Life in Canada

Life in Canada

Before I came to university, I could have agreed with the National bank’s article: ‘Quality of life in Canada.’ Because Canada is a developed country, and I usually assumed the government is adequately working to boost the social and political capabilities of the nation. But by the content in article two, my assumptions might have been wrong.  Anyway, it all depends on a person’s social background. Before I joined university; my neighbourhood had adequate resources in term of quality and quantity. And I assumed social determinants were equal to every Canadian, turns out I was wrong.  Social determinants are the necessary conditions that determine the overall performance of the society at large (Raphael, 2017, p.41). In other words, determinants will control the possibility of staying healthy or becoming sick. Also, social determinants are the level of an individual’s physical and social capabilities to achieve the desired goal. After I came across the second article, it was clear that social determinants vary amongst Canada citizens. According to research, citizens consistently provide adequate information to the government concerning the inequitable distribution of resources. Still, the government rarely responds (Raphael et al. 2018), and the difference in social determinants indicates this.

Regarding the second article “We fail our citizens in Canada”; there are various issues that are very crucial in Canada, and are contrary to ideologies form the first article “Quality of life in Canada”. First of all, there are high poverty rates in Canada. According to the 2015 statistics report, about fourteen per cent (over 4.5 million people) of Canada citizens live in poverty.  What is more, over 15% of teenagers who are seventeen years and below life in poverty-stricken regions (Raphael et al. 2018). In contrast, the first article states that Canada ranks number one globally in terms of exemplary life (National bank, 2018). is wrong, and there is statistical evidence that proves there are high levels of social inequality in Canada. In other words, social determinants in Canada are facing enormous challenges.  At a personal level, the disparity of social status causes stress and poor health (Raphael, 2017, p.43). Usually, social determinants evolve around the quality and quantity of precise resources that are made available by the society. They include, but not limited to, employment opportunities, health care availability, education and social services. Amongst developed countries, Canada scores the worst due to the high rates of low-paid employment opportunities..

One in five children lives in low-income families (Raphael, 2017, p.77). Life in Canada is not as enjoyable as putting in the first article; however, the material is for marketing purposes since the National Bank wrote it of Canada. Such companies (banks, hotels, game reserves) usually do so to appear attractive and appealing to their consumers who are in Canada and around the globe. Besides, it is common knowledge that ordinary people will always prefer flashy cooperates and countries, to poverty-stricken regions.  Other interests that could be presenting Canada as the country with the best quality of life are the high-income earners.  They live in safe neighbourhoods and work in an efficient environment. As a result, the work environment is a vital social determinant. It serves the purpose of shaping the work dimension to ensure well-being.  Secondly, it determines the mode of labour compensation like salaries and they are adequate.

Despite the disparities between the first and second article, both articles have facts in them. And the difference results from the gap in the social status of Canadian citizens. For the wealthy and high-income earners, the first article will make sense to them. On the other hand, the 4.5 million Canadian citizens living in poverty will object to the fact that amongst all developed nations, Canada has the best quality of life (Raphael et al. 2018). Citizens from poverty-stricken regions have extensive physiological challenges. Physiological performance is affected by the work and social environment concerning the capability of meeting basic needs. For the immigrants and Canadian minorities, they continuously experience stigma due to exclusion from accessing various services. Therefore, they have to adopt coping mechanisms.  On the contrary, efficient distribution of resources within the high social status individuals ensures the presence of diverse experiences which in turn promotes their health and well-being.  The work environment for the rich is usually conducive while that of their inferior counterparts is very poor, and this explains the different content from both articles.

For the wealthy group in Canada, the country is a haven.  According to their experiences, Canada has a breathtaking environment. In that, there are adequate open spaces, and in that category, it is the second country after Russia (National bank, 2018). Also, the wealthy enjoy Canada’s great outdoor destinations like   Banff National Park and Jasper National Park.  According to the wealthy class in Canada, security is adequate, and one can move around freely. Also, they believe that over eighty per cent of Canadians feel safe to walk around at night. By the way, these are all facts, but they only apply to the rich people’s neighbourhood. Radicalized groups face huge earning disadvantage as compared to whites (Raphael, 2017, p.79). The minority groups populate many poverty-stricken regions and immigrants; therefore, the wealthy view immigrants as socially challenged incompetent individuals due to violence and crime in their communities.  Social determinants are related in the following ways: the social structure determines the attainability of primary resources by Canadian citizens (Raphael, 2017, p. 41). What is more, it defines the precise work conditions that people experience before they access material and social resources. Wealthy people believe that scholars in York university are at the same social level; just because do not have extensive information regarding social aspects of other people all they know is they are wealthy as so is everyone else.

References

National Bank (2018, September 25). Quality of life in Canada. Retrieved from https://www.nbc.ca/personal/advice/immigration/quality-of-life-in-canada.html

Raphael, D. (2017). Social Determinants of Health: Canadian Perspectives, 3rd edition. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press Incorporated.

Raphael, D.,  Komakech, M., Torrnce, R. and Bryant, T. (2018, September 27). We fail our citizens in Canada, and the UN is onto us. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/we-fail-our-citizens-in-canada-and-the-un-is-onto-us-103894