by MATTHEW HAYS

When filmmaker Albert Nerenberg’s latest documentary, Escape to Canada, premiered as part of the inaugural edition of the New Montreal FilmFest in September, audiences lapped up the film’s gonzo approach to political and social changes in the country.

In the film, Nerenberg talks about two shifts in Canadian law, both of which occurred at approximately the same time, the summer of 2003. At this point, provincial courts began to rule that denying same-sex couples marriage licences was, in fact, unconstitutional, and thus gays and lesbians began to get married. At the same time, the country appeared to be moving towards decriminalizing marijuana.

It was a funny film, in that Escape to Canada showed us how much of the international media was celebrating Canada as a cool country, one that stood in stark contrast to George W. Bush’s backward, ultra-conservative America. Many Americans were looking to bail on their increasingly hostile country and join the Canadian ranks.

How things change in a mere few months. Gone are the Liberals, after a scandal-weary public turned on their 12-year-plus rule. Now we have a Conservative Prime Minister (albeit in a minority government). Goodbye Kyoto. New deals with Canada’s aboriginals and province-specific deals in regards to childcare are threatened. Don’t expect any relaxing of marijuana laws now. And Harper supported the invasion of Iraq when Bush first initiated it. And same-sex marriage? Harper has promised to reopen the issue.

Thus the experience of watching Escape to Canada now becomes something quite different. It’s still a very funny movie, typical of Nerenberg’s fast-paced, action-packed, frenetic style. But it now prompts the question: Was Canada’s stepping out of its repressed, polite shell, was its sudden new brave face of nonconformity, its break with tradition as a dreary, polite little country that wore beige, simply a blip in the history books?

Only time will tell. But while Escape to Canada has undoubtedly shifted in audience reception, it remains well worth seeing. In particular, Nerenberg’s depiction of the influence of American lobby groups on a number of these national debates is chilling. In best political-movie style, Nerenberg scares us while making us laugh at the same time.

Escape to Canada opens at Cinéma du Parc Friday, Feb. 17

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