Canadian Culture of Envy   by Ray Wegner

This culture of envy here in Canada is something I hate with a passion, because it has and is causing many problems. It is extremely damaging. 

There are too many Canadians who would rather see fellow Canadians fail than succeed. Too many Canadians would prefer to support and promote foreigners at the expense of fellow citizens.  Too many Canadians would rather support and advance foreigners or immigrants first instead of their own people, or give their own people opportunities first.  Way too many just do not like the idea of their own people actually having something.  This is because many are eaten up by envy, and would prefer to play their political games to deny their own people opportunities to participate fairly. Instead give it to the foreigner thus denying your own people opportunities. This is very small minded and lacking in a generous spirit. 

Look - your success in whatever legal, legitimate and productive things you do does in no way hurt or harm me. I am happy for you. And there is no point for any of you fellow Canadians to try and make me feel bad or envious or jealous of your success, and of your victories - as long as you are not doing something unjust or illegal, or wrong. When you do well and are healthy and happy - that makes me feel good too. 

However this is not the way the majority appear to operate here in Canada - particularly not the way most of the establishment and much of the government operates. In fact as soon as you start doing well for yourself - it seems like everyone and their brother wants to have a piece, or will try to deny you what you have earned.  Governments especially seem to go out of their way to punish success, and steal through excess taxation your hard earned money. 

Let me give you some illustrations about how this culture of envy works here in Canada. 

2.  Alberta runs into some good fortune, and the price of petroleum products is very high. This results in the Alberta government being able to collect very large sums of royalties from the oil companies, and the Province runs a large fiscal surplus. What has happened far too often in the past is that too many fellow Canadians who live outside of Alberta are then very displeased, and full of envy of Alberta. They are not happy about our economic success, but really unhappy.  Pierre Trudeau instituted the National Energy Program, which was a blatant raid on the resources of Albertans. The motivation was pure envy and jealousy. Trudeau was also able to win the famous 18 cent election over Joe Clark, because he was able to exploit the jealousy and envy so many voters in Ontario had towards Albertans. 

3. Here are some past quotes from the former Liberal Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan  ---- When one part of the country does well,  you shouldn't say in some other part  of the country, ' Why can't that be us and how do we plot to get a bigger share of that ? '   McClellan also said  " I am a firm believer that the politics of jealousy and envy and greed have no place in this country, and when a province like Alberta does well, the entire country does well, and one sees that every day in the direct and indirect benefits that flow. " 

4. Another example of the culture of envy comes from personal experience. I like to grow flowers and other plants, and plant a lot of things in our small back yard. My kids have helped out with this a lot. I have had plants damaged and things stolen from my small garden routinely over the years. Pumpkins stolen, and flowers picked. Once we had the head of one of our beautiful sunflowers snapped off and stolen - yet the seeds were not even ripe yet. Why can't these people grow their own things instead of stealing it from those who worked so hard to produce them ? 

5. During the early and mid-20th century, Fracophones in Quebec were routinely denied opportunities for advancement in mainly English controlled industries - industries that once were the backbone of the Quebec economy.  Management position openings were usually filled by those brought in from outside of Quebec.  Yet the majority of the Province consisted of French Canadians.  The Quebecois were aware they had the qualifications to do these supervisory jobs, but were being denied opportunities. This fueled resentment and feelings of humiliation among the French Canadians in Quebec, since they were being treated  as second class citizens in their own province.  This situation let to the eventual rise of the separatist movement in Quebec. 

6. Another illustration of the culture of envy is how so often regions with more political clout often are favored by the governments when government contract are up for grabs. Quite often the competing business from the area of the country with smaller political clout has the better business and can do the job better and be more cost effective, but the contract is let out to the business in the Province that has greater political influence. 

7. Another example of the culture of envy  has to do with the native people of Northern Canada like in some communities of the North West Territories. Generally speaking native people resent other aboriginals who attempt to increase their wealth and social status. When some natives earn money there are many relatives always asking for some of it - for sharing. Natives who don't loan money to other natives are labeled as being stingy, if they don't buy liquor for their friends. Could it be that the high levels of alcoholism, and suicides among natives and among aboriginals on Canadian reserves has a direct connection to the culture of envy here in Canada ? It is worth exploring this possibility. I will remind readers that in the USA this sort of thing is a big problem among blacks who might want to escape the poverty and decay of urban ghettoes and ethic ghettoes. Too many other blacks resent those blacks who try to better themselves. Thus has sprung up a culture among too many black Americans that does not value success, and which does not value working hard to better oneself. Instead the culture tends to hold blacks back and keep them in poor circumstances, and results in social decay and cultural decay among these blacks. 

8. Another example has to do with the mating game. A lot of Canadian women will go with the foreign male in order to try and provoke other Canadians - especially Canadian men into envy and jealousy.  

I personally have seen this and it happens frequently with Canadian women and black foreign men. The foreign male is just being used as a pawn in the game. And it is often easy for these men to  take advantage of such women and exploit them - and  play the love'm and leave'm game, and we get a lot of single mothers with their little half black kids. Where are the men  - probably out trying to take advantage of other gullible Canadian women. In many cases the relationship has nothing to do with genuine love, but is motivated by an attempt to make their own people envy and jealous - the culture of envy.  And  also because a lot of Canadian women don't appreciate the boy next door - the Canadian male, and figure the foreigner is in someway superior to their own people. So a lot of Canadian women would prefer to give themselves to the foreigner instead of the boy next door - who in their opinion just isn't good enough.  

Look - I have nothing against Canadian men or Canadian women (or anyone) deciding to choose a foreign mate if it is for the right reasons - the right reasons being love and commitment. The problem is that too often love and commitment is not the motive at all - the motive is to play games and play the culture of envy game here, and to just use the other person as a pawn in this game. And what happens later far too much is a lot of pain and heartache, and cultural confusion. 

I have lived in the countryside for many years and I have seen so many really good Canadian farm men have to go without a mate and a family of their own, and remain bachelors for life - not because they are not good men - because so many of them are genuinely good solid men - the problem is with the Canadian women. There is this lack of appreciation of their own, and so too many of them would rather give themselves to the foreigner - even if he is just a creep and bum and just using them - rather than giving themselves to their own men, who would in most cases really appreciate and love them. 

This sort of game happens too often with aboriginal women in the North, who get taken advantage of by the temporary, seasonal male workers from the South, who exploit these women, and just use them. 

9. Another example of not giving your own people enough opportunities is with professional hockey here in Canada. I was going over the rosters of the various teams in Canada, and the Chicago Blackhawks have more Canadian hockey players and fewer European hockey players than almost all of the Canadian teams, except maybe the Edmonton Oilers. Toronto and Montreal are full of foreign players, and going nowhere. 

The Montreal Canadians are a classic example of how ridiculous this whole thing is. Why are there so few French Canadian players with the Montreal Canadians here in 2009 ?  Perhaps you are old enough to remember the great Montreal teams of the past - who won cup after cup, and their teams were full of great French Canadian hockey players. Great players like Jean Beleveau, The Rocket Maurice Richard,  Henry Richard, Jacques Plante, Guy Lafluer,  and many more. 

Why on earth are there so few French Canadian players on the only NHL hockey team from the Province of Quebec ?  Wouldn't it be more fun, and wouldn't it be more entertaining to have the majority of Montreal Canadian players being from Quebec, and being French Canadians ?  

My idea is to bake a bigger pie (Belinda Stronach also advocated this approach), so we can all have more. However, too many Canadians are just worried and  preoccupied with fighting over the little dwindling pie they have, and worried someone might actually get a bigger slice than them. You know I don't mind if you get a bigger slice than me, we can't take it with us you know. However I am not too happy if you or any one else plays political games to deny me opportunities, and deny me an opportunity to participate fully within this society. I am sure most Canadians would agree with me here, and would want the same for themselves and their children. 

I don't want your charity (unless I am in dire need of it) I want fairness and justice, and opportunities to participate and compete fairly. 

Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms and Fundamental Freedoms (from the Canadian Constitution) " The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d) freedom of association. "

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   01/02/10     Back