Canuckistani

I'm big on worrying about income inequality. But if the percentage gains of the poorest really are higher than those of the richest, that would show that we're heading in the right direction or at least not the wrong one. Of course absolute dollar gains will be bigger at the top - they have the most dollars. Even if the poorest made a huge percentage jump in income, while the top increased only slightly, absolute gains would still likely be higher at the top. Percentages is what counts, not absolute. But I sure would like to look at TD data, because I just can't believe that the middle and bottom income earners have done nothing but stagnate at best, lose at worst. We just see it in the hollowing out of good, middle class jobs. A few move up the ladder, many are dropping down to McJobs, and we're importing people to take the few good jobs still going. (As well as the McJobs).

Might as well just have open borders. We'll balance out with Asia - they'll drop to 2 billion, Canada and the US will rise to 2 billion. Everybody will be happy.

Set that off against this: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/income-inequality-rising-quickly-in-canada/article618311/ So, who to believe?

Haven't been for years. After 9/11 and the Bush years it just became the land of the loons. I have no interest in going there.

The point of the article is that no bank should be big enough that if they were convicted of crimes and collapsed because of it, it would drag the whole banking system under with it. There need to be firewalls in place so that banks are exposed to the hazards of their activities, whether moral or legal. This bank was only not charged because the investigators were too afraid of what might happen.

You said it better than I did.

Who are these people - recent arrivals. They have to arrange for transitory coverage until they are covered by the govt plan. That's nothing like your what is it 12% of legal residents who are not covered. Just that if you move to Canada, you have to be aware you would need coverage until you are deemed a resident.

No, since they are not covered. It's illegal for a doctor to provide service under the govt coverage and also have a private practice. He can go all private if he wants, but not many do.

If they are residents of Canada - ie here longer than 6 months, they get Canadian coverage - no xtra charge. In BC they would have to pay $133/mo for a family of 3+, unless they are low income.

Then it has nothing to do with medical systems but is an immigration matter. Just as Americans coming north will have to maintain their US coverage until they are eligible for Canadian coverage.

Says something about the US medical system if people have US insurance and still make sure to keep up their Canadian coverage. Probably because the US coverage will have co-pays and previous condition exemptions. If they maintain residence in Canada, then they'll have to pay Canadian taxes on the US earnings, if the US taxes are less than what they would have paid in Canada.

I don't believe this about people going to ER for frivolous things. Who would go there to wait and wait (since you'd be low priority) for something a clinic would only have an hour or two wait. Just makes no sense to me. Some people say we should have deductibles to prevent overuse, but that would deter people from going to the doc early when the condition isn't all that serious. One problem the US has with uninsured people is they only get treatment once their condition becomes life threatening - that's way more expensive. As for addicts going to multiple docs, that certainly happens in the US as well, has nothing to do with our medical system. We do have a problem with wait times for legitimate conditions. That's because a decision was made in the 1990's to reduce health care costs by limiting spaces in med schools - we're paying for that now.

Really? If natives are working and paying taxes, they are integrated, exactly what you say they don't want. All the fuss is about them having special deals, such as being able to collect rent off their traditional lands without working for or paying taxes on that rent. Otherwise, there would be no discussion, they'd just get on with their lives as other Canadians do.

I think that's put the problem very well. The thing is that last bit of autonomy is just keeping them stuck. In the end, First Nations people want what everybody else does - a chance at a good life, materially speaking. The way to get that is to join the system that provides that life,. and that isn't "going back to traditional ways' or "living off the land. It's not even going to be charging the evil white man rent for using the land, because the evil white (and brown and black) man is too dominant to go for that. So the Indigenous Peoples will always get crumbs until they get off their asses and actually work for a living, and pay taxes to maintain the state that allows them to do so.

Ah, the race card. Well played. How it's racist to say all races should have the same rights and responsibilities is beyond me. but never mind, the bottom of the barrel has been scraped. No point to further discussion.

You mean money laundering itself is OK? And how about we start prosecuting people on probably, then convict them on reasonable doubt?

I agree with you, but it will never happen. (In our lifetimes anyway) There are too many rewards to natives in power to keep things as they are, and the ROC is thinks they can just keep throwing them crumbs to keep them quiet. Probably when Canada becomes majority Asian from immigration things will change, because the Asians won't take on the white man's guilt, just tell the Indigenous Peoples to get a job.

Allow us to share the land. What a joke. They got over run by far more advanced civilization. Now they want to live to the same standard as that civilization does - well, then they have to get off their asses and get to work, same as everybody else. If they really want to live in the old ways, let them return to their stone age culture and see how long they like that.

0 treaties in BC. Couple of settled land claims.

Then I guess we'd better be the ones moving into our little Bantustans. All of BC, for instance, would have to be vacated. 30 million plus people crowded into tiny areas, while 300,000 live large. At least our Asian immigrants will feel right at home. (Once they become the majority, tho, they won't mess with that white guilt. They'll just tell the Indigenous Peoples to get a job.)

Sure they do. If they had the power, you think they would share the land? They lost the land long ago. Time to move on, become ordinary Canadians with the same rights and responsibilities as every other Canadian. We should not have race based privileges.

I'm sorry, you've totally lost me. What you're saying doesn't seem to have anything to do with the discussion at hand. Or at least I don't see it. I asked you if you're leaving for the continent of your ancestors soon, since you say we're all living on stolen Indigenous Peoples' land.

???? ?????

Duncan should offer to meet Spence over lunch. His treat, of course.

And you don't? You going back to whatever continent you or your ancestors came from, or did the Indigenous Peoples of Canada issue you a special invitation to stay? They lost that land to Canada. They have full rights in Canada, same as the rest of us. As I've said, if they need money to transition to living the way the rest of us do, fine. But BC is 110% covered in land claims. Doesn't leave much room for us white men, does it?