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Ahem. I have some things to say that may come as news to a lot of Canadians. Pay attention. There is a test. It's called "Life".
1. Canada is a sovereign nation. We are not part of the United States.
1/? #cdnpoli
1. Canada is a sovereign nation. We are not part of the United States.
1/? #cdnpoli
2. We have different laws in Canada. For example, we do NOT have the right to bear arms. That is American. Gun ownership in Canada is a privilege and subject to reasonable restrictions. You know, so we don't go around killing each other. 2/?
3. In Canada we have Freedom of Expression, not Free Speech. There is a difference. Your freedom of expression ends where what you are expressing may hurt or endanger others. There are consequences for hate speech, for example. 3/?
4. In Canada, you can't kill someone for breaking into your car or house. Self-defence only goes as far as reasonable force. There is no "Stand your ground" law here. You can use force up to, but not exceeding, the level of threat you face. 4/?
5. In Canada, we have a Prime Minister, not a President. And we do not vote directly for the PM. We vote for a local candidate. Whichever party whose candidates wins the most seats has that party's leader become Prime Minister. 5/?
6. In Canada, we have no "First Lady". The Prime Minister's spouse is not an official role. We let that person decide how much or how little they are publicly active. Traditionally, family members of the PM and other elected officials are out of bounds for journalists. 6/?
7. In Canada we do not have an electoral college, nor do we talk about "the popular vote". Those are American things.
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8. In Canada, we have academic freedom. This means our institutions of higher education are not supposed to be subject to political pressure, but to be guided by scientific principles and empirical evidence. 8/?
The CPC would have you believe that universities are hotbeds of radical socialism. They are not. Conservatives simply don't like that science and empirical evidence often prove they are wrong, and they would like to be able to dictate what can be taught. 9/?
9. In Canada, we have Crown Prosecutors, not District Attorneys. We do not elect judges. They are appointed by the government in power, hopefully on merit rather than cronyism. The problem with elected judges is, they are beholding to populist mood swings in the public. 10/?
That is not justice or rule of law. That is pandering to lowest common denominator mob think. We strive to be more fair and just than the current trends, click-bait sensationalism, and political maneuvering. 11/?
10. In Canada, our Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor General. Each province has a Lieutenant Governor, appointed by the provincial governments. Also, it's pronounced "Leftenant", not Lootenant. 12/?
11. In Canada, we have provinces, not states. There are specific jurisdictional powers split between the federal government and the provincial governments. Health care and education are provincial domain, although the provinces receive funding for both from the feds. 13/?
12. In Canada, we have universal health care. This means everyone is supposed to be able to access the exact same level of care, regardless of ability to pay. We pay for this through our taxes, b/c we want to make sure our society is just & because we care about each other. 14/?
In practice we are still struggling in some cases with racial prejudices among some individuals in some hospitals and care networks. Just to be honest here. But there are no insurance premiums, no co-pays. Everyone is covered. 15/?
13. In Canada, we do not have capital punishment. The last execution was in 1962. It was officially stricken from the books in 1976, except for military crimes. In 1998, that provision was also removed. There is far too much risk of wrongful conviction. 16/?
14. In Canada, abortion is a health matter, not a legal matter. It is a discussion between a woman and her doctor. No one else. It has been this way since 1988. This ensures women bodily autonomy, and resulted from a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada. 17/?
15. Same sex marriage, or "marriage", has been legal in Canada since 2003 across most of Canada, and became legal nation-wide in 2005. 18/?
16. "Z" is pronounced "Zed", not "Zee".
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17. Colour, Behaviour, Neighbour, etc, all have a "u" in them. 20/?
18. It's not called a knitted cap, or a beanie. In Canada, it's a touque. Pronounced Toook. 21/?
19. We have Thanksgiving, in Canada, in early October. And November 11 is Remembrance Day. We celebrate our nationhood July 1st. It's called Canada Day. 22/?
20. In Canada, we believe in peace, order, and good governance. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are American. We are a more collectivist country. We look after each other. It's not every man for himself. 23/ ?
21. In Canada, we value peacekeeping, community, and caring for those less fortunate. We welcome refugees, and we need immigration because our population is aging and not replacing itself. We are a mosaic, not a melting pot. 24/?
22. Canada is a soft power, or middle power. Our strength lies in diplomacy. We can wield that power through relationships w/ other countries and our reputation in the world as a fair broker. It is folly to think we can demand anything of powers like China, Russia or the US. 25/?
23. Anyone who thinks they are going to get somewhere appealing to the US to overthrow our government is delusional. That is not how any of this works. The US has zero jurisdiction here, and the world actually like us too much to let the US do a military regime change here. 26/?
24. I want to be very clear on this point. Canada is not perfect. We have a very bad history of racism, especially our treatment of Indigenous Peoples. But we are working to change that. Public opinion has shifted overall. We want to be better. 27/?
