O Canada, Eh!
BY Gerry Gumban

So you want to go to Canada EH? I put emphasis on the word "eh" because true blue Canadians, when they exchange friendly banter, use this expression often at the end of their sentence. To me, as an immigrant coming from the City of Smiles, this simple word separates the Canuck from the American boy.

That brings me back to the question: so you want to go to Canada, eh? If ever you are planning or about to go and immigrate to a country with English and French as the official two languages, I say "bienvenue" or, simply stated," welcome".

A recent article written by journalist Joe Friesen of the Globe and Mail newspaper, is based on the result of a survey commissioned by the Historica-Dominion Institute in partnership with the Munk School of Global Affairs and the Aurea Foundation.

About 53 per cent of adults in the world's 24 leading economies, who are currently attending the G8/G20 Toronto Summit in Toronto, Ontario, said that "they would immigrate to Canada".

The respondents of that survey said Canada is "welcoming and tolerant with new immigrants"; "Canadians are friendly"; "is tolerant of newcomers who come from a diverse racial and cultural background; and that Canadians have one of the best quality of life."

That brings me back to my own personal journey. I never planned to go to Canada. I was working in Manila for almost four years when I saw an article in the newspaper that Canada was accepting applicants for immigration. "Hmmm, I told myself, why not apply just for the fun of it".

A week after I sent my application letter,  I received a reply from the Canadian embassy requesting me to show up for an interview. "Oh wow, that was fast, I told myself". When I got to the embassy on the designated day, there were only six of us in the whole floor, waiting for our interviews. To make the long story short, I passed the whole thing that's why I am now here.

Having spent 13 years of my life in this beautiful country that is also my second home, I envision the July 1 Canada Day observance as a picture of a  sea of red and white colors-from the flag that features the maple leaf, red and white tee shirts, caps, pants, socks, umbrellas, bandanas and other knick knacks you can think of, during the Canada Day parade. What can I say? Canadians are proud of their country and heritage.

I became a dual citizen in 2001. Before I became a Canadian citizen, I rode the train in 1998  from Vancouver all the way to Newfoundland and Labrador, the last province in the map of Canada, taking me a whole month to explore my new country, getting a glimpse and feel of every town and city where the train stopped for re-fueling.  Looking back, I felt, indeed, I was a greenhorn in a country so diverse and multicultural as the colors in a crayon box. In Canada, the Caucasians are joined by ethnic minorities like the Chinese, East Indians, Hispanics, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Koreans, Japanese, among others, coming from the Asian continent, and also Eastern and Western Europeans, Australians and New Zealanders, as well as Africans. You can go to a shopping mall and be served by different race of people. The survey finding is, indeed,  right: Canada is friendly and is indeed tolerant of newcomers.

New immigrants are also exposed to Canada's favorite sport: "hockey". With regard to food, potato is still the No. 1  preferred vegetable-whether it is fried, boiled or mashed. You will be exposed to burgers of all sizes, eggs Benedict, Alberta beef steak, spinach dip and the never ending choice of green salads-bandara, raincoast, chargrilled chicken Caesar, spinach or rocket salad. Apart from Molson Canadian or the Kokanee draft beer, Canadians love their red and white wines and every celebration will not be complete without it. Now that summer is here, expect every household to hold a barbecue cookout every weekend.

I discovered as well that I must  have a social insurance number, or SIN, the most important piece of identification card in this country. Employers will only hire you if you have this piece of ID. Needless to say, Canada is a socialist country where taxation is alive and well.

On July 1, the new tax, which is 13 percent, called HST, or harmonized sales tax, from government sales tax, or GST, and provincial sales tax, or PST, combined, will be implemented. Are we against it?  You bet we are but our hands are tied since whether we like it or not, the government will still go ahead and enforce it.

Enough of the taxes, let's talk about medical coverage. Canada has what is called MSP, or medical services premium, that one pays on a monthly basis if one is not working, or is deducted from one's  pay when you are in the labor force. Once the person the MSP identification card,  he  can visit any general practitioner in a walk-in clinic in any province, in any city of Canada for free. He will only get to see the specialist if  "referred" by the  GP or family doctor. Also, if one has  kids, the government pays a monthly subsidy to each of them till they reach 18 years old, and children are FREE when they visit doctors. They are also free when they attend a public grade school and high school.

What about job opportunities? As long as you don't choose, you will find a job. The ones that are affected by the recession are mostly white-collared jobs but the service industry such as restaurants, hotels, resorts and the tourism industry, as well as nurses, care givers and nannies, janitors, security guards, sanitation engineers or garbage collectors, is thriving. Filipinos get a shock when they hear about this considering that they graduated with a bachelor or masteral degrees in the Philippines. But labor is honor and Canadians don't care about image. They are so down to earth that they will do just any job to earn their keep and put food on their family table, pay the bills and just live simply.

In Canada, if you don't know how to cook, you will be forced to learn. If you have not washed or ironed a piece of shirt in your life, then this will be your training ground. "Help yourself", is what the Canadians would call it. You are a laundry man/baby-sitter, grocery shopper, car washer and cleaner, all rolled into one. No wonder, people at the end of their shift, don't want to go out but just prop  themselves in the comfort of their couch.

Now about the weather, the most talked about topic among Canadians-in bus stops,  restaurants, in school and offices and practically everywhere. This is a country where you can really feel the change of climate based on the coldness or hotness of the weather as well as the changing of colors of the flowers and the leaves. You can often hear people talking about how beautiful the weather is, or how nasty the rain is, how gloomy and dark the day is, how the snow is so annoying, the wind chill is irritating paired with freezing temperatures of minus-45 degrees Celsius and that hail will come any minute, even if it is in the middle of the summer months, depending on where you are. I became fascinated with this interest in the weather but after awhile I realized that I too was complaining or talking about the weather myself.

I have been "Canadianized". The change of the seasons is truly felt in this country. And yes, I will confirm that in winter months, Canada is really the "ice box of the world".

Going back to Canada Day, for many it starts with National Aboriginal Day and begins an 11-day celebration of Canada's unique cultures and heritage, including Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day on June 24, Canadian Multiculturalism Day, culminating with Canada Day celebrations on Thursday July 1and Canada's Birthday Day Festival.

As for me, I am going to join the celebration in downtown Vancouver, wear my red-and- white shirt and will proudly wave the maple leaf adorned Canadian flag and singing "O Canada", our national anthem. "Happy Canada Day everyone!!!"