What Makes Canada a Great Place to Live?

[ek]

Since 1982 the Charter has become the most often cited portion of the Constitution. The predecessor acts and orders that are listed below are generally not as well known. These acts have sometimes been denounced as "messy," "almost incoherent" or worse for their somewhat convoluted form and long, unconsolidated history. However, they remain the laws that determine the division of powers between federal and provincial jurisdictions, the terms upon which new provinces entered Canada and the division between executive, legislative and judicial areas of power in a manner very different from the United States.

This paragraph describes well why the Charter is the big thing.

-----

I can't really speak for all Canadians about the Queen, and I really do not know why we are "loyal"to Britain. In my case, I guess it's just because I was raised that way. It's just so intertwined with society, you just don't think twice about it. The Queen is on our money, her photo is in our schools and some homes, and many things are named after her or other monarchs. She's just "there". I'm sorry I don't have a good explanation, perhaps another Canadian can expound their thoughts a little more eloquently.

 

[tumor]

. The Queen is on our money, her photo is in our schools and some homes, and many things are named after her or other monarchs..

Photographs of Queen in our homes? where did you see that?
Even when I lived under communism, nobody keept Lenin's or Stalin's pictures in their homes,and one could hardly see their pictures at school.
Looks to me like Canada is more brainwashed then I thought.

 

[ShawnD]

If anyone cares to indulge me any more, I have reviewed your Constitution. How do you feel about it?

What is more important: Liberty or safety?

Most Canadians, including myself, don't even know what the constitution says. It's never explained in school.

The last GG to deny passage of a bill/act/law was during WW2, if my memory serves me correct. And then the Prime Minister had him fired or something.

I think it resulted in a non-confidence vote and an election had to be called.

Looks to me like Canada is more brainwashed then I thought.

Yep.

 

[Gonzolo]

What is more important: Liberty or safety?

Safety is important, but Canadians don't have to worry about it as much, as they have few enemies, and crime rates are much lower than in the US.

 

[check]

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a beautiful document and I’m surprised it took until 1982 for it to be put into place.
In school, it is only vaguely mentioned in any of the required classes. It is however studied in high school law classes quite a bit. Basically, there are certain sections in the Charter that have precedence over anything else including established law. But these are intended to protect basic freedoms, similar to your constitution. It’s a great thing, you should read it sometime.

As for Harper Vs. Bush. Harper is just a conservative with some bad ideas. The Conservative Party of Canada is not nearly as far right as the current Republican state in America, but it’s conservative nonetheless. Anyway, Harper isn’t ideological like Bush. I’m sure if Harper ever gets elected it won’t be nearly as bad for Canada as Bush is for America in terms of international reputation and trying to get crazy laws passed. Still, Harper doesn’t come off as very likable, and he just isn’t a good campaigner. But government in Canada is much different than in the US so Harper still gets a say whether he’s PM of not. I think there’s much more bickering in the Canadian government, but it’s about issues and not character attacks. Plus, we don’t have a two party system like in the states. There are currently four political parties represented in Parliament and with a minority government like we have now, there’s really a lot of restriction on what the Prime Minister and party in power can do.

And to answer your question about how Canadians view Bush, I’d like to quote a letter to the editor that I read in my school paper today:

“To the Editor:
After donning a festive pro-Bush button – straight from glorious and Democratic NYC – I’ve been baffled by the reaction on campus. Stares, snide remarks and worst of all, personal insults have all contributed to the melange of mostly negative feedback.”

So yeah, that’s how it is. I think I read several polls that consistently showed that in Canada about 60% favoured Kerry, 30% Bush and the rest neither or Nader.

 

[ek]

Photographs of Queen in our homes? where did you see that?
Even when I lived under communism, nobody keept Lenin's or Stalin's pictures in their homes,and one could hardly see their pictures at school.
Looks to me like Canada is more brainwashed then I thought.

Does it surprise you that no one kept pictures of tyrannical dictators like those two?

My old elementary school had about four framed photos of the Queen around the school. Above a doorway in the main hallway, in the Auditorium, outside the office and in another classroom.

 

[JasonRox]

Tips if planning to move to Toronto

- Don't read the Toronto Sun. The most bias flyer there is. You'll understand why its called a flyer once you SEE it, without READING it.

- Never say hockey sucks. You will get kicked out of Canada even if you are Canadian.

- Always watch more hockey than other sports or else people will get suspicious and you will get kicked out ...

- Always talk more about hockey than anything else or else people will get suspicious ...

- Always brag about Canada's hockey Gold medals or else people will get suspicious ...

- Never say the Toronto Maple Leafs suck or else you will wake up in Vancouver after x time.

- Start your day by saying "I love hockey." or else your girlfriend next to you in bed will get suspicious and you will get kicked out ...

- If the Toronto Maple Leafs win against the Ottawa Senators, be sure to talk about it for the next week or else people will get suspicious ...

- If the Toronto Maple Leafs lose against the Ottawa Senators, be sure to whine about if for the next week or else ...

- Never say A-MEN in church. It has been replaced by HOC-KEY.

- Never say you live in Toronto, when you are in Toronto because that is considered false in Toronto. Hockey City is the proper word to use for Toronto.

Last note ...

- If you haven't played hockey in your childhood, you will be required to start high school all over again because playing hockey during your childhood is mandatory to be part of Hockey City.

For those who like big words:

- If the word hasn't been used during a hockey game, it does not exist.

Welcome, to Toron... um... Hockey City!

 

[ek]

...

And in related news, the Toronto Maple Losers are brutal!

 

[JasonRox]

And in related news, the Toronto Maple Losers are brutal!

So... you don't live in Toronto, eh?

People seem to forget why people love the Toronto Maple Leafs up in the North. Ask a TRUE Leafs fan and they'll tell you.

Note: Most "Leaf" fans aren't Leaf fans. They seem to only jump out when they are winning or what not. Hate on them.

 

[check]

Heh, I was just going to say the same thing about Leaf fans. I guess Toronto's my favourite team cause they're the closest to my city geographicaly and because I happen to own a leafs jersey and towel. Anyway, I hope they actually win The Cup, but I have little faith in them. They always blow it in the end.

 

[Hurkyl]

Hey, wait a minute, Detroit is Hockeytown.

(Oh, wait, Hockey City... I guess that's okay...)

 

[Ivan Seeking]

So yeah, that’s how it is. I think I read several polls that consistently showed that in Canada about 60% favoured Kerry, 30% Bush and the rest neither or Nader.

Well, that's about 30% too much but Gokul's comments might explain this misguided group.

As of right now, I have always loved Canadian Hockey. :!)

 

[i_wish_i_was_smart]

Dagenais

the system is the same, i never said the courses were, in Alberta in high school there is no such thing i discrete math, but calculus in high school in Alberta is the same as calculus1 in university i know I'm living through it

and i did go to a fully french school, i think its the only fully french school in Alberta it's called école Maurice-Lavallée i know that's where i studied(not french immersion they are totaly different), that school is where all the quebecers and french folks from edmonton and surounding towns go to get a fully french education, and most quebecers were held back, they have to pass an equivilancy test and most fail, that's just the way it is, like i said i know cause I've lived through it
the only major difference is that Alberta has junior hiugh(7-9) and senior high(10-12), but all diciplines are separated in 2 categories like ontario, its just the notation for it in Alberta is 10 20 30(university level) 13 23 33 (college level) and ontario is Théorique(university level) and appliqué(college level)( sorry for the french terminology)

http://www.csrcn.ab.ca/mauricelavallee/accueil.htm

 

[JasonRox]

Hey, wait a minute, Detroit is Hockeytown.

*drops the gloves*

 

[i_wish_i_was_smart]

thats how it is Jason, its printed all over center ice, although i don't think its true at all

 

[Dagenais]

What is more important: Liberty or safety?

Complete liberty would be Anarchism. Not many want that.

I think the liberty we are allowed in Canada is perfect. I can say I feel relatively safe. There are less gang-related crimes, but they still exist.

Also, Canadians, please explain this:
The Queen reigns but does not rule.

She finished touring Canada a couple of years ago. Last time she came to B.C., she watched a hockey came. The cost of her trip was outrageous enough to make the papers. I don't remember how much it cost, but it was an offensive amount.

As far as her influence in Quebec? We can't stand her and she knows that. I don't recall her even visiting Quebec in 2002 on her "Tour of Canada."

She probably realizes she's not welcomed there and we'd "boo" her. Quebec is too smart for a monarchy. You might want to read this news link. It's pretty interesting:

http://www.canada.com/national/features/royalvisit/story.html?id=5E8D9C01-72FE-4B1D-A2B2-41FDD4368FD2

There are currently four political parties represented in Parliament and with a minority government like we have now, there’s really a lot of restriction on what the Prime Minister and party in power can do.

At least the Democrats have a chance against the Republicans. The Liberals aren't losing a national election anytime soon.

I favour Kerry over Bush, but I don't think Georgie is that bad. Like Don Cherry or Harper, I'm more upset at Canada not backing the US in it's war against Iraq.

The United States is ready to back Canada's ass up when trouble occurs. Too bad we can't do the same.

 

[Smurf]

What pisses me off is that with the merging of Alliance and Conservative parties, Canada is practically a 2 party system (Can you name other countries with 2 party systems?). I just don't see the difference between this and a 1 party system except its easier to fool people into thinking they have a choice.

Also, Canadians, please explain this:
The Queen reigns but does not rule.

We didn't have a violent revoultion like America. Instead we fought the Germans for the English and in return they gave us independance. We gained control of our foreign affairs at the treaty of versailles negotiations, (canadian government set up apart from england's in 1863 or something).

The main advantage is that we get a bunch of awsome traditions like a bar in the house of commons that the queen isn't allowed to go past because in the middle ages she would walk in and kill people who disagreed with her.

Also we get her face on our coins but meh. (as long as charle's face stays off our money)

 

[fourier jr]

The United States is ready to back Canada's ass up when trouble occurs. Too bad we can't do the same.

w t f i thought you quebecers were the most antiwar province... king didn't conscript anyone during WWII because quebec would have gone crazy, correct? maybe you're just a minority...

& i don't think the US would "help us" anytime soon, unless by that you mean install a US-friendly dictator. I'm more worried about our own politicians saying things like the following, than anything the US does to us:

"You must not take the Militia seriously, for though it is useful for suppressing internal differences, it will not be required for the defence of the country, as the Monroe Doctrine [proclaiming US military hegemony in the Americas] protects us against enemy aggression." - Wilfred Laurier

 

[Smurf]

I favour Kerry over Bush, but I don't think Georgie is that bad

Ok, thinking bush is good and kerry bad I can understand,
thinking kerry is the lesser evil I can understand,
even thinking bush is the lesser evil I can understand.

But this blows my mind.

 

[ShawnD]

What pisses me off is that with the merging of Alliance and Conservative parties, Canada is practically a 2 party system (Can you name other countries with 2 party systems?). I just don't see the difference between this and a 1 party system except its easier to fool people into thinking they have a choice.

It's better than what we had before. Before the parties merged, we had basically a 1 party system - liberal party. Now we have a 2 party system - liberal and conservative.

We didn't have a violent revoultion like America. Instead we fought the Germans for the English and in return they gave us independance. We gained control of our foreign affairs at the treaty of versailles negotiations, (canadian government set up apart from england's in 1863 or something).

I might be mistaken, but wasn't our independence part of the Statute of Westminster in 1931?
Canada became a country (dominion?) in 1867.

[about Bush not being bad]
Ok, thinking bush is good and kerry bad I can understand,
thinking kerry is the lesser evil I can understand,
even thinking bush is the lesser evil I can understand.

But this blows my mind.

Relative to past presidents, he's not that bad. He's not doing a hell of a lot to stop outsourcing, but it's not like he's the antichrist. Allow me to compare to hotshot Clinton. The following was taken from another forum

I'm trying to get all this political stuff straightened out in my head
so I'll know how to vote come November. Right now, we have one guy saying
one thing. Then the other guy says something else. Who to believe. Lemme
see; have I got this straight?

Clinton awards Halliburton no-bid contract in Yugoslavia - good...
Bush awards Halliburton no-bid contract in Iraq - bad...

Clinton spends 77 billion on war in Serbia - good...
Bush spends 87 billion in Iraq - bad...

Clinton imposes regime change in Serbia - good...
Bush imposes regime change in Iraq - bad...

Clinton bombs Christian Serbs on behalf of Muslim Albanian terrorists- good...
Bush liberates 25 million from a genocidal dictator - bad...

Clinton bombs Chinese embassy - good...
Bush bombs terrorist camps - bad...

Clinton commits felonies while in office - good...
Bush lands on aircraft carrier in jumpsuit - bad...

No mass graves found in Serbia - good...
No WMD found Iraq - bad...

Stock market crashes in 2000 under Clinton - good...
Economy on upswing under Bush - bad...

Clinton refuses to take custody of Bin Laden - good...
World Trade Centers fall under Bush - bad...

Clinton says Saddam has nukes - good...
Bush says Saddam has nukes - bad...

Clinton calls for regime change in Iraq - good...
Bush imposes regime change in Iraq - bad...

Terrorist training in Afghanistan under Clinton - good...
Bush destroys training camps in Afghanistan - bad...

Milosevic not yet convicted - good...
Saddam turned over for trial - bad...

Ahh, it's so confusing!

Then before him was Bush senior who didn't get re-elected because the economy sort of sucked under his watch.
Before that was Reagan I believe. I'm not quite sure if Bush beat the record, but Reagan spent more money than anybody in the history of the world.

Basically all presidents are crap. There is no good president.

 

[Smurf]

ok, we became a country in 1960-something, i was only off by a century.

I can't compare it to what it was like before (cuz I didn't follow politics back then) but It still sucks, I like the idea of proportional representation - but that would give too much power to the people and allow direct action as oppoed to indirect representation, bad for big business, so we don't have it.

The thing about that post is it's slanted to support bush, allow me to revise it:

Clinton awards Halliburton no-bid contract in Yugoslavia - good...
Bush awards Halliburton no-bid contract in Iraq - bad...

Cheney major stock holder in Halliburton, who was clinton's vice? If halliburton did as bad a job in yugo as they are doing in Iraq I'll give him this one.

Cinton spends 77 billion on war in Serbia - good...
Bush spends 87 billion in Iraq - bad...

1. The main argument is bush's reasons for going to Iraq, he misused information and lied to the world, went against the UN and now the US has already broken many articles in the geneva convention, and no one is being held responsible! except for that one thing at abu ghrave or something prison where a few lowly officers got minor sentences.
2. Clinton was first president in like 7 consecutive presidents to leave office without a deficit, Bush went throught this and into deficit in his first term, and then achieved the largest deficit in American history.

Clinton imposes regime change in Serbia - good...
Bush imposes regime change in Iraq - bad...

don't know much about this but i'll take a shot:
Yugoslavia vs http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/images/jan-june03/map_ethnic_iraq.gif

Serbia was seen as an international threat to other states in the area, Kuwait didnt even consider Iraq a threat when Bush invaded.

Clinton bombs Christian Serbs on behalf of Muslim Albanian terrorists- good...
Bush liberates 25 million from a genocidal dictator - bad...

I resent the use of religion in this statement, the serbs were murders no matter their faith and the Albanians (oppressed freedom fighters?)

Clinton bombs Chinese embassy - good...
Bush bombs terrorist camps - bad...

I think he's mainly being criticized for bombing Red Cross bases and British Tanks.

Clinton commits felonies while in office - good...
Bush lands on aircraft carrier in jumpsuit - bad...

*cough* this one is completely unparallelled

No mass graves found in Serbia - good...
No WMD found Iraq - bad...

I don't know much about this but didn't you find mass graves in Serbia? I'm pretty sure this is flat out not true.

Stock market crashes in 2000 under Clinton - good...
Economy on upswing under Bush - bad...

See #2 but add 'Massive Outsourcing' to Bush.

Clinton refuses to take custody of Bin Laden - good...
World Trade Centers fall under Bush - bad...

America had the means of stopping WTC, when bush was warned by the CIA some time (several months i believe) before it he took no action and the air force was completely unprepared for WTC.
Bush incapable of taking Bin Laden into custody?

Clinton says Saddam has nukes - good...
Bush says Saddam has nukes - bad...

Clinton was wrong, realized it, didn't go to war.
Bush was wrong, didn't care, lied, went to war.

Clinton calls for regime change in Iraq - good...
Bush imposes regime change in Iraq - bad...

See: Imposes vs Calls for.

Terrorist training in Afghanistan under Clinton - good...
Bush destroys training camps in Afghanistan - bad...

Bush moves training camps to Iraq [closer to infidels now] where there are 'no-go' zones and Terrorist Hot beds like Falluja. terrorist activity increases.

Milosevic not yet convicted - good...
Saddam turned over for trial - bad...

Discussed in another thread, Bush finally did something right.

Now I don't know much about Yugoslavia since it was before my time, so take my opinion about as seriously as you take the other one. And yes I agree all presidents are crap which is why this American experiment should end, its gone on long enough - we have enough data to confidently state that its not working.

 

[russ_watters]

The following was taken from another forum

Do you have a link to that? Its pretty good.

 

[BobG]

Well, that's about 30% too much but Gokul's comments might explain this misguided group.

As of right now, I have always loved Canadian Hockey. :!)

Just keep in mind that foreign outsourcing is an even bigger problem in Canada than the US:

Quebec Nordiques to Colorado
Minnesota North Stars to Dallas (using revised map, of course)
Winnipeg Jets to Pheonix (and they still can't win the Cup)

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Just keep in mind that foreign outsourcing is an even bigger problem in Canada than the US:

Aside from the fact that compared to the US, in so many ways Canada seems to be going the right direction, I know quite a number of US companies exporting work there. In fact for the last ten years I have watched Canadian industry demand more and more attention here. Several of my customers have each had several large projects in Canada - new industrial manufacturing installations. I have also seen that Canadian industrial electrical standards have been absorbed by many manufacturers here. This is common when dealing with a future competitor.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh yes, as for Spain, Brunei, the UAE and the others, I appreciate your comments and they do each sound wonderful in their own way. Unfortunately it didn't take long to realize that we are not up to that much risk yet. BC is virtually in the neighborhood for us. We can still be relatively close to family and I might even maintain some of my customer base. From what I gather, Canada wants new businesses.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

And yes I agree all presidents are crap which is why this American experiment should end, its gone on long enough - we have enough data to confidently state that its not working.

I think it still can but it will take a long time to correct itself; depending of course on the damage done to the Constitution. However, since hardly anyone seems to care about the Constitution my hopes are quickly diminishing. At the least, I don't see this being a place that I care to live for a couple of decades or more.

The people have failed, not the system.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Back on topic

What is the price of milk, gas, coffee, a dinner at a decent restaurant, and a good steak from the grocery store?

What do you consider to be a high, moderate, and cheap price for a home?

How much of your income goes to taxes?

 

[Gonzolo]

All in Cdn$

Milk : 5$ for 4 liters

Gas : 0,9-0,95 $ /liter

Coffee : 1-1,50$/cup at the Donut shop.

Dinner : Ponderosa : 10-15$/complete meal, Pizza Shack : Probably about 20$ for the most expensive pizza (Largest with all ingredients). McDonald : 6$ for a Big Mac combo. Everyone has his definition of "Decent", for foreign specialty restaurants, you can easily find 15-25$ / meal.

T-Bone steak at grocery : 8-15$ (15$ for 1-inch thick)

Income tax and sales tax depends on what province you're in.

 

[fourier jr]

milk is more expensive here because of our supply-management system in agriculture. i don't really have a problem with it because it's besically an embargo on stuff from other countries & it protects the family farm. it must be good for us if every other country in the wto wants us to get rid of the system. too bad ralph goodale caved to pressure to change the quotas to tariffs, because with the nafta we can't increase tariffs, only decrease them. eventually we'll see the us corporations take over all our dairy & poultry if we don't get a strong government in ottawa.

 

[ShawnD]

ok, we became a country in 1960-something, i was only off by a century.

I made a typo; It was 1867.
I'm not trying to be a dick. I just want the world to know a little more about Canada

The link to that forum is here
http://www.techimo.com/forum/t123077.html

Cheney major stock holder in Halliburton, who was clinton's vice? If halliburton did as bad a job in yugo as they are doing in Iraq I'll give him this one.

Cheney being a big stock holder isn't the point. The point is that both administrations wanted quick results (bidding can take weeks), but only one administration got bad pres over it.

The main argument is bush's reasons for going to Iraq, he misused information and lied to the world, went against the UN and now the US has already broken many articles in the geneva convention, and no one is being held responsible! except for that one thing at abu ghrave or something prison where a few lowly officers got minor sentences.

I'm not too sure he lied to the world. He used information that the CIA discovered during Clinton's reign.
He had to go against the UN if he wanted results because Iraq had France (a country with veto power) in its pocket.
About the Geneva convention, which articles were broken exactly? That prison scandal was one thing that was managed very poorly, but what else has gone against the convention?

Clinton was first president in like 7 consecutive presidents to leave office without a deficit, Bush went throught this and into deficit in his first term, and then achieved the largest deficit in American history.

As for Clinton being the first in 7 to leave without a deficit, it depends on how you see it. If you compare the debt with the GDP, you'll see that Clinton isn't really a first over any extended period. He certainly did do a good job of the budget; there's just no disputing that.
Bush's deficit isn't entirely his fault. The war spending is definitely his fault, but the bear market was inherited from Clinton, and a bum economy always follows a bear market.

*cough* this one is completely unparallelled

The point is that Bush is getting criticized for absolutely everything he does, but Clinton is still infallible. Whenever something goes wrong, people are immediately blaming Bush.

I don't know much about this but didn't you find mass graves in Serbia? I'm pretty sure this is flat out not true.

I believe they did; I think it's why Milosevic is on trial.

See #2 but add 'Massive Outsourcing' to Bush.

No arguments here. Bush really is screwing that one up.

America had the means of stopping WTC, when bush was warned by the CIA some time (several months i believe) before it he took no action and the air force was completely unprepared for WTC.
Bush incapable of taking Bin Laden into custody?

The main point was that Sudan actually offered to give Bin Laden to the US, but Clinton's administration didn't want Bin Laden. They could have had him right then and there, but they didn't take him. Bush basically inherited another one of Clinton's screw ups, and now it's suddenly Bush's fault that Bin Laden is still on the run.

Clinton was wrong, realized it, didn't go to war.
Bush was wrong, didn't care, lied, went to war.

Clinton actually supports the war. CNN link

What is the price of milk, gas, coffee, a dinner at a decent restaurant, and a good steak from the grocery store?

What do you consider to be a high, moderate, and cheap price for a home?

How much of your income goes to taxes?

milk: $5 for 4L.

gas: $0.80 per litre in Edmonton

coffee: $1 from vending machines, a little more than $1 at dohnut shops, and up to $4 at coffee shops like Second Cup and Starbucks.

Prices at restaurants are about the same when you factor in the exchange rate. For example, a $0.99 burger in the US will cost $1.29 or $1.39 around here.

steak: T-bone steak is about $6 per pound.

homes: You can probably get a used house in Edmonton for about 100k-150k. A nice new one will cost about 200k. Houses near the river cost a hell of a lot more.


Taxes:

Highest tax bracket starts at something like 60k, and you pay around 29% on a federal level. Alberta has a flat rate income tax that doesn't change depending on how much money you make. In 2001, the flat tax in Alberta was 11%; I'm not sure what it is right now. I have no idea how Edmonton's taxes work.

Split between federal and provincial income taxes, 40% of your money is gone right off the top. After that you add in all the other BS stuff like UI, union dues, etc. Basically you can expect 50% of your money to be taken from you before you even get a chance to spend it.

After income taxes there are the sales taxes. Canada has a 7% national sales tax called GST. Alberta and the 3 territories have no provincial taxes. The provincial sales taxes get insanely high as you head farther east peaking at 15% in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. So sum it all up, Alberta and the territories have the lowest sales taxes at 7%. NB, NS, and Newfoundland have the highest sales taxes at 22%.
Provincial Sales Taxes