A Canadian Honeymoon - VIA Rail Canada’s Rolling National Park

Bright Sunshine and Grain Elevators in Melville, SK

This June, my wife and I embarked on our honeymoon on Via Rail Canada’s The Canadian. For the uninitiated, this is an epic journey of four nights and three days that traverses Canada from East to West (or West to East) between Toronto and Vancouver (or Vancouver and Toronto.) We departed from Toronto’s Union Station on May 31^st and made the incredible journey through Muskoka and the Canadian Shield, into the deep boreal forest of Northern Ontario and Manitoba; through Winnipeg, and the gorgeous Qu’Appelle river valley (who said the prairies were flat?) to Melville, SK, Saskatoon and big sky country. From there it was on to Edmonton and into the Rockies at the astoundingly beautiful “gateway to the Rockies” at Hinton, AB. Charming Jasper follows and, shortly thereafter, we trundled past, what we thought would be the climax of our journey at Mount Robson 3954m, the highest Canadian Rocky Mountain of them all. The immense beauty of the Rockies and their towering glacial peaks was not lost on us, but as we departed Kamloops at dusk and started to wind our way through the Thompson and Fraser river canyons, I was riveted to my seat/bed (I couldn’t bring myself to lie down. My wife was fast asleep.) It was a good thing too because, even as nighttime fell, the groaning of the three locomotives and the screeching of steel alluded to the sheer cliffs and raging rivers through which our train was navigating. The shimmer of the full-moon and the bright lights of our train created a surreal, if not downright spooky mood as tunnels, bridges and snake-like bends led us through a spell-binding stretch of track. Although I slept well the first three nights on the train, I spent most of this night by the window. By the time we pulled into Pacific Central Station in the morning, I was cheerfully worn out from what felt like a magical night on the Polar Express. As I looked around at the other passengers, with whom we had become close over the previous few days, I saw many sad faces; not because they didn’t enjoy their trip, but because it was time to say goodbye. We all knew something special had just happened and weren’t quite ready for it to end.

Rack of Lamb: Enough Said

The Polar Express is a fitting comparison for this train, which rightly holds the name The Canadian. While Santa Claus wasn’t waiting for us at Pacific Central station, this train turned us back into children. We learned incredible amounts about the forming of Canada as a nation along the way. In fact, we both agreed that we learned more about Canada during this trip than either of us did in history class (sorry Mr. Smith.) Did you know that Winnipeg has one of the largest French communities in Canada outside of Québec? (Saint-Boniface is the neighbourhood.) How about the fact that fossils have been found in the Rocky Mountains showing that their peaks were once at the bottom of vast oceans? It wasn’t all history and geology though. We met other couples that were celebrating honeymoons and 50th anniversaries. We met families, solo travellers and train connoisseurs from all around the country and the world. We witnessed late night scrabble games in the dome car and participated in tastings of

Dave and Margaret from Scotland celebrating 50 years
of marriage and us on our honeymoon!

local wines and beers from the different regions through which we passed. We counted the cars on the mile-long freight trains as they went by and three times a day we savoured the outstanding creations of the chef-on-board (the rack-of-lamb was the best either of us has ever tasted.) When the train stopped in small towns along the way we went for romantic walks and took sappy selfies with everything from grain elevators to the station name-boards. It was a step outside of a complicated world and into a new reality full of spellbinding scenery, friendly faces and simplicity.

Nighttime setup for the new Prestige Class

There is a wide-range of accommodation options aboard the Canadian, and while we opted for the well-equipped bedroom for 2, there is an affordable economy class, section sleepers (which are like a restaurant booth that transforms into bunk-beds at night), roomettes (which have just enough room for one, with a toilet) and the all-new, ultra-luxurious prestige class. We received a tour of the new prestige class and VIA has got everything right with this new product which has huge rooms with double-beds, large-screen tvs, minibars, private showers and a very modern, elegant design. If you have the money, take the plunge.

If you don’t have the big bucks for the prestige class however, the other sleeping class options are more than acceptable and come with access to a hot-shower, which was far beyond my expectations. The water was steamy, the pressure was strong and I didn’t fall down once as we cruised along at 80mph! (note: trains still operate in miles per hour)

Generally when you write about something you save the best for last, so I will conclude this article by mentioning personally the absolutely amazing staff at VIA. Linda who took our reservation and gave us many helpful tips, such as booking us into a cabin “F” which is larger than the other Cabins for 2, and suggesting the Canadian Rail Travel Guide by Daryl Adair which was invaluable to following along the various points of interest and significance along the way.

Lucy at Union station who went out of her way to make a personal connection with each passenger and make sure everyone had everything they needed.

Tim and Meghan, our hosts in the dome car who were knowledgeable, funny, motivated, and extremely acute in “reading the crowd” and striking the balance between interesting anecdotes, activities and giving us time to simply enjoy the scenery.

Denis and Sylvie the Service Managers were incredible as well, making sure we were happy, communicating clearly with passengers, arranging a tour for us of the prestige class and even arranging for a complimentary bottle of wine for our honeymoon.

In the Dome car with our complimentary wine
Thank you VIA Rail!

Last but certainly not least, to Luco, Leah and Colleen, the sleeping car attendants who prepared our cabins, told us jokes, and helped us with any questions we had (in both official languages), we are truly thankful. All of the staff was professional, incredibly informative and was a sterling example of how customer service should be.

As an addendum, there have been concerns of late that the Canadian might be targeted for privatization and that the Rocky Mountaineer would love to take over this storied and historic train. After travelling from Toronto to Vancouver across this country, which never would have confederated without the railway, we can see that this train should continue to be owned by the public. This is our train. In many ways, it is a rolling National Park that takes us through our past, shows us our present, which in turn will help us build our future. In the National Parks Act it is written: “The national parks of Canada are hereby dedicated to the people of Canada for their benefit, education and enjoyment, subject to this Act and the regulations, and the parks shall be maintained and made use of so as to leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” This train is Canada. It is the Canadian. It is ours. If you have already made the journey, let the powers at be know how much it meant to you. If you haven’t, take the trip, and you will fall in love with your country all over again. 

The Question of Religious Education Funding in Ontario’s Schools

On Friday John Tory announced he would be stepping down as leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative party, after a humiliating by-election defeat to Liberal Rick Johnson in the riding of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock, near Peterborough. The by-election was held after PC MPP Laurie Scott agreed to step aside and allow Tory to run in an attempt to gain a seat in the legislature, after he was defeated in his home Toronto riding of Don Valley West in the 2007 election. The rural Kawartha Lakes riding was considered a lock, after Scott had defeated Johnson in 2007 by 10 000 votes, but Tory’s career as party leader fizzled as lost by 906 votes. I almost feel bad for him.

The 2007 election was largely dominated by the single issue of funding for religious schools, after one of the most curious and self-defeating policy gaffes in recent memory. John Tory came out in favour of extending public funding to religious schools beyond the Catholic School Board, provided they met the criteria laid out by the province. This issue was met with huge backlash, and Tory later retreated to the promise of a ‘free vote’ if elected. Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty argued in favour of the status quo, with Catholic schools the only non-secular institutions receiving public funds, and the provincial Greens argued for a singular, unified secular board in Ontario. This is a large part of the reason why I supported the Greens.

To fully understand the issue, as with any issue, one must understand the history behind them (thus the importance of learning history). When Canada was created with the signing of the British North America Act in 1867, there were two dominant groups in the country; English Protestants, mainly in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and parts of New Brunswick; and the French Catholics, residing mainly in Québec. Education was inherently religious in nature, and incorporating and assimilating children into these dominant Christian faiths was seen as beneficial for society. Taken to the extremes, this resulted in Residential Schools, where native children were taken from their homes and indoctrinated with western values; abuse that we are still apologizing for.

But over the coming years, immigration increased, and from different parts of the world. Society diversified, and multiculturalism became an official national policy. The ‘English Protestant’ board gradually transformed into the inclusive, secular board we see today. A ruling by the provincial court in 1994 even officially declared the board secular, after certain religious groups asserted that the public education provided was ‘humanist,’ and ran in opposition to their views. Even in Québec did society become more secular, after the Quiet Revolution of the 1970s, with their school systems eventually becoming two secular systems, one serving the English population, and the other the French. Ontario and Alberta remain the only two provinces providing funding for Roman Catholic schools.

For those of us born in the 1980s in Ontario, fully funded Catholic schools will seem like the norm, but it must be realized that it wasn’t until 1985 that funding for Catholic schools was fully extended to include grades 11-13 to create a fully funded Catholic board. Waves of Catholic immigrants in the 60s and 70s had created an electorate that was 1/3 Catholic, and all three parties were vying for these votes. This decision came about after numerous court cases on various aspects of religious education had been filtering through the Ontario courts since 1928.

Mr. Tory is right. To continue to fund, at the expense of the public education system, only one separate school board providing education to one religious group is unjust. It is even a practice condemned by the United Nations, as it runs in contravention of the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, for discriminating in favour of one faith over others, even though it has repeatedly been declared not a violation of Section 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. With the ever changing face of Ontario and ever shifting societal values, public institutions must reflect these changes. Especially institutions fostering the development and growth of our children. By placing all children at an equal level in an inclusive, secular education system, they are all able to learn from each other and we best suit the needs of society. The opportunities and experiences presented to these pupils learning together is one of greater inclusiveness and social harmony. By dividing children and bussing them around the city based on religious lines will only lead to a further divided society.

A certain amount of upheaval would surely result from reducing our education system to one single publicly funded board, but in the interests of providing the best level of education for all of Ontario students, this is a step which must be taken. Similar factors were faced by the people of Newfoundland, with their public schools divided amongst many different Protestant denominations (and no secular board), and half-empty buses were shuttling students all across the cities to reach under-funded schools. A 1997 referendum in the province, moving to reduce the schools to one single public board, garnered 73% support, and has led to a better school system for all of Newfoundland’s students. With changing provincial values and demographics, and positive results seen in other parts of the country, Ontario must follow suit.

Russel MacDonald

A Real Pick-Me-Up

In the province of Ontario, 'carpool' is a legal term with legal ramifications. Introduced in the 1970s, carpools were an attempt to encourage working people to share rides to and from work, thereby reducing emissions and congestion, as well as encouraging all of the positive social benefits of people commuting together.

This issue has recently been brought to the forefront after a ruling by the Ontario Highway Transportation Board in favour of Trentway-Wagar Inc., against Ottawa-based website pickuppal.ca. The website is used to coordinate drivers who are offering rides with passengers who are looking for rides, thus again reducing emissions and traffic, as well as enabling drivers to share some of their fuel costs.

Trentway-Wagar, the company that owns the bus line Coach Canada, has a problem with this service. They (successfully) argued that carpooling only allows for people to commute to work, and PickupPal was therefore breaking the law. While I'm sure their primary concern was for the safety of people travelling with potentially bad drivers, PickupPal was also cutting into their profits by reducing the number of people riding the bus between large centres, primarily Toronto to Montreal. They argued that PickupPal was providing a transportation service, while at the same time not required to abide by the same regulations as the bus company, such as vehicle maintenance and driver capability. PickupPal was ordered to pay $2837.07 to the board and $8500.00 to Trentway-Wagar in fines.

In the end (as is often the case) it was a question of liability. It seems nobody is truly responsible for their own selves these days, and insurance companies repeatedly rear their ugly head. Dean Saul, a Partner with Gowlings transportation industry national group, says: "The big question that comes up is, what is the liability for the guy driving the vehicle in relation to the people in the vehicle? What insurance is he carrying for the people in the vehicle or is the insurance he is carrying valid if he has a collision and kills three people in another car?" The issue of insurance coverage in such a situation stems from the practice of people leasing vans and operating them as makeshift buses, turning a profit all under the guise of a carpool. What the legislation in combination with this ruling effectively means for people in Ontario, though, is that parents volunteering to pick up local kids for hockey practice or other such organized and non-work-related carpools may also be technically illegal.

It seems unlikely that parents will be pulled over on their way to hockey, and it should also be noted that the Ontario government is scrambling to update their legislation on the issue. However, the real issue at stake here is corporations, insurance companies, and government colluding to restrict 'unofficial' transportation and on a larger level interaction. Each person should have the freedom to accept rides with any other person, and accept any of the associated risks. However, any interaction between individuals without the influence of an official 'market' is seen as a threat to corporate hegemony.

This 'problem' has only been exacerbated by the Internet and other new communication technologies, and it is only growing. As people become less relient on centralized forms of communication, they are more able to interact on a private and personal level. The fact that anybody is even reading this is a testament to that fact. As this phenomenon continues and becomes more commonplace, legislation will slowly change to accept it, as has already begun with the carpool issue in Ontario. We can only hope this happens sooner rather than later.

Russel MacDonald