There are a lot of nice places to live in this crazy world, but you won’t find too many Canadians who would rather live anywhere else.
As millions of Canadians prepare to celebrate this great country’s 150th birthday on Saturday, we should all be grateful to say that we live in one of the greatest countries on Earth.
We’re certainly not perfect as a nation as far too many families – especially children – live in poverty and struggle to make ends meet every single day. This should not be happening. Canada’s healthcare system, which used to be the envy of virtually every other nation in the world, is simply not what it used to be.
There are far too many people living in pain with serious health issues who are forced to wait weeks and sometimes months to get the medical assistance they so desperately require.
We’re also a nation where millions of hard-working, middle class citizens are so heavily taxed many feel like they will never be able to get ahead and plan and prepare for retirement.
While the middle and low-income people who make up the backbone of this great nation work their collective butts off, we have tens of thousands of millionaires and business owners who know how to play the game, hire financial experts and shell game wizards and simply don’t pay their fair share of taxes.
If you live in or anywhere near a big city in Canada, the dream of home ownership is also disappearing for a generation of young people and that’s very discouraging.
The price of owning a home in Canada – especially in the major urban centres like Toronto and Vancouver, is becoming almost impossible for young people unless their parents help them or they are fortunate enough to benefit from an inheritance.
That simply wasn’t the case, 10, 20 and 30 years ago when all you had to do was work hard, be smart with your money and look to purchase your first reasonably-priced starter home.
As we look to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, however, we should all take pride in what is great about living in this country and not focus on what we can do better.
The fact is Canada continually ranks amongst the best places in the world to live when you combine economic diversity and opportunity, job prospects, healthcare, education, safety and quality of life.
Despite what you read in newspapers everyday and see in the headlines on television, we’re also a country blessed by low crime rates, especially compared to our neighbours across the 49th parallel.
One of our greatest attributes as Canadians is simply how friendly and cordial to not only our friends, neighbours and co-workers, but complete strangers and the tens of thousands of immigrants who have fulfilled their dream of landing in Canada to begin a better life.
Here in Osoyoos, we are blessed to not only live in one of the prettiest little towns in all of Canada, but anywhere on the planet. With our spectacular scenery, wonderful (most of the time) weather and friendly disposition, Osoyoos is a fantastic place to call home.
There are expected to be anywhere between 25,000 to 35,000 in Osoyoos on Saturday as we celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday with what promises to be one of the best Cherry Fiesta Canada Day celebrations this town has ever seen. To top it all off, the spectacular Canada Day fireworks this town has become famous for promises to be the best ever.
Because Canada Day celebrations fall on Saturday, the office of the Osoyoos Times will be closed on Friday.
The staff here wishes everyone a safe and happy Canada Day long weekend and we join all of you in being proud to call Osoyoos home.
