Feb 17, 2020
Read the story of how a woman from St.Gallen imported the Canadian board/card game “Tock” from Quebec to Switzerland (rebaptized “Dog”). The game is very similar to the game “Sorry!” but it uses cards instead of dice.
https://www.fm1today.ch/ostschweiz/diese-st-gallerin-brachte-das-spiel-dog-in-die-schweiz-136331131 [in German]
Feb 16, 2020
Amy Klobuchar, American senator from Minnesota and current presidential candidate for the democratic party, has a Swiss and Canadian past! Ms. Klobuchar’s grand-parents emigrated to the USA from Switzerland in the 1920s and landed at Ellis Island, NY. However, they were turned away because the monthly quota for Swiss immigrants had already been reached. Ms. Klobuchar’s grand-parents therefore went to Canada for one week and re-entered the USA from this time as a foreign alien from Canada.
https://www.lematin.ch/monde/grandpere-suisse-s-invite-presidentielle/story/15455664 [in French]
Feb 15, 2020
The best cities to live in for European expats are in Switzerland and the Netherlands, according to a report from ECA International. According to the same report Toronto and Vancouver are the highest ranked cities outside Europe, and they rank even higher than Berlin or Madrid. Some of the factors considered were transport links, the standard of healthcare and political stability.
https://innovationorigins.com/global-liveability-report-dutch-and-swiss-cities-ideal-for-european-expats/
Feb 13, 2020
What does diversity mean in different countries? On World Radio Day (Feb 13), various national broadcasters gave an insight into what the term means in their respective countries. Radio Canada conducted interviews with the Swiss, the Romanian and Czech public broadcasters who have all very different takes on what diversity means in their societies. Listen to the interviews on the web page below.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/fre/journ%C3%A9e-mondiale-de-la-radio_la-diversit%C3%A9-entre-la-suisse--le-canada--la-r%C3%A9publique-tch%C3%A8que-et-la-roumanie/45555134 [in French]
Feb 12, 2020
An analysis of why Canadian hospital beds are overcrowded from the Toronto Sun. The author compares Canadian hospitals specifically to Swiss hospitals and notes that are three main reasons why capacity is so stretched: limited resources, government-only funding, patients never share the cost of treatment. Canada is one of the universal health care systems with the fewest acute-care hospital beds (2 per 1,000, Switzerland has 3 per 1,000)
https://o.canada.com/opinion/barua-three-reasons-why-our-hospitals-are-overcrowded/wcm/f23cc1e6-e766-4cf6-8f33-377e09f48e1e
Feb 13, 2020
Contentment with democracy is high in Canada and in Switzerland. Unlike many countries where polarization is on the rise and dissatisfaction among voters is also on the rise, countries with proportional representation seem to be bucking that trend, because, according to the article, this type of government encourages more collaboration. Switzerland is an example with a proportional electoral system. And even though Canada has a majoritarian system dissatisfaction is not as high as in the USA, possibly because there are more than just two parties to pick from.
https://www.sightmagazine.com.au/14792-essay-where-are-people-satisfied-with-democracy-and-why
Feb 10, 2020
Pilatus Aircraft of Stans (Nidwalden) is testing its PC-24 airplane in the far north of Quebec, in Kuujjuaq, to be exact. Pilatus is seeking certification for rough field runways: this certification will allow it to use about twice as many airports as similar jets. Rough field runways include unpaved, grass and snow covered runways.
https://www.wingsmagazine.com/pilatus-uses-kuujjuaq-airport-for-pc-24-rough-field-campaign/
Feb 5, 2020
First and second positions at the World-Holstein-Champion went to Switzerland and Canada respectively! Du Rahun Chelios Helin, a cow from Iffwil (Berne) took the honours in front of Idee Windbrook Lynzi, from Rimouski (Quebec). It had been three years since Switzerland had won the world title.
https://www.schweizerbauer.ch/tiere/milchvieh/weltsiegerin-kommt-aus-der-schweiz-55454.html [in German]
Jan 28, 2020
Listen to a radio report from 1965 that was recently re-broadcast by rts.ch about French Swiss (romands) immigrants who came to Quebec in the 1960s. These immigrants were motivated by possibilities that they would not have found in Switzerland.
https://www.rts.ch/play/radio/point-de-fuite/audio/point-de-fuite-des-suisses-a-la-conquete-du-canada?id=11011584 [in French]
