Violence and sexism greet us on our entry back to Saskatchewan

Canadians put on a good front. Friendly, peace-loving, gentle. That’s what they want the rest of the world to think.

A few minutes with Linda and Bev, who run the Saskatchewan Welcome Centre on Highway 1, tell a different story.

To the untrained eye, Bev and Linda are the epitome of welcoming. Their genuine friendly attitudes hide secrets held for centuries here in the praries.

As Linda described the place where the government “negotiated” Sitting Bull’s exit back to Montana, I mentioned it sounded like he was kicked out of the country, plain and simple.

We learned of a massacre which took place In Cypress Hills in the 1800s. Our hosts blamed it on Americans who, they alledged, snuck into the country from Montana. Mighty convenient, if you ask me.

And try to decypher the signs on the restrooms.

I must have stood there for a full minute, making sure that was a man on the door. Finally, I walked over to the other door, separated by a wall, and peered at the sgn there:

I asked Bev and Linda how often they work dresses to work. They don’t. I feel there’s a bit of confusion concerning assumptions surrounding gender-appropriate signage in Canada.