Мы продолжаем рубрику Ask Canadians и сегодня Шейла предложила свои ответы на вопросы Нары, которые она оставила в вопроснике. Вопросы от Нары звучали так:
Questions for Сanadians of 2 or more generations:
— you observe years of immigration process in your country. Various nationalities, cultures, religions people enter your country and settle for good. How do you assess negatives and positives of this process for Canada, for native Сanadians and for arrived immigrants and their children ?
— what do you most proud of Canada ?
— could you please tell about native ( few generations ) Сanadians family and other traditions and any interesting information on this subject.
Thank you very much.
Ну и далее ответы Шейлы:
Nara I think I more then fit your requirement as to whom you would like to answer your question. My family roots go deep into North American soil, as depending on which branch of my family tree you choose to follow, I easily go back 9 decades in Canada and many more in the USA.
. . .
Overall, immigration is positive, especially for a country like Canada which is large in land mass but small in population (approximately 30 million).
I think that if an immigrant comes to Canada, or any new country for that matter, and are prepared to blend into the existing culture then it is a positive experience for all concerned. It is however, a negative experience for all concerned if the new immigrant arrives in a foreign country and expects the culture to change to mimic the culture of the country he left behind.
The children of new immigrants tend to find it easier to adapt to the new ways because of their involvement in the public school system.
. . .
I am proud of our beautiful, mainly unspoiled landscape. I am proud of Canadian generosity, friendliness and courtesy.
. . .
Canada is diverse as to history and culture. The history of the eastern provinces vary dramatically from the history of the western provinces. The Maritimes, Quebec and Ontario were settled as early as the 1600’s. Victoria and Vancouver were settled in the late 1700’s early 1800’s. However, the Prairie Provinces really got under-way in the late 1800’s early 1900’s. Therefore, to speak about the history I would need to know which area you would like to know more about, otherwise the answer to your question could be very long.
. . .
However, I will give you a brief overview of the colonization of the 3 Prairie Provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba). In the 1800’s this region was mainly inhabited by the natives (Indians), those involved in the fur trade, whisky traders, and the RCMP. In the early 1900’s the government decided that they needed to settle the vast territory for 2 reasons: 1) to protect their interests against the USA; 2) and turn the area into a Bread Basket (a steady supply of grains and meat for the East). Therefore, the government started a massive advertising campaign in northern Europe and the northern states of the USA to lure immigrants to the Prairie Provinces. Specific groups were targeted, mainly peasants who were used to hardship and hard work.
Homesteaders were given freehold title to their land in exchange for; paying $10, agreeing to stay on the land at least three years, breaking a certain amount of land each year and building a house.
Unfortunately, it was a hard, often lonely life and after one generation most of the children of the new immigrants left the land to move to the cities where the living was easier.
Hello Sheila, thank you for sharing your thought with us! 🙂
What do you mean under ‘unspoiled’ landscape? How can a landscape be spoiled? 🙂
Also, you mention that Canadians are generous, friendly and courteous. Are the people of, say, United States, resemble Canaduans in this respect? How Canadians differ from the U.S. people, in your opinion?
Thanks!
Sheila, thanks. it was interesting.
BZB, you have to watch «Canadian bacon» http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Bacon to understand what is a real Canadian 🙂
Sheila, thank you very much ! It was interesting and a pleasure to read.
Hi BZB — «Unspoiled landscape» refers to any natural feature that man has not touched nor altered in any way. For example water falls, mountains, lakes.
At a distance Canadians and Americans may appear to have the same culture and thus are the same. This is far from the truth as the Americans were surprised to find out when they came for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In my opinion, and this is very broad, Americans are peoples of extremes. They appear to be very religious while at the same time be able to exhibit extreme violence, often in the name of God or a cause. There are other differences, often subtle, but they are there.
Hi AlexNicD — Now that you mention it I have heard of that movie but haven’t seen it. I did hear that it is hilarious.
Hi Hapa — You are welcome.
Hi Sheila! Interesting review…
BZB, some facts about unspoiled landscapes. Look at Europe — all of European landscapes were transformed by people.
Hi Андрей
Yes, there would be little that would be natural in Europe. The countries are old, small and crowded. On the other hand there must be a lot of untouched landscape in Russia even with the large population.
Hi guys,
I have just watched the Canadian Bacon movie.
It had me laughing tears.
Hi Sheila,
I’ve found a very positive and interesting song that might be very close for any Canadian 🙂
Eduard Khil, Mr.Trololo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3Qb0KTEmD4&feature=player_embedded
Best wishes,
Ilya
BZB
have you seen Norilsk? That’s exemplary spoiled landscape 🙁
Hello everyone,
No I haven’t seen Norilsk 🙂 However, I would probably not use the word ‘spoiled’ for things that people do in order to make their life and surroundings somehow more comfortable. If human involvement results in pollution, dirt, poisoning of everything around them, that perhaps may be called spoiled. But in my opinion I don’t see anything bad in making the nature improving human life, if this improvement does not have bad consequences. I suppose Europe is a good example of it.
Hi Ilya — I have not heard of the song you mentioned. Thank you for the suggestion. I’m sure a lot of the readers, me included, will be sure to lisaten to it and see how it relates to Canada.
Regards,
Sheila
I have a question to ask Canadians. Why do consumers in Canada prefer to use debit (rather than credit) cards? Financially, there is almost no difference for cardholders, except for the benefit. Cardholders get to pay for their purchases once a month, which means they get a grace period until the month end plus some 20 days.
Thank you!
Oh, I forgot to mention that credit card holders get not just one but many more financial benefits. These may include, reward programs, airmiles, etc. And yet, Canadians are known for preferring debit cards. Why?
Hi Herkunft — That is an interesting question. Unfortunately I do not have an answer for you. Maybe someone else out there does.
‘Why are Canadians the second highest users of debit transactions in the world?’
Hi Herkunft,
I discussed your question with my husband, Don, about the use of debit cards as opposed to credit cards.
It is his opinion that it is the way debit simulates ‘cash’ without the inconvenience of going to the bank for the cash and then having to carry around a huge wad of bills. Therefore, it is the combined convenience and the ability to spend without going into debt.
My argument to this is that Canadians, even with the addiction to the debit card, still have a lot of debt. I guess you can’t use a debit card to buy a SUV nor a half million dollar house.
Cary Reid said: As a Canadian my answer to this question would be: I really don’t know. I like to use my credit card for everything, even making a purchase as small as a bottle of water. The reward program is the incentive to use my credit card.
It may have something to do with the fact that even a child can obtain a debit card and its use becomes habitual.
Perhaps it has to do with economy… “Spending within their means” or in other words not spending more than they have in their checking account. It is easier to keep track of what you and if you can’t pay the balance at the end of the month they don’t get charged interest.
Another possibility is that prior to the PIN on a credit card, debit cards gave the illusion of higher security. There wasn’t a piece of paper floating around with you credit card number and signature that could be copied by someone. This was especially true with the old carbon copy credit card slips.
Maybe it is a combination of all of the above.
Cheers,
Cary Reid