Six of the top 10 cities in the world are in Canada. In my opinion Canada has to be the best country to live. The US is the greatest. Canada feels just right World's most livable city in 2016 is ... - CNN.com
Canada is a pleasant enough place...during the warmer months. I just can't handle those harsh, cold winters they have.
Winter makes us who we are. People say either: (1) Fire in our hearts, ice in our veins. (2) We're like vichyssoise -cold, half-French and difficult to stir. I recently read an article called "What could the US steal from Canada?" Top choices were: (1) Single-payer health care. (2) Gun laws (3) Beer that tastes like...well, beer. I think they could have added this: One level of accreditation-or-equivalent. The prevailing opinion was that Canadians are generally too nice, so others shouldn't steal from them. Maybe so. I guess I'm the exception that proves the rule. :smile: J.
It seems that The Economist and I have different criteria for a top ten list of cities, but that's okay.
There are about 600 homicide in Canada each year about 150 by firearms that is not bad compare to Chicago but still too much. Canada has the second highest rate of incarceration only to the USA. As like the USA, the disinfranchised like natives, poor whites, blacks are disproportionately represented.
Canada has about one-seventh the rate of firearms deaths per 100,000 in the US. "Canada’s rate is about seven times lower than that of the United States (3.5 per 100,000 population), although it is higher than several other peer countries. While Canada’s firearm-related homicide rate is similar to those in Ireland and Switzerland, it is significantly higher than the rates in Japan (0.01 per 100,000 population) and the United Kingdom (0.06 per 100,000 population),” Whole thing here: How American gun deaths and gun laws compare to Canada's | National Observer My take - not too bad, but we (Canadians) should look at what Japan and UK are doing, to see if we can learn something. J.
Unfortunately, that's the same a lot of places. Take Hungary - 3% of the population are Roma (Gypsies) yet they are 70% of the jail population. Human nature - desperately poor, marginalized people resort to desperate measures. Non-desperate people come along and lock 'em up. When they get out, they're still poor and desperate, so they reoffend - feed their kids the only way they know how. In Hungary (and other countries) there's another problem - Roma are getting killed - by neo-nazis, vigilantes, organized serial-killer groups. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people_in_Hungary J.
It's the old story: "I commit' the crime, Lord, o' needin' Crime of being hungry and po' Left the grocery store man a-bleedin' When he caught me robbin' his store. Hold it steady right there while I hit it Well reckon that ought to get it Been workin' ... and workin' But I still got so terrible long to go..." "Work Song" 1960 Music: Nat Adderley Words, Oscar Brown Jr. J.
I remember an article I read a few years ago about how Canadian incarceration rates of minorities was going up by like 60% or something. If I remember correctly this was according to some report the government puts out. I'm sure a remember that the author couldn't put two and two together as to why crime was going down at the same time. I live 2.5 hours from the border. Spent a lot of time playing hockey and skiing in Canada. Love the country and love the people. When I was in Atlanta on business many years ago on more than one occasion I was asked if I was Canadian. My accent must be close, I was offended at the question.
It is too bad so many marginalized people are being incarcerated. Incarnation of the destitute has become a way to create high paying jobs for the privileges. The prison industry has become a major employer, in some communities it is the only employer. Economics depress communities have been building prisons before they have any prisoners - I guess if they build it they will come.
Since when does working at a prison mean a high paying job for the privileged? It seems in many places that being a prison guard is one step up from being an inmate.
Nobody said that "working at a prison" means a high paying job and no one mentioned prison guards. But a number of executives have made handsome bonuses operating for-profit prisons while their guards languished on wages just above the minimum wage. Even in a state run system where the wages are fixed and relatively low there seems to be quite a bit of expense being pumped into the correctional accreditation process which, according to this Mother Jones article, isn't very rigorous. This doesn't even address the countless consultants and suppliers who make a fortune off of incarceration.
AMEN! What Neuhaus said! And as Phdtobe remarked, many people make big $ off the prison system. That doesn't include the guards of course. Nobody said it did. I'm sure Phdtobe will likely remember Mike Harris, the Conservative Premier of Ontario in the 90s, who brought this Province the concept of "Superjails" for economies of scale. Yes - he built them - and they came. J.
I remembered it fairly. I think one was in the Gravenhurst area just North of Durham and one just east of Durham in Lindsay.