Canada content on being second class

[geoffrey]

Reading the Globe today, found a great article based on a publication by the Conference Board of Canada... pretty much echoing the thoughts I've expressed before, but probably in a better way...

The only area in which Canada receives an A is education, mainly because the country is good at pumping large quantities of students through to postsecondary institutions.

But even in education, Canada falters when it comes to producing highly educated professionals who spawn creativity, the report says.

We're only good at education, and even there, only because alot of people go to post-secondary. Apparently few get anything from it.

In economics, Canada gets top marks for low inflation, and does well in growth, labour productivity and unemployment.

It gets low marks, however, for its ability to attract foreign direct investment, which often brings in fresh ideas, more investment, advanced technology and entrepreneurial ideas.

The Liberals are calling for a review of foreign investment, and the Tories are looking at tabling legislation. Is that the protectionist road we want to go down? We need to open our borders to ideas instead of thinking Canada knows best. We apparently don't.

In health care, Canada does well at saving people from the flu and pneumonia, but performance on infant mortality and death from diabetes is weak.

Since Canada's health-care system is geared toward resolving urgent needs, little innovative thinking is done on how to prevent illness, the report says.

Something I've been saying for a long time. Canada does an okay job of patching you up (as long as you don't die in the waiting room). But there is no innovation... only things aimed at patching people up and sending them on their way.

I heard an interesting reflection from my physiotherapist today. The government has no problem forking over $25,000 for an angioplasty to assist someone in surviving life as a couch potato, but won't cover my couple thousand a year in sports medicine in reducing my overall long term risk to the system. There is some innovation. Allow people to be active and healthy and it makes things alot easier down the road.

I can't imagine how someone can justify paying a larger sum for someone that willfully neglected their health compared to paying a smaller price for someone that actively reducing their risk to the public insurer.

We have no other choice with the retirement of most of our population in the coming decades and a younger generation that has never been so fat, lazy and ready for death.

Some other notable suggestions of the board:

Here are 10 things the board says Canada could do to rid itself of mediocrity:

2) Promote cross-border investment flows.

Canada is too small to fuel it's own investment. We need the Americans, the Europeans and now the Asians to be giving us money to build stuff. It's not an option to do otherwise.

3) Cut taxes on capital investment.

Or how about eliminate them. Why should we ever punish the building of our economy and the creation of jobs?

6) Recognize immigrants' credentials.

We have no recognized skilled workers left to find in Canada, they are all either working or don't want to. Unfortunately, we have hundreds, if not thousands driving cabs and cleaning buildings. It's killing us.

We had a cleaning lady at work that was actually a qualfied engineer from South America, it took Canada 2 years to recognize her credentials. That's outrageous.

9) Fund health promotion.

And fund healthy living. Sports medicine is a part of a health population, the government should put it's money where it's mouth is and actually support activity... instead of like I said above, just correcting the couch potatoes when they are near death.

The rest are just common sense or ridiculously non-governmental.

The conclusion, Canada is content on being second class. Is that where you want to live?

Link to story

[mikedavid00]

The only area in which Canada receives an A is education, mainly because the country is good at pumping large quantities of students through to postsecondary institutions.

I have spoken to thousands of Americans through previous job roles.

I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Americans are far more intellectual, educated, better spoken, and quick witted than Canadians.

The British I have spoken to were the above x2. Very, very smart people.

When ever I spoke to a Canadian partner I rolled my eyes and was like 'here we go'. They either didn't speak English and constantly had trouble understanding things. Immigrant or not. The immigrants were simply the worst to deal with. The absolute worst.

Out of all the Canadians, I found.. I can't believe i'm saying this.. I found that the French Canadians in business were the most educated and intillectual of all the Canadians. Very smart guys who didn't waste time and had pleasant tones.

Out of the Americans, I would say the smartest people were in Ohio and Colorado.

[jazzer]

I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Americans are far more intellectual, educated, better spoken, and quick witted than Canadians.

Clearly you haven't met enough Yanks.

[geoffrey]

I enjoy doing business with Americans as well, I've dealt with people from the South, Midwest and North East. Are they smarter or better spoken? Not really... but their attitudes are different.

America isn't the model though either, they weren't ranked #1. I'm a big believer in not being ok with #2, but apparently not many others are. The USofA has an attitude of individual success being highly important, which contributes, but the Europeans do not and they still rate better than us.

[Leafless]

And fund healthy living. Sports medicine is a part of a health population, the government should put it's money where it's mouth is and actually support activity... instead of like I said above, just correcting the couch potatoes when they are near death.

Sure, transform the population into skinny sticks of muscle living well into their late 80's and 90's while bankrupting our Canada pension plan and possibly our entire health care system by treating hundreds of thousands of Canadians for other diseases related to old age.

[guyser]

I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Americans are far more intellectual, educated, better spoken, and quick witted than ME.

Fixed your quote for you.

What a load of , well, nothing. Americans are knowledgeable, intellectual et al.....but to say on average they are far more..?....well, I dont agree.

[AndrewL]

The conclusion, Canada is content on being second class. Is that where you want to live?

Link to story

I could care less.

Andrew

[scribblet]

When your second best you try harder -

[geoffrey]

When your second best you try harder -

Unfortunately were't not even close to second best.

[normanchateau]

The conclusion, Canada is content on being second class. Is that where you want to live?

Link to story

I could care less.

I could not care less.

[geoffrey]

The AndrewL's and norman's who believe Canada is just #1 without realising how far we are falling behind is why we are in the situation to begin with.

They are the majority of Canadians that are ok with being second rate.

[mikedavid00]

I enjoy doing business with Americans as well, I've dealt with people from the South, Midwest and North East. Are they smarter or better spoken? Not really... but their attitudes are different.

America isn't the model though either, they weren't ranked #1. I'm a big believer in not being ok with #2, but apparently not many others are. The USofA has an attitude of individual success being highly important, which contributes, but the Europeans do not and they still rate better than us.

I disagree with your assertion that Europe is superior to the US and that the US has an attitude of self gain.

I feel the poorer country you get (Samolia, Pakistan) then you see more personal self gain.

I find Americans are actually the most selfless nation in the world.

Qustion: "Then if that's the case, why do the US only let in people that can benefit their country and kick them out afterwards? Aren't they anti-selflness??"

Answer: "I said they're not selfish. I didn't say they were stupid".

[normanchateau]

The AndrewL's and norman's who believe Canada is just #1 without realising how far we are falling behind is why we are in the situation to begin with.

They are the majority of Canadians that are ok with being second rate.

My "I could not care less" was designed to alert AndrewL to the possibility that's probably what he meant.

[mikedavid00]

When your second best you try harder -

Yeah Canada is really trying:

We're having the Liberals trying hard to increas immigartion numbers to 500,000 a year.

We have 800,000 people currently waiting to get into Canada despite the fact that our healthcare system is bankrupt and we continually have losses in full time employment.

Yeah. Canada is 'really trying'.

[mikedavid00]

The AndrewL's and norman's who believe Canada is just #1 without realising how far we are falling behind is why we are in the situation to begin with.

They are the majority of Canadians that are ok with being second rate.

I say this over and over again; Canada should be richer than Americans. See who has the highest PPP in the world. You will see why. Canada should be no different.

Our major problem is our failure of our immigartion policy despite your personal emotions with co-workers.

* Today I had a co-woker tell me that she has to aunts in Iran who are coming for her wedding. She said that both are Canadian citizens so they can come and leave no problem.

(* - This statement is from an anonymous poster on the Internet - myself. I have no reason to lie about this. I could make a post about this and such. I could make this converstation I had with her into a huge issue. But I'm goign to passively mention it here in this post and not mention it again because I don't want to chance this person finding this stuff out that i'm discussing this. What does she care. She wants the best medical care for her elder aunts in Iran, But we all pay for it, while they have never paid anything into our system. This is part of the reason we're bankrupt. We are only chasing votes - nothing more. We seriously need to re-build our immigration system and only then will we become wealthy as a nation).

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[mikedavid00]

I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Americans are far more intellectual, educated, better spoken, and quick witted than Canadians.

Clearly you haven't met enough Yanks.

Clearly, you haven't met Canucks:

"annan faanan huwa kya se kya

main jaanemaan huwa kya se kya

dhadka dhadka dhadka sa dil

kehta hai yeh fasaana

tadpa tadpa tadpa sa dil

chaahe tere pass aana"

That's Canada. Don't believe me?

Check the ratings on Little Mosque on the Prarie.

[geoffrey]

See who has the highest PPP in the world. You will see why. Canada should be no different.

Alberta? Oh right, we're in Canada. Silly me. Without Canada, we'd be right there with Norway.

Our major problem is our failure of our immigartion policy despite your personal emotions with co-workers.

Alberta has the same immigration policy as Ontario but enjoys 150% of the GDP/Capita and a higher standard of living. What up?

[jbg]

Out of the Americans, I would say the smartest people were in Ohio and Colorado.

Hogwash. Many Canadians I've spoken to are very smart.

[normanchateau]

Hogwash. Many Canadians I've spoken to are very smart.

Try speaking to Canadians outside of Tim Horton's. You'll find they're even smarter.

[August1991]

The conclusion, Canada is content on being second class. Is that where you want to live?

This report appeals to Canadian prejudices but I'm not sure it's true. Canadians have a general fear of being second rate.

Here are three examples. The tar sands process is highly innovative and no one else in the world has developed such technology. Canada is also well known for transmission of electricity over long distances. We also are innovative in air transport.

These areas are all related to our geographic nature.

I heard the head of the Conference Board on CBC radio talking about this report and I was less than impressed. There's a book out about how Mexicans don't drink Canadian beer because we don't export our brands. Who cares about brands.

----

As to the question of Canadian intelligence, MikeDavid seems to be taking care of that question all by himself.

[jbg]

Hogwash. Many Canadians I've spoken to are very smart.

Try speaking to Canadians outside of Tim Horton's. You'll find they're even smarter.

And the point of your remark? I speak all the time with Canadians on MSN and find them very smart.

[rogue state]

here's a study from rightwing univ, Fraser Institute :

http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/admin/books/...Immigration.pdf

The professor, Herbert Grubel, of Fraser Institute, says, i quote :

"the reasons for the lower incomes of recent immigrant cohorts in Canada are not fully understood"

How come? I would expect that from a bakery labourer, to not understand the reasons, but for a professor, even a rightwing one, that is unacceptable. Is it ?

[jbg]

The conclusion, Canada is content on being second class. Is that where you want to live?

Link to story

It's still a great country, one of the greatest in the world.

Back around the beginning of April, my wife, family and I went to Niagara Falls to celebrate my 50th birthday. I had an intelligent, though slightly liquor-stoked conversation with an Ontarian. He asked why Americans in general and Bush in particular doesn't show Canada and Canadians more respect.

I said at the time that these are entirely the wrong questions. I pointed out that I met a Peterborough, ON school teacher who did not know what happened at the Plains of Abraham and didn't know who Montcalm and Wolfe were. I also asked why, if Canadians are not proud of Vimy Ridge and Juno Beach (Normandy), why should Americans show more respect for Canada than it does for itself.

[August1991]

Here are three examples. The tar sands process is highly innovative and no one else in the world has developed such technology. Canada is also well known for transmission of electricity over long distances. We also are innovative in air transport.

These areas are all related to our geographic nature.

Here's another example, based on a brand name: Blackberry.

BlackBerry handheld computers, or "Le BlackBerry" as they are known here, have been called addictive, invasive, tiresome for thumbs -- and, now, a threat to French secrets.

That, at least, is the fear of French government defense experts who have advised against their use by officials in France's corridors of power, reportedly to avoid snooping by U.S. intelligence agencies and the loss of commercial and other secrets.

...

The Canadian company "admitted that there was a certain fragility in the protection of information when you use the e-mail system" and promised it would be resolved, said Lasbordes, adding: "That was more than a year ago."

CNN

Mandel-Campbell is simply wrong and to make a quick buck and advance her career, she's just trading in on English-Canada's (Toronto's) innate inferiority complex, or whatever it is that explains this mentality:

CBC.ca welcomed journalist and author Andrea Mandel-Campbell on Thursday, May 24 to answer your questions about Canadian business and her new book Why Mexicans Don't Drink Molson.

CBC

I have always found the CBC to be utterly hopeless on business and economic reporting. It seems to me that the CBC hires only high school English and Social Studies teachers. Their announcers and reporters all sound like that.

[geoffrey]

The conclusion, Canada is content on being second class. Is that where you want to live?Link to story

It's still a great country, one of the greatest in the world.

I'll never say Canada isn't a great country. Watching World Vision ads and the like show me that the opportunity I've been given here is nearly unparalleled in the world.

But why are we ok with the status quo? Why are we ok with 'good enough?'

People don't understand the value of a leader. Business doesn't want to invest in the second best, they don't want to locate their head office in the second best, and they don't want to hire the second best. They want the best. And if we aren't the best, then someone else is.

Canada, with all we've been given, all the opportunity, all the potential... has no excuse to be second best to anyone in anything.

If we are second best, it's due to lack of effort or failed ideology.