to make change.”
The one way we’ve inspired Ontarians is with our tremendous growth
in wind power. As far as our eco-rep goes, it seems we’re reaping the
benefits of the honest hard work of New Brunswick and PEI on wind
power. Several Ontarians mention it to me as something we’re really
good at, but of course we’re a long way from meeting our modest
alternative energy goals.
Whatever it is we’re doing right, David thinks we need to let the
world know about it. “It’s not clear to me that you’ve done anything in
a positive leadership role,” he says, “but if so it should be better
advertised. Perhaps you have wind farms?” Uh, yes, a few.
Ontario, David tells me enthusiastically, has lots of them, with a
bunch more on the way. “Our province also has a plan to end its heavy
reliance upon coal-based electrical production.”
Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure we have a plan too, but it hasn’t really
taken us anywhere, has it? I’d say their plan is better, but really who
knows? Who cares what happens in a have-not province like Ontario
anyway?
This article appears in Jul 23-29, 2009.
Who gives a f^$&% what they think?
I have to kinda agree with heardmeh.
I find Ontarians ignorant of Ontario’s enviornmental goings on, never mind what’s going on in provinces outside Ontario. I kinda assume that ignorance of what’s going on in other provinces is common among Canadians across the country.
But regardless, I seem to be missing your point–while it would obviously be fantastic if Canadians were knowledgeable about everything going on (environmentally and otherwise) across the country, that’s probably a pretty lofty expectation. What do Ontarian’s impressions of and knowledge (and lack thereof) about Nova Scotia’s environmental goings on say about anything?
—Melissa, the ignorant Ontarian
I asked a bunch of my friends from Ontario, great people by the way, who their premier was and none of them even had a clue haha. But on another note, this is the worst article I’ve seen in the coast for a while. “Oh my buddy the comic book guy says…” Give me a break, man. This guy used to live in Ontario and he doesn’t even give his own opinion of Nova Scotia. It’s offensive to think this was even published here when I’m sure an expose on the feelings of maritimers on the ontario way of life would be quickly discarded as a useless piece of literature.
I tend to disagree w other comments here. To consider it lofty that Canadians be informed on the goings on of their province, nevermind other provinces, is pitching the ball a little low. The appetite to know of and learn about should be the norm, not the exception.
Yesterday’s Yahoo “News” was about Obama’s unfashionable pants while the more salient news could be that his administration is working toward reforming US healthcare. How many Canadians can name the Brangelina kids but donèt know their own Premier?
Lastly, it could be seen as worthwhile to look to other provinces to learn from them, see what lessons there are to be had and what sort of ripples they have made. Bureaucracies are consistently critiqued for their insular policies and inability to look up from their cubicles… What if we did more to learn from each other?
What I remember about Nova Scotia, Halifax in particular, was the advanced waste management system. I was blown away to learn about the detailed attention, and I believe it was explained to me that the waste collectors track which waste comes from which neighbourhood, and then if you put, say, recyclables in your garbage, they’re able to trace it back to you & then leave a friendly little “we’re watching” note on your door. That’s pretty impressive, although a little creepy.
Best article ever! I agree with Amanda , though, about the management of our waste here in Nova Scotia and I am surprised that none of the Ontarians mentioned it. Our program is not only industry-leading but province wide and miles ahead of every other province. Maybe we should be advertising that more and the harbour clean-up less.
This is an impossible task because how does someone in Ontario form an unbiased opinion of Nova Scotia? It seems most opinions these days are influenced by the media, which tends to focus on the most sensational stories (Halifax harbour fiasco, Sydney tar ponds and so on).
And when you speak of Nova Scotia, are you talking about the bar scene in Halifax, the lobster dinner circuit in Cape Breton, or community life in rural NS?
Nauseating. Why are Maritimers so bloody obsessed with what everyone else thinks?? Can’t we drop the inferiority complex and be leaders, and let the kudos come to us. Grovelling and begging approval only reinforces the lack of respect we get.
Haha.. this is an interesting article though it does feel a bit under developed, i.e. in need of a wider range of opinions/perspectives in the presentation.
As an ex-Ontarian myself I find it MOST amusing that all these Ontarians are coming down on the NS environmental record, when actually, Ontario is a dirty dirty polluted place where grass struggles to exist (ok I’m thinking mainly of Toronto here), whereas, NS is lush greenness, and fresh air and (sometimes) crystal clear sunny days that make life feel so good you want to organize a party to celebrate the beautiful unsulliedness of it all.
The continual renewal of the air supply through ocean breezes is one of the things I love about living in Halifax the most… and NO amount of whining about a lack of sound environmental policy by Ontarians (which is, of course, a bit true) is ever going to take away the fact that they live North of Detroit, in a valley, where toxic air collects (maybe things will improve with factories closing in Detroit with the recession?).
Lets face it. Maritimers havn’t had to be as careful about environmental policy because of a lower population density and less industry and a gorgeous and generous natural environment.
However.. the time has obviously come to pick up the proverbial “politically-correct socks” of environmental policy, and not do things that are quite so obviously damaging to the ecosystem. A Toronto-level of pro-energy/recycling/processing put in place out here would make NS so clean and so nice to live in that I would never leave again (not even in the winter! heh).
p.s. may I write some opinion pieces about Ontarians in Nova Scotia? I’d love to look at interpretations of political correctness in other areas of life as well between the two provinces.
I was waiting for something interesting to happen in this article. Still waiting. I’ll write for the Coast.
I liked waveslaughing’s comments. It made my day to hear his positive comments about N.S. and how closely they echo my own. It always seems that people who have lived elsewhere in Canada are better able to appreciate the wonderful things N.S. has to offer than the ones who have lived here all their lives.
I agree that we need to do more in terms of environmental policy, but it’s also good to remind ourselves of what we’ve done. Our policy against lawn pesticides was leading-edge at the time it was put in place. Of course, it’s imperfect and needs work, but it was a good start. On a small note, Halifax International Airport is the only airport I’ve ever visited with separate compost and recycling bins. Most airports, at best, have refundable recycling bins only.
This article is reticent of the tired East vs. Central Canada debate that continues to linger on. You could find a multitude of examples which would suggest Ontarians do not know all the complex issues that are part of the East culture – and vice versa. Either way, as a person who lived in Halifax for four years, is from Ontario but now lives in Calgary, I can say that the same goes for any person living in any other province that isn’t their home. Instead of framing it within that tired debate of Ontarian ignorance, lets focus on how this is a learning opportunity.
>This article is reticent of the tired East vs. Central Canada debate
“reticent of”? Pardon me but, what?