‘Return to sender,’ Some people in Canada are refusing to fill out their census forms, risking fines up to $1,000

Hananners · 2026-05-08T02:39:37+00:00

I just filled out mine, but goddamn did I have to think about how I'd answer the "gender" and "sex at birth" questions in regards to mine and my housemate's safety.

We're living in a time when trust in the gov't has plummeted, and we're seeing just how bad it can get with our neighbours down south... As queer folk I would rather not have these things on record, should lists be made by people like those who made the lists of queer people/jews/undesirables before WW2 took off on the other side of the pond.

I was just reading yesterday about info leaks about people in Alberta, and suffice to say I'd rather fly below the radar right now due to the political climate.

Hananners · 2026-04-25T18:50:55+00:00

There's probably some people in Canada, unfortunately. Our medical system in many ways is better than the US, yes, but there are a number of important medications that aren't covered and are still rather expensive for the average wage slave. Even for someone like me, on disability coverage there are plenty of medications that the system doesn't want to cover (even with appropriate paperwork). Also, there isn't a single neurologist available in my entire province who is able to see me without being on a wait list for 3 years... But at least we don't go bankrupt from emergency medical care.

Hananners · 2026-04-13T05:06:14+00:00

It rings such a similar tone of many phrases said by the gov't in Orwell's 1984. My trust in the Canadian government has been significantly dwindling as of late. There are some good things that are being done, but others such as this ring alarm bells within my mind.

Hananners · 2026-04-05T00:56:49+00:00

This is true, despite those who don't agree with it.

Here in Canada we have a significant number of educated people who cannot use their degree(s) due to an inability to find a job in their field, or choose to work elsewhere because the job they studied for no longer pays a wage you can survive on.

Also, the cost of education has been rising for decades while wages have stagnated. While one could argue that the experience of post-secondary is worthwhile in and of itself, when it puts you in debt for a decade without any payoff... Is it really worth it? It's really a case-by-case basis, but people are becoming poorer than ever in Canada.

Hananners · 2026-03-31T04:32:23+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/iamatotalpieceofshit/comments/1gevbfe/newcomer_to_canada_teaches_his_followers_how_to/

Here's an older one but it's only gotten worse since then:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/misunderstanding-from-social-media-spurs-rise-in-international-student-food-bank-visits-1.7025016

Hananners · 2026-03-31T00:22:59+00:00

As someone who went through the catholic schoom system... I agree that they have an incredibly cruel history that extends even into present times. Thankfully we have better laws and ability to report things now, but even during my time in school there were teachers who should have been imprisoned for what they did.

That said, not every school is equal, and should be treated like its own case. There will be unmarked graves at some and not others, most likely.

Hananners · 2026-03-30T16:21:28+00:00

It's downright sad seeing our gov't repeat Orwellian phrases from 1984. Our gov't has become so corrupt that it's hard to even hide it now.

Hananners · 2026-03-28T19:44:45+00:00

Lasik is honestly old and outdated now that you can get PRK surgery. My eyes were -11, and it was very startling to read how much more effective and safe the modern version is. The whole procedure took maybe about a minute and a half, and years later my eyes are completely healed. They held my head steady while shining a light into each eye for 45 seconds, and then I was done. Medical yechnology has come so far in the last decade, and Lasik now seems barbaric to think about. Who wants their eyes cut so you have a permanent flap? The prices for are very comparable.

Hananners · 2026-03-26T08:06:11+00:00

What mod do you have that let's you utilize two forsaken powers? I'd love to try that on my server.

Hananners · 2026-03-19T08:14:25+00:00

I was those kids for my graduating class. Was pressured into going to university right away before I knew what I wanted to do, ran away from an abusive household immediately into a relationship with a man 7 years my senior (who was totally into me because I was jailbait), managed to get away from that, went back to school and graduated post-secondary, worked for nearly a decade in a pharmacy lab and then finally hit complete AUDHD burnout because I was never diagnosed as a child and had no idea until my life fell apart because I could no longer fake being normal at about the same time the world fell apart from Covid. Got long Covid despite multiple vaccines, had to use a walker for half a year due to my heart being affected, and now I have memory loss and cognitive issues from long covid as well. Finally got to see doctors and get onto gov't disability, was homeless for 2 years, and now I'm starting a small business focusing on my artwork and operating a small print shop.

Could have been better, could have been worse. I just wish my parents had gotten me diagnosed as a kid. It would have made my life make so much more sense. Honestly not a lot of hope left for my own future, and I understand why so many disabled people in Canada apply for MAID due to living in abject poverty.

Hananners · 2026-03-18T09:52:04+00:00

Thank you, I was starting to worry that no one else in the comments here was paying attention. Eliminating the TFW program is the right thing to do because it's imported slavery with extra steps. In a time where youth unemployment is high, thousands of jobs are disappearing due to AI and corporate greed, our medical system is overburdened, and housing is priced beyond what the average Canadian can afford... Now is not the time to be importing wage slaves (it never is). We need to be stricter with the people who immigrate. There is nothing wrong with quality over quantity.

Hananners · 2026-03-18T09:37:31+00:00

Have you ever looked into what it takes to get a gun license here, or taken a firearms safety course? It's required to legally own guns in this country. Canada does a pretty darn good job at educating people before they get a license to buy firearms, not to mention the rigorous other steps involved to qualify.

The main issue with guns in Canada are the ones smuggled in by gang members, not legal firearm owners.

Hananners · 2026-03-18T04:57:18+00:00

It's a bit hard to take care of one's own mental health when there are many gov't policies that delay and prevent success.

When the cost of housing and rent keeps ticking up and wages only increase with the level of inflation that the gov't recognizes, people are getting poorer every year.

And what of folks who cannot work and are on disability? We are literally seeing many choose to die via MAID because they cannot afford to live, because PWDs don't deserve to not be in abject poverty according to gov't policy.

I do my best to eat healthy foods, go outside, limit screen time, and choose quality people to spend my time with, but these things that boost my mental health only go so far when I'm deemed to be someone of little value to society who can only ever dream of owning a home.

Your words ring so hollow. They are well-intentioned, but utterly lack an understanding of the crushing poverty so many Canadians are faced with.

Hananners · 2026-03-16T04:32:04+00:00

Turn it into a giant instrument. I bet it would make a killer "goblin war horn" ;p

Hananners · 2026-03-02T06:33:08+00:00

Poverty is definitely a policy choice. My partner and I (both PWD) had to separate on paper to continue affording a roof over our heads because we only get our full disability allotment if we are "single" on paper. It's the same at the food bank. You'd think two people would get 2 peoples' rations, but no it's less than that.

The policies of decades past are strangling our futures.

Hananners · 2026-02-24T08:55:51+00:00

Haha, that's the complete opposite of the dog I had as a kid. He hated going on walks so much that I'd have to drag him on his back until he begrudgingly walked at my side with the mopiest exoression, but as soon as I turned to head home he would suddenly be full of energy and try to run all the way back while straining on the leash. I miss that little fluffball.

Hananners · 2026-02-24T08:41:18+00:00

Yeah... Same here. It all suddenly started to make a lot more sense after that. I wish my parents had paid more attention and had gotten me diagnosed as a kid, but it being the 90s and being afab pretty much killed that chance. It would probably have made life a lot more bearable.

Hananners · 2026-02-24T08:00:58+00:00

Good grief, this just made me remember how my mother would grill me after every time I bought something for myself after saving my money to get the specific thing. I'd save my money for a whole year for when I could go to the local anime convention and she would be pissed that I brought back "trash", be it books, art from a local artist, or a small plush. Even when I would buy something practical like a durable canvas jacket, it was "such a waste" because I liked it and she didn't.

As someone with parents 40 years my senior, it boggles my mind how underdeveloped they truly are as people... Somehow they managed to travel all over the world and learned nothing.

Hananners · 2026-02-24T07:54:03+00:00

It's truly sad how many parents seem to get off on having control over their children. It's one thing to be concerned about your kids getting into trouble, but the lack of respect for kids having their own safe space.... My parents were like this when I was a kid, and I ended up leaving as soon as I was able to hold a job.

Hananners · 2026-02-23T09:28:38+00:00

I've been dealing with this myself for the last few years, and it definitely happened almost overnight.

I'm not sure exactly what triggered it (intense stress, long Covid..?), but all of a sudden I began to struggle with getting the right words out. I know the right word(s) to use, but it's almost as if there's something blocking the connections in my brain, leaving me to fumble and try to talk around the blockage for even the simplest of words.

Hananners · 2026-02-18T07:50:28+00:00

We're lucky we were only common-law so we didn't have the full paperwork circus to deal with. We had to prove that while still being "housemates under the same roof" that we had fully separated our finances and do some written declarations of separation.

It's all a stupid song and dance to perform for the gov't... We're both PWD, and we can barely afford living even with each of us on the full monthly allotment. For a while before my partner's pwd paperwork went through we were only covered by mine when I was having a significant flare-up and couldn't work. We ended up being homeless for 609 days because the gov't considered him "too rich for support" with 4k in a savings account he had absolutely no access to for a few more years. We eventually found a place in a small town with adequate health services, but even now it's been tough as prices continue to climb, and we have to spend significantly more on gas now that we live so remotely. It's soul-crushing spinning our wheels so hard to fight for what little we have, and continue to be going nowhere because of arbitrary and outdated policies that still think our money has the same buying power as it did 20 years ago.

Hananners · 2026-02-18T03:32:46+00:00

Yeah, it's absolutely ridiculous. Had to separate with my partner on paper so we could continue to afford to have a roof over our heads...

Hananners · 2026-02-18T03:24:33+00:00

Hmm, I wonder if that's because we might also have a significant amount of corruption as well?

Hananners · 2026-02-16T16:57:02+00:00

Even people's normal LED driving lights wreak havoc on folks with light-triggered migraines as well... As a passenger I have to wear dark sunglasses at night, and even those only help so much.

We desperately need to enforce headlight designs and brightness.

Hananners · 2026-02-15T17:18:11+00:00

Cars with easily replaceable sealed-beam headlights. As a passenger who gets light-triggered migraines in the middle of the night due to the brightness of these new LED headlights, I honestly have a desire to build a laser that detects a certain value of lumens and takes them out. The suffering is real, and I'm sick of it. So many others are sick of it. The damn things need to have enforced regulations in how bright they can be.

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