Canadian Values

Why is Canada the best country in the world to live in? It is because our education and healthcare are so prosperous and thriving that it differentiates us from any other country.

Healthcare

Our healthcare is free which means Canadian citizens have access to all hospitals and medical services, when needed, without paying with their own money. “The roles and responsibilities for the healthcare are shared throughout the Provincial, territorial, and Federal government” (Government of Canada). Each province and territory has their own medicals plans, but the Federal government looks over all of it and supports health research, health promotion and protection, and disease monitoring and prevention.  The provincial and territorial plans must provide all their residents' reasonable medical access based on their medical need and not on their ability to pay.   Unlike the United States not providing equal care to minorities, Canada has health care available to all aspects of the minority including Indigenous Peoples living on reserves, Inuit, serving members of the Canadian Forces, eligible Veterans, inmates in Federal penitentiaries, and some groups of refugee claimants. This truly emphasizes that Canada is different than other countries and it is one of the many aspects that define Canada: multiculturalism, rights and freedoms, education, equality and diversity.  

Education

Along with our free healthcare, there is free education through the public school system. There is also adult secondary education programs available for those who have not completed their elementary or secondary education.  Some teach how to read or write and others get you a high school diploma. However, each province and territory has official criteria that students will be taught in each grade. By law, all children must go to school, and if “[someone is] enrolling in a Canadian school for the first time, the school or board will assess them and then decide what level they should be placed at and whether they need free support such as English or French language classes” (Government of Canada). Canada values equality even in the education part and this is why it is another thing that defines us and differentiates us. Even in most schools, there are mixed classes which means boys and girls learn together. In a few low economic countries, girls are not even allowed to go school or are separated from boys. We believe that everyone should have an equal opportunity to a greater future.

Overall Canadian citizens are very fortunate that we have a good education and healthcare system that are free and not discriminative. It differentiates us from many countries in the world as only a few have free education or health care while we have both. We are about equality, diversity, and having resources available to those who need it.

Works Cited

ASA Overseas Education Specialist. Canadian Education System. 2018. ASA Overseas Education Specialist, 2018, www.asa-edu.com/abroad-can1.php. Accessed 5 Jan. 2018.

Casale, Cecilia Rivera, Ph.D. “Disparities in Healthcare Quality Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups.” Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Oct. 2014, archive.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqrdr10/minority.html. Accessed 4 Jan. 2018.

Government of Canada. “Canada’s Health Care System.” Government of Canada, 22 Aug. 2016, www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/canada-health-care-system.html. Accessed 19 Dec. 2017.

---. “School Life in Canada.” Government of Canada, 17 May 2017, www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants/new-life-canada/enrol-school/student-life.html. Accessed 4 Jan. 2018.

O’Mahen, Patrick. n Ontario Health Insurance Plan ID card. 2013. Blogger, Patrick O’Mahen, 9 Oct. 2013, themakeshiftacademic.blogspot.ca/2013/10/worthwhile-Canadian-initiative-health.html. Accessed 5 Jan. 2018.