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| Subject: The truth about Canada |
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I know I know... the losers will say no you can´t find fault with Canada... but here is stuff out of a recent (2008) book that eschews on the factual information about Canada. Instead of hee-hahing, I suggest that everyone calm down and think about the info presented below and if ya got dough just buy the book and find more evidence for the excerpts:
At 214 doctors per 100,000 we are in 54th place in the world... A 2007 poll revealed that over 2 million Canadians have tried but failed to find a family doctor during the previous year... Canada now has about a third fewer doctors per population than other OECD countries.
Total per capita health spending in the US is almost two and a half times the OECD average. In Canada it is one and a quarter times the OECD average.
Canada has the fourth highest obesity rate out of the 30 OECD countries.
Canada has the lowest percentage of OECD adults smoking tobacco daily.
Canada´s overall environmental performance is far behind other OECD countries with a rank of 28th out of 30.
In a February 2005 study comparing 141 countries, Canada ranked a horrendous 126th in reducing our pollution.
Canada, with 0.5% of the world´s population emits 2% of humanity´s greenhouse gas emissions... 46% of Canadian industrial greenhouse emissions in 2002 were attributed to exports.
The Canadian industrial average is 3.8% of revenues spent on research and development. For the energy industry it´s 0.75%. For the oil and gas sector it´s 0.36%.
In 1989, 15.1% of children in this country were living in poverty. By 2006, that percentage had grown to 17.7% or almost 1.2 million children.
In 2006, Canada´s poverty rate was worse than 18 other OECD countries.
In one month in 2006, 753,458 Canadians obtained food from a food bank; 41% were children.
More than 4 in 10 First Nations children are in need of basic dental care... Diabetes is 3 to 5 times more common than the Canadian average and tuberculosis is 8 to 10 times more common... Aboriginal people are about 3% of Canada´s population, but they make up about 20% of all prison inmates... 58% of Natives living on reserve aged 20 to 24 have not finished high school.
In social spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, Canada is in 25th place out of 30.
In most western European countries low-paid jobs are between 8% and 12% of the total; in Canada they make up 21% of all jobs.
During the first half of 2007, Canada´s private sector dropped some 90,000 jobs, the largest decline in over a decade and a half.
In the five years before the Free Trade Agreement came into effect in 1989, employment in Canada grew at an average annual rate of 2.9%. In the five years from 2001 to 2005, it grew at only an annual average rate of 1.84%.
The 1990s saw the highest rate of unemployment in Canada of any decade since the great depression.
The US prisoner rate per 100,000 population was 725 in 2004, compared to the OECD average of 132.4 and Canada´s rate of 107.
Corporate profits: in 1992 before taxes they were 4.7% of GDP. In 2006 they were up to 13.9% of GDP, the highest in history... Since 1990, the average after inflation increase in hourly earnings until 2006 was only 10 cents.
In January 2007 the top 100 Canadian CEOs made between $2.87 million and $74.82 million. Meanwhile, the average Canadian worker earned about $38,000 a year and the average person working for a minimum wage made $15,931 a year.
By 2005 the highest 20% of Canadian families owned 69.2% of all net worth... The poorest 40% owned only 2.4%.
In 2005, over $22.3 billion of foreign controlled corporate profits left Canada, mostly for the US.
Listen to an interview with Mel Hurtig.
Find out more about The Truth About Canada by Mel Hurtig.
Buy the book.
Excerpted from The Truth About Canada by Mel Hurtig. Copyright ? 2008 by Mel Hurtig. Excerpted by permission of McClelland & Stewart. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
[12-05-2008,17:28]
[***.202.38.47]
TruthSeeker |
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(in reply to: The truth about Canada)
Are we looking for perfection? There is no such country in the world. Such "worse than" lists can be manufactured for any and every country, given the hundreds of criteria for likes, dislikes, successes, failures, mediocre performance, etc. out there.
In addition, statistics can be manipulated to try to prove any desired point of view.
All I know is that 50 million Americans have no health care, but every legal resident in Canada can go to a hospital´s walk-in clinic and get immediate, quality attention and care. Canada´s social system is more generous than most countries of the world. Quality of life is excellent. Canada´s social justice and international humanitarian policies are the envy of the world.
That´s good enough for me.
[12-05-2008,17:51]
[**.53.229.175]
Richard |
(in reply to: The truth about Canada)
Here here, Richard! Well said.
[12-05-2008,19:22]
[**.189.189.252]
wannabecanadian |
(in reply to: The truth about Canada)
All deserve to express their thoughts according to personal preference.
For some folks the Universal Healthcare may have the priority, but for some others facts like "In most western European countries low-paid jobs are between 8% and 12% of the total; in Canada they make up 21% of all jobs" appear to be more important.
Though in one point all should concur; that is the future immigrants must deserve the right to know all of the facts; both positives/negatives.
Though like Richard said, Stats also can be manipulated, none should knowingly present false or manufactured stats.
[12-05-2008,19:30]
[***.254.208.246]
DC |
(in reply to: The truth about Canada)
The truth is , some people will have a better life in Canada , some people won´t
Some people always look for the positives in a situation, some people don´t
some people don´t want others to be happy.
[12-05-2008,19:51]
[***.29.23.218]
Anonymous |
(in reply to: The truth about Canada)
Thanks wannabe.
To DC´s point. I would say proper guaranteed health care and jobs are not on the same level. Without the first, the second is meaningless.
In a series reported in the Chicago Tribune recently, there are many untreated people living with cancer and other serious diseases working everyday in plentiful low-paying jobs that do not provide health care, in order to pay the rent and put food on the table.
They are not making the capricious decision of choosing jobs over health care. Some needs have higher priority for basic survival in any decent civilized society.
So I would argue jobs and health care are not mix or match choices. The first is a foundation and building block before you can move to other and better things. This is why Canada would rate higher in my view.
[13-05-2008,00:44]
[**.53.229.175]
Richard |
(in reply to: The truth about Canada)
Richard,
You hit the nail on the head.... "plentiful low-paying jobs that do not provide health care"..... I think Canada is perfect for them, I am dead serious, there cannot be a better place for them.
If one can afford good healthcare no matter where, this should not be the only reason to move. There are many in Europe who are doing low-paying jobs, and with poor healthcare.... I think they should also think seriously about moving to Canada, that is the true spirit of Canada.
[13-05-2008,10:30]
[***.242.242.2]
Raj |
(in reply to: The truth about Canada)
I agree Richard; job oppurtunities and healthcare may not be the same. Still, think when an immigrant (unlike most of the Americans immigrating into Canada of course) from an under country try to evaluate his choice then what would he give more priority? Free Healthcare or more secure or better job market? Specially if he/she is skilled?
Without health everything is meaningless, I agree. However, more messy can be to continue a life of low level job/unemployed being qualified. The agony of that life is unthinkable.
Just last weekend I personally had an encounter with the money hungry US medical system. In a vacation trip we had to take a guest to an emergency hospital for a gastric pain. For 4.5 hrs and some tests his bill was more than 3000$. Is it a good system that I can be proud of? Of course not. Though I like that system because the same system gave me the fair oppurtunity for my career which I deserve. I believe that I´m in the main stream. Last month somebody produced the most recent US/Canada inter migration. Remember? Ratio is 1:7, if it is adjusted by the population ratio then it should more like 1:70. If Free healthcare would have that priority then we would see the reverse trend, or at least balanced. Don´t you think?
Unfortunately poors suffer everyhwere. Like it or not, this is the truth. Form of the sufferings may be different. Chicago, Toronto or Calcutta. In Toronto/Montreal I saw many immigrant families rely on food bank which they at least don´t deserve being highly qualified professionals. You may ask them how much do they care about the free healthcare. Few months back a TV channel from back home took some random interviews of them in the street of Danforth/Victoria (mot popular meeting place). I´m glad that the interview wasn´t in English.
You may again argue that money is not everything...I agree there too. Though it is not the question of high/low salary which many people easily try to forget. It is the question of availability of the desired jobs. It is not like that an Entgineer move to the US because they can earn 10K more there. It is more because they can get the Engineering jobs there. I don´t believe that an University skilled professionals would prefer to have a seasonal general worker life with a free healthcare system. He/She rather prefer to a system that can ensure his/her desried jobs. I´m not saying that they are absolutelt correct, of course exceptions are everywhere.
[13-05-2008,10:55]
[***.254.208.246]
DC |
(in reply to: The truth about Canada)
The debate is misfocused, I am afraid. All of you have good points. If Richard is sick or prone to fall ill because of whatever personal factors, he can appreciate the healthcare system of Canada. However, if someone is in his prime and "selected" genetically by the brutal evolution factors at work in most third world countries, his main focus would be opportunities to advance professionally. For this person healthcare becomes a bonus point and not the driving issue... So DC has a powerful argument in that sense. That book is more detailed in discussion and can not be slighted as Richard seems to be doing in one of his posts. The most important thing is that the Canadian govt itself is presenting a one-sided rosy picture about Canada and it certainly doesn´t hurt to provide the potential immigrants a dose of reality they out to expect. To ground them, so to say. I have looked for a PDF copy of that book and it is still not available. I would say let the dreamers (Richard et al) dream, while realists (DC) may take things with a grain of salt.
[13-05-2008,12:43]
[***.202.153.132]
ManOman |
(in reply to: The truth about Canada)
ManOman,
Take my heartful regards for your words.
I exactly try to point that you mentioned in this endless debate.
About the immigrant´s hardship it is always argued that they have "Over Expectation". May be true. BUT it should be realized that the over expectation is being created by the Canadian Govt. itself which is quite unique.
Though I really feel more sad when some folks (Not Richard) try to blindly defend their Govt´s misdeed. If you refer them endless stories of hardship then those are within the exceptions. If show them comprehensive reputed Stats then Stats don´t mean anything...all bogus. To them Stats are acceptable only if that supports their idea. Otherwise not. These same group also blame the immigrants for not doing proper researh, and on the other hand can´t accept the proper research.
I wonder for how long this post remains here:).
[13-05-2008,13:22]
[***.254.208.246]
DC |
(in reply to: The truth about Canada)
It is funny how people assume only OTHERS get sick, or end up in car accidents or have kids with health problems.
problems with lack of healthcare is not exclusive to immigrants. Economic hardship is not excluslively a immigrant problem in Canada either.
we can debate the glass being half full or half empty forver with no conclusion. Both are right but so what!
DC, when was the last time you had a post deleted, what was the subject matter, and what was the language used? You have an opionion that people sometimes find stubborn and frustrating but that can be said about many of us.
[13-05-2008,15:15]
[**.155.160.37]
Sharon |
(in reply to: The truth about Canada)
I think ManOman´s favorite reading should really be Darwin´s "Survival of the Fittest".
Interesting inference that I personally must be ill to want a system where everyone else can have a shot at affordable health care when they need it. Look, I´m not sick and have no health issues. Neither does Michael Moore (not trying to compare myself to him).
But many of us are not ego-centric individualists just concerned about our own personal success stories. When one of us has a problem or is in need, we should all be wanting to help. I can´t believe ManOman is serious with his "genetically selected" comment. Echoes of Hitler and Aryan racial overtones - how can any take this argument seriously?
And to the contrary, this debate is laser-light correctly focused on an issue that´s been too long ignored in America. People are now very interested in the subject when most U.S. household bankruptcies are the result of loss of healthcare. And costs are skyrocketing to where people can´t afford it.
It should be an endless debate (at least in the States) until the problem is fixed. And it´s become a big issue down here now.
I have to agree with Raj´s point that everyone in all income classes should be covered. But it would be impossible and impractical for Canada to accept low-paid (and probably unskilled) immigrants just to cover their health care. It´s up to their home countries to take care of this. But if they qualify, by all means they can immigrate and contribute to Canada and get the coverage they need.
[13-05-2008,15:37]
[**.53.229.175]
Richard |
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