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| Subject: It is never over..... |
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To All.
Well the Conservatives won the election and that was the will of the majority of the people. Some will say the Liberals lost the election due to the pick of their leader.
Now the Liberals have a new Leader that looks like a character from the Adams Family. Not much has changed in the quality of the oppositions leaders but.....
NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED ELSEWHERE EITHER!
The Conservatives came in with a HUGE surplus and were like kids in a candy store they had to see the housing crisis in the states coming.
The Conservatives said to the opposition DO WHAT WE SAY OR THERE WILL BE AN ELECTION!
Critics did not like their attitude. Their attitude has still not changed.
People in the East can not stomach the attitude of the Conservatives anymore.
Whether they allow other countries to execute Canadians.
Whether they allow Immigration applicants to wait six years in or outside of Canada while there is unemployment.
Whether they require approved H&C applicants to wait two years to receive Landing after stage one approval.
Whether they allow the States to extradite a Canadian because he was associated with people trying to stop genocide.
Whether they allow young men to die in Afghanistan for no reason.
Whether they give away billions and announce some will go missing before they give away a penny.
Whether they allow Canada to be turned into something the vast majority can not stomach.
Whether the Liberals can afford another election or not they must call these bullies aka (Conservatives) BLUFFS!
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/597461
I am opposed to what happens in the States when no one sees just how many dead soldiers return but......
Don´t get me wrong I support the soldiers just not the mission.
Trenton Ontario is almost half way between Toronto and Montreal and it is an air force base where our fallen soldiers are returned to. The Canadian Military take the families of the fallen all the way there and then with their former family members (soldiers) drive them with sirens and lights flashing all the way to downtown Toronto to the Coroners Office.
I have always wondered why they just do not continue the flight to the Toronto Island Airport then a short Hearst ride to the coroners office. Repatriation can happen in Trenton.
I feel so sorry for all of these young lives snuffed out for what?
I see the mission in Afghanistan and the arrogant attitude of the Conservatives right wing mission as an attempt to turn my country into something that ALL Canadians must stand up and say STOP IT!!
Bring our soldiers home NOW!
Roy
www.cvimmigration.com
[06-03-2009,08:20]
[**.52.219.11]
Roy |
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(in reply to: It is never over.....)
Here, here. Well said, Roy.
I especially don´t like the Harper government´s disinterest in Canadians´ given sentence penalties in foreign countries. Or sending back conscientious military war objectors to their home country, for eventual punishment.
Canada under the Conservatives is looking a bit like what we had under Bush for so many years. I hope the country comes to its senses, and returns to its roots of fair play, decency, and defending human rights.
[06-03-2009,11:05]
[**.53.226.146]
Richard |
(in reply to: It is never over.....)
typo. death sentence penalties
[06-03-2009,11:06]
[**.53.226.146]
Richard |
(in reply to: It is never over.....)
Richard: I hesitate to say this, but I think you´ll be surprised at many of Canada´s policies. Canada likes very much to pride itself on being middle of the road, but I honestly don´t see that much is different up here. If it seems more moderate because people make less noise, I think it´s because Canadians don´t generally follow politics--I´ve been told as much by many, who are truly amazed at the interest that Americans and the world have taken over Obama and over US government in general.
One major difference I do see every day is the expectation that government should fix everything. There is sense of self pity here that I´ve never heard expressed or sensed in the US, a sense of business vs the small guy, and automatically looking for the handout to help out. Now, I admit again that this may be the area I live in and obviously I really don´t know what the rest of the country is like. For certain this area lives up to its reputation.
Health care is another area I have hesitated to say too much about. I know it´s a big priority for you, and I´d be first in line to say that universal health care should be a major priority in the US (and the world over). But, I can only be honest when I say that as much as I worried about the possibility of not having health coverage back home, I worry about something happening to my family here that requires health care. Heaven forbid if we get very sick or very hurt--the horror stories I´ve heard about being denied basic services (like stitches after hockey accidents) and of majorly botched surgeries (causing Canadians to head to the US for care, cost be darned) is downright frightening. Would this be the case if we lived in the GTA? Maybe not, but a majority of Canadians don´t, and sub par health care is what they live with.
I hope you don´t think I´ve become bitter in the past 8 months and I certainly don´t want to dissuade anyone from living their dream. But, I do see the country now in a vastly different light than I did before coming here, and like DC last year, I think it´s only fair to be open about my experiences. As he always pointed out too, everyone will have a different experience and have different insight; this is just mine, so far.
[06-03-2009,13:51]
[**.252.115.196]
wannabecanadian |
(in reply to: It is never over.....)
Wannabe- you live in a region that is historically economically depressed and politically conservative. You also live in a small community. A Vancouverite would find your environment equally foreign just as a San Fransisco resident would suggest that small town Georgia is another planet.
As for healthcare... again... provincial jurisdiction is huge in terms of quality of service.
I am not going to get into the political debate with Roy. we obviously read different news papers and live in different parts of the country with very different political climates.
[06-03-2009,15:44]
[***.20.74.169]
Sharon |
(in reply to: It is never over.....)
Okay I agree with Sharon when it comes to Health Care. I do not agree to support bullies.
Wannabe in your neighborhood you watch BT and laugh about Toronto snow and our traffic and most there are focused on DON´T WORRY BE HAPPY it will not rain tomorrow.
I doubt very much anyone would talk to you about politics down where you are. Family secrets and all, reputation of their family, shhhhh quick change the subject.
In Ontario we now have a designation of a NURSE PRACTITIONER which in the future will be able to issue certain medications and work (like) a Doctor. Mostly in smaller communities without a clinic.
We have four main political parties if you include the Bloc from Quebec.
Sharon sees things through a Vancouver skyline which is very pretty especially over her shoulder she sees the Rockies.
Richard I see these Canadian Soldiers bodies being raced down the 401 and Don Valley Parkway all too often. ************************At least some Canadians see them!
The Conservatives are the only G8 Government in the world who has not brought their citizen out of that JAIL in Cuba!
The Conservatives have said it is okay to execute Canadian´s in other countries instead of returning them to Canada to serve out a life sentence of 25 years without parole.
The Conservatives spent their way into a deficit then blamed it on the US Housing Crisis.
The Conservatives are actively forcing US Draft Dodgers out of Canada while not staying or withdrawing charges against Crimminals so they can be removed.
The Conservatives actively go after families so their removal numbers look good.
KINDLIER, GENTLER, FAMILY MAN LOL
Stephen Harper talks like a bully, walks like a Bully and a Bully in a sweater, is still a Bully!!!
All of Quebec and Ontario which is the majority of the population in Canada wants our troops home, NOW!
B.C thinks????????
Does anyone really think that a bunch of people standing on bridges waving flags make the families forget their pain.
If it was once sure but how many times is enough?????
I have always lived in a compassionate Canada and I love peace, I do not hate war!
Roy
www.cvimmigration.com
[06-03-2009,16:43]
[**.52.219.11]
Roy |
(in reply to: It is never over.....)
Yes Sharon you are absolutely correct. I always try to make this very very clear in all my posts. As a US west coast native, I would never suggest that the east coast is at all representative of that region, nor is the midwest. Politically and geographically Canada isn´t so different than the US in that respect (generally speaking). Certainly my very small, very economically depressed community is vastly different than the wealth and excitement of Toronto or Vancouver. The resources available in larger communities are completely lacking here. Again, I try to make this very clear. However, I´m not convinced that the general challenges of this community are all that different than those of any small community found the country over, just as rural California faces the same challenges as rural Indiana or Maine.
One thing that we hoped for when we moved to Canada was that we could go into this adventure open minded. I am glad to report that have been able to do so, as well as to remember what we left behind with a minimum of blind sentiment. It is, of course, not always easy to do. The past 8 months have stretched us well beyond our comfort zones and forced us to reevaluate some of our priorities and how we see our lives evolving. To see our surroundings clearly is a blessing, even if we don´t always love what we see. What the future holds for us remains to be seen, but that is part of the overall process.
I hope you don´t misread my latest post to Richard. We are thrilled that we have had the opportunity to live here and to experience this little corner of this amazing country in a way we could never do as tourists. We try not to take a single day for granted, and we are trying to take in everything we can. We knew before we moved here that it would be a vastly different experience than had we moved to Ontario or BC, and we definitely had our reservations. We couldn´t have predicted certain things, but at the same time we´ve been given an opportunity to learn so much about ourselves we couldn´t see back home.
Too, our experiences here are seen through the eyes of urban Americans. I think that Richard and I share in similar values and similar backgrounds or expectations, and I feel confident that he understands where my viewpoints are coming from. I know too that he is no stranger to small town Canada, having tried it out himself not too long ago. I think it´s wise that he is setting his sights on a more urban area this time around, and I look forward to hearing about his adventure. There is definitely a part of me that wonders what I would be writing home if we´d settled closer to home in southern Ontario instead of in the maritimes where we feel like strangers crashing a very strange party.
I hope all this rambling is being taken the right way, as mere observations and not as anything negative toward my current home. I mean absolutely no disrespect in any way.
[06-03-2009,17:31]
[**.252.115.196]
wannabecanadian |
(in reply to: It is never over.....)
Wannabe,
From your vantage point there coming up on a year, your perspective is not only much appreciated but very interesting for those of us with similar strategies and plans down here.
I know what you mean about the sense of self pity in the community. I felt that a bit in the Northern Ontario small town where I lived on and off for almost a year too. I think it tends to occur in smaller rural areas where industry and jobs aren´t so plentiful, and people depend more on government social programs. When I was in Eastern Europe back in the early 80´s for a while, it was prevalent there, taking on the form of complaining. Apartment block neighbors would compete with each other as to who has it worse (it was almost comic). It seems to be an unavoidable side effect of socialized systems to one degree or another. It´s rarer in the States I think, since complaining or self pity is considered a form of failure, which people tend to hide in this extremely individualistic and success-oriented society.
Yeah, your comments on health care there is also of much interest. I tend to make a big deal out of it because during my working life here I´ve seen colleagues and co-workers constantly in fear of losing their jobs due to loss also of their employer health care coverage. I´m also in touch with some who´ve been laid off from their professional jobs, and have been risking going without because of the high cost, even for high deductible policies. It´s ruined lives (financially and otherwise) down here, and causes people a lot of daily stress and anxiety. Until it´s solved, it´s the monkey on everyone´s back until the whole thing´s reformed and solved. Even DC is experiencing the high cost of temporary COBRA coverage, which no one likes or thinks is a good solution.
What surprises me is the questionable quality of the universal care in your area. Many will say that´s the result of socialized medicine. But I´m not sure thing´s would be any different in some of the more remote parts of America. I know that provinces regularly transport, even air lift, patients to appropriate hospitals specializing in specific treatments. Down here, I know of no private hospital or insurance company ever agreeing or willing to do that.
During my time in Northern Ontario, the local hospital walk-in care was adequate, although they had to fly-in GP´s every week from Toronto, since there were not enough of them living locally. That concerned me a bit. They were pretty detached and seemed anxious just to return to GTA. Also, it could take an entire day in the waiting room before being seen for 5 minutes. I guess the conclusion is there´s no perfect system, and something´s gotta get rationed, but I still vote for the system up there. At least everyone has something no matter what.
In the time you´ve been there, I think you´re seeing things in a different light that only time and experience can provide, and that´s good. You´re now in a much better position to make a judgment and decision in going forward.
I think Sharon may have alluded to something which I´d agree with. It´s really a different world in a larger metro area, where services and choices are more consistent and of higher quality. At least this is the view I´m taking in comparing my past experience. Many want to be away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, and prefer more remoteness. Each has it´s pluses and minuses. But I think living in one doesn´t really give a proper perspective of Canadian life in the other. If it came down to staying or returning, I´d say to try the other side there first.
It´s interesting that even between Roy´s Toronto and Sharon´s Vancouver, there seems to be a world of difference. Almost like East versus West.
[06-03-2009,18:36]
[**.53.226.146]
Richard |
(in reply to: It is never over.....)
no disrespect percieved.
Living in Vancouver also feels like we live on a different planet. Culturally, we are different than any other region of the country. economically our focus is westward towards Asia not east. Politically, we align with the northwestern states more than Alberta. Politically, Ontario is another country. We feel we have no voice in the governance of Canada - Ontario rules all. Yes, the Rockies have become both a physical and psychological barrier to the rest of the country. Always has, always will.
While it is true that we do not see Canadian soldiers arriving in hearses on the 401, we do hear soldiers saying they think the mission has value and that many of them choose to return for another round of duty. Nobody wants to see our kids die - not even the conservatives. Both the Liberals and Conservatives back the mission in Afghanistan. Obama is clear about his intentions in the region. In that regard both countries appear to be on the same page about the need and the commitment.
It is interesting that Roy considers the conservative party a bunch of bullies. Ironically, BC´ers have said that about the Liberals for decades. I am not sure at the value of the hostility.
[06-03-2009,18:44]
[***.20.74.169]
Sharon |
(in reply to: It is never over.....)
Okay the real reason for this post that got me soooo upset today.
On the bridges east of Toronto people were already staking out their spots before the plane with the bodies of the three latest Canadian Soldiers casualties even landed.
The Military takes the families down to Trenton, Ontario in a mini type bus and while in traffic I saw one of the wives who will be shown again and again on TV News tonight heading to Trenton and the look on her face tore at my heart.
I made several trips back and forth today and this morning the look on that woman´s face will not leave me.
I am so tired of seeing these processions and the silly loss of life of young adults with their lives snuffed out far too soon.
Roy
[06-03-2009,18:53]
[**.52.219.11]
Roy |
(in reply to: It is never over.....)
a widow spoke yesterday after learning of the death of her husband. I was amazed at her grace and her strength. Before he even left to Afghanistan the family talked about what could happen if things went very badly. She was so eloquent in her words. I cried my eyes out for her sacrifice. War sucks.
I think about how many soldiers died in the last 100 years of our history. Never in protection of our own way of life but always in the defence of strangers. Someone has to be brave. Someone has to protect the innocent. Sadly this does not always come without cost.
wish it could be different.
[06-03-2009,19:04]
[***.20.74.169]
Sharon |
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