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Why I <3 Canada
- Thread starter Mr. Giggles
- Start date
meltingparappa
Member
I was born in Nova Scotia but have lived in the States for my adult life. Going back there to visit relatives is like stepping into a time machine in more than one way. The level of occasional brazen racism stops me in my tracks every time.
But the average age of anyone you'd see on the street is around 70, so it's probably just a byproduct of that.
I meant the wealthy in Ontario, as well as promising regular Albertans they would get rich eventually by pumping Canada's economy into the oil industry.
Unless you're referring to something else. I'm all ears!
Blargonaut
Banned
god I wish I was back in Canada again, sigh
I MISS BEING COLD
Cherish it, OP
I MISS BEING COLD
Cherish it, OP
NinjaCoachZ
Member
So which far-right populist candidate do you see taking over from Trudeau? Maxime Bernier is the CPC's frontrunner and he's more libertarian if anything. O'Leary dropped out and Leitch (the one whose policies and rhetoric are most Trump-like) can't crack the top 3.
Yeah, this is completely undeniable. It's really tragic.
Canada is not perfect, our record when it comes to the treatment of Aboriginals is abhorrent and we have systemic issues that need to be dealt with (racial profiling, institutional sexism, etc.) and our environmental laws were severely rolled back thanks to the Harper Years™, but I can't deny how proud I am to be a Canadian.
There is no free speech in Canada.
There is no free speech in Canada
There is no free speech in Canada
Disregarding the other nonsensical claims, freedom of speech is one of our most highly valued and protected liberties, arguably to a point of detriment given it's been used to protect what constitute hate speech (see: R v. Zundel, literally anything written by Rebel Media).
There is no free speech in Canada.
There is no free speech in Canada
There is no free speech in Canada
Disregarding the other nonsensical claims, freedom of speech is one of our most highly valued and protected liberties, arguably to a point of detriment given it's been used to protect what constitute hate speech (see: R v. Zundel, literally anything written by Rebel Media).
Mr. Giggles
Member
Good Lobster though, best I've ever had
I can recognize that others may see Canada in a different light based on their own contrasting experiences.
But as a Canadian, Canada is a place I love, but by no means respect.
Our countries' short history is chock-full of wrong doings that too often are forgotten by false ideals of inclusion and peacekeeping.
The cultural mosaic does not exist, but rather is a marketing public policy engineered by our government, and propped up by the uniformed who adopted a positive identity.
Canada is as flawed as any other post-modern country, let's not forget this fact.
But as a Canadian, Canada is a place I love, but by no means respect.
Our countries' short history is chock-full of wrong doings that too often are forgotten by false ideals of inclusion and peacekeeping.
The cultural mosaic does not exist, but rather is a marketing public policy engineered by our government, and propped up by the uniformed who adopted a positive identity.
Canada is as flawed as any other post-modern country, let's not forget this fact.
meltingparappa
Member
OH MY GOD the local food is great, and the nonstop vistas.
Outdated social views aside, their tourism crown is very well justified.
Mr. Giggles
Member
We are flawed this is true, however the cultural mosaic does exist more in the cities than perhaps the country sides... the fact that it is marketed does not erode the fact that it exists
I'm no immigrant, so my situation ain't the same as the OP... but when I compare my country to most of the world out there(even the USA lately), I'm glad of being born here. We're far from perfect, but at least we can live safely, peacefully and comfortably. Can't say the same for 75% of the countries on this planet though, and I'm probably being generous with that number.
While I agree that sadly our peacekeeping role has been twisted into feeding the ongoing American war machine, I do have to disagree about the cultural mosaic. Obviously, you're mileage will vary drastically if you're in rural New Brunswick or Saskatchewan compared to Downtown Montreal or Kensington Market, Toronto. But I think the diversity of our major cities is exemplary. It's hard to point to any other city that is as functionally diverse as Toronto or Montreal. And since those largely represent Canada I think it's fairly accurate to claim that we are progressive in that regard.
curiouscharles
Member
glad you're enjoying the country, but just one gripe with your list.
"the environment"...
like, please don't give us credit for something we're not responsible for.
the only reason the air is clean here is because we're the second largest land mass on the planet, with barely as many people populating it as the state of california.
our actual governmental policies towards the environment have been down right embarrassing since the 60s - mostly because we're an energy exporter at heart and our economy has been tied to the drilling, and distribution for the dirtiest oil in the world.
so yeah, we're not a country of environmentalists, please don't give us credit where we've yet to earn it.
but, welcome to the country, always nice to hear people are enjoying it!
lol, so glad i live in victoria - fucking hate real canadian seasons [that just get worse the more you go east].
"the environment"...
like, please don't give us credit for something we're not responsible for.
the only reason the air is clean here is because we're the second largest land mass on the planet, with barely as many people populating it as the state of california.
our actual governmental policies towards the environment have been down right embarrassing since the 60s - mostly because we're an energy exporter at heart and our economy has been tied to the drilling, and distribution for the dirtiest oil in the world.
so yeah, we're not a country of environmentalists, please don't give us credit where we've yet to earn it.
but, welcome to the country, always nice to hear people are enjoying it!
lol, so glad i live in victoria - fucking hate real canadian seasons [that just get worse the more you go east].
I'm also an immigrant, OP! Think the thing I love the most is being able to walk across streets and not worry about being mugged and/or kidnapped. One kidnapping is enough for a lifetime.
Also love how...chill things are. Even the serious ones. It's difficult to even explain it to my friends who were born here because they don't know how it is in other countries. But man, Canada feels so...good.
There is also the fact that even when I run into the occasional racist, there's practically a race to see who has my back first. Even complete strangers.
I love this country and I'm proud of it. I try to do my part volunteering and donating to keep it that way.
It's not perfect. Nowhere is. And I hope one day Canada will make more moves to compensate First Nations fot everything...because things aren't perfect by a long shot
But God, I love Canada and I'll always remember the day I got to swear my oath of citizenship.
Also love how...chill things are. Even the serious ones. It's difficult to even explain it to my friends who were born here because they don't know how it is in other countries. But man, Canada feels so...good.
There is also the fact that even when I run into the occasional racist, there's practically a race to see who has my back first. Even complete strangers.
I love this country and I'm proud of it. I try to do my part volunteering and donating to keep it that way.
It's not perfect. Nowhere is. And I hope one day Canada will make more moves to compensate First Nations fot everything...because things aren't perfect by a long shot
But God, I love Canada and I'll always remember the day I got to swear my oath of citizenship.
The inroads that the CPC made in Ontario in during the 2011 election were in large part thanks to grassroot support that they fostered in urban communities made up mostly of new Canadians from immigrant families. Prominent Conservatives members, most notably Jason Kenney, essentially made a pitch to voters in Somali, Sikhs, Hindu and even Muslims communities that their party's 'family values' platform lined up perfectly with their core values and they bought in.
Fast forward to 2015 and suddenly the CPC's voter base is threatening to stay home because Harper is so disliked. The party decides to start engaging in dog whistle politics and essentially pisses away all the support from urban ridings that they built from the last election.
Would you have predicted a Trump in 2008? The Change candidate came. He didn't change things enough. The right let racists feel like they were allowed to spew their hatred aaaand cheeto.
EU anti-monopoly and consumer protection laws are incredible. Also no roaming fees across the continent.
but then we left it anyway looooooooool
Air fare prices in Canada is mostly due to lack of competition, and lack of customers. It's a rather small group of companies competing for a small piece of pie, so not a lot of incentive for price wars.
In regards to your first post, Ignatieff's failure wasn't due to a lack of charisma as you implied (something no one would ever describe Mr. TV & Movies as), it was thanks to a smear campaign against Ignatieff as an other, seeing as he was "just visiting" which, coupled with his low attendance in Parliament that Jack Layton hammered him with during a debate, helped fuel the Orange Crush in 2011 that saw the LPC drop to third for the first time in their history. By all accounts, Harper got a majority due to the failures of the LPC and their leader during the 2011 election.
M-103 is not a bill, it's a motion to condemn Islamophobia following the mosque shooting in Quebec earlier this year. A similar motion was made to condemn antisemitism and passed unanimously in the past but for some reason, people got all antsy about M-103 because "muh freeze peaches and creepy Sharia" or whatever other right-wing jargon you hear to justify one's Islamophobia. I don't understand why people have repeated this lie so often whenever freedom of speech in Canada is brought up.
Simon Belmont
Banned
Just to add to this, a bill is a law. A motion amounts to Parliament saying "Boo x!" They carry no force of law at all, they're just basically statements from the House of Commons.
TheStruggler
Report me for trolling ND/TLoU2 threads
I love Canada even more now that Trump is in office and sadly his bill for healthcare went through yesterday, even though it has to pass the senate as well.
That's interesting (about the new immigrant conservative appeal), I didn't perceive that at the time, though I had my head deep in the sand of academia at the time so it doesn't surprise me that I missed out on such aspects of that election.
lived in India and France, where did you live ?
saying "we are better than others" isnt a good self-evaluation process and doesn't mean shit. thats nivelling downwards.
Actually, in recent years, Nova Scotia- specifically the Halifax area, has been in a mild winter bubble, while the rest of the Maritimes, and especially Newfoundland, has been hammered with winter weather. Not saying we don't get bad weather here, but it's been pretty tame lately.
I agree with everything you said here, but I still do think charisma did play apart in Ignatieff's loss. I think Layton's jab at his attendance is apart of that. Ignatieff just didn't know how to talk to people. He was like a stern uncle that people respected but nobody actually wanted in the room with them. There was no pizzaz. As much as I can't stand Trudeau's over the top incessant sunshine and rainbows gleeful idealism, at least he has the ability to rally people around him. Ignatieff was just sort of a turd.
Obviously, Harper is the counter-point to all this, but he at least appealed to an aging generation of conservatives that wanted the comfort of what appeared to them as a sensible-minded every-man. In my perception at least.
I'm not saying this kind of thing sways me, personally. I'd vote for a robot if it promised to fund science research. But I do understand that it is important in the game of politics.
BeforeU
Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
NFL is garbage though, more ads than actual playtime
The Artisan
Member
lol. now I wanna know what you wrote before you edited your post.
Mr. Giggles, it's time you know that this Canadian man is responsible, for the best song ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzTuBuRdAyA
Yes, really.
Well if you want me to leave...
=]
also I heard marijuana is legal up there?
Preach my brother. We the north! Is it a perfect country? No. Do we have a perfect system? Do we have an untarnished history? No.
Look it from this perspective, our immediate and really only neighbour country is the US. It is like being a well educated, polite, respecting, open minded, positive, hopeful, collected, calm minded younger brother of someone who is a drunk, belligerent, bigoted, unresolved, violent, hot headed ,woman beater, racist man.
Little brother turned out more than fine.
Look it from this perspective, our immediate and really only neighbour country is the US. It is like being a well educated, polite, respecting, open minded, positive, hopeful, collected, calm minded younger brother of someone who is a drunk, belligerent, bigoted, unresolved, violent, hot headed ,woman beater, racist man.
Little brother turned out more than fine.
Mr. Giggles
Member
Mr. Giggles
Member
I refuse to love Canada until we bring the frigging cup back. Preferably by the Canucks
We will man, gotta believe.... believe hard!
KernelPanic
Member
Canada is great.
My wife is American(registered republican too) and she didn't like it here much for the first few years.
- Wow you guys pay a lot in taxes
- Why is everything so expensive here?
- Healthcare here isn't so great. Why do we need a referral and why do we have to wait so long to see a specialist.
Over the years she mellowed out and she wants citizenship now. We were actually supposed to move to the US(family reasons) this year but then Trump got elected and she doesn't even want to cross the border anymore.
It's not perfect here by any means(try getting therapy for autistic children in this country) but we love it.
My wife is American(registered republican too) and she didn't like it here much for the first few years.
- Wow you guys pay a lot in taxes
- Why is everything so expensive here?
- Healthcare here isn't so great. Why do we need a referral and why do we have to wait so long to see a specialist.
Over the years she mellowed out and she wants citizenship now. We were actually supposed to move to the US(family reasons) this year but then Trump got elected and she doesn't even want to cross the border anymore.
It's not perfect here by any means(try getting therapy for autistic children in this country) but we love it.
Mr. Giggles
Member
Do you still live in France? I created this thread about Canada and why I like it vs where I was before.
If you think my points in OP translated to "we are better than others" thats your problem, but I invite you to tell me why you don't think Canada is better than the U.A.E
The Artisan
Member
Yeah, the last year or so has really made me come to the realization that there's nowhere else I'd rather live right now than here.
Hold up, while I definitely don't think we're amazing at being environmentally conscious, there's definitely credit that is due for us being ahead of the game on cutting out reliance on fossil fuels in terms of energy production. I don't know what the history in other areas of Canada are, but at least in Ontario and Quebec commitments were made decades ago that as a result, almost all of the power generation here is either renewable or nuclear.
Hold up, while I definitely don't think we're amazing at being environmentally conscious, there's definitely credit that is due for us being ahead of the game on cutting out reliance on fossil fuels in terms of energy production. I don't know what the history in other areas of Canada are, but at least in Ontario and Quebec commitments were made decades ago that as a result, almost all of the power generation here is either renewable or nuclear.
all the ghost hugs man. Totally understand what you mean with the thread and I feel the same way. It's like...Yeah, Canada isn't perfect, but it does do things that we didn't have before and that we appreciate immensely. So it's hard not be happy that we get to live in this place.
But yeah, I get you man.
Jokes aside, what's wrong with milk bags? They are so more practical. Like I always get milk bags if I have a choice.
Mr. Giggles
Member
You just jelly.
Milk in bags is the supreme way to deliver dairy products.
now if you want to take off points for inventing Hawaiian pizza then go nuts
Like you could annex us anyway.
P.S. Bagged milk is objectively the best milk and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong.
New Year. New Me
Member
Would still rather be anywhere in Scandinavia though
Mr. Giggles
Member
They have neat stuff going on there, not gonna lie - but I'm happy here in the True north
Rentahamster
Rodent Whores
I'm glad your digging Canada, OP, it's a great nation.
Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew
Banned
You can take your Buffalo bills and keep them.
Man with Knife
Member
Nickelback
Avril Lavigne
Justin Bieber
Celine Dion
etc.
Why?
Avril Lavigne
Justin Bieber
Celine Dion
etc.
Why?
pr0cs
Member
Yeah well you'd be surprised at the amount of people who have an opinion on the oil industry in Canada but have never actually visited any production sites , never actually seen the oil sands in person , don't realize how safe and environmentally conscious Canadian oil is versus any other country in the world. It's oil, therefore it's bad...
Fact is, we are stuck with oil for a very long time yet, especially with our insane winters and the sheer number of people employed in the oil industry.
TemplaerDude
Member
We have a lot to be proud of but it is important to acknowledge some of the terrible things we have done as well. Some of those things are still impacting families, lives today. Not to be a spoilsport.
Habibi once you get your passport you'll be right back to the UAE to get dat special treatment lol
Seriously though so many Arabs I know in the UAE get their immigration papers for Canada, go to sort out their "landing" and come back, as I'm told it's harder to get a job over there.
Seriously though so many Arabs I know in the UAE get their immigration papers for Canada, go to sort out their "landing" and come back, as I'm told it's harder to get a job over there.
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