Susan's Canada Online Blog

It may seem a little early, but if you plan on mailing greetings and gifts to international destinations for the holidays, the deadlines are fast approaching. Here are the holiday mail deadlines recommended by Canada Post for sending cards and parcels to international destinations to be sure they make it in time for the holidays.

More on Canadian Holiday Mail:
Postal Codes Lookup
Mailing Gifts to Canada
Canadian Holiday Mail
Canadian Postal Services

If you've already made up your mind how you're going to vote in the federal election, then you can take advantage of the advance polls. Advance polls will be open for three days, beginning Friday October 3, 2008. If you're not yet on the voters list, you can register to vote at the advance polls too, as long as you show valid identification proving your identity and residential address.

More on Canada Election 2008
Find Your Federal Riding
Canadian National Register of Electors
Election Day FAQ
Canada Election 2008

If you're planning on shopping on U.S. Web sites and having goods shipped to Canada, don't let hidden costs catch you by surprise. Shipping charges and exchange rates are usually fairly clear, but you still have to consider duties, taxes, and customs brokerage fees. Here are the ins and outs of shopping and shipping across the Canadian border.

More on Goods Crossing the Canadian Border:
Mailing Gifts to Canada
Canada Customs and Border Services
Canadian Postal Services

In World War I, Lieutenant-General Arthur Currie, Commander of the Canadian Corps, was reluctant to send Canadian troops into the Battle of Passchendaele. He was horrified at the sight of the battlefield, which a destroyed drainage system and the worst rains in 30 years had turned into a sea of mud. Currie predicted that the number of casualties would approach 16,000, and he was right. These historic pictures of the Battle of Passchendaele show the horrendous conditions of the battlefield on which more than 15,000 Canadians were wounded or killed. Many of them drowned in the mud.

Photo: Canadians Lay Trench Mats Over the Mud at Passchendaele
William Rider-Rider / Canada Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-002156

More About Canada in World War I
Battle of Ypres 1915
Pictures of the Battle of Vimy Ridge
Canadian World War I Posters
Canada in World War I

Elections Canada is making it as easy as possible for Canadians to vote in the upcoming federal election. So even if you're going to be down south on October 14, have surgery scheduled, have a physical disability or just want to get it done early, you'll be able to vote. Here are 6 different ways to vote in the Canadian federal election.

More on Canada Election 2008
Canadian Federal Party Leaders
Write to Federal Party Leaders
Federal Election Candidates 2008
Canada Election 2008

Pictures of relief camps, soup kitchens, protest marches and drought are vivid reminders of the pain of the 1930s and the Great Depression in Canada.

Governments in Canada were slow to respond to the desperate economic and social conditions. Until the Great Depression, governments in Canada intervened as little as possible in the economy and social welfare was left to churches and charities.

The Great Depression led to the creation in 1934 of the Bank of Canada to manage Canada's money supply and help formulate monetary policy. The Great Depression also led to the beginnings of a social safety net in Canada, which now includes minimum wage, employment standards and programs such as health insurance and employment insurance.

Photo: Unemployed Parade in Toronto in the Great Depression
Toronto Star / Library and Archives Canada / C-029397

More Pictures of Canadian History
Pictures of the Canadian Parliament Buildings Fire of 1916
Pictures of the Raid on Dieppe
Pictures of D-Day

If you are a Canadian citizen who will be at least 18 years old on election day October 14, 2008 and are living outside Canada temporarily, you may be able to vote by mail in the upcoming Canadian federal election. You'll have to act promptly though.

If you expect to be outside Canada on both election day and during the advance polls, and you have a permanent residence in Canada, you can vote by mail-in ballot. You must register in time for Elections Canada to send you a mail-in ballot and return it to Elections Canada by the deadline. Once you register to vote by mail-in ballot, you will not be able to vote in regular or advance polls.

More About Canadian Federal Election 2008:
Who Can Vote in Canadian Elections
Find Your Canadian Federal Riding
Canadian Federal Political Parties
Glossary of Election Terms

In October 1970, two cells of the Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ), a revolutionary organization promoting an independent and socialist Quebec, kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross and Quebec Justice Minister Pierre Laporte. Here is a timeline of the key events in those frightening days of the October Crisis when a terrorist group challenged Canada, and the War Measures Act temporarily suspended the civil liberties of Canadians.

More on the October Crisis:
The October Crisis
Pierre Trudeau
Robert Bourassa
Pierre Laporte

As Canadians start into the third federal election campaign in just over four years, you'll be hearing politicians eagerly claiming historic firsts. Have a look at Canadian Election Firsts to find out about major milestones in the history of Canadian federal elections, from the introduction of the secret ballot in 1874 to giving prison inmates the vote in 2002.

Photo: Canadian Nurses Vote in World War I
William Rider-Rider / Canada Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-002279

More About Federal Elections in Canada
How Federal Elections Work in Canada
Canadian Elections Glossary

With the death toll at 13 and the number of cases of listeria food poisoning from contaminated meat products still rising, the federal government has announced the terms of reference for an independent investigation into the listeria outbreak. A report is expected by the middle of March 2009. One of the issues that keeps surfacing is the role of food inspectors, and recent changes or planned changes in that role in the food safety process. The Agriculture Union of the Public Service Alliance of Canada has been challenging statements made by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. The union's view is that although the workload on food inspectors is growing, much more of their time is being spent on paperwork and less on actual inspection at the plant level, in effect relying on the food industry to do its own inspections.

In the meantime, Maple Leaf Foods, the company at the centre of the listeria outbreak, has been executing a model crisis communications strategy. With early estimates of their losses reported to be in the area of $20 million, they have voluntarily recalled nearly 200 meat products made at its Toronto plant since January 2008 and have been open on reporting on possible sources of contamination.

More About Listeria Outbreak and Investigation
Deadly Listeria Outbreak in Canada Likely to Grow
Listeriosis - Risks, Symptoms and Precautions
Buck Stops at Maple Leaf Foods, Says President - CTV News
Food Inspectors Union Slams Tories Over Listeria Probe - National Post
Listeria Outbreak - Public Health Agency of Canada
Listeria Investigation and Recall - Canadian Food Inspection Agency