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Hey all,

My name's Jared. I hail from St. Albert in Alberta. We're right next to Edmonton, but we're not part of Edmonton. I've actually been a member of CKA's sister site Vive Le Canada for a while now, but I decided to start posting here as well.

Here's some personal information about me:

Born: April 25, 1982, eight days after the Charter was patriated.

Occupation: Freelance policy researcher, writer and analyst.

Favorite Sports Teams: The Canucks, the Flames, the Oilers, the Jets, the Senators, the Leafs, the Habs, the Lions, the Eskimos, the Stampeders, the Roughriders, the Blue Bombers, the Tigercats, the Argonauts, the Alouettes and whatever the new Ottawa CFL franchise is going to be.

Things I Love: Cheese pizza, root beer, superhero comics, old video game RPGs, the Red Green Show, Trailer Park Boys, Butch Patterson: Private Dick, Kevin Spencer, living in suburbia, speaking French, Nickelback, Susan Aglukark, Great Big Sea, Canadian history and Canadian politics.

Things I Hate: The demonization and stereotypes that are unfortunately so prevalent in Canada. Just because someone is Conservative doesn't mean that they don't care about the environment or the poor, and just because someone is a Liberal or an NDPer doesn't mean they can't be hardworking or self-reliant.

This is in fact one of the reasons I study Canadian history-to see why people feel the way they do and how we've gotten to where we are. Just why do so many people in the Western provinces feel Western alienation from Ottawa? Why do so many Quebecers want their province to be recognized as a "distinct society"?

That's my big pet peeve. Other things that get under my skin include big, noisy cities, manufactured pop singers like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, reality TV that centres around people making jackasses of themselves (but not reality shows that centre around businesses or displays of talent, like Pawn Stars or So You Think You Can Dance) and people who knowingly drive over the speed limits, and then whine when they get caught by photo radar.

Political Beliefs: I'm a firm centrist, leaning to the left on some issues (foreign ownership, the social safety net, etc.) and to the right on others (the military, crime, immigration, etc.). You could call me a Red Tory or a Blue Grit-over the years I've voted Liberal, Conservative, NDP, Reform-Alliance or Green depending on what I thought of the various leaders and platforms.

I've always believed that society works best through the positive interaction between governments and markets, and between individual effort and collective action. Governments and markets can complement each others' strengths while also compensating for each others' weaknesses, as can the efforts of private individuals and groups like government agencies, churches, and so on. While I support a certain level of government intervention and regulation, the most important part of government action is knowing when to stop, and leaving individuals to solve their own problems and the market to decide the winners and losers.

My political and intellectual heroes include, but are not limited to John A. Macdonald, Wilfrid Laurier, Robert Baldwin, Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, Lester B. Pearson, John Diefenbaker, Claude Ryan, the Famous Five, Peter Lougheed, Preston Manning, John Ralston Saul, Harold Cardinal, Stéphane Dion and Mel Hurtig. I should point out that I don't always agree with everything these guys have said and done-I didn't vote for Dion because of the Green Shift, and I cringe whenever Hurtig demonizes anyone who opposes him as a traitor or a sellout.

I've also posted a number of articles on Vive-if anyone's interested, I'll be happy to post some links.

What I Love Most About Canada: Canada's natural beauty, proud military tradition and rich, diverse history are all points of pride for me. One thing I especially love about Canada is the number of ways that we've helped the world, often in ways that the rest of the world tends to overlook.

From our efforts in the World Wars to scientific contributions like the electron microscope and insulin shots to our raising millions in cancer research through events like the Terry Fox runs to the disproportionate number of talented actors and directors we send to Hollywood to our contributions to international development to sporting achievements like inventing basketball and beating the Soviets in hockey, Canada punches well above its weight in the arts, sports, science and humanitarian aid, despite our small population.

To my mind, that's something to be truly proud of.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them and I'll be happy to answer!

   

Welcome aboard.

   

Welcome to the site, hell of a first post.

   

Welcome from Canada's largest (and best) city, Toronto! Enjoy your stay!



-J.

   

Well, make up your mind, which one is it, the best city or Toronto?

Because, I live in the best city, and it ain't Toronto.

   

Welcome from a little over 300 km south of St Albert. Your varied view point will be welcome on the site.

   

Greetings.

   

You beat me to a shot at him for that statement.

However you left yourself wide open as there is a dispute about your place of residence claiming the honour as well. In fact those with similar views would be a subset of your city's population. Those of us that know better would place the 'best' city quite a bit west of the two of you.

   

I forgot, welcome from Québec City.

   

Welcome from the Island - 200 km east of the new site of the city of Toronto.

   

Sudbury?

   

Pick one with an NHL team in the playoffs... or at least one with an NHL team.

   

If you read my other post, you'd know... idiot.

   

Welcome from north Castle Downs. Also known as south St. Albert.

Good to have another Albertan, there just aren't enough of us on the forums yet

   

Need a few more to balance out the three Islanders.

   

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