Canada, Culture, and September 11 Good Deeds

I just came back from a wonderful talk by Mr. Claude Elliott, the mayor of Gander, Newfoundland. Gander is a small but important town in the farthest eastern portion of Canada. It is an important nexus for flights both military and domestic. But on September 11, 2001, it took on even greater importance, when dozens of flights were diverted there after U.S. airspace was shut down. Over 6000 passengers ended up spending several days in Gander, all hosted by a town of only about 9500 residents. The stranded passengers were housed, fed, and given free medical treatment by the town, with assistance from the provincial and federal government in Canada. There were stories in the Canadian and U.S. media about these good deeds; the event even generated a book.

Mayor Elliott spoke today about the decency of the townspeople, but noting — with, perhaps, typical Canadian humility — that it's "just what a person does". In fact, it was a remarkable feat, not just in terms of the good deeds done, but the efficiency with which such a small community handled such a big crisis. He talked about how each flight was assigned a specific residence, so that an American Airlines flight, for example, was housed in a local church. That way, when it was time some days later to re-board, it would be easy to relocate all the passengers.

Mayor Elliot, speaking with the engaging lilt of Newfoundland speech, said that his town of Gander is ready to help the U.S. again any time, praising Americans as "good people". I hope that term is correct — certainly it applies to these Canadian citizens.

Most importantly, it should make us all take more careful note of this northern land, with a culture that is more different from the U.S. than we might think. It's a culture that despite its quiet and self-effacing reputation seems to know how to get things done...