Lifestyle
A Portrait of Canada: Up Close and Personal
(Pexels photo)
We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving on October 12 — and indeed, there are plenty of things to be thankful for even during a pandemic!
To begin with, Canada has been more successful at limiting the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to our universal health care system — a critically important factor in making sure that people didn’t have to pay to get tested. Moreover, Canadians weren’t worried that if they got sick, they would not be able to get the care they needed. Where in the world can you find a government that pays for healthcare and medicine of its citizens? In other words, no hospital bills for Canadians! It’s a relief to know that our hard-earned taxes go into the health and wellness of every Canadian. The highly-organized public health system is definitely at the core of Canada’s success in battling the pandemic. After all, it is in tough times that we see what type of government we have.
Canada’s got everyone’s backs when it had to impose a lockdown from Mid-March to end of May. There was the CERB (Canada Emergency Response Benefit); it gave financial support to employed and self-employed Canadians who are directly affected by COVID-19. Canadians received $2,000 for a 4-week period (the same as $500 a week) which continued up to 28 weeks, if a Canadian still needed financial help after the initial 4-week period. The CERB has ended but it was immediately replaced with CRB (Canada Recovery Benefit) and EI (Employment Insurance) which provides financial support to Canadians monetary affected by the pandemic. There’s income support if a Canadian must stop work to care for dependants due to closures, high risk and caregiver availability (Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit). There’s up to two weeks of support if you are sick or must self-isolate due to COVID-19 (Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit). For businesses, there’s assistance when it comes to commercial rent and financial support — a wage subsidy for Canadian employers to re-hire workers previously laid off as a result of COVID-19. As of September 7, 2020, over 106,000 small business tenants have been supported, representing 994,000 employees, for a total of over $1.32 billion in rent support. There’s also mortgage deferral for Canadian homeowners. In summary, there’s support for individuals and families, businesses, sectors, organizations providing help to Canadians, persons with disabilities, indigenous communities, seniors, and students. Must say, it’s impressive how locals, provincials, and federal Canadian governments tackled the pandemic situation head-on. Coronavirus is such a Herculean task for any leaders to face during a chaotic time.
What makes Canada so great? Overall, Canada has an impeccable worldwide reputation with other countries. It is at peace with many countries and is a peaceful nation. It is a free, progressive, and democratic country; it has legalized same-sex marriage and cannabis. It also ranks low in terms of corruption — Canada is the 12 least corrupt nation out of 180 countries, according to the 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International. Its economy is living up to most of its potential of all the G7 nations. Not to mention, it is the best G20 country to be a woman! Did you know that in Canada, new mothers can take between 17 and 52 weeks of leave from their jobs? According to the 2019 Women, Peace, and Security Index — Canada is in the 11th spot behind Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Austria, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Sweden, and the Netherlands based on women’s well-being and equality. In 2018, Canada ranked seventh on the list.
This wonderful country is so much more than maple syrup — we have the famous mouth-watering smoky Canadian bacon. We have the classic Canadian treat — Poutine — French fries generously slathered in gravy and cheese curds. We have butter tarts and beaver tails. We are proud of our Nanaimo bars. No one really wants to think of Peter Rabbit or Rudolph, Red-Nosed Reindeer as dinners — but game meat is abundant in The Great North. Popular game meats are boar, bison, venison, caribou, and rabbit. Believe it or not, Vancouver has the best sushi and dim sum in the world! BC Salmon and Alberta triple A beef are our pride and joy.
Canadians can enjoy fresh oysters 12 months of the year. Oh, and the Montreal smoked meats are to die for!
When it comes to education, Canadian universities are world-renowned for quality education and cheap tuitions. A recent study shows that Canadian students rank higher than American students in Science, English, and Math. At least 1/3 of Microsoft programmers come from the University of Waterloo in Canada. It has over 99% literacy rate and over half of Canadians have a college degree. Suffice to say, Canada has one of the top education systems in the world. When it comes to quality of living, the cities of Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal consistently rank high in the world. The Economist ranks Vancouver in first as North America’s most livable city and ranks fifth in the world. In general, Canada has low crime rate.
Canadians are the world’s most polite, courteous, and diplomatic people. It receives more immigrants per capita than the U.S. (that’s almost twice as much)! Canada is the #1 most-accepting country in the world for immigrants, according to the results of a Gallup international survey conducted during 2019 in 145 countries, which was released on September 23, 2020.
Canada has 20% of the worlds fresh water — it has more clean water than any other nation. Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada has more coastline than any other country. Wasaga Beach is the longest freshwater beach in the world. On the other hand, there are now more than 40 national parks and national park reserves in Canada. One of Canada’s provinces, Alberta has a national park larger than Switzerland! Roughly 30% of Canada’s total landmass is occupied by forest. While it is not the largest of its kind, Vancouver’s famous Stanley Park is about one-fifth larger than New York City’s 340-hectare (840-acre) Central Park and almost half the size of London’s 960-hectare (2,360-acre) Richmond Park.
There are over 2 million Canadian patents, which includes major inventions like the telephone, Hawaiian pizza, cable television and insulin. Canada invented hockey and basketball! Hockey is life in Canada! Also, it is home to Santa Claus and Wolverine! Speaking of famous Canadians, it has produced the likes of Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Gosling, Keanu Reeves, Justin Bieber, Drake, Celine Dion, James Cameron (Director of Titanic and Avatar), Tim Horton, Wayne Gretzky, David Foster, Michael J. Fox, and the list goes on! Try googling famous Canadians! Even, Superman is half Canadian! Vancouver is 2nd behind Los Angeles in TV production and 3rd in North America for feature film productions — it is known as the Hollywood North!
On a more personal note, my son and I are incredibly grateful to Canada for welcoming us with open arms in July 2007. Canada has been a bigger fishbowl I could ever hope for — my son and I continue to grow and thrive each passing year. Vancouver has pushed us to rise above any challenges. It taught me a lot of valuable lessons in life which I share with my only son. My son is learning to become an independent adult — the Canadian way! My son certainly had the best Canadian higher education. He is currently finishing his diploma in Digital Design and Development. Canada has been most supportive and most compassionate to me and my son. When we returned to Vancouver for good in 2007, my first job was in the Intellectual Property Department of a top pharmaceutical company in University of British Columbia — I managed patents and handled contracts for four years. Later on, I switched careers and ended up assisting Vancouver’s top CEOs from various industries over the next six years. In 2017, my family and I opened our own Filipino restaurant in the heart of Downtown, Vancouver. It had a good run over the next two years. It was a blessing in disguise that we closed the restaurant four months before the pandemic lockdown. Admittedly, it hasn’t been a bed of roses — more like a fun rollercoaster ride — but Vancouver has always had my back, which made it easier to bounce back after a fall. Currently, I’m enjoying learning the ropes in the health and wellness industry while indulging on my passion — writing on the side!
Our True North’s beautiful scenery and environment, clean fresh air and water, progressive policies such as publicly funded healthcare, world class top quality higher education opportunities, better employment opportunities, stable and strong economy, multiculturalism and rich ethnic diversity, and equal gender opportunities are just a few of the many reasons why Canada is special and unique. After COVID, it’s time to visit eh?
