Get well soon, lim.

Thanks Sketcha,

Already feel the tightness easing up, want to have a smoke, but know better. I think my first will be Cuban.

Lim,
You need to keep up to date with what's going on in your country.
It was in 1995, and the vote to keep Quebec as part of Canada won with a tally of 51% to 49%.
Call me crazy, but that's within statistical deviation from driving a stake through your claim that our media blew this out of proportion, and that it hasn't been an issue since the early 1980s.


And where exactly do you hide the black population in Toronto. I've been there many times and there is no way near 20%. Not even close.
Canada is a bunch of white folks speaking two languages.

And the government funded healthcare is a JOKE.
Each time I go to a hospital in Boston, such as Brigham and Womens, half the visitor parking lot has Quebec liscence plates.

But I must ask one question:
You state that you have "social values but believe in capitalism".
Why do you suggest those two entities are somehow polar opposites?

And for the record, Canada has some of the most beautiful wilderness. My folks will be in the Candadian Rockies this autumn at my suggestion.

tailgater,

I think you have enough knowledge on Canada to pass our citizenship test.

Yes there was a referendum in 95. Québec was upset over the constitutional changes that had not been ratified after the 1987 Meech Lake Accord. The talks also went nowhere in 90 and 92. This was a lot of fuel for the separatist party (Federal Bloc Québecois) and they used it. After the very narrow victory for Canada in 95, the separatist movement as mellowed out quite a bit. Remember, this was about Québec wanting to separate not Canada wanting to separate Québec. As of this spring the Federal Liberals are the leading party of Québec, not the Bloc. This is the first time in almost 30 years the Separatists are not in power and the movement is dieing. The last poles were bellow 30% of Québecers. You should know that in our constitution Québec is considered a Nation and distinct society unlike any other province in Canada. Many north of Montreal don't see Québec as anything different than a separate nation and that is their constitutional right.

My reference to 1980 was that even though in 95 the question of separation was at it's highest with the Québec voters, there were a lot less hardliners. Also Lucien Bouchard was a pretty convincing guy all on his own. Interesting, he's married to an American.

As far as the 20% Black population in Canada, if you read clearly, both sketcha and I referenced that number to the 11 million Canadians that named their heritage as Canadian. That's a little more than 2 million of our 31 million population. Toronto has the second highest concentration next to Montréal. The 2 million doesn’t include the immigrant population.

As far as health care goes, I never defended it and would rather have a private system. Even so, if you look at our ranking in the world we're hardly a JOKE. Also Each Province is responsible for their own budget of federally allocated monies. Seeing all the Québec license plates in Boston, Vermont or Mane is a big reason the provincial government was ousted. Also Drugs are cheaper in the US and you can't get US drugs without a US prescription.

Hey I never did say social values and capitalism were polar opposites. We have a free enterprise system no different than the US, only the Government plays a very small role which boarders on being a bit socialist. Also there is a very big French influence here, which is very social. I think many south of the boarder think we're just like Denmark or Sweden.

Oh and I camped in summers up in Plattsburg NY, for the first 10 years of my life, It's pretty nice up there too. Also I have always planned to buy some ocean property somewhere in the southern US. With all the deals to be had down south, I just may find something within the next few years.

Hey tailgater, I'm surprised with your interest in Canadian politics, but than again I have found that an open mind and the knowledge of Cigars, carries over into other subjects. The Brothers of the leaf that make up this board are no exception. Of course you could have just been motivated by the urge to debate my opinions. Wouldn't be the first time. But I never take any debate too seriously.

Bout all I gots to say is,PpppFffffTttttt!!!

Sorry Lim, I hate to sell you out, but for the sake of honest clarity I must point out that I AGREED to your 20% number. I found nothing to confirm nor deny that statement in my research of that subject.

Glad to hear you're feeling better. Don't let any hosers hoark (sp) your beer eh? 🙂

BOMB CANADA!!!!

Thanks Robby, don't mind if you do. As a matter of fact we recieved a few boms this past month, nice selection I might add.

My Cousin from Boston sent me this from the Boston Globe today.

Cool, eh?

Showing a plucky independence with its tolerance and diversity, Canada has never been more hip

By Alex Beam, Globe Staff, 7/1/2003

Happy Canada Day! Yes, it was just 136 years ago today that Canada signed its first constitution. True, it took our north-of-the-border friends another 64 years to break free of their colonial masters in London, but we're here to celebrate, not criticize.

Remember when Canada was just plain cold? Think Farley Mowat chasing wolves across ice floes. Think goalie Gump Worsley clogging up the goalmouth for the Montreal Canadiens. Think of Canada's unflattering nickname: ''Snow Mexico.''

That was then. Now Canada has gone from cold to cool. Call it global zeitgeist warming. It may be the coolest place on earth. Canada is what Cambridge would like to be: ethnically diverse, tolerant, committed to public transportation. And it's becoming the most permissive place on earth, west of Stockholm. You can buy all the pot you need in ''Vansterdam'' -- Vancouver -- a city so hip that Seattle grungies trek northward just to savor its heady melange of multicultural fusion. Needle exchange programs? Canada's got 'em. Pretty soon they will be adding their own full-service heroin dens: Vancouver will host the first ''safe injection site'' for drug addicts anywhere in North America.

Would you like a same-sex marriage? No need to travel to the barren shores of Lake Champlain in Vermont to sample former governor Howard Dean's half-baked ''civil unions'' compromise. The Canadian government is committed to full marital parity for gays and straights.

Got universal health care? Sure do, eh? Got cheap prescription drugs? So cheap the Yankee pillpoppers are shuffling north from Buffalo.

Did you see the movie ''Chicago''? They should have called it ''Toronto.'' It was filmed there, as are an alarmingly large number of Hollywood movies.

If you don't feel like being part of the cheering section for the Coalition of the Willing, come on up! South of Sault Ste. Marie, if you oppose George Bush's Iraqi adventure, John Ashcroft is writing down your name, and he's marking it twice. In Canada, Prime Minister Jean Chretien's speaking out on Operation Iraqi Freedom prompted Bush to cancel a summit. So what does Chretien do? He jets to the Dominican Republic to play golf with Bill Clinton -- who happens to have been keeping company with a billionaire bombshell, 36-year-old Toronto auto parts magnate Belinda Stronach, according to the CanWest News Service. What kind of country has a 30-something auto parts magnate who looks like the young Meryl Streep? Our kind of country, we say.

So Happy Canada Day, esteemed northern neighbors. You're cool and you know it.

This story ran on page E1 of the Boston Globe on 7/1/2003.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.

Lim, "Got universal health care? Sure do, eh? Got cheap prescription drugs?" Who pays? It's not really cheap, and it's not really free... Somebody pays dude... As for ame sex marriage and all that other stuff, call me old-fashioned. It's "pretty" I'll say that, but to liberal for me. I'd like to box ship most of our radical left up there. They'd be right at home.

Robby,

I wouldn't totally disagree with you. As far as same sex goes, I'm old fashioned too. In Alberta, the provincial government is not allowing it, using the not withstanding clause, which I guess is like a veto.

Hey I'm for Private healthcare, but if the worst thing about our public system is that the poorest get the same healthcare as the rich, I won't lose much sleep at night. I'm not for it, but I'm also not holding a sign in front of Parliament Hill. I know you probably think I and others like me are crazy, but the simplest things divert my attention, like my beer getting warm or my beer getting warm.

Move to the US! You're too concervative for Canada!! 🙂

Damn Robby,
Can't make your mind up, Make perverted statements on one thread, and old-fashioned on another.
hhhhhhhhmmmmmmm who needs to move up north.
Later
Dave (A.K.A. Homebrew)

Robby,

Sorry man, your beer is WAY too weak!!!!!

Oh come on homebrew, we have the log cabin republicans, can't we have the whale spooge republicans??!! hehehe And Lim, one word, not referring to the previous poster, but sort of... HOMEBREW!!!!

Hey Lim,
Some of us brew our own.
Later
Dave (A.K.A.Homebrew)
P.S. The Irish have forgotten more about brewing than all the canadian brewers combined. U.S. Brewers never learned, unless at home, but that they keep to themselves, and among friends.

Robby,

Ah, Je comprend!!!

Does someone want to explain to me what they think the actual affirmative action laws are. The reason I ask is because most people have the wrong idea about what it actually does.

Quotas are illegal. Whether a company is actually running quotas or you just assume they are based on there claim of being and Equal Opportunity Employer, QUOTAS ARE ILLEGAL

What affirmative action does is simply expand applicant pools giving the opportunity to minorities to apply to different job markets never opened to them before. Major companies have been recruiting graduates from my University (Clarkson) for many years and we have a strong majority of White Males. The passing of the Affirmative Action legislation will not prevent these companies from hiring less Clarkson grads, it only requires the companies to expand the applicant pool to incorporate schools with more minorities. The choice of who gets hired doesn't change, only the number and racial mix of applicants. No one is forced to hire minorities because quotas are illegal.

Despite the fact that it is illegal to have quotas, some companies do hire minorities to enhance the cultural atmosphere of the company. If they do that, then they are discriminating and are doing wrong.

I am hoping that some of you will look on this information not with contempt but with acceptance. There is much misinformation about Affirmative Action and it harms the good intentions of the legislation.

Our beer is weak???

You know we have more than Coors, Bud and Miller down here. My bar has 12 handles nearly all of which are micro-brews that run in the 6-8% region. Molson runs home to mommy compared to these (although I do like Molson too).

Homebrew wise, I've done 2 5gallon batches that would kick anyone's a$$.

Same sex marriage-I had somewhat of an epiphany on that today. I have been against it in the past but that goes against my Liberatarian leanings. My thought had to do with my vacation to the British Virgin Islands. On that trip, nothing mattered. Nothing but which Island I was going to sail my wife and me the next day. Why the hell should I give a rats a$$ if a couple of fairies want to get married. I don't think it should be in a house of God as my understanding of the Bible is He's not into it. If they want a piece of paper, fine, whatever. Just don't ask me to watch.

There have been and always will be a certain percentage of homos. I don't think they're going to take over the world or anything. I'll just leave 'em be.

As far as the Supreme Court decision that was just handed down, anything that limits Big Brother's ability to bust into citizen's homes is alright with me. Just like Jesus.

sketch - 12 handles eh, well I guess that's a good start, hehe just kidding. Actually I'm a bit of a binge drinker so I like the alcohol content abit lower. I've been known to pound back more than 10 pints off Guinness in a night. I've done that with Molson, but I learned my lesson after the 100th time. 3 days in bed.

Hey don't let Robby think your OK with same sex marriages; he'll think your communist. They can get married in churches and now I'm afraid they will want to adopt children. Tell me that a 13 year old doesn't have enough problems than to know is parents are playing you dropped your soap in the bedroom. I'm very Liberal, But not that liberal

Oh hey, only the red necks drink the domestic beer brands here, it's mostly micro beer or European. Oh I forgot, Alberta is mostly Red Necks.

I wonder what Robby drinks, hey Robby there's a few bars in Buckhead that serve Labatts. Go try some maybe it'll liberate you a little, hehehe