A national holiday is a chance to gush effusively about your country. So I started thinking of the things that fill me with national pride. Some are unique, some not so much. But this isn’t about winning a contest, or comparing myself to the other person. It’s about loving the place that I call home just as it is, warts and all. So on Canada’s birthday, I present:

Things that Make Canada Awesome

Photo credit: Yume Photo on Flickr

1. We’re really freaking big. We cover 9,984,670 km² or 3,854,085 sq mi, in fact.
2. Our national anthem rocks.
3. We believe in democracy.
4. I don’t have to worry what it will cost when my kids need to see a doctor.
5. Mr. Dressup rocks (and, FYI, he started life as an American).
6. We welcome people from all over the world, and they enrich our country immeasurably.
7. Our money is colourful. This makes it easy to see, at a glance, what denominations I have in my wallet.
8. Our national animal is the beaver. Just think of the jokes that can be made! Which leads me to …
9. Some of the funniest people in the world are Canadian. Sadly, I am not one of them.
10. We have had a gender neutral definition of marriage for six years now, meaning that same-sex marriage is legal across the whole country. I am happy to report that my heterosexual marriage has not noticeably suffered.
11. Cereal box French. Allow me to display mine: Gratuit! En prime! Nutritifs essentiels!
12. One day, if all goes to plan, this gorgeous couple will be our King and Queen:

Photo credit: The British Monarchy on Flickr

So today, I celebrate my country. Long may it live. And wherever you happen to be, let me ask what makes your country awesome. Let’s share the love around!

I talk a lot about taking steps to change my own life. Today I’d like to talk about using your voice to create broader change within a country. Here in Canada a federal election is taking place this coming Monday, May 2. The campaign signs that are blighting dotting the landscape remind me every time I step out of my house. The government has fallen (it sounds pretty exciting when you put it that way, huh?), and now we’re taking to the polls.

I am not going to tell you who to vote for. If you want to know more about where the major parties stand on family, parenting and women’s issues, visit Annie over at PhD in Parenting. She’s done an excellent job of compiling an overview. If you want to know more about your local candidates, check out your local paper, or search out your candidates online. If you look, you’ll find more info than you could ever want to know about the smiling-faced people who hope we’ll vote for them.

As for me, I honestly don’t care who you vote for. I have voted for every major party except the Bloc (since I don’t live in Quebec) at least once, and I remain pretty neutral. I can think of more reasons not to vote for any particular party than I can think of reasons to vote for them, and I doubt I’m the only person who feels this way. Looking at the historical voter turnout in Canada, the last few elections show a general downward trend. The last election had the lowest turnout ever, at 58.8% of registered voters. I suspect that the voter apathy is due, at least in some part, to not finding any candidate compelling enough to vote for, and being generally turned off by the tenor of the discussion.

But feeling underwhelmed by the options is not a good enough excuse not to vote. Unless you go into labour on Monday (like one of my friends did on voting day in 2008), you can drag yourself to the polling station. And when you’re there, forget strategy and who you think will win. Vote for the person or party that you think will best represent you. Because I think that if we all did that, we would see some actual political change.

Consider these two snazzy pie charts, showing the percentage of registered voters who chose each party in the last two elections:

As you can see, the “None of the above” party carried the last two elections by a wide margin. This number represents the percentage of people who didn’t vote. If they all showed up and voted, they could sweep an unknown party to power. They could, for instance, give the Communist Party or the Pirate Party or the Marijuana Party the biggest majority in Canadian history. If the Natural Law Party was still around, they could put those 7000 yogic fliers to work:

We know that the last couple of elections had low voter turnouts, and resulted in minority governments. But let’s pick a couple of examples with far higher voter turnouts and strong majorities. In 1984 the Conservatives won the most seats in Canadian parliamentary history. Here’s what the results from that election looked like:

The Conservatives managed to beat “None of the above” that year, but none of the other parties did. And with 37.7% of registered voters casting their ballot for the Conservatives, they still come second to “None of the above” in 2008 with 41.2%.

I didn’t crunch the numbers for every election, but I could find only one example where the ruling party won more than 41.2% of votes from registered voters. It was in 1958, when John Diefenbaker‘s Conservatives won the largest majority in Canadian history, with 42.6% of votes from registered voters.

As you can see, if those 41.2% of registered voters actually voted, they could totally change the election’s outcome. But voting “None of the above” won’t change a thing, because no matter how they dominate on voting day, they never get a single seat in parliament, and they never pass a piece of legislation. And, what’s more, I sometimes think certain politicians like it when we give “None of the above” our vote. It lets them continue doing whatever it is they’re doing without fear that we’ll call them on it. If we all showed up to vote instead, they’ll feel far more compelled to address the issues that matter to us. And we’re more likely to have a country that we can actually stand to live in.

So, please, take 20 minutes out of your day on Monday and vote. It’s fun, fast and free. And maybe together, we can make our leaders take notice. I think it’s our best shot.

How do you decide who to vote for? What issues are important to you in this election? And what do you think we can do to get people engaged in the political process? I’d love to hear!

When I decided to have my kids, money was a factor. Babies are expensive, we all know that. They don’t have to be as expensive as some experts say, but you do need to feed them and clothe them. And you need to ensure that they are adequately cared for if you work, or take the financial hit if you decide to leave work. But I didn’t have to consider how I would pay for the birth that I wanted. Or any birth at all.

Recently, I read posts from two American friends that gave me pause. Lauren, who lives in Seattle, weighed her health insurance options as a self-employed person hoping to have a second child. And Gina, pregnant with her third child, discovered that in spite of her research up front, she is likely going to have to pay thousands of dollars to cover her midwife. Even though I love numbers, and love to make financial spreadsheets of my own, their stories left me reeling. I have no idea what I would do in their shoes.

I am not American, so I don’t get a vote on the US health care system. But of course, I have my opinions. I don’t think that anyone should have to choose the kind of care they receive based on finances. I realize that I am a bleeding-heart Canadian liberal, but I honestly believe that health care is a basic human right. I live in a very wealthy country. It would strike me as a great poverty if we did not offer the best start we could to babies, by ensuring their mothers had access to adequate care during pregnancy and birth.

I chose midwifery care for both of my pregnancies, and I chose to give birth in the hospital both times. This was completely covered by our health care system, in the same way it would have been if I’d opted to give birth at home with midwives, or in the hospital with a family doctor or an obstetrician. My choice of care provider was my own, because my finances did not dictate it. When I had to have surgery following my first birth, and I spent 4 days in the hospital recovering, there was no question that we would do it. I needed the care, and it was covered.

I realize that I pay for medical care, both through the tax system and through medical premiums (which are about $60 per month for our family). But I have never seen a bill. And no cost is ever attached to medical care. In the moment, I don’t think about money when I decide whether or not to seek medical care. I am paying for it only indirectly, and I am paying for it whether I take my injured child to the emergency room or not.

I don’t know what the answer is for my American friends. As I said earlier, I am not American, and I don’t get a vote. I realize that there may be significant upsides to the US system that I’m failing to recognize. But as it stands, I am extremely grateful that I live where I do, and have access to public health care. With all its flaws, I wouldn’t trade it.

Have finances ever played a role in your decision to seek health care? If so, do you think that’s reasonable or unreasonable? And if they haven’t, what do you think when you hear about people having to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to have a baby? I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Regardless of my lukewarm feelings about Canadian Tire, I found myself there one Friday morning not too long ago. I was in search of canning supplies, and they had a big sign out front advising all passersby that, “We have everything you need for canning.” Or something to that effect – it’s not an exact quote. But it captures the sentiment. And so I ventured inside, my two squirmy children in tow, in search of new snap lids and some extra jars.

Of course, Canadian Tire being what it is, they did not in fact have everything that I needed for canning. I’m sure they did at one time. In theory. But at this point they had no wide mouth jar lids. And while I’m no expert, it seems to me that having the correct sized lid for your jar is kind of a Big Deal. I bought the extra jars, and a new jar gripper, and left.

Kid 1 – she’s just lucky she’s cute

If you aren’t Canadian you’re probably not familiar with the Canadian Tire Money phenomenon. It’s simple. When you buy something at Canadian Tire, you get these coupons that look like real money. They’re printed on high quality paper and all that jazz. They’re given in a variety of denominations, but typically you’re getting 5, 10, or 25 cents at a shot. You can use this Canadian Tire Money at any Canadian Tire store.

On this day, I received a crisp new 10 cent note. I gave it to 2-year-old Jacob, because (1) there is no way I will remember to bring my Canadian Tire Money with me the next time I darken the door of a Canadian Tire 7 months from now and (2) it’s 10 cents. It’s not exactly big coin, you know? I chose Jacob because his big sister Hannah was carting around a Very Precious Toy, that she would not put down. Of course, this did not stop her from becoming Highly Indignant. “Mom! Mom-mom-mom-mom-mom! Jacob’s NOT SHARING THE MONEY! I want the money! Mom! Mom-mom-mom-mom-mom!”

I listened to this chorus non-stop as we made our way to a place I will call the Big Grocery Store. I still had jar lids to buy. You can imagine how excited I was to be visiting a second store with two small children. You can imagine how much more fun the whining about the Canadian Tire Money was making the experience.

Kid 2 – also lucky, also cute

I tried to explain to Hannah that this was not real money. That no store would accept it, and that even if that store did it would not be enough to buy anything. But she was having none of it. None. She knew that her brother had money in his hot little hand, and that was all that she needed to know.

Because it was one of those days, the Big Grocery Store did not have wide mouth jar lids, either. Hannah kept up the chorus of, “But Mom! Jacob’s NOT SHARING THE MONEY! Mom! Mom-mom-mom-mom-mom!” And for variety, she threw in a few, “But I love this store! This store is the best! I want to look for stickers! And dance in the aisles! Me and Jacob don’t want to leave this store!” But as my friend was headed my way with 45lbs of pears, I had no choice but to drag the children out of that store in search of another store.

We finally headed to what I will call the Small Grocery Store. It is the store where we normally shop, and, one would think, the store least likely to have a fully-stocked canning section. But I was wrong. In fact, of the three stores, it was the only one that had everything I actually needed. I believe I wept for joy when I had the lids in my hot little hands. And in my glee, I agreed that the children could have cookies from the bakery. Now that I knew we would be heading home, I was willing to allow them to consume sugar.

Sometimes they get along. Really.

Once Jacob had a cookie, he no longer had need of his Canadian Tire Money. He handed it over to Hannah. And do you know what she did as soon as she had that money? She held it out and said, “Mom, can you keep this?” I said, “But I thought you really wanted it. You have been asking about it nonstop for a long time.” She replied, “I know. But I just didn’t want Jacob to have it. And now I have a cookie and my Very Precious Toy and I don’t have enough hands for it.”

If you heard a primal scream coming from the Small Grocery Store at approximately 11:13am that Friday morning, that was me. I can’t believe that I listened to a non-stop stream of whining about 10 (!) cents (!) of Canadian Tire money for so long, and then nobody even wanted it. Gah!

Tell me your tales of Canadian Tire Money woe. Or sibling rivalry gone bad. I need some commiseration.

Photo credit: Ian Muttoo on Flickr

• Year-long paid maternity leave. While our system is not perfect, on the whole it’s really pretty good, and quite competitive, internationally speaking. I am so grateful that I was able to access it.
• Roch Voisine. He is made of awesome. Need I say more? No, I need not.
• Dill pickle potato chips. And ketchup potato chips. These are classic flavours people!
• The letter zed. You know, it, it comes right after X and Y. And when you sing the alphabet that way, or read American children’s books that way, the rhymes don’t work. But we like it.
• The Log Driver’s Waltz. To know it is to love it.
• French on our packaging. Reading cereal boxes as a child is how I learned such useful words and phrases as gratuit and moins de sel. I might not be bilingual, but I can speak cereal box French with the best of them.
• Canada is freaking huge, eh. There may not be many of us, and we might not be a superpower, but we’ve got space, and that’s something.
• Canada Day cake. I finally had some. In fact, I had 3 pieces. It was as good as I hoped.
• Curling. It’s not our national sport, but we’re pretty good at it. And it is the most oddly engrossing sport I have ever watched. Although, sadly, the Norwegians did manage to one-up us in the curling pants department.
• Me. I am a pretty awesome Canadian, if I do say so myself.

So, tell me, what do you think is awesome about Canada? And also, happy Canada Day!

PS – As you may know, I have started including a link-up with my monthly reviews. The reviews are an informal listing of a few things I learned in the past month. My June review will go live at 6am Pacific on Friday, July 2. If you want to play along, write a post on or before July 2, come here, and link up. I have a feeling this is going to be fun!

In the end, Jacob didn’t wake up with me so I left him at home with Jon. Of course, he woke up right after Hannah and I left. Kids love to sleep only when you don’t really want them to.

In spite of the early hour, and the fact that it was rainy and still dark out, people were out in full force in our neighbourhood. Some had driven there, as evidenced by the total lack of parking on the side streets. We all found spots lining the road and waited, chatting with people we’d never met. It made me well up to think that so many people were willing to haul themselves out of the comfort of their warm beds to stand on the cold, dark and wet roadside for a glimpse of the Olympic Torch. It must mean something, if so many of us did that.

Hannah and I waiting for the torch

The back end of the Coca Cola party truck, which seemed just a little too boisterous for 7:12am

The police clear the way – if you squint you can see all the people lining the street

The one extremely poor shot I got of the Torch bearer from the back

In the afternoon the Torch had moved on but our community threw a celebration. We had to check it out and see our favourite children’s performers ever, Bobs and LoLo. Here are some photos from the festivities.

Hannah made her own torch

The kids and I with a runner and an unlit Torch

Bobs and Lolo moving their hands

Hannah trying to drink from the downspout

Tonight the Olympic Winter Games kick off at BC Place. I remember the excitement when Vancouver won the bid, and I can’t believe it’s actually here. I hope that all of the locals get a chance to do some celebrating, and that the rest of you enjoy the show. I might be keeping it real in a suburban enclave, but Vancouver will always be my city, and I am proud that the world will be watching us. Happy Olympics!

Me and the Calgary Tower

It’s hard for me to objectively evaluate if Canadians really do apologize more than other folks, since I am accustomed to the apologies everywhere. For example, if someone bumps into me on the street we both say ‘sorry’. It’s just the done thing. Is that weird? I don’t know. Would I see the same behaviour in, say, Scotland? Again, I have no idea.

With Canadian icons Tim Horton's and the Bluenose II

You don’t really notice the quirkier aspects of your own regional dialect until you travel. In the US, for instance, when I buy an ice cream cone and thank the clerk they respond with, “Uh huh,” or sometimes, “You’re welcome.” Both of those sound odd to me, because here the clerk would must usually say, “Thanks!” right back. It seems to be the norm to thank each other here, but I couldn’t have told you that until I experienced a place where it wasn’t the norm. That’s the same way I learned that some (clearly misguided) people use ‘soda’ when I would say ‘pop’. Tomato, tomahto and all that jazz.

Showing my colours

I will continue to pre-emptively apologize to random strangers, as a way to smooth over any possible confrontation. It works for me, for the most part. But still, I wonder. Is this a particularly Canadian trait? What do you think? I’m sorry to put you on the spot, but I’d love to hear your opinion.

I’m not a doctor or a nurse or a phrenologist and I don’t even play one on TV. I’ve never worked in health care other than a brief stint as a candy striper in the early 90s. But I have lived in Canada my whole and entire life, and I drew my first breaths in a Canadian hospital. So I decided to share my own perspective on our health care system, which we call ‘Medicare’. I am at least as qualified as any other random Canadian, after all.

This is not comprehensive, because I am not well versed in the complicated and bureaucratic intricacies. I’m limiting my discussion to what I would call the majority of cases and my personal experience. If you have anything to add based on your own experience please do share it in the comments.

I was prompted to write about Canadian health care when I saw this ad on a website:

As a Canadian this ad sort of shocks me. You see, we speak about the evils of ‘American-style health care’ all the time. During election campaigns politicians accuse each other of wanting to introduce a two-tier medical system that will kill us all. It doesn’t surprise me that they found a Canadian who’s unhappy, we are a country of 30 million people after all. But I think that most of us find this ad surprising given our general assumption that Canadian health care is better than American health care in the vast majority of cases.

So how does Medicare work? The health care system is regulated by the Canada Health Act and administered through the federal and provincial governments. There are slight variations from province to province, but the system remains largely the same across the country because it is required to. Here are the key components:

1. It’s universal – Everyone is required to participate in, and be covered by, Medicare. There is no such thing as being denied coverage because you’re out of network or have a pre-existing condition. There are no private insurers. There is a 3 month waiting period before Medicare coverage starts when you move from province to province, but you’re covered by your previous province during that time. Being uninsured is not something we understand, and it’s not even possible for most Canadians.

2. Publicly administered – Medicare is administered by a public authority in each province and territory. The plans are operated on a not-for-profit basis and the health authorities are accountable to the government.

3. Covers all medically necessary services – In Canada it is illegal to bill directly for a ‘medically necessary’ procedure, anything deemed necessary must be covered under Medicare. Pretty much any services offered by a doctor or hospital are considered medically necessary, such as regular office visits, emergency services, surgery and diagnostic tests. There are no co-pays, user fees, or deductibles. When I visit the doctor or hospital I present my health card and they bill the plan directly, I am completely uninvolved in the process.

4. Low or no premiums – In some provinces individuals do not pay any premiums for health insurance. Here in BC we do pay set medical premiums. The rates are $54 / month for singles, $96 / month for couples and $108 / month for families of 3 or more. If your family income is low you are subsidized in whole or part. If you are employed, your employer generally pays half your premium, so my family of 4 currently pays $54 / month.

Some services are deemed ‘uninsured’ and aren’t covered by Medicare, such as dental care, optometry, prescription medications, cosmetic surgery and naturopathy. Most employers offer an extended health plan to their employees, which covers some portion of selected services. For example, I am reimbursed for a portion of my dental and prescription costs, and I am covered for emergency care if I travel outside of Canada. The premiums for these plans are very low, or may be completely covered by your employer.

Most Canadians are generally satisfied with our system. According to our government in 2005 85% of Canadians were satisfied with the health care they received. And we’re getting good value for our money. In 2005 per capita medical costs in Canada were $3003 USD compared to $5635 USD in the United States. The per capita costs in the US from public sources were $2570 USD, compared to $2108 USD in Canada. Americans are already spending more for public health care without universal coverage.

There are downsides to Medicare. Some patients are dissatisfied with the care they receive, although I would venture to guess that’s true in every other country in the world as well. No matter how you fund medical care there will be doctors who make mistakes or nurses who are having a bad day. Because there is no option to go outside the system it leaves people who want to pay a premium for ‘better service’ without recourse. And it doesn’t allow doctors to set their own rates, since their rates are set by the public health authority.

But the truth is that we are not dying in droves. Our life expectancy is higher and our infant mortality rates are lower than in the US. We generally trust the system to care for our urgent needs. And we are thankful to know that in any circumstances we can count on our health care needs being met. We won’t become uninsured if we lose our jobs. A serious illness or injury won’t bankrupt us. Any of us. I think that’s a good thing.

But not just any cake. No sirree Bob. Not just any cake will do on Canada Day. On Canada Day, you must have Canada Day cake. It must be a vanilla sponge cake decorated with whipped cream and strawberries to look like a Canada flag.

Canada Day cake photo courtesy of Vanessa K on Flickr

There is some part of my soul that thrills to the idea of the Canada Day cake. I’m not sure why, exactly. I’m normally a chocolate fan myself. Perhaps it’s the fresh strawberries, perhaps it’s my patriotism shining through, but I adore the idea of this cake. Which makes it all the stranger that I’ve never actually had any.

I suppose if you don’t like cake you could go this route

Every year I scour the paper in search of Canada Day functions that feature cake. Many of them do. Some of them even up the ante and include lemonade. But somehow I’ve never actually managed to find a piece. Either the cake’s all gone by the time we get there, or we don’t make it to the event at all, or there’s just way too long of a line-up for my impatient self my kids to handle. So the cake remains ever elusive, just out of my reach.

I’m not even sure I would eat a piece now if it were offered, because it couldn’t possibly live up to my expectations. Actually, who am I kidding? I would never turn down cake, no matter how dry or bad-tasting I would soldier through. But I think my point is made – the cake is mythical in my mind, elevated beyond mere cake to something symbolic of Canada as a nation.

Canada has its upsides and downsides. I’m not afraid to admit that there are days I wish I enjoyed the same retail options as my American friends. But no matter what we have cake. Not just any old cake, either, Canada Day cake. And I’m almost positive that it’s delicious.

Happy Canada Day!