A February 16 Business Insurance survey of liability controversies in other countries ("Tort reform efforts not confined to United States") reports that in Canada "pain-and-suffering awards are capped at about $280,000 Canadian ($210,000)". Assuming this information is accurate, this is the first time I can recall reading about it in the U.S. press. Even the most obvious difference between Canadian and American litigation procedure -- the operation of a loser-pays rule there but not here -- is little explored in our press. Wouldn't it be helpful if American publications occasionally assigned a reporter to visit Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver and perhaps determine whether ordinary persons caught up in legal disputes in those cities are terrified by what American lawyers might believe to be the harshness of these rules, what the effects may be on dispute resolution and on liability insurance rates, and so on?