What Canada does right/wrong

We've been in Canada 4 1/2 months. I jotted down a few of my most recent thoughts!

Some things Canada/Edmonton does right:

Maternity leave aka "mat leave". It's amazing. Moms get a full year off with 55% of their pay and a guaranteed job back after a year at their same level. It may be a slightly different job, but it will not be a demotion. Some employers offer a "top off" (I think that's what it's called) where they supplement your pay so it equals 100% for part of the mat leave. Someone I talked to today said she got "topped off" for 17 weeks. Chris and I have had many discussions on this. For one, I probably never would have quit teaching had this been offered to me back home. By the time Mya got to be a year old, I feel like I had my life put together, kids were sleeping through the night, etc. Of course it's easy for me to say that now, but you never know. I've also heard Chris's side of it as an employer of women who are taking a year off...it makes it really tough on the people left behind to fill in for them. We've decided we know what's best for both countries. 6 months of maternity leave at 75% of the pay and all benefits:) I'd love to see the breastfeeding numbers between the two countries. It seems like it would be a lot easier to give it a shot when you know you have a whole year off verse 6-12 weeks like most people.

Coffee. Seriously these Canadians love their coffee. You can find a coffee shop on every single corner and three more in between. Tim Hortons is their national claim to coffee fame. About a month ago it was bought out by Burger King and everyone here was in uproar about it. It's really good coffee and at a fraction of the price of Starbucks.

Canada Post. Yes this will also be a part of my "what canada does wrong" side of this blog, but first I'll share something they do right. All post offices are open on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. (At least the one at the local grocery store was open on Thanksgiving day, not sure about the rest) There is no mail delivery on Saturday or Sunday but you can still do business at the post office. It's really nice to be able to take care of mailing a package or whatever else on the weekend. They're still saving lots of money by not delivering the mail, but also continuing to make money by having the windows open for service. And I have not missed Saturday delivery one bit.

Thanksgiving on the 2nd Monday in October. Sure it didn't really feel like Thanksgiving to me, but what was so nice about it was that it didn't feel like Christmas at all either! The Christmas stuff is not out in most stores, no one is really talking about Christmas lists, no one's house is lit up, the weather is really nice, etc. It was nice just to concentrate on eating good food and being thankful for all that we have:) Oh and maybe another reason I loved it was because I didn't have to run after eating!

No cell phone use while driving. I love this law and I was one who talked on the phone a lot while driving back home. There's a pretty big fine ($300) if you get caught so it's not something I'm willing to risk. I have found that after just 4+ months, it feels really weird to me to talk while driving. The other night I was driving Chris's car and didn't have bluetooth hooked up in his car. I had to drive across a parking lot from one place to the other and needed to call him. So without really thinking I dialed him up and put the phone to my ear. As I pulled out of my spot, I immediately felt like something was wrong and I figured out it was because I was on my phone. You never see people talking while they're driving and if you do, you can bet other people are cursing at them to get off the phone! I know some states have this law implemented, but it definitely should be everywhere.

Some things Canada/Edmonton does wrong:

Target. It's a crying shame that they can't figure out how to get full target trucks up here! Total first world problems here...I know my sister in Japan and my sister in law in Decorah would love a Target close by..even if it was only half full! But seriously I LOVE target and have only gone here a handful of times. I get the ad in the paper and then when I go to the store for the deal, they never have the item! When I ask about it they just say the trucks never make it here with the product before the ad goes to print.



Mail. It's a total guess as to when something will get here! My mom sent the kids each a letter in the mail on the same day. Ivy got hers on a Wednesday and the other two came the following Thursday. Also, the prices for shipping. It's ridiculous. Canadians just stand with their jaws dropped when I tell them how cheap/fast shipping is in the US. The whole amazon prime free 2-day shipping thing is usually the kicker for them.

Speed cameras. Sure, this is for our safety, but it's a big pain in the butt! Chris and I were commenting on how we never see police have cars pulled over. But then a few weeks ago we figured out why. We got a nice little $80 ticket in the mail with a picture of Chris's car, the time, and his speed. (to be fair..we don't know who was driving. It was 6:20 on a Friday night so one of us was going to pick up Mya from gymnastics, but we can't remember who!) Basically a camera picked it up and then charged us. He (or I) was going 72 km/h in a 60 km/h zone. 12 km/h converts to 7.4 mph. Typically you would not be pulled over for that in the States, but here anything over 10 km/h could get you a ticket whether or not you see a police officer! Pretty sure the only reason we haven't gotten any tickets in our Acadia yet is because we haven't switched to Alberta license plates yet! Oops...don't tell anyone.



What I'm still up in the air about:

Healthcare. There are definitely some pros and cons to the system here. While it's nice that everyone has access to free (I use the term free loosely...nothing is ever really free) it does make it difficult to get in to see a specialist if you need. My neighbor's dad got diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early stage. He got diagnosed at the beginning of September. The first he can get in for surgery is January. Another friend of mine here hurt her knee and waited 5 months for an MRI only to find out she had a torn ACL. So who knows...maybe someday we will get this whole healthcare thing worked out and take the good from one place, combine it with the good from another and everything will be perfect! Yeah right:)