topraider

The 500K exemption still exists, its even higher now (800K). The things that it can be claimed on has narrowed however. The list includes "qualified agricultural property", which is probably aimed at farmers NOT speculators. You can use the 800K exemption as many times as you want, but the total claimed on all things during your lifetime can't exceed the limit. If you have claimed certain kinds of losses in the past, or claimed large interest expenses, watch out. My advice to you is to find out whether the property you sold qualifies as an agricultural property under the income tax act. Google is your friend. If it does, consider finding a professional with experience in this area - that is, an accountant that deals with farmers.

Nice photos, especially the first. Addymark, they're bohemians.

Nice pics, I think those canvasbacks were in fact redheads...same genus, different species.

These fellas engineered a makeshift bridge out of pallets to get from one icefloe to another. When there were warm offshore winds blowing. After a national weather service warning. That's dumb. Even if there were 100 of them. Send them the bill.

I have had a hand controlled unit at the bow of my boat for the past 15 years. I have used foot controlled ones in bass boats and I never felt comfortable with them, given the balancing issues - I fish out of a small boat and like to have both feet free. I also fish a lot, and like simple technology, I feel foot contolled models have more that can go wrong with them. When I fished bass tournaments, there were frequently issues with the cables, or the foot control assembly that would cause grief. I now stand on the bow of the boat (the very tip) and use my knees to steer, if the waters are not to rough. Never used the hand extension, in a small boat, it just gets in the way.

Scooter, I had the same problem with my 1992 Princecraft, and discovered that the hose going to the livewell must have cracked in the winter. The solution was to put a cork in the intake hole at the back of the boat. So block off all the holes at the back of the boat and see if that helps. There was no problem with the hull at all.

Careful holdfast, they love this guy in Toronto. He gets like 60% of the vote in every riding.

Holdfast, those companies you mentioned are not pure play refiners, I don't think Bonavista refines at all, I searched Suncor's earnings report from this morning and copied this paragraph: "The increase in earnings was primarily due to higher price realizations on the company's oil sands sales, as benchmark crude oil prices continued to rise. This was partially offset by increased oil sands operating expenses and increased oil sands royalties, as well as reduced margins in the refining and marketing business." The money is in exploration and production, not refining, a couple of years ago though, the refiners were making big margins. Not now. Thats why the integrated oil companies in Canada (petrocanada, imperial oil) have underperformed their peers, who mine or drill for it and then sell it to the marketers and refiners. Husky made $38million in the last quarter from marketing and refining. They made $882 million overall.

In this week's Fortune magazine there's an article about a new 6 billion dollar refinery being built in India that will be capable of producing 5% of the world's gasoline. 40% of the production will be shipped to the United States. As the North American gasoline market is integrated, it's good news for Canada too. Right now, refiners in North America aren't making money (all the money is being made in exploration and production), this additional supply can't be good news for the refiners, but it is good news for consumers. There is no getting around the cost of a barrel of oil though, and the fuel taxes governments levy on top of that. Biofuels are not the answer, unless you are happy to see people around the world go hungry because food is being turned into ethanol. Most of the world's oil is controlled by governments, not the big oil companies. Governments expropriate, and then run the resource down by not investing the profits back into the business.

Sometimes a hawk will stake out a feeder, which will cause the pigeons and doves to move on. Here in the city of ottawa, there are quite a few resident hawks, and even a few falcons, that keep the pigeons on their toes. I have not been lucky yet to see a Coopers hawk smash a pigeon. This year, there was a failure in the seed crop that caused the finches (i.e. pine grosbeak) and bohemian waxwings to vacate and move south out of the boreal forest, and they will keep moving until they find food. You may see them this winter, but maybe not again for a few years.

Am I missing something here? shipping OR gst? I expect you'll pay both. and pst to boot.

I was recently in the market for a spotting scope. I settled on a Bushnell model and my parents went all over Myrtle Beach looking for the best price, including at BPS. In the end, nobody came close to Lebarons (after 10% plus 7% discounts), so I bought it local. It doesn't always pay to shop in the states.

Good post re US dollar - I have a sneaky suspicion that a lot of countries that hold the$US as a reserve currency are "lightening up" , and purchasing Euros. China is losing a lot by holding US dollars, how long are they going to put up with that. Trouble is the US won't let them come in and buy anything with their dollars, since many of the Chinese multinationals are state controlled. Its a lot cheaper now for Canadian companies to buy US ones I feel bad for the Canadian retailer. Maybe its time that canadian customs started asking lots of questions at the border to slow things down a bit.

I used to live in Edmonton years ago. Due to the general lack of water in the province, there is a lot more fishing pressure on the available resource. On the other hand, the Alberta government funds their MNR, unlike Ontario. The fishing is way better in Ontario. Cottages are much cheaper in Ontario. We don't know how good we have it here. Forget about Muskies or bass. The North Saskatchewan, which runs through Edmonton, has pike, walleye, sauger, and goldeye. The river trout fishing is limited and highly regulated, but can be good. You won't see 10 pound steelhead being caught. No salmon. There are browns, rainbows, cutthroats, speckles, bulltrout, and rocky mountain whitefish for good measure. Some of the pothole lakes (sloughs) are stocked with rainbows that can grow 5 pounders in two years, the water is super productive.

Hand Control for me, I have used both, I'm over 40 and like to stand on two feet, so i steer with my knees. Both hands are free. I never use a seat when fishing, if you do maybe the foot control is better. I fish a lot and like to keep my stuff a long time, so the technologically simpler it is, the better, less can go wrong, I've seen too many trolling motors with problems because of screwed up cables and steering mechanisms. I drive standard too. Hate automatic. Tiller all the way.

I think 19 foot is too big, you'll need a big truck to tow it, and a big motor, thats quite a carbon footprint you'll be leaving, you'll be sorry when gas hits $3 a litre. I have a 14.5 foot princecraft with a 25 on the back, and fish the great lakes often, mostly Ontario but I've been on Superior as well, watch the weather etc etc. Go with a 16 foot tin boat (Lund/princecraft) and you won't be sorry, and you won't need a big truck to tow it, and it fits in the Garage, and you can manhandle it if you have to.

Gas prices are set in New York, if you want to see where gas prices are headed turn on CNBC in the morning. Boycotting Petrocan won't work, if they can't sell their gas here, the'll sell it across the border to the Americans. How does that benefit us. The problem is, and will be for the forseeable future, refining capacity. Refineries cost billions to build and nobody wants to risk that kind of money on multiyear projects, given the enviromental red tape and the possibility that Canadian politicans will impose CO2 caps (make industry pay!!!). Oil companies are smarter to invest their money elsewhere or return their cash flow to shareholders through dividends or stock buybacks.

Folks, Not all swans are the same - the orange beaked ones (mute swans) are the more common ones, they are not native to Canada, and they harass other ducks and geese. These are the city ones. They are ill tempered. The black beaked ones are different, there was one (trumpeter swan) hanging around Port Hope this winter, these are uncommon, rare in fact, and nearly went extinct in Ontario, thanks to overhunting. There are efforts being made to reestablish them in Ontario. There are also tundra swans around, they are just passin' through.

I've caught eels - not for a long while though, their populations are in trouble now and they may be protected - let them go if you catch one. I've caught both Goldeyes and Longnose suckers, but not in Ontario, rather in the North Saskatchewan River in the city of Edmonton. The longnose suckers are finescaled and often exhibit a red stripe down the side, like a rainbow trout. The mooneye is very common, I see thousands in the Ottawa River rising to suck bugs off the surface on calm summer evenings.

There are metal dealers around who buy scrap metal from the public and resell it to larger dealers/and or smelters. Look in the phone book yellow pages under "scrap metal" and make a few calls.

Interesting article in today's Toronto Star: http://www.thestar.com/News/article/200695 Its about 1000's of old dams around the province that serve no purpose other than to block fish. It seems the local conservation authorities are the deciders about the fate of these dams, and enviromental concerns rate low on their list of priorities.

Hello all; I travel that section of highway maybe 30 times a year, I've never stopped to smell the coffee, there are only a couple of strip motels open now, that stretch of the highway (between Perth & Madoc) has seen better days economically. There are other abandoned motels along the route, and burned out buildings. The gas station at Silver lake is closed, it used to be a pioneer and was open 24 hrs and had the cheapest gas in eastern Ontario, they sold to someone else,raised prices, the hours were cut, then it closed for good.

Talking to the opposition is very important, it gets you an "in" when the price is cheap. And trophy muskie, it is a mistake to categorize PC's as rich snobs. Out here, west of Ottawa, in the riding of Renfrew, they vote in the PC's with huge majorities. Yet they are not rich, quite poor as a matter of fact. In Toronto's rich neighborhoods, most vote liberal and send their kids to private school.

Excellent! Looking forward to the new forum. We appreciate all the hard work you do!

I recall coming across nesting bass well into August, in a lake just north of Ottawa. The year was 1992, that was the year of the volcanic eruption, and the lost summer That year class was entirely lost. Normally, they nest there in late May.