I’m a Canadian, but a fairly long time resident of India, with 13 years of living and working here under my belt. I visited the land of my birth and citizenship in May/June (2009), the first visit since the same period in 2005. Since four years had lapsed between visits, when I got back, Diplomatist Editor Kalyan Kumar asked if I would write about any changes in Canada that I witnessed. That was a hard one. Had he asked me in advance to take notes while there, perhaps I could come up with more than what this short – very short – piece provides. In fact, the only thing that I can recollect is the changing – or I should say improving – attitude of the general population towards drinking and driving.

Cases in Point

I stayed at my son’s place in Bedford, Nova Scotia during the first week of my visit. One evening I said, “Let’s go down to the tavern. I’m buying.” He said, “Ok. I’ll pay for the taxi.” I said, “A taxi; we’ve got cars; it’s only a five minute drive!” He looked me in the eyes and said, “It only takes a couple to be over the limit and besides, I don’t want to kill anybody.1" How could I argue with that? In fact, I experienced two emotions at once – shame and pride – shame of myself for my outburst and pride for my son. Anyway, he called the taxi. We visited the tavern and drank our fill. Two hours later we stepped outside, hailed another cab and arrived home safely.

Some bars in Canada have in-house breathalyzers for patrons to test themselves. If over the limit many leave their cars behind and hail a taxi

I noticed this responsible attitude in many of the people with whom I interacted during my visit. For instance, two weeks later my family hosted a mega birthday party in an Orillia, Ontario hotel for my aging mother. People came in from across Canada for the event. Obviously, the out-of-towners took rooms at the hotel, but this also applied to some of her neighbours who only lived fifteen minutes away from the venue. Why? Because they were drinkers and there was lots of alcoholic beverages to be consumed at the party. They played it safe by sleeping over at the hotel rather than drive home while impaired.

This was one change that I noticed. I must add however that a large number of Canadians were responsible drinkers four years ago, but I really think the number has risen since my 2005 visit. Perhaps the change for the better is due to the number of dramatic Transport Canada television ads on the subject which have certainly increased in recent times.