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Jul. 5, 2003. 08:22 AM
Canada slips on U.N. list
We drop to 8th place in index based on quality of life
U.S., Australia, even Belgium ranked as better places to live
JESSICA LEEDER
STAFF REPORTER
For the first time in more than a decade Canada has slipped below the United States, Australia and Belgium as the world's best place to live, according to a United Nations quality of life report.
This year's Human Development Index, part of the U.N.'s Human Development Report 2003, ranks Canada as the 8th best country in the world in terms of living conditions. The ranking is based on 2001 data.
Last year Canada lost its stranglehold of nearly a decade on the top spot when it ranked third, behind Norway and Sweden.
Immediate reasons for the further drop in Canada's rankings are not explained in the report. However, certain figures, when compared with other nations, speak for themselves.
The report cited an overall drop in Canada's GDP when compared with American numbers. Canada's GDP per capita is also down.
In 2001, Canada reportedly had 186 doctors per 100,000 people. The U.S. had 276, Belgium 395 and Norway 413.
The report also shows the U.S. attracts significantly more people to work in research and development fields than Canada. Additional figures place Canadian unemployment rates in 2001 at 7.2 per cent, while the U.S. figure was 4.8 per cent and Norway's 3.5 per cent.
Youth unemployment in Canada was also higher than in the U.S. for the same period.
Critics of the rankings say the index lags years behind, telling more about where Canada has been than where it is going.
In 1992, the Human Development Index ranked Canada number 1 under Brian Mulroney's government. Since then, the Chrétien government has often used the ranking to boast that Canada is the best country in the world in which to live.
But yesterday, when asked about the new ranking, Stephen Hogue, the deputy director of communications in the Prime Minister's Office, told the Star's Les Whittington: "We don't have any comment on that."
"We will make comments when the report is released."
In Calgary, Deputy Prime Minister John Manley said the drop was notable but downplayed its significance.
"We ought to figure out what we need to do to do better," Manley said. "We should take it as a sign we need to do better and not take it as a criticism," he said, noting Canada is still well up in the international rankings.
Canadian Alliance House Leader John Reynolds said in an interview the U.N. ranking simply confirms what the Alliance has been saying.
"Our standard of living has come down. You just have to cross the border to see that. Now the truth is coming home to roost."
It's clear the Alliance will use the latest U.N. classification as fuel in the political battles that lie ahead.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`We're overtaxed, overburdened and our standard of living is dropping'
—Canadian Alliance House leader John Reynolds
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Paul Martin has been in charge of this country for 10 years, as much as Jean Chrétien has," said Reynolds.
"And there's no question this is a reflection on Paul Martin.
"We're overtaxed, overburdened and our standard of living is dropping.
"Now the United Nations is saying what we in the Canadian Alliance have been saying, and I can't wait for the next election."
Reynolds said the Liberals are counting on a bump in the polls with the selection of a new leader but added Martin will not be "the next saviour."
The focus of the 2003 index, which ranks 175 countries based on 2001 data, is on life expectancy, education, health, income, poverty and the environment.
For the second year in a row, Norway is ranked number 1, followed by Iceland, Sweden, Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, the U.S., then Canada.
The top and the bottom of the index remain unchanged from last year: Sierra Leone is on the bottom, with a life expectancy of just 34 years.
The remainder of the list will be officially released next week.
However, the report shows that overall in many countries women, the rural poor and ethnic minorities do not get their fair share of increased social spending.
Data reveal patterns of discrimination in terms of access to education, health care, safe water and sanitation.
Developed in 1990, the index takes stock of fundamental aspects of human development in rich and poor countries.
Almost all the countries ranked as having "low human development" — 30 out of 34 — are in sub-Saharan Africa, where the devastation of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and related drops in life expectancy are largely responsible for this year's index declines.
In one of the more dramatic drops in rankings, South Africa has fallen 28 spots from 1990, mainly due to high numbers of young people dying from AIDS-related illnesses.
Roughly half of the countries in Latin American and the Caribbean recorded either a decline or stagnation in income during the 1990s, according to the report.
These trends, the report says, are an "urgent call for action to address health and education as well as income levels in these countries."
with files from Tonda MacCharles
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Legal Notice:- Copyright 1996-2003. Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Distribution, transmission or republication of any material from www.thestar.com is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. For information please contact us using our webmaster form.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
Jul. 5, 2003. 08:22 AM
Canada slips on U.N. list
We drop to 8th place in index based on quality of life
U.S., Australia, even Belgium ranked as better places to live
JESSICA LEEDER
STAFF REPORTER
For the first time in more than a decade Canada has slipped below the United States, Australia and Belgium as the world's best place to live, according to a United Nations quality of life report.
This year's Human Development Index, part of the U.N.'s Human Development Report 2003, ranks Canada as the 8th best country in the world in terms of living conditions. The ranking is based on 2001 data.
Last year Canada lost its stranglehold of nearly a decade on the top spot when it ranked third, behind Norway and Sweden.
Immediate reasons for the further drop in Canada's rankings are not explained in the report. However, certain figures, when compared with other nations, speak for themselves.
The report cited an overall drop in Canada's GDP when compared with American numbers. Canada's GDP per capita is also down.
In 2001, Canada reportedly had 186 doctors per 100,000 people. The U.S. had 276, Belgium 395 and Norway 413.
The report also shows the U.S. attracts significantly more people to work in research and development fields than Canada. Additional figures place Canadian unemployment rates in 2001 at 7.2 per cent, while the U.S. figure was 4.8 per cent and Norway's 3.5 per cent.
Youth unemployment in Canada was also higher than in the U.S. for the same period.
Critics of the rankings say the index lags years behind, telling more about where Canada has been than where it is going.
In 1992, the Human Development Index ranked Canada number 1 under Brian Mulroney's government. Since then, the Chrétien government has often used the ranking to boast that Canada is the best country in the world in which to live.
But yesterday, when asked about the new ranking, Stephen Hogue, the deputy director of communications in the Prime Minister's Office, told the Star's Les Whittington: "We don't have any comment on that."
"We will make comments when the report is released."
In Calgary, Deputy Prime Minister John Manley said the drop was notable but downplayed its significance.
"We ought to figure out what we need to do to do better," Manley said. "We should take it as a sign we need to do better and not take it as a criticism," he said, noting Canada is still well up in the international rankings.
Canadian Alliance House Leader John Reynolds said in an interview the U.N. ranking simply confirms what the Alliance has been saying.
"Our standard of living has come down. You just have to cross the border to see that. Now the truth is coming home to roost."
It's clear the Alliance will use the latest U.N. classification as fuel in the political battles that lie ahead.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`We're overtaxed, overburdened and our standard of living is dropping'
—Canadian Alliance House leader John Reynolds
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Paul Martin has been in charge of this country for 10 years, as much as Jean Chrétien has," said Reynolds.
"And there's no question this is a reflection on Paul Martin.
"We're overtaxed, overburdened and our standard of living is dropping.
"Now the United Nations is saying what we in the Canadian Alliance have been saying, and I can't wait for the next election."
Reynolds said the Liberals are counting on a bump in the polls with the selection of a new leader but added Martin will not be "the next saviour."
The focus of the 2003 index, which ranks 175 countries based on 2001 data, is on life expectancy, education, health, income, poverty and the environment.
For the second year in a row, Norway is ranked number 1, followed by Iceland, Sweden, Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, the U.S., then Canada.
The top and the bottom of the index remain unchanged from last year: Sierra Leone is on the bottom, with a life expectancy of just 34 years.
The remainder of the list will be officially released next week.
However, the report shows that overall in many countries women, the rural poor and ethnic minorities do not get their fair share of increased social spending.
Data reveal patterns of discrimination in terms of access to education, health care, safe water and sanitation.
Developed in 1990, the index takes stock of fundamental aspects of human development in rich and poor countries.
Almost all the countries ranked as having "low human development" — 30 out of 34 — are in sub-Saharan Africa, where the devastation of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and related drops in life expectancy are largely responsible for this year's index declines.
In one of the more dramatic drops in rankings, South Africa has fallen 28 spots from 1990, mainly due to high numbers of young people dying from AIDS-related illnesses.
Roughly half of the countries in Latin American and the Caribbean recorded either a decline or stagnation in income during the 1990s, according to the report.
These trends, the report says, are an "urgent call for action to address health and education as well as income levels in these countries."
with files from Tonda MacCharles
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAQs| Site Map| Privacy Policy| Webmaster| Subscribe| My Subscription
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Home| GTA| Business| Waymoresports| A&E| Life
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Legal Notice:- Copyright 1996-2003. Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Distribution, transmission or republication of any material from www.thestar.com is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. For information please contact us using our webmaster form.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net