A FEW "TRUTHS" ABOUT THE TRUE NORTH STRONG AND FREE, (THE TRUTH WRITE OFF)
Written: Feb 20 '02
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Pros: We try, that's the most important thing
Cons: We're not perfect, but who really is
The Bottom Line: What can I say, I've had ample opportunity over the years to live elsewhere, but I'm still here.
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| JAMES23's Full Review: Canada |
When I was first invited to participate in this Write Off I had to give it some thought. Not of course whether I would participate of not, that was a given. A Write Off for and by the International members of this little cyber community, of course I had to be a part of that.
I remember two years ago when I joined, you could practically count the number of "foreign", that is to say non US residents on this site on one hand. OK maybe both hands. Mind part of that was the fact that we couldn't be paid yet, and some were then not willing to write for ego boo alone. Now of course we're all in the same boat vis a vis financial compensation around here, well almost. It's almost a moot point if the cash out point is $10.00 or $100.00 and how much paper work has to be submitted with IS being paid in pennies a month, literally.
No, deciding whether or not to join was never a question. However what would I write about. While I do write about a lot of topics on here, I seem to be best known for my travel pieces. Among them are more than a few describing my home, Canada. I've reviewed bars and restaurants in our largest city, tourist attractions, both well known and relatively obscure, and even tiny little fishing villages rather isolated.
The topic was of course to write about your own country, and as I just noted, I've done that on more than one occasion. I will also continue to do that as long as I'm allowed to here. Should I then just compile another review on one of my favourite Canadian hotels, restaurants or adult beverage establishments as I have in the past, or perhaps try something else.
I could have taken the low road on this one and banged out another piece on a place I've already researched. An article I was going to write anyway sometime in the future. Hey I even had a good excuse for doing just that. This is the third Write Off in row I've been invited to participate in. Even I'm not that prolific, although some may disagree.
No I decided to not chose that route. Somehow it's just not Canadian to go the easy way. We like to do it the hard way, the honest way if you will up here. It's part of our character. Therefore here's something new and fresh. What follows are just some random facts and thoughts about my native land. I hope that it will better help you understand us.
First off a couple of interesting facts, both well known and obscure. I'm not going to sit here and toss thousands of facts and figures at you don't worry. There are plenty of other places on the web to locate simple stats. These however have stuck in my mind. I didn't even have to look them up.
Canada is the second largest country in the world in physical size. That one's easy, but here's a couple you may not have known. We have some of the largest untapped natural resources on the planet. We're a major producer of uranium, gold, tin, zinc and quite a few other precious metals. We also have massive reserves of both oil and natural gas.
Well at the moment we're not a major oil player like OPEC. A lot of these resources are just not economically feasible to get at right now. they're located either in our north and/or off shore, but situations change. New technology and the drying up of other sources of fossil fuels may soon make it economically viable to harness.
We're a major supplier of other products such as lumber and food stuffs to the world. That's well known but try this one. We also export a lot of high tech items too. Everything from cars, to aircraft, to computers. Unfortunately we also export a lot of talented young people too. That's one we area we need to work on though.
We also have the largest supply of fresh water in the world. It's at present an untapped resource. Some day soon we will soon have to decide how to best utilise, both for our benefit and the rest of the world's.
We repeatedly show up in the United Nation's top ten list of best countries in the world to live in, usually in the top three or five, if not first. These standings are based on such factors as infant mortality rates, life expectancy, literacy rates, access to health care, political stability, and other bench marks by which we try to measure a developed society.
On the down side though we usually seem to show on lists of the most over taxed and over regulated nations too. We're the most taxed of the G8 nations. Then on the good side we are still a member of the G8 and were a member of the G7.
While we don't have the largest debt load of any industrialised nation (yet) we do have one of the largest. That's not something to be proud of though. It's a result of some thirty-five years of public indifference, and government arrogance. In the space of one generation we went from having an annual surplus to an annual deficit. Our dollar went from being worth $1.20 US down to 60 cents US.
We consider ourselves good neighbours. We've been founding members of both the United Nations and NATO. We've sat on the Security Council of the former more times than any other nation aside from the five permanent seat holders. We took a lead role in establishing sanctions against South Africa to bring about political reform in that country and stood firm when others would have preferred we did not. When we feel a policy of an ally is wrong or outdated we are not shy about showing it. Hence our contrary position to the US vis a vis Cuba.
It was a Canadian that invited the concept of Peacekeeping, our former Prime Minister and then Foreign Affairs Minister Lester B. Pearson. For that act he was awarded a Nobel Peace prize. A generation later that award would be given to all those men and woman who have ever worn the fabled blue beret.
Since it's inception in 1956 in Suez, Canadian service personnel have served on every UN sponsored peace keeping mission in the world. Sometimes our contribution has been nominal. Other times we have provided the lions share. Many times such forces have been commanded by Canadians.
The cost has been high, both in financial terms and in the toll it has taken on our young men and women who volunteer to undertake such missions. However it is one undertaking we will not decline. In recent years we have seen our overall military capabilities decline due to government neglect, where perhaps we may no longer be able to take the lead in this undertaking. Fortunately other nations, most notably Britain and the Unite States have begun to take a more active role.
Incidentally we are the only nuclear power to voluntarily give up those weapons of mass destruction. Whether or not that was a good decision or not some may argue, but we chose to do so. The Government of the day relinquished these weapons that were part of our collective defence with our NATO and NORAD partners in 1972.
As part of our policy of being good neighbours we have not shirked from our responsibilities to others in the community of nations. Canada continues to poor foreign aid into those counties that need it. Sometimes in the past we have been perhaps a bit naive in how we have done so, but our hearts were in the right place.
However if there is a disaster of some sort anywhere in the world, plane loads of supplies and trained personnel from our airports are soon en route there. Earthquake victims in Turkey, hurricane victims in the Caribbean, or famine in Africa it matters not. When asked we will help.
Closer to home though provides the most recent example of this. Sharing a common border, and language and similarities in culture and history with our neighbours to the south has sometimes caused tension and difficulties between our two nations. However when the tragic events of September 11th, 2001 happened we did not hesitate to act. At first we were in shock as was the rest of the world. That however had to be placed aside. Our friends and neighbours needed our help and we gave it to them.
First we opened our airports to the hundreds of aircraft that had to be diverted from US airspace. The runways of airports at Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, and St. John's among other cities became literal parking lots. Then the citizens of those cities opened their homes and hearts to the thousands of stranded travellers, American and others.
Requests for spare rooms, and beds should it become necessary to house them indefinitely, were met by thousands of offers here in Toronto (myself included). In Halifax and St. John's thousands of weary, shocked and stranded people experienced first hand the world famous hospitality of Atlantic Canadians.
Tales of simple acts of kindness filled the media in the days and weeks that followed. A couple stranded in Halifax missed their wedding back in the US. The citizens of Halifax threw a wedding for them, ceremony and reception organised on the spur of the moment.
In Toronto, a businessman took the day off of work and drove across the city to Pearson International Airport with his car full of fresh pizzas he'd bought to feed the stranded passengers. In typical Canadian fashion some mindless bureaucrat wouldn't let him take the pizzas inside the terminal. While he was arguing his case the hapless good Samaritan's car was ticketed by Airport security.
The local police though tore up the ticket and some grateful American stranded passenger who witnessed the whole thing, told those inside the terminal. The passengers came outside and gratefully helped themselves to the free food.
The very day of the tragedy the entire country responded. Blood donor clinics were literally swamped as people responded to the emergency in any way they could. My sister works for the Canadian Blood Agency in Halifax. Normally she spends most of her time trying to get people to come in and donate, and calling previous donors and trying to get them back. After this she was actually forced to turn away people, or take their names and promise that they would be able to donate soon.
It wasn't just blood of course. Offers came in for clothes blankets, anything we though would be needed by our cousins. Emergency response teams and concerned citizens both were ready and willing to go to New York. Here in Toronto hundreds of Police, Fire Fighters, EMS, and other medical personal volunteered to go to relieve and help their American counterparts. Heavy equipment and the trained operators required to run it were also put on stand by. Not a lot of what was offered was needed, but it was made available.
After the immediate reaction to the events we stood firm alongside our American neighbours. This was not just because 70 of our own citizens died tragically in that event. To us an attack on our neighbour was an attack on us too and would not in any way be tolerated.
Perhaps that was not immediately evident by the actions of the bumbling national disgrace we call our Prime Minister, but it was the will of the people. Eventually our Government acted and now Canadian soldiers sailors, and air crew serve along side their US counterparts in Afghanistan. We actually provide the third largest national contingent in the coalition.
I guess further proof of just how good a world neighbour we are is evident by the fact of how many come here to visit, and to stay. We are a country of immigrants, always have been and always will be. We encourage immigration from all corners of the globe and have some of the most generous immigration and resettlement policies in the world.
Sure there are those who choose to abuse this generosity. It is something we are aware of and hope to change. Perhaps our present leaders lack the political will to do so, but Governments change. Most importantly though we will not close our doors to those who wish to come here and will contribute to our society.
Many make the conscious decision to resettle in Canada, for others though it is more circumstances that bring them to our shores, often reluctantly. We have one of the best records in the world for accepting refugees. Per capita we accept more than any other developed country. Again there are those that abuse this generosity, and we aware of this, and it is a subject of debate here. However we will not shut the door to those in need.
What makes the numbers of refugees even more amazing is the difficulty many endure to get here. We share a land border with only one other nation, the United States. Refugees travelling overland from war and political unrest in Latin America must first traverse this country which also has a welcoming policy. Most of our refugees legitimate or not arrive via long voyages by air or sea. The cost in all terms they pay for this is often high.
For whatever reason, or by whatever means one arrives here they are welcomed. New arrivals are almost immediately entitled to the same benefits of long term residents and citizens. Again this has often been a subject of debate, but also one of national pride.
We also do not choose to assimilate these new arrivals and submerge them into a bland Anglo (or Francophone for that matter) melting pot. Rather they are encouraged to continue to practice their beliefs, religion, and other aspects of their distinctive culture, and share it with the rest of us. This multi cultural mosaic that has developed is one of our attractions and our strengths.
Toronto our largest city has been named the most multi cultural city in the world. It is possible to find almost any nationality or culture in the world here. Travelling through the city's varied neighbourhoods, is not unlike travelling around the globe itself.
The Municipal Government is capable of offering services (albeit in some cases limited) in over 16 languages. We also mix and match our cultures and immigrants in Toronto and elsewhere Where else would you see a sign in a Cantonese restaurant in Toronto's Chinatown (third largest Chinese community outside of China itself) that proudly displays "German spoken here."
Despite this mix, or perhaps because of it we do have our own unique identity. We're all aware of the jokes how we're just "like Americans only more polite." We know that we are seen as reserved, and in many respects we are. We don't always wear our hearts on our sleeves as some nations do, but that's just us. Don't mistake that passivity for indifference or think that we're wimps and pushovers.
We can when needed bring to the forefront our emotions. Witness the spontaneous outburst of national pride and patriotism that swept the country in the days and weeks prior to the 1994 referendum that almost tore our nation apart. The rest of the nation showed in the most basic way that we considered Quebec and our Francophone countrymen an integral part of who we are. The differences we have are best worked out in one house, not two separate and weaker nations.
We are also capable of national outrage at injustice or wrongdoing. While it is not in normally a part of our national character we do know when to say enough is enough and point out when something is wrong. Look no further than our collective reaction to the recent debacle at the Salt lake City Winter Olympics.
The unabashed corruption of the judges , the ISU and the attempts by the IOC (not a body well known for it's honest dealings) to sweep this public relations disaster under the rug were an insult not just for our athletes but the whole community of nations. We know injustice and corruption when we see it and will not stand for it. We protect and stand up for our own as passionately as we do for our friends and allies if the situation warrants it.
It's not all milk and honey though. We have our problems here like any other nation. Taxes are high. Government bureaucracy is rampant. We have many of the same problems as our neighbours to the south, crime rates, urban decay in our cities, homelessness, and even racism has been known to rear it's ugly head here. Mind considering the ethnic mix of our population that is not surprising, and it is a lot less of a problem than some would suggest it is.
We protested the plight of oppressed peoples around the world, sometimes naively if well intentioned. At the same time the manner in which we have dealt with and continue to deal with our Aboriginal population is scandalous. There are problems here, not as many as elsewhere true. More importantly the people who can solve these problems are also here.
One of the few things we have no real control over is where we are born. I was lucky enough to be born in Canada. Unlike many others I have never taken this for granted. I have had ample opportunity to live elsewhere and probably will again in the future. I would never under any circumstances that I can imagine surrender my Canadian Citizenship. Like who those who have come here from elsewhere, who chose to be Canadians I understand how important that is.
I travel a lot, and have had the opportunity to visit and experience many cultures and lands. I have also been lucky enough to have lived, worked or visited in almost every part of Canada. I hope to able to continue this in the years ahead, to travel both far and near. It is a passion of mine and also allows me a chance to better understand where I come form and appreciate it more.
I'm often sad when I leave a foreign destination, not knowing if someday I'll return or not. However I am always excited by the prospect of the returning home. It is not just that I am returning to my home, but rather where that home is.
This has been part of The Truth Write Off co sponsored by Kuuleimomi (Russian Federation) and Copernicus ( Australia). Please do check out some of the other talented entries form the more international members of Epinions.
aaliyahgirluk of the UK
ALawston of England
amysmum of Scotland
beasmith of Scotland
ben-david of New Zealand
CarolaLind of Sweden
cartman_2k of Norway
cr01 of Wales
cripper of Hong Kong
Daniel_Rf of Portugal
DavidMac of Canada
Divine_Cheese of England
elsa70 of Italy
ezzuk of Denmark
hadassahchana of Canada
hvojr of the USA, who represents Finland
LamboLucifer of Germany
Macondo of Spain/England
MagnumForce of Canada
MariaEkaterina of Bulgaria/Korea
mattygroves of England
misstaegu of Korea
monssfisch of England/Japan
mridula of India
murpho of Ireland/the Netherlands
nscanuck of Canada
paulyoungotti of England
Petra of Germany
proxam of Scotland
shadow8 of the USA, who represents Hong Kong/China
smile2k1 of England
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
JAMES23
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Member: James Smith
Location: Toronto Ontario CANADA
Reviews written: 450
Trusted by: 222 members
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