No Sudden Moves...

There are thousands of Democrats, liberals, progressives, and Americans who just hate Bush openly contemplating emigrating to Canada across the internet (Google 'moving to Canada' and 'Bush'). If any of you have come across this blog, I have this advice: unless you have other reasons you'd like to reside in this country besides the lack of Republican Presidents, stay where you are.

Canadians who have had the experience of living in the province of Alberta over the past decade know what it's like to be under the thumb of an alcoholic cowboy demagogue, one Ralph Klein. Klein's track record as a Premier amounts to demolishing public health care and education, and picking fights with other jurisdictions, and sucking up to corporations: seem familar? The Ralph Klein experience can be summed up by his visit to an Edmonton homeless shelter in the winter of 2003, when, after an evening of heavy drinking, threw tens and twenties on the floor and barked at the shelter residents to get a job.

In 2000, I decided to relocate to Vancouver, where British Columbia had a centre-left New Democratic (not as in the DLC 'new' Democrats) Party government which did things like provide affordable child care while balancing the provincial budget. Although the NDP had worn out its welcome, thanks largely due to some ill-conceived ferry building projects, the opposition B.C. "Liberal" Party ran against them on a moderate platform designed not to antagonize the public. Liberal leader (and former Vancouver mayor) Gordon Campbell, wanted to be "a uniter, not a divider" too.

This script seems familiar too? Of course it does! Campbell and the Liberals' first act when they were sworn into office in June of 2001 was the give the wealthiest British Columbians a 25% tax cut, which was paid for by the mass privatization of public services (including health care), gutting of B.C.'s environmental regulations, and a rewriting of the province's labour code which raised eyebrows at the International Labour Organization. Like Bush, Campbell flat out refuses to back down on anything, including his refusal to resign after a drunk conviction while on vacation in Hawaii, or the ongoing police investigation into money laundering out of the Legislature in Victoria.

The moral of the story is: why move to Canada to put up with Bush wannabes when you have the man himself to entertain you? Besides, at least Bush has a two-term limit.