Leaderboard

Of course, one has to assume the Trudeau government is only interested in hearing polarized, predetermined positions that are unaffected by reason, evidence, facts or rational thought, provided they bolster the government's predetermined positions and its identity politics approach to campaigning and policy. It looks like this "consultation" will be conducted within an echo chamber, a fact utterly consistent with the government's general approach to such issues. One side of the debate only, please!

Perfect example of the net migration reality you refuse to acknowledge....basketball was invented by a Canadian (James Naismith), the son of Scottish immigrants to Canada, who emigrated to the United States. He developed the game of basketball in Springfield, Mass. and went on to earn his medical degree in Colorado, and coached at the University of Kansas. He lived his last years in Kansas, where he was buried as an American, having become a naturalized citizen in 1925. More Canadians have emigrated to the United States than Americans emigrating to Canada, despite the much larger U.S. population. There must be reasons why so many Canadians and their families would uproot themselves and cross an international border...for life in a foreign country.

Well, as these consultations are invitation only and the invitees are undisclosed, it's not surprising people would have that suspicion. I do.

I just sent an emotional support squirrel to your back yard. Free of charge.

In Canada, we have "rationed health care" with a triage component to identify those who need critical and immediate care. The rest wait as long as necessary. There is no "pressure release valve" to the system - other than waiting. It is what it is. The false comparison of universal "free" healthcare versus private is disingenuous. Canada ranks 30th in the world (the US is #37) in healthcare effectiveness for a reason - we certainly put enough money into it. The majority of countries ahead of Canada mix in some private healthcare and THAT becomes the pressure valve. As with so many other issues, our left-leaning intelligentsia shout down and shut down any such rational discourse. While the Left constantly brays that the rich should pay "a little more", how does this square with "free" healthcare for everyone? I am so sick of this discussion (no pun intended). How about starting by sending everyone a semi-annual INVOICE of exactly what it costs for their medical care? At least then, we can start to appreciate that Healthcare is NOT free.

Actually, the Canadian talent exports itself. Lots more opportunity, better compensation, and lower cost of living "south of the border".

My point is that we have lots of talent inside our borders and we export a lot of talent.

Consultation with people (i.e. constituencies) who are already convinced of the virtues and benefits of promoting their own sense of victimhood seems more likely to me. What is the point of the process if it only confirms for the government its wisdom in catering to these beliefs? The potential outcome, however, is that it will likely only serve to substantiate the opinion held by Maxime Bernier that the Trudeau government is engaged in an exercise of "extreme" diversity and multiculturalism that negates the positive attributes of Canadian society and promotes increasing socioeconomic interference and tension. Wow, unity in division appears to be the progressives' version of nirvana - well, until the whole enterprise eventually backfires.

I totally disagree. I just came back from a course full of franco-Ontarians from the north and a mix of Canadians who've worked in traditional industries and a few more recent immigrants. It comes through both in the lifestyles of people who've lived here a long time and some of the recent arrivals. Yes there's the love of hockey and skating/canoeing on glacier lakes, the sugar shack experience, wildlife, all those stereotypes, but it's more of a sensibility or outlook. It became especially clear to me after traveling other countries. We tend to listen and be sensitive to different approaches, but firm on standing up for people. Anyway, I'm not saying we're better than anyone. We aren't. There is a distinctness though. It's subtle not brash.