By Andréa Ventimiglia
O say Can (ada) you see
By the Gom-er-y plight
So profoundly we failed,
To catch the Liberals
scheming.
Although Canada-U.S. relations may not be a issue in this election campaign, some Americans living in Canada are trying to stimulate interest in politics and cross-border cooperation
“Americans are pretty oblivious,” former Ottawa Centre resident Dan York says. “If 99 per cent of Americans can identify that Canada is north, they’re doing pretty good.”
Originally from New Hampshire, York worked in high-tech here for five years. A self- professed “political junkie,” he followed the sponsorship scandal. But, he is an exception.
This past summer he moved back to the U.S. and says if it wasn’t for his frequent business trips to Ottawa, recent events in Canadian politics wouldn’t have crossed his mind.
“It’s just not news,” he says.
New England native Melissa Haussman shares York’s sentiments. “It’s appalling in a lot of ways how little Americans know about the world around them. I wouldn’t hesitate to use the term ignorant or complacent.”
But Haussman is doing her best to change the stereotype. She founded the Association for Canadian Studies in the U.S.
Haussman became interested in Canadian politics after spending an undergraduate semester in Montreal during the first Quebec referendum. She recently moved back to Ottawa to teach at Carleton University.
“Heard about Gomery One, waiting for Gomery Two, although I won’t say it makes great bedtime reading,” she joked.
Haussman says enlightening Americans about Canadian politics is an uphill battle, but a worthwhile cause.
“It’s obviously wise to understand both histories, and the plusses and minuses of each system, to know where they function well and less well, and what we can draw from that.”