This was touched on lightly in another thread & got me to wondering about something.
I'm pretty familiar with foriegn countries, on other continents. BUT could tell ya very little about Canada. How many provinces, capitol, system of gov't, history.
I suspect Canadians are more knowledgable about us than I am about them. Is it just me or is this commonplace throughout to US? Maybe the northern parts of the US are more knowledgable about their neighbor. Maybe I'm just embarrassingly dumb? (Spell chk still down?)

the only thing I know about canada really is that everyone has governement provided medical insurence... but the only problem is you may have to wait a very long time to get taken care of for some things

Hoo boy... Here we go...

MJ: I will explain in detail once I get to work.

Fierobaby: Yes, government funded healthcare. The huge lineups is for the most part a huge exagerration concocted by the HMO-friendly politicians in the US. Our hospitals aren't any more crowded than yours. There are a few things to this, which I'll get into more detail when I get to work,

Ya know we were discussing this at the Michigan show- went to dinner, maybe 3 or 4 americans, 3 or 4 Canadians- the Canadians knew more about the US than I did for sure, and more than most of us. I think that's pretty cool.

to bad a good percentage of ameriacans think where "tucked all the way down there"(homer simpson). there is 10 provinces, 3 territories, mach can explane more if he want's to

I'm not really asking to be educated about Canada. My question was actually directed to the U.S. membership. Are we, as a whole, ignorant of our good neighbors/allies to the north, or is it just me? I've recently realized I know more about Germany, Spain and Taiwan than I do about a nation on our border. If I'm an isolated example,
it's ok, you can just say,"Hey Don, you ARE stupid."

Well, RUSH and hockey came out of Canada(two of my favorite things) so they must be doing something good up there. yeah, Canadians are cool.

Generally speaking, Canada may be... well... overlooked I guess. A couple of winters ago I had a family in a car bearing Ohio plates and sporting about three sets of cross country skiis on the roof approach me and ask how far north they would have to drive to hit snow. This was in the middle of July!
I have had similar experiences while vacationing in Florida. Mainly comments based on how cold Canada is and how few we are in numbers (10 miles between each house ). I think it is rather humourous.
Obviously this does not represent all Americans, just sharing a couple of encounters.

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If you can read this, I'm parked.

All I know about canada is they have good beer and everyone there plays hockey.

What're you talkin' aboot, eh?

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1988 Quad 4 Coupe 5 speed

1986 GT 5 speed, 1984 SC Auto
AOL: LastMinuteBastrd AIM: SavedbyJebus

MJ: Well TOUGH. You're getting an explanation, anyway.

First, theres our province/territory thing.

The main difference between Canada's provinces and territories, is that provinces get more money

The other differences are the way in which the legislatures are set up. In canada, we have 3 levels of government. Municipal, Provincial, and Federal. In the Territories, the provincial level is simplified. They have a governor of sorts, but no complete party system, like in the provinces. The provinces are set up much the same way as the state-level government in the US.

We have 13 provinces and territories

The 3 territories: Yukon, North West Territories, Nunavut. (all up north)
10 Provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland-Labrador, and Prince Edward Isle.

All territories and provinces have capital cities. The capital city will contain the parlimental buildings. Our national capital is Ottawa.

In terms of Government structure, our lead party is determine by number of seats won. Currently, the Liberal Party, headed by Jean "Big Jean" Chretien is in power. The "runner up" to the election will become the formal opposition. In our case, the Parti Quebecois heads our opposition. Decisions are made by voting in house of commons, much like the US senate. Traditionally, the opposition is there to moderate the lead party. If a bill is voted in, it's passed.

As for health-care, it's a GOOD THING, regardless what your government says. In reality, it costs LESS to run a Healthcare system than it does an HMO system. The problem is, there's good money to be made in the HMO system by health insurance companies, and by doctors. That is whay it's still in place in the US. The myth from long waiting lists actually stems from what happens when a governing body pulls money out of the system in the form of cutbacks. A badly run HC system will not run as nicely as a badly run HMO system. Properly set up, with appropriate funding (read: adequate facilities) the HC system runs smoothly, with delays ONLY for uneccesarry surgery (non-emerg plastic).
Some examples of MY personal experience in Manitoba:

Feb '00 Acute chest infection, uncontrollable hacking. Driven to hospital by brother. Spent a total of 12 minutes in waiting room, got a bed and a 02 hook up in under 15 (3 min for initial interview). Treated within the hour, released 2 later.

May '00 Serious Asthma attack. Driven to hospital again, total of 3 minutes waiting, in a bed with 02 + Nebulizer in under 10. Released 3 hours later.

June '00 ANOTHER serious asthma attack. Same thing. In and out in under 3 hours.

June '00 YET AGAIN. Under 3 hours. Cause determined to be sensitivity to mould in work building's A/C. Not cool. Luckily, we moved out of that builing to a new one.

That's my experience with Emerg. For surgical procedures, My brother had a suspicious mole removed within 3 weeks of diagnosis. I had a bad toenail done within 4. Didn't cost us a dime for ANY of these trips.

As for the more interesting equipment, like Dialysis, MRIs, or CATs, I'd have to ask some people, but I do know that anything considered an emergency gets top priority. The waiting lists aren't too long. I can do some checking upon request.

Thanks for the lesson, Professor, But;
Don timidly raises his hand to ask questions.
1.If the populace elects Parilimentary members,Who elects head of state (PM I believe you call that position)?

2.Is there only one house in Parliment?

3.You say 'if a bill gets a majority vote in Parliment, it passes'. Is there a veto provision?

4. Is it possible to have a Liberal majority in Parliment and a minority PM?

5. Can a territory ever become a province?

6. Any chance you could persuade the Louisiana Cajuns to move back into Nova Scotia?
(I lived in South Louisiana for 18 yrs)
Keep the answers short please. Doubt everyone is interested in this topic.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 09-08-2001).]

MJ: Where's my goddamn apple!?!? Put on the "D" cap and sit in the corner!

Ok, in order:

1) Head of state is the party elected head of the party. Funny little anomaly. Even if the head of the party doesn't get a seat in his own riding, he/she can bump off another member.

2) No, there's one for each provicial level in each province, and one at the capital.

3) Yes, but I'm not sure of the exact process/rules.

4) Yes. It works out kinda funny, but Pierre Trudeau got in as PM, but was a minority. I has to do with the number of seats. You have to reach X number to be considered a majority. I believe in his case the vote was split closely by 3 or 4 parties.

5) Yes. Newfoundland-labrador did this in the 40s

6)?!? Don't have a clue what your on about...

Captain Kirk is from Canada!

[This message has been edited by My7Fieros (edited 09-08-2001).]

WRONG!!!! Captain Kirk is from Ohio; William Shatner is from Canada. (sorry; the trekkie side of me had to say something)

*puts head in hands*
My head hurts...

Actually HMO system isn't that huge a hit with most doctors I know. HMO payouts are all contract bound. Stuff the doctor/hospital might normally bill at $100 may pay only $20 plus whatever Copay by the time the HMO reviews it. Copay may be as little as $5-15.

The doctors that actually work for the HMO are very often saleried employees. They are making a decent living I guess but not the kind of money that independent practices can do.

When you figure just my oncologist office employs around 40-50 people, they have to have allot of patients to pay everyone a decent wage and pay for all the insurance they have to carry. If you think car insurance is expensive, check malpractice, liability and workers comp rates. Doctors offices have a huge amount of overhead. Everything a regular busness has plus a bunch of other stuff.

In short, My mother was a nurse... I've had allot of doctors as computer clients. Most I've gotten to talk to make decent money but they aren't nearly as rich as most people think they all are.

Ogre: My mother's a nurse too. Well, now she's a midwife, and packs a pretty decent salary. I'm changing my statement:

The HMO system is more lucrative to the pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, hospital directors, and independant clinics than it is for doctors. But the fact remains that the HMO system is set up so people can make some major coin. The HC system is less so.

MJ,

Welcome to Canadian Government and Politics 101. This will be anything but brief because I have nothing better to do today and it's been a while since I last engaged my brain.

The main difference between the Canadian and the US political system is the division of powers. In the US, I believe, you have a clear differentiation between your Executive Branch (The Prez) and your Legislative branch( Congress). In Canada, we're based on the British Parliamentary system, if you're familiar at all with that. Since we didn't "kick the bastards out", the Queen is still officially our head of state - more on that later.

Our Parliament, roughly equivalent to your Congress contains two houses. I think that's the same in the US, right? The House of Commons is the elected legislature and the Senate is the appointed legislature.

The Commons, houses the members of our political parties elected by the public. We currently have 5 official parties. To obtain official party status, the party must have a minimum of 13 (I think) members elected. As Mach10 pointed out, the party with the most votes forms the Government, the rest of the parties are part of the Opposition. The leader of the winning party becomes the Prime Minister.

Normally the winning party will achieve at least "50% + plus one" seats in the Commons. This is called a majority government and basically allows it to pass the majority of the legislation it pleases for the duration of its term (usually 4-5 years). If the government does not take the 50% + 1 seats, it is called a minority government. This is usually more interesting and short-lived where the government must make concessions to opposition parties to get its legislation passed.

Our head of government is the Prime Minister. He is the leader of the party forming the government. The PM is often incorrectly associated with the President. In reality the PM has a lot more freedom politically than the President. He selects his Cabinet Ministers from the members of his party. The Cabinet Ministers and the PM form the Executive branch of government, like the US president. The difference is that they also control the Legislative branch. They propose most of the legislation that goes before Parliament. Since they are members of the legislature themselves, though, and in charge of the governing party, they usually get their legislation passed. To contrast with the President, he must convince the legislative houses to pass his bills, if I'm correct.

After legislation passes the Commons, it is sent to the Senate. The senate is composed of patronnage appointments by the PM for the most part. Senators have their seats for life or until they resign (usually). When a seat becomes available, the PM will usually appoint a long term party supporter or member to the seat. Membrs can not sit in the Commons and Senate at the same time. The Senate does have the ability to veto legislation, but this generally doesn't happen. It will usually be sent back to the Commons where it is finally passed or amended.

Finally, the Head of State is the Queen/King of England. Yes, the Queen as in funny waving , funny speaking, riding around in carriages and living across the ocean Queen. Her representative in Canada is called the Governor General. It is the GG who finally signs off on all legislation that is passed by Pariament. The Head of State is more of a symbolic position in Canada. It is the PM who generally attends the large summit meetings, etc.

Well, that concludes today's lecture. I hope you've learned something today, if not about Canada, then about asking questions which might provoke me into answering in a very verbose fashion.

Well, sorry, Tonker, Mach 10, but at 52 yrs old, I asked all the easy questions long, long ago. That 'for-life Senate job sounds like the thing to have if they make a decent wage. Come to think about, I believe Strom Thurmond has been in congress about 120 yrs now.

Yeah, what he said...

quote Originally posted by theogre: Actually HMO system isn't that huge a hit with most doctors I know. <snip> ...Most I've gotten to talk to make decent money but they aren't nearly as rich as most people think they all are.

But HMO's thrive because:
A) Doctors need patients and many people (those with insurance) are part of an HMO>

and

2) HMO's have alot more lobbying money to keep congress happy than doctors groups do.

Why do you think there are now drug stores on every corner? Man I really hate insurance companies.

I think most Americans just take Canada for granted its just like the next state over to most of us. We mostly just assume its all the same on the other side, except dollar is worth more Some dancers I know used to love to go on tour up there, they got $2 bills instead of $1. Once they got stopped at border with grocery bags full of cash, they had to explain that they werent drug dealers, I laughed my azz off.

MJ - Congrats on the quick study. Senators are usually appointed because of service to the governing party (let your imagination run wild, you're probably not far off). They are supposed to attend sessions and meeting but who has time for that? The paycheques still get deposited in the bank. From there it's likely off to the Cayman Islands. Life is tough....

Gary
ps: Mach10..It's Prince Edward Island
and I think you'll find the separatists are not the official oppo this time round.

Buzz: I know it ONLY as PEI. The last time I had to spell it out was in grade school. Take off, eh?
As for the oppo, I thought it was, since I had thought that the PQ got more seats, since the Liberals basically had every other province... Please correct me otherwise... I HATE not knowing.

ie[QUOTE]Originally posted by theogre:
[B]Actually HMO system isn't that huge a hit with most doctors I know. HMO payouts are all contract bound. Stuff the doctor/hospital might normally bill at $100 may pay only $20 plus whatever Copay by the time the HMO reviews it. Copay may be as little as $5-15.

HMO's suck! I took my son to the Dr's about a year ago for a checkup. He needed a meningitis vaccine. His Dr. told me my insurance company would not cover it because he was over 2 yrs. old. I had to pay $75.00 out of my pocket for the vaccine.

There is one thing I wanted to know about Canada.
What does hoser mean?

maryjane, I have had 9 years of post-high school education, live in the northern U.S.(Wisconsin), am 45 y.o., yet know embarrassingly little about Canada. I have nothing against Canada. I like Canada. I like that maple leaf. I like the music to their anthem better than ours. I'm not like many U.S. citizens who think we are the only country on the planet. I have no reason or excuse for not knowing more. Would visiting Canada help? Where would I start?

FL: Anywhere. Every province is different, but the people remain mostly the same**
Alternatively, there's lots of information online. The US "ignorance" of canada is largely to blame on the school system. I, for example, had to know all 52 states and capitals to pass grade 11. Do you guys have a similar test for Canadian provinces and territories? You guys would have it easy

**EXCEPT DRIVING HABITS. Avoid Alberta by car, if you value your sanity

What amazes me is how little some Americans know about their own country. When trying to explain where Calgary, Alberta is (we hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics by the way), I usually explain we're in western Canada bordering with Montana. I then have to explain where Montana is !?!?; you know, 2 states up from California, and 3 east of the Pacific Ocean!!

The Cajuns are descendants of the Acadians who moved to southern Louisiana. They were expelled from Nova Scotia in the late 1750's as retribution for refusing to sign unconditional oaths of allegiance to the British Crown.

quote Originally posted by Mach10: 6)?!? Don't have a clue what your on about...

I've only been to Canada once.We drove through New York,across the border,then along the border to Niagra Falls.The one thing that impressed me the most,the cleanliness of the cities we saw(don't remember which ones they were).

I have a placque on the wall in my office that says"Been there,done that,don't remember" That applies in this case.

Sorry, I had a mental re-lapse. I remember the Cajuns, now... Couldn't blame the buggers. The crown at the time was a right bastard. Ironically, my family lineage traces back to a bunch of rabid royalists...

The term Cajun is derived from Acadia. I understand that is an area in Nova Scotia, where these people migrated from. The South Louisiana area is known as Acadiana locally. A BIG French influence, even today. French is taught mandantorily in schools there, but I believe it is somewhat different than true French. A good bunch of people, great cooks.
Proudly call themselves coon-as*es. These people do some serious partying.
Laisez les bon temps rouler!!

French is different everywhere you go. I'm not sure I could even give anyone an example of "true" French. Even the different provinces in France seem to have their own particular versions of the Dialect. Quebecois french and continental french are almost worlds apart. It's the same with American Spanish and European Spanish.

quote Originally posted by Mach10: French is different everywhere you go. I'm not sure I could even give anyone an example of "true" French. Even the different provinces in France seem to have their own particular versions of the Dialect. Quebecois french and continental french are almost worlds apart. It's the same with American Spanish and European Spanish.

As I understand it, the Quebecois and their culture are actually closer to the french of the 18th than the french of France now. It was basically cut off from the changes to the language and culture that occured in Europe. Kinda cool.

Quebecois is spoken faster than European French and the pronunciation of a lot of the words is way different. The French-Canadian-based dialects are a lot more Anglicized as well, which isn't surprising given a) their close proximity the last 250+ years to their English-speaking countrymen and b) that the French now actively campaign against having English-derived words be officially assimilated.

A large Acadian population also settled in what is now Maine; a lot of my relatives via marriage on my father's side are of Arcadian descent.

quote Originally posted by Mach10: FL: Anywhere. Every province is different, but the people remain mostly the same** Alternatively, there's lots of information online. The US "ignorance" of canada is largely to blame on the school system. I, for example, had to know all 52 states and capitals to pass grade 11. Do you guys have a similar test for Canadian provinces and territories? You guys would have it easy **EXCEPT DRIVING HABITS. Avoid Alberta by car, if you value your sanity

I believe the U.S. "ignorance" of Canada is because of the same reason as the U.S. "ignorance" of the U.S. Lack of caring. I personally failed the states and capitals test at least 5 times and I still don't care what the capital of Wyoming is.
If I ever felt like I needed to know, I'd look it up. They did quiz us about the provinces and territories of Canada. I think I passed that one, but since I don't remember anything from high school anymore, I couldn't tell you what they are.

[This message has been edited by Leper (edited 09-10-2001).]

we had a small quiz on canada. it wouldnt really effect your grade if you failed it though....

sad part is, the US states quiz was probably just as or less important then the canada one.

We have to learn stupid stuff in H.S. like thermo Nuclear dynamics in isolated states... hmmm maybe not, we dont really learn anything after kindegarten, until college (we do learn in college!!)

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quote Originally posted by Mach10: I, for example, had to know all 52 states and capitals to pass grade 11.

What were the 6 extra states? (Or 2 extra depending on how nitpicky you are.)

quote Do you guys have a similar test for Canadian provinces and territories? You guys would have it easy

Ya, right. Here is the questions that they ask high school students.
Question: Can you point to Toronto on a map?
Question Mark I: Can you point to Canada on a map?
Question Mark II: Can you point to a map?

hey, all I can say is that the only real difference between the us and canada is the way we mesure things up here and we have more animals than people.