debaser, i'm going to take as a given that you want to help the native canadians. i only know about the native americans i met here (the haida in vancouver i hardly knew). the only ones who were living in tribal lands were the navaho, who are doing fairly well. but *most* of the money comes from government handouts. the health care is not good. the alcoholism and violence is terrible. there is *some* sheepherding but like all land based occupations, it doesn't really pay well in the modern world. the literacy is poor. education is poor. and the navaho is a success story (at least they have an increasing population). the story of the casino indians is basically that a corrupt group gains control(hell! it's a casino!) there is some marginal cigarette smuggling. you REALLY can't compare it with the quebequois. people there live in cities. the federal monies are icing on the cake. the french, for all you may have against them, *do* live in the modern world, are literate and have if not arrogance at least appreciation for their culture. the DC school system (District of Columbia) has a stipend of 20 thousand dollars per pupil! one of the highest in the nation - and one of the poorest performances. but it is typical for an underprivileged group getting monies from the government. Phil, don't the east tenneseeans have a more early english language version than the LA guys? i'm sure you were liked a lot - and they got a great kick out of your accent. so you were our "good will ambassador" - since the LA guy gets around a lot, it was good you were there to counteract him! Anonymous, i think they prosecute. certainly he'd get a dishonorable discharge. you know, though, it's hard to say you are gay if you aren't. still, it's an idea. if someone is listening, you might want to ask. a google look would probably gain a lot of sites.

My husband and I own a vacation home in Montreal and we immerse ourselves in Canadian media (English and French) whenever we're there, which is as often as possible. I believe that my fellow letter writers are correct when they describe the shallow, shifting sands on which the Harper minority government stands, and how Harper doesn't have a lot of room to maneuver when it comes to slashing popular social programs (although, alas, he hasn't been very shy about taking a Bush-like stand on Kyoto). I hope they're also right when they predict that Harper would lose an election if he's forced to — or chooses to — call one. The Tories have flirted with majority-government status in the polls recently, but overall they seem to be stuck at a minority 40 percent. I root for Harper to fall because I secretly fear that he's taking sotto voce political advice from Karl Rove. His attacks on the opposition Liberal party leave a nasty, familiar taste in our mouths.

Long-term, I think what's happening in Canada right now is that they're.... waiting. Waiting to see what we do in the Presidential election next year, of course, but they're also waiting for their next generation of leaders. The previous PM, Paul Martin, did pay for a government scandal and for an overall Liberal fatigue after so many years in power. Harper is really not a very dynamic or appealing person. The parties are in a bit of flux, especially after a strong showing by the upstart, anti-immigrant Action Democratique du Quebec in the March provincial election. And with a current Liberal leader who looks like your favorite high school chemistry teacher, there really isn't anyone on the national stage yet who's capturing people's imaginations.

Except — ah. Justin Trudeau has just won the Liberal nomination in a riding (the Canadian version of our Congressional district) in Montreal. If he wins, he'll be a member of Parliament. I don't know about my gracious Canadian hosts, but I could eagerly support the son of any man who could insult Richard Nixon so well.

Jared2 responded to me: " I will repeat that for the sake of American citizens who lack health care - prospective Canadian immigrants have full health care befifits even before becoming citizens. Because Canadians think it would be uncivilized to welcome people to their country and not give them health care. That is the difference between Canada and the US."

Jared I think you are perhaps being a little too kind to us...

In fact there is very little difference in the day-to-day lives of almost all non-citizens of Canada with Permanent Resident status, and Canadian citizens. Non-citizens aren't entitled to vote (thousands do though because they are put on the electoral rolls automatically from tax records), can be deported more easily if they happen to turn out to be Very Bad People, and only non-citizens can be detained/deported on a Security Certificate (look that up in your Wikipedia, it may temper your enthusiasm for all things kind and Canadian just a bit). Citizens receive preferential hiring for gov't jobs. My wife was here for over 20 years before she finally got around to taking out citizenship last year, to my great relief.

But if I was an AWOL US soldier hoping to make a new life in Canada, I would want to get citizenship here ASAP. It will be interesting to see if Kyle Snyder and his fellow deserters are able to stay long enough, and work their way through the immigration process. I hope so. Vietnam-era draft avoiders and deserters are some of our most valued citizens now.

Instead of running to Canada, soldiers should request a referral to the post psychiatrist, mention all the PTSD symptoms they got in Iraq (and everybody does, no matter how macho they might appear)and get discharged. (Easy, as the Army doesn't want soldiers with PTSD.)

Then they need to apply for VA disability and will get 100% if their symptoms are bad enough (and most of them are). Then they can take their $2600 (tax-free) a month to Canada if they want to, and it will be worth about $3000 in Canadian dollars. If that's the way they want to go. They could also just stay at home and try to make the best of their ruined lives.

However, the U.S. Government has provided a way for traumatized soldiers to receive a lifelong income. The soldiers just have to know how the game is played. It's just payback for going over there and getting screwed up.