Sheilagh Ogilvie: belief

Transcript context

…What’s the future of Canada? Probably not as the 51st state. [laughter] I remember in the ’70s, Canadian literature writers and pointy heads in Canada were always lamenting that there wasn’t enough of a Canadian identity. I, as a teenager, felt I and everyone else who was Canadian knew perfectly well what it meant to be Canadian. We didn’t really need to lament not having an identity, so I don’t really feel that the Canadian identity is somehow at risk. I think there are ways in which Canada could improve. I think the trade barriers between the provinces are a bad thing. I think there are various cartels that aren’t a great thing. But overall, I sense that Canada works pretty well. I wouldn’t defend to the death every single way that Canada currently works, but I don’t feel that it is about to dissolve in any way. Before my last question, let me just plug your new book again. It’s called Controlling Contagion: Epidemics and Institutions from the Black Death to Covid. I believe it is the very best book on those topics.…

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