Good, bad and ugly after a year in city

After 15 years away, I had the opportunity in 2023 to come back to Windsor, the city where I grew up.

I always knew that I would end up leaving Canada to live in Belgium (my mother is from Belgium and it always felt like home).

Nevertheless, I appreciate that Windsor played an important role in my life. So when the opportunity came (via my employer) to work for 12 months in Canada, I knew it was something that had to be seized.

It was wonderful to see family and friends, to visit places all over Ontario, and show my wife and son where I grew up. It also gave me time to reflect on where Canada finds itself and where it is going.

The Good: Friendly, welcoming and generous.

All words that can easily be used to describe Canadians, and a relief to know that this has not changed since I left back in 2007.

The Bad: Cars, cars and bigger cars.

While I am certainly not of the opinion that fully electric cars are the ultimate solution, I was saddened to see the number of fuel-inefficient vehicles on the road as well as the frequency with which people use them. As for public transportation, it seems to be virtually nonexistent outside of the Toronto area.

The Ugly: Health care, education, lack of affordable housing and (mass) immigration.

Where to begin? Perhaps it's better not to ...(anyway, these letters are limited to 300 words).

Whatever happens next, I do hope Canada manages to sort out the major issues with which it is confronted.

I will be following closely what happens and looking forward to future visits.

Greetings from Belgium. Paul Brooks, Belgium