September 11

I was at work at the Ottawa Hospital (Hematopathology Division, Civic Campus) when the first plane hit the World Trade Centre on 9/11. I had just heard from someone else and brought it up on the computer. All the large hospitals (including in Canada) within close flying distance of New York City went on disaster alert in case we were needed to help out. I still think for us the not needing us to look after wounded was perhaps the most profound memory from that day. At that time the thought was that 50 thousand people had died. Although fewer did die, the shock of that day remains. The United States shut down their airspace but we kept ours open as there were so many planes headed to the United States who had passed the point of no return over both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The rest is history as our much smaller airports landed all those planes (except the ones that went to Mexico) filling up the runways in all of the major airports. With the land border closed as well, 50,000 Americans had to make their home with us for the next week until the American land borders opened to welcome her citizens back home again. 

What we most felt was sorrow for our friend and neighbour to the south but also the need to help them get through this most dreadful happening. 

Coronavirus is this generations catastrophic event in the United States. Over 190,000 Americans dead of COVID-19 and approaching 6.5 million cases. This time we cannot help in the same way except to keep the trade flowing between our two countries; to help keep ourselves working on both sides of the border. We are so intertwined in trade and for us our food supply is dependent on the American fresh produce that will soon start to cross our borders in huge quantities once again as the winter cold and snows descend. The inventions of hydrophonic growth chambers does help us but the millions of tons of food that go to Montreal and Toronto and Ottawa in the eastern end of Canada throughout the winter months can not be replaced by hydroponics yet. We would have to go back to our staples of cabbage, carrots and onions which we do store in huge quantities if our trade lines fail.