Canada, Who we are.

Inri;

Good for you. The more the merrier.



Camac.

Thanks for the links Ingo.

LOA

Some info on driving in Canada:

All distances and speed limits are posted in Kilometres (pronounce Kill-o-meters)

ie; Speed_ 100km = 62.5 mph
90km = 56.2 mph
80km = 50 mph.
50km = 30mph.
To find mph multiply by .625 to find kph divide by .625.

Distances: Measured the same as speed. 1km = 5/8 or .625 of a mile.

As Traffic Laws are Provincial they may change in different Provinces but they are pretty much universal across the country. In Ontario though there are some different ones concerning speeding. Mainly if a driver is caught doing in excess of 50km over the limit the individual is charged with Street Racing the consequence are as follows: Immediate confiscation and suspension of Drivers Licences for 7 days, confiscation of the vehicle on the spot, (the owner to pay all towing and storage cost also means if Joey is driving Mommies car, Mommy doesn't have a car and Joey is in deep doodoo) the fines range as high as $10,000. Not wearing a seat belt cost $250.00, smoking in your car while a child is onboard,$250.00 Impared driving is pretty much the same as Street Racing. In Ontario we have R.I.D.E. (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) and the Police set up Random spot checks any day of the week. On longweekends the O.P.P. (Ontario Provincial Police) hold safety blitzes on all major highways and if you are stopped and the vehicle is unsafe they pull the license plate off right there. I know this sounds something like a police state but it is not what it does is reduce the number of fatalities on our highways and roads. Driving in the city is pretty much the same again with the exception of Toronto. Here we have Street Cars (Trolleys) and when they stop and open the doors cars have to stop also,behind the opened door. We have Pedestrian Crosswalks where you have to stop when the lights are flashing to allow any Pedestrian to cross. We allow right turns on a Red Light providing there is no oncoming traffic. In winter tire chains and studs are not allowed and Radar detectors are confiscated on the spot and because we use photo radar and Red Light Cameras license plate covers that obscure the number are illegal. In Ontario we also have a graduated drivers license which is to complicated to explain here and now as I have to refresh my knowledge on it.



Camac.

Well done there!
If we here in Upper Austria don't wear the belt we have to pay a fine of 40€ (r.a. 66 Can$), smoking in the car while a child is on board is exempt from punishment, to use a cellphone while driving coasts also 40€ and a the fine in the case of a speeding less 25km/hour cost 29€ (47Can$).
No wonder that a lot of people here see that as trivial offenses...

Ingo

I have read alot of the post here about Gun Control and I realize that it is a touchy subject but I would like to point out the differences between our two Nations.

In the U.S. your Constitution gives you the right to bear arms, in Canada we do not have that right it is a privilege. All hand guns must be registered and the government is in the process of registering all Long Guns (rifles and shot guns). The Long Gun Registry is very controversial and it has been a nightmare since day one. No civilian is allowed to carry a hand gun on their person unless they have a Permit to Transport and the weapon is unloaded and locked.. If transporting a fire- arm from one place to another in a vehicle the weapon must be unloaded, have a trigger lock, the ammunition must be in a lock box and it must be locked in the trunk or in the backseat and you must have a permit to transport.. At home all weapons must be in a secure locked cabinet or box and the ammunition must be in a seperate locked container. The penalties for infraction can be quite serious such as a large fine or the confiscation of the weapon. There is legislation pending for the complete abolition of hand guns. Possession of an assault weapon is a criminal offense. The gun laws in Canada are very strict and the majority of people like it that way, in fact they would like to see the abolition of all firearms with the exception of the military and police. The attitude towards guns, I think, is one of the biggest differences between our two peoples. We do not have the culture of the gun here and we don't want it.


Camac.

I for one do not support the long gun registry. I'm also not one of the mindset that would see the outright abolition of all firearms. I live in the country, and am very tired of my dogs getting attacked. I'd really hate to have the same happen to a member of my family, and know that I was dragging my feet on getting a rifle. As you know, Camac, I'm a proponent of gun control, supporting the abolition of assault rifles and ban on carrying hand guns. But there is a use for them in Canadian life. I'd bet that majority of people is a lot smaller than you think, considering how many people in Canada hunt, or live in the country.

The laws we have in place right now are very good, and not yet too excessive. I'd best leave it at that, or risk drifting over into that other thread in that other forum.

oldraven;

I understand your position and I also do not think long guns should be abolished I do however think they should be registered. How the registration got so damn complicated and out of control I don't understand. Handguns are another matter and yes we have to be carful here or we will run afoul of that other Thread and yes the laws we have about firearms are pretty good just got screwed up by the politicians and bureaucrats.


Camac.

My hunting experience has been that Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC pretty much ignore the laws and do so openly. I have seen more assault weapons and hand guns there on hunting trips than any one time here in the US. That includes gun shows. I know Albert, now deceased, at the fishing camp in Ontario paid no attention to the laws also but he was more low key about it. There was a shooting range,, that I visited, buried in the ground with about 150 feet of 40 inch steel pipe to shoot through. I saw weapons fired there that I have never seen in the US. Full automatic's even. Above ground you would never know it was there. They managed to completely supress the sound. I suspect you have a much greater underground pool of firearms than anyone realizes.

Canada is a land of wild and untamed areas. People will not inhabit those areas without protection.

OK, off this subject.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Patch;

Our system is not perfect and we have people who disregard the Law just as people do all over the world. We also have people who seem to think that the American Constitution applies here and that it is their right to have firearms. Well it isn't. Our Gun Laws are pretty good but the trouble is that Canada is so big it is very difficult to Govern. With a population density of only 3 people per square kilometre alot can go on that know one hears about.


Camac.

I realize that. I have been in different countries and one has to keep in mind that each has it's own laws. Canada has some of the most impressive scenery on this continent and the lack of population is what keeps it that way. That is what will ease your people through whatever tribulations we may be headed toward. You are now where were in the 20's and 30's.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

I seriously hope this remains true for as long as I'm alive. I know it won't though. Just trying to imagine what this area looked like when my parents were children shows how fast the scenery has changed already. But that's from changes to the economy and way of life, not so much an increase in population. Nova Scotia has a very static population, when it's not in an actual decline. A very prominent part of our history is the migration of people, as workers, to every other region of the world. They call it the 'Brain Drain', where kids finish school then go on to university, promptly leaving the province the second they have a career to act on.

It's difficult to watch sometimes. The brand new Rural High School that was built when I was a kid is soon about to become an Elementary and High School. That's grade Primary to 12. The Elementary, only about 100M away, is too big for the number of kids in it, as is the High School. And to think, these are the products of a rural amalgamation that happened in 1990. To put that in context, my brother graduated in a record class in 1992. There were 88 graduates. I don't know if that has been bested in the 17 years since, but I'm sure right now, the rapidly dwindling staff would be ecstatic to see those numbers again. It was almost sad to see how excited the locals were here in Goshen, the first time we went to a dinner at the Community Centre with our two kids in tow.

Have you ever seen pasture land growing over with bushes and trees? 2 in 3 old family farms here look like that. Now that would be a heartbreaking sight for the pioneers who cleared them.

oldraven;

The Brain Drain has always been a weakness in Canada. When you live next door to the largest Industrial, Technological, and Entertainment powerhouse it is very difficult to compete. Because of our relatively low population the opportunities just do not exist. You mentioned farms being overgrown, well at least they are rerurning slowy to Nature. Here in Southern Ontario they are dissapearing, bulldozed under and resurected as sub-divisions of row after row of look alike houses on postage stamp lots. Our country is no longer the agrarian society it was founded on. It was once predicted that by 2020 the City of Toronto would stretch from Oshawa in the East to Hamilton in the West, and North to Barrie, well at the rate we are going I think it will happen. One good thing with all the development is that a lot of trees are being left. Toronto has the largest number of trees (5,000,000,000) than any other city in North America. It also has the largest Urban Raccoon population.


Camac.

Farming here is profitable for the most part due to subsidies. The federal programs were to save the small farmer. However the mega farmers found ways to get them too (political contributions). I call it farm welfare. That may be why your small farms are disappearing.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Patch;

Farming here is profitable also. It's the smaller farms around the big cities that are disappearing to make way for sub-divisions. The majority of immigrants come to what is the Windsor-Montreal corridor (western southern Ontario to Quebec). The majority of Canada's population live within 100km of the Canada/U.S. border. The town (now city) of Markham just north of Toronto has so many Chinese Immigrants the the Street signs and the store front signs are in English and Chinese. Vancouver (Hongcouver) has one of the biggest China Towns in North America. When I was a kid the area between Toronto and Hamilton was all Apple Farms, millions of trees. It's all gone now to make way for the expanding towns and cities with the exception of the Niagra Peninsula which is still all farmland and vinyards.


Camac.

We have that problem too. Eventually it will affect the food supply here. My community is shrinking so we do not have that problem.

Slàinte,    

Patch