Beta'd by The Dangerous One!

The Meeting!

~Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada~

It was a misty morning in downtown Halifax, the fog thinning however as the clouds parted for the sun's rays to peak through. People bustled along in cars and some on the sidewalks, used to such mornings. Employees of a corner Tim Hortons filled their customer's orders as quickly as possible, the smell of pastries and coffee mixing with the scents of gasoline, dampness and saltiness of the sea. Across the street from said Tim Hortons, in a tall building with large windows reflecting the cloudy sky, there were national meetings going on: One room was filled with middle aged premiers and the Canadian Prime Minister debating on national issues. In a room across on the left, also occupied with suited delegates, had their own... Interesting discussions.

"Okay, everyone!" Canada said, as loudly as he could. With only fourteen people seated around the table-including him-he shouldn't have needed to be loud. However, if one were to attend this national meeting, it would be easy to see why one needed to shout. Canada's provinces and territories were too busy arguing with each other. Matthew had been asking them to calm down for half an hour now, and was starting to get irritated. The fact that America babbled to him on the phone about a scary zombie movie for half the night didn't help. Clearing his throat, Matthew took in a deep breath and...

"EVERYONE!"

Everyone quieted down to look at the end of the table. Ontario, the one who decided to yell right before Canada, glared at everyone before turning to him.

"...T-thank you, Ontario..." The Canadian stammered before speaking to the rest. "Ahem... The reason I decided to hold our summit a little early than scheduled was due to painters coming in to paint this room next week. I'm sorry if it interfered with any of your activities." There was a quiet murmur before Canada continued. "...But now we must get on topic...Uh, what was it again?"

Ontario, as usual, was quick to speak up first.

"Well, my topics are the forest fires that have been happening, as well as the 'Manhattannization' going on in Toronto. Being a single woman, I'm alright with only a one-bedroom-plus-den condo, but how can growing families deal with such a small space? Furthermore-"

"Tu parles plus trop [You talk too much]." Quebec interrupted with an annoyed look on his face. "Nous avons des problemes aussi [We have problems as well]." Opening his own folder, he cleared his throat. "I'm still not happy over dose laws abowt raising de college tuitions, as well as de laws stopping people from protesting."

"Waddaya gonna do, b'ye?" Newfoundland asked, donning a sly smile. "Go off in yer buff 'gain?" The Newfie and the maritime provinces started laughing.

"If it will set tings right..." The Quebecois mumbled, wishing for a break so he could get a smoke. The sound of someone clearing their throat caused everyone to turn to British Columbia, who seemed serious and not high, although there was the usual faint smell of some exotic herb coming from him.

"I'd like to talk about the Northern Gateway pipeline." He paused, taking a breath before continuing. "Me and my premier Mrs. Clark will only accept it if our demands are met, such as strict oil-spill response systems, protection of Aboriginal rights, and more economic benefits for me."

"But it is safe!" Alberta yelled, standing up from the other side of the table.

"Despite Embridge having a track record of over 800 spills in the last decade?" British Columbia shot back with a raised eyebrow.

"T-that's..."

"It won't be allowed until my demands are met, so there!" BC stated, meeting Alberta's glare with his own. Saskatchewan stood up, hands pressed together, almost like in prayer.

"C-come on, now. I know this is a... Well, a big issue, but-" sadly she was interrupted.

"Speakinna which," Nova Scotia spoke up. "Me an' my bros are still 'gainst any oil 'r gas drillin' in ar homes. We like ar fresh wada as is, merci buckets!" The Scotian smirked, the faded scars on her left cheek and forehead prominent in the synthetic lighting. Prince Edward Island sat beside her, with a gentle smile and a far-away look on his face.

"It's 'Merci Beaucoup'..." New Brunswick quietly corrected from her right, chancing a glance at Quebec, who looked rather annoyed from Nova Scotia's mispronunciation. Why does Scotia like tickin' Québec off like tha'? The Brunswicker gave a soft sigh as Nova Scotia ignored him while Quebec chided her.

"There's been another shooting in Kimmirut again." Nunavut said, the young teen deciding to contribute to the meeting. Northwest Territory followed.

"People have been setting up homes without talking to my government about it... They will get in trouble if they don't comply..."

"Someone's been vandalizing cars by a mosque in Winnipeg!" Manitoba said.

"Greedy cowboy!" BC shouted.

"Granola head!" Alberta shot back.

"Hey!" Everyone- BC and Alberta, who looked like they were about to fight, Saskatchewan trying to stop them, Manitoba stoically watching the fight, Ontario trying to get Canada to do something about the two provinces, Canada trying to do something about the two provinces, the Maritimes (mostly Nova Scotia) were arguing with Quebec about 'proper' French, Newfoundland was bugging Quebec about some Hydro-dam project, and finally NWT was trying to cheer up Nunavut- all immediately looked to Yukon. "This is getting us nowhere fast! I say we all sit down, get our facts together and talk. There will be no interrupting, name calling, or slandering of any kind! Now, if anyone wishes to say anything, please raise your hand."

A few seconds went by before a hand shot up on the other side of the table.

"You have something to say, Prince Edward Island?" Canada asked, glancing to the Islander.

Prince Edward Island, or just PEI, a rather attractive young man with bright red hair, an odd fly-away curl, and a friendly smile, leaned into the microphone...

And pulled out a potato from his pocket before shouting:

"PATADOES!"

[A/N- I'll be doing a series about my OCs of Canada's provinces and territories, though they'll mostly center around the Maritimes (hence the title). This is just the introduction chapter. Yes, half of this intro I stole from the first episode of Hetalia. Hopefully some of the stuff I added into this part will make up for it... Oh, and please review! I'm a bit of an amateur at writing, so I'll need all the help I can get!

Nova Scotia can speak French. She's actually quite fluent, though I imagine she'll sometimes 'accidentally' mispronounce things, specially around Quebec hehe.

Some of the issues mentioned:

Ontario: There was some forest fires in Northern Ontario (I've kinda been imagening 'Tari's head on fire...), enough that there were evacuations for the communities up there.

The 'Manhattannization' (Man-hat-tan-ni-za-tion) thing: in big(ger) cities like New York City and Seoul, most people live in small condos. Toronto is not at that level yet, but there's been some news coverage about it, so I guess it's somewhat important...

Newfie slang: Go off in yer buff= (Get) naked. B'ye= Boy, but here in Atlantic Canada, you're most likely to hear it pronounced as 'bye'. I briefly mentioned something about a Hydro-dam Project. It's going on between NFLD and Quebec. Basically, NFLD got screwed over in the contract, and can't really change anything for awhile...

Quebec: Earlier this year (2012), the government of Quebec decided to raise tuitions of colleges and universities. There were quite a few protests, most being students. I remember seeing one article where the protesters actually striped down to their underwear! Wow Quebec... Just wow...

B.C, Alberta, and the Embridge Northern Gateway Pipeline: B.C kind of explained it, but anyway, a company called Embridge in Alberta wants to build a pipeline to transport oil. The pipe ends in B.C. B.C's Premier, Christy Clark, is not interested in the pipe, at least until certain demands are met (the ones stated above, for example). I recently signed a petition against it. It sounds fearfully high risk, especially with Embrige's oil-spill record.

The Maritimes: There's been a Shale Gas debate going on since around the end of 2011... Well, that's when I first heard about it, so probably sometime before that. I haven't heard much recently, but everytime I see a paper, there's some article about the debate. Most Maritimers are against it.

Nunavut: In Kimmirut, there's been 8 shootings that have happened in a short time. No victims in the latest one, but in a shooting in 2007, an RCMP (Mountie) got killed.

Northwest Territories: People have been setting up homes without authorization (around 200 unathorized homes so far). The government wants to take legal action.

Manitoba: A mosque is a Muslim church. Most suspect it's a hate crime, at least 10 cars have been vandalized.]