Share your Canadians blues 2014-2015

[Stryker]

Alright winter is upon us after , the Jian ghomeshi scandal, ottawa shottings, dropping oil prices, etc. I feel like we all might be going through a bit of a blah time.


So here goes share your frustrations with living in canada.

Please make it somewhat relevant to the times, and relavent across the country.

[Stryker]

Oh yeah I'll go first.

Super frustrated by difficulties in transit in this country.

Between the weather, my aging body(27), big city traffic-high cost real estate. It seems like getting around in this country is just a bloody pain.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Stryker

Alright winter is upon us after , the Jian ghomeshi scandal, ottawa shottings, dropping oil prices, etc. I feel like we all might be going through a bit of a blah time.


So here goes share your frustrations with living in canada.

Please make it somewhat relevant to the times, and relavent across the country.

One of these does not belong. At $1.09 a litre, which is what I paid yesterday, I figure I'm saving $25 a month! Woopee!

[SignalHillHiker]

It's dipped below $1.20/L here for the first time in years.

I don't really have Canadian blues that aren't directly related to Harper, who I genuinely think isn't a joking matter, not a normal politician you don't agree with, but a genuine disaster that will have consequences lasting many years.

It's a fine enough federation. Think what you may (and I do), life and living is great. And we can do that here, so...? Doesn't mean we shouldn't bitch or complain or want better. But it's not all-consuming blues.

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

It's dipped below $1.20/L here for the first time in years.

I don't really have Canadian blues that aren't directly related to Harper, who I genuinely think isn't a joking matter, not a normal politician you don't agree with, but a genuine disaster that will have consequences lasting many years.

It's a fine enough federation. Think what you may (and I do), life and living is great. And we can do that here, so...? Doesn't mean we shouldn't bitch or complain or want better. But it's not all-consuming blues.

Agreed, I'm sure things will be better in the coming year.

But at the moment its easy to see that everyone is kinda annoyed by circumstance.

Low oil, cbc disgraced, The threat to canada's security, blah blah blah.


Personally my life is on a high, doing well in school, find a real partner I can make a life with.

However the economy-unwillingness to drive is creating a bit of problems for me.

Those sexy oil industry work terms downtown. are very much out of reach.

I have a good chance of being able to get a job outside of the st john's but I can't even get my liscenes back quick enough to get a car.

[hipster duck]

I hate that Canada is a stingy country. I hate that we know the cost of everything, but the value of nothing. I sometimes imagine that Canadian politicians go to work every morning, sit down at their desk and ask themselves "how can we extract as much money as possible, while giving back as little as possible in return?" I see this everyday: transit lines that are inadequate and overcrowded; roads that are congested beyond capacity and in serious need of repair; museums with entrance fees north of $20; flights across the country that cost the same as flights to Europe; ferry rides to Vancouver Island that cost 5X as much as they do in neighbouring Washington state.

This is not about privatization or tax cutting or corporate welfare, as it is in the US. This is about the government actually thinking that its purpose is to collect revenue, rather than provide services. A good example of this is our provincial liquor monopolies. The only reason they still exist and lord over us with their ridiculous prices, inconvenient locations and horrible opening hours is because they are cash cows. But that, in itself, is a bad reason to run a public service. State-run companies should exist to provide services that the private market will not satisfy at a reasonable cost. No matter how lucrative it is, the government should get out of the liquor business. At the very least it could at least be honest about why it's there. Just who do they think they are fooling with their temperance bullshit? It's even more ironic when you consider how enthusiastically provincial governments embraced casinos and legalized gambling in the past 20 years, again for a profit motive.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

One of these does not belong.

Agreed, I think the falling oil and loonie are far from being a matter on which you'll see the same kind of cross-country consensus as others on his list like Ghomeshi's behavior or the two members of the CF killed. Or even winter.

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by lio45

Agreed, I think the falling oil and loonie are far from being a matter on which you'll see the same kind of cross-country consensus as others on his list like Ghomeshi's behavior or the two members of the CF killed. Or even winter.

Long term I will agree, however this is basically concerning the next six months.

The changeover isn't gonna be pleasant for anyome IMO.

The lost looney will hurt christmas retailers alot, make everyone apprehensive about investing, not to mention severly destablize governments budget for the next few months.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Stryker

Long term I will agree, however this is basically concerning the next six months.

The changeover isn't gonna be pleasant for anyome IMO.

The lost looney will hurt christmas retailers alot, make everyone apprehensive about investing, not to mention severly destablize governments budget for the next few months.

If there are 8 million private vehicles in Ontario (anybody know?) and each one saves $25 per month on gas (which seems a pretty conservative figure), that would represent an extra quarter billion dollars in Ontarians pockets over the year. Good news for retail (their transportation costs are also falling). The effect on Ontario investment is less clear (foreign equipment may be more expensive), but Ontario manufactured goods become more competitive in the USA. Definitely more "plus" than "minus", imho, although it may not last for a full year, we'll have to wait and see.

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

If there are 8 million private vehicles in Ontario (anybody know?) and each one saves $25 per month on gas (which seems a pretty conservative figure), that would represent an extra quarter billion dollars in Ontarians pockets over the year. Good news for retail (their transportation costs are also falling). The effect on Ontario investment is less clear (foreign equipment may be more expensive), but Ontario manufactured goods become more competitive in the USA. Definitely more "plus" than "minus", imho, although it may not last for a full year, we'll have to wait and see.

and if their are 8000 ontarians living alberta 25 grand in debt about to loose their jobs.

And again I think it's great long term.

However the benefits won't be seen for months.

[kwoldtimer]

Nothing will bring me down. The current economy and the new Quebec-Ontario love fest makes me a very happy camper!

[Procrastinational]

I only see things looking up from here.
Low Canadian dollar and the US economy picking up steam should bode well for exports.
And paying 1.19 for a litre of gas is nice too.

[Bcasey25raptor]

Ok this thread allows me to vent so please don't give me the typical don't like it, leave it response.

Canada as a country appears to me to have a sluggish lazy economy based on resource extraction rather than real innovation. Instead of investing in an Apple or Tesla we are trying to bribe and lobby the US Government into accepting our pipeline proposal. This is for good reason. Our economy is heavily based in resource extraction and being a country with so much this makes sense. But this still leaves problems for me since it limits job opportunities to resource fields and foreign company satellite offices of much larger companies. The country comes off as stubborn and lazy on this front in my humble opinion. We had a few success stories (a-la Blackberry), but this isn't a viable excuse. Why is it a City like Seattle and it's metro region which isn't even a top 10 metro in the US have more companies with international acclaim and more global head offices than say Vancouver?

Heck even bellevue which is a suburb of Seattle out performs the entire GVA. Portland again puts Vancouver's economic output to shame and they're considered sluggish in their own right.

This coupled by sky high housing costs in this country with incomes far below our US counterparts makes no sense to me.

Our incomes our lower, our climate is arguably the worst on the planet (Vancouver is the best Canada can offer yet it's worse then even most of northern Europe), we pay more for housing, our commodities cost more, food costs more, TV, internet. It's garbage, all of it.

Canadians often make up for these short comings by slugging insults at our friends south of the border. Things which include healthcare comparisons, political comparisons, racism allegations, etc.
Canada is not innocent in this at all. No denying the US healthcare system is atrocious, but Canada's scores no better. Canadian Healthcare's saving grace is ease of access and coverage. On everything else we rank nearly last in the developed world.

Our taxes are extremely high, free speech is limited (google hate speech legislation), we have garbage public transit amenities, piss poor job opportunities.

We take america's worst aspects, add Universal Healthcare and pat ourselves on the back. It's a terrible Conservative country and I am ashamed of it.

That brings me to my final point, Politics. I'll keep this short and brief because I value This forum site and community. But i see the political system in this country and the populations refusal to adopt a republic and turf the monarchy to be disturbing. The population here fears american values so dearly that they are blind folded by the fact we have basically the same values on both sides of the border. I look at Harper and I see George Bush but with a brain. This country is going backwards very quickly and if I need to deal with another 4 years of conservative government and environmental and corporate bullying (look at burnaby mountain right now), then I'll F-ing scream.

Thats my opinion on the matter. I don't hate Canada and I don't have the means to leave it if I did, but I am way beyond frustrated with this frozen USA North.

[The Fisher Account]

^ Fantastic insight!

[MonkeyRonin]

...But mostly nonfactual.

[Bcasey25raptor]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

...But mostly nonfactual.

I'd be curious on which points I am incorrect.

By all means, tell me.

[middeljohn]

I love my country.

That said, I hate that certain corporations (Rogers, Bell, Air Canada, Westjet) are allowed to take advantage of our small population. Our population is too low to support numerous airline and mobile companies and with the lack of competition these corporations are allowed to charge whatever they want and get away with it. It's sickening. The fact that I had to pay $633 for a one-way ticket from Toronto to Edmonton in early January boggles my mind. This was the cheapest available.

And people are willing to pay it because they need these items. They don't have a choice. The government knows this and they do fuck-all to control these monopolies corporations have over consumers.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

@Bcasey25raptor

It's not a popular stance but I absolutely agree with you.

The situation is all the more apparent when you live abroad (as I have for years). Save for the occasional oil and gas company or some other resource extraction firm, Canadian companies are almost non-existent (in the countries I've lived in). And this is not lost on the local population and it begs many questions which I'm not entirely comfortable answering.

It's a shame but it's never too late to start fostering a different economic attitude.

[Allan83]

Originally Posted by Bcasey25raptor

I'd be curious on which points I am incorrect.

By all means, tell me.

“Canada as a country appears to me to have a sluggish lazy economy based on resource extraction rather than real innovation.”

Since you asked, let’s start with your first sentence. Our resource sector is hugely innovative and high tech, or at least large portions of it are. Who do you think works in those skyscrapers in downtown Calgary? Do you think roughnecks drill for oil on the 45th floor of the Bow? Or maybe you think those towers are full of cowboys? And it’s not just the oilsands, various enhanced recovery methods, high-tech pipelines, etc., either. We have diamond mines in the middle of the tundra in the NWT, off shore oil and gas off the east coast, uranium, potash, first in the world cutting edge CCS technology at the Boundary Dam power plant in Sask, and others. You’re obviously being mentally lazy and didn’t give that sentence 2 seconds of thought before writing it, and the rest of your post doesn’t get much better. Lots of lazy clichés which, as MonkeyRonin correctly points out, are mostly nonfactual.

[Bcasey25raptor]

Originally Posted by Allan83

“Canada as a country appears to me to have a sluggish lazy economy based on resource extraction rather than real innovation.”

Since you asked, let’s start with your first sentence. Our resource sector is hugely innovative and high tech, or at least large portions of it are. Who do you think works in those skyscrapers in downtown Calgary? Do you think roughnecks drill for oil on the 45th floor of the Bow? Or maybe you think those towers are full of cowboys? And it’s not just the oilsands, various enhanced recovery methods, high-tech pipelines, etc., either. We have diamond mines in the middle of the tundra in the NWT, off shore oil and gas off the east coast, uranium, potash, first in the world cutting edge CCS technology at the Boundary Dam power plant in Sask, and others. You’re obviously being mentally lazy and didn’t give that sentence 2 seconds of thought before writing it, and the rest of your post doesn’t get much better. Lots of lazy clichés which, as MonkeyRonin correctly points out, are mostly nonfactual.

Of course we have engineers and scientists etc working for energy companies. That doesn't change the fact we have relatively little when it comes to companies innovating outside that sector.

Yes, Calgary has a strong economy. Yes innovation occurs in the oil industry. That doesn't change my stance on the post.

Easy way out = drill baby drill.

Canada takes drill baby drill and adds some innovation to it but it's still lazy economics. This country was accidentally given immense resource wealth and most of it is extremely easy to exploit. Take away those resources and what economy do you have left?

The tech scene and manufacturing scene in Canada is all imported from elsewhere. We are almost entirely dependent on US investments.

I stand by my "uneducated" stance.

Sometimes the truth hurts
http://business.financialpost.com/20...in-innovation/
PS: why are you taking this as an attack on Albertans or the Oil Industry? This is a critique of the entire country.