CANADA'S THIRD WORLD PRICES 

DO YOU SOMETIMES WONDER WHY FOREIGNERS ARE FLOCKING TO CANADA?

IT'S BECAUSE CANADA IS AN INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRY WITH THIRD WORLD PRICES.!

"OUR PRICES ARE ALREADY TOO HIGH", CANADIANS SCREAM. THAT JUST ISN'T SO. HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES:

FOR THE PAST 11 YEARS I HAVE LIVED IN DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER -- ON A HOUSEBOAT. IT IS SMALL BY WEST COAST SPLIT-LEVEL STANDARDS: 850 SQUARE FEET, 80 PERCENT OF WHICH IS CRAMMED WITH ELECTRONIC TOYS AND OFFICE EQUIPMENT. MY MOORAGE FEE MIGHT SEEM EXPENSIVE AT $700 A MONTH. IF THE HOUSEBOAT WERE RENTED OUT, IT MIGHT BRING IN $1,000 A MONTH. THAT'S $12,000 A YEAR OR $14 A SQUARE FOOT.

THE SAME MOORAGE SPACE, IF YOU COULD FIND IT, IN TOKYO WOULD BE ONE THOUSAND PERCENT HIGHER !! THAT'S RIGHT ... TEN TIMES HIGHER THAN NORMAL NORTH AMERICAN RENTS. AT $140 A SQUARE FOOT, IMAGINE THE MONTHLY RENT FOR A RESIDENCE IN TOKYO. THE LAND ON TOKYO'S GINZA STRIP (DOWNTOWN DEPARTMENT STORE BUSINESS AREA) COVERED BY A TELEPHONE BOOTH (ONE SQUARE METRE) WOULD COST ABOUT TWO MILLION DOLLARS!!

THE EMPEROR'S "BACK YARD" IN TOKYO CURRENTLY HAS A HIGHER VALUE THAN ALL THE REAL ESTATE IN CALIFORNIA!!. THE LAND WITHIN A 15 MILE RADIUS OF THAT BACKYARD HAS A HIGHER VALUE THAN ALL THE LAND IN AMERICA!

IN LONDON THE SAME MOORAGE SPACE FOR MY HOUSEBOAT WOULD COST FIVE TIMES AS MUCH, OR $3,500 A MONTH. MANY OTHER WORLD CENTRES ARE EQUALLY EXPENSIVE. EVEN SOME THIRD-WORLD COUNTRY CAPITALS ARE IN THE SAME LEAGUE.

DURING 1985 AND 1986, I MADE FOUR TRIPS TO JAPAN. THAT WAS IN THE DAYS, LONG LONG AGO, WHEN THINGS THERE WERE RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE. A CUP OF COFFEE IN THE BEST HOTELS WAS ONLY $3.

ROY JONES OF TORONTO HAS JUST RETURNED FROM TOKYO, WHERE HE GAVE SEMINARS ON CREATIVITY, INNOVATION AND PROBLEM-SOLVING. HE SAID THE $25 HAMBURGER AT HIS HOTEL WAS DELICIOUS. HE REMARKED, THOUGH, THAT HE PASSED ON A $9 GLASS OF ORANGE JUICE.

"HE SHOULD SHOP IN THE SUPERMARKET LIKE THE REST OF US" YOU SAY. HE TRIED THAT. MUSK MELONS (SIMILAR TO OUR CANTALOUPE) COST $120 A PAIR! EVEN HE COULDN'T AFFORD THAT.

SO HE WENT BACK TO HIS HOTEL ROOM TO RECOVER, BUT INADVERTENTLY READ THE POSTED ROOM RATE. AS THIS IS A FAMILY BOOK, I AM UNABLE TO RELATE HIS REMARKS AFTER SEEING THE PRICE.

ANOTHER FRIEND, WHO DOES CONSULTING WORK IN JAPAN MENTIONED THAT A ROUND OF GOLF COSTS $275. TENNIS? $35 FOR 15 MINUTES. HIKING: ONE DAY, $500 PER COUPLE. TO DRIVE ONE HOUR OUTSIDE TOKYO: $65 IN HIGHWAY TOLL CHARGES. MANDATORY CAR INSPECTION DURING YEARS TWO, FOUR AND SIX OF OWNERSHIP: $2,000 EACH; THEREAFTER UP TO $3,000 ANNUALLY. SO THERE ARE NO OLD CARS IN JAPAN -- SOME ARE COMPACTED WITH ONLY 60,000 KILOMETRES ON THE ODOMETER. IN GREATER TOKYO, WITH 25 MILLION PEOPLE, YOU NOW NEED A PARKING PERMIT ($2,000) BEFORE YOU CAN PURCHASE A CAR. THEN YOU PAY $600 TO $700 A MONTH FOR A SMALL CAR SPACE.

"MANSION APARTMENTS" -- MANSION RELATES TO THE PRICE, NOT SIZE OR GRANDEUR -- RENT FOR $1,200 TO $5,000 A MONTH, FOR 500 SQUARE FEET. MY FRIEND PAYS $1500 AND 55 MINUTES A DAY IN TRAVELLING TIME FOR HIS 580 SQUARE FEET. THE GOOD SIDE -- FOR SOME: HOME PRICES HAVE INCREASED 36 TIMES DURING THE PAST 15 YEARS. MY FRIEND -- AND HE'S THIN -- SPENDS $1100 A MONTH FOR FOOD. EVEN SOME WORDS HAVE CHANGED. WHAT WE CALL A "DINGHY", THE JAPANESE NOW CALL A YACHT.

A RECENT SURVEY TAKEN IN JAPAN SHOWED THAT 53 PERCENT OF ALL "SALARYMEN" (OFFICE WORKERS FOR PRIVATE COMPANIES) WOULD RETIRE OVERSEAS IF ASKED. THEY CHOSE AUSTRALIA, CANADA AND SPAIN, IN THAT ORDER. THIS MAKES THE JAPANESE THE WORLD'S RICHEST EMIGRANTS EVER TO LEAVE THEIR HOMELAND.

LIVING IN NORTH AMERICA IS EXPENSIVE, YOU SAY? TRY A TRIP TO TOKYO.

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