For those of you following my blog, you’ll know that I was forced to fly to Vancouver to get a new passport because the Canadian consulates in the US no longer offer that service to Canadians living in the US. Not only is this super-annoying, but it is also super-expensive.
The costs of airfare, hotel, [...]

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I haven’t written about Canadian issues in a while because I’ve been super-busy tracking tech stuff, but after my experience at Canada’s San Francisco consulate today, I feel obligated to warn other Canadians in the US who may suffer the same fate.
Here’s the nasty scoop on inefficient Canadian bureaucrats and on renewing your passport if [...]

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The International Intellectual Property Alliance told US government officials that 14 countries, including Canada, should be placed on a watch-list with other countries like China and Russia that don’t respect intellectual property.
Canadians are probably gushing over this news as most of them relish the idea of rebelling against their larger neighbor to the south.

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In this LA Times op-ed (link will expire), Cosh makes some great points about Canada. Perhaps the most humorous was his observation about how Canada’s new conservative government will affect pot smokers. He writes:
The new regime is likely to end the recent drift toward decriminalization of soft drugs, so visitors will still have [...]

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This was a long time coming and it’s too bad the Conservatives only won a minority. Stephen Harper, Canada’s 22nd PM, is incredibly smart and a good guy too. I knew him back when we both worked in Preston Manning’s office and the name of the political party was Reform.

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Now that Canada’s parliament has been dissolved and Canadians face yet another federal election, it will be fun to read Rick Mercer’s blog. In case you don’t know who Mercer is, he’s one of Canada’s best political satirists — highly recommended! Thanks to Chris for pointing this out.

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With all the hoopla over drug importation from Canada, this might be a big surprise. The LA Times also did a story on it, but note that this link will expire soon.

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What can I say? This is a long time coming… Here’s the story. Thanks to KH for bringing this important fact to my attention.

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Did you know that:
- Canada is the largest source of imported crude oil in the U.S., bigger than Saudi Arabia or the yet untested reserves of Iraq.
-Canada has rotated 13,500 troops in the war on terror, has committed $300 million to rebuilding Iraq and is about to deploy a reconstruction team to Afghanistan.
-None of the [...]

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Today is Canada Day. If you knew that, you might want to try out this test of Canadian history.

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Canadian-born author Saul Bellow passed away today. He might be gone, but his books are still here. I read Ravelstein a few years ago and loved it.

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The Stanley Cup will not be awarded for the first time since 1919. A sad situation for everyone: the players, fans, and others whose employment depends on the game.

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If you’re a hockey fan, the news last Friday wasn’t good. Already 775 of the season’s 1230 games have been cancelled and there’s still no end in sight. Maybe it’s time to switch to basketball — a game invented by Canadians.

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Those of you who were on my “Canadiansintheus” mailing list will by now have a note in your inbox saying that the list came to an end today. I moderated the list for a few years, but now it’s time to move all that commentary here, to my blog. Welcome, fellow ex-pats, to [...]

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