People around the world view Canada as "very hip" because of its
"progressive" health care and environmental policies,
actor/impersonator Martin Short contended in a soundbite featured in a
Thursday NBC Nightly News story looking at how, on the eve of the
Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canadians perceive themselves.
In his story, NBC reporter Kevin Tibbles, a native of Canada, also
aired a clip from Morton Weinfeld, of Montreal's McGill University, who
asserted: "Canada is this peaceable kingdom. It's this decent place. Decency is not that exciting." Short (IMDb page [1]), a Saturday Night Live veteran now starring on FX's Damages, declared:
As a Canadian, when I travel the world I find that people find being Canadian to be very hip because we have been progressive in health care, and we have been progressive in environmental issues. And I think that we now wear that with great pride.
- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center