vroom

You can't drop down to one official language because of the history of Canada. Originally it was two halves... the French and the English. Based on where we've come from it makes all kinds of sense to have two official languages. English speaking people should be welcome in Quebec and French speaking people should be welcome outside of Quebec. Those are the two languages or cultures that were orginally joined to create one country. Everyone else that feels it is worth immigrating to Canada should indeed have to learn one or both of these languages so they can contribue and participate. If they choose to retain their own language and teach it to their children, then good for them -- that is their choice.

The problem is that voters don't discriminate between the two and choose the right types...

If I'm not mistaken it has a lot to do with the rights of a Canadian citizen to communicate with the government. This means being able to understand laws, law enforcement officials, court procedings or even a trial if one were conducted. Supposedly, people who immigrate are expected to learn one of our official languages. The fact that a lot of immigrants with a common language live in a common area does not imply that we need to add another official language -- even though they might appreciate it if it did happen.

It should be legalized and sold through the liquor stores as an added revenue stream for the government...

So, someone has a PHD coming from a third world country where medicine is practiced very different than here... and you want to let them do whatever it is they do here? Okay, you may believe their knowledge is current and real, but who has the ability to verify that the degree program in question is comparable to those here? This isn't cut and dried. Having a piece of paper or claiming to have a piece of paper does not actually confer any legitimate or transferable capabilites. However, that being said, I would be in favour of having a method of transferring previous knowledge into an equivalent Canadian certification quickly and easily. No use penalizing people when it isn't needed. Maybe the first step is a verbal exam by a panel of locally qualified experts? Finally, if a doctor or engineer is coming to Canada (why?), then they should be aware of our rules and be ready to abide by them when they get here. Who isn't telling them about the reality of the situation before they get here?

The oranges thing is not a vote. I am making a decision for myself if I want oranges. I am not deciding that you need to eat oranges. A vote is about imposing a decision on people that do not agree with the majority. I believe what you are talking about is economics and the profit motive...

I know I know... I'm late to the party! However, I find it hard to believe my eyes as I read this thread. Traditionally, the government of any real country takes an interest in the treatment of its citizens by the countries that they visit. Certainly, some places are riskier than others, but to imply the goverment can suddenly ignore its duties and just let its own citizens be killed when it could step and and save them simply by making sure it is known they are Canadians and tourists or aid workers or whatnot, that is incredibly heartless. Wars can start when one country treats the citizens of another country poorly. This is a serious thing. At the same time, nobody has once suggested that Canada has been negotiating with other parties in order to get our guy back. If this were the case or if payment was made I'd be incensed, but I have heard nothing of the sort except within this thread. Anyway, I hope I'm able to find more intelligent and mature conversation than rants concerning Canada's willingness to demonstrate an appropriate level of care for its own citizens. How silly.

We already have PST's, GST and cross border shopping issues. I don't think this is going to be a show stopper all of a sudden. With border crossing wait times, random spot checks and whatever else they do now to combat it I think in reality we would be fine.

I don't think it matters what bells and whistles and adjustments you make, it isn't workable. The level of involvement required would just represent another tax... but this time it would take our time. Name one successful model, in practice, that involves taking a democratic vote for every decision. True, in theory, technology could make it easier to manage votes, once the kinks get worked out, but the overhead of running an "election" on every topic would still be stupendous. Millions of people need to find information, get opinions from other people, discuss the issue, have time to think about things and debate it, then all get online and vote by some imposed deadline. Who chooses what we vote on each time -- or is that handled by a vote too? How do you decide which things deserve a vote? What about contradicting topics with contradicting votes? What controls are in place to ensure we don't just get bogus numbers out of such a system? How do you do a recount if you think someone reported false numbers? It is too much work to ask of the public, regardless of whether or not the technology will support it. Although we often make poor decisions, we are supposed to elect people that are good at decision making and who understand the issues and will steward our resources. This removes the burden from us until the next time we elect someone to do this for us.

I'd like to see income tax repealed and replaced by the GST... It somewhat puts control of taxation in the hands of the consumer. I can choose to find the lowest priced way of meeting my needs if I so wish. I can't easily move my consumption offshore, since I consume where I am. I may try to ship products in, but generally these are able to be caught and have fees applied now. Right now, those with real money are easily able to create offshore investment vehicles that hide their money and income from government coffers. This is true for companies as well as individuals. Besides, income tax is a direct tax which governments were not supposed to be able to enact in the first place. Finally, the system is already in place for collecting and administering this tax. It is fairly simple. It would eliminate the burden placed on the populace to track and calculate income and it would remove the need for businesses to track, report and mail all kinds of financial documents.

Don't we have bigger issues to contend with then whether or not various people are happy with the monarchy aspect of our governmental structure? I mean, why not focus on something meaningful instead of wasting time and effort on a big fat red herring?

Short answer, yes, technology does offer an alternative! However, is it a good alternative? No, not as presented... It would be enough if technology were able to make people feel involved and empowered. If this were to happen we'd have more involvement, more education, more thought and more good ideas. As it is, politics is often a "who cares" game. Unless you are an old cronie it won't make any difference what you think, say, vote or do. Why bother playing such a crappy game?