About Vancouver and Canda

[Note: This material is based heavily upon the Whitewolf Game Supplement: Dark Alliance Vancouver. I extend my thanks to Whitewolf Game Studios. Aaron was a consultant from Canada. Thanks!!]

First off, Vancouver is in Canada. That is, NOT America. Although Canada *is* heavily influnced by American culture, its cities remain distictly different from those in the United States.

Chief differences between American and Canada:

Government is essencially a socialist nation. Health care is nationalized; the government pays for it, in turn, everybody pays the government a premium based upon their income. Income Tax is higher than in the U.S.A.

[aaron]
hmmm... socialist... hmm. well, i guess it probably does look like that doesn't it. this is still a hot potato up here. But for American purposes, yeah.. Democratic socialist works pretty well. That's not to say free enterprise isn't applauded, but the average citizen embraces capitalism somewhat less than our neighbours to the South. (of course, everything is a matter of perception).

Canada is part of the British Commonwealth.

[aaron]
Elected Parliament, Head of Government is the Leader of the Majority Party. Which means we really don't get to vote on our Prime Minister, just the party. Governor-General is Official Head of State but remains only as custom and has no power save giving out medals and christening ships. PrimeMinister runs the gov't. And of course, Elizabeth II is Queen of Canada, too. But she has no authority whatsoever. We remain a Consitutional Monarch out of tradition, nothing else.

Although both nations use the dollar as unit of currency, the American dollar is worth slightly more than the Canadian dollar. Like, say, 20 cents more.

[aaron]
30 cents more - it's been a bad year for the Loonie. (that's what the dollar is called. The Loonie. One more quaint difference, eh? Money is also multicoloured so we don't have to look at the numbers. I hate handing out a $20 in the States, thinking it's a $10. Loonie coins, Twoonie coins, blue fives, purple tens, green twenties, red fifties, brown hundreds.

The law is different in Canada. For one thing, firearms are strictly regulated. Her citizen's don't use guns to solve their problems for the most part. Owning a rifle requires a licence granted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP, "mounties"). Most families do not possess firearms, if they do, they are limited to hunting rifles or shotguns.

[aaron] how interesting, particularly given that i'm in law school right now. i'll give you the scoop. Law isn't that different... the principles are the same but the US Bill of Rights does protect a few more freedoms than the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Meaning... there is no 5th Amendment. There is no Right to Bear Arms. But Due Process remains the same.

Correct... guns are not used to solve problems, except within the appropriate sector of society. Guns are remarkably uncommon in urban centres, more so in the rural areas. Handguns are non-existant and illegal.

New Anti-Firearm legislation goes into effect next month, so assume that it already has. Highly controversial. Every weapon must be registered by RCMP. Handguns are strictly forbidden, with the exception of target shooters and deputised officers. ALL GUNS must be locked down at all times other than use.

Handguns ring very discordantly with the RCMP. Without extensive papers and a *very* good reason, the punishment for possessing a handgun is a very heafty fine, loss of the firearm and possibly jailtime. And, yes, bringing firearms into the country is illegal as well.

[aaron]
See above. There are NO GOOD REASONS for possessing a handgun. Papers are incredibly hard to come by. Possession, transportation, or selling of handguns will get you an easy 5-10 yrs.

However... given the great intolerance of Western Canada to the central gov't, *illegal* handguns are quite easy to come by... contact the nearest criminal element or the nearest disgruntled hunter's association.

Those who enforce the law are the local police and the RCMP. The Mounties have for the most part traded their horses for car, cars which have been modified to outrun and out maneuver anything on the road they might encounter.

[aaron]
yes. RCMP chasers are souped up Ford Mustangs, or better. The Mounties always get their man in a car chase. Even if it takes 4-5 hours.

The RCMP *do* carry handguns and have access to (and will use) rifles, automatic weapons, and grenades. And, police response to firearms tends to be rather extreme.

[aaron]
yes. very extreme. Auto weapons are only in possession of the EmergResponse teams though. Regular cops have sidearm and shotgun in the trunk.

Canada does NOT want the violence in its country to escalate to even near that of the United States.

The jurisdiction of the RCMP is *everywhere*. Unlike the American FBI, the RCMP have much fewer restrictions on what they an do, and often get involved with activities on the local level.

[aaron]
Depends. RCMP have juris over federal crimes like FBI, which includes drugs, guns, conspiracy, crimes which cross borders, sedition, hate crimes, etc. Urban police forces have juris in the cities... Van has the Greater Vancouver Metropolitan Police Force. The RCMP still works in the city, and co-operates closely with the regular service. However, once you get outside an urban area .... RCMP control everything. Generally very friendly and polite.. and yes, they all speak both English and French.

And that's fine. Crime in Canada is much more under-wraps, underground, and is generally less violent. Fewer muggings, more break-ins. Assault is with bottle, knives and clubs, rather than hand-guns. Drive-by shootings are a rarity and for the most part even the drug lords seem to live in uncomfortable peace rather than open warfare.

[aaron]
This country loves knives for reasons i don't yet understand.

The Weather in Vancouver
Imagine it's England but with nice beaches to use when the sun comes out. There are 4 seasons in Van. - Rain, Rain, Rain, Summer. Of course, it rains in the summer, too, but that rain is nice rain. Warm, no winter to speak of, rain, luscious greenery year-round. If it's April in Vancouver, you've managed to completely encompass the third Rain season, cuz summer starts in May.