[sunnykerr]

I'm not sure how worthwhile a news story this is, and lord knows the monarchy is controversial enough as is in Canada... But, in honour of Canada Day:

Queen calls Canada 'example to the world' Queen Elizabeth told 100,000 people on Parliament Hill on Thursday that she could think of no better reason to celebrate than Canada's 143rd birthday. The Queen was spending her first Canada Day in Ottawa since 1997. At 84, the Queen said she has witnessed more than half of Canada's national history and praised what Canada stands for. "This nation has dedicated itself to being a caring home for its own, a sanctuary for others and an example to the world," she said. The monarch earned a roar of applause when she mentioned a Canadian moment of pride — the gold medal win for Canada's men's Olympic hockey team. The Queen also praised the commitment of the Canadian Forces, and said Canada has reason for optimism, even in trying times. An estimated 100,000 party-goers packed Parliament Hill, compared with 35,000 last year. Many of the thousands arrived before dawn to ensure a front-row seat to see, and perhaps meet, the Queen during her walkabout scheduled for later in the day. The Queen spent Wednesday night at her official residence in Canada, Rideau Hall, and then sat for an official portrait on Thursday morning. With her personal Canadian flag flying from the Peace Tower, the Queen was honoured with a flypast by CF-18 jetfighters and another by the aerobatic Snowbirds, as well as a march-past by the Guard of Honour. The Queen was serenaded by Canadian artists including Quebec pop star Isabelle Boulay, bagpipers the Campbell Brothers, the Barenaked Ladies and the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir. She was also lauded by a host of luminaries, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, actor Christopher Plummer and figure skater Joannie Rochette, who received a warm round of applause from the spectators, many decked out in red and white. "Thank you for being there for me in my times of joy and sadness," said Rochette, who skated to a bronze medal in the Vancouver Olympics, just days after the sudden death of her mother. "I had the sense that all of Canada was cheering us on," she said in French. Canada Day celebrated abroad In England, thousands of people flocked to Trafalgar Square in London for Canada Day. "Every year we have had 30,000 to 50,000 people that come to the square over the course of the day," said Canadian High Commissioner James Wright. "It's a showcase of what's best about Canada." The festivities opened with a performance by the Canadian Tenors and included street hockey competitions. Visitors got to meet Mounties and see a totem pole being carved. Canadian wine, beer and Tim Hortons coffee were all on tap. Canadian music played all day, and the festivities will culminate in a huge concert in the evening. Visitors could also enjoy bison burgers. Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean celebrated Canada Day far from home. Jean was at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China, where she made a speech, led a maple leaf flag-raising ceremony and enjoyed some beef from home at the Canadian pavilion. Canadian troops in Afghanistan celebrated the nation's birthday by munching on hamburgers and hotdogs. Many wore red and white and listened to Bryan Adams tunes.

CBC News - Canada - Queen calls Canada 'example to the world'

[sunnykerr]

Sask. tornado survivors describe devastation People on a small Saskatchewan reserve say the devastation after a tornado this weekend is like something out of a movie. "I never thought it would ever happen to us," said Beverly Machiskinic of the Kawacatoose First Nation, 200 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon. Seventy people are homeless after the twister destroyed 15 homes in less than a minute when it touched down Friday night, band officials said. The tornado was initially rated as an F2 on the Fujita tornado damage scale, which has a maximum rating of F5. But on Sunday, Environment Canada officials said a further assessment of the damage showed the tornado was more likely an F3, with wind speeds estimated at about 300 km/h. "My brother-in-law's house is totally — no roof," Machiskinic said. "The farm is all demolished there." The tornado also damaged five other rural properties in the area, in some cases shredding entire farms. Candace Rosling's home was destroyed. She said she and her family hid in the basement as the tornado raged above. "Just to think we were all going to die together," Rosling said. "All we did was hold each other close and just told each other we loved each other. "We were just praying, 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus — have mercy.' And then it was over." How to help The Canadian Red Cross is accepting donations from people wanting to assist those affected by extreme weather in Western Canada. The agency said funds would support Red Cross efforts, such as cleanup kits, groceries and other items for immediate needs, as well as longer-term assistance, such as helping the hardest hit families with recovery planning as they work to rebuild their lives. The province has declared the community a disaster area and cleanup efforts have begun. The band's chief was optimistic the community would be rebuilt quickly and grateful no one was seriously hurt. "A few broken bones, scars, stuff like that," Darin Poorman said. "Cuts, bruises, but no lives lost." Red Cross officials are registering the evacuees and handing out food vouchers and clothing. Provincial social services officials were also at the reserve to ensure residents have day-to-day necessities such as diapers and medicine. About 100 community elders, children and expectant mothers have been moved to temporary accommodation at hotels or motels in nearby Wynyard and in Saskatoon, officials said. Other areas flooded The twister's devastation followed two other severe storm systems that caused damaging floods — especially in downtown Yorkton where many basements filled to their ceilings with water. About 350 property owners in Saskatchewan will qualify for disaster relief from the province after weeks of stormy weather that has destroyed homes and ravaged communities. Flooding is still affecting highways near Yorkton. Highway 47 south of Buchanan has been closed since Saturday because of water on the road. The provincial highways hotline said Highway 5 west of Humboldt was also closed and impassable. Driving restrictions were still in place on the Trans-Canada Highway near the Alberta border after several metres of pavement were washed away in flooding that hit that southwest part of the province a couple of weeks ago. Power problems A large storm system in Saskatchewan's north left about 2,000 people in the community of Cumberland House without power for more than a day after high winds levelled power poles. The lack of electricity brought further hardship to the area, which is already under a boil water advisory, said resident Real Carrier. Cumberland House is about 300 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. "Elderly people, young babies — they were starting to run out of water … there's no way people were going down to the river and grabbing buckets of water just to have fresh water," Carrier said. "And a lot of people were concerned, asking questions [like], 'why did it take so long?'" SaskPower spokeswoman Paula Kohl said the outage was longer than the company expected. When the poles toppled, there was structural damage to vital equipment, which needed to be tested before power could be restored, she said. Kohl added that the unprecedented moisture and extreme weather in the province have taxed SaskPower's systems. The best the company can do is respond to outages as quickly as possible, she said.

CBC News - Saskatchewan - Sask. tornado survivors describe devastation

This is scary! We don't get weather like this in these parts. We just don't.

[sunnykerr]

Fire causes Toronto blackouts and disrupts royal dinner A fire at a transformer station in Toronto has plunged parts of the Canadian city into darkness. Some 250,000 people were left without electricity for more than an hour during a heatwave, officials say. The underground system was affected and there was chaos on the roads during the evening rush hour as traffic lights went out. The blackout also briefly disrupted preparations for a state dinner for Queen Elizabeth II in the city. However, the dinner, which was to be hosted by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the Royal York Hotel, went ahead after a short delay. 'Trapped in lifts' The fire that caused the blackout happened at Manby transformer station, western Toronto, at about 16:45 local time, officials say. It happened when temperatures in Canada's largest city rose to 34C, Canada's CBC reports. It adds that at the height of the outage, stranded commuters filled the streets as police - and sometimes pedestrians - directed traffic. Some people trapped in lifts had to be rescued by fire-fighters, reports say. There were no reports of any injuries. The power began returning at 18:00. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

BBC News - Fire causes Toronto blackouts and disrupts royal dinner

Funnily enough, we had our own blackout this morning, here in Montreal. It looks like it was all over Canada, sporadically, throughout the day.

I hope the Queen was too put out.

[sunnykerr]

Portion of Seaway near Montreal closed by oil leak Crews were working to clean up an oily mess Tuesday after a Canada Steamship Lines vessel ran aground in the St. Lawrence Seaway just south of Montreal on Monday evening. The oil leak forced the closure of a section of the St. Lawrence Seaway Monday. The ship's fuel tank was reportedly punctured in the accident, allowing between 50 and 200 tonnes of oil to leak into the surrounding waters before the tank could be sealed. The spill covered an area about 500 metres by 500 metres. "The leak has now been completely contained," said Andrew Bogora, communications officer for the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. "The Sainte-Catherine lock has also been sealed, so water is no longer running through the area, which ensures that the spill remains in place." Officials with Environment Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard and Quebec civil authorities were on the scene Tuesday morning to monitor the cleanup. SIMEC, a private firm specializing in environmental remediation, was called in to soak up the oil, Bogora said. Transport Minister John Baird said Canada has tough regulations, and that the government would do its best to enforce them. "Obviously, we're following it very closely, we have our officials on hand (and) we'll do everything we can to assist local officials," said Baird at a news conference regarding the passage of the government's budget legislation. "Obviously, there will be an investigation (and) the first priority is to contain the spill." Nearby communities were also advised to check their water filtration facilities for any signs of oil contamination. It is still unclear why the ship ran aground, Bogora said. "The ship did lose power and drifted out of the navigation channel," he said. "As to why it lost power, we still don't have that information." The vessel, a 28595 DWT bulk carrier carrying 25,000 ... tonnes of wheat, experienced propulsion problems while outbound on the St. Lawrence Seaway near Ste Catherine at 7:30 p.m. Monday July 12," Canada Steamship Lines said in a release. "As per standard emergency procedures, the vessel dropped anchors to regain control. Unfortunately a sudden squall caused the vessel to shift position and possibly strike one of the anchors causing a puncture in one of its fuel tanks." The affected area of the seaway will remain closed to all water traffic until at least Wednesday, Bogora added, and the cleanup could continue for several days. Canada Steamship Lines, at one time owned by former prime minister Paul Martin, is Canada's largest maritime shipping company. Martin passed the company to his sons in 2003.

Portion of Seaway near Montreal closed by oil leak

I think it's a sign of the end of times or something when one finds comfort in the absurd notion that this oil leak only amounts to what leaks out of the Gulf of Mexico leak in half-an-hour.

It's preposterous and wrong.

It so figures that something Paul Martin ran would be behind it, too. That man was an ethics violation away from being kicked out of office the whole time he was in office. And I don't just mean as prime minister either.

Either way, it will be a very long clean-up job, months if not years. And there's no telling what this will do to our poor, battered ecosystem either.

Bleh.

[sunnykerr]

So, it really doesn't seem like a good year for the Calgary stampede, huh? On top of all the horses that died, comes this:

Stampede ride malfunction injures 10 At least 10 people were reported injured when a midway ride at the Calgary Stampede malfunctioned Friday night, officials said. The accident occurred around 8:30 p.m. MT on a ride known as the Scorpion. Six people were transported to hospital but the nature of their injuries was not known, officials from the Stampede said in a statement. Four people were treated at the scene for their injuries, and not hospitalized. According to witnesses, one of the pods came off the ride when it was approximately 10 metres in the air and crashed to the ground. One person was reportedly pinned underneath the car at one point, witnesses said.

CBC News - Canada - Stampede ride malfunction injures 10

And, I hear attendance is down, too.

[Wildfire Girl]

You mean a ride at an amusement park? And the 'pod' flew off? How scary.

[sunnykerr]

Yeah, it was an amusement park ride that "malfunctioned". The Stampede has had a rough go of it this summer. A bunch of horses have died, a bunch of British MPs signed a protest and attendance is down to boot... Not a good year at all.

[crash landing]

I'm sure most/all of us got a government deposit today or recently any news to why cause its not HST with how I got that even if it was only like 2 weeks ago with how I filed late. Got GST on time back in July, so whats with this other "Canada Pro" deposit. It came when it was needed cause was broke and running low on food, so am going to spend half on groceries and get a school bag while I'm at it

[sunnykerr]

This may be one of them things we don't get here in Quebec. We still have the GST and the QST system here. No HST as of yet.

But, hey, awesome.

[crash landing]

Think what the rest of Canada did with putting the two taxes together into one of HST was already done in Quebec if I got it right from one of my roomies whom is actually from Montreal

[sunnykerr]

You know, I'm from Montreal, too. In fact, I have been living here for almost ten years now and, before that, I was in the Eastern Townships. I've never lived anywhere outside this province.

So I thought I was in a pretty good position to say that there is no HST in Quebec.

After all, up until three years ago, I was a freelancer, so I not only had to bill my clients both the QST and the GST, but I also had to file quaterly income tax returns with the revenue governments (federal and provincial) specifically to tally up my QST and GST earnings.

But you made me think perhaps I was wrong. After all, it wouldn't be the first time I get something wrong. Besides, I haven't freelanced in a couple of years, maybe things changed during that time.

So I looked it up on the Quebec Revenue Ministry websitre, and it says pretty clearly that five provinces collect HST: British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Newfoundland/Labrador. Of course, it's the Quebec Revenue Ministry, so maybe it doesn't have the full information for other provinces.

But it states pretty clearly that the only way to pay HST in Quebec is if (a) you're doing business in provinces where the nature of your business will require you to pay local taxes and (b) if you buy/sale a road vehicle in one of those provinces.

Revenu Québec - What is the HST?

I also looked it up on wikipedia, figuring, what the heck, better make sure I have my facts lined up.

And there, too, it shows that Quebec still operates with both a federal sales tax and a provincial sales tax.

Sales taxes in Canada - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now, I still think there's a chance I may be getting this wrong, so I'll fall back on the one thing I do know for sure: I still get tax refund cheques from both the federal and the provincial government.

So either I'm getting paid twice or, you know, there isn't an HST in Quebec. Yet.

[crash landing]

Sorry to cause you to second guess yourself

HST just came into effect here in Ontario pretty much on Canada Day and as far as I get it, we only pay the single tax now and think its like 13% which is what the GST/PST was

Yupp just pulled a receipt out of something I brought today and its now only the HST of 13% instead of how it was PST/GST separate

I must have misunderstood my roomie or just not remembering it right cause we talked about it when HST started here over a month ago so I dont know really

[crash landing]

Same post again

[sunnykerr]

It's all good. I thought had eaten my post for some reason...



Besides, I don't mind checking my facts. It's part of what I love about journalism - seeing where the information comes from.

But, yeah, pretty sure we don't have the HST here. Not that it hasn't been debated, mind you. But it's not a very popular option here.

[crash landing]

I dont know if I like it here either really think it effects home owners more than an average jane like me its pretty much the same amount as it was separate but it still seems higher amount of tax tbh