Canadian Crossing

Prince Charles, Camilla to spend Victoria Day in Canada

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla will be in three Canadian provinces in a 4-day trip, around Victoria Day weekend. The royal couple are in Canada as part of the Diamond Julibee celebration, marking 60 years on the throne for his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

The festivities begin in Saint John, New Brunswick, where they will visit a Canadian base. In Toronto, the couple will view Victoria Day fireworks. Prince Charles will present Diamond Jubilee medals. The visit will wrap up in Regina, Saskatchewan, where Charles and Camilla will meet up with Prime Minister Stephen Harper (just back from G8 and NATO) and Governor General David Johnston.

The low-key highlights prove a stark contrast to the more exciting itinerary for Will and Kate during their trip to Canada last summer.

For Charles, this is his 16th trip to the Great White North. He brought Camilla for her Canadian debut in 2009.

Previous coverage:
Prince William and Kate arrive in Canada tomorrow
Royal couple protesters in Quebec stem from long-standing English-French battle

U.S. embassy issues Montreal travel warning due to student protests

The U.S. government has issued a warning to Montréal tourists about the student protests that have now gone on for more than 2 months. American tourists are advised about possible "unforeseen violence," "vandalism," and "arrests."

This story in itself is worthy of CanadianCrossing.com, but there is an added wrinkle. I am headed soon to Montréal on vacation.

I booked the trip before the protests started, and once the Canadiens didn't make the playoffs, I thought protests would be a non-issue.

Interestingly, the warning came out before the smoke bombs last week in the Metro.

One doesn't usually book a vacation in the hopes of seeing protests, unless one is protesting. This doesn't fall into a tourist must-see when traveling. Plenty of visitors are coming to Chicago this week for NATO and what would have been G8.

The good news is that these protests aren't directed at tourists, and we haven't seen stories of tourists being affected by the protests so far.

My advice, which I will literally take to heart, is this:

-- Know a second way to get where you are going. If you are going by train, know how to get around by bus.
-- Be patient and flexible. If you are staying for awhile, adjust your itinerary whenever possible if protests might interfere.
-- If you aren't going to be where the protests are (near the universities and downtown), take advantage of those opportunities.
-- Ask your concierge or hosts if they know more about where the protests might be.
-- Look like a local person. Wear a hat from a local sports team (Habs? Expos?). Okay, you might seem like a tourist wearing a local hat. So be ready to know something about the team or sport you are wearing.

Montréal also has to be concerned about visitors to the upcoming Grand Prix weekend of June 8-10, and summer festivals, especially comedy and jazz.

Should you not go to Montréal during this uncertain time? Well, I'm going. I will be smart about where I am going and keep my eyes and ears open. If nothing else, vacations are full of things and moments you can't see at home, and protests fit into that category.

Traveling is full of surprises: good and bad. Be flexible and enjoy what you can. Montréal has a lot to offer — even with a protest or two.

photo credit

Lone Canadian on U.S. Death Row deserves better from Harper government

If the United States didn't believe in the death penalty (I know, a real stretch) and an American was sentenced to death in another country, should the U.S. government fight for the right for its citizen to still be punished, but not with the death penalty?

Canada doesn't believe in the death penalty; the United States does (duh!). And a growing number of Canadians are wondering why the Harper government isn't fighting harder to get the one remaining Canadian on Death Row off that list.

Ronald A. Smith's guilt or innocence isn't up for dispute; he has admitted to killing two cousins in Montana in 1983. And Smith is asking for a commutation to life in prison without the possibility of parole, so freedom isn't the issue.

This story is filled with odd quirks. Smith requested the death penalty at the time and turned down a plea that would have kept him off Death Row. In 2007, the Harper government announced that it would not fight to keep Smith off of Death Row, but in 2012, a representative of the Harper government was prepared to read an enthusiastic statement on behalf of Smith's commutation.

Smith's lawyers were unhappy at the last minute when the woman from the Canadian Consulate General in Denver, was going to read an enthusiastic statement on behalf of the Harper government. At the last minute, they were told she had to read the original statement that was far less enthusiastic.

Before the Harper government took power, Canada had a policy of fighting for its citizens who were sentenced to the death penalty. You get the impression from listening to the news that the Harper government doesn't fight much for its citizens behind bars in other countries, especially in instances where innocence is seriously up for dispute.

Arguing against its citizens being put to death shouldn't make a government look weak. Standing up for your citizens is something government is good at doing.

Ultimately, the fate of Smith will rest with Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D), who is leaving the office at the end of the year.

'iCarly' hits Canada in search of Canadian Fat Cakes

No matter what you've heard on "iCarly," you can bring processed baked goods from Canada into the United States.

Then again, even if you are a part of the "iCarly" demographic, hopefully you know that the Canadian Fat Cakes episode was just a spoof.

The popular Nickelodeon TV show took Fat Cakes, one of their running jokes, and adapted an episode where Sam, who is obsessed about Fat Cakes and has never had a Canadian fat cake, gets a chance to tour a plant in Canada where they make Canadian fat cakes. Fat cakes in Canada taste better because they are made with "cane fat" while American Fat Cakes are made with "corn fat."

Processed baked goods are well within the rules of what you can bring back from Canada into the United States. Trust me, I've brought back Canadian versions of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Cup Cakes. The customs officers think they're more funny than dangerous.

Since the show mentions Seattle, the inference is that the cast went to Vancouver or somewhere nearby in southwestern Britian Columbia.

Besides the actual ability to bring back processed baked goods, one other glaring misstep in the script was that Sam didn't have her passport when she tries to go back across the border to the United States. Sam would have needed a passport to get into Canada. She seems surprised about this when she gets to the border. Especially since this was a day trip, Sam would have had this issue come up earlier in the day.

For more from the food perspective, check out this edition of "Temptation of the Week" from our sister blog, BalanceofFood.com.

photo credit: iCarly

Windsor Hum is a real issue on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border

While the Windsor Hum is louder on the Canadian side of the border, the noise about the noise is getting louder in American media circles.

The Wall Street Journal reported on the phenomena. This take from ABC News portrays Canadians as hearing things.

The Windsor Hum has been going on from some time. The likely source is on the American side at Zug Island. The problem is that those on the Canadian side can't get those on the American side to investigate.

Reports have ranged from a low murmur to rattling and shaking.

In my trips to Windsor, I personally have not experienced this occurrence. However, with the number of complaints, you have to realize something is going on.

Audio scientists could explain why those on the Canadian side are hearing the noise, but not on the American side. Despite the snide take by the U.S. media outlets, Canadians don't hear any better than Americans and their ears work the same way. This could be as simple as the dynamics of where the sound comes from, or that more Canadians live near the source of the sound than Americans do.

Chances are that Barack Obama and Stephen Harper haven't discussed the Windsor Hum. The Windsor area already feels ignored by Queen's Park (provincial capital in Toronto) and Ottawa (national capital). And Detroit, outside the auto industry, is ignored on the U.S. side. Still, someone should step in and find out the source of the noise, and if that can't be adjusted to give Americans and Canadians more peace of mind.

Quebec students fighting for access to education, not just tuition hikes

If you think Canadians are peace-loving people who don't protest — unless it's about hockey — you haven't been paying attention to Montréal for the last couple of months.

A core of students are protesting over upcoming tuition hike increases. Only recently have the protests become violent, and that has been the missing angle for those outside Canada to pay attention.

Quebec has the lowest tuition levels in Canada, and Canadians pay a lot less than Americans for college tuition.

What may surprise most Americans and even some Canadians is that the protests are over a hike that calls for an increase of $325 per year for five years. That's $1,625 — over 5 years. Quebec Premier Jean Charest has offered a concession to stretch the increase over 7 years — $232/year. Premier Charest has also offered more money for loans and similar programs. Those concessions haven't gone over terribly well.

Over a (now) 7-year period, Quebec tuition will go from $2,890 to $4,700 per year.

If you are an American college student, or has sent one through school lately, those numbers seem frighteningly small. Quebecers do pay more in taxes. After all, U.S. college students should be protesting tuition hikes and ROI.

The protest spirit and the philosophy toward government, education, and society is very different in Quebec than in the rest of Canada. The spirit ties more toward Europe, which is celebrating May Day today, a more elaborate variation of North America's Labo(u)r Day. Whereas Americans might think that paying a ton of money is what you need to do for a college education, Quebecers might think, "Why can't university education be free, covered by the tax system?"

Students are also protesting because of concerns that fewer people can afford a college education under the tuition hikes. And as a percentage of the total, we are talking about a 75% tuition increase. Compared to Americans, Quebecers appear to have a good deal, but if you are a Quebecer, that argument doesn't really work with your reality.

In the 21st century, education is the key to better jobs, more money, and a chance to improve the world around you. In the United States, we don't understand this idea enough. You might think those in Quebec understand it too much. The students in Quebec are standing up for a higher principle, and that is something we don't see enough of … on either side of the border.

CBC will suffer greatly from no more Canadian teams in Stanley Cup playoffs

We joke about Gary Bettman being thrilled when Canadian-based teams are knocked out of the playoffs because of the impact on U.S. TV ratings. Under the old TV deal, the CBC paid way more money for hockey rights than NBC or the other properties contributed, yet the impetus was on the U.S. TV deal.

Even with the new TV deal, hockey ratings are peanuts to the NBC Universal bottom line while not having Canadian teams really tests CBC's bottom line, especially in light of federal budget cuts.

CBC only got 12 Canadian-based games this year. Consider that the last time no Canadian-based team made it to the second round (1996), Canadian teams played 28 games and 5 teams made the playoffs.

What is good for NBC is bad for CBC, though Canadian fans are more willing to see teams other than their own than American fans are. But in times of budget cuts, losing Vancouver and Ottawa really hurt CBC's bottom line.

In the NBC family, hockey dominates an otherwise fledging cable channel, a much less riskier venture than CBC's main network. And in the first round, any viewers at night on CNBC is a stark improvement from the status quo.

CBC puts dramas and comedies on hold to devote its spring lineup to hockey. Then again, with the budget cuts, CBC won't have as many dramas and comedies to pre-empt.

Yes, CBC is showing New York Rangers/Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers/New Jersey Devils, but those series won't draw nearly as many people as if Ottawa had survived to Round 2. True, carrying two Eastern series allows CBC to show The National, its signature broadcast, on time to the East Coast. If those series had Montreal and Ottawa, or Winnipeg and Ottawa, the ratings would be a lot higher.

If CBC was rooting for any non-Canadian team, Pittsburgh would have been that team because of star Canadian player Sidney Crosby. The Penguins are out of the playoffs. Even so, rooting for Canadian players as opposed to teams, outside of Crosby, won't draw much of a difference.

Though CBC gets government funding, ratings means ad dollars, which could have reduced the blow of budget cuts. The games also are promotional vehicles for future programming, but with lower ratings, fewer eyeballs will see those promos.

If you argue that Americans along the border are more likely to watch CBC's coverage with American teams, the issue for the CBC is that they can't make money from American viewers. Yes, irony. But again, hockey is more important to CBC's bottom line, now more than ever.

Then again, with so many shows cancelled and on the fence (Battle of the Blades), CBC's promo efforts were curious at best. Better to get the ratings and then figure it out. Other than Brad Richards (Rangers) and Martin Brodeur (Devils), the teams aren't filled with major Canadian players.

The fact that the CBC in Round 2 got to pick the two best series put them in better shape. In a normal year, the CBC can have a Canadian team in two series in Round 2. But Canadian-based teams have had their own problems (we'll discuss that more next Monday), and the CBC is paying for it this spring.

'Colbert Report' riffs on Canadian currency

Iceland isn't going to switch to the Canadian loonie as its currency, but that didn't stop Stephen Colbert from going off on the idea on the "Colbert Report."

This time, Canadians are "poutine-sucking, health care addicted, nemesis to the North." Colbert notes that Canada is just jealous as they need their own version of Canadian bacon, Canadian beer, and Canadian baseball (hockey; go figure).

Colbert also talked about the new Canadian quarter with a dinosaur skeleton that glows in the dark. The creature is based on the first dinosaur fossil found in the Peace Country in northwestern Alberta.

He imagines himself as a child hoping to get his friends, Chip and Scott, and get their moms to drive them to Ontario this summer to get the quarters.

Colbert worries about losing the youth of the United States to the "scourge of Canadian politeness and fiscal sanity." Not too bad stereotypes, if you have to have stereotypes.

Colbert ties the dinosaur theme, noting that Canadians should keep their dinosaurs "liquified in your tar sands and pumped directly into our gas tanks."

The "Colbert Report" airs Monday-Thursday on the Comedy Channel and CTV in Canada and Comedy Central in the United States.

Alberta Wildrose Party comes up smaller than expected

Remember the woman with the big wheels and even bigger ideas? Well, despite the hype that the Wildrose Party received for its wheels/boobs on the side of its tour bus, the party made small increases. And the Progressive Conservatives retain a majority that it has had for the last 41 years.

Alberta is the most conservative province in Canada. So on the surface, the idea of a more conservative party would be interesting, mostly in rural areas. In Alberta, most of the population lives in Calgary, its largest city, and Edmonton, its capital. And by the voting results, the two large cities weren't willing to give away control from the PC Party.

Danielle Smith (left) got a lot of attention with the wheels as boobs on the side of her tour bus. And the party did go from 4 unelected seats to approximately 17 of the 87 seats in the provincial parliament.

This election marked the first time that two women had run major party campaigns in the province. This was Premier Alison Redford's first election shortly after becoming the head of the party. Danielle Smith is the opposition leader. Too bad a battle of two women had to be known mostly for this picture.

Previous: Danielle Smith, Alberta Wildrose Party gain attention for big 'wheels,' not big ideas

photo credit: Ed Kaiser/Postmedia News

2012 Stanley Cup notebook: Ottawa, Vancouver sweep Wednesday night

Wednesdays was a day of 2s. Both Canadian-based teams won huge contests. Henrik Sedin was very glad to have his twin brother Daniel back. The Canucks won a 2-goal win. Ottawa tied its series at 2. And there are still 2 Canadian teams in the playoffs.

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If you looking for a stat to impress people around the water cooler or the lunch room, both Ottawa and Vancouver snapped their scoreless streaks at the 87 minute mark. A regulation hockey game is 60 minutes. Struggling to score doesn't inspire confidence, no matter how good your defense may be. Both Canadian teams have lost 1-0 games in this opening round.

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CBC's nightmare of an Ottawa OT and a Vancouver start did come true. Ottawa's OT didn't last long. The CBC solution was to send British Columbia and Yukon to the start of the Vancouver game while the rest of the country stayed with the Ottawa game.

For those Canadians that could get CBUT/Vancouver and almost any other CBC station had the best of all worlds. As far as we know, CHEX/Peterborough stayed with the Senators (let us know if CHEX flipped). Both games were streaming at cbcsports.ca; the Web site has been experimenting with HD feeds online during the playoffs.

The transition on U.S. television was more complete but more awkward. The NHL Network started it out and the NBC Sports Network jumped in shortly thereafter. Waiting a few more minutes or scheduling 10:30 pm faceoffs would have helped.

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The sports media geeks (an affectionate term for us) had some chatter over the fact that CBC (and the NBCSN sim sub) was the only TV broadcast in either country. The LA Kings didn't have a local TV feed for Game 4. This was in great part due to conflicts with other LA area sports. The idea of a potentially series clinching win without local TV in the first round made Los Angeles look second-rate as a hockey city.

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John Forslund did mention Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was at the game. He noted that Harper is a huge hockey fan. Of course, Ottawa is where Harper works. Forslund said they might be talking with Harper (or about Harper), and they never got back to the subject. Since the NBC teams don't use a sideline reporter, they couldn't interview Harper in the stands. Too bad, since we know Harper watches American news rather than Canadian news.

We saw a bit more colo(u)r from Ottawa and the arena during the telecast. The coverage represents a change in attitude from the NBC Group, almost as if someone in charge read our coverage on CanadianCrossing.com. They should also read our Twitter feed for inspiration.

This is especially important because Ottawa rarely gets any coverage in the U.S. spotlight, and the Rangers and Senators will play Game 6 back in Ottawa Monday night.

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Offensive officiating in Ottawa, besides being lovely alliteration, is a head-scratcher. Home teams can sometimes have an unfair advantage with the refs in any sport, but the officiating has really been one-sided against the hometown Senators. I've watched obvious boarding calls by the New York Rangers right in front of refs not get called, but any slight infraction, or sometimes non-infraction against Ottawa gets the quick hand raising.

This doesn't even factor in Marc Staal's hit to Jason Spezza's head. Though Spezza crashed to the ice with a reported stinger, Staal got no penalty for a deliberate hit to the head.

The head scratching doesn't come so much from the calls going to the Rangers. The calls in New York were more fair to the Senators than the calls in Ottawa. We know the referees really hate Vancouver; the officials who worked Games 3 and 4 in Ottawa showed a harsh anti-Canadian bias.

Ottawa has had a hard time competing with the Rangers when it's 5-on-5. The Rangers shouldn't be getting any more help from the refs.

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Yes, Brian Hayward is Canadian and apparently does NHL color commentary for a living. But Hayward has proven to be the worst U.S. national color commentator in the modern NBC/Versus era.

Hayward stuck to his "calling things tight" theory in Game 4 that was just as wrong in Game 4 as it was in Game 3. Blown calls against the Senators were "breaks for the Rangers." You heard that phrase more often than "Canada's capital."

Also, I could pull a 8-year-old out of the stands who would ask better questions from the coaches than Hayward comes up with asking. Often, he throws out statements hoping like heck the coach says something smart. Credit to the coaches since they have looked way smarter than Hayward.

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The announcing teams haven't been picked for Game 5 in Madison Square Garden. Since Pittsburgh kept its series alive, we might end up with Forslund and Hayward, though any other crew would be a better option. Since Game 5 would be in the usual Hockey Night in Canada slot, a CBC simulcast would be appropriate. However, the NBC people turned that down last Saturday night.

Game 5 airs on the NBC Sports Network at 7 pm. Those with CBC access have a better option.

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As for Vancouver's Game 5, NBC wants a doubleheader on Sunday, the day for Game 5. If Philadelphia wins on Friday, the Canucks could be on, dare we say, NBC. If the Penguins kept their series alive, Canucks/Kings will be on NBCSN in the evening. The question will be whether the CBC sim subs streak will keep going if NBCSN carries the game. If the game is on NBC, look for Dave Strader and Brian Engblom on the telecast.