Canadian Border Crossing

[lowspeedlife]

Maybe it's cuz the Canuck's don't want to be given citizenship, welfare, social security or the right to drive drunk with no reprecussions. maybe it's because they aren't guaranteed to vote for the people who want to give it to them.


   sr

[LowGear]

Good Grief!  Where are you from?

Casey

[cognos]

"Either complain about the tight security at the North or complain about your conceived laxness at the South but not both at the same time please."

I'm not complaining about either. I think the Canadian/US border is pretty well run, having seen some others around the world.

My very few experiences with Mexican authorities - of any stripe - border cops, regular cops, government officials - invariably left me with the opinion that they were corrupt. I've not had that experience in the US or Canada.

Ya, they can be sticky, but not to the point where I ever thought that anything bad was going to happen to me... and I never felt I was being singled out because of how I looked or anything... mind you, I never tried to put anything by them either, always declared everything, let them look at whatever they wanted for however long they wanted to look at it!

[LowGear]

Hi cognos,

I agree.

The lack of rights for at least US Passport holders on American turf has always galled me and will continue for some time I believe.

Casey

[lowspeedlife]

Good Grief!  Where are you from?

Casey

The United States of America.

[LowGear]

My Gracious lowspeedlife,

Don't you know that Canada is by most measures a socialist country.  Some provinces even have public auto insuranace besides the federal health insurance.

My father was born in Canada.  I think I could actually claim Canadian citizenship based on his passport.

Oh well.  I'm really hooked on the Bill of Rights (ain't gottem in Canada) and wish they were present for all Americans when on US turf.

Casey

[cognos]

No US Bill of Rights, but in Canada, since 1982, we have similar legal freedoms and rights guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As do visitors from other countries.

Yes, we have some programs that on first pass seem "socialist."  But so do most first-world countries with progressive governments. Like most "capitalist" countries, we don't have private armies or police forces or fire departments - these are run by the government - and are by narrow definition, "socialist."

(Our single-payer health care system is most often held up as a socialist institution. But that is not entirely correct, and is the subject of a deeper discussion.)

But at the border, it's different, always has been. National Security has always trumped any individual rights that anyone thinks they may have at border crossings. In every country I've ever entered. And my Canadian citizenship - and any "rights" that I may be entitled to inside my own country - are null and void six inches past the Canadian border. Outside of Canada, I'm now subject to the laws of the country I'm entering, and the Government of Canada will likely not intervene on my behalf should I end up on the wrong side of that country's laws. This is taught to us in grade school civics classes.
I try not to visit countries that have sufficiently different legal or political systems that I may inadvertently run afoul of their laws, by acting as I would in my own country. The US passes this test. Bahrain, or China, for instance, may not...

[LowGear]

Aloha cognos,

And with the exception of NO RIGHTS in some settings it sounds absolutely OK to me especially because it's arrived at through democracy.

Many Americans point to Canada when we want a somewhat stronger hand by big brother in a few areas of public welfare.  But auto insurance is, to me, kind of over the line of brotherhood.  When you find the perfect place drop me an email will you?

You think I could get Canadian citizenship because my father was born in Alberta and carried a Canadian passport?  Incidentally, he had more than one lengthy discussion in a border house - both camps.

Ah hui hou,

Casey

[cognos]

I live in Ontario, we don't have government run insurance. It's not a Federal program, it's run by the individual provinces.

BC has it. Last time I checked, it was pretty reasonable, way less expensive than what I pay here in Ontario for my private-sector insurance. But that could be for any number of reasons - more cars here, more expensive cars, busier roads with more accidents, etc...
I see no problem with it. Just another company selling a product. If the profit is returned to the consumer - the taxpayer - that seems OK to me... And if the private sector can't compete - oh well... that too is competition.
I have friends in BC that moved there from Ontario - they like their cheap BC insurance, and they never have to worry about a collision with an uninsured driver. It's mandatory in BC to insure your vehicle, can't register your car without it.

In Ontario, we have the Crown Corporation called the LCBO - the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. They have their own stores, and are responsible for all booze (but not beer) sales in Ontario. Very profitable, and profits offset taxes... or so it's supposed to go...

I have no idea if having a Canadian parent qualifies a person for citizenship. It might make it a bit easier...
I know it doesn't work that way with the US - my grandfather was an American citizen living in Canada, then a dual citizen - but his US citizenship did not transfer to my mother.

I have a friend who has dual citizenship - he was born in the US to Canadian parents who were working in Chicago. Made it easier for him to take a job in the US and live in the south, but he has no Canadian health care benefits, because you have to actually reside in Canada in order to qualify for that... for a good part of the year. Hence the return-flight of the snowbirds every March from Florida, Arizona, Hawaii...

And even he has trouble at the border occasionally...

[lowspeedlife]

My Gracious lowspeedlife,

Don't you know that Canada is by most measures a socialist country.  Some provinces even have public auto insuranace besides the federal health insurance.

My father was born in Canada.  I think I could actually claim Canadian citizenship based on his passport.

Oh well.  I'm really hooked on the Bill of Rights (ain't gottem in Canada) and wish they were present for all Americans when on US turf.

Casey

Casey, sorry if my post didn't make it clear enough, i understand Canada's political/economic system fairly well for someone who has only visited from the up of michigan thru to niagra falls as a child And if thats how they want to run their country, so be it, good for them, I have no problem with it.  my comments were in response to Brett's post about them not working for slave wages, his comment was obviously about people from our southern border & the us treating them like slaves.


   SR.

[LowGear]

I learn so much stuff on this site.

Thanks,

Casey

[bschwartz]

Lowspeed, you are correct that I was talking about down south.  I live in New Mexico and work in a school district that serves some of those workers families.

[cognos]

Since we're in General Discussion...

Canada has plenty - thousands - of what we call "offshore workers", many from Mexico, Jamaica, Trinidad, Central America, etc...

They are temporary workers, most often in Canada for a seasonal crop or industry. They arrive in April to June, and are mostly gone back to their country of origin by October or so.

Where I live, they come to work on farms. Tobacco, ginseng, fruit, vegetables... In other areas of the country, they work in meat packing companies, seasonal industries like canning, fisheries, etc.

These workers do jobs that used to be done, as recently as the 1980's, by Canadian "migrant labour." Those days are over, and not too many Canadians want to prime (pick) tobacco any more...

These are all legal immigrants. The farmer applies to the government to have them come in, and a government agency regulates the whole thing - from their pay (they make at least minimum wage) to their housing and food while they're here. The farmer pays their room and board, air fare to and from their homes, and around here, workers live right on the farm, and the farmers have buses to transport the workers - men and women - into town for shopping and entertainment.
Our municipality has been quite transformed by this sitiuation, with Friday nights and weekends in town being taken over by offshore labourers! Stores cater to their food needs, so I can go and buy amazing Mexican food at local restaurants, and Jamaican ingredients at the grocery stores... It's been a good thing. For us, and for them - they buy a lot of goods locally to send home, and they return to their countries with a pretty good grub stake...


But there's not an "illegal" among them... it's too tightly regulated. And there's no border anyone can sneak across... Americans who want in usually come through the front door... And it's a loooong way from Mexico...

[mike90045]

I wonder how many lists I got myself on just reading this thread.  And logging onto this board ?   

[Tom T]

Are you sure you wont to know how meany Tom T