The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1954, Blaðsíða 37

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
35
FIRST IMPRESSION OF CANADA
by Rev. ROBERT JACK
I had been introduced to this great
Dominion partly through books and
partly through people who had at one
time lived here. From both these
sources I had gained, I must admit, a
somewhat meagre knowledge of the
country.
One must live in a country for some
time to aquaint oneself with its various
aspects. It is, therefore, utterly impos-
sible for me to give a fair impression
of Canada after two month’s residence
here, but with the knowledge I had
gained before my arrival, and what I
have seen and heard in this vast land,
I will without prejudice give you some
impressions I have formed.
I miss the mountains, the rushing
rivers, and the open sea. From my
youth I have been face to face with
heather-covered hills or grim, snow-
clad mountains. From my youth I have
spent endless days of sheer delight
wading in deep rivers or burns, catch-
ing trout by the score. I have always
loved the sea, an open boat, and a sail.
To an islander it is a strange feeling
to find himself in the middle of a vast
continent, on a prairie land as flat as
a billiard table. The sky alone seems
the same. Even that seems to have been
bluer in Scotland, the land of my
birth, and in Iceland, the land of my
adoption.
Compared to all the European cities
I have visited, Winnipeg is so com-
pletely different, and so utterly
strange. Here no little hills provide
the pleasure of changing gears; here
no double-decked trams afford the
exquisite joy of a carefree ride; here no
parking space seems available. Win-
nipeg seems to me to have been built
in a week, a rush-job, like a Klondike
town sans the picturesque miners in
steel helmets with their little axes. It
is hard to realize that people of my
kith and kin and other Europeans have
built Winnipeg.
You have every reason, however, to
be proud of your Legislative Build-
ing, a house obviously built for noble
speeches and great deeds. It is a work
of art, and from it, no doubt, radiate
the influences that are making Mani-
toba such a progressive province. I
like, too, the University, a noble seat
of learning, an Alma Mater free for all
with the thirst for learning. A univers-
ity within a Democracy will become
an Aristocracy, in the classical sense
of the word, where the rule of the
many who learn is also the rule of the
best.
Being a Scot, I look at the prices of
goods wherever I go. In Canada they
seem to be higher than in all other
countries in which I have spent some
time. If the wages were in proportion
to the high cost of living, it would be
a different story. On the contrary, the
wage standards are lower than in Ice-
land or Scotland, and goods, on the
whole, more expensive.
Canada like other countries of the
world has her problems, and I do not
think that her potential greatness will
be realized until she has a population
at least as great as that of the British
Isles.
I am glad to note that Canada is a
country of sport. I saw my first game
of ice hockey the other night. It was
a junior game and it impressed me,
particularly because of its overwhelm-
ing speed. It occured to me that if