I Love Canada, True North and Free

I love Canada for many reasons. First is the attitude of the people that I have met.

Each time I have flown into Western Canada, I have noticed a change in passengers' and airlines staff attitudes that begins among people in Chicago (from there to Canada, people seem happier). From Ohio to that point, many passengers are rude, using profanities every few words, and treating children in a manner approaching abuse. It is all very crude, uneducated, unthinking, and gauche. I often see someone spanking their child too severely in the middle of an airport terminal, or shouting at a spouse, or yelling at a staff person. Officials cart many away.

One Ohio woman in the Chicago terminal on the way home, placed the wrist of her 3-year-old son into the loop created at the end of a wide leather belt and metal buckle and tugged him along like a dog on a leash while he screamed to be carried. He was over 100 pounds and she was 5'7' and over 350 pounds. This is not uncommon in our central state.

The ultra-busy WalMart in northeast Franklin County specializes in over-sized underwear, clothing, and shoes because the local population is grossly obese - many people of all ethnic groups - many 200+ pounds overweight. The staff is generally distant and the customers a hurricane of curses, hurtling pell mell through the aisles, knocking over displays of all kinds and plowing into others with their shopping carts, while screaming at kids and slapping them int he face. I am not exaggerating. I have not noticed such obesity or behaviors in British Columbia, except in isolated cases and that was only obesity - not the rest of the behavior.

I love Canada for its peace and quiet and it's more relaxed, less frenetic, mannerly people. Customer service has always been flawless in my travels there. I've seen a few isolated fights in Canada, but short-term and quickly calmed. The overall attitude does not seem to be a pose, but real. Spending time in Canada, to me, is like listening to a perpetual relaxation tape.

• High Flight - The stunning poem written by Royal Canadian Air Force Pilot Gillespie Magee, age 19, of No. 412 Squadron, RCAF; Killed in action December 11, 1941.
• Bill Reid (1920 - 1998; see photo above) - Famous Haida Nation artist and culture preservationist.
• The second Johnny Appleseed! -- The crunchy, good-tasting McIntosh Apple was discovered in Ontario Province by John McIntosh in 1796. He is known locally as Johnny Appleseed, and in Ohio the American "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman planted many apple trees for us around the same time. Read about him in Crab Apple Slaw.
• Steve Smith, Patrick McKenna, Graham Greene (Ka-Boom!), and the Red Green cast and crew. If you have not seen their film Duct Tape Forever, you should. Mr. Smit currently (2010) doing a one-man toruing show based on Red Green. If you missed their most entertaining PBS telethons ever seen, you probably can't see them now - unless a friend taped them. They were as funny as the how.
• Joni Mitchell - Her albums from the 1970s create a different world.
• Tim Hortons - Nice coffee shops and products, but Seattle's Starbucks is the only cioffe that has ever kept me awake at night.
• William Shatner - for creating endless entertainment for the people and charity for many, as well as opportunities for entertainment pros, wannabes, and fans at http://www.MyOuterSpace.com. He never stops.
• Polar Bears - America has grizzleys, Kodiaks, brown bears and a few more, but Canada has polar bear - perhaps Alaska still ahs a few as well.
• Mohawk Nation - The reservation on the New York side has very few people on it, for most have traveled across the national boarder to the Canadian side, where they form an active and effective political party of their own. Mohawks are the keepres of the Easter Gate, the Native American Nation that miograted farthest to the east in North America. Part of the Iroqoius Confederacy, they include Pocahontas and Hiawatha.
• Bob and Doug McKenzie of the Great White North - SCTV comedy duo and creators of their own 12 Days of Christmas. David Thomas is the only person I know that can do an imitation of Bob Hope.

The notion that one cannot love any country but one's own is illogical, is it not?   

Canada, like the United States, allows permanent residency and citizenship statuses only to certain groups of people and most importantly, to a limited number of work classifications and job titles -- Grandmaster, writer, and other occupations that describe me are not on the list.

I can visit Canada. Some Canadians want to move to the US as well, but face the same challenges that present themselves to me. They can often visit America. None of us can move, but we can appreciate the other country.

Skilled (American) workers of several titles can apply to work and live in Canada (Quebec Province, however, has its own separate rules - see link to the right).

• Skilled workers without a solid offer of employment from a Canadian employer already need (1) at least one year of experience on their stated job title (2) within the last decade and (3) in a title in (a) Skill Type 0 (managers), or b) Skill Levels A (professionals) or B (technical occupations and skilled trades). In brief:
• MANAGERS -- Financial; CIS (computers/IT); Health Care; Restaurant and Food Service; Accommodations (hotels, etc.); Construction.
• Financial Auditors and Accountants
• Geoscientists - Geologists, Geochemists, and Geophysicists
• Engineers – Mining, Geological, Petroleum
• DOCTORS: Specialist Physicians; General Practitioners; Family Physicians
• Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists
• Physiotherapists; Occupational Therapists
• Head Nurses & Supervisors; Registered Nurses (RNs); Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs)
• Medical Radiation Technologists
• University Professors; College and Vocational Instructors
• Chefs; Cooks
• Contractors and Supervisors in Pipefitting Trades, Carpentry Trades, and Heavy
• Construction Equipment Crews
• Industrial Electricians; Other Electricians
• Plumbers
• Steamfitters, Pipefitters and Sprinkler System Installers
• Welders and Related Machine Operators
• Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics
• Crane Operators
• Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction
• Supervisors in Mining and Quarrying, Oil and Gas Drilling/Service, and Petroleum, Gas and Chemical Processing and Utilities