Canadian Totem

Since no Canadian got super mad at me for Things Canadians Don't Like Part I, I thought I'd continue with part II. Indeed, there are most than 5 things which annoy Canadians.

Overall, we are in a pretty good mood right now. Canada took gold medal against the U.S.A in men's hockey at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, Sidney Crosby is now God, the snow is slowly melting and Spring is coming soon. In short, the country is doing fine. But eh, we still have our pet peeves, especially with both the tax season and the construction season coming soon...

Disclaimer: this post is to be read with your morning/ afternoon coffee. It is not that serious. Note that some Canadians may actually love some stuffs from this list!

Arguing about the Arctic: It's pretty much inhabited, it's cold and it's way up North. Yet we care. Under international law, no country currently owns the North Pole or the region of the Arctic Ocean surrounding it. But the legal status of the Northwest Passage is disputed: Canada considers it to be part of its internal waters while the U.S.A considers them to be an international strait. In 2005, the news that U.S. nuclear submarines had allegedly traveled unannounced through Canadian Arctic waters sparking outrage in Canada. The Canadian government takes defending Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic very seriously and our leaders can be regularly seen touring the North and eating raw seal.

The Canada Revenue Agency: It's not so much about paying taxes since most Canadians value their health care system and social welfare. The main issue with the Canadian Revenue Agency is that people who came up with income declaration forms are either sadistic, either from another planet. I usually manage to write my name, my SIN number and my address down before I decide to give up and call for help. One year, I apparently made a mistake somewhere and the Canada Revenue Agency decided to rectify it years later (of course, by asking for money). Full of goodwill -- it was I think my first time doing taxes in Canada -- I wrote to the CRA to ask what the mistake was. The answer was something like: "according to schedule B654489, page 77654, you declared that you had 0 at BX8657". Ahah... yeah, of course, obviously (*face palm*). To this day, I'm pretty sure the CRA made the mistake but I decided the $100 it was asking for were worth paying to avoid the headache.

Some aspects of the health system: Most Canadians value their health system. Indeed, here we don't have to deal with private insurance companies, health care is delivered through a publicly-funded system which is basically free at the point of use. Yet, like all systems, this one is not perfect. Canadians' biggest pet peeve? Waiting lists! Life-threatening conditions are taken cared of immediately but some non-urgent services (such are M.R.I) and surgeries (hip and knee replacement, for instance) have long waiting lists. Decreasing wait times is always a priority but this remains a problem. Additionally, a lot of Canadians don't have a G.P (family doctor) so whenever they have a serious health problem, they go to the E.R... clogging the system even more.

The bumps on the roads: no, this is not a metaphor for life. I'm talking about the actual bumps and potholes that can be found on any Canadian roads. After Winter, driving conditions can be really bad since thaw and freeze can open holes in the roads. In the Spring, hordes of contractors are sent to patch up roads. This signals the beginning of construction season aka morning road rage for the poor drivers who have to deal with numerous closed streets and detours. Potholes operations can last until Fall... and then start again the following Spring. Some argue that potholes help people lower their speed. Others, who have to replace their car suspension year after year, bitterly vote for the worst road in Canada.

Proroguing the Parliament: Mr. Harper, the current Prime Minister, likes his free time.  Whenever he wants longer holidays, he just shuts down the Parliament -- how convenient it is to be a PM! But Canadians got quite pissed off a few weeks ago and I witnessed the biggest rally I had ever seen on Parliament Hill. The signs were hilarious, but I think Canadians got the message across: please, stop shutting down Parliament!

Related articles:

1. Stuffs Canadians Don't Like (Part 1)
2. Stuffs Canadians Like (Part 2)
3. Stuffs Canadians Like (Part 1)
4. 10 Myths About Canada
5. 5 Things to Do When You Land in Canada (That No One Told You About)