Category: Oh Canada
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The government wants you to pick your TV channels. Here’s why it won’t happen.
So around the middle of last week or so, there was a big to-do around the speech from the throne–that’s the kickoff to the new legislative session, for those folks what read this who aren’t up on their Canadian politics. The government’s decided, what with it being 2 years before … Read the rest
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The Sun News issue, from a sports fan’s perspective: what gives, #CRTC?
You can be forgiven if you’re only now remotely aware there’s a thing called Sun News, nevermind that it has an axe to grind with the CRTC. Its issue, which is a fair one insofar as there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell the playing field will change in … Read the rest
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Please, by all means, be idle no more.
For anyone not living in Canada, or anyone living in Canada who’s decided now would be a fine time to secure themselves under a rock, it might have gone missed that, for lack of a better way to put it, the natives are getting restless. They’ve started a series of … Read the rest
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Question, #Ottawa. What the hell happened to our 1500 winter warnings?
So coming on the end of November, we were still dealing with temperatures mostly above freezing. I mean sure, okay–there was that one minor little snow scare that made me go “oh shit where’s my portable shovel” a couple weeks ago, but for the most part, it’s been actually, you … Read the rest
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In which the government catches up to the rest of the world. Again.
For years, you couldn’t do anything without them wanting to run a credit check on you. Wanna rent an apartment? Credit check. Apply for a mortgage, or creditcard? Credit check. Sign up with most cell phone cariers? … Yeah. You get the picture. Pretty effective way of keeping an eye … Read the rest
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The social insurance card is fired as of next year.
If you have a social insurance number, which you must if you plan to do something as simple as, you know, work in Canada, you may find yourself surprised next year. In March, anyone in need of a new or replacement social insurance card will instead be sent a letter … Read the rest
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Wanna be a Canadian citizen? Brush up on your official language of choice…
From the “it’s about goddamn time” department, the folks what run this country are actually doing something else that makes sense and is long overdue. For folks not so familiar with the workings of Canada, we have two official languages. Well, unless you live in Quebec–then there’s one, with grudging … Read the rest
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The government plans to catch up to 2012–in 2016.
Forget about trying to bring ODSP up to date–a thing I’ve been doing off and on for a couple years, now. Somebody’s been prodding the federal government in the ass a time or six. They’ve now decided, scheduled for 2016, that any and all payments from them–like, say, your income … Read the rest
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Giorgio Mammoliti on Toronto: We want to be our own have-not province!
Toronto has all manner of somewhat decent hockey teams–hey, the Leafs aren’t in last place yet, okay? But I’d still rather gouge my own eyes out with a pitchfork than consider living there. One of the reasons for that would be city councellor Giorgio Mammoliti, who’s recently made headlines for … Read the rest
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More on Ontario’s choice between the same, the same, and the same. Rent increases!
So yesterday, partially inspired by a conversation I had with Trish and Roger over the weekend, I explained–not for the first time–in detail why it is this provincial election thing just isn’t doing it for me. And why the federal election–only a few months ago, for the record–did only … Read the rest