Close Reading

You go Quebec your doing the right thing 👏 i wish all of canada 🇨🇦 would do this

Some of the stats cited here are straight up wrong or... creatively employed, and there's a lot of contradictory information and the typical conservative 'the sky is falling' sensationalism and misattribution. That said, the bas supposition isn't wrong. The bubble we've been sitting on for 20 or so years has completely burst. As someone born and raised in the Toronto area, it's impossible for me to afford to own a house or apartment here on a teacher's salary. Even rent pushes me to the limit unless I want to live in a... less than nice area. I'm living hand to mouth and enjoying the benefits of living in a 'developed' country less. Here's why:\n\n1. Wages aren't really even close to keeping up with the cost of living. The first tick upwards a bit. The second just keeps rising on the back of housing, food, amenities, and inflation: the four horsemen.\n\n2. Our grocery cabal ruthlessly raise prices whenever we look away, and their lobbyists are all ensconced within the leadership of our three major parties, particularly the Conservatives (so if anyone thinks that electing them will help, they're in for a nasty surprise).\n\n3. We're experiencing 'labour shrinkflation': increasing duties are downloaded onto workers and more is expected: more productivity, more availability (almost 24/7 in some jobs), and higher qualifications. Meanwhile, real wages are decreasing relative to living cost, more positions are 'contract', which is basically a way for employers to not have to give you benefits, and job security is tenuous for a lot of people.\n\n4. Houses are being bought by investors and not owners. Foreign entities are money laundering. The wealthy upper crust of high population countries are moving here and buying property because Canada is (still) more safe and stable and less repressive than their home countries in most cases. \n\n5. There's a cycle beginning: as people are squeezed and forced to spend more on 'needs', they spend less on eating out, entertainment, and other 'wants'. These are significant drivers of the service economy and they're being hit hard. So, what can they do? They can let go of workers or lower product costs to remain profitable, but they their quality declines and, in a market where people are pinching every penny and looking for quality for their dollar, they're less likely to go back. They can raise their prices, of course, but then they price people out completely and their profits still tank. I went to a decent steakhouse for my dad's 60th last week. I can't remember the last time that I went to one before that. \n\n6. Our politicians and news cycles focus on the most niche and irrelevant stuff because it'll stoke anger and get tongues wagging. This carbon thing is almost a non-issue, but our conservative leader is harping on about it like it's singlehandedly the death of the Canadian economy when it's a drop in the bucket. Trudeau focuses on 'equity' measures, hoping for a bit of cheap good press, while his efforts are, for the most part, just window dressing and the issues, while meaningful, are often not of paramount importance or even applicable to the vast majority of the people who elected him. Meanwhile, the middle class is pretty much evaporating as he speaks. The NDP keep talking about this in a pretty real way, for what it's worth, but Jagmeet Singh is giving off an increasing vibe of just being another fat cat politician beneath his rhetoric these days. Also, third-party trolls and screeching conservatives try to bury him on social media whenever he speaks... a lot more than other leaders as well, oddly. I wonder why? Oh yeah, the Greens exist and there's Quebec and the conspiracy theory party.\n\n\nUltimately, what we're experiencing is the revenge of the feudal system. Instead of paying rents to your lord and doing labour on the land for him whenever commanded to, you pay rent to your landlord now and go to work even when you're sick or when work hours are over because you have no union protection or are working 'on contract'. Unless we want to live in the armpit of nowhere, 95% of us are going to be wage slaves living hand-to-mouth, not owning our own property, and working to please our corporate overlords if current trends continue unchecked. While some of Canada's problems are unique, I fear that most aren't. As for me, I'm headed to the 'armpit of nowhere' where I can at least have a ghost of a chance of affording life.

I see this done a lot but there's a big difference between correlation and causation. Your Rbc example shows the top people all white, including women I may add. It's very ingenuous to claim racism based purely on who has risen to the top. Would you call the NBA racist because blacks overwhelmingly are represented or did they get there because they were the best? It's really exhausting having to correct leftist talking points based on nothing.\nThis is the problem today, racism is used so much that it's become little more than name calling because people, usually on the left, call anyone they disagree with racist.\nYou dislike illegal immigration? Racist. You can be pro lawful immigration but have the wrong opinion and your a racist.\nHate crimes? These are incredibly rare and are often skewed politically, largely for reasons I just explained but if an indigenous man assaults an Asian lady, it's less likely to be labeled a hate crime as, say a white male doing the exact same.\nNot so common here but in the US, there are numerous examples of blacks assaulting Asians and orthodox jews and the media will cleverly imply it's whites by saying white supremacy is on the rise, then give the stats on hate crimes, most of which were not committed by whites. It's this kind of media manipulation that creates an inaccurate impression.\nNow, for the indigenous, yes, there is systemic racism. We have an entire governmental system treating natives differently with reserves, different taxes, hunting rights etc by definition it's systemically racist although many are a benefit.\nI also agree with your comment on Quebec with it's strong almost nationalist attitudes towards maintaining it's French heritage at the expense of individual rights.\n, please don't label someone or an organization as racist just because a bunch of white people occupy top positions without evidence that racism was the cause when it could just be they were the best candidates. Is it not best to not always assume the absolute worst before coming to a conclusion? It's like our legal system based on a biblical tale of choosing to let a 100 guilty go free than condemn a single innocent man. A founding principle to modern western countries that should apply here.\nBeing racist is a serious and nasty accusation that should be thrown only when it's established. I don't call someone a child killer just because I disagree with their politics and to do so is an a front to genuine victims. \nI'd argue Canada is one of the least racist nations on Earth. Name a country, you think is LESS racist, I'm curious, what would you suggest? I would counter that racism or xenophobia is far more common in non western countries.\nI would suggest countries in Asia, Africa and others with less multicultural populations harbor more racist sentiment towards other races. Visit Japan, very xenophobic but no one dares call them racist because it doesn't promote the leftist stereotype of white man racism.\nThere's a reason you never saw racism but had to be lectured by holier than thou self flagulating liberals about the scourge of racism, it's mostly a fabrication. These same people can never give a factual example beyond what you provide with the Rbc example. If it's that bad you would think they can provide real evidence.\nHave you actually met or seen racism in Canada? You probably have a better chance being struck by lightning.

Manitoba is underrated. And, especially Winnipeg with the Forks. Super friendly ppl. That is what ppl dont know. It is the moniker. Friendly Manitoba. That said the negatives are very true. Weather is brutal. Too cold and windy while the summer are infested with bugs. So doing outside sports is a no go zone. Sorry as a Canadian i like my hockey and golf a bit too much. Its just not pleasant in Manitoba for lifestyle unless you are a homebody. So it really depends on your active lifestyle. Shout out to VJ's tho, love that guilty pleasure dinner. Rivals the famous Quebec casse croute taste.