I’m feeling a little like the brother in a brother/sister sibling rivalry these days. For those out there who perhaps didn’t have siblings or even if you did, they were of the same gender, there is nothing quite the same as the rivalry between a brother and a sister.
It starts at a young age. I liked to play in the dirt. My sister? Not so much. Because of this difference, I sought out others who, like myself, liked to play in the dirt. My sister sought out companions who liked to help her annoy me and my friends.
As we grew older, there were times my friends and I actually didn’t mind some of her friends. That did not bode well with her and a few of her other friends. Thus began a couple of years where we were kept from fraternizing with the enemy camp for fear of ‘catching cooties.’ I never did find out exactly what cooties were, but we young boys were just as sure the young ladies had them as they were that we had them.
Thus, the fear of catching each other's cooties kept us apart.
There were times we would join forces, however. It would be OK for me to push my sister, but by golly, if somebody else pushed her, they had to deal with me. She had lines she wouldn’t allow anyone to cross as well. After all, cooties aside, family is still family.
I can't help but see a parallel in the dynamics between British Columbia and Alberta. B.C. has always touted itself as ‘Beautiful.’ Canada's westernmost province has always been sugar and spice and wilderness that’s nice. They have always considered us the snakes and snails and oil by rail as well as a lot of other undesirable traits.
But both provinces are part of the Canadian family. We have been known to assist each other in times of disaster, whether it's battling forest fires or floods. We’ve supported each other as Olympic Games hosts. But there has always been that underlying disdain that can only be likened to a brother/sister rivalry.
We don’t always share nice with each other. Past B.C. provincial governments have tried to make arguments they are entitled to some of the prosperity Alberta has enjoyed from fossil fuel extraction. Perhaps if we had shared more back then, B.C. wouldn’t be so adamant these days about preventing us from further prospering via a pipeline to the west coast today. Both believe the other is wrong.
I think the sibling rivalry has been made clearly visible with the most recent closure of the border between our two provinces. Prior to the pandemic, I don’t recall any other time in the history of our nation that we were forbidden to travel within our own country. Why, you ask?
Well, it seems that COVID-19 numbers are spiking. B.C. believes we are spreading the virus and we, in turn, believe it’s British Columbians spreading it. After all, Alberta is landlocked, whereas B.C. has foreign ships arriving daily. Where else would these foreign variants of concern be coming from?
Neither province has proof the other is the cause of increased cases, but both assure their own side that the other must be kept away.
I can’t help but think it’s the whole ‘cootie’ issue of my childhood being relived. How long do you think it will keep us apart this time?
