Losing Ground, but Still Up There!

Canada is a wonderful country to live in. Those who are blessed with knowing that in the comfort of their daily lives, often don't take the time to think too much about what it is we take for granted. The quality of our lives is unsurpassed anywhere in the world. We live with the assurances of our freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution, upheld by the courts of justice of this country. In cities and towns where most people recognize the utility of tolerance toward others, and where the presence of different traditions and cultures melding with those Canada holds dear, creates a population of agreeable pluralism.

This vast geography that is Canada has unparalleled landscapes of outstanding beauty. From our prairies with their vast fields of grain, to our oceanside fishing villages, our mountainous grandeur, to our farming communities, our resource extraction, our institutes of higher learning, our academics, scientists, philosophers, artists and entertainers. This is a country where nutritious, good-quality food is readily available at modest cost. Where people are accustomed to living in homes well endowed with modern conveniences.

In a new United Nations-sponsored quality-of-life index, Canada ranked third last year, fourth this year, in overall quality of life; only Norway, Australia and Iceland ranked higher, this year. This human development index measures such criteria as life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment, gender parity and the economy. Canada now boasts a life expectancy of 80.6 years, ranking 11th in this category, with first place led by Japan at 82.7 years, while the U.S. ranked 13th. We're up against some stiff competition as the developed world increases its quality-of-life status altogether.

We did place first in 2000. Guess we're slipping. No we're not, not at all. It's just that other countries are catching up, and a few of them are passing us in some of the qualifying areas. And it's useful to acknowledge that there are 182 countries where these values are evaluated to reach a consensus on ranking.

And then there's another index which measures the international image of countries; how they are perceived by the citizens of other countries, gauged through perceptions surrounding immigration, governance and the 'friendliness and manners' of its population; tourism and exports, and culture of each nation's citizens. And oops, our ranking has dropped from 4th to 7th in the world. Out of an exhaustive investigation of the standing of 50 nations.

Canada does lead all countries in three of six assessed categories: immigration, governance and the 'friendliness and manners' of Canadians. We're dragged down by tourism and exports where we stood 7th, and 12th in the culture category. This, aside from the annual Human Development Index, a quality-of life compilation of data, that has identified Canada as the fourth-best country in the world for living standards.

And it seems that 'branding' of this kind, which is to say public perception on an international scale has much to do with public celebrity, also on a global scale. For it would seem that the United States, which popped up from 7th place to first in overall rankings reflected this elevated status primarily as a result of the election of Barack Obama to the American presidency. Clearly stimulating the international public to award the U.S. for rejecting its racist past and steaming ahead toward an inclusive future.

We don't have Obama, but we have a lot of what it takes to make Canadians content with what life has offered them in a country where opportunities to invest in oneself is open and pliable to every endeavour on the scale of human aspiration and achievement. Where to be poor means one is unable to own the latest technological gadgetry, or to jaunt off on costly vacations. Everything, it would appear, is relative.