Time for a new poll, this time about the events occurring in Palestine. But first, last week’s results:

Last week we asked if you had ever considered moving to Canada. Your answer, in a word, was, “Yes!” Over 70% of you said you’d thought about it, and over 50% of you thought about it seriously or already picked up and moved. Looks like we’re a bunch of Canucks over here…

This week, we want to know how you feel about Hamas overthrowing Fatah in Palestine and wheather this may open up new avenues for solving the biggest conflict in the Middle East. So, what do you think? Make your voice heard with your vote in the sidebar at right.

History can be summarized as a story of undeviating change and renewal. With that in mind, one can safely predict that the way things are is not the way they will be. The future will deal those of us who remain a new hand, the hierarchy of power will shift, and in order to better influence the shape things will take, it is worth our while to deal in hypotheticals. As such, I look towards our neighbor to the North, and, in the assessment, see a once nondescript country on the verge of an historic change.

But first, some backdrop: another trend in history, more apparent of late, is that mankind is growing, simultaneously changing its relationship with the earth’s resources. As a species, we are asking more of Mother Earth than ever before, and the demands increase daily. Currently human population stands at an unprecedented level (app. 6.7 billion), and though the rate of increase has been steadily declining, the CIA fact book still lists the daily world population increase at a headcount of 211,090. Every new mouth born represents many things, among them another strain on the earth’s resources.

This week, we ask if you’d think about moving to Canada. But first, the results from last week:

Last week we asked you what you thought of the new immigration bill, now dead in the water in Congress. The results were far from conclusive, but extremely interesting. First, no one said they supported the bill as is. This clearly shows that the “grand compromise” Democrats and Republicans were envisioning ended up pleasing neither side. That said, 35% of voters did support the bill, though they had reservations. 60% didn’t support the bill because of those reservations. Most interestingly, however, was that only 5% of voters felt there was no need for any kind of immigration reform. Americans want change in our immigration policy. I hope Congress will see fit to do their job and give it to them.

This week, our question deals with our monthly issue topic, Canada. Very simply, have you ever considered moving to Canada? Let us know what you think, the poll is active in the sidebar!

In late May, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan, where a Canadian military presence has been steadily increasing since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Canada has deployed over 2,500 troops to fight Taliban resurgences in southern Afghanistan since NATO took over command of the region in July of last year. It is also involved in redevelopment and humanitarian efforts such as heavy weapons decommissioning, de-mining, micro-lending, and training of police forces.

Mr. Harper’s May visit included a tour of a Canadian-funded school in Kabul, a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and a visit with Canadian troops near Kandahar. The Prime Minister stated in his speech to soldiers that he sees Canada “at its best” in Afghanistan, calling his country’s work there “Canada’s most important foreign policy endeavor.”

Yet the trip stirred controversy back at home. While Canada has “historically” been in the minority among NATO countries by having a public strongly in favor of military efforts in Afghanistan, the war is now losing support among Canadians.

Throughout Canada, even in the sparsely populated wilds of British Columbia, law enforcement officials are getting tougher with marijuana growers and users. Canadian police say that “Cannabis is the biggest issue facing law enforcement now.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party agree: they are opposed to the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana. In December 2005, Harper made his position clear in an interview with a Vancouver radio station: he supports mandatory minimums for drug criminals such as marijuana growers, and he stated that the Conservative Party would “never endorse” the legalization of marijuana.

Vancouver, British Columbia’s largest city, may be the world’s “best place to live.” Under Canadian federal law, marijuana possession is illegal there as it is throughout all of Canada.

Yet it has been said that Vancouver is “on the cutting edge of drug reform in the Western hemisphere.” Marijuana coffee shops and British Columbia’s reputation as the home of high-quality marijuana have brought tourism there, and the city is warmly regarded by the magazine High Times.

I doubt that anyone on either side of the political spectrum, from hemp-wearing sandlefoots trying to save the rainforest to Fox-watching investment bankers trying to bring the one true Free Market to Earth, will deny that the American healthcare system is currently in desperate need of reform. Even Bush has emerged from his whiskey and Zanax haze (Totally unsubstantiated, that, but you gotta figure he’s into something heavy these days. Most of us would be, in his position.) to offer some mushmouthed ridiculous plan to begin to alleviate the gross inequities and massive costs of healthcare in our country.

Many liberals look to Canada as a possible example of how our country could begin to provide healthcare to the roughly 46 million uninsured (not counting illegal immigrants, of course, who represent an enormous drain on our health system). But how valid is this comparison? How successful is the Canadian system, and would a similar system be applicable to the United States, which is vastly different in terms of demographics, income, politics, and general philosophy? Would US universal healthcare result in a drastic reduction in medical R&D, as many conservatives claim, and possibly a degradation of care for the majority Americans? These questions aside, what can we learn from the successes and failures of the Canadian system in order to start cobbling together some program that ensures the working poor have consistent access to physicians and a means to avoid the cataclysmic burden of medical debt?

Let me quickly list my top 7 favorite and least favorite things about Canada.

Favorites/Favourites:

1: Hockey…is there any better trophy than the Stanley Cup?

2: The names of cities that make me giggle (I’m thinkin Saskatoon).

3: French Canadian Trappers.

4: The words ‘eh’ and ‘hoser.’

5: It’s bi-lingual.

6: Rick Moranis.

7: Curling…because you know that sport was invented by bored drunk people.

Non-Favorites/Non-Favourites:

1: Kilometers per hour. Give me a break. Kilometers in general for that matter.

2: Alan Thicke.

3: Canadian Football.

4: Their Capital is Ottawa…they’ve kept that a secret apparently.

5: Canadian Beer. It’s awful…give me a Bud can.

6: The word ‘Centre.’ You think you’re better than me or something?

7: Canadian money.

Oh Canada…our great neighbors to the North. It’s not my favorite country in the world (I piss Red, White, and Blue…and excellence) but it’s definitely in the top 10 (just above the United Arab Emirates but below Bulgaria). Canada is an interesting place though, and when you look at its stats next to America’s it makes it hard to imagine that these two countries share a border (kind of like Haiti and the Dominican Republic…that might’ve been a bit drastic). For example, Canada has a ton of political parties, my personal favorite being the Marijuana Party (not that I even smoke, I just find it funny…like a National Beer Party - not to be confused with the one I have in my apartment on Tuesdays).

As in America, though, the top two parties essentially win all the elections. Canada is a little more blunt about what their parties stand for, hence the names ‘Liberal Party’ and ‘Conservative Party’. However, when looking at these two parties as opposing political ideologies it’s hard to imagine what place they would have here in America.

In this month’s issue, The Seminal explores Canadian life and politics, with a particular eye towards comparisons with America. Though America and Canada look very similar to most people, and Canadian healthcare, drug policies, and education (pdf) have all been targeted for American imitation, key differences between these two countries should be noted before wholeheartedly adapting Canadian solutions to American problems. While some of these differences are minor, they all subtly affect American and Canadian politics. So, what differences make direct comparison so hard?

In June, The Seminal is writing about Canada, Canadian issues, Canadian politics, and Canadian life. All of this month’s articles are accompanied by illustrations from jackrascal. We hope you enjoy!

Click to go to our Canadian issue.

Every month, The Seminal writers get together and come out with a series of articles on one specific topic. Coming on June 1st, The Seminal explores our great neighbor to the North - Canada. Stay tuned for discussions about Canadian healthcare, foreign policy, drug enforcement, and other topics of interest, especially with respect to the United States.