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Hi all, We have had fishable ice here for about 3 weeks now but this was my first outing by quad. Only about 4" of snow on the ground here so chose the quad over the sled, better on gas. The lake I went to is accessible from our shore across the lake and through the bush/skidoo trails, always a fun ride. Had to be a bit mindful when I got there as early ice can vary from place to place. We have 12" on our lake and I'm taking the ice road to work now, but the lake in the video is a different animal to Wabigoon lake. It is deeper and tends to freeze later. Also with the North/ South orientation of the lake it tends to freeze first at the access point and up to a week later in the main basin where I fish. After some checking turns out like most of the lakes here it froze over in one night as the thickness was 8"-9" of clear black ice at the landing and in the main body. Fishing was good and I got a limit within an hour and a half, lots of missed bites too, good fun.

Until I got my current job I had never had medical benefits. Or really any benefits at all. Now I have a job with medical, dental and prescription coverage and most important a pension!!!! I lived for the day my entire life and never saved a penny. The pension offered from my employer will actually allow me to retire. Just wish I found the position 10 years earlier as I would be able to retire with a full pension, but I can live quite comfortably on the amount I will earn from it. Especially when combined with CPP & OAS. For most of my working life I found it more important to have a job I could take leave from to head to the Arctic to guide for 2 months a year. Being happy and chasing fish was more important the the all mighty dollar. Foolish, maybe but I have enjoyed my life and when all is said and done I won't be saying I wish I had done this or done that. Because I did them.

Sorry about todays market close, I asked for some of my RSP's to be cashed out yesterday! ?

We were getting them in 20 - 30 fow.

If you can't get these through your guides, something is wrong.

Most of the guys my age always say we were born at the right time, 1950's. If you went down Burlington St. on a bus in Steeltown and got off at the wrong stop one could walk to the wrong front office of any plant and get a shift job for 30 to 40 years with benefits and a pension. That time was the closest one could say " I have a permanent job." Even then though many were severed off in the 90's a few years or less short of pensions. Many of the guys I worked with that had no plans of retiring that had more than 30 years in would get a tap on the shoulder from someone out of the Pittsburg office and were asked "What do you do here?" If they didn't have a good answer the bean counter would congratulate them on their retirement if they qualified. I had never reached into my pocket to pay for anything health related in my entire life until a few years ago. US Steel Canada cut medical benefits by 100%. Thankfully we got most of them back when Bedrock Industries bought us from US Steel. I got a small taste of what it is like to have to pay for major medical, Rx drugs and dental like both my brothers and their families. A sobering experience to say the least and a new empathy for those that don't get good if any medical benefits from their employers. I am sure there are many on this board today with young families that must pay for medical benefits out of their net earnings. It has to be a tough go of it for certain.

I can totally relate to this,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,NUFF SAID Keep up the great work. Many dont know what they have, till they find it. Guided. The ice fishing thing is interesting. Hope your not telling them if the screw up, their going for a cold dip. LOL J.K. B

In my line of work, I teach outdoor education to some of the worst of the worst. Students expelled for bullying, fighting, assault, drugs and worse ... I take them some of the places my dad has taken me over the years in hopes that they will build strength of character, patience, people skills, problem solving etc much like I did through my experiences. We start with less crowded spaces until they can be decent people to others. But I work diligently with these young boys, sometimes young men to ensure they think twice before they do what they did to get in trouble again. You are not wrong that many “bad kids” just don’t have the right guidance or examples to follow. I work hard to give them opportunities and skills in a way they don’t feel like they are learning and hope that it will make a difference in the future. Sometimes it’s not always rewarding but when you mKe a difference in one person you know it’s going a long way. Ice fishing in particular is a great lesson provider ... ?

I also hear ya. But outraged isn't the right word, disappointed is more fitting, since it was the tax payers that saved the company when they were on the brink and lately the company has been netting $billions. This wasn't a surprise either. Oshawa has been slowly whittled down over the years. Running 1 shift in the whole plant isn't sustainable. The writing was on the wall, it was just a matter of when if they didn't add a new product. I like my blue collar job. It suits me just fine in many aspects. I don't have to make sales, or deal with any office politics, or try to climb the corporate ladder. When I leave at the end of the day I forget about the place and they forget about me. It's a shame these jobs aren't going to be around. A company can be profitable and it's workers can be paid a decent wage for an honest days work.