I guess it depends what kind of society people want.
There seems to be hardly any money left over to play with if you live in Quebec.
Life is expensive. I imagine many people living in Montreal are broke.
But their crime rate is lower than the rest of Canada too.
Quebec City, a City of about 600,000 went a couple of yesrs with 0 murders.
Prince Edward Island, a province the size of Rhode Island also had 0 murders a couple of years too.
I dunno. Maybe those people love each other more than in the rest of the Country
As usual, Joe, you're talking out of your ass.
I've lived most of my life in Montreal and the ONLY reason to want to leave the city (and the province of Québec) is the long, harsh winter.
Yes, Quebeckers are the most highly taxed population in North America, but this is a choice we make to get the services we both need and want. Affordable health care, subsidized daycare, and an adequate social safety net.
But Montrealers aren't broke. Far from it. In fact, the city is on the world map for its fashion industry, its aeronautics industry, its interactive entertainment industry, its film industry, its festivals, and its tourism industry. Montreal has a world-class and affordable public transit system, with a highly efficient and cutting edge subway network servicing all areas of the city. It has mile upon mile of bike paths (featuring North America's first user-friendly and cost-effective "free" bicycle pick-up service to encourage active transportation). Also, the cost of living there is much cheaper than out here, on the West Coast. The only drawback (and it's a doozy) is the now-crumbling road and highway infrastructure, currently being repaired and revamped.
Montreal is the first city in North America to have formulated its own citizen's Charter of Rights and Responsibilities, the first to establish a city-wide network of free WiFi access nodes, and the first to webcast its City Council meetings.
Yes, the city bills itself as the world's second largest French-speaking metropolis (after Paris) but its language demographics say something different: 50% of its residents are French-speaking, 25% English-speaking, and 25% are Allophones (whose usual language is neither French nor English). And, while the city is nested firmly in its surrounding French-Canadian (or, more properly, Québécois) culture, people from all over the world live and work and play in Montreal.
Finally, the big draw (and the reason so many Americans enjoy spending time there) is the fact that the city is a marvelous hybrid of North American urbanity and Old World European charm.
Can you tell I miss it?
