ER for Canadians

[Jarhead*]

Whatever happened to Hyper?

He moved To Washington D. C. and is now working for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

 

[haha]

He moved To Washington D. C. and is now working for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

LOL. Where he is now engaged in actively recruiting Bosco, another man with a gift for diplomacy.

Haha

 

[bosco]

Where he is now engaged in actively recruiting Bosco, another man with a gift for diplomacy.

I'm angling to replace John Bolton--isn't "plain talk" the rage in Washington these days?

 

[Mr._johngalt]

I'm angling to replace John Bolton--isn't "plain talk" the rage in Washington these days? 

I wish this were literally true.

JG

 

[Nords]

Whatever happened to Hyper?

He's one of the few formerly-active posters that didn't transition from the old board to the new.

You're the first person to mention his absence since the end of April...

 

[REWahoo]

He's one of the few formerly-active posters that didn't transition from the old board to the new.

So...Dory & BMJ moved and didn't leave him a forwarding address?

REW

 

[AltaRed]

babyape, I am a Canadian who is now an ex-pat in USA for past 4 years. I've been a learner of financial savvy for about 5 years now. The financialwebring is a good Cdn forum/discussion board to participate in. The main players are very financial savvy and knowledgeable. They lean to being indexers or passive investing versus active investing. Some of them are associated with the financial services industry and understand the ins and outs.

You will find the Cdn financial services industry is not as competitive as in the USA and thus fees are generally higher. It's just a fact of life for a smaller country and a protective Canadian government who does not want to upset the big financial establishments and open the borders to cutthroat competition.

I used to use ETrade Canada for several years and think they are about as good as any discount broker. Because they are independent, they may offer a larger variety of investment opportunities, at least for mutual funds. They were not the place for buying bonds (if at all). I cannot attest to them now because I left Canada 4 yrs ago and thus could not trade any more with a Cdn brokerage (US SEC has stupid rules about US residents using a foreign broker).

I think most discount brokers will be similar in fees and service. But do ask on the financialwebring discussion board.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

More from up north.

This link is under "Emigrating to Canada".

http://www.workopolis.com/content/resource/newcanadians/index.html

It may be useful.

Cheers,

Great Satan

BTW, when Unclemick2 wants to become a popsicle, tell him to bring two bottles and I will put him up for the night. Come early and we can go icefishing and watch the northern lights (an incredible sight, incidentally). Afterwards I can feed him to the bears. (Recycle, re-use.) Ft McMurray has the biggest black bear problem in Alberta. Oh, yeah--they will be sleeping. OK, how about wolves? They are up all night. Bring crawfish.

 

[LiveWell]

This surprises you? What do you expect from a country that considers Fox News to be "fair and balanced" and the patented intolerance of Rush Limbaugh to be worthy of air time? That for "religious" reasons, considers gays to be subhuman?

I find there to be a huge difference. Americans love to ballyhoo about how they are the best, the greatest, the most free.....yet they die sooner, have higher infant mortality, have 10 X the people incarcerated per capita, more murders, and fewer rights (except the right to blow each other away with handguns) than Canadians. They would prefer to step over bodies in the street than part with a nickel of extra tax for health insurance. George Bush basically threw a tantrum at the level of funding proposed for Africa at the last G8 summit (those bodies won't be in OUR streets....). Americans buy the corporate BS left and right, elect elitist right wingers, and actually buy the line that cheaper Canadian drugs are not safe. Which is good, because if the mass yankee market were allowed to get at Canadian drugs, we'd have to pay much more for them ourselves.

Of course there are exceptions, but they seem more and more in the minority--but look at who they elect for leaders. The root of the problem is that they have lost their free press, and are too apathetic to care or even notice.

When's the last time you observed an American learning anything from a "foreigner?" In fairness, it does happen, but it is not typical. Look at how they love to bash the French. Why? Because it's easier to bash them than consider that they might be right to have refused to participate in an illegal invasion. If you're a yank, it's not enough to be good. You have to be the best. Even when you're not. If you think you're the best, what can you learn from inferiors?

Heh, and some posters were saying the differences between Canada and the US are small

I'm also a Canadian living in the US temporarily. There's nothing quite like leaving your homeland to make you suddenly appreciate it.

-LiveWell

 

[bosco]

Heh, and some posters were saying the differences between Canada and the US are small

I'm also a Canadian living in the US temporarily. There's nothing quite like leaving your homeland to make you suddenly appreciate it.

-LiveWell

I thought it was interesting about a year ago when CBC had a poll of who the "greatest Canadian of all-time" was. The winner--Tommy Douglas. The architect of Canada's health-care system and a socialist. That election to me spoke volumes about the differences in values between the two countries. I find it ironic that it is precisely Canada's health care and social systems that makes ER possible in Canada without needing the huge assets that some of the posters on this board have. Yet many of these same posters will deride the taxes, and "liberalism" of Canada. I'm glad that "liberal" is not a dirty word in Canada (well, aside from the Liberal party itself, for some--but the fact that it is an acceptable name for a party is what I'm getting at, whether you like the party or not).

In the US, the winner of an election like that would have probably been Ronald Reagan, or Rush Limbaugh. Someone like Tommy Douglas would have never won such an election or even had a political career for that matter, after being crucified by the US "liberal" press. 30 years ago, it might have been won by JFK, or Martin Luthor King Junior, but those days are gone with the "Reagan revolution."

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I was up here in Canada when that poll was taken. There was no question Tommy would win, and rightly so. The Canadian health care system has many merits. However...it is a sacred cow, like SS is to us. Never criticize it up here. Don't even question it.

It doesn't produce health care on demand, as it would if the patient were paying for it. The system rations health care according to criteria, resulting in waiting lists. Life-saving procedures have priority over elective procedures--such as hip replacement. Productive members of society might have priority over non-productive members--except that convicts and refugees seem to have higher priority than retirees. These are deductions arrived at by reading the newspapers.

There is fierce reaction to the idea of allowing access to private-practice medicine. This is seen as a two-tier system and the public system would suffer loss of financing and support if there were an alternative. In practice, there is a two-tier system since people are free to cross the border and be treated in the US--at their personal expense. Since most of Canada's population lives within 50 miles of the border, distance is not much of a barrier. I just read that ten years ago, the number of medical schools in Canada was cut way back, with consequences today.

In the balance, it would be a good thing for my family at this time, but I probably won't take advantage of it due to certain inconveniences at the moment.

Just my observations and irreverent opinions.

Ed

 

[bosco]

The Canadian health care system has many merits. However...it is a sacred cow, like SS is to us. Never criticize it up here. Don't even question it.

I hear a lot of questioning and complaining about it. The one thing common to all the complaining, however, is the focus on improving it. You are correct that no one wants to end it for a private care system....they have an example just to the south on what a mess that can be.

Life-saving procedures have priority over elective procedures--such as hip replacement.

Is this praise or criticism Seems logical and humane to me

Productive members of society might have priority over non-productive members--except that convicts and refugees seem to have higher priority than retirees.

Seems logical, except for maybe the convict part (remember that the same is true in the US. Also rememeber that there is 1/10 the convicts PER CAPITA in Canada than in the US).

At any rate, the system certainly has room for improvement. And no question that it is costly and part of the reason taxes are higher.

But something is working about it, since Canadians live on average a couple of years longer than Americans, and have a lower infant mortality rate.

Another factor that comes into play in Canada--lawsuits, although on the rise, are much less prevalent than in the US. This means savings because doctors don't have to do quite so many CYA tests that really are not necessary.

 

[maddythebeagle]

I get care at the Mayo Clinic for a somewhat rare condition. When we drive through the parking lot we make note of all of the license plates and we often see Canadians there and folks from all over the country and the world. From what I read the u.s. and canadian health care systems both have serious flaws.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

I get care at the Mayo Clinic for a somewhat rare condition. When we drive through the parking lot we make note of all of the license plates and we often see Canadians there and folks from all over the country and the world. From what I read the u.s. and canadian health care systems both have serious flaws.

My mother and my brother have been treated at Mayo Clinic for serious
conditions. I told DW that if I ever had a bad health problem.........that's
where I'd want to go.

JG

 

[Martha]

Another factor that comes into play in Canada--lawsuits, although on the rise, are much less prevalent than in the US. This means savings because doctors don't have to do quite so many CYA tests that really are not necessary.

That is in large part because the loser pays the winner's attorney fees.