Radio Canada

I listen to the radio when I’m in the car. Sometimes I listen to music, but mostly I listen to CBC. For the past few months though, I’ve been listening to Radio Canada (CBC French) instead.

It’s been a very enjoyable experience; in part it’s also been a look at Vancouver from a minority point of view. Although I am of a francophone background, I take my ability to speak French for granted; it’s only when I encounter certain cultural markers that I’m sharply reminded that I grew up different than most of my friends and colleagues. Radio Canada has, in some very comforting ways, linked me back to my own Canadian cultural roots. The music they play is entertaining too.

As their “centre of the universe” is Montreal instead of Toronto and much of their international news items are from France Inter rather than the usual culprits (by which I mean CNN and the BBC), it has a different perspective on the world. As an aside, listening in this morning during my commute, I heard that today is the 100^th anniversary of the laïcité law in France officially marking the separation of church and state.

I’m sure at some point I’ll get tired of listening to Radio Canada and switch to another station for a while, but it’s nice to have Radio Canada 97.7FM on the air.