Letters to the Editor
Thaeus
Published Letters: 34 Editor's Choice: 3
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@jrootham
[Read the article: Northern exposure]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Canada (or at least Ontario) was effectively created by people fleeing the US. The United Empire Loyalists were driven out of the States after the American Revolution.
. . .
Canada has always been where Americans come to avoid repression.
To be fair, what became English Canada diverged from the British Colonists in what became America in part because of people fleeing the US, like the Loyalists, and more recently the Vietnam draft dodgers. I would also that continually have to deal and compromise with Quebec also played a large role, not the least of which is the willingness to tolerate a multicultural society.
But don't forget that the Canadian colonies chose not to join the revolution; it's that that ultimately created Canada.
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@rorytheta
[Read the article: Northern exposure]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]THE CANADIAN BIT (well, really the Torontonian bit)
Toronto is Canada's largest city, and it is surrounded by Canada's largest sprawl. The city proper falls within the area code 416. The suburbs are 905. There is not a single Conservative MP in the 416...
That's not relevant to the argument above... I just want to point out that I didn't vote for Harper or any of his cronies!
The biggest shame in Canadian politcs at the moment (aside from our endemic inability to deal with our First Nations and the issue of Quebec separation) is the Ontarian rejection of the Conservative Party of Canada. There's this perception of the Conservatives as this evil right-wing party full of lunatics, but if they were only co-opted by Ontario then they'd (probably) be brought further to the left, and more importantly we'd actually have a second national party again.
I personally would like the Green Party to take off, but I worry that the next election will bring back the Liberal Party solely on the power of the Ontario vote.
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@Xeynon
[Read the article: Northern exposure]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm not going to do a point by point rebuttal, as a lot of your post comes off as flame-bait, but...
1.)Canada hasn't historically treated its aboriginals any better than the U.S. has treated its minorities.
Well... we didn't enslave them. But I'm willing to bet our reservation system and all the free money coming from the federal government has contributed to the situation we have today, which is hella worse than you guys treat your minorities now. Not that the Indians aren't in part complicit in the matter. For something scary, Google "Davis Inlet". How the fuck did that happen in Canada?
Now this is the part that actually bugs me:
Furthermore, a great deal of your economic prosperity you owe to trade with the U.S., your best students all study here, far more of your citizens move here than the reverse, you import huge quantities of consumer goods and raw materials from the U.S., the reason you haven't historically needed a large military to defend the world's second largest amount of territory is that you always had the luxury of knowing that no one would dare f**k with you for fear of pissing off your rather formidable ally to the south, CAN-CON regulations aside much of your culture is derivative of American culture, etc. Canada wouldn't be nearly as successful as it is without the U.S., and you know it.
We're each other's largest trading partners. Even now. More stuff (money and goods) comes from to the US from Canada than China, and still by a big margin. And sure, a lot of our brightest people do go to the States, and our musicians and movie stars go down there to make big names for themselves. Can you blame them? But either country wouldn't be nearly successful without the other.
And by the way, I apologize for any Canadians with that "smug, self-righteous attitude". It is a huge problem in Canada. I suspect it's a side-effect from being a small power (only 30 million people, after all) next to the world's only superpower, and perhaps a little subconscious worrying that we really are Americans. We're not, but I don't think "Canadians know how to make love in a canoe" really helps out the country anymore.
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@Shaun Narine
[Read the article: Northern exposure]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]... That being said, I would never want to live in the US. Every time I cross the border, I can't wait to get back to Canada. The image of the US as violent and backwards is, in many ways, absolutely true. And what passes for political dialogue in the US is horrifying....
Yay. Flamebait. I've gone to the States several times, and I wouldn't call them violent or backward. Just... weird. Offputting, I guess. It's all the little differences, like the gun culture. The first time I saw a billboard just saying "God Bless This Country" freaked me out a little. And seeing the American flag everywhere puts me off, simply because it's not my flag.
But I do have to agree with you about the political dialogue. I can't stand to watch American political shows.
Of course, it may not if the Harper government remains in power much longer....
And of course the Harper-bashing comes in. Given that we're a defacto one-party state, I'm not entirely sure we have the right to bash the US political system.
Well, okay, we still do. :)