Why I am proud to be a Canadian today.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/03/10/956492-cp.html


I am Proud that in my conuntry when 4 people who are serving to protect us get killed in the line of duty it is still a very big deal. The fact that the Prime Minister and many members of the Government take the time to attend the funeral and that the whole event is a national event. I live in a different province then where this happened and still every flag is at half mass.

It was a wonderful service.

and are worthy of their posts! Unlike most American/Third World Politicians who only help themselves and don't care the people.

No nation is perfect, but in my opinion, Canada comes as close to ideal as any country. (And Toronto is as close to ideal as any big city). And as a neighbor in a border state, I'm basing this on lots of trips through the tunnel.

:hug:

VANCOUVER IS the ideal big city, this BC Baby will have you know!

The noive of some people's kids!

;)

I love visiting Toronto, but i love vacationing in BC, just so beautiful in so many ways and places. I enjoy living in Winnipeg, but ideally i would love to live in B.C

The Peg. :D

I lived in Wpg from gr 7 until I left for Europe at 24. Hubby & I met in Europe & flew to the Peg to get married on holiday, and back to Europe the following week, and after several years we got transferred to Texas and 11 more months are we're coming hoooome. :) :) :)

have you been back to Winnipeg at all since you left? lots of exciting things happening.. It's nice to see the city actually going in a direction towards it's potential.


What area of the city are you planing to move to?

We've been busy looking online, we'd like to have a place to move into soon as we arrive (we're driving) so we'll be renting something sight unseen except whatever pic is online *gulp*. LOL!

We've pretty much decided on a townhome, some nice-looking stuff online. Not really settled on an area, I've lived in St James, St Vital, EK, St Boniface, Ft Richmond, Tuxedo...but things've changed since I left.

We want to be more on the outer edges. Even outside the perimeter would be great. But for area that's as far as e've decided on.

It looks like $800-ish/mth rent should get us into a decent place. We could go half that with an apartment, but after so many years living all over the place and so long away from home, we figured we deserve something more nest-ish, lol! We want to build a house eventually but meanwhile we're going to arrive in Wpg with the 2 of us, our cat, and whatever stuff we can squeeze into the car & probably 4-6 weeks before our household goods arrive, so we need something. And we want a bit of nice while we settle in. :)

In St. Boniface, and i enjoy it.. it is a nice change from living in the Osbourne Village area. If you have the money, they are building 5 or six new condo complexes on "water front drive" this is along the river across from st. boniface in the exchange area.. lots of development going on there in the next little while.

also, a lot of old warehouses in the exchange are being converted into condos.. something for all prize ranges..

when the time comes, give me an email or private msg.. i could check out some stuff for you.. even if it is just a drive-by.

What's the condo complex? Single level, like an apartment, or 2-story like a house? We really have our hearts set on the 2-story thing, so we can feel like we're in a house, with a bit of backyard.

Money's not too much of a problem, I mean we're definitly millionaires but prices we've seen online are no problem.

Now I'm ALL EXCITED I WANNA GO HOME NOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!

:D :D :D

Thanks for your very kind offer!!! That would really be a help, if I can get your advice on our final couple of picks this fall, things that look fab online might be crap in reality so if we can bounce the picks off you, you'd probably know which ones they are & have a good idea if they're dingy or decent. Thanks again!

:hugs:

We'll be glad to have you back.

LOL!

PAHTY! PAHTY! PAHTY!

Only I heard 2 of my fave restaurants are long gone; Brothers and White House Ribs. :( Oh well there's others!

CHERRY BLOSSOMS!!!
CHEESIES!
PIC-A-POP!
HP!
meatpies sausage rolls...

OH GAWD MAPLE LEAF MEATS!!! :cry: hungry :cry:
The Keg and Grapes and...

NIPS!!!

Uh oh...feeling kinda...

mmmm

:)

You people going to attend the Mar 19 protest? SEE YOU THERE!

MARCH TO MARK THE 2ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S. INVASION OF IRAQ
(Part of an International Day of Action)

SATURDAY MARCH 19, 2005
12:30 pm, gather at the Legislature. The parade will proceed along Memorial Blvd. to Portage, Portage to Kennedy, Down Kennedy to Broadway Disciples Church.

The programme at Broadway Disciples Church (corner of Kennedy & Broadway) will include speakers, information, discussion, and entertainment. "Food Not Bombs" will provide sandwiches.

The poster for the march is attached. Please print it out and post it in a public place. Posters and leaflets are available at the following locations:

· Mondragon Bookstore & Coffee House, 91 Albert Street
· University Of Winnipeg Students Association, Bulman Centre (Enter from Spence Street, down the stairs to the basement)
· Workers Organizing Resource Centre (WORC), 280 Smith Street, Mezzanine Level.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: To help with the distribution of posters and leaflets contact Darryl at 783-7851. To help with phoning contact Garth at 885-1142 or 470-7487(cell).

Sponsored by the No War Coalition.

Thanks for the heads up on the protest, unfortunately i will be in Lac Du bonnet :(


also to the nip comments.. here is a picture of the new Sal's going up..http://www.winnipeg.ca/publicworks/Engineering/ProvencherPedBridge.asp

yup, that's right.. our new foot bridge will have a Sal's in the centre.. it also has the only one million dollar toilet that i know of :D

Is that as a Canadian, it doesn't surprise me in the least that this is a very big deal. It's nothing less than I would expect. Then again, I live in a city where cars will pull over, and people will stop, remove their hats, etc. when a funeral procession is passing.

I happened to be watching CityTV a couple of weeks ago when one of its "speaker's corners" segments came on -- people can walk up to a video booth on the street and bitch about things.

The person doing the bitching was a pretty lumpen-looking post-adolescent male; if you'd had to guess, you might have thought that his topic was the unavailability of beer in corner stores.

But no. He was all worked up about drivers who cut into funeral processions on the streets. The rudeness of these people was just unfathomable to him. He was about reduced to speechlessness: "Just don't do it!"

I'm not sure that people where I now live actually still pull to the side of the road (the traditional sign of "respect" includes vehicles going in both directions, and I do still do it if I can without blocking the traffic that doesn't). But I do remember a few years ago following my grandfather's remains to the cemetery in London, Ont., where wasp-y tradition was still strong, and the formality being observed by the other drivers on the road. It really is just one of those little things, like holding doors for strangers with packages, that reminds both the giver and the receiver that we need to, and do, give a damn.

As an American living in Canada I am astonished that this is such a big news story, garnering such nationwide attention and sympathy. Don't get me wrong, the crime committed in Alberta was a gross injustice and rightly should cause shock and outrage, but being originally from a much more apathetically violent society, it is simply amazing to me that four deaths thousands of kilometers away could cause such a reaction.

I see Canada's horror-turned-mourning, and I think, what has gone so wrong in my own country that a story like this would be a one-day local headline, at best? How did my own country become so jaded and inured to violence and lawlessness that even I, as sensitive as I am to any such tragedy, react with amazement at Canada's unselfconscious national grief?

The fact that Canadians are so utterly unwilling to view acts of extreme violence with blase indifference makes me glad to have chosen this country as my new home.

Some say that Americans and Canadians are not really all that different, that the differences are insignificant and cosmetic. Having lived here for the better part of 12 years, I can tell you that nothing could be farther from the truth. The difference is essential. Once, perhaps during my Grandfather's day, they might have been less significant, but looking into my own country from the other side of its border, I feel that my country has lost its soul, and that Canada embodies the principles that my country has abandoned.

When I look out the window at work and see the Maple Leaf residing at half-staff for the entirety of this week, the symbolism is not lost on me. This is a nation of compassion, that hungers for justice, that loves and mourns ALL of its own. Long live the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and long live the indomitable Canadian spirit.

Thanks. Canada's better for you making it your home.

It should shock me.

You also notice it on Remembrance Day. American culture celebrates the soldier, but I find the American observation of Veteran's Day and Memorial Day to be sadly lacking. Here, the National services are televised live, and they draw a huge crowd in Ottawa. It's also hard to find someone without a poppy in early November.

Witness the necessity of World War II, in which the ONLY way to deal with ideology run amok was to counter it with all available force. But the remarkable thing about the Canadian celebration of Remembrance Day is how it focuses not on the glory or the achievement of war, but on the price of the sacrifice.

Canada exemplifies the concept of just warfare: peace-loving, slow to anger, willing to talk until negotiation is no longer a worthwhile endeavor, but steadfast and unwavering in its opposition to aggression and injustice, and willing to pay the high cost to restore justice and peace. Remembrance Day commemorations are tear-filled events, with my own tears in evidence (especially in recent years).

This is what sets Canada apart, and it is just this sentiment which, far from being a once-a-year phenomenon, infuses Canadian reaction to the RCMP tragedy.

of America for 1513 US Military men, women, and teenagers lying dead in the ground and after TWO YEARS now we've not had one national memorial service.

Well said :toast:

I'm sure a lot of Americans want this too.

from Québec city, Province de Québec



lise

To be an Expat from the US that loves Canada like he was born there.

I truly, deeply, love Canada.

I work very close to the building where the ceremony was held, but wasn't feeling well today, so I didn't get to see it in person. Thousands of RCMP in their dress red uniforms - quite a sight on the BBC pictures.

Some photos are available in the photo gallery on the right.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/03/10/rcmp-memorial050310.html

Here is the link, the link to the gallery is on the right hand side of the web page.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/

There were also many representatives from US states from Alaska to New York, Texas to Florida and in between. As a Canadian I appreciate the tribute shown by their attendance, it reminds me we are close, not only in geography, despite our differences.

love those canadians :)

Y'all should be very, very proud of your country.

even the leaders.

couldn't take it today. But yes - the marching and the singing and the bugle will be etched in my mind.

Even though taxes are higher, your government isn't FASCIST!!!

"sigh"

Some myths just refuse to die, lol!

And I bet it was the rightwing that started it.

"The Border Guide" written by Robert Keats. In the book, he shows the following differences between American taxable income and Canadian.

Canada / US Tax Rates (2004)

Canada taxable income (in Canadian dollars)
$32,180 or less 22%
$32,181 - 64,368 32%
$64,369 - 104,000 40%

American taxable income (in American dollars)
$14,300 or less 10%
$14,431 - 58,100 15%
$58,101 - 117,250 25%
$117,251 - 178,650 33%


If these numbers are wrong, I'd like to know.

Thanks

If I tell you, they'll beat me with a wet noodle when we move back home. :scared:

Oh well, I've been wet-noodle whipped before and lived. :D

Small businesses: Significantly lower corporate tax rates in Canada than in the US

The average corporate tax rate in Canada is now below the average U.S. tax rate, and will be more than 6 percentage points lower by 2008.

http://www.fin.gc.ca/toce/2003/cantaxadv_e.html

Personal income:

2004 Canadian tax rates in CAD;

16% on the first $35,000 of taxable income;
22% on the next $35,000 of taxable income;
26% on the next $43,804 of taxable income;
29% of taxable income over $113,804.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/individuals/faq/2004_rate-e.html#federal

That is, taxable income of $100,000 would be taxes of $21,100, @ 21%

$35,000 @ 16% = 5600
$35,000 @ 22% = 7700
$30,000@ 26% = 7800
$100,000 .......= $21,100

$21,100 @ $100,000 = 21.10% tax rate.

Using conversion rate 1.30 CAD to USD, $100,000 CAD = $76,923 USD.

His US figures are a wee bit of a "spin". In the US we have different brackets depending on how we file; 'married filing jointly', 'single'; 'married filing single' or 'head of household'.

The catagory that has the highest range of income in each of the brackets is 'married filing jointly'.

An example on the 28% bracket:

married filing jointly income range = $117,250-$178,650

But if you file as single; $70,350-$146,750

With an income of $146,751 as a single, you'd be in the next bracket, @ 33%. But filing as married filing jointly, you'd be in the 28% bracket. Quite a jump.

Your book chose to use the lowest rates, 'married filing jointly'.

So fine, we'll use the lowest brackets, 'married filing jointly;

2004 US tax rates in USD:

0-$14,300 10%

$14,300-$58,100 15%

$58,100-$117,250 25%

$117,250-$178,650 28%

$178,650-$319,100 33%

Over $319,100 35%

We had $100,000 income in Canadian dollars;
1.30 conversion, $100,000 CAD = $76,923 USD.

As per your US rates, $76,923 USD is 25%

$58,100-$117,250 25%

Canadian rate; 21%

American rate; 25%

And Canada doesn't have a bushCartel. ;)

With the above example of $100,000 Cdn converted to USD @ $76,923;

If you were filing as a single; 28%

Filing as married filing separate; 28%

Filing as head of household; 25%

http://www.westernsouthernlife.com/planning/tax/taxbrackets.asp

Canada's highest tax rate is 29%.

America's highest tax rate is 35%.

You are a veritable gold mine!!

:)

Just did a what if with Quick Tax for an earned income of $50,000.00 for Alberta.

Total due including Canada Pension Plan and Employment/Unemployment insurance is $8,662.20

Health care is not included and would be an additional $528.00

This is total federal and provincial tax.

For the US figure, he's taken the lowest US federal tax rate.

For the Cdn figure, he's taken the federal tax rate AND a provincial tax rate combined.

Most states also have state taxes, plus his US figure isn't including any yearly medical insurance premium costs.

When comparing stats between US and Canada for which is cheaper to live in, it's DISPOSABLE INCOME that's compared, not tax rates.

So in Canada your combined tax rate may be higher than your American combined tax rate (depends on which states)...but in Canada you'd have more money after taxes and cost of living expenses.

Tax surprise: Most of us pay less than Americans
In Canada, it's only the better off who fork out more

"Families . . . living in the United States are not necessarily better off in terms of disposable income, than their Canadian counterparts,'' they concluded. "Indeed, roughly half of Canadian families had disposable incomes in 1995 that gave them higher purchasing power than otherwise comparable U.S. families.''

This was true even though the U.S. economy is better off in terms of output per capita, and even though the average American income is about $5,000 (U.S.) more a year than the average Canadian.

http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/taxes.htm

You're sharp

Let me ask you, though-- I heard that tax on an item such as, say, a refrigerator, is something like 13%

Is this true?

Thanks

You have the Goods & Services Tax (GST) which is federal, and applies to just about everything except groceries (except for junk food, which is taxable). Then the individual provinces may or may not have a sales tax as well (I believe that Alberta has no provincial sales tax, but I may be wrong).

The GST is 7%; provincial sales tax rates vary. In Ontario, it's 8%. So, in Ontario, you'd pay 15% on that refrigerator because both the federal & provincial tax would be applicable to that purchase. I think the provincial sales tax in Manitoba is 7% ... don't know about the other provinces.

tax rate, filing as single, because that is what Canada's is; married or not, Cdns all have the 16% on the first 35,000, 22% on next 35K etc. So my first thought was "why is this guy UNFAIRLY comparing"...must be a rightwingnut! :D

Canada has GST,(general sales tax) which is a flat sales tax, and it's 7%. There is also provincial sales tax, 6-7% depending on province...except for the 3 maritime provinces. They pay the 7% GST plus an additional 8% provincial tax.

Everyone else is just the 7% and provincial. And no hidden taxes, no state sales taxes, no luxury taxes. So yep total 13% would be an average.

But you could be paying far more sales tax in the USA. ;)

A lot of stuff you buy in the US has tax on it, only it's hidden in the selling price of the items. And the US has luxury tax on many items. And state sales tax.

Here's a good ref site on US hidden tax;

You know that pair of pants you bought last week, which cost you 40 bucks? Well, they should have cost you only $34, but because of a hidden tax on international trade, you paid $6 more than you should have. That's equivalent to a 15 percent sales tax.
http://www.cwt.org/learn/whitepapers/opentrade.html

The fridge you buy may have a hidden 15% tax, plus a 7% state tax; 22% taxes in your purchase price. Even higher if it's a fridge that has luxury tax (don't think fridges have luxury tax, but you get the idea, lol!)

But a fridge bought in Canada would have no hidden tax and only a 13-14% sales tax. (Except the maritimers, they'd have a total 15% sales tax)

US state sales taxes range from nada to 7.25% with average about 5%;
http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/sales.html

Found a recent article;

The Hidden Tax OUCH!

What would you do with an extra $8,000 this year? Pay off your credit card debt? Fully fund your 2004 and 2005 I.R.A.? Make a down payment on a new car?

That’s $8,000 per household -- almost half the amount collected in federal taxes that year. In other words, Washington didn’t overtly increase your tax burden last year. However, its policies cost each American household more than $8,000 in hidden regulatory expenses.

http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed020405b.cfm


There's online info for "VAT", value-added tax", that's the UK & Euro name for it, and Canada calls it GST, general sales tax, for more info if you were interested. The US has been talking for awhile about going with a GST/VAT.

Some items in Canada are totally free of any taxes; white milk, baby food, etc. "Necessities" items.

I'm an international accountant which is why I'd even want to know this dry dusty boring stuff (shhh...it's not boring to me but don't tell anyone I said that! :D )

Hope this helps. :)

Both Ontario and Manitoba have provincial sales taxes, so it's not just the Maritime provinces. I've lived in Ontario all my life and I don't ever remember there not being a sales tax, so it's been around for quite some time.

British Columbia 7%
Alberta no PST
Saskatchewan 7%
Manitoba 7%
Ontario 8%
Quebec 7.5%
Newfoundland and Labrador 15%
Nova Scotia 15%
New Brunswick 15% HST
Prince Edward Island 10%
Northwest Territories no PST
Nunavut no PST
Yukon no PST

:)

Both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia decided to blend the 7% Goods and Services tax (GST) with their Provincial Sales Tax (PST) to create a single 15% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), which avoids the odd phenomenon of paying tax on a tax. But here in Prince Edward Island, the GST and PST (or Gist and Pist, as the local humour would have it) remain separate, and as a consequence, slightly higher on certain items.

HOWEVER, because the Province has seen fit to exempt certain items from the PST, Islanders oftentimes find themselves paying only 7% GST on items like clothing (although more expensive clothes are not exempt), books, and other useful and necessary items. And as with all Canadian Provinces, neither GST nor PST (nor HST) are levied upon raw foodstuffs (e.g., buy pizza dough, sauce, cheese, and ground beef to make your own pizza and pay no tax, but buy a frozen pizza and pay the GST).

Because of the difference between 15% HST and only 7% GST, many Island businesses benefit from shoppers crossing the Confederation Bridge to buy their clothing.

Some of these sneaky, hidden taxes include:

Import taxes
American consumers pay $18.7 billion in import taxes. This adds to the cost of range of goods that include; peanut butter (143%), brooms (32%) and flashlights (18%). The cost per person of these taxes, $70 dollars.


Travel taxes
Taxes on airline tickets, hotel rooms and car rental pluck more money from the wallets of unsuspecting travelers. It is not street corner hustlers that the traveler needs to fear, but the sneaky con men in Washington DC. Indeed, travelers were "taken" to the tune of $10.7 billion by these taxes last year.


Gas taxes
Every time you fill you car, you are also filling the pockets of government bureaucrats. Another 58.9 billion dollars is siphoned from consumers by gasoline taxes.


Telephone taxes
Reach out and tax somebody. Consumers paid $11 billion in hidden taxes on their telephone and electricity bills. These taxes include a 3% excise tax, the Universal Service Fund and the Gore Tax.


Corporate taxes
Companies do not shoulder the burden of taxes. Taxes are a cost of doing business that is passed on to the consumer. Corporate taxes are paid by customers in the form of higher prices. The bill for these taxes amounts to $215.3 billion.


http://www.cliverowe.com/Thoughts/liberty/1999/ly101001.htm

thanks for sharing that.

you have national values that the US no longer has. For just you national healthcare you should be proud too.
I am sorry about the loss of the RCMP's, so sad.

I watch it at least 3 time a week- the contrast with American "news" broadcasts is striking. Please accept my sympathies on your nation's loss. Canadians are a class act. We are lucky to have you as neighbors.

http://www.cbc.ca/national/ much of it is dedicated to the memorial.

It was a wonderful service, and we were in tears here, as well. So many lives, so many dreams...shattered. So incredibly sad.

I would have loved to go, but couldn't. I would say Edmonton was the safest place in the world yesterday, with about 10,000 cops in attendance.

My heart also goes out to the killer's family. While they weren't exactly the Waltons, I cannot begin to fathom the horror they are going through as well.

we should show this kind of respect when we lose people who serve our country.

You guys do so many things well. I'm envious. My husband has wanted to live in Canada since I've know him. It is a dream that may never happen because of the field he is in, but he still dreams.

I'm still proud to be American, as the Democrats represent America's true values. I am NOT proud of what Americans have done lately. I get really frustrated and wish I could wish our situation away! But since I can't, I'm keeping Canada open as an option. I believe the Bush administration is going so far that the inattentive are becoming attentive.

"...the inattentive are becoming attentive."

I hope you're right, mvd. I keep waiting...

Over 1,500 of our children dead in a war for oil, and how many funerals has the chimp attended? Gee, that would be...NONE!

It's all Jacko, all the time, here in the good ole USA! Can't let issues of national and international import interfere with Tabloid TV, now, can we?