Since no Canadian got super mad at me for Stuff Canadians Don’t Like Part I, I thought I’d continue with part II. Indeed, there are more than 5 things annoying 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
Population density is lower than low, 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 travelled 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 healthcare 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 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.” Ah ah… yeah, of course, silly me, 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, healthcare 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 MRIs) 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 GP (family doctor) so whenever they have a serious health problem, they go to the ER… clogging the system even more.
Bumpy 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. It 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!
The week I spent at the military school, I had to work on a committee about the Arctic. I think I annoyed them beyond possible by maintaining that the EU had no business there and it was Canada’s internal water 🙂 I don’t know why but I think it would be very disturbing for most Canadians to loose sovereignty in the Arctic.
And by the way, both my parents work at the Revenue Agency :p
.-= Cynthia´s last blog ..Phototag =-.
Ha ha ha…
Raw seal?!
Don’t tell me that’s Canadian’s version of Sashimi!
But I’d like to try it… Wonder if it goes well with soya sauce and wasabi.
Re: Eiffel Tower / 艾菲尔铁塔 / Menara Eiffel / エッフェル塔
You’ve watched too much American telly. ;p
Re: Eiffel Tower’s Cousin / 艾菲尔铁塔的堂弟 / Sepupu Menara Eiffel / エッフェル塔のいとこ
Of course, the Eiffel Tower is the mother of all other “mongrels”.
.-= London Caller´s last blog ..The Louvre by Dusk / 卢浮宫的黄昏 / Muzium Louvre pada Waktu Senja / ルーヴル美術館の黄昏 =-.
I am not a fan of bumps/holes in the road either… 🙂
.-= Agnes´s last blog ..Spring Fever =-.
Wow, you guys like your health system. The way some here in the USA are talking we have had to double the guard on the borders because all you Canadians will do anything to escape your system because it is so awful both physically and morally.
I had never heard about the problem with the US submarines.
I still love the word prorogue itself but not the concept. Is it a legal Scrabble word?
.-= Yogi´s last blog ..My World – Geocaching on Turkey Mountain =-.
Yes to all five! Particularly the CRA, the wait times in the health system and the increasing scarcity of GPs.
Still, Canada is a great place to live. 🙂
Potholes! Yes! In Michigan we say we have two seasons: winter, and construction. The department that oversees road reconstruction is making a big stink right now about not having enough money. I don’t know where they think they’re going to get it from since there is literally no money to give them.
Have you ever done a post about weird Canadian food, like seal and moose, and if you’ve tried them? I know you did one about sweets a while ago…
Sounds like the same gripes we in the USA have, minus the Arctic piece. I saw the Governor General on CTV eating seal hearts- I think the seal hunt should end.
Anyhow, Americans too HATE taxes-it’s tax time here too (but we want a huge military, great schools, no potholes, space program, etc etc)
And don’t be fooled, Our health care system is what I’d consider for profit (even the not for profits act like them) and it’s clogged to capacity too.
I’m an RN in a busy University hospital and the ER is jam packed, surgeries are postponed/cancelled. Kids are shipped to cleveland ohio or Boston Mass for specialists we don’t have. We do however MRI every person with a headache since no doctor wants to get sued for missing a brain tumor or some other abnormality. That makes care really expensive. I was in the ER with my son last week (for an emergency) and people had been waiting there from 2-12 hours! Just to be seen!
Canadians probably can get non-urgent service by traveling to another country – at a lower price. This is called medical tourism!
.-= khengsiong´s last blog ..Travel – Alternative Destinations =-.
@Cynthia – Oops sorry, I’m sure your parents are nice people! 😉 It’s just these forms… I don’t understaaaaand them! I also believe it won’t be a good thing if Canada loses its sovereignty because guess who’s going to take it…
@London Caller – I’ll pass on the raw seal. It’s pretty much a political statement!
@Agnes – So avoid driving in canada 😆
@Yogi – I believe this is propaganda (re the Canadian fleeing to the US for health care). Mind you, we hear similar stories here of American finding their way to Canada for affordable health care. So I vote for propaganda on both sides!
It is true that in some remote places, it’s easier to cross the border to go to the US than going to the nearest Canadian city. But I believe this is a minority…
@Beth – Yes it is! It would be a boring place if it was perfect!
@Soleil – I wrote a post about Canadian food a while back. I must admit I have never tasted anything very original here… raw seal, nope, definitely not, even to brag to you guys!
@Rich B – I had no idea hospitals were packed in the US as well. I thought it was a “socialist health care” issue (I’m being half sarcastic here). I’m curious by the way, what do you do with people who have no insurance and can’t afford to pay for urgent/ critical health care?
Oh, and do you know this website? http://www.ertards.com It’s both funny and quite sad.
Hope your kid is okay (re. ER visit).
@khengsiong – Yes, it exists too. In Europe as well, since former USSR countries are much cheaper when it comes to dental care etc.
Excellent lists, both this one and the Part 1.
The ‘Proroguing the Parliament’ ranked really high these past days. Luckily for our inept Prime Minister, Canadian had the Olympic Games to get distracted while he was pretty much breaking the law…
.-= Gabriel´s last blog ..Silly Monkey Stories #90 – My bed warmer =-.
i love that canadians get upset over submarines.
i mean, the whole point of being a submarine is
to hide and sneak everywhere they go. it’s like
getting mad at a bear for growling at the fish.
.-= Seraphine´s last blog ..Sun Tzu =-.
pot holes are a way of life in Canada…..you learn to live with them and road repair season…….
Another good post Zhu………..oh and like most governments around the world, ours is a total waste of time…..you forgot to mention how only in Canada we are governed by two governments, Ferderal and Provincial……so we are paying twice over for useless people!!
Gill in Southern Ontario
.-= Gill´s last blog ..What I was up to on my birthday…….. =-.
I think I need a holiday in Canada again to check out the potholes hehehehe…
frankly, if a surgery can wait, i have no problem with waiting.
i’d be perfectly happy never needing another surgery…
unless, it’s to save my life or stop the pain, of course.
.-= Seraphine´s last blog ..Sun Tzu =-.
@Gabriel – I think the Olympics helped him a lot… I still find it kind of sad to see it’s that easy to close down our democracy.
@Seraphine – I’m just wondering how they spotted the submarine now… the yellow color, maybe?
@Gill – You are right, it’s a bit strange for us Europeans to have not two actually, but three levels of government: municipal, provincial and federal!
@shionge – Do that but be careful 😆
@Seraphine – I don’t know… sometimes it’s better to get it over with quickly rather than wait in pain. The wait is always the worst I think.
Haha, excellent list. Lemme find the previous edition now. Have you already talked about people in the other countries thinking we are the same as Americans? 😀
.-= Priyank´s last blog ..Veliky Novgorod =-.
I think everyone wants a piece of the artic since it’s melting and there are supposedly tons of resources there. I want to claim it for myself and for all the bears.
I think we should a take a page out of Mr. Harper’s book and have more holidays, at will!
Well. It is the hip- not the hips 😉 and you are pretty much right on. I am currently in Russia, and I have trying to delay my visa so I can stay here longer. I have to say after reading these blogs, I kind of want to pack up my bags and go compare Russia winter stories with my friends back home while loitering at Tim’s. :))) Thanks for the smiles :)))