Oh, Canada!

There are myriad differences between the American and Canadian societies:

– Canadians don’t seem to have a cult of anti-intellectualism that is so vibrant and in-your-face here.

– Outside of Big Oil, they don’t let huge corporate interests (medicine, pharma, guns, etc.) pull them around by the nose.

– They’re far more civil with one another than we are.  They don’t have a culture of division, exclusion, and hate.

They certainly do, on the other hand, have tough border security, so as to prevent Americans from taking their jobs.  I’ve been hassled more times than I can remember going to places like Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal, though never to the point of being turned away.  Conversations tend to go like this:

Canadian Border Patrol:  So, you’re a marketing consultant.  Can you prove that the business you’re conducting here can’t be done by a Canadian?

Me: Of course not. You have many brilliant folks up here.  You also have a Motorola office in (Toronto suburb) Mississauga, and they’ve invited, in fact, ordered me to show up there later today. 

Canadian Border Patrol: And you’re leaving?

Me.  Tomorrow morning.  You have my promise.  

Contrast that to our policies at our southern border, where the people coming across, many desperate to escape life-threatening conditions, wish only to pick our vegetables, do our gardening, clean our restaurant tables, and look after our children.