Manifest Destiny

“Dad! Dad! Turn on the news!”

Rushing to the living room and startling his parents, Josh sat down on the couch and flipped the channels till the news broadcast was on. As his parents joined him around the television, what they heard shocked them into dead silence.

Premier Derek Hansen has just announced that the province of BC will join the United States as their fifty-first state. Shortly after the announcement, President Ryden revealed he would be visiting BC to congratulate the local people on partnering with his countrymen. Hansen cited his reasoning for joining the States as a logical and rational decision because BC lies between the states of Alaska and Washington and the transfer would facilitate travel and the movement of goods and people now that both sides are connected.

“My goodness, what on earth just happened?”

“Those buggers in the Legislature sold us out to the Yankees, that’s what happened. They’ve finally done it! They’ve gone too far this time. Bloody politicians!”

“Dad! Calm down. It’s not the end of the world. But we’ll have to get used to using USD instead of the Canadian Dollar.”

“That’s the least of our worries my boy. Think, now we have to measure everything in Imperial units! Miles, gallons, inches, feet…it’s going to be a nightmare I tell you.”

As the family continued contemplating their new fate as Americans, the province began a large-scale purge of Canadian entities, organizations and governing bodies. They started with dismantling the RCMP; the federal police force of Canada, letting go or retraining nearly hundreds of officers across the province. Next, the federally regulated Canada Post was scrapped, leaving its employees jobless and in dire straits. The Legislative Assembly of BC and the Lieutenant governor were also removed from office, replacing it with a state governor, state Legislature and a state-controlled court.

Driving to work along the highway, Josh noticed that even the traffic signs were being replaced, conforming to the standards of the other American states. Listening to the radio, he was surprised to hear that international border checks had been set up on the eastern boundary with Alberta, as well as the border to the Yukon in the north.

Travelling west to downtown Vancouver, he passed by some military vehicles heading east. Knowing that there was a Canadian naval base in Esquimalt, he figured they would be relocating, though no longer at a port accessible to the Pacific Ocean. No longer a country from sea to shining sea, Canada would be cut off from the west by an impenetrable bulwark of American land.

Arriving at the technology firm where he worked as a GIS analyst, Josh parked his car in the underground garage and headed up to the twelfth floor via the building elevators.

Greeting his coworkers, they gossiped about the latest developments happening in their

ex-province.

“I’ve heard they’re going to make multi-lane highways all across the province, like they do in Seattle. Imagine, thirteen lanes in downtown Vancouver!”

Another worker expressed her concern over medical care and insurance. “Do you think they’ll implement a privatized insurance and healthcare system as in the other states? I don’t think we can even afford to have a baby! Not to mention the loss of my husband’s pharma care.”

Getting the attention of all the employees, the manager Mike ushered everyone to their workplaces, and went around assigning tasks to each individual and group.

“Josh, we’ve got orders for new updated maps for the new incorporation of BC into the States. The international border will have to be redrawn around Alberta and the Yukon. If you need help, Wendy can assist you in the digitizing and redrawing.”

Grabbing an older topography map of the western part of North America, he took it to the digitizer and began scanning the borders into a shapefile on the server. Making points along the lines on the map, the machine linked the nodes to create lines to represent the borders of the provinces and states. Taking the digitized image file, he opened it up with a GIS software application and began cleaning any overshoots or dangles in the lines drawn. Picking a line style that represents international borders, he formatted the boundaries till the new state of British Columbia was cartographically part of the USA.

Taking a break from his work, he sat at the break room sipping his coffee while watching the news being broadcasted on the television.

Several unions representing nurses, teachers and city workers have protested the scrapping of the deals that were in place with the government. The new BC state is nullifying any agreements with unions and is hiring workers privately despite widespread protests. A spokesperson for the state says that unions are inefficient and an unnecessary cost to society because of their tendency to keep wages sticky; contrary to the flexible wages of a competitive market that prices labour far more accurately to meet demand. The head of the union groups said strike action may be an option if the state does not start conceding to their demands.

Snorting at the plight of the civil workers, a man next to Josh shook his head at the negative portrayal of the state’s position. “They think unions are good for people, but honestly, if we stop overpaying civil servants, that means lower taxes for the rest of us.”

Josh agreed, but admitted he also had dreamed of working in the city. “I’m happy with the pay I have here, but if I had gotten a job as an urban planner, I would have been earning nearly forty dollars an hour with their unionized pay scale.” Having a dreamy look on his face as he imagined having such a high income, the other worker laughed as if he was dreaming the impossible.

Turning back to the television, they were addressing a greater problem facing the rest of Canada.

Officials in Ottawa are debating over how they should deal with BC’s deflection to the USA. Nearly all trade with Asia goes through the ports along BC’s coastline, and now without any access to the Pacific Ocean, Canadian goods have to pass through US territory before embarking for their markets. This could mean trouble for Canada’s sovereignty, as much of her trade is critically dependent upon American permission. The chokehold on Canada may reduce any ability to negotiate with the US on major issues, such as climate change, immigration or tariffs.

Going back to his work, Josh was nearly done when he overheard two employees talking behind his cubicle.

“What do you think about the state’s position on Native American rights? I mean, the US hasn’t had the best reputation in dealing with aboriginal groups. You think they’ll scrap it all and assimilate everyone as they do down south?”

“Yeah, Canada really placed more importance on aboriginal rights than the Americans, and I think you’re right; they might scale back the help given to Native groups in BC. It’s a shame.”

Sending the finalized map to the manager, Josh clocked out and prepared for yet another long drive back home in the rush hour traffic. Listening to the radio, the station was continuing to broadcast woe after woe of the implications of transitioning to a state.

Some proponents of the forestry sector are complaining about the new rules changing the way the lumber market is set up. The state will not grant subsidies by selling forests at too low a rate, thus ensuring that the industry is able to pay for itself at market prices. Studies by the US have shown that subsidies in BC have been as high as twenty-four percent when they sell the timber to be harvested at overly cheap prices.

Arriving back home several hours later, his parents were in the middle of preparing supper and it seemed even grocery shopping became a political reminder of the US takeover.

“The price of eggs, milk and cheese was really, really low, almost as low as when we used to pick it up down at Bellingham.”

Dad peeked over his newspaper to explain why that was; “The state has gotten rid of the quotas and price floors set up by the Canadian government. Without those constraints on supply and price, competition will naturally drive the price down as more suppliers vie for market share.”

Mom smiled at the analytical response from her husband. “Josh, isn’t it wonderful to have a dad that studied economics in school? Ha ha. He even laid out a cost benefit analysis of having a child when we got married!”

Dad folded his hands and shook his head sagely. “If I hadn’t, who knows how many children we would have had; we would have gone bankrupt trying to feed the whole lot!”

“Well, it was nice that we had Josh and his sister, though at some times I wished for a third child.”

“We can still try for another one honey!”

“Ha ha, no, no, I’m far too old now dear. Josh put your stuff away and dinner will be ready in a short while alright?”

Changing into a loose hoodie and worn-out jeans, he rushed downstairs just as mom was about to set the food on the table. With succulent looking ribs, barbeque sauce, and a coleslaw to go with it, he couldn’t wait to dive in and eat. As mom finished setting the last dish, they all started on dinner and once again, continued the conversation about the transition to the US.

“So, I guess we’ll no longer celebrate Canada day and replace it with Independence Day?”

“Thanksgiving will be on a different month as well, a lot later than our Canadian one. Perhaps Black Friday will be more popular here now with the long weekend matching the date.”

“Looks like I’ll have to wait to get my new glasses, my disability benefits were slashed. We’re glad you’re helping with the rent Josh, otherwise I’d be letting you guys down.”

Patting her husband’s hand, mom reassured him things would be alright. “There, there. You’re making an effort to try at least. That’s better than not doing anything at all.”

“Yes, but it seems like you guys are pulling most of the weight…I just feel…useless.”

“Dad, don’t worry, as long as I’m still your son, you guys won’t have to worry about having a roof over your head. I’ll be sure of that!”

Laying on his bed thinking, Josh’s mind was filled with questions, questions about taxes, welfare, the economy and the environment. How will merging with the US impact all these areas of life and how will they differ from the Canadian rules and policies they had grown used to. Everything they had grown up learning may, or already have, changed to the American dream, which most people sought so hard to achieve. Yet somehow, the last vestiges of Canadian culture and rules seemed dear to his heart, and the values that he upheld as a Canadian were just as important to him as they were before the transition.

Driving to work the next day, the bumper sticker on the car in front of him caught his eye.

I am British Columbian, not American.

He thought how crazy it was that the slightest change in their so-called labels could create such a backlash and rebellious dissent. He realized that people’s labels play a part in determining who they are, and that some of these labels depends on place; the location where they lived physically. Therefore, living either above or below the forty-ninth parallel will determine the citizenship of a person, and hence, their access to the benefits and challenges of the country they live in.

Travelling along Highway One, the line of cars foretold the traffic jam up ahead, and although Josh left early to deal with the morning rush, something bigger was happening today, as traffic slowed to a crawl. Turning on the radio, he set it to the news and traffic channel to see what was going on.

Anti-American protestors are blocking Highway One, causing huge congestion and stranding thousands of drivers heading in and out of the downtown core. Waving Canadian flags and forming a human chain across the road, nearly fifty people have joined together in the protest and it looks like the police will have to deal with the group before cars can start moving again.

Calling his boss to tell him that he’ll be late due to the traffic, Josh rolled down his window and basked his arm in the summer sun, with the fans blowing full blast into his face. Nearly two hours later, the blockade had been dismantled and slowly but surely the line of cars began moving forward again.

Arriving at his workplace, he noticed there was a growing crowd of employees in the break room watching the television screen. Dropping his bags and thermos on his desk, he joined the group and asked what was going on.

“Some vigilante nationalists are fighting with the police near Granville Island. They call themselves the KBCC, or Keep British Columbia Canadian. There probably won’t be much of them left by morning.”

Watching the images of masked figures throwing Molotov cocktails at riot police, Josh wondered how many were out there who dissented to joining the Americans. How many, would be wiling to fight for their Canadian citizenship and would they risk their lives to protect that heritage?

Walking back to his cubicle as the manager dispersed the crowd to get on with their work, he started on the newest project their firm had won a contract for. The Electoral College would be dividing up BC into electoral districts and needed maps to work with when an election occurs. Rather than using the electoral districts used by Canada, Josh noticed that much of the shapes of the new districts looked thin and snake-like, a case and point of gerrymandering. Looking at some of the worst looking districts, he wondered what the Electoral College was trying to achieve, and whether their practice was fair to British Columbians. By some weird, absurd decision, one district connected the city of White Rock with a part of Delta, crossing through South Surrey, hugging the coastline. Another joined a section of North Vancouver with a part of downtown Vancouver, with the district including the waters of Burrard Inlet. But despite the strange looking shapes, Josh wasn’t complaining as he was getting paid good money to digitally map the entire province.

Walking by the supervisor’s office, he overheard him conversing with another manager. “Transferring the workload to the contractor in San Francisco will save on our bottom line, but are you sure you want to lay off our staff?”

“There’s no question about it, in the end it saves money so we’ll go ahead with—err hi Josh! Can we help you?”

Awkwardly shuffling his feet to act like he didn’t hear anything, he quickly backtracked and told them it was unimportant and that he would see them after.

Tapping the shoulder of the man working next to him, he whispered in a hushed tone, “Yo, Eric, I overheard the boss talking about laying off the staff. They’re going to contract out the work to some firm in California.”

“You’re joking right? Let’s hope you just misheard them cause I can’t afford to lose my job. I’ve got bills to pay, mouths to feed.”

“I know man. I have dependents too. My parents rely on me to pay for rent.”

“Man, this transition to the States is getting worse and worse.” Shaking his head solemnly, he got back to his work, but with a newly worried expression on his face.

Within a few days, nearly every employee had heard the rumours circulating around and everyone was dreading the thought of losing their jobs. By the end of the week, their worst fears were confirmed, as nearly every employee was given two weeks of work before being forced to leave the company.

Upon hearing the news, Josh’s parents were worried, and with good reason. Without their son’s payments, they would not be able to afford the rent and expenses only with dad’s disability income. Reassuring his parents that he’ll find another job, he masked his worry and anxiety with a smile, trying to keep mom and dad calm. But searching on the job banks for nearly several weeks, it seemed no firms were hiring as they were all contracting out the work to cheaper

subcontractors in the southern Silicon Valley.

After a month of job searching, something in Josh’s mind snapped, and he was filled with anger and disgust at the government for wrecking their beloved province. Donning a black hoodie, track pants and mask, he drove to downtown Vancouver’s art gallery and joined hundreds of protestors revolting against the government. Adding his cheers to the crowd, the mob suddenly began moving towards the line of riot police, as if provoking the authorities to react. As the people started pushing at the shields, the police line pushed back, and began pulling individuals behind the line and arresting them. Shooting rubber bullets into the relatively unprotected crowd, panic began to set in and the mob rushed to run away, crushing several people in the stampede, including Josh. Having tripped on a rock, he was fatally injured by the hundreds of feet stepping on his body unintentionally. When the paramedics reached him, he was already gone, and there was nothing they could do except take him away to the morgue.

At the hospital, his parents were confirming the identity of the body, and when they revealed Josh’s bruised face under the covers, they both broke out crying as they realized their son was dead. Ushered out of the morgue and taken to a grief counsellor, they expressed their thanks for the comfort and went to the lobby to watch the unfolding news.

A mob of hundreds of protestors clashed with police in downtown Vancouver, and the retaliation by police caused several stampedes, injuring seven and killing at least one protestor. Critics are questioning the response by police and if the casualties could have been prevented. It seems that dissent with joining the US is stronger than first anticipated, and it may be weeks, months, and even years before residents of BC will be accustomed to their new federal government. As a glimmer of hope for a peaceful transition, the Vancouver hockey team sang the American anthem for the first time at their home ice game, showing solidarity with their fellow loyal American BC residents. British Columbia may no longer be part of the True North, but are now, the home of the brave.

The End