Thomas King’s short story “Borders” takes place at the American-Canadian border in Coutt. Narrated by a young boy, the story is about a proud Native Mother from Blackfoot who is traveling with him to visit his sister in Salt Lake City, USA. At the US border the mother refuses to identify her citizenship as either American or Canadian. Eventually the US border agents decline their entry and send them back to Canada. When they get to the Canadian borders, the exact scenario occurs and are denied entry. This leads them to sleep the night in their car at the duty free located between the borders. They try once more the next day, only to get denied again. The cashier at the duty free shop tips off the media about this situation and caused a scene the following day. Reporters interviewed the mother. Proceeding the interview they were able to cross the borders declaring Blackfoot as their citizenship.

The narrator’s mother insists on her national identity is Blackfoot. Her point reveals that national identity is complex and that the Blackfoot are a nation with the same status as Canada and the United States. For this reason she will not state that she is either American or Canadian. The mother teaches her son the importance of knowing where on comes from by displaying determination and her pride in being Blackfoot.

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Mistry’s story exposes the cultural difficulties that immigrants face in Canada. Obstacles are extend into their personal and private lives, making the simplest of tasks trivial. Mistry uses humour to display Sarosh’s battle with his integration, by blaming his inability to defecate in the ‘Canadian’ way. Sarosh is pressured to change himself and feels excluded from Canadian society because of his method when using the toilet. Canada’s adaption to multiculturalism is questioned when Bombay’s hotels are compared by having both options of toilets and when the CNI procedure was suggested. Ironically, the CNI implantation procedure “was developed with financial assista