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I
liked
Canada
in general, and
Toronto
in particular but we did also go off on trips to
Ottawa
,
Montreal
and
Quebec City
. The art gallery in
Ottawa
was very attractive –an interesting building with some excellent
displays of art, including a whale skeleton made entirely of bits
of plastic chairs.
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On
the way to
Quebec City
we passed through the territories of North
American Indians, who are now called “First Nations”. It was
sad to see these once proud peoples now reduced to earning their living
by selling cheap handicrafts to tourists, and by trading in duty-free
cigarettes.
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One
day we went on a trip to
Niagara Falls
. The falls themselves are impressive, but the kitsch tourist clutter
they have attracted is quite appalling.
In
Toronto
I met a lot of Chinese people. It seems that
Canada
welcomes foreign immigrants, but many of the Chinese told me that they
had to take very menial jobs, because their qualifications from Chinese
universities were not recognised. And why had they come? Some told me it
was because of the greater opportunities available in
Canada
, but others just wanted a change of scene.
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Above: A group of
people in yellow plastic raingear enjoying the spray at Niagara Falls
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I met
some Chinese people with excellent English who were unable to get
government jobs because their French wasn’t good enough.
However,
the French I heard spoken in
Quebec
Province
came with such a heavy accent it was almost incomprehensible.
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A paper vending machine in Toronto
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