Canadian Crossing

RCMP foils alleged Via Rail terrorism plot

The RCMP stopped an alleged terrorism attack involving a Via Rail train from Toronto to New York City before it happened. The officers had been tracking their movements for many months. Canada is very thankful for their actions. The United States is also thankful because Americans would have potentially been involved.

Unfortunately, the fear is that terrorism and Canada will now be more greatly associated with each other. Of course, this would have been worse if the RCMP hadn't caught the alleged terrorists.

In the United States and Canada, we've seen quite a few terrorism cases prevented in the last decade thanks to intelligence and good police work. We saw in the Boston Marathon bombings that not every plot gets thwarted. But most of them do get noticed and prevented.

While Canada and the RCMP get some much deserved love for their actions, the fear is that Canada will get unfairly painted by a terrorism brush. Even though we know the suspects aren't Canadian citizens, that detail is lost south of the border. Then again, those south of the border don't know that a few Canadians were allegedly involved in a bombing in Algeria.

Thanks to this news, Americans think the RCMP and Canada can stop terrorists, and deservedly seen as heroes on both sides of the border.

CBC's George Stroumboulopoulos gets CNN summer tryout

Is the U.S. media ready for a landscape with George Stephanopoulos and George Stroumboulopoulos?

CNN is giving George Stroumboulopoulos a summer series on Friday nights. Stroumboulopoulos hosts "George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight" Monday-Thursday at 711:30 pm on CBC (best of episodes air Fridays) with reruns at 711:30 pm. While the CBC show tapes in Toronto, Stroumboulopoulos will do the CNN show from Los Angeles.

The summer series runs 10 episodes, airing at 9pm Eastern Fridays starting May 31. The program will be similar to the CBC show with interviews and music guests.

The implication is that Strombo will fly back and forth from Toronto to Los Angeles each week in the summer. However, Stroumboulopoulos could tape a few episodes while in Los Angeles. The U.S. version would benefit from been taped the week it will air, but we'll have to see what they have in mind.

Stroumboulopoulos did show up briefly before American audiences, hosting the controversial "The One: Making a Music Star." But since so few Americans watched the ABC/CBC production, Stroumboulopoulos will be brand new to those Americans who can't get (or don't know about) the CBC show.

The CNN experience will give Strombo some needed U.S. exposure. The best scenario would be to generate enough interest so that either through a syndicated deal, a network, or an outlet such as CNN to showcase "George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight" in the United States, bringing the Canadian version to more American eyeballs.

photo credit: CBC

New U.S. ambassador to Canada should know Canada before taking job

With President Barack Obama now in his second term as U.S. president, Canada is getting a new U.S. ambassador. Like current Ambassador David Jacobson, Bruce Heyman's chief qualification to represent the United States in Canada is being a heavy contributor to Obama's campaign.

Heyman's obvious drawback, since he has to be approved by the Senate, is that he is a partner at Goldman Sachs and has been there since 1980.

Getting someone who has a background with Canada hasn't been a priority in selecting an ambassador. Jacobson had little experience contact with Canada; Heyman has done some business in Canada. Jacobson didn't have much of a background about Canada.

Contrast this with Gary Doer, Canada's Ambassador to the United States. Doer is the former premier of Manitoba, and has plenty of interaction with the United States as premier from border security to trade.

Frank McKenna, former premier of New Brunswick, served as Canada's ambassador two ambassadors ago.

The United States has employed former governors in recent times in that role. Paul Cellucci, who was governor of Massachusetts, served from 2001-2005 and James Blanchard, former governor of Michigan, served from 1993-1996. Gordon Giffin, who served as President Bill Clinton's second ambassador, grew up in Canada. Though born in the United States, Giffin's family moved to Canada before his 1st birthday. He grew up in Montréal and Toronto.

This isn't about politics either. Cellucci is a Republican; Blanchard is a Democratic politician. Doer is NDP serving under a Conservative prime minister.

If Heyman is looking for advice, and let's hope he is, do a better job than David Wilkins, who served from 2005-2009. Wilkins never seemed comfortable in Canada and didn't seem to embrace the experience he was given.

Chicago journalist Carol Felsenthal, in writing about Heyman's nomination, gave us some background on Wilkins.

"(Wilkins)… argued that Ottawa is a tough posting: that the U.S. and Canada have "the largest trading relationship the world has ever known," and that Canada is "the number one supplier of hard energy to the U.S." A former speaker of the South Carolina legislature who ran Bush's presidential campaigns in the state, Wilkins told me that when he took the appointment he'd been to Canada only once—on a trip to Niagara Falls soon after his marriage. He was never able to learn French, he volunteered, but did learn "a few phrases, " such as "Merry Christmas" and "It's very cold."

Ottawa should have been an easy posting. No new language to learn, no hot button issues, and you get to stay in the same time zone (Wilkins was from South Carolina). While a little French goes a long way, Wilkins took that literally.

From Andrew Cohen of the Ottawa Citizen:

While Wilkins was an able envoy — representing an unpopular president, tending the commercial relationship and playing the innocent ("bonjour, y'all!") — he never seemed to get Canada. The best diplomats read, ask, and try to understand the place. Wilkins, like his boss, was incurious.

By contrast, Jacobson did seem curious about Canada. To be fair, we know this because Jacobson started a blog in his role as ambassador. Though we wish he would have updated the blog more often, Jacobson came across as someone who was earnest in his desire to learn more about Canada.

This entry came on his third anniversary as ambassador:

Since I arrived I have traveled far and wide in Canada. I have literally dipped my toes into three oceans. I have seen cities and towns. Farms and prairies. Lakes and mountains.

I have had the privilege of meeting with so many of the Canadian people from every walk of life. Government officials and business leaders. Generals and head of NGO's. Shop keepers and small business owners. Factory workers and farmers.

I've had Christmas dinner with soldiers in Afghanistan. Walked with wounded warriors. I have learned to cross country ski and curl. I have rooted for your sports teams – unless they are playing ours. I have eaten your food and drunk your wine. I've come to love Tim Bits.

While I always hesitate to say I have been everywhere and have met everyone, I can say that I have covered a lot of ground and met a lot of people. I do it to try to better understand Canada and the Canadian people. Because understanding your country and your people is – in my view – the most important thing I can do to make the most of my opportunity as United States Ambassador.

Caroline Kennedy's name was being tossed around for ambassador. So was former governors Granholm and Christine Gregoire (Washington state). Granholm and Gregoire would have been better selections than Kennedy, and probably would be better than Heyman.

Canada shouldn't be treated like other obscure countries where an ambassadorship is a reward for giving a lot of money. Canada is the largest trading partner and the primary source of oil to the United States. A former governor isn't a cure-all for handling a close and vital relationship. But the people in that role don't need much of a learning curve and their curiosity continues.

I know that because I gave nothing to Obama's campaign (journalists aren't supposed to contribute to anyone's campaign) that I had no shot at being the next U.S. ambassador to Canada. But I am from Chicago, speak better French than David Wilkins, and have a strong knowledge of Canada. More importantly, my curiosity about Canada stretches farther than Canada's reach into the Arctic Circle. Hopefully, Heyman, if approved, will have 1% of the curiosity level I have about Canada.

Toronto Maple Leafs will play in 2014 Winter Classic

The major casualty of the latest NHL lockout was the loss of the 2013 Winter Classic, a chance for the NHL to showcase one of the Original 6 teams that previously wasn't allowed to participate.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will play in the 2014 Winter Classic against the Detroit Red Wings at Michigan Stadium — aka The Big House — in Ann Arbor, MI.

The biggest perk that was lost is the exposure on HBO, and the two teams will participate in "24/7: Maple Leafs-Red Wings, Road to the Winter Classic."

Since the loss of the 2013 Winter Classic, the dynamic of the two Original 6 teams won't be as strong. The 2013 matchup would have been the only game between the two franchises in 2013. Thanks to the lockout, the two teams won't meet, short of the Stanley Cup finals.

The two teams will be divisional foes starting next fall, so the game will be just another matchup.

The other changed dynamic is that the 2014 Winter Classic isn't likely to stand alone. A report came out yesterday that Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles would host a "Winter Classic" sometime after the Olympics.

If the report is correct, this further proves that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will undercut a Winter Classic if a Canadian team is involved. The 2014 Winter Classic is already tainted thanks to the buildup in enthusiasm and subsequent crushing blow during the lockout. A second outdoor game, in Los Angeles of all places, would further diminish what would be a great outcome in Ann Arbor.

The Heritage Classic didn't have much chance to diminish the Winter Classic because a) Hockey Day in America was set up to diminish the Heritage Classic and b) the NHL didn't promote the Heritage Classic all that much.

The 2013 Winter Classic would have featured a Maple Leafs squad that hadn't made the playoffs since before the previous lockout. The hope is that the Leafs make the playoffs this year, have some success, and build on reestablishing itself in the U.S. media. The HBO exposure and Winter Classic would have given a great boost to the 2013 Maple Leafs, but the 2014 Maple Leafs will still need that boost.

In the original U.S. broadcast schedule, the Toronto Maple Leafs had 1 NBC appearance (Winter Classic), 3 NBC Sports Network telecasts, and a considerable number of NHL Network broadcasts. Once the lockout was settled, Toronto ended up with 0 telecasts on NBC, 0 games on NBC Sports Network, and 6 CBC Hockey Night in Canada simulcasts. The Canadiens had 3 appearances on NBC Sports Network and 8 live NHL Network games, 2 of them added later in the schedule and all but 1 were CBC Hockey Night in Canada simulcasts.

The Toronto Maple Leafs need more exposure in the United States. Despite Gary Bettman's best efforts, the team will get some publicity out of the deal. But we can't help but think what would have been if Bettman and the NHL really wanted the best for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

photo credit: NHL

NHL the week in preview: April 5

The NHL Network has pulled off another positive reversal. The original Saturday night schedule had the New York Rangers at Carolina. Boring! Instead, the cable channel picks up Boston at Montréal via the CBC. Given how well the NBC Sports Network has done ratings-wise this season for the matchup, the NHL Network would have been crazy to turn that down.

NBC Sports Network has picked up a live Calgary game on Friday, the first time the channel has carried the Flames since the Heritage Classic. Two gigantic asterisks, though: the feed is a Comcast Sports Net California simulcast and the game was available in HD via NHL Center Ice. Nice that the Flames are getting exposure, even if Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester are gone.

The CBC has its first atypical split of the season. While Canadiens games rarely leave Quebec when Toronto is playing, Pittsburgh (Sidney Crosby) and Boston are the two exceptions. As we found out in the 2011 Stanley Cup final, the Bruins are quite popular in the Maritimes. We'll see if the prediction holds true (see revised schedule below).

We get the late night HNIC battle, rare in itself, but even more rare is a live all-Canadian matchup that doesn't include the Habs and/or the Leafs. Still no "After Hours," something we would have had this week with the NHL Center Ice free preview.

Still, four live games before breakfast on Sunday morning is a nice treat, not counting a Winnipeg CBC matinee and the Leafs-Devils on NHL Center Ice.

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NBC Sports Network

Friday
Calgary @ San Jose, 10:30p (CSN-California simulcast)

NHL Network

Saturday
Edmonton @ Los Angeles, 4p
Boston @ Montréal, 7p (CBC simulcast)
Calgary @ Vancouver, 10p (CBC simulcast)

Tape delayed
Tuesday New York Rangers @ Toronto, 3p
Thursday Toronto @ New York Rangers, 1p

CBC

Saturday
Philadelphia @ Winnipeg, 3p
Toronto @ New Jersey, 7p (Ontario-West)
Boston @ Montréal, 7p (nationwide except OntarioQuebec-East)
Calgary @ Vancouver, 10p
Thursday
Montréal @ Buffalo, 7:30p

TSN

Monday
Phoenix @ Vancouver, 10p
Wednesday
Toronto @ New York Rangers, 7p

NHL Center Ice free preview

Friday
Ottawa @ Buffalo, 7p
Sunday
Ottawa @ Florida, 6p

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One legitimate criticism of the Canadian-based teams is that they aren't as tenacious on the ice as some of their U.S. counterparts. You certainly felt that sensation in the air during the trade deadline. Pittsburgh and Boston certainly stepped up throughout the trade deadline, but Montréal had a couple of minor moves, Toronto added a fringe player, and Winnipeg came up empty.

Ottawa was bold with acquiring Cory Conacher from Tampa Bay. Trading young goalies is never easy, especially when Ben Bishop is 6'7" with some nice potential. Still, the Senators stepped up, trading strength to add depth.

To be fair to the Habs, the Michael Ryder acquisition was better than any deal the team would have swung on Wednesday. And the Canadiens have brought in a steady stream of youngsters that have helped the team.

Winnipeg, along with its U.S. counterpart Columbus, sees this spring as a unique opportunity to make the playoffs before their scenery changes. The Jets have fallen badly lately, but still hang on to the Southeast Division lead. This is their best chance to have a great path to the playoffs. And the Jets came up empty.

In the Western Conference, the big news was that the Canucks didn't trade Roberto Luongo, and that Luongo told the press that his contract "sucks." The Maple Leafs could use Luongo, but Toronto didn't think this was the right time to get him. Miikka Kiprusoff was the Leafs' target, but the Calgary netminder didn't want to leave the Flames.

Vancouver picked up Derek Roy before the deadline, an acquisition that will help more short-term than anybody the Canucks would have received for Luongo.

The Flames made a minor deal, getting rid of Blake Comeau to Columbus for a 5th-round draft pick. Yikes. This rebuild will have all the success of the Edmonton Oilers without the potential excitement.

Speaking of the Oilers, the squad did pick up Jerred Smithson, a minor pickup who should help the team now and in the future.

Maybe this was the point of the NHL trade deadline. In the bigger picture, Edmonton, Toronto, and Ottawa are on a good path. Montréal has proven the team can stand up to Pittsburgh and Boston. Vancouver might have enough with Ryan Kesler, Mason Raymond, and the rest coming back. Winnipeg has the talent to keep the #3 seed, but needs to play better at home to make that happen.

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The CBC got an interview with Jarome Iginla and featured the interview on Inside Hockey (all of which aired on the NHL Network). The Hot Stove segment then played off the Iginla interview as to whether Sidney Crosby possibly tampered with trying to draw Iginla to Pittsburgh. This is the crafty kind of marketing other media outlets do more of than the CBC. The charges seemed flimsy, which the CBC crew acknowledged, but generated some heat if not a flame (sorry for the pun).

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Jeff Halpern got claimed off waivers by Montréal last week from the New York Rangers. So the fact that Halpern was playing against his old team put him in a Close-Up segment. Cassie Campbell-Pascall mentioned that Halpern's children don't have passports, so they won't be able to see their dad anytime soon. Halpern is American, but played for the Canadiens in 2010-2011.

Perhaps the children had passports when their dad played for Montréal and the passports expired (10 years for U.S. adults, 5 years for U.S. children). Maybe the kids never had passports. But you would think that a family of a NHL player who has played for 6 teams, 2 of them twice, would have passports for everyone short of the dog.

Halpern makes a nice enough salary in the NHL to pay for expided service to get those passports going. His kids should see him in the Stanley Cup playoffs and learn about a world-class city not too far from where they live (D.C. area).

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NBC showed a NHL game on Sunday and the NHL Network didn't have Sunday afternoon rebroadcasts. Last week, you might remember that the NHL Network showed the late HNIC game St. Louis-Edmonton. Turns out NBC didn't have a Sunday game that week — golf dominated the afternoon TV.

So we have a new pattern. The NHL Network won't/can't show games on Sunday morning, but will show them on Sunday afternoons (maybe) if NBC doesn't have a game.

Canada notebook: Toronto surpasses Chicago; Lululemon's see through yoga pants

Toronto leapfrogged to #4 in the list of largest cities in N. America, surpassing Chicago. This would have come to a surprise if you didn't know Toronto was in the Top 5. New York City, Los Angeles, and Mexico City will always have more people than either Toronto or Chicago.

Toronto and Chicago have a lot of similarities: major cities on a Great Lake. But having Toronto beat out Chicago proves that Toronto is a major city. People know Chicago is a major city, but knowing that Toronto is a bigger city shows that Toronto is a major city, too.

Canadians know Toronto is a major city, after all, making fun of T.O. is a national sport. Now those outside Canada know it too.

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Lululemon being a Canadian company is normally a source of pride. But when the company had to recall 17% of its yoga pants because they were see-through, that Canadian pride went out the window.

The pants are overly expensive, which makes the see-through part even funnier.

Yoga doesn't get better with special yoga pants, and hopefully your fellow yoga people aren't concerned about whether they can see your panties, thong, or whether you go commando.

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Some cable channels are ironically named, so the Discovery Channel's airing of "America's Northern Border" wasn't very discover-like. The issues with the U.S.-Canada border centered on the Detroit-Windsor crossing, yet the documentary tried to scare you in the beginning by mentioning the Millennium Bomber and the Underwear Bomber.

Well, the Millennium Bomber crossed from British Columbia to Washington state, and the Underwear Bomber landed from Amsterdam at Detroit Metro airport, which is nowhere near the Canadian border.

While we kept hearing about terrorists and weapons of mass destruction, the documentary took us into following people who were doing strange things, but not necessarily illegal. And we saw a marijuana bust on the U.S. side with no specific tie to Canada.

We heard about 800 miles of water crossings yet the best place for them to cross was the Ambassador Bridge or by boat across the Detroit River. You would think criminals would pick less busy crossings to not draw attention. They don't mention the tunnel, only the bridge.

Detroit-Windsor is a major crossing mostly because of trade. The increased scrutiny, based on scare tactics, has slowed down trade but hasn't produced the perceived terrorists because they weren't there in the first place.

For those who might remember ABC's "Homeland Security," that program had the intensity and mindlessness of the documentary, but also showed the lighter side of what happens at border crossings. Watching the Discovery Channel documentary made me appreciate the TV show. The TV show had issues, but had a better tone, not saying much.

Trying to find real Montreal poutine in Chicago

Yes, I wrote about the hipster poser poutine fest. And I enjoyed mocking the idea that they thought this was even close to poutine.

Well, a few Canadian expats and wannabes were upset over not getting into the poutine fest (not that they would have appreciated it anyway), they decide to do a gathering at a poutine shop in Chicago that, interestingly, did not participate in the poutine fest.

The Bad Happy Poutine Shop in Chicago offers up Montréal poutine. The dishes look like poutine and each of them has gravy. I am not alone in people I talk to that say the shop's poutine doesn't stack up to poutine found in Montréal. I have places in Toronto and Windsor that also offer up something more like the real thing. But the Bad Happy efforts are a lot closer to poutine that I know and like.

For more on that quest for poutine de Montréal in Chicago, check out this column from our sister blog, BalanceofFood.com.

2013 Chicago Poutine Fest: Not the real thing

What poutine is supposed to look like: poutine de Montréal.

Editor's note: This column is simulcast on our sister blog, BalanceofFood.com, given the shared commonality of food and Canada that is poutine.

The idea of celebrating one of Canada's better-known foods in the 3rd largest city in the United States sounded magical to me when I first heard about the event. In the end, the experience left me pining for a road trip to Montréal.

Previous coverage: Poutine in Montreal: Sampling through the city's finest

In a room full of "poutines," only one came close to be remotely similar to what you might find in Quebec. And that version isn't something the restaurant is offering.

In some circles, poutine has become the whim of high and mighty variations to the classic fries, cheese, and gravy combination. This approach to poutine was on display on Sunday.

The most authentic was from El Ideas with the basic ingredients topped with a smoked duck sausage and foie gras gravy. You could easily see that on a menu in Montréal. (Sorry I didn't get a picture.)

This is a place with a constantly changing menu, and the Web site doesn't show any poutine has been served at the restaurant. Too bad.

Some of the places offered up a poutine that either wasn't on their current menu or had never been on its menu.

The least authentic was from the Pleasantry. The place went with smoked onion, blue cheese, and thyme gravy with duck confit, crispy onions, and scallions. Most of that subtlety was lost in the blue cheese sauce, and I love blue cheese. I couldn't pick out any other taste.

The Publican, a renown place in Chicago, offered up fried chickentail, fried cheese curds (really?), hot sauce, and Dunbarton blue cheese. The actual taste was not as good as the ingredients would suggest. This didn't even belong at a poutine competition.

Haymarket, the host of the event, submitted its own approach with smoked ham hock gravy that was topped with in-house andouille sausage and lemon soaked apples. A nice dish, but poutine was the furthest thing when eating this.

The Boarding House had a lobster poutine. I told the guy I couldn't possibly compare it to the other lobster poutine I had — Chuck Hughes' Garde Manger lobster poutine. Hughes' version was a lot better. The guy went through a long description of what goes into the lobster presentation, but the dish was more about lobster pieces on top of French fries. I don't even remember either the cheese or if there was a sauce in this dish.

Scofflaw had a bacon, eggs, and clam topping. This could have been a carbonara poutine, which doesn't sound that bad. This dish was okay, but admittedly I only had one bite.

Little Market went with braised short ribs, a nice choice if you going in that direction, and red wine gravy, but with fried cheese curds. Sigh.

Leopold went with a lamb marquez gravy and pickled peppers on top of fries and cheese curds. A lot of strong flavors, but nothing resembling poutine.

The judges went with the Gage, a place that knowingly offers different versions of the dish that changes as the menu changes. The Gage version had wild boar on top with smoked celery, carrots, and onions. Wild boar is good, but the cheese was barely noticeable. I'll admit this is the only poutine in the room I had before the fest, so I knew it pretty well.

I didn't get to try two of them. Red Door had a duck confit with chorizo verde and pickled jalapeno. And the Pleasant House served what it called deluxe gravy chips. British chips (square fried potatoes) topped with hangar steak, red wine gravy, and shredded cheddar. Both sounded good, but not authentic. And kudos to the Pleasant House for not calling it poutine.

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I met Canadians, people who like Canada, and others who just wanted to eat. One guy had a Habs jersey, another had an old school Expos hat. I might have broken out my Montréal gear if I weren't on duty. One woman had a Jonathan Toews shirt; I asked her if she wore the shirt on purpose. She had no idea what I was talking about. I explained to her that Toews was Canadian (from Manitoba).

I met a young woman from Canada had been in the States for 10 years; she had lived in Toronto and Vancouver. She explained to me that poutine was continuing the stereotype about Canada about eating fatty foods, even if it was true but not what we should think about when we think of Canada.

I wanted to find people who had never had poutine. One described her impresion before as poutine being gravy fries. After having had poutine, she thought it was a vehicle for gravy and cheese. Another person thought it was better than she thought it would be, and had heard about poutine when the Bad Happy Poutine Shop opened up about a couple of years ago.

Yes, Chicago has a place devoted to poutine. The place tries hard to be truly authentic, but I and several other "experts" feel the place comes up a little short. But you can get fries, cheese curds, and gravy there along with other variations.

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Poutine is a food of the masses: simple food for cheap prices and eaten to keep warm in the cold Quebec winters. The poutine I've seen in Chicago is mostly about hoity-toity variations for expensive prices: the exact opposite of what poutine is in Montréal.

I've had paid about $6 for a wonderful plate of poutine that fills my stomach and fulfills my taste buds in Montréal. I have paid almost double that for plates that didn't fill or fulfill.

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The money went to charity, about $8000 to Common Threads, which does a number of cool things, including teaching about cultural diversity through cooking. I'd like to think poutine, real poutine, can play a part in cultural diversity.

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All pictures taken by me with all the proper copyrights.

Celebrating the Priestley

Famous Canadians during the 1996 Grey Cup
Celebrity	Location	Donut
Steven Page	Wawa, ON	blueberry fritter
Geddy Lee	Halifax, NS	walnut crunch
Luc Robitaille	Victoriaville, QC	sour cream plain
Alex Trebek	Sudbury, ON	honey dipped
k.d. lang	Red Deer, AB	chocolate glaze
Jason Priestley	Priestley*	Squamish, BC
* "crammed a Timbit into a strawberry vanilla"

Canadians love their Tim Hortons and Tim Hortons has become a Canadian stereotype to Americans. So when you combine "How I Met Your Mother," donuts, Tim Hortons, and Jason Priestley, well, you get an Internet sensation.

"Crammed a Timbit into a strawberry vanilla, and invented the Priestley. Should have been the best day of my life."

Putting a donut into another donut sounds Canadian … and American. The indulgence felt almost North American (with apologies to Mexico and the Central American countries).

So what if the donut is only available at the Squamish, BC Tim Hortons. Americans can dream.

The topic of donuts in donuts fell well into last week's column of the Temptation of the Week segment on our sister blog, BalanceofFood.com.

Photo credit: Tim Hortons

Canada on U.S. TV: Bachelor in Lake Louise, Bieber on SNL

"The Bachelor" is not a show I watch or barely follow, but I found out at 10 minutes past the last minute that the show had an episode in the Canadian Rockies. Having been to the Canadian Rockies myself last summer. I looked forward to what they would show.

The bachelor and the women got to row canoes from one side of the lake (from the Fairmount hotel where they were staying) to the other side of the lake. They got a chance to see how beautiful the water is on the lake.

I wish I had done the canoe trip, but with limited time and not having the budget of a reality show, well, you make choices. Looked like fun, though.

They also did a polar bear dip into Lake Louise. The water and surrounding air was pretty cold (I saw snow on the mountain tops in August) when they shot the episode back in October. The temperature rested slightly above 0° C, but if viewers weren't paying attention, they might have thought it would be 0° F. Still, the idea of being in Lake Louise even for about 15 seconds would have been really cool.

Later in the episode, the bachelor took one of the women for a date to the top of Tunnel Mountain. Desiree says she can see all of Banff National Park from there. Sure seems like that, but the park is so huge that you might be able to see all of it, but only from space.

They later climbed down about 400 feet down the mountain to a picnic.

Earlier in the show, he went on a date with Catherine on the Columbia Icefield. That detail wasn't identified in the show, but I'm relying on people who know this better than I do, since the date was at night in the dark.

One potential problem was that Tierra had a bad reaction to the icy plunge. The scene looked a bit scary (any cold water would do this, regardless of location), but the fact that Tierra may have exaggerated her problems — she showed up for a group party in heels even with foot issues — so everyone will be just fine.

True to form, the Fairmount Chateau Lake Louise is offering a special package for fans of "The Bachelor."

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Justin Bieber was host and musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" before flying west to the Grammys in Los Angeles.

Bieber performed two songs, one acoustically with a guitar player and another, also acoustic, with a piano. Can't say I'm the target demo for his music (i.e., Grey Cup performance) but it was nice to hear him without an auto-tuner or whatever enhancement pop stars use these days.

Bieber is also a decent actor, and doesn't have to rely on the cue cards unlike many of the SNL regulars. He played the president of the Miley Cyrus fan club where he dogged Bieber on the "Miley Cyrus" show. Bieber played himself in assessing Bieber lookalikes.

The Valentine's Day message was sexy and creepy. Speaking of creepy, Bieber was "Danny" in a Grease parody where he brags about the date, but she points out that he was clueless. The punchline was that he was 11, yet he drove a car.

Bieber did a nice job playing a high school guy who is into abstinence.

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Having digested two Canadian-themed episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" in the last week, the show has a fun love/hate relationship with Canada that is very entertaining.

Both episodes had Tim Hortons appearances: coffee the theme in "Duel Citizenship" from 2009 and donuts in "P.S. I Love You" from last week.

Yes, the 1996 Grey Cup was at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton (near Guelph). That was the Snow Bowl, so if Robin Sparkles/Robin Daggers did perform there, she would be plenty cold, even with flannel.

Dave Thomas delivered the line about Guelph. If somehow that line stemmed from the fact that the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats will be playing their home games in Guelph, I would be tremendously impressed. If not, Guelph sounds funny as a word.

Barney tries to track down the identity of Robin's obsession and goes to Vancouver to interview former boyfriends at a Vancouver Tim Hortons (Cobie Smulders is from Vancouver and is a Canucks fan). "Hydro" is definitely a word used in Canada and not so much in the States.

He discovers that a Canadian version of Behind the Music exists that explains this chapter of Robin's life. Through the process, we hear from Canadian icons such as Paul Shaffer, Geddy Lee, Jason Priestley, Luc Robitaille, Dave Thomas, Alex Trebek, and Steven Page.

Dave Coulier is also in the mix, though Coulier's Canadian-ness is a bit sketchy. Born and grew up in the Detroit suburbs, Coulier's maternal relatives are from Bathurst, New Brunswick. He also provided the voice of Bob McKenzie for the Canadian cartoon series "Bob & Doug." Coulier did date Alanis Morissette (definitely the inspiration for Robin Daggers). He also starred with Bob Saget in "Full House"; Saget plays the narrator in HIMYM.

The funniest part was the matchup of where these celebrities were during the 1996 Grey Cup, but they had to be at a Tim Hortons shop AND know which donut they were eating at the time.

Steven Page, Wawa, ON, blueberry fritter; Geddy Lee, Halifax, walnut crunch; Luc Robitaille, Victoriaville, QC, sour cream plain; Alex Trebek, Sudbury, ON, honey dipped; k.d. lang, Red Deer, AB, chocolate glaze; Jason Priestley, Squamish, BC, timbit in a strawberrry vanilla (now known as a Priestly).

BTW, P.S. turned out to be Paul Shaffer.

It's difficult to imagine that Robin could be considered not Canadian as she was struggling with her identity in the "Duel Citizenship" episode. Then again, the Tim Hortons worker summed it up well.

"American money. Didn't watch the Leafs game. No please or thank you for the coffee. You sure don't seem like a Canadian."

I wouldn't offer even in Toronto that you are required to watch the Leafs, especially in 2009, but I would stand by the other two "requirements."

Thanks to the folks at "How I Met Your Mother" for its contribution, strange and otherwise, to the neighbors to the north.

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photo credit: The Bachelor/ABC