Per Goes to Toronto: The Journal
Thursday, November 27, 2003 1145pm.
First of all, I’m glad to have made it here in once piece. While the train wasn’t as late as Esha warned it would be, we arrived twenty-five minutes behind schedule. Apparently we had gotten ourselves onto the wrong tracks upon entering the central rail terminus, resulting in us having to back up for them to be able to switch the tracks and guide us into the correct birth. Via Rail – those jokers just never stop kidding around.
For anyone who’s stepped out of Toronto’s central train station, you’ll be aware of the aggressive cabbies standing right outside. Instead of you hailing them down, each of them tries his best to catch your eye. Once this contact has been made, there’s no turning back. Unfortunately for myself and the three, count ‘em three, others who ended up in the same “cab”, the tractor beam of this seventy-six year old driver was too strong to resist. He said that we were all going to the same area, so why not all jump in his cab? Not only did he quote each of us a different rate, (7$, 8$ * 2, 9$), to take us up Younge Street to College, but it turns out he wasn’t even a legitimate cabbie, nor a capable driver. We discovered that he had a fare machine, but it wasn’t hooked up to anything, and there was no radio, ID, or any other typical cabbie identification to be seen. He had clearly lost his mind, as well as any safe driving sense, and by the time we got to the Marriot Courtyard where the guy in the front seat was getting out, I told him just to tell me where to find the Days Hotel, and I’d walk. Turns out it was just around the corner, and he praised me for my “organized nature”. After not trying very hard to bargain down his clearly outrageous flat fee of 8$, I gave him the money and walked away if only for the sanctity of knowing I would never have to deal with this man again.
At last I was ready to check in to my single room, (a luxury when one is used to quads on IRSAM trips and rowing regatta weekends – two guys over 6’2 in one double bed just doesn’t work at all). All seems to be in order, however the smoke alarm cover is dangling from the ceiling and my remote control doesn’t work. I also followed up on the nice little sign sitting in my bathroom saying, “if you’ve forgotten anything, please see the front desk and we will happy to provide it for you”. I forgot toothpaste. They didn’t have any. “Try the gift shop.” Thanks buddy. You would think that toothpaste is one of the most commonly forgotten items by hotel guests, and that the front desk would be fully stocked to look after such demand…but no.
This city is unreal. Having nothing better to do at 1030pm, decided to take a tour of the Younge – Bay – College quadrant, and did I get more than I bargained for, or what? Some highlights: the five story high LG neon sign ; the vacant and inexplicable Dundas Square, (well, it’s sole occupant was one of those new Dodge pickups with it’s bass pumped up and a disco ball in the front seat); “The Chrétien Retirement Countdown Continues” billboard, brought to us by the Citizen’s Coalition Against Chrétien (or something to the affect). New York…I mean…Toronto…has proven that its reputation holds water. I don’t feel that I’m being unreasonable by saying that it is probably the most unCanadian city in our country. In fact, I have real proof of the fact that Torontonians have little regard for what goes on outside the GTA: the tourist map provided for me by the hotel reads, and I quote, “It’s a world within a city, and it’s all worth exploring.” If it is our world they are referring to, humanity’s in for quite a shock.
I’m looking forward to being introduced to the history and architectural grandeur of the U of T campus tomorrow morning, and only time will tell if these initial observations hold true in the daylight. For the time being, there’s no way I could study here for grad school. The memories from my last brief visit to this machine they call Toronto are still fresh in my mind, and I agree with my former self in saying that it’s a loud, crowded, oversized mega-city in which I could spend no more than a few days at a time. I’ll take the dark green of the evergreen forests of Vancouver’s North Shore, or even the skeleton-like deciduous trees that fill the incline that is Mont Royal eons before the neon lights, corporate logos and brash consumerism that is Toronto.
On an unrelated note:
I just heard on the radio that John Manley will be announcing his departure from the world of politics tomorrow. I must say that this is rather disappointing, yet not surprising; he’s a man I would have liked to have seen running for the Liberal leadership five or so years down the road, and one who can do a lot of good things for Canada and for its reputation abroad. Where’s he going to go? I must get some insider information from Dave on this one.
Similarly, congratulations to Stephen Harper for firing the MP who considered homosexuality on par with pedophilia. The scary thing is that this guy got elected in the first place. That Canadian Alliance really scares me sometimes.
November 28, 2003
Note on last night’s final paragraph: John Manley has been offered the post of Ambassador to the United States and is currently ‘reflecting’ on the offer. He would obviously be the ideal candidate for the job given his close and amicable relations with the United States, and losing him to the private sector would be a turn for the worse in terms of this country’s future with our southern neighbours.
Unfortunately, the conference sessions today proved to be disappointing. It should be pointed out that this is to be expected when the panelists aren’t decided upon until two weeks before the conference itself. Instead of having Sheilagh Copps, (despite her political shortfalls), speak about the future of Canadian Studies from the perspective of Heritage Canada, they sent a junior officer whose speech was solely focused on recruiting young blood into the ministry. Professor Maioni chaired the pre-lunch panel and provided the necessary guidance to link each of the panelists rather unrelated speeches together.
After breaking for a lunch of sandwiches and smoked-salmon wraps accompanied by more apple juice and coffee, we returned to the auditorium (UC East Hall) to hear Michael Goldbloom, the biggest name the conference was able to attract and Deputy Publisher of the Toronto Star, speak about the virtues of journalism and the strong future of print media. Newspapers, despite the introduction of the radio, television, and now the internet, have stood the test of time. Nothing can replace sitting in one’s favourite chair on a cool Saturday morning, sipping a strong cup of coffee and proceeding to work one’s way through the various sections of the Saturday paper. Staring at a computer screen reading the e-version doesn’t come close to matching the same sense of content and tranquility which accompanies sitting down with the paper in your hands, ink and all.
Instead of listening to the “student research” presentations, Althia, Ian and I decided to attend Professor Maioni’s paper presentation to a group of poli sci professors and grad students at the University of Toronto. Discussing “The Values of Values in Public Policy,” proved to be much more interesting and beneficial than sitting passively in the East Hall, listening to some student from Mount Allison speak about the salience of the wooden-lobster trap industry in Nova Scotia between 1850 and 1857. Well...maybe not that topic exactly…but you get the idea. The best part about the Values in Values seminar was not the beautiful wooden table and ergonomically designed chairs in which we were sitting, but the fact that I got to tear apart a philosophy professor’s criticism of Canadian Health care based on the utilitarian grounds on which he was approaching the issue. In short, he was saying that if Canadians were to receive an annual bill indicating the amount in real dollars their health care services were worth in a given year, most would be much less supportive of the idea of universal health care coverage. What he neglected to mention, however, was the fact that the value of universal coverage goes far beyond that which can be measured by classical accounting. As Sen argues, the freedom to live one’s life knowing that the health care system will be there if something goes awry is worth a considerable amount, despite it being difficult to measure. Having to live your life in constant fear of injury, depression or unpreventable illness would certainly prove detrimental to one’s well-being and their ability to live a life they have reason to value.
The prof. left soon after.
Cocktail (wine and cheese) at the Canada Quay, Queen’s Quay West. Had interesting discussion with fellow McGill student currently interning at the Canadian Studies Association (sponsoring the event), amidst multiple Canadian flags and dozens of documents, posters and other media promoting Canadian heritage and industry. Appreciated the free wine, but the bagels and cream cheese were a little unorthodox.
Sushi dinner on Younge Street with the crew (Althia, Ian and Eliza) was satisfying, despite its slightly inflated cost compared to similar fare in Vancouver.
Hoping with all hope that the conference will redeem itself tomorrow.
November 29, 2003, 7pm: on the train
Woke up this morning thinking I was in my own bed back home, perfectly comfortable and prepared to sleep another few hours. It didn’t take long to realize that I was in fact far from home, on the eleventh story of a hotel in downtown Toronto, and that today would be the second and final day of the lack-luster conference that was the Youth Forum on Canadian Studies. The same can be said, unfortunately, for the state of Canadian Studies programs across Canada as we learned today through an anarchic deliberation on the state of the CS discipline in Canada. Carolyn Bennett, MP for St. Paul’s, provided was proved to be the most energetic and inspirational speech of the weekend to kick off the morning’s discussion. She has a long and distinguished history as a social activist in our country and is particularly concerned with womens’ rights, (but I’ll forgive her…), and promoting change from the inside. By ‘inside’, she argues that placards can only do so much in terms of bringing an issue to the table, but if an activist organization is actually to have any influence on the decision-making process, what they must do is bring a concrete set of policy alternatives to the decision-makers, for more often than not, action will be taken and positive change will occur. Protesting outside the parliament buildings plays a symbolic role, but it’s unlikely that it will convince politicians to say “look at those protestors, we’d better do something, let’s sit down and write a policy that will appease the masses.” Placard activism is especially ineffective when the legislature (in the provincial context), isn’t even in session – and this happens more often than one would think!
Ms. Bennett also promoted the Parliamentary Internship Program, as she’s one of the ten MPs to whom interns are assigned, and my intentions to be a part of it have never been more resolute.
The panel on careers was moderately useful, with Emily from UBC Press warning us that a career in publishing is preceeded by two or three years of underemployment, working for low wages making photocopies or doing other such unfulfilling work. I’m not sure to what extent this is true, being based only on the opinions of this one individual, but considerable slogging in the proverbial mailroom may indeed by the harsh reality of starting from the bottom after taking the first exit from the Ivory Tower. However, it seems to me that this is a pacifist way of looking at career prospects, with promotion after promotion after slow, hard earned promotion in one organization or industry being the only way to the top. The corporate ladder certainly doesn’t only exist on Bay Street, as similar ladders structure a wide variety of non-profit organizations as well. There must be a way around the system, and I’m intent on finding out what it is.
Went for lunch to a Chinese restaurant with the Mt. Allison delegation, most of whom were part of our little discussion group earlier in the morning. Really nice people, but it was funny to see a couple of them attempt to use chopsticks for the first time and ask what this warm brew was that we were drinking, (the ubiquitous green tea). All but one were from New Brunswick, and the outsider was from northern Vancouver Island. They’re holding a conference on the Atlantic Provinces and International Relations over the same weekend McMUN is being held, so I at least had to turn down their invitation to attend.
By the time the conference came to a close later on in the afternoon, the numbers had been reduced by half and the general feeling amongst the students was that it had the potential to be much better and more influential than it turned out to be. A lack of both prestigious panel-members and real direction plagued the conference from the start, however the idea of getting students together from across Canada to discuss the study of our country and our different regional experiences was a good one, in theory.
What I’ve learned:
- I don’t want to work for Heritage Canada;
- breaking into the publishing business can be a slow and painful process;
- working for a polling firm is not a great career choice;
- people from the Maritimes don’t know how to eat Chinese food
- eating too many free muffins in a day will drain your energy
- there’s significant interest in the Couch youth roundtable on immigration and citizenship, and putting out a call for papers to be discussed the morning of the seminar would be a valuable contribution to its success.
- ACS has conference funding available; secondly, there’s lots of money out there for only moderately useful projects – just have to find it.
- Sushi in Toronto isn’t as expensive as Montreal, but still doesn’t beat Vancouver
- Rogers media is evil
- I’m proud to be a student at McGill, despite its shortfalls.
Thursday, November 27, 2003 1145pm.
First of all, I’m glad to have made it here in once piece. While the train wasn’t as late as Esha warned it would be, we arrived twenty-five minutes behind schedule. Apparently we had gotten ourselves onto the wrong tracks upon entering the central rail terminus, resulting in us having to back up for them to be able to switch the tracks and guide us into the correct birth. Via Rail – those jokers just never stop kidding around.
For anyone who’s stepped out of Toronto’s central train station, you’ll be aware of the aggressive cabbies standing right outside. Instead of you hailing them down, each of them tries his best to catch your eye. Once this contact has been made, there’s no turning back. Unfortunately for myself and the three, count ‘em three, others who ended up in the same “cab”, the tractor beam of this seventy-six year old driver was too strong to resist. He said that we were all going to the same area, so why not all jump in his cab? Not only did he quote each of us a different rate, (7$, 8$ * 2, 9$), to take us up Younge Street to College, but it turns out he wasn’t even a legitimate cabbie, nor a capable driver. We discovered that he had a fare machine, but it wasn’t hooked up to anything, and there was no radio, ID, or any other typical cabbie identification to be seen. He had clearly lost his mind, as well as any safe driving sense, and by the time we got to the Marriot Courtyard where the guy in the front seat was getting out, I told him just to tell me where to find the Days Hotel, and I’d walk. Turns out it was just around the corner, and he praised me for my “organized nature”. After not trying very hard to bargain down his clearly outrageous flat fee of 8$, I gave him the money and walked away if only for the sanctity of knowing I would never have to deal with this man again.
At last I was ready to check in to my single room, (a luxury when one is used to quads on IRSAM trips and rowing regatta weekends – two guys over 6’2 in one double bed just doesn’t work at all). All seems to be in order, however the smoke alarm cover is dangling from the ceiling and my remote control doesn’t work. I also followed up on the nice little sign sitting in my bathroom saying, “if you’ve forgotten anything, please see the front desk and we will happy to provide it for you”. I forgot toothpaste. They didn’t have any. “Try the gift shop.” Thanks buddy. You would think that toothpaste is one of the most commonly forgotten items by hotel guests, and that the front desk would be fully stocked to look after such demand…but no.
This city is unreal. Having nothing better to do at 1030pm, decided to take a tour of the Younge – Bay – College quadrant, and did I get more than I bargained for, or what? Some highlights: the five story high LG neon sign ; the vacant and inexplicable Dundas Square, (well, it’s sole occupant was one of those new Dodge pickups with it’s bass pumped up and a disco ball in the front seat); “The Chrétien Retirement Countdown Continues” billboard, brought to us by the Citizen’s Coalition Against Chrétien (or something to the affect). New York…I mean…Toronto…has proven that its reputation holds water. I don’t feel that I’m being unreasonable by saying that it is probably the most unCanadian city in our country. In fact, I have real proof of the fact that Torontonians have little regard for what goes on outside the GTA: the tourist map provided for me by the hotel reads, and I quote, “It’s a world within a city, and it’s all worth exploring.” If it is our world they are referring to, humanity’s in for quite a shock.
I’m looking forward to being introduced to the history and architectural grandeur of the U of T campus tomorrow morning, and only time will tell if these initial observations hold true in the daylight. For the time being, there’s no way I could study here for grad school. The memories from my last brief visit to this machine they call Toronto are still fresh in my mind, and I agree with my former self in saying that it’s a loud, crowded, oversized mega-city in which I could spend no more than a few days at a time. I’ll take the dark green of the evergreen forests of Vancouver’s North Shore, or even the skeleton-like deciduous trees that fill the incline that is Mont Royal eons before the neon lights, corporate logos and brash consumerism that is Toronto.
On an unrelated note:
I just heard on the radio that John Manley will be announcing his departure from the world of politics tomorrow. I must say that this is rather disappointing, yet not surprising; he’s a man I would have liked to have seen running for the Liberal leadership five or so years down the road, and one who can do a lot of good things for Canada and for its reputation abroad. Where’s he going to go? I must get some insider information from Dave on this one.
Similarly, congratulations to Stephen Harper for firing the MP who considered homosexuality on par with pedophilia. The scary thing is that this guy got elected in the first place. That Canadian Alliance really scares me sometimes.
November 28, 2003
Note on last night’s final paragraph: John Manley has been offered the post of Ambassador to the United States and is currently ‘reflecting’ on the offer. He would obviously be the ideal candidate for the job given his close and amicable relations with the United States, and losing him to the private sector would be a turn for the worse in terms of this country’s future with our southern neighbours.
Unfortunately, the conference sessions today proved to be disappointing. It should be pointed out that this is to be expected when the panelists aren’t decided upon until two weeks before the conference itself. Instead of having Sheilagh Copps, (despite her political shortfalls), speak about the future of Canadian Studies from the perspective of Heritage Canada, they sent a junior officer whose speech was solely focused on recruiting young blood into the ministry. Professor Maioni chaired the pre-lunch panel and provided the necessary guidance to link each of the panelists rather unrelated speeches together.
After breaking for a lunch of sandwiches and smoked-salmon wraps accompanied by more apple juice and coffee, we returned to the auditorium (UC East Hall) to hear Michael Goldbloom, the biggest name the conference was able to attract and Deputy Publisher of the Toronto Star, speak about the virtues of journalism and the strong future of print media. Newspapers, despite the introduction of the radio, television, and now the internet, have stood the test of time. Nothing can replace sitting in one’s favourite chair on a cool Saturday morning, sipping a strong cup of coffee and proceeding to work one’s way through the various sections of the Saturday paper. Staring at a computer screen reading the e-version doesn’t come close to matching the same sense of content and tranquility which accompanies sitting down with the paper in your hands, ink and all.
Instead of listening to the “student research” presentations, Althia, Ian and I decided to attend Professor Maioni’s paper presentation to a group of poli sci professors and grad students at the University of Toronto. Discussing “The Values of Values in Public Policy,” proved to be much more interesting and beneficial than sitting passively in the East Hall, listening to some student from Mount Allison speak about the salience of the wooden-lobster trap industry in Nova Scotia between 1850 and 1857. Well...maybe not that topic exactly…but you get the idea. The best part about the Values in Values seminar was not the beautiful wooden table and ergonomically designed chairs in which we were sitting, but the fact that I got to tear apart a philosophy professor’s criticism of Canadian Health care based on the utilitarian grounds on which he was approaching the issue. In short, he was saying that if Canadians were to receive an annual bill indicating the amount in real dollars their health care services were worth in a given year, most would be much less supportive of the idea of universal health care coverage. What he neglected to mention, however, was the fact that the value of universal coverage goes far beyond that which can be measured by classical accounting. As Sen argues, the freedom to live one’s life knowing that the health care system will be there if something goes awry is worth a considerable amount, despite it being difficult to measure. Having to live your life in constant fear of injury, depression or unpreventable illness would certainly prove detrimental to one’s well-being and their ability to live a life they have reason to value.
The prof. left soon after.
Cocktail (wine and cheese) at the Canada Quay, Queen’s Quay West. Had interesting discussion with fellow McGill student currently interning at the Canadian Studies Association (sponsoring the event), amidst multiple Canadian flags and dozens of documents, posters and other media promoting Canadian heritage and industry. Appreciated the free wine, but the bagels and cream cheese were a little unorthodox.
Sushi dinner on Younge Street with the crew (Althia, Ian and Eliza) was satisfying, despite its slightly inflated cost compared to similar fare in Vancouver.
Hoping with all hope that the conference will redeem itself tomorrow.
November 29, 2003, 7pm: on the train
Woke up this morning thinking I was in my own bed back home, perfectly comfortable and prepared to sleep another few hours. It didn’t take long to realize that I was in fact far from home, on the eleventh story of a hotel in downtown Toronto, and that today would be the second and final day of the lack-luster conference that was the Youth Forum on Canadian Studies. The same can be said, unfortunately, for the state of Canadian Studies programs across Canada as we learned today through an anarchic deliberation on the state of the CS discipline in Canada. Carolyn Bennett, MP for St. Paul’s, provided was proved to be the most energetic and inspirational speech of the weekend to kick off the morning’s discussion. She has a long and distinguished history as a social activist in our country and is particularly concerned with womens’ rights, (but I’ll forgive her…), and promoting change from the inside. By ‘inside’, she argues that placards can only do so much in terms of bringing an issue to the table, but if an activist organization is actually to have any influence on the decision-making process, what they must do is bring a concrete set of policy alternatives to the decision-makers, for more often than not, action will be taken and positive change will occur. Protesting outside the parliament buildings plays a symbolic role, but it’s unlikely that it will convince politicians to say “look at those protestors, we’d better do something, let’s sit down and write a policy that will appease the masses.” Placard activism is especially ineffective when the legislature (in the provincial context), isn’t even in session – and this happens more often than one would think!
Ms. Bennett also promoted the Parliamentary Internship Program, as she’s one of the ten MPs to whom interns are assigned, and my intentions to be a part of it have never been more resolute.
The panel on careers was moderately useful, with Emily from UBC Press warning us that a career in publishing is preceeded by two or three years of underemployment, working for low wages making photocopies or doing other such unfulfilling work. I’m not sure to what extent this is true, being based only on the opinions of this one individual, but considerable slogging in the proverbial mailroom may indeed by the harsh reality of starting from the bottom after taking the first exit from the Ivory Tower. However, it seems to me that this is a pacifist way of looking at career prospects, with promotion after promotion after slow, hard earned promotion in one organization or industry being the only way to the top. The corporate ladder certainly doesn’t only exist on Bay Street, as similar ladders structure a wide variety of non-profit organizations as well. There must be a way around the system, and I’m intent on finding out what it is.
Went for lunch to a Chinese restaurant with the Mt. Allison delegation, most of whom were part of our little discussion group earlier in the morning. Really nice people, but it was funny to see a couple of them attempt to use chopsticks for the first time and ask what this warm brew was that we were drinking, (the ubiquitous green tea). All but one were from New Brunswick, and the outsider was from northern Vancouver Island. They’re holding a conference on the Atlantic Provinces and International Relations over the same weekend McMUN is being held, so I at least had to turn down their invitation to attend.
By the time the conference came to a close later on in the afternoon, the numbers had been reduced by half and the general feeling amongst the students was that it had the potential to be much better and more influential than it turned out to be. A lack of both prestigious panel-members and real direction plagued the conference from the start, however the idea of getting students together from across Canada to discuss the study of our country and our different regional experiences was a good one, in theory.
What I’ve learned:
- I don’t want to work for Heritage Canada;
- breaking into the publishing business can be a slow and painful process;
- working for a polling firm is not a great career choice;
- people from the Maritimes don’t know how to eat Chinese food
- eating too many free muffins in a day will drain your energy
- there’s significant interest in the Couch youth roundtable on immigration and citizenship, and putting out a call for papers to be discussed the morning of the seminar would be a valuable contribution to its success.
- ACS has conference funding available; secondly, there’s lots of money out there for only moderately useful projects – just have to find it.
- Sushi in Toronto isn’t as expensive as Montreal, but still doesn’t beat Vancouver
- Rogers media is evil
- I’m proud to be a student at McGill, despite its shortfalls.
posted by Per at 12:16 a.m.
<< Home