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I would still take our medical system over the American system without a second thought. Though I would be in favour of a parallel paid tier that's integrated with the public tier so that the public tier benefits from the profits and investments.\nRegarding financial technology, the perspective here is slightly short sighted, although to some degree, I agree. Compared to the US we have had debit (Interac) at retail point of sale since the late '80s/early '90s, and email money transfers (Interac eTransfer) since the late '90s/early '00s, long before the US had anything comparable such as PayPal, and apps like CashApp or Venmo effectively have no marketshare in Canada because of the long history of having email money transfers.\nLastly, for the cell phone plans, you are 100% correct, though we still don't have true unlimited, and only on plans including 5G service. However, there are some mitigating factors such as the high ratings of the network quality and stability for all major cell carriers despite wide swaths of our geography having little to no population and rugged topography. It's not an easy country to cover properly or reliably without it being expensive. Though Canadian telecom and cableco profits are through the roof, as are those of the big 5 banks. We definitely need more competition, though I'm not sure foreign companies coming in are the way to go with this.\nAlso, technologically speaking many important technological and scientific R&D is being conducted here and innovations are made here all the time, but in many ways, these companies get traction outside of Canada long before they get traction here.

You're not correct about the Quebec government banning the hijab - actually they ban all forms of religious expression in clothes worn at work by public servants - so don't criticize us unless you get the facts straight. All countries are facing public health crisis especially in the aftermath of a global pandemic, you mention how long it could take to get an MRI - weeks/months, but it's no worse than in the UK, or other western countries. I do agree with you about limited competition in banking and tech - but we're still a young and growing country, however, look at the global recession that took place in 2007 - Canada was least affected by mortgage default, the US was hit the worst and hundreds of thousands had their homes foreclosed by the Banks, yet in Canada because of our strict banking policies we were saved and the Banks worked with defaulters to try to keep their homes. Taxes, well most countries require you to file your own taxes at the end of the year - what's so strange about that? Yes sales tax is added onto the sales price depending on what province and what you are purchasing, same as US, just because it's not the same in Europe doesn't mean it's worse! Listen, when you're a newcomer to any country you need to fit in when looking for a job, put in the effort, take the time, do the work, any country is going to expect you to be able to speak the language and know the lingo, so I don't agree with your analysis that Canadians are risk adverse! You are 100% correct about the housing crisis, listen it's been going on everywhere for decades, and international investors in the past 10 years or so woke up and noticed that Canada was a great bet for investment, so the problem got really bad. The government just passed a 2 year moratorium on non Canadians buying real estate - as have many other countries, so fingers crossed no more new foreign landlords just regular Canadians buying their first homes, let's hope so!! I've lived many years in Europe - and I loved it! But the quality of life in Canada is better. If you don't live in the crowded city you can have a nice property with lots of space, good roads, not bad school system, very friendly and helpful people. Quebec has some of the best food on the North American continent, we have clean air and lots of water in Canada - I'm very happy here, so don't be so negative please!

It’s totally different mindset.\nA home is for family (not alone), safe place. \nIn the States is privacy and if you want to be involved in a hobby, sport, etc. you go and get involved in a club!\nLook at a movie from the 1960s, i.e. ‘It’s a beautiful life’ the whole town was involved in each others life, you truly feel the love from all your neighbors.\nThat changed with all the different immigration changes, and different cultures that are not assimilated and they form their own sub-culture. The whole American experiment was for immigrants to assimilate in the American culture, but as mentioned that has started to get lost, because now you have many neighbors that don’t speak English. \nI don’t think what he is describing in this video about the countries where he is coming from are that efficient, where people stay outside all day and talk all day and not actually doing any work, but just talk, talk, talk. I come from Eastern Europe and that was what my parents and grandparents did everyday, a lot of youth now just want to be left alone and do their business and have their circle of close friends to be productive with their time.\nI would say for the American people, immediate family is what is strong.

Americans complain so much about others speaking different languages in America but when they go to Korea or Germany to live it’s a different story (AND FYI THEY DONT COMPLAIN).

It takes me 3 months to get a doctor appointment in the US here in Seattle and I was just told several months to see my eye doctor. Depending on medical plan the insurance means you do not go to the specialist without a referral. So Canadians may not have as much to complain about. My parents were immigrants to Canada because it was easier (my father was in Danish Merchant Marine and was in China Sea when his appointment would come up in New York). They did not have it easy because they did not speak the language and worked hard to learn. Working as a housekeeper was the norm for females and my mother's education meant nothing when she expected to work in a bank. Danes stuck together and helped each other to get jobs, with carpentry (most had apprenticeships like brick laying), to socialize, etc. and this is normal for immigrants. Working multiple jobs was normal and having a great home was their American dream instead of a government apartment. It is true for all immigrants that their kids will do better than the parents. The kids will have no accent if they learn English by age 12. There are age cutoffs on learning a language in child development. During the hiring process the jobs are given to people the interviewer perceives as being like themselves. This is proven by psychologists (I am one). This puts immigrants at a disadvantage unless they have a rare skill without competition. Dad got his house and Mom took my sister and went back to Denmark because of health issues and the US has garbage medical care and social services for the elderly (poor sister didn't speak Danish because it wasn't allowed in case it impacted our English skill). As a daughter of immigrants I worked 20 hours days and weekends almost all my life. I put myself through school and have been successful despite being female and making much less than men. Immigrants need to realize that it will be their kids who make the big bucks and succeed while the parents who immigrated will struggle. As a cultural mix (US, Canadian and Danish citizen because of wacky sexist rules) I have had a lot of confusion over the years trying to fit in and figure out what my values are. I have had to ask my US husband is that behavior normal? Of course different states in the US or going 200 miles north to Canada means a different language to speak (Canadian or Spanish in the South) and different values, ways of dress, etc. so being an immigrant can mean just traveling 200 miles north or to an insane state like Texas or New York. Culture shock is everywhere but most of us move for the money. I am thinking of going back to Canada but my home was Vancouver and that now looks like a hell hole. My husband had over a million dollars in medical care and I really do not wish to lose all my assets to medical costs in the US. So now I am trying to choose between death by earthquake in BC somewhere or death by tornado or perhaps fire storm in Calgary due to climate change.

Canada is what you make of it. You can arrive rich and end up poor and you can arrive poor and end up rich. In between that, you can have a great life that balances your needs. I’ve seen immigrants succeed simply because they see the opportunity in front of them . They worked hard in their own counties to stay just above the poverty line ,but when they apply that same effort here it pays off ten times greater. I feel that compared to a lot of immigrants, natural born Canadians come across as spoiled and a little lazy…we are. We haven’t had to struggle the same way someone from a poorer country might have. I’ve talked to people who’ve worked ten to twelve hours a day just to stay afloat. If you did that here you could make plenty of money to live and have some left over. As far as owning a house goes,yes it’s expensive . I feel that homeownership in any country is relatively expensive. Here is a tip; use that soaring home prices to your advantage. Houses are expensive but you can make a lot of money buying and selling. I recommend putting together a buyers group and share the house for a few years, then sell at a profit, buy a bigger house or two smaller houses.try to buy the worst house in the best neighbourhood and fix it up slowly . That house could double in value in five or six years in the Toronto market. This is nothing new of course ,the people from India and China seem to do this a lot here ,it drives up prices and profits. On the downside to this ,you are now part of the problem. As the housing prices are driven up the non wealthy can no longer afford to own a house . They are at the mercy of high rents with no rewards of ownership. They are caught in a cycle of hard work and (relative)poverty. This could also be you if you can’t keep up the house payments and are forced to rent.\nHow well you speak English is important but your native language is also useful here because Canada is half immigrants . As a Canadian that speaks only english (Irish descent)I have to say to all newcomers that I’m very impressed that you have learned a new language and that you may even speak more than two! Don’t be embarrassed about your abilities . I find that in my experience , Canadians do not look down on people just because they don’t know English. In fact ,I’ve known people that have lived here for decades and still know very little English. They are comfortable in their communities and they function just fine. Learn as much English as suits your needs and be proud of any gains you make.\nOutside of Toronto are other cities that you might consider when looking at southern Ontario.From my experience,most are generally the same, just not as big . There are large immigrant communities in London Ontario, Hamilton and just outside of Toronto where housing is just a little bit less expensive but the commute to work is probably longer. This is just my opinion but in the small towns there are less people of colour , (which is what people of no colour call everyone else . I wonder if I’m called a person of no colour in some other culture ? LoL ). That might make it harder for you to feel integrated ,if that’s what you want. I’m not saying that people from other cultures can’t make it in a small town , I’m just saying that it’s definitely not Toronto . Here, people of any nationality can feel like they have a place where they can belong . It seems that no matter where you are from ,there is a community already here that’s set up restaurants and stores and clothing shops and newcomer support systems. And if your from Portugal or China or India or Africa or the Middle East, there are large groups of your kin here that have established roots for generations and you probably know this already.\nToronto means meeting place and that becomes evident quickly. I was born here and it’s one of the things I love the most about my city. I’m not going to say that there isn’t systemic racism here ,the people of no colour still kind of keep the top position , but as we become a minority in a decade or so ,I hope that will shift to a broader spectrum. It’s certainly happening already. One good thing is that the police department tries to hire people of colour so that racialism may play a smaller role. We’re getting used to seeing our politicians more and more reflect their constituents.\nI have to talk about the weather. Because I’m from here I’m used to the extremes of minus thirty and plus thirty . Eventually you get used to it (somewhat). Dressing in the right clothes is important. Summer is easy , but winter is different. It’s trying to kill you. Spend the most that you can afford on winter cloths . If you can afford a quality parka you should get one. The hood can be drawn around the face and stay out of the wind.\nIf not ,think of layers with a outer layer that blocks the wind. We have things called long Johns that are basically full length thick cotton or nylon pants that go on under your pants and a pair of extra thick socks. Buy your boots to fit your thick socks. Try to get the best boots you can afford ,it’s something that you might spend a little extra for but never regret.\nAll in all we are a fairly organized and peaceful society. Most people are friendly and will give you a chance . We have a good social safety net here and you don’t have to be homeless or starving if you don’t want to. There are people and organizations set up to help ,that truly try to get people back on their feet. It’s a good investment that pays off in ways that matter for the quality of life in a big city. I’m not putting my American neighbours down when I say they do things differently. They have their ways ,we have ours. This is just something that we do because we’re trying to learn how to help those that society has discarded or can’t find their place. Sure we have one or two areas where the homeless have pitched tents and we have some resources for them if they want. Unfortunately The mayor recently forced a small camp to move from a very visible place to more scattered locations. There were social workers involved as well as protesters trying to protect them. I didn’t like that happening and I want to see even more resources dedicated to them ,but on the other hand ,we are trying to avoid something like what happens on the streets when it’s just ignored. When I see YouTube videos of the streets of Philadelphia I’m extremely saddened. I thank the lucky stars that I was born in Toronto Canada.\nFor all it’s pollution and expense and crowds ,I think it’s a great place to do almost anything your heart desires . For every ugly building there is a beautiful park ,for every honked horn there is a birds call , for every cold and dark day there is beautiful sunny one around the corner.

You’ve been in an English speaking country for awhile. So why do you need to communicate via Spanish? You should’ve learned the language by now. That’s the biggest thing, if you want to be a American or Canadian then learn the language. \n\nI’m Latin and my father n uncles hated going places in the US and another Latin would speak Spanish to them. Even though they could speak Spanish they said this is America speak English. \n\nNot all minorities like seeing people coming into the country illegally or by trying to use asylum when they have no claim. If it’s hard in your country don’t have kids, try to immigrate legally to a country!

I have no problem with skin color or race. I do have a problem when I go to the doctor's office and cannot understand half of what the doctor is saying to me. I do have a problem when I call for technical service and cannot understand half of what the technician is saying. This is frustrating. If people with another first language want to work for American companies where communication is a big part of the job, I only wish they would speak more fluently. I had this very situation this morning. Called for service, could not understand through heavy accent. He was getting very frustrated with me. If I went to another country it would be up to me to learn to speak that language. I dealt with this in the hospital...and in this setting it can be critical. I spoke to the Chief of Residency because of a potentially harmful situation and was told the residents all meet their requirements for English. well, whoopdido...that did not help either of us when a patient was going south.

As a Canadian who has traveled to 12/13 provinces/territories (sorry NFLD) and all regions of the mainland USA I have couple comments. First, both Canada and the USA the accents and culture are very different depending on the area (another similarity!). People from Vermont have more in common with people from New Brunswick than they do with their fellow Americans in Texas. People from British Columbia have more in common with people from Washington than they do with Quebeckers. Second, I actually find that Americans are super friendly in some states, more outgoing than Canadians (like say Tennessee). Also, Drew, if you ever want to go to the Far North in Canada it's a whole other world of Inuit people speaking Inuktitut on Baffin Island - for me that area seems like another country!

As a Mexican American I have faced all types of racism from people of different races, including my own. I lived in Mexico for a while when I was young and would get bullied by kids who knew I was born in the U.S. Teachers also treated me different; some treated me worse than they treated the other kids, and others favored me because I was American. When I moved to Philadelphia I attended a school that was predominantly black and asian. I was the only hispanic in my class. At the time Spanish was my main language and my English was “rusty,” which led to constant bullying from classmates. They would call me “dookie face,” tell me to “go back to my country,” and even had some girls put gum on my hair. I would cry every day. I later on moved to Chicago to an area that was mostly hispanic, and that didn’t stop the bullying, either. After I finally refined my English, I no longer wanted to speak Spanish unless it was to my parents. Yes, I guess the constant bullying pushed me to feel like I had to separate myself from my hispanic heritage. When my hispanic classmates spoke to me in Spanish I only responded in English, which would make them mad and they would think that I thought I was “better than them.” Anyway, that was long ago and now as an adult I can reflect on these things so that I don’t make the same mistakes. I get along with everyone and the only thing that changes how I feel about someone is their character, not their appearance.

By these comments, Canadians hate immigrants even more than American white supremacists. This man is scared for himself and his family. His case is just ignorance. He doesn’t know the proper ways to go about it. Him getting a lawyer and what not has showed he’s a bit smarter than many immigrants seeking asylum but most cases people don’t know the proper way to migrate out of their countries. They just know that there are better and safer opportunities elsewhere. As for everyone whining about why he doesn’t speak English, not EVERYONE CAN LEARN AT THE SAME PACE. There’s people that live in other countries for years and only know enough to get around and then theres people that just pick up on languages In less than a year. The language doesn’t matter. I’m sure he knows enough to communicate with people. I’m more surprised at the amount of people that law this and law that. Yes there are laws that should be followed but do people even consider morality? I hope none of you alls countries go to war or are over taken and you have to try to seek asylum in another country because I highly doubt you all would escape the ‘proper’ way. Most of you in the comments are sick and sad and will never truly understand the despair these people feel until you’re put in their position. Don’t bother replying to this comment because I won’t answer. I said what I said.

15 years and still cannot speak English! He deserves to go back to South America! He obviously does not want to inter grate with the Americans or Canadians. I migrated from another country and have mixed in very well with Americans and I love the food! Pizza is so yummy!

They go to L.A. to speak with Central American community leaders. That speaks volumes.

Not only does this man break American law by coming here illegally,he does the very same thing by entering Canada illegally,in all the time he was in America he did not learn English,this man and his family must be deported \nImmediately, he and his family have been bilking the U.S.A.by using programs that they have no business aplying\nto.Now I can say for certain that he has tried to get freebies from Canada too!.\nWhen are our governments going to learn not to be pushed around,by people who are nothing but takers,takers ,takers with no appreciation for the country who is keeping them alive,if you want to speak\nyour foreign language,full time,while living in America full time,do it somewhere in private,I am tired of having people here that could be talking about me,or worse yet my country and our politics,while standing right next to me!.\nI am so glad that he wasted that money,earned in the U.S.A.and while milking our entitlement programs dry,\npayback is a bi_ch, now he knows how I feel about non-citizens getting away with cheating our government,\nThis man was brazen enough to go on camera and complain about living in the U.S.A.and feeling unwelcome,\nwell now I wonder why that is?he speaks on Spanish,in a English speaking nation,he's hiding from authorities \nhoping not to draw attention to himself,who might want to check his legality of being in this country.\nI'm sick of the internal takeover of this country,without any shots being fired like those of a real invading foreign \narmy, instead, over the past 50 or 60 years, a never,never,never ending,stream of people breaking into our country\nuninvited,undocumented,and very,very UNAMERICAN and UNCANADIAN.\nPUSH BACK AMERICANS,PUSH BACK CANADIANS,do not let our governments allow our countries to be turned into the shitholes from which the invaders are coming from.\nVote yes vote at your election times,and remove the people who are not stopping the illegal invaders,vote them\nout of their political positions,in favor of people who will stand for our countries founding identities,if not\nwe can kiss our histories goodbye FOREVER!.

Why don't all these Latin American asylum seekers go to places like Belize, Costa Rica, Panama? The economies and lower crime rates in these countries are good enough to attract many expats from Europe and the United States. Surely for someone seeking asylum they should be okay - and not too far to travel to get there. Plus, they already speak the language! Oh wait - the welfare systems of the US and Canada are so much easier to milk. Yeah, scratch that.

Adios. You can’t even speak English. That demonstrates you have no desire for North American culture and customs. My grandpa had to learn French when he emigrated to Canada from Holland more than a hundred years ago. When him and my grandma emigrated to the United States, they learned English and gained citizenship. They only had two kids and my grandpa employed people who he refused to let go during the depression in the 1930’s. What have you done for our country?

PRESIDENT OBAMA's VISIT TO MOSQUE.\nHE WROTE ON HIS TIMELINE.\nToday, I had the privilege of visiting the Islamic Society of Baltimore, a mosque that serves thousands of Muslim\nAmerican families. Like houses of worship across our country, it's a place where neighbors come together to pray, a school\nwhere students learn, and a health clinic where volunteers serve their community. My visit was a chance to celebrate the\ncontributions that Muslim Americans make to our country every day and to reaffirm the founding ideals that keep our nation strong, including the freedom of religion.\nGenerations of Muslim Americans have helped build our country as farmers, merchants and workers on Henry Ford's assembly line. They're the teachers who inspire our kids, and the nurses and doctors whom we trust with our health. They're scientists who win Nobel Prizes and young entrepreneurs creating new technologies. They're the champions we cheer for – from Muhammad Ali to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. They're the police and firefighters who keep us safe, and the men and women in uniform who have fought and bled and died for our freedom.\nRight now, though, many Muslim Americans are worried because threats and harassment against their community, their families and their children are on the rise. But we are one American family, and an attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths. When any religious group is targeted, we all have a responsibility to speak up. We need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion. At a time when others are trying to divide us along religious lines, we have to\nreaffirm that most fundamental truth – that we are all God's children, all born equal with inherent dignity.\nI want every Muslim American who may be wondering where they fit in to know that you're right where you belong - right\nhere, because you're part of America, too. You are not Muslim or American. You are Muslim AND American. I want every American to know that Muslim communities are standing up for peace and justice as well. That's the spirit I felt on my visit today. And I'm absolutely confident that if we stay true to the values and ideals that bind us as one people, we're going to\nremain strong and united.