inhalo

Greetings Canadians,

I am an American with a lot of questions for you. I am going to try and ask a new one each weekday and I encourage other people to pose questions as well.

Most of my questions will deal with quality of life in Canada. I am considering becoming a Canadian and hope you could help me make that decision. I am not looking for one-sided opinions so please share what you can. Thanks.

Averett

Awesome idea

I'm American too, moving to Canada next month.

__________________
Absence is to love what wind is to fire. It extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.

inhalo

1st Question.

What types of plans does Canada employ for retirement. In the states we have social security and 401k, which I have witnessed fail miserably. How do your systems work. WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS AND FAIRNESS OF THESE POLICIES. Please share what you can on the topic.

inhalo

AVERETT- Thanks,

Could you tell me where and why you are moving. Where are you moving from. I don't mean to pry, I am just looking to see different points of view.....different though processes........different ways of making this BIG decision.

Daoust

We have things like Registered Retirement Savings Plans, which you contribute to off your salary. I assume you have them in the US.
Some places of employment have pension plans. I am only 26 so I don't know much about retirement, although I should...

__________________
I have faith in a few things - divinity and grace
But even when I'm on my knees I know the devil preys

inhalo

Ha! I am 26 and feel old asking these questions.

Averett

Ask as many questions as you'd like, I don't mind at all

I'm moving from Albany, NY to Kitchener, Ontario. Long story short, met a guy, fell in love, moving in with him. I originally was going to move to Buffalo but he's convinced me to go all out and go right to Kitchener.

I've thought about moving to Canada in the past. But I don't know that I would have ever gone through with it.

I'm going right now for the Temporary Visitors deal. Basically Canada lets you visit for up to 6 months, then after the 6 months is up you either have to decide to stay or go. I could techinally stay on a temporary visa until the end of time, but I don't quite thing that'll work. I've been looking into the visa process for some time now, and it's very confusing and frustrating. But while I'm there I'll be looking into it more. There is a immigration office in Kitchener which I'm sure I'll be visiting quite often.

__________________
Absence is to love what wind is to fire. It extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.

Janey

well, to start:

our registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) = your 401K. I think that the principal (no pun intended!) is the same: contribute off your salary up to a cap, and put into a bond or mutual fund or GIC, where it and it's interest is income tax protected.

Most people our age rarely get the chance to save for these as we are concerned with saving for a house. I put all of my bonus money into it ($12,000 last year) so I don't get taxed on that amount.

We get old age security at 65 i think. My mom gets about 1200 month, and she never worked in the work force. Also we all contribute off of our salaries into the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). we are supposed to get this as a pension when we are 65.

Lots of companies also have pension plans which are tax deferred too.

here is the gov't tax web site: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/menu-e.html

it is very useful. look at the personal tab.

I think that these plans are quite fair. What I don't like doing (because i am lazy) is managing my money. it's quite angst ridden. I dont know mutual funds, and i always worry about my choices.

oh - when you buy a house here, the mortgage interest is not tax deductable like in the US. major letdown.

vox_rox

Well, that's true, but you also don't pay capital gains tax on your primary residence, which means any money you make on property investments where you live contribute to your net worth, but you don't have to claim them.

But, essentially, Janey's right. The tax burden is somewhat higher in Canada until you are retired, at which time the "value added" fees for doing everything from going ot a library to using a public golf course will make you an old bitter person. I know, my Dad's there now.

But this is now a bit off topic, so I'll leave it at that.

Peace,

Pierre

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There is no such thing as strong coffee - only weak people.
---

hossified

Kitchener eh Averette.....I gew up there....nice 'small' city.

Depends on where you work as far as retirement stuff goes. If you belong to a union than you get better contributions and pensions, otherwise alot of it is up to you. Yeah there is the CPP (goveernement supplies pension) but it is pretty weak. Companies are starting to adapt to the 401 k over here though.

Antikarma

My wife and I started our RRSP's young. 100 bucks a month, nothing massive. She's a government employee so we'll get that retirement package as well, but the fact that when we buy a house, we can withdraw from our RRSP for a down payment, tax free (if its paid back in ten years) makes it a sweet deal all round.

It's funny you know, I know two couples that are yank that are currently in the process of moving to Canada as well. Any nucks out there know of a resource I can check to see if american immigration is up? Maybe its me, but it seems like half the Americans I know are on a pilgrimage north.

__________________

"Whoever you are, go out into the evening,
leaving your room, of which you know each bit;
your house is the last before the infinite,
whoever you are."

inhalo

2nd Question.

You guys are wonderful. My next question has to do with health care. Many Americans believe that your free health care must be too good to be true. What are some of the complaints you have with the service? Is the system fair?

Charlatan

I don't have any complaints with it personally. Anytime my family or I have been sick, I have never had trouble getting service... This runs the gamut from tonsilitis as a kid to heart valve replacement surery from my father in law...

There are stories of some people having to wait extra ordinary amounts of time for an MRI or CT scan... This is a big issue but solvable. Conservatives like to point to this when they need an excuse to privatize the system.

The fact of the matter is that we spend less per capita on our health care than the US and have a longer life span and lower infant mortality rates.

Canadians, in general, are very proud of our health care system (in case you didn't notice)...

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

RCAlyra2004

Ahhhh Health care.

Great Question... and you cannot possibly get the same answer from two individuals ... and here is why...

Health care is a federally funded system that is administered provincially(state by state, if you wish). So in Nova scotia they allow certain surgeries than they don't in Manitoba, for instance. In Manitoba it is quite fair to say that the health care system works well for the stuff that really counts (life threatening) although you will have to wait 9 - 10 months for less essential surgeries, like a hip replacement. My Dad waited for about 10 months for his new hip (but was able to get around on his old one).

Remember that someone might possibly chime in with an anecdotal acount of how their uncle died from heart failure in an emergency room. Statistically speaking healthcare is pretty good in Canada.

Do Not forget to ask some one about the health care system where you are moving to!

I can say for sure that Canadians in the north receive lower levels of health care than those in the south. This is due to geographical distance to the facility and cost of transportation.

If you are moving to Richmond, British Columbia people they are the longest living people in North America... They have a great Health system too!

Sooo.. where are you planning to live in the "Great White North"?

__________________
Living on the edge of sanity

Antikarma

You know what, I honestly don't buy into the whole "Health care is falling apart oh no!" philosophy. At least not to the degree I'm told to. Every time I have had to use or witness our health care system at work, its been a well oiled incredible machine. From my daughters being born in BC, to my dad having a stroke and my wife a minor concussion in Yellowknife. These are perhaps two of the most opposite areas in Canada and in both places there were no problems. My dad didn't lay in a hall for hours. My wife wasn't forced out of the hospital early because of a bed shortage.

Hell, one time, my wife dropped a beer bottle on her toe, and broke it (Bwaaaahahahahahahahahahha, ahahahah, ahaha, aaaaah, thank god she doesn't read this), and the doctors in Yellowknife tried to talk her into staying the night, so they could see if it was broken or just severely bruised. They were talking x-ray and stuff. All I could think was, thats some overkill right there.

Canada's health care system is not perfect. But when you hear Canadians say "Fix the health care system", 9 out of 10 people mean, "Improve the health care system".

A little bit off topic, but a sidenote. I'm not a big union guy. I've seen unions and their members abuse their rights and priviledges many times. But holy hell, anytime the nurses round these parts say they need a raise I'll carry a banner for them. EVERY time I am in a hospital 99% of our contact is with nurses and they are the glue that holds the system together. Both of our daughters were delivered by nurses, once because the obstetrition (sp?) "Was getting ready for vacation and couldn't come in". For the crap they have to put up with, you couldn't pay me enough.

__________________

"Whoever you are, go out into the evening,
leaving your room, of which you know each bit;
your house is the last before the infinite,
whoever you are."

Janey

I know that this has nothing to do with health care, but the following link will take you to a very funny site which was created by an American girl trying to lay out the cultural differences between canada and the US:

http://www.icomm.ca/emily/

very humourous!

Charlatan

That about sums it up right there...

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

Janey

Wasnt our early struggle for responsible government? I mean in history we learned all about the Family Compact and le Chateau Clique.... It was our form of rebellion against the British old boys club. That action may well sum up the differences between our two countries. With the circumstances being different, the American Insurrection was triggered by irresponsible government brought to a head (taxation without representation...) Our little rebelion had a similar genesis, irresponsible government due to graft without representation. By having peace, order and good government, we are at liberty to pursue life & happiness.

So we fought for, and obtained good government, which appears to be what every nationis striving for.

JJRousseau

Americans expect Liberty??? Canadians expect good government??? What went wrong?!

inhalo, I read the same anecdotes of our failing health care as everyone else and I know that there are some serious flaws with Universal Accessibility but here is just my latest experience: On Tuesday, a doctor ordered an MRI for my wife. On Wednesday, she was in the tube. You can't ask for more.

__________________
Take from the philosopher the pleasure of being heard and his desire for knowledge ceases.

inhalo

This is amazing.

I have come to believe that the many Americans who insist that the Canadian Health Care "must be to good to be true" are doing two things.

1- Being very American by NOT researching or asking
2- Assuming that the Canadian system must be worse than the American one because we PAY A LOT for ours.

Thanks again guys and gals! I love the personal insight you are delivering. I know I could go to various sites and research all of my questions......BUT THAT WOULD REMOVE THE TRUTH OF THE INDIVIDUAL that each of you give.

applause!

Averett

Oh hey, I've got a question (not to step on your thread-toes, inhalo)...

I'm moving in exactly one month (YAY!), if I should get sick or something happens, will I be able to get health care in Canada? I won't have insurance in the states anymore, and I know I'd probably have to pay some insane amount. But if I slip and fall and crack my arm, will I be able to get myself fixed in Canada?

__________________
Absence is to love what wind is to fire. It extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.

inhalo

3rd Question.

O.K. it is friday so the question will be lite today. How much American TV plagues/entertains you. I assume that you have cable and satelite TV access. Is MTV, DISCOVERY, COMEDY CENTRAL, CNN, HBO, AND SUCH EXPORTED TO YOU? Are they the same as in the states? Any similarities or differences between American and Canadian TV would be appreciated.

inhalo

No worries, in fact I welcome it. Great question too. I am sure as the month draws near more questions will come. I look forward to them.

Averett

And a good question you've come up with too

I know they have this one network called Global. That has a lot of American shows, but it's really weird. You'll see a show that's on CBS here, followed by a WB show, followed by an HBO show. Very strange.

__________________
Absence is to love what wind is to fire. It extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.

cdnjeepin

Yes we get the same stations as you guys get. If you want you could always run a US dish up here and get them that way too..but I know I get the same shows as my buddy in AL..but I don't watch much TV so I have no idea what shows are on what stations.

Where are you thinking of going in Canada?



Averett - I am not 100% sure on it, but once u decide to stay and become a citizen u can get medicare no prob. in the mean time I am not 100% sure how it works. I don't know if you would be billed or how that works. If I were you I would look into some bluecross or something along that line. I know when I head to the states I always pick up some form of ins. just incase.

Charlatan

FREE TV

Like most nations around the world we get a lot of American programming on our TVs... In Toronto, for example, you can, with a TV and an antenna, receive all of the US Networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, Fox) from the Buffalo affiliates.

On Cable TV you can recieve the same Networks, BUT, if a Canadian channel is simulcasting the same program the US feed will be pre-empted with the Canadian feed (i.e. CTV is broadcasting CSI at the same time as CBS, if you have cable you will see the CTV feed and all the CTV ads on BOTH channels). This will switch back when there is no simulcast.

Canadian Television has an obligation, as part of their license, to broadcast a certain percentage of Canadian content every year. I can go into detail in this if you want but suffice it to say that while US programming makes up a large part of our primetime schedule (it rates well and cost less than producing our own programs) the secondary and tertiary programming is largely Canadian content.

CABLE CHANNELS

We have a wide range of cable channels.

On the premium pay channel tier we have The Movie Network in the east and Movie Central in the west. These serve much the same role as your HBO and Showtime. They are pay tv movie channels that also show premium series. While they have acquired the rights to series from HBO and Showtime they have also started producing their own premium series (ReGenesis, Slings and Arrow, etc.). Both of these channels are multiplexed (i.e. they have several channels with different themes or their time shifted variants). They also have pay-per-view and VOD feeds as well.

On the basic cable tier we have a wide variety of so called specialty channels. Every thing from Much Music and YTV (youth channel) to Discovery and HGTV. What you should know is that unlike just about everywhere else in the world channels in Canada must be majority owned by a Canadian company. As a result, our Discovery, History, Food, HGTV, etc. while sharing the same names and even some of the same content are owned by Canadian companies and must have a certain percentage of Canadian Content as per their license.

Same channel different flavour.


There are a few channels that come over directly from the US without being filtered by a Canadian owner: Spike, TBS, A&E are a couple of these... some of their ads are prempted by the cable company but for the most part they are untampered.

DIGITAL SPECIALTY
There are two sorts of digital specialty channels and to receive any of them you must have either satellite or digital cable. Tier One channels must be carried by all the cable prviders and Tier Two must convince the cable provider to carry them.

It is at this level that we have some 100 extra channels, most of which are local but some, like MTV Canada and MTV2 are organized like the basic cable US channels above (Canadian owned but carrying some US shows).


In the end we are subject to a lot of US programming... Canadian netoworks like CTV and Global make a lot of money broadcasting US programs. There is a lot more to this but... it would take me for ever to type...

ask more specific questions and I can answer them (by the way... I work in film and television in Canada)

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

Antikarma

Wow ya know, I have this script I've been working on. We should get together, I bet we can get Mercer and....

I Keed

But awesome post Charlatan. Summed everything up very nicely

__________________

"Whoever you are, go out into the evening,
leaving your room, of which you know each bit;
your house is the last before the infinite,
whoever you are."

inhalo

Wow.

Thanks for the detailed details. At this point I am trying not to be too specific with my questions. I want a broad range of answers so being too specific can be counter productive. Thanks though, I am sure to come up with specific questions after I take in the wealth of general discussion. I really appreciate the willingness and cooperation of everyone. Honestly I did not expect to get such thoughtful and sincere responses.

Keep it up! This is bound to be an extreemly helpful and informative board for people in my situation!

Yakk

Canada has the Canada Pension Plan and Registered Retirement Savings Plans. They are roughly analagous to the american SS and 401k.

RRSP room is 18% of your salary per year. It carries over from year to year. Pension plans can shrink your RRSP room.

It is if you extend your morgage for the purpose of investing.

I am too young and healthy to be an expert.

Most of my medical care is delt with by showing my health card (eye infection, broken limbs, etc). My employer reemburses for eye glasses and dental care etc.

If you get digital cable/satalite, you can get most of the above.

On non-digital non-basic (50$-odd/month), you'll get a Discovery.ca, the Comedy Network, Teletoon, CNN, MuchMusic, etc. There is also a movie network. You won't get HBO. Some of them are analogies (except MuchMusic still plays videos)

You will also get some stations from south of the border on cable.

More people have cable here than down south -- basic cable is 20-odd CN$/month, and has 27 channels. What channels are on basic cable varies by area.

Charlatan, what titling software do you use? =)

Immigration says:
which doesn't sound good

Out of curiosity, have you looked into the newgroup misc.immigration.canada?

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Last edited by JHVH : 10-29-4004 BC at 09:00 PM. Reason: Time for a rest.

Charlatan

Titling?.......................

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

Yakk

Hmm. Character Generator? Possibly you personally don't use them. =)

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Last edited by JHVH : 10-29-4004 BC at 09:00 PM. Reason: Time for a rest.

Charlatan

Ahhh that's what I thought you ment but wanted to be sure... I am in distribution rather than broadcast or production... I trade in intellectual property rather than making it or broadcasting it...

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

Janey

Again, to illustrate by example, I have two TVs in the house (actually 4, but two are older, and are dedicated to PS2 and super nintendo respectively!!) one is hooked up to my Basic Plus cable service, the other upstairs in my bedroom has rabbit ears, plus VHS & DVD. the non cable one picks up the following stations usually quite well:

CBC - toronto
CTV - toronto
Global - toronto
CHCH - hamilton
CKVR - barrie
Omni - toronto
City - toronto
tv-Ontario - toronto

WGR - buffalo
wben - buffalo
pbs - buffalo
fox (49) buffalo
wkbw - buffalo

that's a lot of free tv. sometimes the reception is a bit fuzzy, but not bad for an old tv with no cable. all the american and canadian networks are represented.

On my basic plus cable ($40 & tax /month) i get all the stations up to MuchMoreMusic ( the canadian VH1 version) plus some french/aboriginal and pbs ones farther up the dial.

By the way, from what I've heard from my american friends, they much prefer the Much Music station here in toronto, to their MTV, as itplays a wider variety of and especially still includes music....

inhalo

4th Question.

The title of the Canada thread says "the land of weed and eh". I am from Wisconsin so I understand the eh part. But, what is the deal with your country and weed?

Yakk

Possession of small amounts of weed with intent to consume was changed from a crime to a misdomener recently. Basically, you pay your fine and/or hand over the weed.

B.C. has a quite ... robust ... weed culture, from what I've heard.

Canada is less fanatical about the war on drugs than the US is. Many of us consider it to be a silly thing to have a war on a concept.

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Last edited by JHVH : 10-29-4004 BC at 09:00 PM. Reason: Time for a rest.

munchen

Up here we are less fanatical about things like that. If you look at the science behind that its much better for you than booze, your much less likely to be violent or act out on it, its not nearly as addictive as people say it is and no more so than booze. We realize its really not something to "war" over.

I also agree with Yakk's statement about waging war on a concept. Don't get me wrong, we don't encourage drug use. We just think weed is too minor of a thing to worry about.

__________________
"Love is a perky elf dancing a merry little jig and then suddenly he turns on you with a miniature machine gun" -Matt Groening

Janey

It's true. On the other hand in my opinion, there is way too much effort/time and focus spent on the pot issue.

even our gov't debates it FFS. as if important issues didn't exist. I enjoy the partaking of it but for an activity that may happen once in a year or two, if at all, it's just not a priority.

reducing tax burden. affordable housing, homelessness. all the motherhood issues. Now that's what gov't should be dealing with.

Charlatan

We just have our priorities straight is all...

It isn't like we are all smoking weed up here... we just don't think you need to go to jail for it...

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

splck

Canadians tend to be a more tolerant towards possession of minor amounts of marijuana. We don't feel, for the most part, that possessing a few grams of pot is worthy of a criminal record. The governing party has introduced legislation that would allow possession of up to 15 grams with a fine similar to a traffic fine if caught.
The vid is bit old, but still relevant. http://ms.radio-canada.ca/archives/2...0020904et1.wmv

We also accept the concept of medicinal marijuana.
http://ms.radio-canada.ca/archives/2...0010730et1.wmv

British Columbia produces some of the more sought after weed out there and it's considered a billion dollar industry.
http://www.hackcanada.com/canadian/freedom/bc-bud.html

__________________
nice line eh?

inhalo

5th Question.

Today I ask you to name as many American companies that are in Canada as you can. Those of you in Toronto probably have an un-characteristic amount compared to the rest of Canada. Please try and list only those that are likeley to be found throughout Canada.

After that, perhaps you could offer your opinions about those companies being in Canada.