8. Discriminatory and Dishonest Immigration System.
Immigration to Canada is based on a point system, obtained with your education, qualifications and job experience. Points are good enough for immigration, but in Canada, they are not good enough to get a job in your field. Amazing, how the credentials that qualify you to come to Canada are the same credentials that don't qualify you for your profession in Canada. The reason is, Canada only wants immigrants to do the labor jobs - pizza delivery, driving taxis, factory work etc.
Actually, that is far from true. In order to immigrate into Canada you have to have either have family here who have already settled successfully, have a very well-paid, highly skilled job, or be able to invest $100 000 CAD right away. Those are your three number one ways to get in.
FACT: in my first year Canadian Studies course, to drive this fact home to us of how hard it is to get into Canada, our professor had our class (500 students, most of which are Canadian citizens) take the immigration application. Of 500 students, only 2 got in. One was a nurse. One came from a rich family.
There are many people who apply to immigrate into Canada, but only the highly skilled professionals get in. Unfortunately, even if htey have the skills necessary for their own countries, this doesn't mean tehy have the skills necessary for ours. The woman from Poland who cleaned our house for a few years had been an Xray technician in Poland, but had to get additional training here to be certified to practise in Canada, so was cleaning houses for money in the meantime (it also gave her time to become fluent in English).
I won't deny our immigration system is far from perfect. I won't deny the fact it has holes like swiss cheese. But it's not a bad system and we turn away a lot of potential immigrants every year. We want highly skilled professionals. We're not going to force them to run convenience stores, like the stereotype in the USA.
7. Out Of Control Cost Of Living.
From rent, to utility bills, to shopping, to phone, internet and cable bills, to gas, to car insurance, to eating out, to basically anything you have to pay for or buy, the cost of living in Canada has become astronomical. Recent immigrants are astonished as to how expensive everything is. It is estimated that compared to most countries around the world, the cost of living in Canada is on average five times greater.
Welcome to Canada, a developed nation. We have a good economy, we are located in the northern hemisphere (as are all developed nations) and stuff costs a lot here. Know why the cost of living here is high? Because we can afford it. We can't live on a dollar a day in wages like you can in other countries. Yes, it's a sad fact that in Canada,the amount I make is below the poverty line, and yet I make more than most people on this planet, so relatively speaking, I'm rich. But that's the fact of the matter between developed nations and undeveloped nations. Canada also has adequate medicine (including dental), sewage systems, and educational systems. That has resulted in our higher standards of living. I don't see that as a bad thing, either. But, this is all stuff I learned way back in high school. The original author of this list should already be aware of this.
6. Health Care Crisis.
Practicing physicians in Canada are in a shortage, 1 in 4 Canadians cannot get a family doctor. Canadian doctors are leaving to move permanently to the United States. Statistics Canada and the Canadian Medical Association both have identified that for every 1 American doctor that moves to Canada, 19 (nineteen) Canadian doctors move to the United States! Doctors in Canada are overworked and underpaid, and there is a cap on their salaries.
The doctor shortage is also a problem in the United States, which is why the US is offering so much money to the doctors that we have in Canada. Also, the medicine system in Canada is much higher quality than what currently exists in the US, so they are stealing our doctors for themselves. Not sure I'm being truthful? Of the 10 nations with the highest infant mortality rates (deaths of children aged 0-5), the only developed nation in the list is the USA (original source from Stats Canada). All the rest are very poverty-stricken undeveloped nations. That tells me that no matter how bad our medical system is in Canada, we're nowhere near as bad as the USA, despite the pressures we have on our system.
But our problem will be compounded by the fact that in about 10 years' time, 1 in 5 Canadians will be senior citizens. This is a result of the Baby Boomers reaching that age group. This means that more than 20% of our population will be out of the workforce and relying on government funds for their well-being. The actual percentage is higher than 20% because children are also seen as dependents. This leaves a small margin in the middle to provide the taxes badly needed for the CPP, EI, and other social welfare systems we have in existence in Canada. If you think it's bad now, you ain't seen nothing yet.
This relates back to the immigration point, though. This is why we skew our results to weed in doctors and physicians from other countries. WE NEED THEM!! We've known this for a while and we're trying to get them. Many of our current doctors come from places such as South Africa, and South Africa is pissed that we're stealing THEIR doctors.
It's a vicious cycle around the globe, and not one that will get any easier anytime soon.
5. Very High Taxes.
Yes, you have the GST, the PST, totaling 15%, on practically everything you purchase and many other taxes taken out of our weekly paycheck. You have to pay a whopping amount to the government, out of your hard earned salary, so that the government can turn around and give it to beer drinking, hockey watching welfare bums. Fair? It does not matter, it's Canada.
Canada doesn't pay nearly enough taxes. But, this list was also written by someone now living in the United States who has to pay for social services and such out of his own pocket. Our taxes pay for things like OHIP and garbage removal and such. We only pay about 33% of our income in income taxes. Many European countries are much higher htan this. I don't have the exact figures anymore, but I believe Sweden is the highest with income taxes over 50%. Also, I was told by someone in Finland last week that he's paying $1.50 Euro per litre in gas. That's a hell of a lot higher than the 83 cents per litre CAD I've heard people complaining about here. But the difference is taxation. About 60 cents per litre in Canada is taxes. In Europe, as you can see, the taxes on gas is much much higher, as the crude oil costs will not vary that much.
In short, you think Canada is bad for taxes? Try looking across the Atlantic.
4. Money Hungry Government.
Canadian Embassies around the world lie to foreigners, painting this picture that Canada is Utopia, because they want foreigners to come to Canada. Why? Because foreigners bring money! So after being deceived, these foreigners come. They must bring with them at least $10,000. Canada has an immigration quota of 250,000 per year. So please do the math, 250,000 multiplied by $10,000 each equals a whopping 2.5 Billion dollars that Canada gains from immigrants every year.
Actually, that figure isn't bad. $10 000 is more than enough to get you a place to live, and pay some bills, get some food, get some furniture, get a public transport pass and find a job which might take a few months. Let's work this out for downtown Toronto based on 2 months of self-sufficiency:
(prices are reasonable estimates)
Rent: $1000/month = $2000
Food: $100/month = $200
TTC Pass: $165/month = $330
Phone $40/month = $80
Water/Hydro: $200/month = $400
Already we're over $3000 and I'm not factoring in furniture, utensils, dishes, appliances, dish racks, towels, soap, toothbrush, dental bills, doctor appointments, entertainment (movies, tv), etc etc etc. $10 000 is a reasonable amount to prevent new immigrants from ending up homeless on the streets. This is not about being greedy, it's about giving new immigrants some financial advise to let them be financially self-sufficent while they look for work.
3. No Culture.
Unlike almost every other country in the world, Canada has no culture. Actually American culture is what dominates Canada. When was the last time you had some 'Canadian' food? There are no Canadian traditions and there is no national identity. What does it even mean to call yourself a 'Canadian'. . .nothing really. People living in Canada, still identify themselves as to where they 'originally' came from.
It was Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau who first coined the turn "multiculturalism" which is a word widely used in Canada today. We acknowledge the fact that we are a mixed bag, culturally, and we're damn proud of it. But we do have cultures that are distinctly ours, like Butter Tarts and tourtières. We have the Calgary Stampede and the Montreal Jazz Festival. We have the Hudson's Bay Company which began our economy 335 years ago using the fur trade. It's hard to define Canadian culture only because it's made up of so many smaller cultures all together. You can't go into the Maritimes and tell me there's no culture there. You can't visit Old Québec and Montéal and tell me there's no culture there. There is even culture bulging at the seams in downtown Toronto, with Greek town on the Danforth, China Town, Little Italy, Little India, and much much more. We have archetectural modern wonders such as SkyDome ("Rogers Centre"), CN Tower, and the Canal which connects Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. People come from all over the world to admire these archetectural marvels. We also pride the histories and cultures of the First Nations peoples who for too long in the history of Canada have had their cultures ingored and stifled. And let's not forget Cirque du Soleil, which has become a billion dollar business and performs all over the world.
There is a rich culture in Canada, but it is still growing. Canada is a very very young country, at 138 years old (as of 2005). We do not have centures of history as do most European countries, and our culture isn't largely dictated by the media as it is in the USA (with notable exceptions, such as New Orleans). Still, we are developing as a nation and in the process of doing so we are developing our culture.
2. Worst Weather.
Yes, Canada has the worst weather conditions of any country in the world. Freezing cold temperatures, snow, ice, hail, winds, storms etc. From the Prairie provinces to the Maritimes, from the Territories to southern Ontario, the weather is so horrific and disgusting that many Canadians leave Canada simply because of this reason alone.
Well, Canada is far enough North that we get four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Over 99% of our population lives within 100 miles or whatever it is from the US/Canada border because not all of us are all that big on really cold temperatures. Still, in Vancouver you're lucky if you get 1 inch of snow in the winter. In Southern Ontario it's so wet that the snow usually leaves within a week or two. In the prairies it's so wet that they can have one snow fall and it'll stay there all winter (they could, but I'm sure they usually get more than one snowfall). Still, we don't have the hurricane seasons in Florida. We don't get the constant high temperatures you get that can kill you in Arizona and Texas. We don't have as many earthquakes as California. We don't have volcanos. We don't have tsunamis. The worst natural disasters we get are blizzards, a few tornados, and Hurricane Hazel which came to visit back in the 60s.
Our weather isn't very unusual, and it's not all that bad, either. We get droughts from time to time. We get rain. We get snow and sometimes a bit of hail. We get thunderstorms. Who doesn't? In England it basically rains 19 days out of 20 (I hear it's worse in Scotland). Here it's sunny more days than not. On the whole, from what I've heard, I think Canada has really good weather. No country has perfect weather, but you have to take the good w/ the bad and find what works for you.
Maybe not everyone likes Canadian weather, but I think it's unfair to say we're the worst. And for that fact, because of the way the Earth is tilted, our summers are cooler and our winters are warmer than they would be if we were in the Southern Hemisphere. I'm sure the summers are much much hotter and the winters are much much colder in Australia. I'd rather our more narrow range in temperature variation, m'self. Besides, less poisonous snakes.
1. No Jobs.
Yes, coast to coast, there are no jobs. Immigrants are highly qualified (MD's, PhD's, Lawyers, Engineers etc.) but they are driving taxi cabs, delivering pizza's or working in factories. Even people with bachelors degrees from Canadian Universities cannot find jobs after graduation. This is the tragedy associated with immigration to Canada. I feel sorry for those immigrants who are stuck in Canada for the rest of their lives. It is indeed a very sad and hopeless future.
Again, not entirely true. There are TONNES of jobs out there, it's just a matter of finding them. The graduates I know who do not currently work in a job related to their field haven't really tried. Also, most BA and BSc students don't necessarily go into jobs related to their schooling, but they do make a difference in the fields they work in. Some become newspaper editors. Some go into insurance (such as myself). The Premier of Ontario has a Bachelor's of Science. David Suzuki has a Bachelor's of English. There are computer programmers who started with a BA or BSc. Out of university, the fastest jobs you can find are the easy ones, such as retail. But how many BA and BSc students do you know that stay there?
Also, we have a dangerous shortage of jobs in certain areas. This author mentioned above that we desperately need more doctors. People could go for that, but it's not for everyone, either. We also need people in trade. Desperately. Okay, it's hard physical labour but it has HIGH PAY. You can be earning $50 000 in a couple years. You won't even necessarily be working all year, only seasonally. You can eventually work for yourself. We need people in contrustion, in plumbing, in electricity, in travel and tourism, in tool and die, in auto factories, etc etc. www.skilledtrades.ca. You don't really need much prior education to get into them (high school diploma_, but the more education you have, the higher you can go. Trade jobs are the jobs we will ALWAYS need. They build our houses, provide our homes with water, give us electricity and heat and so much more.
Trust me, go to Monster.ca. There is NO shortage of jobs out there. There's just a shortage of people having the motivation to look for them and apply.
