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How is Andrew coping with your bold coverage this year? He's been quite timid the past 4 years or so, nice to see you're stepping up. As you find more and more disillusioned and angry Canadian men ready to fight back, we'll be here ready to recruit them. Tribe and Train \\\\\\ SST PP

I’m a Canadian nurse and I lived in the US for 10 years during my career. I did it when I was young to gain work experience and travel with friends. It gave me a lot of insight in how it feels to live in both countries. I’ve been a nurse and patient in both counties so I also know how it feels to work, live and be a resident in both. \n\nI cannot articulate enough how it has confirmed to me how fortunate I am to be Canadian. The perks to living in the US were very superficial and frivolous things that matter very little in the broad scheme of things,….which I see as more restaurant chains, cheaper restaurant food, more shopping options, etc. As a young person when I lived there,…those things seemed amazing but matter far less as I get older. \n\nWhen I lived there, I paid a fraction of the income taxes that I paid in Canada but it’s only short term gain for long term pain. The cost of health care, the amounts of gov funded benefits (disability, EI, pension, etc) in the US makes it well worth paying taxes to offset these things as in Canada. I have had cancer 3 times in 5 years and I’ve not paid a cent for treatment, scans, surgery, etc in Canada. My employer held my job for 2 years and I received long term disability of 70% of my yearly wages and my employer paid my full pension and benefits as I was off of work. After 2 years, my cancer returned and was deemed incurable so I will continue to receive this pay and benefits until I’m 65 and can retire as I can no longer work. I have no financial worries as I battle cancer. \n\nTo contrast,…my US employer was a world reknowned hospital that had excellent pay and benefits. Had I been working there when I was diagnosed with cancer, I would only have gotten full pay for 6 weeks until my sick time and vacation time was used up. Then I was eligible for a fraction of my income for 3 months, which would not be enough to live on. I would not have had my pension paid. After that, I’d receive no more pay and my employer would hold my job without pay for 6 months and then I’d be let go. My cancer required nearly 2 years off of work so after 5 months of this minimal pay, I’d have no income, no job and no benefits with a new pre existing condition to ensure that I’d have a snowballs chance in hell of getting future coverage. Meanwhile during that 5 months of some pay, I’d still need to pay huge costs of treatment despite having insurance but that would disappear after I was let go from my job. I’d have to return to work during my treatment just to afford to continue it. I have many US friends that had a similar cancer that worked throughout to cover basic cancer care while I was able to recuperate without working or fearing being unable to pay. There is nothing comparable to this when you are sick. It is everything!\n\nSadly, many of my American friends are very ill informed on how health care works in other countries and don’t see the shortcomings in their own. Ironically though, they are willing to argue it without proper information so I often find that bizarre. While lived there I felt as though I was in a bubble where the only news that I saw was US news. I saw no info or minimal about Canada in my whole time there,…aside from falsehoods about health care to scare people away from seeking change. “Canadians are all dying while waiting”, “they are all coming to the US for care”, “they pay 80% income tax” etc. All propaganda,…some from politicians or those that should know better. It was truthfully mind boggling to me how educated people could know so little about the world. It almost felt as though they heard so much propaganda about how terrible other places were while only having knowledge of the US, that it ensured that things would stay the same without anyone wanting beneficial changes to dysfunctional policies (like health care, cost of meds, lack of gun regulations, etc). It’s very bizarre.

The young terminator doing fantastic coverage!

bill c 1 18 is badly affecting immigration applications for the media entertainment arts and culture where media outlet coverage of the person is required*. That alone is ad enough.

Blind trust. Do not move, health expenses are too high in the USA. Day you lose job, health coverage is over. Justin brought Canadian dollar down but he can not rule forever.

Thank you, good coverage

Does being Canadian mean being white? That is what it sounds like. And if so then this coverage sounds blatantly racist.

The fact you have to pay a couple HUNDRED bucks a month is crazy! We have extra coverage with our jobs for chiro, massage, dental work, but i NEVER paid that much for it. And like I said, the work insurance is for extras, not basic care. I'm on disability so no work insurance and i haven't paid a dime even for major surgeries that meant 2 seeks in the hostital, 2 days ICU, rehab, meds, home care. That's all covered by gvmt (Yes by our taxes, but we actually don't pay more taxes than you) . I would need that extra insurance if i wanted to go to a private clinic or something.\n\nEven the homecare that I have, not the post surgery one, basics like cooking and cleaning, is paid by a gvmt program to come 10hrs a week for me but they also cover full time! It's a case by case

This is the news coverage the GTA needs, please post more well spoken journalism like this. Subbed.

Beautiful coverage

As a Canadian, I like seeing this coverage of a very true issue. Currently, the polls say Pierre will get in the next election but how much good that will do - only time will tell. Currently if you can afford to move and don't have anything tying you down in Canada, you should move and many of my friends have. Some to Europe, some to the US. The best way of putting it is, it's just not worth it anymore.

In 1968, in the city of Birmingham, Enoch Powell, delivered his warnings that dismantling Britain’s borders, and allowing mass numbers of non-Caucasian, and non-Christians to enter would culminate with a ‘Rivers of Blood’ scenario. At that time, the percentage of Birmingham’s population that was non-white, was less than 3 percent. Now, some 55 years later, in 2024, non-whites are a slight majority of Birmingham’s population. The great preponderance of whom are also non-Christians. Conversely, at that same point in time, London’s non-white demographic was slightly higher at 5 percent. Whereas now, white-British have also been reduced to nearing minority status.\n \nFive years after Enoch Powell delivered that address in Birmingham, the novel, Camp of the Saints, by Frenchman Jean Raspail, was published. In this work, Raspail duly warned of the immense danger that would befall France, by allowing unfettered numbers of immigrants from Third World cradles (ostensibly from its former African colonies) to swarm in. However, what he also correctly predicted was with guilt-ridden/self-hating/bleeding-heart liberals would willfully facilitate culturally unassimilable interlopers from the Third World to transgress Europe’s shores. \n \nBut it would be three and half decades before the dire predictions Enoch Powell espoused in 1968, would come to pass. And this cavalcade of horrors first emerged on March 11, 2004, in Madrid, when a group of Islamic fundamentalists systematically detonated 10 bombs on four trains approaching the city’s main CBD railway station, at Atocha. Those instances callously claimed the lives of 192 innocent people, and injured another 1800. \nThen, 16 months later in London, on July 7, 2005, another group of Islamic fundamentalists replicated the Atocha event detonating bombs on trains and buses slaughtering a total of 52 people, and injuring about 800 others. In the subsequent 16 years after the London bombings, another 288 (accruing to be 532) innocent people were slaughtered, in a Reign of Terror, across Britain and Europe, which was callously inflicted by Islamic fundamentalists. \nNow, in Australia, on April 15, 2024, in the Sydney suburb of Wakely (Fairfield), a 16-year-old Islamic terrorist strolled into the Assyrian Orthodox Church, of The Good Shepherd, and stabbed its bishop. This dreadful event culminated with up to 500 of its parishioners gathering outside the church to stage a very violent riot in the subsequent hours. Their sole objective was seeking to get hold of the perpetrator, and exact their revenge upon him for this atrocity. \n \nWhilst being detained by churchgoers shortly after the attack, the 16-year-old assailant can be distinctly heard saying on a video clip that he had stabbed the bishop, because he’d “insulted my prophet”. Therefore, those few words, indisputably designate that this assault was premeditated: and, therefore an act of terrorism. Yet, in spite of him saying these words, the usual suspects have emerged in the past few days downplaying affairs. Some of them (all Muslims) are querying how authorities had been so quick, and eager to call this an act of terrorism.\n \nNeedless to say, it’s an absolute certainty that in the coming weeks that the ‘system’ will surreptitiously maneuver, and manipulate circumstances to cast this goon as being a mere aberration within Australia’s Islamic community. Rather, than him being reflective of a significant component of the Muslims here. To garner the reality that there’s no shortage of Muslims in Australia whose prime allegiance is to Islam, merely requires perusing photos, and video clips appearing in media coverages depicting Muslims congregating outside Mosques. Most of them will be clad in some form of traditional attire, praying to Allah. What this all amounts to is to prove there are no shortage of Muslims here in Australia (and, indeed, Britain, France, and Belgium/Holland, or Canada, and the US), who consider themselves answerable to the teachings of the Quran, before the society they’re in. \nIn the near future, we will be constantly bombarded with the line that this 16-year-old terrorist is not representative of Muslims, which of course is correct. However, the most ominous concern is that, there needs only to be a couple of hundred fundamentalist Muslims in the country who hold extreme views to wreak havoc. \n \nTragically, mass intakes of people from a bevy of non-Anglo/European cradles over the past 30-35 years has radically transmogrified Australia’s two largest metropolises of Sydney, and Melbourne. So much so that, within the short space of a bit more than three decades (1990), Anglo/Europeans have been reduced from being 94 percent of these cities’ populations, to now becoming the ‘collective’ minorities: at around 47 percent. \nTo ascertain this glaring reality, merely requires travelling on any train, at any part of the day that runs through the corridor of 20 stations between Burwood/Strathfield, Granville and down to Liverpool. By doing so, you will quickly realise that people of non-Anglo/European extractions will account for at least, 80 percent of all those people you will observe, either standing on platforms or travelling in carriages. \n \nFor the record, of the 400,000 net-increase of Sydney’s population in the decade up until February 2024, 280,000 of them have been immigrants (either permanent or temporary) who are sourced from non-AE, and non-Christian societies. But what’s strikingly apparent about any of the main business districts of places which have an array of different ethnocultural entities traversing the streets (such as Bankstown), is with how none of them interact with each other: let alone do they have a connection to Australia. \nAs of Saturday morning on April 20, less than 290 hours after the attack at Wakley, there have been many media stories analysing how this heinous event could have come to fruition. Their essences range from querying if intelligence bureaus had any prior knowledge of the assailant: and, if so, then why wasn’t he intercepted earlier. Well, to be fair to law-enforcement, and intelligence entities, keeping tabs on anyone dabbling googling up any facet of extremism, is nigh on impossible to achieve. So, engaging in a blame game on this is futile. \n \nTragically, what the media should be pondering, is the immense sociological cataclysm that Australia is sinking into. All of which is due to the insanity of successive governments from the late 1980s, rapidly drawing in millions of culturally unassimilable immigrants from a large array of non-AE ethnicities? The culmination of this madness has ultimately destroyed the host’s culture. And, moreover, with these immigrants forming culturally-insular enclaves/colonies.\n \nSo, it now comes to pass all these years after Enoch Powell, and Jean Raspail, warned us of would eventuate with dismantling borders, concludes with scores of acts of vile terrorism from 2004, being perpetrated by rabid Islamic fundamentalists. But, in spite of it being patently obvious to any halfwit that, mass-non-discriminatory immigration programs have destroyed the cultures of the host-societies, politicians in Britain, Canada, NZ, and of course, Australia, are totally committed to perpetuating large scale immigration intakes.

I see no foreign news channel covering this except Indian media platform. If anything similar happened to any foreigner in India, these same westerners go crazy & start generalising entire country. There are even more serious crime have been committed against indian people in western countries but they don't get enough media coverage.

What does it mean to be Canadian I’m confused? Indigenous? After all everyone is an immigrant here. Perhaps if there was no concept of old stock new stock and inequalities that lie so deep, that entitlement oozes from a passive aggressive society with a declining growth population. Immigrants may feel safe to broaden their horizons to the hills of billy. Time to face reality, multiculturalism is a disaster because a society fails to embrace it. Equating to a pathetic coverage to justify the prejudices that run from the past! Get over it! Integration starts from embracing and breaking societal prejudices, but no amount of education can teach you how to become an intelligent human, that is what’s lacking here. Uncultured is an understatement and ignorance is at its core.

Great to see more Canadian coverage, great informative video, looking forward to more… Consider making longer ones!

This type of coverage by independent sources like yourself is the reason mainstream media is dying, and rightly so.\n\nGuys like you provide raw unbiased coverage of issues without any political angle. That's what they don't understand and the reason for their demise. \n\nI learned much more about the homeless issue from your video than any news source has ever provided. \n\nWell done.

Great coverage man, fellow Toronto YouTuber here. I think your channel will do well. Thx for shedding light on the situation. Going to look at the rest of your channel- if you haven't already, can you cover the rising rents in newer condos that don't have rent control, pls??

Didn't think I'd learn anything from this video being someone that grew up and lives dt but this was a great video. Good coverage!

On March 18th 2020 my dad passed away from a fentanyl overdose, went from a normal single parent household to a drug den filled with every type of tweaker imaginable. \n\nI appreciate you shining light onto how severe this issue is.\n\nI was 18 when my dad first got into the drugs and was homeless for a couple years. \n\nThe only reason why im not still homeless or selling drugs is because my dad died and for some reason the insurance company still paid out his full coverage.\n\nThe house fell so far behind on the bills the bank wasnt sure if they were going to just repossess the mortgage or give it to me. \n\nThank you dad for paying the life insurance bill even when the power and water bill was not paid.\n\nBefore my dad passed i was living off of $300 a month, the government didnt give a crap about my situation.\n\nI went to multiple different agencies and they were more concerned with drug addicts and immigrants than helping a young healthy 18yr old boy that just needed a place to stay so he could go to school.

Don't cover stuff you know nothing about. That stuff under the bridge is something to someone. Be a little more humble when doing coverage over stuff like this. Think twice when you speak and have a little more kindness for the homeless.

awesome coverage on a much needed topic. stay safe out here brother. it gets wild

A human sees Help Wanted Sign. Human gets the job. Human proceeds to pay from that job rent, bills, food, car payment, insurance, RRSP, health coverage, basic emergency fund... You know what's funny? Those who say this is too much to ask usually already have it. Those who do not have it and suffer for it would never call this too demanding.

I have lived in canada my whole life. \nHere are the main hurdles:\n1. Cost of realestate and cost of living. You need white collar wages just to be able to rent, not buy, rent an apartment in most major cities. Cost of homes is insane as well.\n2. Jobs often pay low wages below what is needed to afford to live unless its white collar or trades working overtime hours. The jobs that do pay well often get hundreds of applications making your chances lower.\n3. Dentists cost an arm and a leg. The cost of it is insane unless you have a really good coverage plan from your job. \n4. Healthcare moves at a snails pace. Not good if you have a serious illness or disease.\n5. The climate overall sucks. Its not cold. Its ridiculously cold.\n\nMy advice: Be made of money. \nSeriously though, have a huge savings and have a long term financial plan. Getting jobs that pay a living wage here as newcomers here are HARD to get because they always want Canadian work experience. University education from other countries other than the US, UK, or Australia don't count here. Be prepared to live very humbly unless you are just made of money.\n\nI dont even want to live in canada anymore. I am almost 40 and have very little to show for it despite working full time jobs with overtime my whole life. Looking at going almost anywhere but here. The housing crisis and cost of living are the dealbreakers for me. You shouldnt need to be making $75k/year just to afford to RENT a decent apartment. Theres something wrong here.

Hi Nitish, great video and coverage. But I think there are some video issues from 26:01 till 26:21. Some of the content got skipped.

Immigration (especially the student visa back door) has become a lucrative business for a few people (colleges, ESL schools, universities, construction companies, realtors, etc) without thinking about the impact on all the most basic needs for Canadians. There have been record numbers of immigrants, but where are the record numbers in new housing, new hospitals, new nurses, new doctors, etc? Obviously, this is a good business for construction companies and realtors because they can maintain high prices forever and keep making money on the Canadian dream. It is time for the Canadian government, whether liberal or conservative, to stop this nonsense until the coverage of the basic needs of Canadians are covered.

Universities sould be required to have a certain percentage of student housing available. for example 50% housing/dorm room coverage. If 1000 students are enrolled then 500 units should be available to the students. Of course 50% is just a random number used for this example, but, I'm sure there are stats and numbers out there to figure out how many units would be beneficial.

High grocery prices, home mortgages till 65 years, high gas, hydro water bills, raised auto insurance, crime and car thefts, poor health and prescription coverage, uncertainty in jobs, high Taxes and 13 % HST, youngster not to struggle for homes in their life are primary reasons to leave this old beautiful country.

Turkey, maybe a good option, considering it is, what a modern Islamic nation would be, Erdogan is a brave leader, and sensitive to the Islamic heritage and culture, he leans towards America for obvious reasons but he is not on the American payroll, like several leaders of nations in Asia are or like the heads of the Middle Eastern Oildoms, held ransom, by the west, at the cost of securing their so-called sovereign [ ? ] investments in Europe and America. Indonesia despite being the largest Muslim country in the world has a version of Islam where Hindu deities are transacted on their currencies, some kind of pantheism or omnism? not secularism by any measure, as currency is printed by the state. How totally frightening it is, that man [ she/he/they ] is not free to follow his [ her / their ] own faith, and looking at the situation you are in, the world looks so small. While on the subject, I hope, that God watches, TV coverage of the plight of the Palestinians and sends Ababeel [ Surah Al-feel ] as he did to destroy the Aksumite army of Abraha. Poet Iqbal pleaded with Allah a 100 years ago - \nRehmatain Hain Teri Aghiyar Ke Kashaanon Par, Barq Girti Hai To Becharey Musalmanon Par – Shikwa 105 – Baang e Dara’a – Year – 1909 ] or would it be best to resort to Akbar Allahbadi's surrender -- Bas Jaan Gayā Maiñ Tirī Pahchān Yahī Hai, Tū Dil Meñ To Aatā Hai Samajh Meñ Nahīñ Aatā. Apologies for steering your search for a move in an entirely different direction.

Funnily enough, last night I was watching CTV’s National News and they were discussing the change in our weather and they showed a lot of coverage of how this weather is affecting the USA. I thought of you right away… and you’re wondering if we ever see any of your news. Every night, your country seems to be featured in our National News alongside our own news.

*I HAVE NEVER seen ANY of my Muslim friends targeted in the LEAST* That said, this was also founded as a predominantly white Christian nation just as Saudi Arabia etc.. was founded by Arabs, Mexico by Mexicans etc... SO YES, there are more Churches, or was, 70 CHRISTIAN Churches have been burned in the past couple years with almost no news coverage or outrage, if ONE Mosque or Synogauge was burned to the ground we would be inundated with news about hate crimes. Maybe Canada and multiculturalism isnt a good fit for you.

Canada has a massive hypocrisy that counters their 'inclusive' image. They are in fact more exclusive than most places, and extremely elitist, and discriminatory. Their immigration does not help matters by having a system that is SO insanely classist, that really only rich people can enter, and even then, it may not be enough. I read about a millionaire that was rejected entry, because they had a deaf child! Can you imagine?? So they are also extremely ableist as well, and lacking logic, as a millionaire can obviously afford their own child's medical care, and what does it matter anyway when Canada is supposed to have national health coverage?? So nuts. Yeah, they don't want to own that. They just love to call out the USA, whose immigration rules are FAR more lax than Canada's, or really most countries for that matter. Most people are totally ignorant about how the USA system actually works. Anyone can move to the USA. We let TOO MANY people in. Canada only wants young, rich, successful people to enter their country. Everyone else can just drop dead for all they care, and hey, with the laws about 'voluntary life ending', and how they are grossly encouraging that now for anyone who may be old, depressed, or otherwise 'expendable', what do we expect?

Immigrants come in and get 5 star treatment, free money, housing, medical coverage, while real Canadians are set back. Bring in Immigrants but make sure they are self sufficient and don't suck off the system.

Reddit is a very leftist platform and so these types of responses were predictable. A lot of it would have been true in the 70s and 80s but these are Canadian stereotypes that people are desperately holding onto. More and more things are being delisted from our healthcare coverage, meaning that I often hear of people getting charged out of pocket. I was surprised 3 years ago when my doctor ordered a cancer screening after I was suffering a digestive issue. I was not prepared to pay out of pocket for something as essential as cancer screenings. This sort of thing always used to be covered. It was always covered by our much higher cost of living and our higher taxes. If my taxes keep going up, I expect services to get better, not to decline like they have been. Our seniors are afraid to go to the doctor these days. Suicide is being offered to them instead of proper care and treatment. After they had spent decades working and paying into the system they are being shut out.

The guy that had to pay in Toronto is because after 6 months out of the province you loose your OHIP (Ontario Health Care coverage)

American problem - you might have health coverage while you're working. But lose your job, your not only unemployed but you've no health care coverage. Double whamy.

My 28 year old son was laid off during Covid. While laid off he suddenly developed epilepsy and started having clusters of severe seizures and needed periodic hospitalization.\nIn Canada he was given 5 days of 24/7 seizure monitoring. From that they determined brain surgery was the best option so he got the surgery and is now recovering and getting therapy for recovering some of the language skills that were affected by the surgery. He has had no seizures since the surgery.\n\nThe point of all this is that in the USA my son would have had no coverage for any of this and we would all either be bankrupt or he would remain untreated. Our cost in Canada has been $0.

The pregnant woman, the reason she probably moved back is because all Canadians get paid maternity leave for 1 year, and I think extended coverage you can get up to 18 months, after having a kid. It's not your full pay, but a good chunk of it. As long as you were employed for a certain time before giving birth, or reaching a certain stage in your pregnancy Im not sure EXACTLY how it works. America you get 3 months off... unpaid. Forcing most parents with no benefit from work to struggle financially just to watch their kid, or hire expensive help, and have a stranger watch and raise your 3 month old for half the time.

I spent five years in Houston before I returned to Canada. I cut my hand and although I had good medical coverage, it cost 8 grand out of pocket for basically 7 stitches. I had an MRI in Canada and it cost three dollars for parking at the hospital. The religiousity in the US is everywhere. They pretend to be all about gods love, but believe that gun ownership is somehow a good thing. They are unkind to the poor and don’t want to help non whites. They are trying to ensure a next generation of poor minimum wagers but not allowing abortions because their invisible friend doesn’t like it.During flooding, a gigantic church refused to let people in using insurance concerns as an excuse and people STILL attended the church instead of calling it out and changing venues. At this point, I won’t even visit the US. It’s a ghastly place.

Mecidare in the US is sooo complicated. My wife is an ex-pat american and she just had to make a bunch of decisons ... why should she have to play Russian Roulette with government-subsidized coverage? Makes no sense to me.

Canada is not perfect by any means. Lots of room to improve things, and I absolutely love and appreciate Americans. Great folks. But, the fact that any person, rich or poor, no matter who it is, can go to the doctor as many times as they need to without getting a big bill. We do pay for little things. Like... sometimes you pay for crutches or special devices, but for the most part, you don't. It comes out of our taxes.\n\nPlus, couples get a year of maternity leave here. It can be split any way the couple likes. LIke... the mom or dad can have the whole year or they can split it up between them, part mom and part dad gets it. We have unemployment insurance we pay from our taxes, so if you get suddenly laid of from work, ,you get some money coming in for a while to tide you over until you find a new job. And the disabled can get disability coverage too.\n\nOf course, we do pay higher taxes for these things, but... I kinda like that everybody gets healthcare. NO, I'm not into Communism, but having social programs is great. And... um... we do have more education in Canada, and more avenues to get help with tuition.

The close and most things are cheaper in the states. Some Canadians go there just to shop. In my opinion US should really get heath coverage.

I am part American from my dad. One thing that stops me from moving to the US is there is no medical coverage. I do not pay to see a doctor.

Coming from where I come from, Canadian healthcare system sucks.\nI do not have dental and vision or medication coverage anymore.\nThen there are some medical procedures that are not covered as they do not consider it important, varies by province.\nSo take your pick.

@9:00. There are Canadians that have the money, have private health care plans from the U,S.\nIf they have an issue and there is a backlog in their local availability, they go use their U.S. health coverage.\nThere was a lady in British Columbia who was confined to her home due to waiting for a hip operation.\nDue to the number of hours required for the operation, she was on a 2 year waiting list.\nIn Canada you can not pay for your own operation if it is covered by the state, no matter how much money you have, I guess you can go to the sates if you can afford it.\nIn Toronto I have not had a family doctor in 7 years, there are no openings. Is it like that in the USA?

I had two children for free here in Canada. During my first pregnancy we moved from BC to Alberta to Ontario with no interruptions in health care coverage. I only moved once in the last six weeks of my second pregnancy. If we lived in the US we could neither afford nor try to negotiate all the logistics and headaches with the American system.

Every province has it's own health care coverage. If you move from one province to another you must apply for their coverage. Your province's health coverage will cover you for up to 3 months. If you leave Canada you have NO medical coverage and must pay the bill yourself, unless you have travelers insurance.

If you lose your job in the US, you lose your health coverage! \nThe FDA doesn't ensure food additives are controlled.\nYou are more likely to be shot than in the UK, Australia or Canada.\nNo contest.

11 years ago a trip to the ER in Texas cost close to or more than the cost with insurance than a the cost for an ER visit in NS (for those out of country who are not covered by our provincial program). \n\nWe would pay $50 copay at the ER, then over. The next few days we would receive a bill for the physician, then from pharmacy, then from the facility, then from X-ray, etc, every separate department would have its own portion. \n\nAnd then there was the unpleasant surprise when the doctor who saw you in the ER was not an “in network” doctor even though the hospital was “in network”. Our insurance paid 70% of (approved) in network costs, but only 50% of out of network costs. Keep in mind that “in network” hospitals and providers had lower negotiated rates with the insurance companies. Which meant you would have coverage of 70% of a negotiated lower rate for in network but out of network was 50% of a higher rate.\n\nMy neighbours were lovely people. The culture was much different than I expected. The gun culture really hits you in face. For the first while it seemed to be so obvious - signs on pharmacies, hospitals, and schools that state that guns were not allowed, even with a conceal and carry permit. Very quickly, that became “normal”….\n\nFood was amazing. Gas was cheap. Politics was everywhere. Christian mega churches were everywhere - along with some very vocal overbearing people who force their beliefs and opinions on anyone who is near them. \n\nI was surprised with the number of people who felt it was appropriate to discuss religion, politics, and money with virtual strangers. A lot of very personal questions as well. I am guessing it is the difference between what is considered extremely rude in Canada, vs what is just a regular question in the US (or that area of Texas). \n\nAnd another very different thing was how hardly anyone swore. I had the bottom drop out of a bad carrying glasses when I was in San Antonio, the glasses broke, and I said “Shit.” I have never seen so many heads turn towards me. Most of the females looked at me with complete disgust and a lot of the males laughed. I expect that the American who heard me swear, were thinking I was the rudest person. One of my children’s friends was from Australia and when their mom came over one day, she said something to the effect of “so glad you are Canadian” because she sis not have to worry about offending me if she said fuck. That was a relaxing afternoon.

If you are lucky enough to have a job in the US with a good health plan, you are trapped - and bosses know it. Even if you find another job with the same healthcare, you will likely need to work there for several months or a year until benefits kick in. \nEven if you have a family without many health problems, do you gamble and go for months without coverage in the hope that nothing goes wrong?

We talk about moving back to the US, but the medical coverage stops us dead. Haven't seen a health care bill in 19 years, since moving to Canada. Its freer in Canada. \n\nIt's freer in the sense that our basic needs are seen too. We pay high taxes in Canada to have a social umbrella, that is not available in the States. I lived in MA and worked in human services and in the education system. They have to fight for every nickel every year. The tension in these environments is high. Lots of fund raising, lots of volunteer duties, low pay. Not that way in Canada.