I find it interesting to read your opinion on this, as well as others. My neighbors were very clear in saying that Canadians were not complaining about their health care. I was told that if you have discomfort in your hip and need surgery you may have to wait a year to get it scheduled because you are only experiencing discomfort.

That's not so bad. Who would complain about that? Here in the states you will get scheduled immediately if you work for a company that provides insurance, or purchase that insurance yourself. If you don't have that coverage then you may carry that hip discomfort with you to your grave.

 

baha nice shot man, where about do you live? it says kootneys but that doesnt look like nakusp area, not enough mountains.

 

Wait times will vary from area to area too. Im in a smaller town so elective surgury wait times are alot shorter than what larger cities may be. Like this past Febuary i tore my ACL and my doctor asked me if i would like it operated on or heal naturally. If i was to get it worked on it would be a couple days to get me in. (but with 8 months healing time f that noise )

 

People will complain about everything, however I dont know many Canadians who would complain about it and opt to switch to a US style health care.

That is true, if you are healthy and pushing the surgery back will not cause a deterioration of your health then you may be waiting a while. However if you have a condition that will cause other health issues over time (like a torn ACL) and they know that waiting will cause you to be in pain as well as cause other conditions, they will get you in earlier.

 

Cos - this has been an excellent thread, good on you! And, good on all the rest of you for keeping it that way. It's been a good read.

I'd like to add something that most of you know, but that some seem to forget: The largest importer of crude oil and total petroleum products to the US is Canada! This was true throughout all of 2008 and through 2009 to date. Mexico is currently the second largest importer of crude and petroleum. So, when someone says, "Stop importing oil from people who hate us", remember who they're talking about.

I have several Canadian friends who come to Tucson for one reason only - to escape the Canadian winters. They certainly don't come here for our medical care.

While the price of goods such as autos may well be higher than here, what about things like food? Isn't that pretty much the same?

Cos, I don't think there's such a thing as a "fixed interest rate mortgage" on a home in Canada. Am I right on that? If so, we would call that a "minus", since we like to "lock in" low interest rates on loans.

- Jack

 

I lived in Calgary from 1999-2006 and now live in Creston, BC.

 

I have one question about your taxes are figured. Say a person makes $81452. Is the tax rate 32% or is it graduated so they pay nothing on income below $10320, pay 25% between $10230 and $40726, and 32% from $40726 to $81425? We graduate our taxes down here so you don't take a pay cut due to taxes if you go just above the next level's earning threshold.

 

Jack, we can lock in our mortgage's up here. I just bought my house and I did cash back which is pretty much a zero down but im locked in for 5 years then it becomes varible and I have the option to lock it in at anytime.
For food wise, it depends on where you go. Ive notice cost of living is much more out west (Alberta for instance) than it is here. My wife went to Edmunton, Alberta last year and for a brick of cheese was 14 dollars to our 5 dollars.

 

cheers, thanks for the compliments, and yes if you dont ski or ice fish your f'ed for winter so most go south to golf. haha. We can lock in our mortgages or have variable rate, however what I think you mean are the mortgages that are 0.5% for the first 5 years then 11.5% for the next 30? Those we dont have, way to screw people over.

As for food it depends where you are and what your eating that is usually based on price. Things like meat in Alberta you get a great cut of steak for cheap, however fruit in the Okanagan valley (Vernon, on my first post) is a lot cheaper because most of it I could see the plantations out my window. For more expensive then the US? Not really.

Yes you are right that they are graduated. My deductions (what equal the 33% average) include government pension, health premiums, life insurance premiums, and employment insurance (unemployment insurance but we changed the name so it looked better).


Cool!

 

 

Yes, the "nightmare" mortgage was what I was talking about Cos - thanks to you and Shifty for clarifying that for me. (Wonder where I got that idea?)

Canada is beginning to sound a whole lot like New Zealand to me (where Janet's originally from). The cost of "durable goods" is fairly steep. Food and housing are about the same as the US. Fuel is moderately higher for autos. Utilities (electricity, gas, water, garbage collection) in New Zealand are cheaper than the US, how are they in Canada?

You don't pay an extra amount for "sales tax" on any item purchased in New Zealand - you pay exactly the price on the price tag. What does Canada do?

How about "tipping" in restaurants? In New Zealand, the wait staff is PAID by the restaurateur, tips are not expected. And, restaurants are about comparable in cost to those in the US. What's it like in Canada?

And, medical care in New Zealand is vastly different to what we have here! You get sick, you get to see a doctor, right away! The whole concept of "liability" in an injury issue is simply not a factor. You get injured, you get treated for the injury - end of story (it's life in the big city, or country, wherever the injury happened), and you don't have horrendous medical bills. Everything's "no fault".

Anyone in New Zealand can own a gun, but few see the need. Go out on a sheep station though, and you'll see the owner with his gun busily ridding the area of possums, rabbits and the occasional deer that hasn't been rounded up into a "deer farm".

I'm not trying to start any kind of anti-American flame war here either! But, there ARE things we can learn from other countries. We simply don't have all the answers.

- Jack

 

Haha I think your starting to get it.

1.) I KNOW utilities are cheaper than california, we sold california a bunch of electricity and we never got paid, and damn we sold it for a lot more then we charge ourselves. We didnt even want to sell it, cali jacked the price so high we couldnt say no. I have a 600 sq ft condo with 2 computers, PVR, big screen TV, electrical appliances, and many game consuls. I pat $35.00 a month for electricity, in BC it is HALF that. Government owned utility for the win!

2.) Unfortunately we do have sales tax, depending on where you live you either pay one of 3. GST = Good and services tax, PST = Provincial sales tax, HST = Harmonized sales tax. GST is country wide. PST is a provincial sales tax much like GST but covers less things (so you get double taxed on less). HST is GST+PST. Reason this is 'good' is that PST can now incorporate more things. In alberta we only pay GST, we dont have a PST.

3.) Tipping is the same, I have family from England and they still dont get it. No savings their for you guys.

4.) Our medical sounds very similar to New Zealand, if you get smacked in a car accident, you get treated. Doesnt matter if you hit the guy or he hit you, doesnt matter if you have insurance or he doesnt. If you drive drunk and crash and hurt yourself you get treated for sure (this is a bit of an argument right now, some people want to charge people who hurt themselves for being stupid, much like smoking).

5.) Same as the guns, anyone can own them and lots of farmers and ranchers own them, but very few city folk give two ****s about owning a gun.

6.) I know your not.

 

How does Canada do prison systems? Are they Goverment owned/operated or private owned?

I love Canada, I nearly joined the Boarder Patrol 2 years ago talked to the personnel who was putting me in about it. They said my chances of going to the US/Canada border was slim but after 5 years would be alot better. It was good enough for me, but then the wife hit me with the news. And ten months later, still at the prison hehe. I would BP but I want US/Canada border right off the bat no takey the family to Tucson AZ now!

 

So... in a nutshell, Canada can be summed up with the following 4 pictures.. (I confess... I went to McGill...)

 

Sentences which are less than 2 years are managed by the province.
Each province & territory would have its own provincial Corrections department which manages these sentences.

In Ontario it is The Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services.

Sentences which are 2 years or longer are managed by the federal government; The Correctional Service of Canada CSC
The CSC is broken up into 5 regions across the country:
Atlantic
Quebec
Ontario
Praries
Pacific
So depending on where you live when you get sentenced, you will be processed in that regions "Intake & Assessment" Centre, and they will determine based on many criteria which institution will best serve your needs.
These decisions are based mainly on the inmate's security & program requirments..