Jag ger er här del 3 av 5 av intervjun med Vincent och Farees! Den här delen handlar om den kanadensiska politiken. 

15. What is the political system like? Does it resemble the US where all the states have some authority or are the different Canadian regions more united?

Vincent Mai (VM): Yes, actually, it is not called States but Provinces and Territories. Canada has 10 provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador (all together), and Nova Scotia. There also are 3 territories, that are in the North: Yukon, North-West Territories and Nunavut.

Over all the responsabilities a “central” government would have, half of it is under federal juridiction and half is under provincial juridiction. For example, Canada is responsible for international relations, peace, order, criminal law, civil rights (except in Québec), whereas provinces are responsible for education, healthcare (with federal fundings), natural ressources... Then, immigration and agriculture are shared by both.

The territories are very lowly populated and thus are mostly governed by the federal government.

Farees Nathoo: (FN): The federal government is based on the British system of Westminster democracy.  The federal government holds some key responsibilities and delegates the others to the provinces.  The key difference between the American system and the Canadian is that the Prime Minister needs the consent of the majority of the legislature for a policy to pass, and that residual powers are given to the federal government as opposed to the provincial government. 

16. Which are the biggest political parties and which one rules now? Are there a lot of differences between the parties?

Vincent Mai (VM): As I told you just before, there are two levels of government and both of them are as important. But as I don’t want to enumerate the provincial ones, let’s stay on the federal level. There are three main parties: the Conservatives (CPC), the Liberals (LPC) and the Neo-Democrats (NDP). The Conservatives are really right-handed and led by Stephen Harper (from Alberta). They have been governing for 9 years now and have the majority at the Parliament. The Liberals are now led by Justin Trudeau (from Québec, son of P-E Trudeau, ex Prime Minister) and have gone through some hard times last years. Before the CPC era, they were the “natural governing party”. In simple, they are centered, mostly right-handed economically and left-handed socially. The NDP is left handed and is now the official opposition party. They are led by Thomas Mulcair (from Québec). All the parties are federalist. It is important to say so because, before, there was the Bloc Québecois, a nationalist party that only took into cosideration Québec’s interests, and that was quite powerful due to a strong popularity in Québec. However on the last elections, they got swept by the NDP in Québec.         

Farees Nathoo: (FN): Ditto what Vincent has said here, it is interesting to note that federal politics still faces regional challenges, and certain regions historically vote for certain parties (ex. Ontario > Liberal; Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba > Conservative etc.)

17. Did you notice the economical crisis in 2008-2009 a lot here in Canada?

Vincent Mai (VM): To be fair, not really. If there is a good thing the conservatives at the federal government did, that’s managing the crisis. Canada is, I think, the economically advanced country that suffered the least from the crisis and the only one in the G8 not to get into recession.

Farees Nathoo: (FN): It was a big issue in the media, but I feel that the Conservatives managed the crisis quite well, and our banks were much more strictly governed, keeping us safe from the type of crash that the American banks experienced.

18. If you got to rule the country for one day, what would be the first thing you would change?

Vincent Mai (VM): I would change most of the things the Conservatives did. Give a voice to the scientists again, stop encouraging the oil sands exploitation, stop following USA in everything they do internationally, put back the firearm registry, and put back all the art masterpieces that have been taken out of every Canadian embassy in the world to be replaced by the English Queen’s portrait. Yeah, I know, you asked for the first thing, but I would do them all at the same time, on one single day, if it was necessary :)

Farees Nathoo: (FN): I’m also not the biggest fan of the Conservatives so this is a bit of a tough question! I’d say that I would start paying membership dues and participating actively in the United Nations once more.  This used to be a massive Canadian commitment but has definitely dropped off in under the current gov’t. 

Hoppas att ni tycker att det är lika intressant som jag! 

Trevlig helg allihopa, kul att ni kikar in här och läser :) 

Många frågar hur det egentligen går med franskan. Det finns inget lätt svar på den frågan :P Det är alltid svårt att känna/märka en utveckling när man är mitt i den, men jag har absolut bättre flyt i tal och skrift nu, och man har lärt sig många ord och vardagsuttryck. Däremot så har jag ju inte studerat franska medans jag varit här, så jag gör ju fortfarande en del grammatiska fel osv. Eftersom jag pratar ganska snabbt på svenska så har jag svårt för att prata väldigt långsamt på franska och hinna tänka igenom grammatik osv, så därför pratar jag lite fortare och märker själv att gör jag vissa fel ibland. Men jag kan absolut ha vanliga samtal utan problem och så länge jag inte är i en väldigt detaljerad diskussion så kan jag nog alltid få fram vad jag vill säga. Jag kan göra mig förstådd med det mesta jag vill säga. Sedan har väl förmodligen mitt uttal förbättrats, som tur är så umgås jag ju mest med folk som pratar fransk-franska och inte quebeckisk franska.

Det som fortfarande är svårast är att resonera på franska och att sitta i en större grupp med bara fransmän. Om man har en väldigt specifik fråga kring något kan det vara svårt att få andra att förstå den, och om man sitter i ett grupparbete och ska resonera kring något så kan det vara svårt på franska. Ibland när man har en dålig franskdag så kan man känna sig så oerhört trög, och ibland börjar jag nästa ifrågsätta om jag kan någoting om något alls. Ibland känner man sig som person lika trög som man ibland låter när man ska försöka säga något svårt på franska.

Jag tror att det är väldigt lätt att tänka att någon inte är så kunnig för att den inte kan språket, så har säkert många tänkt om mig här ibland och även jag själv om andra. Det är oerhört lätt att undermedvetet bland ihop det där. Nu när jag varit på "andra sidan" har jag fått en ny respekt för människor som inte kan ett språk klockrent, det betyder absolut inte att man inte kan något. Det är något som ni alla kan försöka tänka på, inklusive jag själv.

MEN något som gjorde mig glad igår var att Andi sa att han hade pratat med en fransman som lyssnade på min redovisning i fredags och den fransmannan sa att jag pratade jättebra franska och att jag var bäst av alla icke-fransktalig bytisar som redovisat i den kursen (i den kursen är vi några stycken faktiskt). Så det är ju något att ta med sig när man ibland känner att franskan går åt pipan :)

En bild på Montreal som Malin tagit. Den har egentligen inte alls något att göra med det jag skrivit om. Förutom att man pratar franska i Montreal då ;)

Andra delen av intervjun:

10. Which are the most important traditions in Canada?

Vincent Mai (VM): Watching hockey games! We say here that hockey is a religion.

Then you have the Canadian Thanksgiving, but it’s mostly in the English speaking part. In Québec we are celebrating the national day, St-Jean Baptiste, on June 24^th. Everybody goes in the streets, we sing songs, drink beer, watch live concerts... If you want to celebrate Canada Day, you have to go in Ontario. Nothing is happening on July 1^st in Québec :D

Then there are festivals during summer, like Montréal Jazz fest (the biggest in the world), Festival  d’été de Québec (a lot of big bands), HeavyMtl (two days of heavy metal), Osheaga (two days of alternative rock) or Piknik Electronik (electronic music every Sunday on a huge island).

Farees Nathoo: (FN):  Thanksgiving is definitely a big one… mmm…. turkey….  Apart from that, Canada day is massive in Ottawa! There are over a million people drinking and partying in the streets while eating good food and listening to music, it’s definitely a crazy party!

Saturday Night hockey is a tradition for sure, you watch with your parents as a little kid, then as you grow you eventually start watching in pubs and if you’re lucky, at the arena! You’re likely to find most university students in a pub around 19:30 on Saturday nights!

11. What is typical Canadian food?

Vincent Mai (VM): Maple syrup. And poutine! Poutine... it’s the best. You take french fries, add some fresh cheese and pour with gravy sauce so it just starts melting when you eat it. If you’re a gourmet, you can add onions, bacon, bell peppers, tomatoes, sausages, or even go exotic and add guacamole and sour creme.  It’s just the best! (Oh, and, even if you can now find it all around Canada, it’s been invented... in Québec! Take that, Farees! ;) )

You also have in Québec a lot of traditionnal food from the «sugar house» where people make maple syrup. Usually, it’s a lot of potatoes, grounded meat and salted pork – everything accompanied by maple syrup. Enough calories to go cut wood all day at -30 degrees!

There is also a meal that has a lot of history in its name. It’s called pâté chinois (similar to a cottage pie). In French, it means Chinese pie. It’s not called like this because it’s been invented in China, no. But because it’s been invented by the Chinese workers who worked on building the railways all over Canada! It is basically made with mashed potatoes, grounded meat and corn.

Ha, now that I think bout it, corn also has a nice name in French Canadian. French from France would call it maïs, but we say blé d’Inde, which means Indian Wheat, as the first settlers coming here thought they were in India and it was the first time they saw corn!

We also have very good beers, with a lot of fantastic micro-breweries, awesome local beers as Unibroue’s La Fin Du Monde (personal favourite) and some worldwide brands like Molson.

Farees Nathoo: (FN): Beer! Particularly Quebecois beer, Vincent knows I’m partial to La Fin Du Monde as well.  

I think the food of Canada is the food of the world, everyone here is an immigrant at some point in their ancestry, and the food from their countries of origin is a big part of the food culture here.  There is a joke in Toronto that says that if someone asks where they can find food from a certain place, there’s probably a metro stop that has a big community from that country!

12. What is a typical family? How many kids? Are there a lot of divorces? Do people usually marry at a young age or when they’re a little bit older?

Vincent Mai (VM): I’d say it’s mostly like in all “advanced” countries. A lot of divorces, one or two kids, sometimes three (some exceptions: a friend of mine has 7 brothers...), marrying age already high and getting higher.

Farees Nathoo: (FN): The national average number of kids is 1.5, and the family unit is pretty much the same as most developed countries.  Marrying age is definitely getting higher and is probably now in the late 20s. 

13. When people hang out, do they usually do it at home or in restaurants/bars?

Vincent Mai (VM): Even if it’s not free, restaurants and bars are a lot cheaper than what I experienced in Sweden! So we usually hang out in restaurants/bars. Sometimes, we party at home, but I’d say I go to the restaurant or the bar 2 or 3 times a week.

Farees Nathoo: (FN): Good pubs and restaurants are definitely the places we spend most of our time.  Most of us have our favourite restos or pubs, and I’d say I’m out at one of those at least 3 times a week with some of my friends. 

14. At what age do you start school and when do you finish? What is the grade system like?

Vincent Mai (VM): Education is a provincial responsability (again!) and thus it depends in which province you live in. In Québec, most people start school at 5 years old. Then you get to high school around 12 and to college (it’s mandatory before going to University) around 17. If you had a “normal” cursus, you start University around 19.

At school, grades are often on 100. To pass, you need 50% or 60%. At university (mine at least), you are still graded on 100 at the exams but then they give you a mark between E (0) and A (4) depending on your position in the class. You usually need a D to pass but an average of C (2) to be able to continue your studies.

Farees Nathoo: (FN):  Postsecondary education begins around the age of 18 a bachelor degree typically takes 4 years.  The grading system at the University of Ottawa uses percentage to score assignments, which is then converted into a letter grade (A being the highest and N/A being a fail). 

Tredje delen av intervjun kommer inom sinom tid ;)

Efter lite skolkande lyckades jag iallafall se matchen på en bar igår. Vi var i kvarteret little Portugal passande nog.

Jag och Erik var de enda i gula Zlatan-tröjor och omgavs av gapande och skrålande portugiser.

[Bild]

Vilken andra halvlek det ändå blev, vi slets mellan hopp och förtvivlan. Det var riktigt surt att behöva ha alla portugiser gapande runt sig när Ronaldo satte det sista målet. Fan!

Efter match pallade vi inte riktigt vara kvar utan gick till andra rummet där Frankrikes match sändes. Dom gick ju tillslut vidare till många fransmäns glädje. Kul för dom.

Nu ska allas vår nyfikenhet om Kanada stillas. Vincent och Farees har svarat på frågorna som alla har ställt. Dom har inte bara svarat utan verkligen SVARAT på alla frågorna, jag lärde mig väldigt mycket av svaren. Dom är verkligen värda varsin "reflixwest" som tack efter det här!! 

Jag fick in ganska många frågor och skrev ihop dem till totalt 35 frågor i 5 olika kategorier: "About Canada", "Family, food and traditions", "Politics", "Living in Canada" och "Canada and other countries". Idag kommer svaren till "About Canada" och är ni nyfikna på de andra kategorierna får ni kika in senare igen ;) Men dom kommer, var inte oroliga. Jag kommer inte översätta svaren för det tar för lång tid. Är man inte så haj på engelska är mitt förslag att kopiera in det i google translate eller också be någon annan översätta ;)

Här har ni Farees och Vincent (den tredje killen är Malte, han är ju istället Tysklandsexpert, men det får vi ta i ett annat forum någon annan gång  ):

First, tell us shortly about yourself:

Vincent Mai (VM): My name is Vincent. I was born in France but, as my parents and I came to Montréal, Québec, when I was 5, I am a lot more Québecois and Canadian than French. I’ve been living here for 15 years and I am now studying Engineering Physics at École Polytechnique de Montréal. I travelled a lot in the whole Canada when I was a child but I don’t remember much of it. However, I’ve been several times to Ontario and in the Eastern provinces (known as Maritimes) lately and I know Québec very well. Last year, I was in exchange in Lund.

Farees Nathoo: (FN):  My name is Farees, I was born in Toronto (yup, the place with the crack smoking mayor… save us), Ontario and I lived there for most of my life! My parents immigrated to Canada in the 1970s from Congo, and have happily made Canada their home since then.  I am currently studying Political Science at the University of Ottawa, in the capital city.  I’ve travelled pretty extensively on the east coast of Canada, and I’ll be heading out west this Christmas! Last year, I spent an amazing 6 months at Lund University (can someone take me back?  …anyone!?)

About Canada

1. Describe a typical Canadian

Vincent Mai (VM): A typical Canadian... is international! Canada is a country where immigration is very important and around 25% of the population has immigrated to Canada 25 or less years ago. Especially in the cities, you find people of every skin color, every religion, etc.

However, I guess this is not answering your question. I think the typical Canadian is welcoming and very talkative. They like ice hockey, maple syrup and good beer.  And they seldom complain about anything (actually, that’s often a problem, to my point of view).

2. What is the relationship between Québec and the other regions?

Vincent Mai (VM): Ahaa! That’s the best question :)

Let’s say it’s quite a tense relashionship. Historically, Quebec was French and got invaded by England. Then for around 300 years, the English speaking people were the dominating class, in Canada and even in Quebec. Some 40-50 years ago, the French speakers finally came out of the working class to form a large middle class and elite class population that did not exist before.  With those changes came the abandonment of religion, the feminist movements and the social advances that Quebec is still known for in Canada. It was called the “Révolution Tranquille”, or “Quiet Revolution”, as it was a huge society change, but without violence. As they did so, some separatist movements came up. Mostly non violent (even if one group of 4 people kidnapped and killed one federal minister, which actually led to a huge loss of popularity of the movement), those movements resulted in two referendums on independance, the first one rejected by 65% of the population and the last one, in 1995, where the NO won with a slight 50.5% of the votes.

Because of the differences between the vision of society (Quebec is more left-handed, especially with the conservative federal government we have now), the language barrier (obviously) and the multiple historical clashes, it’s no wonder the relationship is a little bit turbulent.

However, the separatist movements are starting to decline step by step, mostly because it would be economically very hard to get a country on our own.

If you want my own opinion, I guess I would just not go vote at the referendum, not because I’m not interested, but because I’m totally neutral on the question. I understand very well why we should separate, and why we should not. And frankly, both cases are okay for me!

(Oh, and also, we do like Canadians. Like, they are maybe the best people in the world. It’s just that... it’s two quite different nations in the same country. It just cannot work smoothly!)

Farees Nathoo (FN):  I think Vincent has hit the major historical points here.  I think the important thing to know about this issue is that it’s very sensitive and that we try to respect people’s opinions with regards to Quebec sovereignty.  People are often entrenched in some pretty emotional and ideological positions and we try to be respectful of that. 

While I was in Sweden, I used to joke that the relationship between Quebec and the rest of Canada is almost the same as Stockholm and Skåne.  The relationship almost always comes to the fore during hockey games!

3. Why is the flag red and white and why is there a maple leaf on it?

Vincent Mai (VM): The red and white come from the English colonial red and French royal white (I actually just looked at it on Wikipedia :P)

The maple leaf is Canada’s symbol as sugar maple only grow here!

Farees Nathoo (FN): Vincent beat me to the history again! The urban legend about the flag is quite interesting (or maybe this is a nerdy political moment).  The Prime Minister at the time the flag was revised from the old British model was a member of the Liberal Party, whose colours are red and white.  The legend is that he made the colours red and white so that all parties would have to use the colours of the Liberal Party when using the Canadian flag. 

In reality, you see the flag almost everywhere in the streets, particularly in Ottawa! On people’s clothes, public buildings and squares, even on cookies!

4. Name some famous Canadian brands. What are you most famous for (like Sweden and IKEA)?

Vincent Mai (VM): Canada Goose is for sure a big brand. We also have got Bombardier, Blackberry (even if they’re not doing very well...), Ubisoft, some banks and a lot of big mining companies nobody knows except people from the domain. But I guess what we are the most known for is maple syrup!

Farees Nathoo (FN): One of our most famous stores is the Hudson Bay Company, which was actually a big British company who helped colonize a lot of the country.  They are most famous for those famous red Canadian mittens that everyone was wearing during the Vancouver Olympics!

5. What are the society problems in Canada?

Vincent Mai (VM): This really depends on the province you are in I guess. In Quebec we have presently, like in a lot of countries, a big debate over immigration and integration. For now, everything works fine. Actually, we have a big advantage: nobody can come here without being allowed to. They must whether pass through the oceans, the Arctic or, even harder, the USA borders. So no illegal immigration. But we are asking ourselves how to keep our traditions and values in such a society.

Also, environment. This I think is more of a canadian problem than a quebecois. The oil sands in Alberta are a known to be the most polluting way of extracting oil and the federal government is shutting down environmental comittees and muzzling the scientists so they cannot say how terrible it is.

Finally, the native Americans. They are not a lot of them, and they usually live in the North. The problem is that they want to keep their culture, traditions and territory but also to be integrated. And this leads to a dramatic situation and conflicts with the “white” people. It is known that in those villages, alcoholism and drug dependance are very high, same as criminality, illitteracy... And they block hydro-electric dam projects because it is on their hunting territories. It is a very delicate problem and most of the people just don’t know what to do about it.

Farees Nathoo (FN): I think we have a couple of issues that are pretty pressing.  The first is definitely the environment.  The debate over the Keystone XL pipeline is quite intense as it involves a massive oil pipeline that spans quite a bit of the country and would provide oil to America.  There’s a huge concern over destroying forests and communities to create this pipeline, as well as the extraction of the oil from oil sands.

Aboriginals are not only a societal problem, but a huge failure on the part of Canada.  The historical treatment of these indigenous people as well as modern treatment is a pretty bad mark on our record.  We still have quite some ways to go before we can make amends and help recognize the Aboriginal cultures as a part of the Canadian culture. 

6. How does it work with insurance if you get sick? Do you have to pay high fees for insurance? How much tax do you pay (percentage of the salary)?

Vincent Mai (VM): Health is a provincial responsability, but I think it is the same in all provinces: we do not pay healthcare ourselves. It is all in the taxes. It’s actually something all the Canadians are proud of and that we always underline when we discuss with our southern neighbours!

The taxes are both federal and provincial, so the total actually depends on where you live. Federal tax is around 25% of your revenue, plus 7% on your buyings. Then you have to add around 20% of provincial tax (in Québec) and 8% on your buyings. You don’t have a lot left in the end!

Farees Nathoo: (FN):  The federal government delegates some governmental responsibility to the provinces, healthcare being one of them.  We don’t have to pay for healthcare, but there are growing concerns over the quality and efficiency of the healthcare system in Ontario, though overall it’s quite effective.

Federal and provincial income tax in Ontario adds up to about 35 percent, while sale tax is 13%.

7. What do Canadians, in general, consider are the major problems in the world today?

Vincent Mai (VM): A good question. My guess would be the climate changes. Most of Canadians are nature lovers!

Farees Nathoo: (FN):  I would add a host of international affairs to this, particularly Syria and Libya.  Canada has historically played a big peacekeeping role on the international stage and these humanitarian crises are definitely debated here. 

8. Do people mostly use cars or public transport?

Vincent Mai (VM): Of course, it depends if you are in a small town or in a big city. If you’re not in a big town, everything is so far away that you don’t have the choice: you take the car. In cities like Montréal, Ottawa, Vancouver or Toronto (and I guess the others), it is easier to take public transport. Compared to the US, I’d say we use more public transport. However, compared to Sweden, it’s cars, for sure.

Farees Nathoo: (FN):  I think we’re quite reliant on cars, mostly because of the large size of our country.  This is definitely true if you live outside of the core of a city, where public transit and metro lines are less accessible.  It’s not at all uncommon to drive ~1.5 hours to work each way in Toronto!

9. What are the biggest job openings in Canada in the future?

Vincent Mai (VM): I’m not sure to completely understand the question nor to be an expert in job openings, but I think Canada is doing quite well. It is not hard to get a job and it seems that it will last for a while.

Farees Nathoo: (FN):  I think the oil and gas sector and the business supporting that line of work is definitely a growing area. 

Det var första kategorin! Ni som tog er igenom allt ända hit har förhoppningsvis lärt er en del nytt ni inte visste :)

To be continued...

Förrätt: Grönkålssoppa med sirop d'érable

Huvudrätt: Risotto med trattkantareller, sparris och räkor

Efterrätt: Flytande lussekatter (nej men nästan: vit chokladmousse med saffran och tranbärsröra)

Dryck: Massa vin!

Sällskap: Svenskarna och Mattia

Kontentan: En trevlig kväll som kantades av språkdiskussioner och snack inför morgondagens extremt viktiga match mot Portugal

Malin, Erik och Johan

Mattia och Emma

Här kommer några bilder som tagits med Malins kamera!

Från middagen i Ottawa. Här är Malin, ambassadören Teppo Tauriainen och jag.

Gänget i bilen: Arthur, Vincent, jag, Julien, Jérôme och Malin. Arthur och Julien har varit på utbyte på KTH och Vincent och Jérôme har varit i Lund. 

Bild från en brunch för någon vecka sedan. Patricia, Kathi, jag, Malin, Farees, Vincent och Malte. 

Från HalloSwingklubben:

När man ses en lördag kl 11 i skolan för att göra grupparbete kan det lätt bli lite flummigt. 

Här är min gruppmedlemmar i kursen Kontinuerlig förbättring: Romain, Pierre och Andi

Bild från gårdagens för-öl med tyskarna Kathi, Malte och Patricia

Jag höll en crash course i svenska. Patrica kör nu på följande: "Hejhej! Två öl, tack. Fan. Helvete" och Malte: "Jag letar efter en telefonkiosk".

Idag lyckades jag äntligen ta mig till den berömda marknaden Jean Talon. Jag har velat åka dit hur länge som helst, men aldrig haft tid. Den finns med som den bästa marknaden i Kanada i min guidbok, och det var verkligen en upplevelse!  

Ett helt himmelrike av grönsaker, frukt, svamp och massa annan mat. Och självklart en massa saker med sirap! Det var ett ypperligt tillfälle att hitta grönkål, trattkantareller och tranbär till kvällens trerätters som ska lagas hemma oss mig med ett gäng! 

Värmen har kommit tillbaka lite igen (kanske bara idag), så på vägen hem promenerade jag utan jacka. Underbart!