Later today, Sheena and I embark on a VIA-Rail journey that will extend from ocean to ocean, Pacific to Atlantic, Toronto to Vancouver to Halifax. The above photo, shot a couple of weeks back, finds us on the east coast of Orkney with the North Sea behind us. But the North Sea adjoins the Atlantic, and that is good enough for me.  Besides, the alternative was an image of our departure point, the construction zone that is

Toronto’s Union Station. So I opted for metaphorical truth.

As you can see, our bags are packed and, oh look, how did that get there? We’re heading out across the country to promote 50 Canadians Who Changed the World, which will start turning up in bookstores next week. Yes, Alice Munro is in the book. So are David Suzuki, Naomi Klein, Marshall McLuhan, Irshad Manji, Wayne Gretzky, Samantha Nutt, and a host of other Canadian world-beaters. We’re talking cutting-edge Canada. And we’re on our way.