A recent article in Reader's Digest touts the "7 Things You Can't Say in Canada." The list, compiled by Margaret Wente, includes things like, "Margaret Atwood Writes Some Awful Books," and "Recycling is a Waste of Time and Money."* I must have been an abused child because these were two things my mother said frequently as I was growing up.
I don't think the issue is what we as Canadians are afraid to say, as what we talk about ad nauseum - to the point of nausea. Here is my list of "The 6 Things You Hear Too Often in Canada and We Wish It Would Stop." It's not the sexiest of titles, but at my age it is about quantity, not quality. 1. There Isn't Enough Money in the Pension System And Baby Boomers Are Sucking The System Dry
If there isn't enough money in the pension system, it's because politicians have sucked the system dry. When the average pension for a member of Canada's non-elected Senate is over $60,000 a year, no wonder the government pension system is $300 billion underfunded. And they want to blame it on the Baby Boomers who formed, funded and fought for this country! 2. Quebec is About to Separate
I've been hearing this so long, I don't really care if they do or not. Remember the story about Chicken Little and "the sky is falling, the sky is falling." After awhile, it's like let the bloody thing fall, we'll clean it up and get on with our lives. 3. Oilsands are Bad for the Environment
Yes, well so are farting cows and we're not going to outlaw them. If you've lived long enough you realize that everything in life is a trade-off. The best you can do is to understand what the risks are and proceed reasonably. When every environmentalist I know walks to and from work, then we can shut down the oilsands.
4. "Harper's Government"
It isn't Harper's Government, it is the Government of Canada. No matter how much he would like to be Dictator for Life, Stephen Harper will, one day, be old news. Some things deserve our respect - egotistical prime ministers are not in that category, but our country is. 5. The Health Care System is Broken
If you've spent any time in a hospital in the last three years, you know that this is true. But saying the system is broke, over and over, is maddening. Someone needs to admit that no one can fix it and tell taxpayers that they have to suck it up and live with what we have, or get the nurses, doctors, bureaucrats and politicians out of the way and let the patients give the system an overhaul. 6. Immigrants are Taking Our Jobs
I wonder if this is what the native drums were pounding out when the first English, Irish, and Scottish immigrants came to this country? The fact is, in 2012, the immigrants we let into this country either work at the jobs at McDonald's that our children wouldn't be caught dead applying for, or they have so much money that they don't actually live in Canada anyway.
For me, the issue is not the things we are afraid to say. With 24-hour news channels, blogs, tweets and twitter - nothing has been left unsaid. The problem is, we've confused talking about something as being the same as fixing it.
*To read Wente's list go to readersdigest.ca
