tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620905.post110349497660223256..comments2024-02-24T03:46:01.305-05:00Comments on Fred Fry International: Before you move to CanadaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620905.post-1131286921343720002005-11-06T09:22:00.000-05:002005-11-06T09:22:00.000-05:00The Swedish language issue in Finland is typical o...The Swedish language issue in Finland is typical of this country's numerous contradictions: <BR/><BR/>On one hand, you cannot deny the fact that the majority speaks Finnish; on the other hand, it's an historical fact that the better jobs go to the Swedish speakers. <BR/><BR/>Even more laughable is how the obligation to pass the national Swedish language test has been abolished, right at a time when the number of Swedish speakers just dipped below the 5% bar. Fuzzy logic? Wouldn't the Swedish speakers be worried that almost nobody is left to offer them services in their own language? Think again: During all the time when passing the Swedish language test was an absolute condition to landing your high school or university degree, a number of ethnic Finns reluctantly became extremely proficient in Swedish, which suddenly gave them access to jobs that traditionally went to the Swedish speakers. Now, with the Swedish language test finally abolished, Swedish speakers can finally sleep in peace knowing that their children will soon be the only ones left to fully qualify as mastering both languages, thus ensuring that Swedish speakers can once again land all the better jobs.<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, the only official language foreigners can learn as immigrant labour training is, you guessed it, Finnish, which likewise ensures that in addition to Finns, foreigners will also be prevented from getting the better jobs.<BR/><BR/>The above is just one of many examples of what I've come to call Psychological Judo, a technique that Finns of both ethnic groups master to Machiavelic extents. In the above case, it was the Swedish speakers leveraging the ethnic Finns' hatered of compulsory Swedish language classes to their advantage.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620905.post-1113197412148373462005-04-11T01:30:00.000-04:002005-04-11T01:30:00.000-04:001) Lovely. 2) That's true, not all Canadians are ...1) Lovely. <BR/><BR/>2) That's true, not all Canadians are anti-American. About 30% vote for the Conservatives, who are basically between the Dems and Republicans. <BR/><BR/>3) My American friends (IE born in the US, raised in Canada) said that they've lived at least fifteen years of people hating them because of their nationality. That's not to say that it's apartheid over here; you have to get out of it by saying, "Yeah, I hate them too" or something stupid like that. Canadian national identity is so insecure that the MAIN, FUNDAMENTAL thing we base ourselves on is that we ARE NOT AMERICAN. If you ask what makes Canadians Canadian, they'll list things like being "nice" or having health care, which can be found anywhere. Why do they make us Canadian, especially when things like Health Care have only been around for a very short period of time?<BR/><BR/>"Well, the US doesn't have those things."<BR/><BR/>4) If Canada is so great, then how come the ratio of Canadians moving to the states compared with vice-versa is 75-1? All the smart Canadians are getting the hell out of this mismanaged socialist Trudeaupia where disagreeing means that a) you're un-Canadian or b) you're a bigot.<BR/><BR/>5) French is the second language, but unless you work in the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, or the city of Ottawa, it won't be necessary. MAYBE for the federal service, but English gets you by just fine. <BR/><BR/>(BTW, I speak fluent French)<BR/><BR/>6) Our unemployment rate is higher, but part of the reason is that they count them differently... things such as, if you glance at a want ad in a newspaper, you're considered "unemployed". But, you should point out, unemployment is STILL higher, but a) Canadian workers make FAR FAR less, and b) their productivity is significantly less (15%?) than US workers. <BR/><BR/>That, and a far greater section of your income gets taxed. <BR/><BR/>As for sales taxes, the rule of thumb is a federal GST (Goods and Services Tax) of 7%; all provinces except Alberta (the one with the best economy) have a PST (Provincial ~) that's usually between 6-8%. In BC, we pay 7 and 7, so 14% of almost everything you buy is paid into a government slush fund.<BR/><BR/>One of my favourites is the tax-on-a-tax situation. GST on a postage stamp, for example. Gas prices are another one. Gas is far more expensive in Canada (to the point where on the border, people drive to the states to fill up); oil isn't more expensive or anything. It's just that the majority of the price of gasoline is federal gas tax. (And then, on the final total of gas price plus tax, you also pay GST. Tax on a tax.) It's supposed to be put towards all the infrastructure projects they want; instead, they put about 5% of it to it, and the rest to pay for all the other mismanagement... like just LOSING a billion Canadian dollars.<BR/><BR/>As far as I know, Revenue Canada taxes every penny you ever make, no matter where it was from.<BR/><BR/>Even scholarships and bursaries...<BR/><BR/>6) As for provinces, all provinces are blue except for Alberta, although it really depends. Any sort of urban area is usually blue (except Alberta) whereas rural areas tend to be Red. Some provinces (Saskatchewan and Manitoba) are only "red" provinces because of social issues, like abortion and gay marriage. When it comes to government, they're blue. <BR/><BR/>(Alas, all the good areas of the country are "blue"...)<BR/><BR/>It does get cold in Canada, but the West Coast (IE Vancouver) is beautifully mild. <BR/><BR/>Next, three months waiting for surgery is very general. It really depends on the procedure.<BR/><BR/>For <B>URGENT</B> cardiovascular surgery, the average wait time in Canada is "1.4 weeks", so 10 days or so.<BR/><BR/>For less important things like, say, orthopaedic surgery, the wait time is just, you know, "24.1 weeks" in Canada. On average. <BR/><BR/>Of course, this doesn't even come close to my dad's "elective" back surgery (herniated disc), during which time it either took him a year and a half to either GET TO AN MRI or get to surgery... I can't remember which. Trust me, there are a lot of us fighting for private medicine in Canada, but we're lynched every time we suggest it.Jarretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09264372554378371503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620905.post-1112519174656220382005-04-03T05:06:00.000-04:002005-04-03T05:06:00.000-04:00Brilliant! And very well-written, too. I especiall...Brilliant! And very well-written, too. I especially liked your point that not all Canadians are anti-American. That goes for Europeans, including Finns, by the way. (Look at the fight little Finland put up against Stalin in 1939. No wussies there.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620905.post-1106560511857748012005-01-24T04:55:00.000-05:002005-01-24T04:55:00.000-05:00Will you be back to blogging anytime soon?Will you be back to blogging anytime soon?Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16984639813592617289noreply@blogger.com