Canadians: Is what the Seattle Times says about your country true?

[JailBush]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2001812740_meeks12.html

Friday, December 12, 2003 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.

Guest columnist
Think Canada's the place to be? Think again

By Jennifer Meeks
Special to The Times

The author says "Fifty percent of the Canadian paycheck goes to taxes," largely to fund Canada's bilingual programs. (She says visitors see lots of rusted cars up North, because Canadians can't afford new cars.) Also, it's very hard to find a job - especially if you don't speak fluent French, and the pay sucks. Health care is free, but it sucks, too.

Here's where it gets really suspicious:

"Our standard of living is beyond what we could have ever achieved in a lifetime living in Canada. Our relatives can't believe how well average, middle-class Americans live. Our son, who has a learning disability, is getting the best education ever in an American public school."

Reality Check: There are no good public schools in Seattle, where this woman lives. There are schools that may appear good, superficially, but they all suck. In fact, Seattle has the smallest per capita enrollment in public education than any other large city in the U.S. except possibly Honolulu.

"Meanwhile, it is the norm for Canadian schools to have at least 40 kids per class — that is, if the teachers are not on strike."

Do Canadian teachers really go on strike a lot? If so, good for them!

"Speaking of strikes. There are a lot of unhappy workers in Canada. I remember one summer when the bus drivers, postal workers, movie projectionists and government workers were all on strike."

Hmmmmm... one almost never hears about workers going on strike in the U.S. I wonder why?

"Hospitals are miserable. There are long waiting lists for the most basic treatments and operations. When we went to an American hospital, it was like entering a five-star hotel. I hear Americans complain about the cost of medical bills but I would rather my child be alive and have a bill to pay than to be dead at no charge."

The sh*t gets deep again:

"Political oppression — Imagine an American president and one political party in power for over 10 years. That's what's happened in Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's regime has been in control for more than a decade and the average Canadian is fed up and glad to see him go. Even then, it was his decision to allow an election. Hopefully, Canada will be able to make amends and repair its relationship with the U.S."

Canadians need to make amends???

And here's a weird comment: "Living in Canada made me feel like a barn animal in George Orwell's "Animal Farm." My only worry is that someday the United States will resemble Canada. Sort of like one giant Seattle. That would be my nightmare."

It sounds like she LOVES Seattle, yet she compares Canada - which she obviously hates - to "one giant Seattle"???

The Seattle Times is as notoriously deranged as it is corrupt, but there must be SOME truth to this woman's comments, eh?

[J B]

1. Most govt money goes to health care, education, debt and pensions

Bilingualism is a tiny tiny fraction.

[regnaD kciN]

2. I'm not a Canadian, but...

...as someone currently subscribing to the Times (at least until the Tacoma News-Tribune gets off its duff and starts providing subscription service here), I can only ask "Is what the Seattle Times says about anything true???" Haven't seen anything in favor yet...

:eyes:

[Ekova]

3. Uh...................no.

Okay, I just finished writing all this down and realised I've written a small novel. All apologies, feel free to make such comments as: Geez, if I wanted War and Peace...

I'll try to keep an even keel as I respond to each of her points. (apologies for the sanitized swearing).

Brain Drain - some of it is true. The Canadian gov't does regulate such things how many doctors can set up shop in certain areas. If say, Hamilton, Ontario has an acceptable number of doctors in hospitals and in private practices you can't open up another. That's not to say that you can't move somewhere where there is a need and open up a practice. I know of one doctor personally that wanted to open a private practice in Niagara Falls and couldn't - he put out feelers and was flown to Texas, B.C., Alberta and Albany for interviews and to see what it would take to start something. Went to Albany for the money.

Taxes - Don't let her fool you, most of the cars on the road are new/newer. Last time I looked it cost about $4 per day to drive a Protege 5 or a Sunfire or Saturn. 50% of our paycheque (paycheck...hmm) does go to the government.... if you make over $350,000.00 per year. The 15% at the cash register breaks down to the Goods and Services Tax and the Privincial Tax at 8% and 7% respectively (or visa versa, doesn't matter in this context). New Brunswick has the H.S.T (Harmonized Sales Tax) which is 16% last time I looked. Like any tax, they were supposed to be temporary and ended up sticking around. As for the middle class - apparently I am the few and the proud that survived being taxed out of existence. (Note: the middle class drives Canada). Once we get to Health Care we'll visit taxes again.

Official Bilingualism - note that she didn't actually state whether her fluently bilingual husband actually interviewed for a bilingual position. In Ottawa and surrounding areas, everything is bilingual because it has to be. It's on the border with Quebec, I mean, c'mon now. There are some issues around some of the legislation and the relationship Quebec has with the rest of Canada but that's the nature of our world, you can't keep everybody happy all the time. Two years ago I lived in Ottawa and I will agree it is harder to find a $50,000/year job if you're not bilingual. I can't speak French at all and I landed a job at the National Research Council of Canada, along with my ex-girlfriend who is considered low level bilingual - she is very good at her job (HR generalist taking care of around 15,000 government employees, with help of course). Maybe Meeks' husband got turned down for a job and she hasn't stopped peeing herself about it. Who knows. You don't have to be fluently bilingual in French and English to get a job at an accounting firm in Saskatchewan or, for that matter, in Kingston which is a mere 3 hour drive away. She's generalizing and being somewhat irresponsible. Most government jobs require a certain level of bilingualism - whether it's French in Ontario and Quebec or Mandarin Chinese in British Columbia...it makes sense seeing as how not everbody can understand sign language.

Employment - I have never been unemployed, because when I didn't have a job I made it my 9 to 5 job to find employment. There are plenty of jobs in Canada, like the States, you have to work a little harder to get the higher paying work. If you don't have a job, walk into any government building, say "I'm looking for work" and they'll provide you with about 400 options to help you get one. Regarding strikes, yes they happened. Canada survived the movie projectionists walk out, albeit barely - a huge black hole opened up in Toronto on Younge Street and started sucking movie stars in...they totally caved and went back to work when they heard Sean Connery was being whooshed across the pond with his dinner napkin still tucked in his shirt.

Health Care - first off, the quality is just fine. When you're not feeling good and you have to wait, 5 minutes feels like 3 hours, 3 hours feels like a day. I waited at various points and I must say this: I took my friend to Emergency with a broken neck, he didn't have to wait. Another friend had a valve replaced in his heart, he didn't have to wait. I broke my arm, I had to wait. I'm glad that the "exhorbitant" taxes that I pay meant I didn't walk out of the hospital with a cast and a bill for $600. Any tax money that I pay towards the hospitals that I don't use I am more than happy to donate to my two friends and any other stranger that needs it more than me. I will say this though, nurses are not given the respect they deserve, the money they should get nor the time off they need. The Canadian system runs them ragged and it's really unfortunate that it continues to happen. It's certainly speaks to the character and the level of compassion nurses exhibit on a daily basis.

Political Opression - pardon me but f*ck you, oh divine Ms. Meeks. No government is perfect, certainly not Canada's. Jean Chretien has pissed me off greatly over the years, but he's done alright. At least he didn't sell parts of Canada out from under us to the States like the immortal conservative Brian Mulroney did. Provincially in Ontario and nationally ten years ago our DEMOCRATIC system gave the Progressive Conservative Party the biggest shit kicking you could possibly give them. The voting public said f*ck you and the PC's went crashing out. You'll have to forgive Jennifer, but could you please not refer our system as a "regime". I only say this because we have fresh water, old growth forests, oil, space and an emerging diamond industry that's been compared to the Kimberly Mines in S. Africa and we all know how * views regimes with resources he can steal. Especially now since he can't seem to understand that Canada's role in the international community isn't to applaud every move the Stateside puppet government makes.

On Starbucks vs. Tim Hortons - Jennifer is right because the coffee is just as good and less than half the price.

My country isn't perfect, not by a long shot. But I must say that we are fortunate that people here really push for a compassionate solution more than the hard right "my side" type arguement. We live well, work hard and for the most part enjoy and treasure our differences, rather than viewing them in the negative.

[JailBush]

4. Wow, great response!

If you'd let me reprint that on a website, could you e-mail me at GeoBearATgeobop.com? (Replace AT with @.) I'm not certain that I will use it, and I certainly can't use it on my children's Canadian site, but I'd like to try to find a niche for it on one of my political sites.

I want to get more information about Canada online, and I especially enjoy posts that make the Seattle Times look bad!

[Ekova]

5. Worthy of note...

Many citizens of Soviet Canuckistan do know how to spell check and proof read. As a rule though, we don't do it at 5:30 in the morning.

[izzie]

9. That is a funny statement

When you wake up tomorrow get a pad of paper and start marking down what you do and use and see just how much your oun govt. is in control of your life. First of all, lets start with the Mattress you slept on......

[calimary]

37. "Soviet Canuckistan"?!?!? Hilarious!

And thanks for the great post! Welcome to DU - a very impressive debut. Hey! A rhyme!

[GOPBasher]

6. Wow! I love your response.

I've said before on DU that I truly admire Canada for a lot of reasons. I really wonder why Canadians are in general so progressive (smart), and Americans are so right-wing (dumb).

[Ekova]

7. It's weird.

I'm not sure that Canadians are smarter - it's just that you'd be hard pressed to find one that doesn't appreciate how lucky we are and most people see it to be very important that we don't take a step backwards. Also, most of the Americans I've met don't feel too good about what's going on with the * Administration. I hope it's not because they feel out numbered when here. I have to believe that the majority is going to take your country back - crooked voting machines or not. Do like we did to the PC's, they went from something like 175 seats on Parliament hill to two or three in the span of an evening. 10/2004 has to be convincing or they'll dig their claws in and ruin another 4 years.

[freeforall]

15. Ekova...

Welcome to DU Ekova! :)

I was never so proud of Canadians as the night we voted the PCs right out of existence! Canadians may be very good-natured and tolerant, but when we're pissed off, we're very decisive and act on it.

[FlaGranny]

16. Living in Florida,

I've met quite a few Canadians - for some reason they like to winter here ;-)

I have yet to meet one who complained about anything but the weather "up north." They all have said they are pleased with their health care system and no one has said a word about high taxes. In fact, the Canadians I've met more or less "brag" about the health care system.

[Kanary]

8. Hi Ekova!

Welcome to DU!!

:hi: :hi: :hi:

:toast:

Kanary

[Nlighten1]

10. I have a question about Canadian Health care.

A talking point I hear a lot is "there is a long waiting list for surgeries so sometimes Canadians come to America for them".

Can you shed some light on this?

[Ekova]

11. I can only speak to what I've experienced

and seen. Along with what I mentioned earlier and in other family cases, whenever something was needed there wasn't much of a waiting period. I too hear of long waiting lists (usually around election time) and am not sure that the generalization properly sheds light on the situation. I think that it's probably pretty reasonable to be told you're going to have to wait for say, a week, two, even a month or two to allow for a specialist's schedule to open up. They wouldn't make you wait for 6 months if they knew you wouldn't be able to make it. We have to remember that the medical profession seems by and large to be made up of specialists with finely tuned skills pertinant to a given problem. When talking about a long waiting list for a kidney transplant, the variables seem to be availability first of all and then who's in line ahead of you. As I alluded to earlier, when we're sick time is always too short or too long...

As far as people going to the States to eliminate the wait, you'd have to have a good deal of money. I have no idea what rotator cuff surgery would cost in the States (or Canada for that matter) but I do know that we get hammered on the exchange rate, regardless of how well our dollar may be doing. Every once in a while we'll hear of somebody that is performing a procedure in the U.S. that we can't get here, etc. Upon a little digging it's usually determined that it's a site specific case - that is to say that the we don't have someone to perform that type of surgery in Brandon, Manitoba or Toronto, Ontario...not the whole of Canada. Believe it or not, much of the time it's cheaper to fly from Canada to the States than to the other side of Canada. Toronto to Florida is cheaper for the most part than Toronto to Victoria, B.C. Something like that may come into consideration for someone with the dollars to essentially buy time, or perhaps a better way of saying it is the dollars buy off the waiting period.

The other thing to consider is the emotion involved. When things are dire you act (react) to retain what you feel you need. (thank you Maslow).

Anyhow, not sure if that helped but it is what it is. It's also helpful to know that I'm writing from a position where I've never had my quality of life suffer or a relative pass away while waiting for a procedure. Anybody I've ever known has been well taken care of without pulling any strings. My opinion might obviously differ if the opposite were true.

[FlaGranny]

17. Ekova, regarding waiting periods -

It is not uncommon to wait in the US either. For instance, your primary physician refers you to, for instance, a gastroenterologist for a colonoscopy. It would be well within normal range to wait one or two months to get an appointment in the US. Once you get your appointment, it would not be uncommon to wait two weeks to a month to get your colonoscopy. If you have a lesion that's cancerous, after waiting a week for your biopsy results, you need to make an appointment with a surgeon. It might take you a month to get it. Then the surgeon would schedule surgery, etc., etc., etc. In other words, it might take a total of two to four months before your surgery for colon cancer. This is if you have insurance to pay for it all. If you are among the 40 or 50 million with no insurance, you probably eventually just die.

Of course, if you have an emergency, you get care immediately, but probably there is not much difference in actual waiting time in the two countries.

[shrike]

22. No kidding

My husband and I have had to see specialists for non-emergency situations and we've had to wait months in certain instances.

On the other hand, when he suffered a heart attack the doctors saw him immediately.

[calimary]

38. Hell yes, I've had to wait in emergency rooms.

What's the big deal? If you have a serious illness or injury, you get seen right away. If they think it can wait, that's what you do.

[Nlighten1]

43. This is very true.

I had a one month waiting period for a colonoscopy. I have serveral co-workers that claim the waiting period is 1 year or more though (which I don't believe)

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. Please send this as an editorial rebuttal

Heck, send it as an editorial to a mulitude of papers, and to commondreams.org

I am tired of getting slapped down because I tell folks we could take a page or three from Canada's playbook when it comes to creating a healthy balance between capitalism and socialism. Your system may not be perfect, but it's better than what we've got in many respects.

Can't convince hubby to move there, though. Even despite the fact that his mother was Canadian. Too bad. I love Cape Breton. *sigh*

[SidDithers]

12. Hahahaha - this is satire, right?

Perhaps she's not able to afford her persciption medications now that she's living in the US. Certainly sounds like she's gone off her anti-psychotics.

Sid

Edited for typing.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

13. This is so off beam, it's not worth my time debunking it.

[freeforall]

14. Ha, ha, ha!!!

This woman has got to be kidding! Or she's never been up here.

[PatrickS]

18. Funniest article ever

Pure propaganda. It's hilarious!

[MrPrax]

20. This smells old...

Hell this piece is obviously written for American consumption...the Canuck right haven't sounded this loony since the 80s ...

(Over 10 million person-years are lost to the Canadian economy annually due to having to flip consumer items from the French side to the English side!!!)

"And here's a weird comment: "Living in Canada made me feel like a barn animal in George Orwell's "Animal Farm." My only worry is that someday the United States will resemble Canada. Sort of like one giant Seattle. That would be my nightmare."

What does this mean? Seattle is bad? I figure this must be more a fear of Americans of turning into a -glup- Seattle than Canada...most Canadian cities would love a Boeing!!

It hits all the 'talking points'--health care, fear of immigration, labor, etc etc

A Canadian should write a parody of this letter for Americans!!!

"Living in America made me feel like a number in George Orwell's "1984." My only worry is that someday Canada will resemble the United States. Sort of like one giant Houston. That would be my nightmare."

[Frederic Bastiat]

21. Depends where you live in Canada

I'm not Canadian but I live in Montreal, Quebec.

Taxes - In my bourough taxes are the highest in North America bar none, when you factor in Income, Federal, Provincial, Municipal, Real Estate etc In short you need a good accountant up here.

Schools - University education is very affordable compared to other parts of Canada and the U.S, if you attend McGill or Univ of Montreal the ROI are unbeatable. Private elementary and high schools for kids are great and not too expensive - a big plus. (Caution: if you immigrate here your kids would have to go to school in French)

Strikes - lol we are strike central of Canada, hey look up any Canadian daily online or google "Quebec + Unions"

Language - you can get by with little French but to make any kind of living here it is essential. I work in English but communicate in French confused? All the firm's software is in French to comply with our language police.

Health Care - Better than the U.S as in it is more widely available, but when it comes to quality I disagree. Lucky for us the French trained doctors like it here so we don't suffer the acute brain drain like provinces in Alberta (I believe they get doctors from South Africa, feel free to correct me). Also of note when it comes to health care - private services have sprung up lately and the provincial government is turning a blind eye to it e.g MRI clinics.

Health insurance - never leave home without it, that includes a prescription drug plan.

Politics - IMO all politics is local, i'm more concerned at what's happening to my province that in Ottawa. We currently have a centrist government and they are running into trouble with the unions (see strikes above)

Standard of living - I don't worry too much about this one, I love my city, its proximity to the US, its diversity, climate and its unparalled joie de vivre. As a city only Amsterdam rivals it.

[youngred]

23. as an American

who has lived just across the border and knows many many Canadians I say BULLSHIT.

Alright to argue a little more bluntly, there are alternatives in Candian politics, however "most" Canadians were not happy to see Chretin go, despite the personal beliefs of the writer. She makes the gov't out to be dictatorial which it hardly is. The Liberal party has been so successful because it has been effective.

As far as health care is concerned, there are complaints, however, many of these complaints seem equal to American complains about health care service (except that they pay less).

Strikes, perhaps, but not on the level of France, and what is wrong with a strike or two? to remind people that workers have rights. I think that's a good policy, I don't know about this fool though.

The assertion that Canadians can't afford new cars is ludicrous, while there may be poor people in Canada who cannot afford new vehicles, the same is also true of many many places in America. We aren't all rolling in Benz's.

The French thing is mainly limited to Quebec, try again lady.

40 Kids per class? I find that hard to belive since no Canadian student that I know has anywhere near that many. This is all opposed of course to the average of 25-35 students in US classrooms, which is about to get worse as more and more of the nation's youth are left behind, despite the protestations of the "education president"

Furthermore, has the US adopted Gay Marriage as a legally sanctioned institution? No, well Canada has. Has the US adopted a sensible policy on marijuana and other drugs? No, well Canada has by decriminilizing marijuana and opening safe rooms in Vancouver for heroin and cocain addicts to go and recieve treatment and shoot up safely. Has the US adopted a sensible and equitable foreign policy that treats other nations as though they have worth without burning bridges? No, well Canada has.

This editorial is Pure Farking Ballshite IMHO.

[PeeWeeTheMadman]

24. I think that what she really is angry about

Is that you don`t have as many homeless people to spit at "up north"

[Spazito]

25. Wow, where does one start to debunk this garbage, but here goes...

"Taxes — Ever wonder why you see so many rusty cars up north? It's not just because they salt the roads in the wintertime. People can't afford new ones.

Fifty percent of the Canadian paycheck goes to taxes. And, in Ontario, for example, there's a 15-percent tax at the cash register. Think about paying that every time you buy a car, a fridge or clothes. The Canadian middle class has almost been taxed out of existence."

I don't know where this woman saw the rusty cars, she must live next to a junk yard and never went past her driveway!

Taxes - My taxes, 34%, pay for my healthcare, ALL of it, pay for all the things US taxes pay for. I am middle class and my taxes are very manageable.

"Official bilingualism — This is what most of the taxes pay for.

Learning and speaking another language may seem like fun to most Americans. Forget about that textbook Parisian you learned in high school. My husband speaks French fluently but not by Canadian government standards. He'd be passed over in employment by someone who speaks a government-approved level of French.

Canada is officially bilingual and that means everything must be in French and English. Everything. It's the law."

The only thing I can say about this is bullsh*t! I have NEVER had a problem getting a job and my French is very rusty, never had to use it in any of my jobs anyway!

My take on this woman is that her and her husband were Alliance (the equivalent of US republicans) supporters and are ticked that their bigoted, anti-immigrant, anti-social programs party are a marginal, regional party.

"Political oppression — Imagine an American president and one political party in power for over 10 years. That's what's happened in Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's regime has been in control for more than a decade and the average Canadian is fed up and glad to see him go. Even then, it was his decision to allow an election. Hopefully, Canada will be able to make amends and repair its relationship with the U.S."

I would suggest that this says it all, given that this woman seems to be VERY supportive of the very issues Bush is!

I am an average Canadian and I KNOW that Jean Chretien took this country from a mess caused by Brian Mulroney and brought it up to where it is #1 in the G8 in economic growth and brought us from a large deficit postion to 7 straight years of surpluses.

Edited to add: Does anyone smell a concerted effort lately to bash Canada? Could it be that Rove sent out a memo to all his "devotees" to get on the bandwagon and go negative on Canada? What is he afraid of, I wonder? Could it be that we are creating jobs, have a surplus, have the respect of the international world? Nah, couldn't be!

[Screaming Lord Byron]

26. My taxes are as low as anywhere in the US.

The high-tax Canada argument is a right-wing myth.

[PeeWeeTheMadman]

28. Taxes and the right wing

Guess the right feel that taxes shouldn`t be used to feed children, but to make bombs to bomb them to oblivion.

[Frederic Bastiat]

31. Dude your from Alberta

Quebec is another issue. Like I have said before we have the highest tax rate in North America bar none!

[Spazito]

33. I have a question

When you do your tax comparison, do you do it only to the amount of taxes you have paid all year as per your submission to Revenue Canada April 30th or do you break it down and compare it to those items in the US that you PAY for because it is NOT covered by US taxes? If you have such a breakdown, I would be very interested in it.

Quite often the only comparison done is taxes that would be paid to IRS versus taxes paid to Revenue Canada and that is a false comparison, imo.

[Frederic Bastiat]

35. Even without a breakdown

When we compare the taxes we used to pay in St Pauls, Minn and we do now in Montreal, QC. the difference is substantial. In Quebec when you make anything above $54,000 you are taxed at the highest bracket. It doesn't take much to hit that ceiling in a family where both partners work. Heck were doing that on just one salary and we don't consider ourselves rich.


On edit:

The difference in tax levels in the two countries hits you at the provincial/state level. It might very well be that someone in Alberta is paying much lower taxes than a counterpart in California.

[Spazito]

36. Interesting!

For example my property taxes are very high where I live. The reason is that there is our economy is made up of small, homegrown specialty shops, tourism, etc, therefore no big industry here which means no pollution. I am more than willing to pay for my clean air. The reason I bring that up is that taxes are comprised of more than just the once a year submission to Revenue Canada, etc. Just what it would have cost me in the US for the medical care I received after a car accident versus what it cost me in Canada ($56.00 a month for ALL basic care)so, imo, averaged out what my taxes pay for versus what US taxes pay for is a very key question.

[Frederic Bastiat]

39. Check out this link

Very balanced IMO:

http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/btn12.pdf

Read the section on "State and Provincial Taxes" and relate it to where one lives on both sides of the border.

[Spazito]

41. Excellent source!

Thanks for this, much appreciated!

[cryofan]

27. CorpGovMedia afraid of Americans finding out about Canadian healthcare

so they are starting to demonize and propagandize Canada....just like they did the Soviet Union. They are aware that Americans are finding out just how good Canadians and Europeans have it. The free healthcare is just one aspect. Canadians and especially Europeans work less hours in the year.

Also, the social safety net is stonger in CA. For example, the average stay on unemployment for a Canadian male is like 21 months! In the USA the maximum is 6 months, and ocassionally 9 months.

Also, in CA, if you are an able-bodied male and you need welfare, you can get it! It is not much--maybe about $300-600/month, but that is better than nothing. IN the USA, welfare goes almost entto disabled, and, let's face it, welfare moms, which is a completely destructive policy....

More and more, Americans are starting to find out that the welfare states of other industrialized countries are organized for the people, and not for the corporations or the rich....and that scares CorpGovMedia, and so they are starting to churn out propaganda like this article.

[PeeWeeTheMadman]

32. Welfare moms

What is really interesting is that the countries with the most young and unweb mothers, are the same countries with the least social security nets, in the west at least.

When support for abled body persons is hard to come by, a rational strategy to get by would be to have babies, as both public support and private charity are much easier to come by if you support children.

[RBHam]

29. I wake up everyday and Thank God I'm Canadian

If I wasn't, I'd move here.

[cmf]

30. I've been really upset with the Times lately

and this really took the cake for me.

[SeattleRob]

34. Canada

First off, the source of the article is The Seattle Times. This is the paper that endorsed Bush. The paper is suitable for bird cage liner.

This article sounds like misinformation. I have talked with many Candian folk and have yet to hear complaints about their health care system. I think what is happening is many Americans are starting to askthe question, Why we don't have universal health care, when most of the world does?

As a side note, I am thankful I live close enough to the border to watch CBC News and their excellent documentaries. (Quite different from the crap on American TV.)

[Minstrel Boy]

40. Republicans don't like another model on America's doorstep.

A more successful and equitable one, at that.

What Canada is: the other North America. That's dangerous.

[DontBlameMe]

42. Just got this in an email from my mother...

who has become so right-wing since becoming a Mormon it makes me puke. Turns out this woman is a regular on townhall.com, which is as far-right fundie as it gets.

Funny thing, my mom was complaining that the Seattle Times was too liberal..... :eyes:

[Lisa]

44. uh -- I made it through 12 years of school without a teachers' strike ...

I'm not that old, and this was in the Hamilton public school system (in one of the country's union strongholds). This makes it sound like there are permanent nationwide strikes -- she's talking about one city in BC, for heaven's sake. (Oh, and I bet she had no qualms about crossing the picket lines to see a movie!)

As for the taxation thing -- the free or subsidized services provided by 3 levels of government actually mean that many working and middle-class people are getting back more than we're paying out ... if we had to cover education, health, and assorted costs ourselves in a rampant free market like the neocons are trying to force on us, it would drive people to collapse.

In the past 5 years, more than a dozen people I know have had hospital treatment for everything from cataracts and pregnancy to cancer and ruptured ulcers ... they are all doing fine, and they didn't have to pay a penny because the public health insurance system covered it all. The woman who had the cancer surgery was told by her physician that "this is the best place in North America to have your kind of cancer" -- BC has a top-notch government-supported cancer research institute.

If the author of the piece doesn't like Canada (or Washington State for that matter) she is free to go wherever she wants ... or is she going to accuse Canada of restricting her movements like they do in REAL dictatorships? For the record, I like Seattle -- it's one of my favourite US cities.

[Curious Dave]

45. Taxes

When you take FITW, FICA, Medicare, self-employment taxes, property taxes, and so on and so forth I'm paying well over 50% of my income in taxes and seeing a lot less for it than what Canadians see for their tax dollar.

On the other hand I vaguely recall having heard a while back that Canada's national debt vs GNP ratio is even higher than that of the US. Can anyone shed any light on that?

[Swede]

46. Good riddance to Jennifer Meeks!

Gee I've lived in Canada for 46 years and I have never heard a medical horror story. She sounds like a bitter Alliance hipocrite,so sorry you Americans have to deal with her. My nephew just started his job at a car dealership and he's running his tail off. Maybe Americans are buying the cars and driving them down south. Political oppression? This is a democracy bitch! The liberals won handily. Deal with it. Maybe if you come back,you can steal an election like your obvious hero Bush.
And oh yeah,I've never been unemployed and I can't speak French.