Ah, America.

[pyat]

Currently occupying two foreign nations, dealing with ongoing violence in both, with a worrisome economy, a major port city still crippled by natural disaster, more than 1 in 100 adults currently in prison, tax rolls supporting a defense budget larger than that all the other nations of the world combined, spending more per capita of state money on healthcare than any other nation yet no socialized healthcare and a declining life expectancy, serious questions about the conduct of the military and CIA, the perpetrator of 9/11 basically forgotten, and there's an election in a few months.

And of course, the most important topics in that election are gay marriage and abortion.

Comments

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of the American establishment is a bit embarrassed at how well Canada manages to do, in spite of the fact that we're doing everything wrong according to their wisdom. We don't routinely carry guns, we regulate (some of) our markets, we have a fair number of unions and other protections for labour, we have socialized acute and routine health care, we let gay people marry and we pay moms to stay home with their babies - so many things that many Americans see as the End of the World as We Know It, and they've worked pretty well, next door to them, for a long time. It's embarrassing, so they only talk about Canada when they can point out how one of those things we do isn't working perfectly.

[bodhifox.livejournal.com]

Well, the seniors crossing into Canada to buy meds is an *assault* on the rights of drug companies to gouge our elders. So that's something you're doing too well but that *hurts* our economy.

[the-vulture.livejournal.com]

Consider it payback for the softwood lumber tax. *chuckle*

[kianir.livejournal.com]

Your labor laws are pretty awful.

But I'd still move to Ontario in a New York (or is that Toronto?) minute.

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Do you mean Canada's or the States'?

[kianir.livejournal.com]

Canada's. Labor for non-government jobs is regulated on a provincial level, and they're pretty minimal. I was looking at Nova Scotia's not long ago, and they say over 48 hours is overtime (in the States it's 40 hours) and some tiny number of total consecutive hours off per week. Nothing preventing swing shifts, and a ton of exceptions for unionized employees, which to my eyes is a great gaping hole for abuse through company unions.

I started looking at Ontario's, but didn't get all the way through it, so I don't rightly recall what theirs is like, other than a 48-hour workweek also.

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Where are you getting your info? I'm in Ontario and overtime here is over 44 hours/week. Granted, much depends on the industry you're in. There are different rules for different professions.

Frankly, having worked at a Canadian branch of an American company (dealing daily with issues regarding HR and labour regulations), and having to constantly educate bosses who thought they could get away with treating their (non-unionized) Canadian staff as badly as they treated their staff at home, I think we've got it pretty damn good up here. :)

[bodhifox.livejournal.com]

Well, the grass is always greener on your *own* side of the fence. Otherwise we'd be under the domination of One World Government.

[kianir.livejournal.com]

Like I said, I don't have specific recollection of Ontario's laws. I'm sure about Nova Scotia's, though, because they had a sizable guidelines book in PDF form on their website.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

This might help for Ontario for you: http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/factsheets/fs_faq.html

I have no idea how it compares to anywhere else, because I've never worked anywhere else, and I don't really have any intention on moving outside of the province.

[relee.livejournal.com]

Around here (Sarnia) most local work blatantly and constantly breaks labour laws. They all came to the realization that if the government tries to stop them, the jobs will disappear, and the people will loose the support of steady work. Because of that, nobody reports it, or talks about it much.

It disgusts me, but also makes me uncomfortable because I don't dare try to stop it. I have the support of my family and don't really 'need' a job, so I can make all the fuss I want. But other people, they have to support their kids and/or nurse their heavy debts. I can't kick that support out from under them.

It may be worse in the states, but it's not great here. :/

[zenten.livejournal.com]

If your rights, personally, are violated, what would happen if you went to the labour board?

[relee.livejournal.com]

I'm not really sure, to be honest. There was never a lot of education about that; and I tend to be one of the more educated people.

There's a lot of scare tactics involved. If they ask you to take sudden unpaid overtime, you can't say 'No' or they might can you. Fears of things like that spread through rumors, they never really 'say' it, but the fact that they do ask for unreasonable things like that leaves people afraid to stand up for themselves.

In the worst case, if you make a fuss, then you'll be branded as a troublemaker and be unable to get a job anywhere. Nobody wants someone who is going to complain and bring the government down on them.

That's illegal, I'm lead to understand, but so are a lot of things. In the worst case, some manager somewhere is canned and replaced with someone exactly the same. Maybe that's not entirely the truth since these things are spread in rumors, but that's what people believe.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

What's awful about them, just out of curiosity?

[zenten.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, you have to compare the province with the state for both really on this.

Ontario's... could be better. Could be worse of course too.

Our rental laws though are really kick ass for renters, to the point where I have no problem renting, but I don't think I'd ever actually want to be a landlord.

[anidada.livejournal.com]

o_O Wow, seriously? I always had the opposite experience, renting -- it always favours the landlord, IME. In Toronto, anyway, and let's face it, Toronto housing of any sort is a circus at the best of times.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

Well, you don't have to sign a lease after the first year. The last months rent isn't a security deposit, and in fact a security deposit cannot be asked of you at all. The conditions when someone can be evicted are rather narrow, and for most of them (including simply not paying rent) takes months to go through, with many chances for appeal. There are also rather strict caps on how much your rent can get raised every year (and while there is a way to appeal that by the landlord, it's rarely given out). Plus the housing tribunal will often let someone break their lease at a *much* lower penalty than what is listed.

There could be better places than this, but I know these are much better for tenants than Quebec, Alberta, BC, Texas, Ohio and Massachusetts.

[redeem147.livejournal.com]

My daughter had a dispute with her landlord which went to court, and the judge pretty much kicked the landlord in the ass. Helped that my daughter was in the right of course, and that the landlord was clueless. In Toronto.

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Well, every other experience I've heard (and had) runs to the contrary, to the point where it was a running joke among my friends that the "Tenant Protection Act" meant "protecting the landlords from their tenants." At least that much has changed since we last rented (2002) -- more info here (http://www.ontariotenants.ca/research/tenant-protection-act.phtml).