What inter-provincial agreement would you MOST like to see in Canada?

[SignalHillHiker]

A couple of pictures to clarify what I mean.

Our old passports (1933-1949):



A current Scottish passport:



I'd love to see Canada adopt a system like that.

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by theman23

Honestly, I don't know. I probably shouldn't have spoken so soon. Are therapeutic abortions not funded by the province?

Oh, I don't know either. That's just the impression I had based on media coverage here.

[lubicon]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I'd like an all-province agreement on mutual recognition of professional accreditations for doctors, accountants, lawyers, etc, etc. The current protectionist arrangements are asinine, imho.

+1. And add in Trades to the list.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

It's not about doctors being in NB or not--there are lots of doctors in the province. The problem is that the government requires two different doctors to sign off on the procedure as "medically necessary" before it can be done, which is a barrier that doesn't exist elsewhere. Nor will the province fund a private clinic, making it the only province in Canada with no funding for private clinics.

That's just one consequence of provincially administered health systems. There are others, but personally, I've lived in six provinces, and it's onerous to always be changing health coverage.

Huh? That's what we used to have everywhere in Canada... until it was ruled unconstitutional. How is New Brunswick getting away with that? Notwithstanding clause?

Here in Ontario abortion is 100% paid for by the government in all cases at both public hospitals and private clinics.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

A couple of pictures to clarify what I mean.

......

A current Scottish passport:



I'd love to see Canada adopt a system like that.

Are you sure that's correct? I thought all UK passports were the same cover.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Huh? That's what we used to have everywhere in Canada... until it was ruled unconstitutional. How is New Brunswick getting away with that? Notwithstanding clause?

Here in Ontario abortion is 100% paid for by the government in all cases at both public hospitals and private clinics.

Many hospitals still do not do abortions though. It is such a controversial topic that really shouldn't be discussed here...

[SignalHillHiker]

Hmm... I was sure, but not anymore.

Google Images turns up lots for the various countries within the U.K. but also lots that have just "European Union" and "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" on the front, with no specific country reference.

Must've been recently changed, but I'm unsure in which direction.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Hmm... I was sure, but not anymore.

Google Images turns up lots for the various countries within the U.K. but also lots that have just "European Union" and "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" on the front, with no specific country reference.

Must've been recently changed, but I'm unsure in which direction.

I think only the overseas territories and bits and pieces that aren't the UK have separate passport covers (that's why the old Newfoundland one looked like it did). I could be wrong, but it would surprise me since the information (Scotland) would be useless as far as passport purposes are concerned.

Or, it could be a cover that somebody put on their regular passport - I doubt there'd be any rule against doing that.

[SignalHillHiker]

I still don't know for sure but everything I can find leans strongly toward you being right.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I'm not sure, but I think the Swiss maintain their cantonal citizenship wherever they reside and simply register it with the new canton when they move, no?

You can retain your old cantonal passport if you move to another canton, but if you don't go through the process again (or at least part of it) in the new canton in order to become a citizen there, you can't participate in civic life in the new canton like voting, etc.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Acajack

You can retain your old cantonal passport if you move to another canton, but if you don't go through the process again (or at least part of it) in the new canton in order to become a citizen there, you can't participate in civic life in the new canton like voting, etc.

Bizarre. I can see no advantage to it, but it obviously must work for the Swiss. I wonder if it works like some kind of a national ID system?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Bizarre. I can see no advantage to it, but it obviously must work for the Swiss. I wonder if it works like some kind of a national ID system?

In order to under the Swiss way of doing things, you have to view it through the prism of language territoriality. Basically, the language borders are more or less set in stone and encroachment by one group into the other's zone is not supposed to happen. Of course people can move within the country but they are expected to adapt. Hence stuff like the citizenship requirements which are meant to dissuade people from moving from a German area to a French area but continuing to live as though they were in the German area. Or vice versa.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Acajack

In order to under the Swiss way of doing things, you have to view it through the prism of language territoriality. Basically, the language borders are more or less set in stone and encroachment by one group into the other's zone is not supposed to happen. Of course people can move within the country but they are expected to adapt. Hence stuff like the citizenship requirements which are meant to dissuade people from moving from a German area to a French area but continuing to live as though they were in the German area. Or vice versa.

Sounds very Swiss - the world's most civilized police state!

[Dado]

The inter-provincial agreement I'd most like to see is Ontario and Quebec agree to cede their respective portions of the National Capital Region to the federal government so as to create a national capital outside the jurisdiction of any province.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

So you admit that your plan is designed to prevent unilingual anglophone Canadians from immigrating to Quebec then......

If they're not going to at least try to adapt a bit, what would be the point of them moving anyway?

Why would any society on this globe want to welcome "immigrants" who aren't interested in ever becoming a part of it?

As Acajack points out, it seems to work fine for the Swiss (and you can't say Switzerland isn't a successful country) to accept to be living under plans "designed to prevent unilingual francophone Swiss from immigrating to Zurich", "designed to prevent unilingual germanophone Swiss from immigrating to Geneva", etc.

FWIW, the Flemish also have measures in place to prevent francophone Bruxelles from invading and taking over Flemish areas (formerly the countryside around it, but nearby enough to easily become suburban communities of the francophone city).

Originally Posted by Acajack

In order to under the Swiss way of doing things, you have to view it through the prism of language territoriality. Basically, the language borders are more or less set in stone and encroachment by one group into the other's zone is not supposed to happen. Of course people can move within the country but they are expected to adapt. Hence stuff like the citizenship requirements which are meant to dissuade people from moving from a German area to a French area but continuing to live as though they were in the German area. Or vice versa.

[wg_flamip]

Originally Posted by lio45

If they're not going to at least try to adapt a bit, what would be the point of them moving anyway?

First, as far as I'm concerned, the freedom of movement and the right to vote are absolutely sacred.

Secondly, I doubt it will fly in the RoC as, well, I don't think we really get the "French-under-threat" thing anymore. Anglophones aren't descending on Quebec to skew/steal votes. In fact, the Anglophone population has been stagnant - if not decreasing - and seemingly more willing to learn to speak French.

Thirdly, the Francophone majority has never been the only established community in Quebec. If, say, I were an Orthodox Jew in Ontario who moves and integrates into the long established Orthodox Jewish community in Montreal, who is to say I haven't integrated into the local culture? Same as if I were an Inuit person from Nunavut who moves to Nunavik, etc. With the language laws in place, there's already enough incentive for someone moving to Quebec to try and adapt to the majority culture. Depriving the vote to the relative few who can't or won't seems a heavy-handed response.

[MonctonRad]

I agree. At some point, you have to wonder when a country ceases being a country and instead becomes a loose association of some form. If Canadians don't have an automatic right to vote anywhere in the country then it seems to me that we have devolved to the point of being something like the EU. Canada wouldn't be a country any more…….

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I agree. At some point, you have to wonder when a country ceases being a country and instead becomes a loose association of some form.

That's in your view only. There are as many ways of structuring a country as there are countries out there. None of this makes them any less of a country than Canada is. The idea that Canada has at this point somehow achived a nec plus ultra of governance structures and cannot be tweaked or improved, given our recent history, is almost comical.

Ever wonder why no one ever copies the Canadian federation's governance structure?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

: If Canadians don't have an automatic right to vote anywhere in the country then it seems to me that we have devolved to the point of being something like the EU. Canada wouldn't be a country any more…….

Once again - that's only your view. Even today, voting in provincial and municipal elections when you move between Canadian provinces is not automatic and often requires a waiting period plus proving residency and other stuff.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by wg_flamip

First, as far as I'm concerned, the freedom of movement and the right to vote are absolutely sacred.

.

People in Switzerland, for example, obviously still have freedom of movement within their country. What they don't have freedom of is germanophone lebensraum over the francophone parts of the country, and vice versa. As I said, you can move from Zurich to Geneva or from Lugano to Luzern. But you have to adapt. You are transportable and mobile as an individual but your language rights (even in an official language of the country) are not.

By adapting, BTW, we aren't talking about what you speak at home, or between friends. We are talking about the public realm, generally with strangers and public service providers.

You know, like French Canadians do 99% of the time when they live in Canada outside Quebec (except maybe for a handful of places like Caraquet and Hearst).