test 6

In June, I posted an excellent piece in support of US war resisters in Canada by Kevin Brooker, a Calgary Herald columnist. Mr Brooker is again a voice for reason and justice, this time in support of Canadian Omar Khadr - and against Canadian involvement in Afghanistan. So, who is the terrorist here? Kevin Brooker, Calgary Herald Upon the release last week of a video showing him suffer through a harsh interrogation, there came a welter of voices both for and against letting Omar Khadr continue to rot in Guantanamo. Yet, every voice that I heard overlooked the most important issue of all. Granted, there is much now to be said about Canada's quiet complicity in enforcing Gitmo's legal twilight zone. Perhaps one could argue that Khadr should be tried by a Canadian court rather than a U.S. military tribunal. And maybe the question of whether his family should have been granted Canadian citizenship in the first place is grounds for a fruitful discussion. But that's all just ch...

Much to the disappointment and dismay of many people trying to emigrate to Canada, all immigration applications are now on hold. The Harper Government introduced changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in March; through the support of the Liberals, Bill C-50 was approved by Parliament in June. My earlier and more complete thoughts about these changes are here and here . If you're considering emigrating to Canada - or if you want to discuss the issue here - please do read those older posts . In this post, I wanted to re-visit the issue, link to the older entries and file the whole thing under "advice". These changes in immigration are being blamed on the Conservatives, but as a minority government, the Tories couldn't have done it without the Liberals propping them up. The Conservatives shrewdly (and deviously, since there was no need for it) attached the immigration bill to a budget, daring the Liberals to trigger an election. The spineless Liberals ...

In wmtc's latest "advice on emigrating to Canada," I want to highlight how much I don't know. 1. My information is getting old. We landed almost three years ago (!), which means we applied almost five years ago. The process of immigrating to Canada - like everything else in life - is always changing. I urge you to check and double-check any information you find here with CIC . As I said here , this is way too important a decision to base your knowledge on what I, or anyone else, tells you. Use the official info . 2. If you are interested in getting a temporary work permit , moving to Canada, then applying for Permanent Residence while living in Canada, Adam from Canadian Boomdiada has written about his experience so far here and solicited reader information about it here . Over the years that I've been blogging, I've heard stories from many people who did this and had quite a bit of trouble getting their Permanent Residence status settled - although they all...

Good news for wolves - and the planet. A federal judge has restored endangered species protections for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies, derailing plans by three states to hold public wolf hunts this fall. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy granted a preliminary injunction late Friday restoring the protections for the wolves in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. Molloy will eventually decide whether the injunction should be permanent. The region has an estimated 2,000 gray wolves. They were removed from the endangered species list in March, following a decade-long restoration effort. Environmentalists sued to overturn the decision, arguing wolf numbers would plummet if hunting were allowed. They sought the injunction in the hopes of stopping the hunts and allowing the wolf population to continue expanding. "There were fall hunts scheduled that would call for perhaps as many as 500 wolves to be killed. We're delighted those wolves will be saved," said attorney Doug Honnold wit...

After laying low for a few days, the racist, sexist, homophobic, clueless troll is back. He is visiting blogs that link to wmtc, and leaving nasty comments as either "I-girl", "Magnolia_2000" or "redsock." (note the dot). I guess the idea is that people who have been reading this blog for years will believe that I have suddenly revealed my evil nature, thus shunning me and driving traffic away from wmtc. This is how a man spends his time. As much as we'd like to believe otherwise, this troll is not a kid. He seems to be an adult male - and Canadian. I wish I could interview one of these losers, in-depth, over the course of several days. I'd love to know more about the mentality behind this. Can you imagine spending your time this way? Can you imagine having this much time? A strange hobby indeed. Update. I forgot the name "Sanity & Reason". He reserves a lot of his virulent anti-abortion and anti-immigrant hatred for that name. Than...

Wmtc is on hiatus for a few days. See you soon.

Long-time wmtc readers may remember a discussion we had about Canadian perceptions of the US - of the positive variety - which I called cheap shopping vs. health care. When I tell people I am from the US - not that I advertise it, but it tends to come up in conversation - reactions fall into a few different categories. Some people are happy and excited; they understand the difference between the two countries and why an American might choose Canada. Interesting conversations ensue. But one fairly common reaction repeats itself nearly verbatim: "Why would you want to move here? We all want to move there!" I first heard this during an interview at an employment agency, and let me tell you, I was taken aback. I hardly knew how to respond in a way that would be appropriate for a job interview. I laughed, played it down and changed the subject. Since then, I've heard it many times, mostly from co-workers, but also from Canadian-born neighbours and in other casual interactions...