The Globe and Mail - Memo to Canadian ‘pot tourists’

I'm from Seattle. But I had immigrated to Canada by the time state of Washington voters legalized the possession of marijuana. Here's an article from the Globe and Mail to remind everyone that crossing the U.S. border INTO a state, is not the same as entering a state. You are entering the U.S. - and when you do, it's the federal laws they care about, not the state laws. In the U.S. possession of marijuana is still a federal crime. So take heed!

Read the Globe article here

I'm an expert!

You might have noticed a new badge on the blog, it's from Answers.com, who recruited me to become their Category Expert writer for Canada a few weeks ago. It's been a lot of fun putting my broader knowledge of Canada to work in my writing. While this blog and immigration matters that impact my readers is very close to my heart still, it's fun to explore other aspects of my new home.

Please take a moment and check out some of my articles at canada.answers.com .

Canadian Experience Class - Minister announces cap for 2014

Just weeks after their report to Parliament, the Tories continue their tinkering with immigration programs and levels.

 As reported by CIC News:

Last week, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced significant changes to the popular Canadian Experience Class (CEC) of immigration. Most importantly, an intake cap of 12,000 applications has been instituted for the upcoming year. The cap is effective from November 9, 2013 to October 31, 2014.

Read the entire article here

Back from the U.S.

I was in the U.S. for a few weeks and have just returned to Canada. I have to say, the culture shock continues to grow, the more I am away from my old home. Here's an example: I turn on the local morning news and they are very pleased to report that the city of Tacoma is training a SWAT team to take over the city's metro buses in case of an emergency. They showed the policemen in their paramilitary gear, masks and assault weapons charging onto a bus.

If you know anything about the city of Tacoma, you know they have much better uses for their money. Knowing their priorities are so backward in a city who's people are in need infuriates me. It did when I lived in the U.S., and it still does.

You get numb to this sort of thing in the U.S. - the police-state nature of things, the killing, the violence. Canada isn't perfect by any means (we all remember the G-20 meeting here), but, how to put it? The police aren't going to show off this sort of thing, and if the media does get a hold of it, they are likely to question it. In the U.S., no questions asked.

It's nice to be back home.