Again, no idea where you're walking.

I even work in downtown and I don't see drug use daily... let alone clouds of who knows what being blown on families... if you do see it, they're huddled over in some doorway of an unopen business.

But I guess if you say the entire lower mainland is a disaster zone then c'est la vie I guess. We certainly aren't looking through the same lens despite walking similar paths.

Next time you drive down Kingsway into Burnaby, have a look at the gas stations and Tim hortons etc.

Ever walk down commercial?

LOL I walked down commercial yesterday with my 2 year old daughter and ate fried chicken. It was quite lovely actually. We had a coffee and hot chocolate, some DL and besides swing a few obviously homeless people in the park near 1st she didn't inhale any crack smoke as far as I noticed.
There is totally a drug problem here, but you're like a pearl clutching old lady man. The hyperbole is fucking hilarious.

Nah just a realist. I’m not scared by any means, I’ve travelled extensively, I’ve been to far worse places (albeit none worse than the DTES and surrounding areas) but it’s pretty clear when people from out of town familiar with the city come back and say, wow things have gotten -way- worse, that it’s a snowballing issue with no end in sight. As well, you can never discount the unpredictably of an addict etc. so obviously the ever increasing presence is a threat to any “normal” person. See the story of the woman who tried to pull a baby out a woman’s arms just last week on commercial.

We have friends who spend a month at a time here in the winter, have travelled to 70 countries the last time they came here they were actually fearful to take the bus downtown etc. as of course, in typical Vancouver transit fashion, some wacked out person threatening people etc. great situation.

You never answered my question, are you proud to be a Canadian?

I've never been proud to be a Canadian.
I'm thankful I live here and my kid isn't being bombed. I've never been proud of anything that's out of someones control. I was born here. I'm thankful my family has access to mediocre healthcare instead of none. I'm thankful I don't fear gun violence when I go to a movie theatre. I'm thankful I have a family that can eat healthy food. I'm thankful my daughter won't be withheld rights for being female.
So what country would you be PROUD to be from? What would give you that feeling like you accomplished something by living there?

Good question. Probably the aforementioned Switzerland? Maybe the country of my roots Finland?

Somewhere that values its own citizens enough to set them up for success?

I do agree with your points however that there is nothing to be proud of when you’re at the will of other peoples decisions though.

this means nothing if you're going to developed countries and staying in nice areas/hotels and not venturing to the "bad" places.

i've been to 50 countries, trust me, I've seen places worse than the DTES.....but should we have that in the middle of the city in Vancouver? hell no, it's embarrassing.

It's funny that both of those places have the things that make you so angry about the path that the Canadian government is trying to take, and you actively support a party that wants to take us in a completely opposite direction.
High carbon taxes
Publicly funded health care and post secondary education
Very high income tax rates
Massive social programs and safety nets
Record high immigration currently in Finland (very similar rates to Canadian immigration under the liberals per capita)



My brother in Christ sounds like you're a socialist like me.
Liberals are doing a shit job of it, but sounds like you're looking for the country to move more left, not right.

Two things, I love this concept that westophers blows off about travel just being like resorts and beach spots.. in the last 12 years I’ve spent almost 11 months abroad, I’ve never once used a travel agent, never done a cruise, never had any guidance outside of my own research. When I say I go somewhere I’m not just stuck in some touristy spot I’ll generally explore an entire city over days and weeks. And with that said, places like Naples, Russia, etc. which are considered dangerous or seedy are nothing compared to pockets of Vancouver. “Bad” areas in those places I’ve been are nothing compared to DTES

To add to that 2 of my best friends I’ve known for 30 years spent summers in the Congo, obviously they lived in compounds but the worked summer jobs at the mill their dad managed, they come to Vancouver and laugh saying the slums of the DRC in Africa looked better than the DTES (they frequented shanty towns with their colleagues from mill who would invite them to party’s in places people lived in corrugated steel shacks)

So let’s not try to downplay the disgrace that is the DTES, when you’ve got a thousand people living like that in that area, it really doesn’t get much worse

If you have to actively seek out the “bad parts” then it’s completely different than large swaths of the downtown core being “bad parts” especially tourist areas etc. being over run with addiction and homelessness.

no one is arguing that the DTES is a horrid horrid place...but's it's due to drug use and mental heath. both of which our government need to do a better job with

the shanties in the Congo or Brazil or India or what ever other 3rd world country you want to use is because of poverty 1st and foremost.

i'm not taking either side here just making some points.

When you look up average income in either place, it immediately paints a different picture than Canada.

Also, even Switzerland seems to have a lower average housing cost than most of Canada. Two factors which obviously underline their societies ability to function.

Do you think that could have something to do with tax rates and the prevention of widening inequality?

Median household income
Canada - 92000 CAD
Switzerland 80000 CHF
Median home cost
Canada - 703000 CAD
Switzerland - 1200000 CHF
That affordability seems worse but I don't know maybe my math is off.

People acting like Canada is a shithole but when you ask them what countries are better they can barely name 2 or 3 countries. Being in the top 5 out of 195 is amazing.

if you're rich then ya sure top 5. affordability is the problem that affects the way you look at everything.

lol Russia and Naples are not considered dangerous. Didn't you just go to St. Petersburg on a cruise? And I thought you were purposely avoiding travelling Latin America and Asia because they were in your words..."shithole countries". Trust me, there are places much, much worse than the DTES that I've had the pleasure of visiting. None of them in Europe or even in the periphery of Europe. The slums in even so-so-well-off places like Jakarta and Manila blow anything out of the water in the West it's inconceivable that you can even compare them. And your friends who went to the Congo? I 100% believe they would never trade living in the DTES in an SRO for spending a day living in the Congo where they can literally set your house on fire and rape all your living relatives on a whim. Well travelled my ass! :lol

Anyways, not sure who you're preaching here to Honda. I mean it's not like we're all die-hard liberal/NDP supporters here. For all intents and purposes, barring a miracle, Trudope is done in 2025. What do you want from us? March on the street and demand his resignation? Go fucking kidnap David Eby and demand he clean up the DTES?

We're all just trying to live our lives the best we can with what we've got. Who's got time to be outraged 24/7 like you are.

btw when are you mooooving to Poooortugal?

Right, never did I have to think about scopolamine or getting robbed for my phone in the DTES. I'm parking red Challengers and yellow S2000s on Hastings and coming back to them with all the glass/top still attached.

Portuguese taxes and especially the food/housing costs relative to income in Lisbon are cooked.

Switzerland's cooked too - the taxes, goods and services (40 CHF for a pasta) and housing costs are at least double Canadian/Australian costs ... the slightly higher median income don't offset.

My underlying point is you pay more, for a decreasing standard of life. Which is not the same as other countries.

I’m never outraged lol, very rarely talk politics in person. I just have time on my hands staring at my phone all day and frankly sick of seeing the overall decay of the lower mainland

So where do you think quality of life is improving?
Economically and socially, it's not the UK, Portugal, Sweden, Germany, Brazil, Colombia, or Italy.
Only place where there's really a pathway to success imo is in pockets of the states.

Like you, I've lived in European / Asian / North and South American countries and did the digital nomad thing, IMO provincial gov in BC's doing pretty great.
I though downtown and Granville especially cleaned up compared to 2020/2021 when I lived on Nelson x Howe.

Federally, I agree that the Libs are cooked but imo the Cons have 0 platform or idea either.
Monetary and QoL indicators for Canada are gonna be cooked for next 5-10 years no matter who's in power.

Yeah things get shitty, some other things also get better. Rarely everything at the same time. The continuum of progress is rarely a straight line.

If you grew up in the 50s and saw the relative decay and disorder of the 70s and 80s and just gave up on then you would have missed out on the golden age of the 90s and 2000s. Well here we are now at another ebb cycle of our civilization if thats the way you want to see it. Except now the outrage factory is working overtime getting your eyeballs and clicks.

Run for office and actually put in the work to be the change that you want to see.

Easier just to vote for PP for the lulz

If it was that easy.

The incumbent in my riding is the crook POS Jenny Kwan, steal from tax payers to go to Disney land and all her other BS. Continually voted in for god knows what reason, I can only think because all the other candidates are garbage and she resonates with the demographic of the area.

I actually know a few people who wanted to run with intentions of actually making change, but all the BS, corruption, and dick sucking you’d have to do to get in wasn’t worth it for them. Especially if you’re already even a mild success in the private sector.

Canadian politics is used as a stepping stone to wealth and prestigious positions beyond public office, not actually making change. However it’s likely the same in most western “democracy’s”

Still waiting on your answer on for where you think QoL is improving