Wow, what a site of proganda and slander. I'm a born and raised Canadian. I live in the only province without a debt, and without a sales tax. Yes, that would be Alberta. So, we pay 6?ST (federal tax) on goods and services, but no other tax, and that was lowered a year ago from 7?
We have bad weather. We also have good weather. We have in-between weather, too. We like to say we have 4 seasons, Winter, construction, construction, and construction. But, that's because we do what we can when the weather is nice. We don't have massive hurricanes that send us running from our homes, like the Southern/coastal States. I've never seen a tsunami in Canada or even heard of one. Tornadoes are not a major occurrence, nor are sand storms or earthquakes. We do have snow, sleet, hail, rain, cold temperatures, wind and storms. If you can find a place that has perfect weather, please let me know. We also have warm temperatures, chinooks (warm breezes in the winter), and plenty of days to hit the beaches. Oh yes, we have mountains, Canadian Shield, muskeg, prairies, oceans, lakes, urban and rural areas, creeks, ponds, wetlands, lots of wildlife, etc.
Oh, and we have jobs. I guess unless every job this site mentions is professional, they don't count. And, we do have jobs for professionals, we just want those professionals to actually have some standards set, and not just a degree from a made up university or a one day online diploma! Alberta is crying for people! Unfortunately, the federal goverment hasn't figured out how to let all of the people in who qualify. Almost every billboard offers jobs, starting pay over $10 an hour to work at McDonald's! Jobs can be found for those who look for them. If you want to work, there is a job for you. The federal government has been run by a bunch of Liberals for 13 years, but is now under a minority Conservative leadership, so some things are changing (including that tax cut and some immigration laws).
Healthcare is not free. But it is subsidized. We have a doctor shortage in many rural areas, because many of our graduates go to the U.S. to make more money. They also go there with the potential to get sued for malpractice magnified. Doctors and other healthcare workers are given priority for immigration because of this shortage. My small rural community is recruiting three new doctors this year from abroad. One of our pharmacies has hired 3 new pharmacists in the last 2 months. There are jobs, but they are not all in Toronto and Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary are not the only cities or communities for that matter in Alberta. If you base your ideas of Canada on Toronto, then you may as well consider a Grizzly the only bear in the world. Just because it's the biggest, doesn't make it the only one.
This webmaster of this site you refrer to should spend more time and effort trying to go back to the country he came from, where apparently all was well, (why else would he have moved to Canada in the first place?) and less time comparing Canada to some utopia he has created in his head.
If you want to see what Canada is like, come for a visit. Don't stay in one major center and declare it "the country". We are the second largest country in the world for land mass, and we have less than 35 million people living here. And, just because we ask immigrants to have $10 000 to settle here, doesn't mean we take it at the border, we just want them to be able to survive here until they find a job, get settled in, etc. We don't need to support everyone who enters our borders!
And when you're here, try some "Canadian food" - donairs, bannock, perogies, Canadian bacon, crepes, maple syrup, poutine, Shreddies, Tim Horton's, Buffalo burgers. Yes, some may be "borrowed" but we tend to change a few things to make them our's!
Good luck wherever you choose to go but no place is a utopia.
Cheers!
Answered By: Tempestt - 6/18/2007 |