Friday, September 20, 2019

Walter Block in 'The Wall Street Journal' on Canadian Cruelty

U.S. Largess vs. Canadian Cruelty
By Walter E. Block

Canada doesn’t always live up to its reputation as kinder and gentler than the U.S. Consider the victims of Hurricane Dorian, which pulverized eastern North Carolina as well as the provinces of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

North of the border, the government has a harsh policy: forceful buyouts. Hundreds of homeowners will be ordered to go live somewhere else. The public treasury will help them resettle, but they won’t have any choice in the matter. In Gatineau, Quebec, a city near Ottawa hit by serious floods in both 2017 and 2019, residents were told that if the damages amounted to half or more of the value of their homes, they must pick up stakes and depart.

The U.S. takes the opposite approach. The Outer Banks of North Carolina have been hit by three hurricanes in the past four years. The government offered subsidies to residents who stayed put and rebuilt.

Read the rest here.



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