Hello all,
Interesting discussion. My two cents:
I love Canada, great place to live and IMHO the best place to live. I've spent much time in Asia, ME, Western Europe living temporarily (six months and less per stay) and I am born and raised Canadian. I have little & big Bus, skinny & fat Boeing, long and short haul experience and I worked the bottom right through the system in Canadian aviation to where I am now. I have flown with many and varied FOs from all ages and many countries.
What a blast! My back does a twitch when I reminisce about the first three thousand hours or so of starting at the bottom in Northern Canada. It was a lot of awkward lifting - chartacter building, they say... The places, people and things you see! The stuff you haul! People have called me a liar to my face when I talk about some of those things - it really is unbelievable stuff to all except who have done it. Priceless.
Would I have preferred to go through the European Cadet System? Yep. Do I like the way Canadian aviation is by career progression? Nope. Do I envy the guys/gals who get a Captain slot at a major at age twenty five? Yep. Do I think that we could learn a lot from our European friends by way of training methods and standards? Yep, and we are slowly to much faster in the future as we evolve. Because of our "out of the bush" progression, do I think we have something many Europeans don't in the "bag of tricks"? Yep.
I have lived in YZF, YVR, YYZ, YYC and many smaller towns/cities across Canada as well as the previously mentioned world-wide regions. Specifically; DUB, DXP, JED, ALG, MLE, MXP, CDG, HLP, MAN, AUH... I digress.
With reference to YYZ's downtown core and comparison to a European city, you are right. You will find, as a European person, that you will come to any Canadian city or town and become bored out of your mind. If you are coming to Canada to enjoy our country because of our night life and downtown cores - don't bother, save your money and go somewhere else (Halifax/Montreal being the exception
). Our country is based on
its country. If you want to come to Canada and slow right down, taste life and enjoy the scenery from skates, skiis, canoes, kayaks, ATVs, big SUVs, snowmobiles or a light Cessna - then you're coming to the right place.
What's my point? Your European cities are beautiful for a short and fun time and the history...wow! Your career progression has us in envy. Your countrysides are beautiful as well. I prefer Canada. It is big. It is beautiful. It is diverse. It is still maturing. It is full of polite people.
Hole is dug'n da helmet's on!