Canada - A News Snapshot in November 2005

Here's a November 2005 Associated Press snapshot of Canada.

Canada is a held up as a model 0f a "progressive" post-modern, secular society.

I wonder if they have any idea how ridiculous they look? The whole thing reads like a Saturday night live parody.

Healthcare (read here)
According to the articles:

1. The state must determine and set benchmarks for waiting times.
2. 'For-profit Health care' is seen as a growing threat by liberals who want "concrete steps...taken to combat it."
3. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people are more often drunks or druggies and have special health needs because of depression or HIV/Aids .
   
   "Much of this is behavioral in nature and it does require a health care system that is responsive to needs, but it also requires community leadership..."Yes, "behavioral", that is what conservative Christians have been saying.

Immigration (read here)
Annual immigration goals into the country of 33 million people will be increased from 220,000 to 300,000. Temporary, part time workers (unemployed immigrants?) will be hired to process a backlog of 700,000 applications.

Canada is often criticized for attracting highly educated immigrants, who then complain that their professional credentials are not accepted. Many foreign doctors and engineers end up working as taxi drivers and waiters. Statistics Canada has found that recent immigrants earn less than their Canadian-born counterparts, despite higher levels of education

That sounds like good social policy. Lure in foreign professionals and then make them serve in menial jobs.

They can't bring in immigrants fast enough, they can't process them fast enough and on top of that, they going to bring in 37% more annually than previously.

Corruption Scandal (read here)

There's something in the Franco-phone world that just lends itself to corruption (ala Oil for Food.) Canada has a real corruption scandal. Unlike the hysterial, unsubstantiated charges spewed against the Bush administration, Canadian taxpayers were bilked out tens of millions of dollars during Chretein's administration.

Canada's auditor general in 2004 determined that about $127 million from Chretien's national unity fund went to Liberal-friendly ad firms for little or no apparent work in return. The program was designed to promote national unity in Quebec following the narrow defeat of a separatist referendum in the French-speaking province.

Investigators also determined that the Liberal Party funneled millions of dollars from the slush fund into their own campaign accounts in Quebec, infuriating Canadians who have likened the "sponsorship scandal" as their own version of Watergate.

The Government is suing for the return of 49.7 million dollars.