Canada - what makes Canada great

[otternell]

Don't know if this is the right place for it. but its pretty mundane and pointless.

I would like to hear from some Canadian dopers: what do you love about Canada, in what ways do you think Canada is better than the US, and vice versa.

As near as I can tell, Canada seems like a decent place (perhaps a bit chilly), but I am a known sufferer of GIAGOS Syndrome (Grass Is Always Greener on the Other Side).

I really do not want this to turn into a health care debate, but I wouldn't mind hearing about what you do and don't like about it.

This is the time to let your national pride shine!

[Fetchund]

Can you stand to hear from yanks who grew up half-time in Canada?

[otternell]

hell yeah - that's an awesome perspective since you have spent time in both!

[Fetchund]

There seemed to be a less rampant "violence is the answer" mentality. Growing up in Detroit in the 60's was not too safe - I remember Mom and Dad visibly relaxing as we crossed the border. These days, I know that over half of my very angry and frustrated co-workers have a gun in their car. I work in fear that one of them will snap.

If we had dual citizenship, I'd be Canadian now - I'd love to marry my partner!

[Athena]

I think this video sums it all up.

[otternell]

I guess that's kind of what I thought, but I am still interested in more perspectives for anyone that wants to share.

Anyone go through the process of becoming a Canadian citizen and want to enlighten me as to what it was like?

[Grey]

It's a nice enough place, but great? I'm not so sure of that.

[EmAnJ]

I guess it's that for the most part it's a liberal country, though I live in Alberta and they are very un-liberal.

Lots of open spaces, lots of trees, lots of places to go to enjoy nature.

[otternell]

that video was good! Thanks for sharing Athena! I already have the canoe and a kayak, but can't you hunt with a gun in Canada? The location where they filmed that video is enough to make me want to move!

[otternell]

Originally Posted by EmAnJ

I guess it's that for the most part it's a liberal country, though I live in Alberta and they are very un-liberal.

by un-liberal do you mean the way US conservatives are the opposite of liberals. Or more like fascism is the opposite of liberal?

[fubbleskag]

he means conservative, but the Canadian conservative party would not be considered conservative in the US

[otternell]

so the Canadian "conservative" is perhaps a bit more like US "middle of the road"?

[Fetchund]

Originally Posted by otternell

The location where they filmed that video is enough to make me want to move!

I'm not surprised, coming from an Otter!

(That area looked too tame and populated for me... Upper Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota are prettier)

[otternell]

Originally Posted by Fetchund

I'm not surprised, coming from an Otter!

(That area looked too tame and populated for me... Upper Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota are prettier)

We Otters luvs teh clear running streams!

Our honeymoon was camping in Canada and it seemed like a really nice place for the outdoorsy kind of people that we are, but to be fair I haven't given WI, MN or MI the chance yet.

[billfish678]

That its white and north and dominated by high pressure weather systems ?

[Mahna Mahna]

I love that we're home to the most multicultural city in the world. I can have Chinese buns for breakfast, Lebanese takeout for lunch, French pastries for snack and Jamaican oxtail stew for dinner. I can go catch the latest Bollywood blockbuster at the Indian cinema, or go watch the old Greek guys smoke and play backgammon in the park, or catch a soccer game at the Brazilian sports bar down the street.

I love that we have so many beautiful unspoiled places that take my breath away. I've climbed up Grouse Mountain, watched the sun set at Peggy's Cove, canoed through Algonquin Park and hiked along the edge of the St Lawrence... it never fails to make me proud that this is home.

I love that even our politicans are relatively scandal free. Sure, there's the usual minor scandals involving kickbacks, payoffs and name-calling (anyone remember the "clucking faster" incident?).... but when was the last time you heard about full blown corruption like an affair with an intern, an illegitimate love-child, or random gay sex in public bathrooms? Hell, the last time things started to get interesting in government, they just prorogued Parliament for a few weeks so that everyone could simmer down. Does it get more polite than that?

And I know the OP wants to avoid the health care debate, but I love that we have socialised health care, that same-sex marriage has been embraced, and that gun ownership isn't nearly as widespread. It warms the pinko liberal cockles of my heart.

[otternell]

Mahna Mahna its not that I wanted to avoid the health care debate, I just didn't want the whole thread to turn into one. (there are already plenty of those)

Re: gun ownership: is it not allowed, or more tightly regulated?

You and everyone you know happy with the health care system? any trouble getting in to see a Dr. for an annual exam? any trouble getting medical care if you fall off a roof or nearly slice off a fingertip? (hubby is accident prone!)

[Grey]

Well that was obviously a park (the causeway/pier thing at the opening). Actually I thought it might be somewhere in Ottawa's green belt.

Health Care is sufficiently loved to have the prime mover (Tommy Douglas) voted Greatest Canadian. Are there continual discussions about cost/benefit, waiting times, private/public ratios and everything else? Yeah, of course. There are entrenched positions which make altering the system harder to do - well of course. But since it's a public system, the future is mainly in the hands of the electorate instead of corporate interests.

[Athena]

Originally Posted by otternell

We Otters luvs teh clear running streams!

Our honeymoon was camping in Canada and it seemed like a really nice place for the outdoorsy kind of people that we are, but to be fair I haven't given WI, MN or MI the chance yet.

C'mon up to da UP sometime. We have plenty of outdoors for ya. Plus, we're about as Canadian as you can get without actually, you know, moving to Canada. We say "eh?", we say "aboot", Hockey is more popular than Football, and we even get CBC on the TV.

Can't help on the Health Care, though. Hubby and I have often thought we'd love to figure out how to get Canadian citizenship and make the move. It really wouldn't be that big of a change for us culturally, and the benefits would be enormous.

[The Lurker Above]

Originally Posted by otternell

[
Re: gun ownership: is it not allowed, or more tightly regulated?

You and everyone you know happy with the health care system? any trouble getting in to see a Dr. for an annual exam? any trouble getting medical care if you fall off a roof or nearly slice off a fingertip? (hubby is accident prone!)

As I understand it handguns are very, very hard to get legally, but rifles/shotguns are pretty common (outside urban areas) and easy to get.

Some areas have a shortage of GPs so it can be hard to get a regular doctor; you may have to make do with urgent care clinics and/or emergency rooms. Almost slicing off a fingertip is an ER trip I'd imagine and there's no (financial) trouble in going to one of those. Honestly we may have some complaints about healthcare but no one has to worry about switching/losing a job having an effect on thier healthcare.

[Ludy]

Originally Posted by otternell

Mahna Mahna its not that I wanted to avoid the health care debate, I just didn't want the whole thread to turn into one. (there are already plenty of those)

Re: gun ownership: is it not allowed, or more tightly regulated?

You and everyone you know happy with the health care system? any trouble getting in to see a Dr. for an annual exam? any trouble getting medical care if you fall off a roof or nearly slice off a fingertip? (hubby is accident prone!)

Gun control is regulated. Basically if you want to own a hunting rifle you have to take a non-restricted gun course. Get a licence and you are done. The same is true for handguns but it is a restricted gun course. There are gun storage laws. You can't just get a gun and keep it next to your bed, it has to be locked and unloaded at all times. Transporting of restricted firearms can only be between your home and the firing range. There is more to it, but that is the basics.

I love Canada because I live in a major city, take a train into work that is run off of wind power, and on a clear day I can see the Rockies from my house.

I don't have to lock my doors during the day. In fact one summer I lived in a brutally hot small town and the house has no air conditioning. My roommate and I left the windows (and sometimes the door) open all day. Even when we were not home.

I had a baby this summer. For the delivery I had a private room (standard practice) with my own bathroom and shower. I also splurged and got a private room for recovery and the grand total was $40. I had to pay for the recovery room. My daughter was born with hip dysplasia and had to wear a harness. She had x-rays done of her hips before she was even alive for one whole day, and two sets of ultrasounds before we could stop puttering in the harness. Grand total $0.

I have driven across the country a few times, and every single day of the drive I was amazed by how beautiful and diverse this place is.

[otternell]

Ludy sealed the deal! of course since there is sure to be a huge PITA process involved in becoming a Canadian (I must be immature, but when I say Canadian, I think of the Ren and Stimpy episode!) Athena wins on practicality and outdoorsy-ness! Grab the dogs, the man, the canoe, and look out UP, cause the Otters want yur clear running streams! (only for frolicking in of course!)

[Larry Mudd]

Originally Posted by otternell

Re: gun ownership: is it not allowed, or more tightly regulated?

I think that one of the most striking cross-border differences on certain issues is the way that Constitutional issues muddy things in the US and emotionalize the debate beyond rationality.

It's much rarer for gun owners to object to common-sense gun control issues, here. Similarly, it's only a tiny minority that can find it in their hearts to object against laws against advocating genocide & whatnot.

If an issue comes close to the 1st or 2nd amendments down South, there tends to be a lot of hysteria and slippery-slopism, because there's an almost religious feeling about the Constitution. Up here, the argument is a little more balanced.

For example, we have legislation intended to address circumstances similar to the Rwandan genocide here, and I've often heard this criticized as a violation of free speech, as though the public interest is better served if groups like the RTLM are allowed to diseminate their views unmolested, and that it's only appropriate for the law to intervene once the machetes have actually been picked up. This is a huge cultural difference, in my opinion.

[Athena]

Originally Posted by otternell

Grab the dogs, the man, the canoe, and look out UP, cause the Otters want yur clear running streams! (only for frolicking in of course!)

We actually have a clear running stream in our backyard, and yes, we do frolic in it, in the summer at least.

In the winter, we frolic from the sauna to the snowbank. And sometimes to the vodka bar that Mr. Athena builds out of snow on our deck

[otternell]

Originally Posted by Athena

We actually have a clear running stream in our backyard, and yes, we do frolic in it, in the summer at least.

In the winter, we frolic from the sauna to the snowbank. And sometimes to the vodka bar that Mr. Athena builds out of snow on our deck

aaahhh frolic! The frolicking you got going on sounds divine!

I am in Iowa (hangs head in shame) and you do not frolic in our rivers/streams unless you want to take a bleach bath when you get home. Pretty yucky stuff down here, comes from all that agricultural run-off, I believe. Hubby canoed in WI (Kickapoo River) last year with his buddies and talked on and on about how clear the water was. (soo jealous!)

[otternell]

LM what you describe sounds pretty nice too! seems like the debates here are so shrill and no one is willing to give even an inch of ground.

So far, while I definitely need to be fair to my own country and give WI/MN/MI a try; Canada sounds like an awfully cool place. A chance to let my inner hippie/liberal fly free!

[Mr. Moto]

Originally Posted by Mahna Mahna

I love that even our politicans are relatively scandal free. Sure, there's the usual minor scandals involving kickbacks, payoffs and name-calling (anyone remember the "clucking faster" incident?).... but when was the last time you heard about full blown corruption like an affair with an intern, an illegitimate love-child, or random gay sex in public bathrooms? Hell, the last time things started to get interesting in government, they just prorogued Parliament for a few weeks so that everyone could simmer down. Does it get more polite than that?

Uh, no. The sex stuff is the minor stuff, there and here. The real corrupting force in politics involves abuse of power and money, and it seems that your system isn't immune to either.

The sponsorship scandal wasn't a minor scandal, some high ranking politicians and bureaucrats went to jail, Paul Martin lost control of the Liberals and the Conservatives won power. That's pretty big by consequences alone.

[Le Ministre de l'au-delà]

There are many things in Canada that I'm proud of, but I would say first and foremost, I'm proud of our culture, in all its bizarre, contradictory glory.

I love it that our two best jazz guitarists started out doing country music in Winnipeg.

I love it that the Group of Seven includes ten painters, and Tom Thomson, arguably the most famous painter associated with them, isn't actually a member.

I love it that our comedy shows have a now established tradition of punking our politicians, right up to the Prime Minister.

I love it that our country's history is full of nuggets like Sir John A. MacDonald's drunken filibuster on the floor of House of Commons or the fact that John Graves Simcoe, Upper Canada's first Liuetenant Governor, passed legislation in 1793 that allowed for the gradual abolition of slavery and yet, it remains an underexplored story to most of the country's population.

I love it that our best known popular historian demonstrated the best way to roll a joint on national television.

I love it that our Prime Minister grabbed a pesky demonstrator by the neck (thus giving the world the term "A Shawinigan handshake".) but when someone broke into the Prime Minister's residence, it was his wife who went downstairs to investigate, armed with only an Inuit sculpture.

I love it that for the last few World Cups, there has been an established community in Toronto for every country competing, and that that community parades the streets in joy and pride for every game.

I love it that Toronto was chosen for the World Pride day in 2014 and the Pan American games in 2015.

I could go on, and probably will, but there is much to love about Canada...

[Larry Mudd]

Originally Posted by Le Ministre de l'au-delà

I love it that our best known popular historian demonstrated the best way to roll a joint on national television.

YouTube link. (God bless the CBC.)

[The Lurker Above]

Originally Posted by Le Ministre de l'au-delà

I love it that our comedy shows have a now established tradition of punking our politicians, right up to the Prime Minister.

Not to mention getting politicians to go skinny dipping on national TV.... well, one politician at least.

[This_Just_In...]

The biggest difference between Canada and the US is the sheer amount of untouched and unspoiled nature. And it is not just the far north that is empty. You can easily drive a half hour out of a place like Calgary - a city of a million people - and literally be in the middle of nowhere! I`ve driven across both the US and Canada and this is the single most striking difference. Sure, places like southern Utah are pretty and fairly unpopulated, but the US does not come close overall. There are just more people in America - everywhere. And in Canada there is much more wildlife. I joke to people who I work with in here in Oregon that in order to bag a deer in Saskatchewan all they really need to do is go there, rent a big SUV and get all the insurance on it. Then start driving around. I`m actually only half joking. My cousin live in North Vancouver and just had a bear on their porch. That doesn`t happen to my knowledge in Portland.

And then there is the Canadian healthcare, which is awesome and the one other thing I truly miss since moving to the US.

[Ogre]

I'm sure it's very nice (I've been there. Enjoyed it, except for Thunder Bay, where we were treated like pariahs). But for this Southern kid who can't stand winter light even at 33 degrees north, brrrrrrr...no thanks. It ain't the cold. It's the darkness.

[Livardo]

I think our identity is exemplified by the background of our Governor General. She's a black immigrant woman from Haiti. And I'm very happy about that.

[otternell]

Originally Posted by Ogre

I'm sure it's very nice (I've been there. Enjoyed it, except for Thunder Bay, where we were treated like pariahs). But for this Southern kid who can't stand winter light even at 33 degrees north, brrrrrrr...no thanks. It ain't the cold. It's the darkness.

Looking at a map, and 33 degrees isn't all that "north" to me! How can you stand it being so hot all the time! I spent a week in Brownsville in October a couple of years ago and I was miserable; every time I went outside it was 90! Granted that's like 26 degrees north (or thereabouts - oh excuse me: thereaboots!)

[Ogre]

Originally Posted by otternell

Looking at a map, and 33 degrees isn't all that "north" to me! How can you stand it being so hot all the time! I spent a week in Brownsville in October a couple of years ago and I was miserable; every time I went outside it was 90! Granted that's like 26 degrees north (or thereabouts - oh excuse me: thereaboots!)

Oh man, I love the hot weather and long summer days. Cold, dark weather makes me feel all cramped and miserable. I can stretch out and enjoy myself when it's 95 and 90 percent humidity.

[FloatyGimpy]

Originally Posted by Ogre

I'm sure it's very nice (I've been there. Enjoyed it, except for Thunder Bay, where we were treated like pariahs). But for this Southern kid who can't stand winter light even at 33 degrees north, brrrrrrr...no thanks. It ain't the cold. It's the darkness.

I learned something when I was in the US in September. I live on Vancouver Island. Here in the summer it's so nice because it can stay light till 10 pm. I went to Arizona and it gets dark almost the same time every day at about 6:30-7:00.

It does suck in the winter though when it's dark by 5:00.

[Livardo]

As a Canuck working in the states here's some things i've noticed: Seems like cultures in the states are accepted but not celebrated. There's a difference. Multiculturalism (a dirty word it seems amongst some conservatives) IMHO is embraced and celebrated in Canada.

Conservative radio to me in the states was mind boggling. I couldn't believe my ears listening to the likes of Savage and Levin. You don't usually hear that type of vitriol over Canadian airwaves. For instance, we don't use the Liberal label the same way it's used in the states. Seems like the political discourse is more cutthroat in the US.

[otternell]

When we camped in Canada (Eagle Lake Ontario) it was early July and I was surprised at how chilly it got at night, compared to what I am used to. but the long sunlight in the summer that floatygimpy described sounds nice.

Now livardo may have hit the nail on the head. the political debates here are enough to make me want to scream - so angry all the time. (quite frankly, this is exactly why pot should be legal!) Hey, is pot legal in Canada?

[Cat Whisperer]

I Am Canadian!
For the record, only Torontonians and Newfies say "aboot." The rest of us say "abowt." Eh.

Yeah, we have nice, natural areas, but this thread seems to be giving the impression that all Canadians wear lumberjack shirts and sleep in tents. I live in Calgary, and the last time I was in a tent was maybe 20 years ago, and I like it that way. In fact, the vast majority of Canadians live in large cities. We go visit nature.

I wish we had locations for guests, so you could see that you will get different perspectives from different regions of Canada. The BC experience is not the same as the prairie experience or the Toronto experience or the Montreal experience or the Maritimes experience or the northern experience.

What makes Canada great? I think in a nutshell we don't get in each other's faces too much. That goes a long way.

[Cat Whisperer]

Pot is kind of a grey area legally - I've seen people walking down the street smoking a joint, but if you went out of your way, you could probably still get arrested for it. I think it has been de-criminalized but still not technically legalized. My take on it - if you want to smoke a joint or two in the privacy of your own home, no one is going to bother you.

[otternell]

Originally Posted by Cat Whisperer

Pot is kind of a grey area legally - I've seen people walking down the street smoking a joint, but if you went out of your way, you could probably still get arrested for it. I think it has been de-criminilazed but still not technically legalized. My take on it - if you want to smoke a joint or two in the privacy of your own home, no one is going to bother you.

that settles it!

[Hypnagogic Jerk]

Originally Posted by EmAnJ

I guess it's that for the most part it's a liberal country, though I live in Alberta and they are very un-liberal.

Well, you live there and I don't, but in my experience Alberta, while more conservative-minded than most other Canadian provinces, still offers a wide variety of political opinion.

Originally Posted by fubbleskag

he means conservative, but the Canadian conservative party would not be considered conservative in the US

I'm not sure of that. I've heard Canadians say that Stephen Harper would be a liberal Democrat in the US, and Barack Obama an extreme right-winger in Canada, but it just isn't true. Harper would definitely be a moderate Republican in the US, same as how he is a moderate Conservative in Canada. True, there are some important/wedge issues in American politics that aren't at all discussed in Canada (abortion may be the main one), and true, the Canadian political spectrum does lie somewhat to the left -- however we define this -- of the American one, but the Conservative Party of Canada is still conservative, in the American sense.

Originally Posted by Larry Mudd

If an issue comes close to the 1st or 2nd amendments down South, there tends to be a lot of hysteria and slippery-slopism, because there's an almost religious feeling about the Constitution. Up here, the argument is a little more balanced.

Americans are very individualistic, and consider individual rights to be paramount. This "religious feeling about the Constitution" you mention also does exist, probably because the Founding Fathers and their having build a perfect union is one of the founding myths of the American nation. Canadians may be said to be more communautarian and recognize more the existence of collective rights, inasmuch as it is possible to define Canadian identity. (Not to say that Canadians do not have some strange -- and often conflicting -- national myths.)

Originally Posted by Le Ministre de l'au-delà

I love it that our comedy shows have a now established tradition of punking our politicians, right up to the Prime Minister.

To be honest, I don't believe this is especially Canadian. I think we could find this in most Western democratic societies.

Originally Posted by Livardo

I think our identity is exemplified by the background of our Governor General. She's a black immigrant woman from Haiti. And I'm very happy about that.

To be fair, the Governor General's role is to serve as a cheerleader for Canadian identity and culture. Paul Martin chose a black immigrant woman from Haiti for this job because he knew Canadians would have the same reaction as you, seeing how this pride in "multiculturalism" is an important part of how Canadians define themselves today. But could a black immigrant woman from Haiti be elected Prime Minister? I'm not so sure, not yet anyway.

[Sunspace]

Originally Posted by Cat Whisperer

I Am Canadian!

The beer company that made that ad merged with Coors a couple of years ago, and all of a sudden the ads disappeared.

Originally Posted by Cat Whisperer

For the record, ...Torontonians ...say "aboot."

No. No, we don't. I live in Toronto and I've never said it. I wish people would stop saying this.

[Cat Whisperer]

Okay, I'll happily adjust that to "Only Newfies say aboot."

[Cat Whisperer]

Originally Posted by Hypnagogic Jerk

<snip> (Not to say that Canadians do not have some strange -- and often conflicting -- national myths.)
<snip>

I read a book that puts this in perspective - Canada has regional myths, not national ones.

(The book was "It's The Regime, Stupid!: A Report from the Cowboy West on Why Stephen Harper Matters" - *there's* an interesting read if you want to get a peek into how western Canada differs from eastern Canada.)

[BMada]

Originally Posted by Cat Whisperer

I Am Canadian!
For the record, only Torontonians and Newfies say "aboot." The rest of us say "abowt." Eh.

that's news to me. I (a torontonian) say about the way it's supposed to be pronounced. Not aboot.

I think another thing we have going for us is the fact that we have more than two major political parties. I would hate to be an american and only have two real choices. Although I think our voting turnout isn't all that great.

[BMada]

oh and this is on the "bad" side of our laws. well at least to me

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/sto...hoplifter.html

a known shoplifter gets tracked down and tied up and the storeowner gets charged for kidnapping (dropped now), concealed weapon and more. Where as the thief gets only 30days in jail. How exactly would you think US laws would play this out? Seems as if the criminals here have a free pass with this news story.

[Indistinguishable]

The whole "aboot" thing is an erroneous description of the real phonological phenomenon of Canadian raising (the use of a more centered initial starting position in the diphthongs "aye" and "ow" when they precede unvoiced consonants as compared to otherwise (compare the vowels in "knife" vs. "knives", or "out" vs. "loud"); many Americans have the same phenomenon for the first but the not the second of these).

[Cat Whisperer]

Originally Posted by BMada

oh and this is on the "bad" side of our laws. well at least to me

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/sto...hoplifter.html

a known shoplifter gets tracked down and tied up and the storeowner gets charged for kidnapping (dropped now), concealed weapon and more. Where as the thief gets only 30days in jail. How exactly would you think US laws would play this out? Seems as if the criminals here have a free pass with this news story.

Well, there's definitely down side to Canada (I like to celebrate multiculturalism, but I consider Canadian to be a valid culture, too, not something to be dismissed), but this thread is about what makes us great.

[Spoons]

Originally Posted by Cat Whisperer

I think it has been de-criminalized but still not technically legalized.

No, it's still illegal. Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, s. 4(1)--note that marijuana is a Schedule II substance. The confusion over whether marijuana is decriminalized or not may come because possession under 30 g; or for resin, under 1 g; mandates a lesser punishment upon conviction that possession of larger amounts. But to the best of my knowledge, even a conviction for this small amount is still a criminal conviction. In other words, it's still criminalized.

Given this state of affairs, I would recommend users to not walk down the street smoking a joint; since while a cop might look the other way, there is also a chance that the cop just might get it into his or her head that you're breaking a law that is still on the books and decide to do something about it. I should add that the process of court appearances etc. can take a long while and be costly. More importantly, for our American friends, if you're arrested, and there is a chance you'd just up and leave Canada (which is a reasonable assumption to make if you're a tourist), bail will most likely be denied. Cat Whisperer has the right idea--for now, keep it private.