Not meaning to be rude to all the good people of Quebec but apparently all you need to separate from Canada is an airline.
If you have not heard, last week our national carrier started advertising "15 per cent off your flight from Canada to Atlantic Canada."
Yup, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador are now a new country - Atlantic Canada.
This is a land rich in history, replete with lobsters, fishers and Gaelic music. It is a land where you might hear the bagpipes skirling in the fog or feel the rush as the Bay of Fundy fills. It is a country where Magnetic Hill will convince you that the world is backwards.
Atlantic Canada with strange money and stranger traditions. Who would want to kiss a cod?
Our national airline has finally made it official.
But this sudden departure of the Maritime Provinces got me thinking: "Why isn't there a Pacific Canada?"
I mean, we have about twice the population and almost twice the size. Surely a province as magnificent and important as British Columbia should have its own designation.
Consider the fact that Quebec is referred to as "French Canada", Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are the "The Prairies" and Ontario is "Toronto's Suburb," surely British Columbia deserves to be something more than, well, just British Columbia.
Indeed, when politicians in Ottawa speak of the west, do you think it is B.C. they are referring to? No.
The West is just another name for the prairies. British Columbia is just an after-thought.
Maybe it's time for us to stand up and say: "We are proud Pacific Canadians!"
We are definitely more than just Vancouver.
We have our own traditions... I am sure of it ... I know that we do.
We do all like to make fun of the weather in Vancouver and roll our eyes when they talk about how cold it is.
We also like to point out how rainy Vancouver is. (Vancouverites don't tan, they rust!)
We like to make fun of the quaint little piece of England that is Victoria.
But actual British Columbia traditions are hard to come by. Most of our self-image seems to come from pointing out that we are not Alberta or Ontario. We are much better than that.
Do we have our own sayings?
Not really. Maybe something to do with B.C. bud but I can't think of any.
We do have some pretty notable landmarks.
Long Beach on Vancouver Island is a world renowned site. Ditto Whistler-Blackcomb. Stanley Park stands out as a truly outstanding attraction. And I know that I have seen billboards for the Butchart Gardens in London, England, so they must be world renowned.
We have the historic Barkerville, the town that celebrated the first Dominion Day. It is now called Canada Day but it was established on July 1 as a reply to the ruckus raised by the American miners on July 4. It's a Pacific Canadian thing.
We are home to the Haida Gwaii archipelago which has to be on more than a few bucket lists as a destination. We also share Glacier Bay and the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Personally, I have always thought of the Rockies as belonging to British Columbia, but I guess Alberta has some claim. Mt. Robson is ours, though.
Maybe it is the Rockies that keeps the rest of Canada out. Maybe the imposing mountain range gives the rest of Canada a sense that we do not want to belong.
But you would think that would just reinforce the idea that we are Pacific Canada.
And what would be the benefits of going it alone?
The total of all salaries in British Columbia is $131 billion dollars per year. We pay $55.1 billion dollars income tax and the majority of that goes to the federal government. If we follow through with the general philosophy of the Conservative government in Ottawa - that people know how to spend their money best - then maybe we should keep this money for ourselves.
Just think. That is more money than the provincial budget. As Pacific Canada, we could do away with sales taxes, corporate taxes, sin taxes, licenses, fees, Medical Services Premiums, and a whole bunch of other unnecessary taxes.
Sure, there would be some additional costs. We would have to maintain our own army, for example. But who would invade us? Canada? We wouldn't really need much of an army. More likely, just a good border patrol.
Yes, I think it is time that Pacific Canada stood up for itself. We are distinct. We are proud. And we are an under-represented region.
Time for Air Canada to start advertising some flights between Canada and Pacific Canada. Not too many, though, because those Canadians might just want to move here.
