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), 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.
