Goodbye Seattle

This is the city where I was born. It's not a view of it that you see much, but I wanted to share it because it reveals a couple of things about Seattle, Washington. What you see here in the entire downtown from the foot of Queen Anne hill to the left, to the industrial district or "SODO" (South of the Dome) to the right. You could walk from one end to the other in about a half an hour. It's a mid-sized American city for all intents and purposes.

I used to work in architecture (not as an architect) and I could name most of the buildings downtown - I did some photography and was lucky enough to get into and even on top of a lot of the skyline in the late 1980s. But the city has grown and changed like all cities do and that place is gone now, the landmarks of my youth torn down and replaced by some shiny box to house the next Amazon spin off I suppose.

I was downtown again the last time I was out and what struck me was how small Seattle is. Narrow downtown streets, narrow sidewalks...not many people to be seen, quiet after dark. The other thing that really struck me was how the character of the city has changed. I used to think we Seattleites were nice and genteel, sophisticated, worldly...But life in Toronto has exposed that in general, while a very liberal town, it is also a very "provincial" town with all the NIMBY suspicions you'd expect to find in small-town America. The tech millionaires go home to their protected communities and their exclusive lifestyles in their BMWs while all over the city transients live in run-down mobile homes, or under the freeways in tents and everyone's angry about it and no one wants to own the problem, let alone attempt a compassionate solution.

I really only come home for parents, other family and a few friends that remain here. But a lot of them are looking to get out. They don't recognize Seattle anymore either. What's complicated is that this isn't a change that's come about because of immigration or some external force. The change in Seattle is one brought on by the success and wealth and greed of Americans  and it is duplicating itself in cities like San Francisco and New York. These places are becoming the shimmering bastions of the elite, and just like in days of old, outside their castle walls, the peasants eek out a living on the scraps left behind.

In my youth, I helped build a city where artists and workers and intellectuals could all do their thing, but that city is gone now. It's shell is prettier than ever, but it is hollow inside. Goodbye Seattle.

The long night in which the Old World lost its way

My elderly father has news channels on all day. He's a political nut. He watches CNN and MSNBC and BNN and CNBC and yes, even FOX at times (though he's a staunch Democrat). He doesn't say much as he watches, which is very un-American. We LOVE to talk back to the TV. But when he's done, he'll tell me what exactly he thinks is wrong with the world and in this he demonstrates one of the primary issues facing this country and part of why I think it's so divided: He believes he is right. And everyone else who doesn't agree, is wrong.

I believe this characteristic is not unique to my father and I also believe that someone with political power who understands this American flaw of pride, can manipulate the public.

Enter #45, from the dumpster behind the theatre. This evil man does recognize this flaw and he used it to propel himself from someone who had never held public office to the former leader of the Free World in one election cycle by parroting back every worst suspicion that those who believe they are right and everyone else is wrong on the conservative side of the spectrum has been thinking.

You're right - you don't have a good job because of that Mexican. You're right, universal healthcare is the first step toward socialism. You're right, the world would be a better place if all those people stayed out of our country. I can make your dreams come true..."trust me". The man is a fucking hypnotist. With the hair to prove it.

So here we are in the long, dark night of our own making. From Canada, I watch as the US loses it place atop the world stage and becomes a reflection of its current leader: a global bully, a petulant child and a greedy, self-serving nation. They/we could take care of our own - but we wont. We could help the most needy of our citizens - but why should we when their problems are their own fault. Let's put them in jail instead. The legal system is a joke. They had it right in revolutionary France. Steal a loaf of bread. 10-years hard labour and a record for life. Les Mis' had all the great songs!

So I'm ranting. But the US has lost its way and lost its soul. I only hope it can get it back one day, but I am not ignorant of the fact that the country is now a second rate player, deserving of caution and suspicion by other nations and weakened where it once was powerful. It's going to be a long night. 

Did I really live here? Canada and the US are different lands

If you follow this blog, you'll know that I'm in my sixth year of permanent residence, living full time in Toronto, Canada. I write for a living and have moderate success at it. No complaints. I have reached that point in my immigration story where I am so divorced from the day to day life I had in the US that when I do return home (which I have for a couple weeks now), I no longer identify with anything from the culture to even the daily struggles my friends and family face.

If nothing else, I am reinforced in be belief in how different Canada and the US are. Here in the US, my family and friends are constantly thinking about money - how to get more, how to save more, how much someone else has, how unfairly they are paid, how they are taxed and what they don't get out of it, how someone else's money problems are not their problem. The Seattle area is experiencing what can only be called a homeless emergency - forget the stories you hear about Amazon and Microsoft. Here on their own turf, the richest companies in the world are driving the marginal out of their homes and onto the streets - literally. Homeless encampments are such a fixture that they have their own ID numbers and are governed by rules and committees like a neighbourhood association.

This was not the Seattle I lived in. Not the Seattle of million-dollar homes and 24-hour traffic. The city I used to live in comes across as poorly managed, socially wanting, and lacking compassion.

You know I don't have rose-coloured, I-drank-the-koolaide glasses on about Canada or Toronto. It's an expensive city to live in and there are issues certainly with housing. But the focus of life I experience from friends and family rarely revolves around money. Social injustice is recognized and steps to right wrongs are ever on the agenda - not pushed aside until they reach crisis mode (with the exception being issues of the far north, where indigenous Canadians do indeed suffer in isolation, lack of health services and even fresh water).

As for the current distraction of the US with the read-headed idiot they elected to run the country - in the Canadian system, he would already have lost a confidence vote and been stripped of power. The national political body of the US is a pathetic group of worthless millionaires who would rather debate taking a knee at an NFL game than providing healthcare, housing, or basic human services to the most vulnerable of their own citizens.

These two countries - my two homes, for I'm almost Canadian and will always be American - they couldn't be more different. And I know where my heart is now, for certain. I tell my friends that Canada "suits me" - it fits who I am, but maybe more important, who I want to be: someone who cares about others and does something about it. Someone who knows what money is good for, but doesn't covet or worship it. Someone who knows when my neighobor is taken care of, I am better off too.

Not even here a week and I'm ready to go home. To Canada. Maybe my appointment for my citizenship ceremony will await me there?

My Canada at 150

As Canada approaches its 150th birthday, I am thinking tonight about my place in the scheme of things. Nearly six years ago now, I became a landed immigrant in this great country, leaving the USA, none too soon it turns out, to join my love and start a new life. It wasn't all that unknown to me - our immigration process was complex and the years it took us to navigate the system were years I spent getting familiar with Canada.

Still, there were many adjustments, many hopes I had for life here that never materialized. In particular, the job market was not welcoming of someone of both my middle age or my senior experience. I was overqualified on one hand, but lacking "Canadian experience" on the other. A real catch 22. But I overcame, as immigrants must. I reinvented, and now I am more of what I've always been - a musician, an artist and an author. Canada made me choose. I am blessed to have a wife that wanted me to choose what was best for me too.

Now I am on the verge of citizenship. My forms are in a pile somewhere on a desk in Nova Scotia, maybe at the top, maybe at the bottom - but they are in process. Soon I'll get word that I'll have a citizenship test to sit for - one that I have studied for since before I was even a permanent resident. I know if I pass (I'm pretty confident I will!), and I am offered citizenship in this wonderful nation - I know on that day I will cry with joy. I'm a sentimental man. Life is hard. Things take time. When the dreams of my life come to pass, and I know they have, I am always overwhelmed with gratitude for those that come true. Becoming a Canadian citizen is one of them.

I've said time and again - Canada isn't perfect. We face many of the same issues of institutional racism, historic injustices, inequality, sexism...you name it...as my friends in the Old Country. I sense however, that here, in this huge, small nation, that we are less able to avoid our collective sins - it's hard to get lost in a country of 34 million compared to one of 330 million. People tend to know what you did, call you on it, and you tend to have to answer. I think that's healthy. Especially when you factor in the other great difference I see here. Canada is a country of compassion. Get it right, and we can put the past behind us.

So, from my room, high in a condo in Toronto, the view I have is one of a blessed life. One I could not have imagined. I have my Love to thank for it, and because she is Canadian, and her actions are those of a Canadian, I also have Canada to thank for that.

At 150, I want to encourage you, who dream of a better life for yourself and your loved ones to come and join me in Canada. Bring your skills and your spirit and follow me. It's not an easy road, and you will face obstacles, but if you are determined and patient, there is a way. I believe that, because I am proof of that.

Canada was discovered by westerners in 1534. We became a nation of our own over 340 years later in 1867. We are old for such a young country and maybe therein lies the secret of Canada.

A young country with an old soul.

Know your rights at the US/Canada border

Under Canada’s Customs Act, Canada Border Services Agency officers have widespread powers to stop and search people, their baggage and other possessions and devices at any Canadian port of entry (land border crossing, air terminal or sea port).

Canadian courts have generally recognized that people should have reduced expectations of privacy at border points. In this special context, privacy and other Charter rights are limited by state imperatives of national sovereignty, immigration control, taxation and security.

Canada Border Services Agency officers are authorized to conduct searches of people entering Canada, including their baggage, parcels or devices such as laptops and smart phones. These searches may be conducted without a warrant. Officers may examine devices for photos, files, contacts and other media.

If your laptop or mobile device is searched, you will likely be asked to provide the password.  If you refuse, your device may be held for further inspection. Our understanding is that the issue of whether a border security agency can compel an individual to provide a password for a personal electronic device at a border crossing is not something that has been specifically looked at by the Courts in Canada.

(Source: Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada) 

Choose Canada

It's been quite awhile since I wrote here. Some might say it's the natural cycle of blogs that they can only be sustained for X-number of years, or that once the mode of expression has served its purpose or run its course that it's natural it should fade into the background.

These things are true of The Expatriate Mind. I started the blog to document my immigration from the US to Canada,with all its emotional ups and downs, the events along the way and the current events that put the journey into context.

The entirety of the journey is nearly complete as I will be filing papers for my citizenship in a matter of months. I'll be sure and let you know about that process as it occurs, and the steps along the way. It's exciting to think that I will be a Canadian in the very near future.

But why I am writing tonight is because for now, I remain an American permanent resident of Canada and I want to communicate to anyone out there who is looking for make a new life for themselves in North America to take the US off of your radar and instead, choose Canada.

For at least the next four years, the US will be lead by Donald Trump - a fascist, racist, misogynist who is supported by his enablers and henchmen in government and the general population. The characteristics Trump exhibits are not those of all Americans by far, but his control of the government means that immigrating to the US will be fraught with difficulty as he molds policies to please his fascist, racist supporters and fills his bureaucracy with those who share his world view.

Canada welcomes you. In Canada, multiculturalism is written into the constitution:

Equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of law

• 15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

• Marginal note:Affirmative action programs

  (2) Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups including those that are disadvantaged because of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability. (84)

and 

Multicultural heritage

27. This Charter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians.

There is no question that the contributions made by all who choose Canada as their home is welcomed and appreciated.

While immigration to Canada is not easy - economic immigrants must be matched with demand for their skills, family class immigration has limits in the range of reunification it offers: There are still 60 different programs under which you might immigrate to Canada.

I love this country and am so grateful to have the opportunity to live here. It's been a little over five years now since I landed, and while it has not been easy, coming to Canada to be with the woman I love is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

As an American I can tell you that the US has always been a country that believes in "economic Darwinism" - only the richest survive. If you aren't well off, it's YOUR fault; if you lose your job, you deserve it; if you're sick, it's not anyone's problem but yours. There's a social safety net - but only if you are destitute.

In Canada, we know that we are all in this thing called life together, and that our neighbour's quality of life enhances our own. We put a priority on care and compassion, and good government that is responsive to the needs of the people - not business.

Canada is not perfect - we have a history of wrongs like any other nation and are still setting things right with the aboriginal population of the country. But Canada's heart is in the right place.

If you are seeking the true land of opportunity - one where your contribution is wanted and your hard work for success will matter, I encourage you, as challenging as it may seem - come to Canada. It will be the best move you ever make.  

Uncle Sam is a greedy leech

I have lived in Canada for over four years. I do not collect any benefits from my former country, The United States. The only things in my life that have meaning in association with it are I pay taxes and vote.

The US must tie these two acts together - taxes and the right to vote - because the country was founded on the concept that taxation without representation was evil. That's why they split from Great Britain. But I would argue that I have no voice in American politics. My issues do not matter to politicians. My home state of Washington is not busy insuring that expats from their state are treated fairly.

But the US wants to tax whatever they consider revenue that I make here in Canada, even if Canada doesn't consider it revenue. That means tax-free savings, retirement paid into Canadian retirement plans and any gains made on property. And what the US may tax in the future from expats is not fixed. It can change in an instant. As of this year, they are forcing Canadian banks to report on US citizen accounts so they can be sure they are getting everything they want.

I am taxed, but I am NOT represented. The US, unlike any other "free" nation in the world taxes you for life as long as you are a citizen. And they also make renouncing that citizenship expensive, time consuming and perilous.

The basic fee to apply to get rid of the burden of citizenship in the US is over $2,000. The wait time can be over 10-months. The exit fees include paying estimated taxes on future earnings. And they will estimate that those are, by the way.

They threaten that it may be harder to enter the country once you give up your citizenship. Like, who would do that kind of thing? Give up US citizenship? It makes them suspicious. You must be a threat now. We have to think twice about letting you in.

Frankly, it's nothing but a cash grab by those powerless to fight against it. When I become a Canadian citizen, I will have to revisit whether it makes sense to retain my citizenship. The only long term benefit will be social security. But I'm sure they'll tax that to the point of uselessness too.

The greedy leech keeps sucking.  

Read the Globe and Mail article about the issue here 

Thank you and goodbye for now

Since April of 2005 I have shared with all of you my Canadian immigration experience, as well as commentary on the politics of immigration, Canadian culture, and since I became a permanent resident, settlement issues and concerns. Now, nearly 10 years, and just shy of 600 posts later, it's time to step away from this blog, at least for a little while; to recharge my batteries, to figure out where I can best serve you in the years ahead.

In the time I've been writing for you, many of you have taken the time to let me know how I've helped you, what you've gained from these posts, and what would help in the future. I hope I've done right by you. Thank you for your feedback.

To those of you who have purchased my books: Thank you. I hope they have helped you in your immigration applications. Part of the work I will be doing in the near future is to update these books to reflect the current immigration reality.

This isn't farewell, just goodbye for now. Please don't hesitate to drop me a note if you have questions, or comments and thank you again for your support over the last decade.

You have seen me through my immigration experience, and I can only hope I've given you solid information, encouragement and most of all, hope in your great future.

Canada is waiting for you. Come join us.

What the f*** is FACTA?

From the ‘The Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty (ACDS):

The Government of Canada has signed a ‘FATCA IGA’ (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act Intergovernmental Agreement) with the United States to help that foreign country acquire assets of those Canadians it alone deems to be ‘U.S. persons’.  

FATCA is the enforcement tool for the imposition of that peculiar and punitive U.S. style ‘place of birth’ taxation on the world.  

We believe that the Canadian legislation that implements the FATCA IGA violates the Canadian Constitution, Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the principles of Canadian sovereignty and democracy, and the fundamental rights of all Canadians. 

We are now taking legal action in the form of a lawsuit against the Government of  Canada to stop our elected government from imposing the U.S. FATCA law on Canada and Canadians.

As I've mentioned before on this blog, only the U.S. and Eritrea tax the earnings of their expatriate citizens. And the way the U.S. goes about it, you can also be taxed on things like the gains from the sale of real estate that are NOT taxable in Canada. Further, U.S. Persons include those who were born of at least one U.S. parent, who may never have spent a day in their entire lives in the U.S..

If you want to learn more about the ACDS, FACTA and how it might impact you as an American expatriate, check out their web site at http://www.adcs-adsc.ca/

Happy Holidays from Canada

2014 wasn't the most eventful year on the immigration front in Canada, but 2015 is shaping up to be a game changer. The biggest change of course will come with the Expression Of Interest program. This will impose a major change not in the application process for skilled workers, but in the actual chances a skilled worker has for immigrating to Canada.

Where Canada has historically had a first-come-first-served approach to immigration in all classes, it is moving toward a very selective, and therefore highly political approach that will bring the "most qualified" to the front of the line - even if they just got in line yesterday. While this approach is currently limited to economic immigrants, don't think for a minute that it wont come to apply to all classes of immigration.

In the future, who knows? Even reunification of families may be prioritized by which families might be more economically successful as immigrants in the government's eyes.

Outside of the immigration front, and on a more personal note, 2014 finds me fully settling in to my Canadian life. America is becoming a crazy memory, where my only remaining concerns are with friends and family. What goes on there - fair or unfair, just or unjust - only matters to me to the extent that it impacts those I love. Beyond that, living in Canada has confirmed what I've long felt about my home country: there's something fundamentally wrong with the United States.

For those seeking to immigrate to Canada, I wish you the best in 2015. More than ever it will be important for you to understand the program options available to you and to seek out qualified advice on the path you set out on. Canada is likely to welcome more immigrants than ever in 2015 - mainly because it's a year in which we will see a federal election, and the Tories are going to want to play the immigrant card has strongly as they can. But to be one of the lucky ones who get through the red tape, be sure you are informed, proactive, and consistent in your immigration strategy.

Have the happiest of New Years and God bless you all, my faithful readers!  

How about "Buy Canadian"?

I'm not terribly political. But when it comes to being fair, I can get that way. You've heard me on this blog when I think the Canadian government is being unfair in some way on the immigration front. Well now that I'm on my way to becoming a Canadian citizen, I think it's important to speak out on fairness for our country in other areas. Today, that's "free trade".

The United States has implemented "Buy American" programs at the federal level. What that means is that certain projects funded by federal tax dollars are constricted in the use of that money when it comes to securing things like materials. When it's an infrastructure project, that means things like steel.

Two cases that have come up recently were a bridge project in Colorado that, when the government discovered that the U.S.-owned company had used steel in the bridge that had been forged and formed in Canada, they wanted the bridge torn town and rebuilt with only American steel: And now, a ferry terminal rebuild IN CANADA (for the State of Alaska that is leasing the terminal from the city of Prince Rupert) will not be allowed to use any Canadian steel in its construction.

To encourage tax dollars in your own country to be spent in your own country is well and good, but for a multi-national (like the first situation above) not to be able to use its own products because they were made in Canada is odd (they did receive permission ultimately, and the bridge was not torn down). And now - a construction project in Canada cannot be built with any Canadian materials? That is just wrong.

U.S. companies bid on and win contracts for infrastructure projects in Canada. U.S. companies build roads and bridges and buildings here. I think the time has come for a "Buy Canadian" program. A program where our tax dollars are spent in this country first. Where Canadian companies get Canadian-funded jobs. Where we encourage the development of business to take advantage of that spending. That's a Canadian Action Plan I could get behind!

Let's stand up for our own country for a change. I'm not talking about being protectionist - just leveling the playing field (like NAFTA was supposed to do, right?). If the policy is good enough to our neighbours across the border, it should be good enough for us too.    

The Globe and Mail - Canada-U.S. drifting apart? Blame America

The Nanos poll revealing growing divergence of views between Canadians and Americans should not surprise anyone. But Canada is not to blame for the fact that we are drifting apart on so many issues, as some allege. Partisan sniping, or the well-known proclivity of Canadians to blame themselves when things sour – our ingrained apologist streak – should not blind us to reality. Canadians must wake up to what many of America’s erstwhile allies learned much earlier: The Obama Administration is one of, if not the weakest U.S. administrations on record in terms of global leadership and constructive bilateralism. That, together with a polarized, dysfunctional Congress and, more generally, an America that is turning inwards are among the reasons why the neighbourhood ardor is waning. And it is not simply Canadians who feel that way. Our Mexican friends feel jilted on immigration and border security, two issues that matter greatly to them. So too do America’s allies across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans whose profound sense of frustration with an America in retreat is palpable.

Read the rest here

The Globe and Mail - Poll finds Canadians, Americans moving apart

Canadians and Americans continue to drift apart, souring a relationship that’s likely to get worse as long as Prime Minster Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama remain in power, according to a leading Canadian pollster.

“More of the same,” a relationship adrift, said Nik Nanos, chairman of Nanos Research, adding: “We won’t get a reset until Obama and Harper are no longer leading their respective countries.”

Read the rest of the article here

"Buy American" - another bad idea from the people that brought you "Too large to fail"

"Buy American" programs in the U.S. are well intentioned: The idea that the federal government will spend it's money on American products and not foreign ones. But like many good concepts, it can get a bit messy in implementation; especially when you have something called NAFTA. Oh wait - NAFTA is only free trade for the U.S. - my bad.

Here's the story of American protectionism gone wrong: A small public bridge in Colorado was built with American steel, but because that steel was rolled in the American company's Canadian plant, it became "foreign", and no longer qualified for federal dollars.

Buy America ruling reversed on Colorado bridge made with Ontario steel

it's official - I've lost touch with the U.S.

Two weeks into my latest visit to 'The Old Country" and I have to say, the overwhelming feeling I am having about the U.S., home, and everything here is that I've lost touch with it. The issues that matter to family and friends don't ring with me; I've lost track of changes around me; but the saddest thing is the state of friends and family.

Most of my friends and family know I only come home a few times a year at best, and know in advance when I'm coming. But I guess leaving is leaving, and they don't seem to make much effort when I'm back to see me. Only my closest friends (count them on a few fingers of one hand) reach out to me when they know I'm coming home.

Maybe it's more of a reflection of how I lived my life when I was here than anything else. Maybe I have a faulty, romantic memory that we were all closer than I believed? I understand that everyone lives their own life, and gets on with it; maybe the issue is I wanted to believe I mattered more than I do. I guess everyone wants to feel that way though.

So, save for my closest family and a couple friends, I might as well not be home at all. Maybe in the future I wont bother to let anyone know I'm coming back. As it is, I mainly feel like a ghost, haunting my old neighbourhood, making sounds no one can hear.

More U.S. madness - Seattle METRO bus cutbacks

Seattle is a tough city to get around in. Water is everywhere and you mainly have to drive around it to get where you want to. There are always a lot of cars on the road. Commutes can be a nightmare, The current drive times during rush hours from Everett to Seattle (28.3 miles) can average over 2-hours. You would think the city would embrace mass transit.

Nope.

Seattleites don't want to lose their cars and they don't want to pay for mass transit either. When they don't vote to fund these initiatives, the powers that be take things away. This week, they eliminated 28 bus routes. It's one thing if the routes were unused, but METRO, in what can only be seen as a vengeance ploy, eliminated routes in Seattle's busy and densely populated Capitol Hill neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, I personally witnessed four idle articulated coaches in a holding pattern in SW Seattle; part of a "Rapid Ride" system METRO built on top of their core transit system. The build out included a fleet of specially branded coaches and new, premium bus stops. So METRO can't cover the routes they already have, but they can launch an entirely other service?

The citizens of Seattle see this mismanagement and refuse to vote tax dollars to support it, Who can blame them? The bus and train services they do get don't run all the time and the coverage is spotty - maybe that's why ridership isn't as high as it could be.

But it's madness that a city in perpetual gridlock doesn't deal with this priority effectively. They don't. They never did when I lived here, and it's more of a mess than ever.

Oh, and then today METRO decided some of the cuts to service they had announced wouldn't be necessary after all. You can trust them on that.  

Back in the U.S. - Fall 2014 edition

It started on the flight from Buffalo to Chicago. The American sitting next to me was on her way to Paris. "This is my last international flight." she told me. "With those bombings today and the terror alerts, it's just not safe..." What bombings? I asked myself. Terror alerts?

When I landed in Chicago, the TV monitors turned onto CNN told me that the bombings she was talking about had been carried out by the U.S. in Syria. WE had bombed THEM. The terror alerts? Well, when you bomb someone, they tend to get a little upset about it.

Then I listen to the news commentary, and a word has entered the vocabulary of the press that to me is a little disturbing - a little Orwellian.

The U.S. press has followed the government lead like good little propagandists and now refers to the U.S. as "The Homeland". When I hear this term, all that comes to mind is Hitler on a podium, spewing about "der faderland". Protect The Homeland: Threats to The Homeland... Am I the only one who is bothered by this?

So here I am, a few hours into my U.S. visit, and I am not only in another country; I am literally in another world. The U.S., as I see it, is a country living in a perpetual state of fear, involved in a never-ending state of war on an enemy that is not a nation, but instead a political philosophy. And this fear, and this war, keeps the population from noticing how everything that should matter to their own well being is being stripped from them.

And the population drinks the Kool Aid of distraction. They will debate for hours about al-Qaeda (sorry, I meant ISIS), and Ferguson, and the latest mass shooting...all while they go without healthcare, millions live in poverty, bankers get richer after breaking the law, and since 2002, the United States has had the highest incarceration rate in the world.

I thank God every day that I am only visiting the country. I will never live here again.

You people are crazy.

Three years in Canada!

As of August 12, 2014, I mark my third year and the start of my fourth in Canada.

Has it passed so quickly? Yes it has. I pinch myself often: Three years as a permanent resident. All and all, it's been pretty wonderful. This is my home. This is my country.

I am content. Am I still adjusting? Absolutely. Do I miss the U.S.? Sometimes. It's mainly family that I miss, and dear friends. But that's the emmigrant's lot in life, and the path I chose. I'm still glad I chose it.

They say time flies when you're having fun, and there's not a lot to say when life is good.

Time is flying. There's not a lot to say.

The Star - Canadian health care better than Obamacare

U.S. President, Barrack Obama

I can't come home to the U.S. without hearing about Obamacare, and how great it is for America. My position: it's a poor compromise for the citizens of America. That a country so rich cares so little for the health of its citizens reeks of a social Darwinism that is evident in almost every aspect of the society. Below is an article from the January 12, 2014 Toronto Star. After hearing all the nonesense praise for Obamacare, I felt it was important to reflect this comparative viewpoint in its entirety:

---

Ralph Nader points to 22 ways the Canadian health-care system is better than Obamacare in the U.S.

Political activist Ralph Nader recently outlined the advantages of Canada’s medicare system over so-called Obamacare in the United States to an audience at Western University in London, Ont.:

Dear America:

Costly complexity is baked into Obamacare. No health insurance system is without problems but Canadian-style single-payer full medicare for all is simple, affordable, comprehensive and universal.

In the early 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson enrolled 20 million elderly Americans into medicare in six months. There were no websites. They did it with index cards.

Here are 22 ways the Canadian health-care system is better than Obamacare.

Love, Canada

No. 22: In Canada, everyone is covered automatically at birth — everybody in, nobody out.

In the United States, under Obamacare, 31 million Americans will still be uninsured by 2023 and millions more will remain underinsured.

No. 21: In Canada, the health system is designed to put people, not profits, first.

In the United States, Obamacare will do little to curb insurance industry profits and will actually enhance insurance industry profits.

No. 20: In Canada, coverage is not tied to a job or dependent on your income — rich and poor are in the same system, the best guarantee of quality.

In the United States, under Obamacare, much still depends on your job or income. Lose your job or lose your income and you might lose your existing health insurance or have to settle for lesser coverage.

No. 19: In Canada, health-care coverage stays with you for your entire life.

In the United States, under Obamacare, for tens of millions of Americans, health-care coverage stays with you for as long as you can afford your share.

No. 18: In Canada, you can freely choose your doctors and hospitals and keep them. There are no lists of “in-network” vendors and no extra hidden charges for going “out of network.”

In the United States, under Obamacare, the in-network list of places where you can get treated is shrinking — thus restricting freedom of choice — and if you want to go out of network, you pay for it.

No. 17: In Canada, the health-care system is funded by income, sales and corporate taxes that, combined, are much lower than what Americans pay in premiums.

In the United States, under Obamacare, for thousands of Americans, it’s pay or die — if you can’t pay, you die. That’s why many thousands will still die every year under Obamacare from lack of health insurance to get diagnosed and treated in time.

No. 16: In Canada, there are no complex hospital or doctor bills. In fact, usually you don’t even see a bill.

In the United States, under Obamacare, hospital and doctor bills will still be terribly complex, making it impossible to discover the many costly overcharges.

No. 15: In Canada, costs are controlled. Canada pays 10 per cent of its GDP for its health-care system, covering everyone.

In the United States, under Obamacare, costs continue to skyrocket. The U.S. pays 18 per cent of its GDP and still doesn’t cover tens of millions of people.

No. 14: In Canada, it is unheard of for anyone to go bankrupt due to health-care costs.

In the United States, under Obamacare, health-care-driven bankruptcy will continue to plague Americans.

No. 13: In Canada, if you lose your job, you don’t lose your health insurance.

In the United States, you will often hear people say, “I hate my job, but I can’t leave it because I’ll lose my health insurance.” Or people will be forced to get a job they hate just for the health insurance.

No. 12: In Canada, simplicity leads to major savings in administrative costs and overhead.

In the United States, under Obamacare, complexity will lead to ratcheting up administrative costs and overhead.

No. 11: In Canada, when you go to a doctor or hospital the first thing they ask you is: “What’s wrong?”

In the United States, the first thing they ask you is: “What kind of insurance do you have?”

No. 10: In Canada, the government negotiates drug prices so they are more affordable.

In the United States, under Obamacare, Congress made it specifically illegal for the government to negotiate drug prices for volume purchases, so they remain unaffordable.

No. 9: In Canada, government health-care funds are not profitably diverted to the top 1 per cent.

In the United States, under Obamacare, health-care funds will continue to flow to the top. In 2012, CEOs at six of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. received a total of $83.3 million in pay, plus benefits.

No. 8: In Canada, there are no necessary co-pays or deductibles.

In the United States, under Obamacare, the deductibles and co-pays will continue to be unaffordable for many millions of Americans.

No. 7: In Canada, the health-care system contributes to social solidarity and national pride.

In the United States, Obamacare is divisive, with rich and poor in different systems and tens of millions left out or with sorely limited benefits.

No. 6: In Canada, delays in health care are not due to the cost of insurance.

In the United States, under Obamacare, patients without health insurance or who are underinsured will continue to delay or forgo care and put their lives at risk.

No. 5: In Canada, nobody dies due to lack of health insurance.

In the United States, under Obamacare, many thousands will continue to die every year due to lack of health insurance.

No. 4: In Canada, an increasing majority supports their health-care system, which costs half as much per person as in the United States.

In the United States, a majority — many for different reasons — oppose Obamacare.

No. 3: In Canada, the tax payments to fund the health-care system are progressive — the lowest 20 per cent pays 6 per cent of income into the system while the highest 20 per cent pays 8 per cent.

In the United States, under Obamacare, the poor pay a larger share of their income for health care than the affluent.

No. 2: In Canada, the administration of the system is simple. You get a health card when you are born. And you swipe it when you go to a doctor or hospital. End of story.

In the United States, Obamacare’s 2,500 pages plus regulations (the Canadian medicare bill was 13 pages) is so complex that then-speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said before passage: “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”

No. 1: In Canada, the majority of citizens love their health-care system.

In the United States, the majority of citizens, physicians and nurses prefer the Canadian-type system — single-payer, free choice of doctor and hospital, everybody in, nobody out.

Family time in the USA

Hi Friends,
The Mind is on a brief hiatus visiting family in the US. I'll return to Canada and catching you up with all the latest immigration news and views in a few short weeks. In the meantime, the weather is beautiful out - so why are you sitting in front of that computer?! How do you spend your break? Why not drop me a note and let me know?

Cheers - J