Thinking of moving?

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) announced Monday that Vancouver is the best city in the world to live, followed by Vienna, Austria and Melbourne, Australia.
The EIU -- the business arm of the U.K.-based weekly economics magazine -- ranked the living conditions of 140 cities around the world based on five broad categories; stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

With a rating of 98 out of 100, with one being "intolerable" and 100 being "ideal", Vancouver topped the charts, "benefiting from strong Canadian infrastructure," according to the study's authors.

Two other Canadian cities, Toronto and Calgary, ranked in the top 10. Toronto ranked fourth, followed by Perth, Calgary, Helsinki, and Geneva. Zurich and Sydney tied for ninth.

Story.

Vancouver:



Toronto:



Calgary:

There's something in the air

There must be toxicity building in the air above Canada. Canadians seem to have developed a tolerance for it since there have been no accounts of us acting strange or demented. I mean no more than usual. But clearly something is affecting visitors to this country causing them to act in bizarre ways.

How else can one explain last Wednesday's Britney Spears debacle in Vancouver where she walked off the stage without explanation fifteen minutes into her performance? Ten minutes after her unceremonious departure, it was announced that the excessive smoke in the venue was the reason cited for the booze-drinking, drug-taking, party-girl's exit. She didn't return for almost a half hour before continuing the show, but it later became clear that the highly toxic Canadian air was still affecting her mind. At the end of the show, the lovely Ms. Spears implored her audience to "Drive safe. Don't smoke weed! Rock out with your cocks out!"

On the same day, 2,000 miles away another visitor to Canada was even more severely affected by the mysterious "devil air" that has permeated the whole country. Billy Bob Thornton was doing a radio interview in Toronto for CBC. He became incensed that...what the hey, watch it and judge for yourself whether he was acting under the influence of some horrible unseen force.



One day after the interview, the band was playing a date at Toronto's Massey Hall and BBT was strangely compelled to make a reference to said interview, only to be jeered by the crowd. Days later, it was announced that BBT's band cancelled the remaining Canadian tour dates. I'll keep an eye out for any other odd behaviour by visitors to Canada and keep you apprised.

I am outraged and ashamed

There is no bigger proponent of multi-culturalism and racial diversity than I. I am also a proud Canadian trumpeting far and wide on this medium how great a place Canada is as the most culturally diverse country in the world. We seem to get along much better than most countries, celebrating our differences in so many ways--via parades, food fairs, picnics, festivals, etc., some of these events attracting over one million participants, many travelling from other countries to join the festivities.

But this past week, an incident has tarnished Canada's image. It is alleged that three drunken Vancouver-area, off-duty police officers brutally assaulted and robbed a man of colour. In the process, the victim alleges that one of the officers uttered a racial statement. As of this writing, no charges have been laid, but it seems very likely that there will be soon.

You may be asking yourself why I'm bringing this to light. I'm conflicted about it, really, but let me try to explain. It's not the Canadian way to sweep things under the rug. If we do wrong, we acknowledge it, hold those responsible accountable, make reparations, and fix things that need fixing. Hopefully, the publicity this case attracts will inspire authorities and politicians to work that much harder to ensure that conditions that allow something like this to happen, are rectified.

For anyone to commit such a heinous crime is appalling, but for members of those sworn "to serve and protect", it is nothing short of sickening. I just hope that justice will be served in the way of severe punishment for the guilty. The last thing we need is for the poor victim to be victimized again.

The Story.