Your Canadian Questions

CanuckSpeak answers YOUR questions. Got one for us – comment below!

Ernie: Perhaps you could go into some detail regarding the Prime Minister who received advice from his dog…his dead, stuffed dog (McKenzie-King wasn’t it?).

While I almost certainly will be doing a post dedicated to politics at some point. I agree that this is certainly a subject that is worth a special mention. The Prime Minister you are thinking of is in fact William Lyon Mackenzie King who led our great country from 1921 to 1948 and his 21 years in office makes him the longest serving Prime Minister in British Commonwealth history. Mackenzie King is of course best remembered for being, umm ‘eccentric’ for his habit of communing with spirits, including those of Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, his dead mother, and several of his Irish terrier dogs, all named Pat. While there is no direct evidence, it has been suggested that some political decisions were made as a result of some of these – ah, meetings. We can say for sure that he sought personal reassurance from the spirit world, rather than seeking political advice. After his death, one of his mediums said that she had not realized that he was a politician. It should be noted in our defence that his occult interests were not widely known during his years in office, and only became publicized later. In 1953 Time Magazine stated, “that he owned—and used—both a Ouija board and a crystal ball and in the 1970s biographers used the extensive diaries he kept during most of his life to delve deeper into his occult activities. King never married, but had several close female friends, including Joan Patterson, a married woman with whom he spent some of his leisure time. Some historians have interpreted passages in his diaries as suggesting that King regularly had sexual relations with prostitutes. Others, also basing their claims on passages of his dairies, have suggested that King was in love with Lord Tweedsmuir, whom he had chosen for appointment as Governor General in 1935. It just goes to show how much you may dislike your current leader, things could always be worse. Wait! What am I saying? This guy was awesome – rock on Willie, see you at the séance later!

NOTE: I also liked Ernie’s unrelated but funny follow up note: In regards to our size, I think The Arrogant Worms (more famous Canadians) said it best, “We’re the second biggest country, on this planet Earth; and if Russia keeps on shrinking, then soon we’ll be first (as long as we keep Quebec)”.

 Freelance Guru: Ok? So uh, in like uh, Cah-na-da, Can-ada, is that correct? Canodia or something? Is there like, is it like true that Canodians can leave their front doors open like in the Michael Moore documentary?

The short answer is yes. I actually used to live only a short distance from where that footage was shot. It is worth mentioning that it is in downtown Toronto, Canada’s largest city. That being said, our hardware stores do of course sell locks and we do carry keys. I actually always lock my doors and lots of us do. That being said, lots of people don’t – and although I hate to generalize, many who don’t likely live in smaller towns or simply grew up in a time when it was less important. There is crime in Canada and it is funny how often you read that criminals were able to make off with loot and/or cars because the doors were unlocked and/or kept in the ignition. I would venture a guess that while you find people who leave there doors unlocked around the world, Canada may have a slightly higher percentage, as to whether this is because they are lazy, trusting or forgetful is anyone’s guess.

Bucky: Why do Canadians buy their milk in bags?

Wow – people sure do find this interesting. For those who are wondering what we are talking about, you can see a picture HERE. The short answer is that not all of us do. That being said, it is an option and as someone who grew up on them, I actually prefer the bagged milk myself. I can only confirm that milk bags are available in Ontario, Quebec and BC- and I think I heard that they are NOT available in Manitoba and Quebec. It is worth mentioning that they are available quite a few places worldwide (see HERE), including Brazil, India, China and even California. Here in Ontario, (and the other places I’m sure) we do of course have both the cartons and, to a lesser degree, plastic bottles as well. The bags were actually adopted to reduce waste and other resources required to transport the milk. It does require a one-time purchase of a plastic pitcher that holds the individual bags and the one major complaint is when the cut on the corner is done improperly, it can result in a lot of spilt milk. The bags themselves are easy to sterilize and transport and some people even freeze their milk. (Blech.) While plastic does break down quite slowly, studies have shown that overall it is the most efficient way of packaging overall. As well, the fact that you buy such a large amount usually means savings. For better or worse, it seems that bagged milk has become a Canadian institution.

Well, that’s all for now – tune in next time when … oh, who am I kidding? I have no idea. (Maybe BEER!) Please keep those questions coming. Have a great weekend and all the best, eh.

SOURCE: Canucklehead.ca