The end of summer

Night time at the CNE

We haven't really had a summer in Toronto this year. Tomorrow promises to bring only the second Heat Warning of the season, where normally we'd have at least a week or two worth of them.

Because the season never really kicked-in weather-wise, I didn't feel as strongly about getting out to the numerous summer festivals: Waterfront Festival, Taste of the Danforth, World Pride, Taste of Asia, Taste of Lawrence (plenty of food festivals, as you can tell!), Caribbean Carnival; Buskerfest and don't forget the Canadian National Exhibition...There are a lot of things to do every weekend.

Maybe my experience last fall of the Nuit Blanche festival coloured my thinking a bit too. During the festival, which runs one night in October from 6PM until 6AM, streets are closed down and interactive art displays are erected. Attendance last year - meaning people flooding the streets of Toronto - was 1 million people. I went out in it. It was crazy. I went to Nathan Phillips Square for a Ai Wei Wei installation. Trying to get through the square was an exercise in having your genitals introduced to 50,000 strangers. Not fun.

I'm going to try and get into the spirit of the festivals again though. May even hit the CNE this weekend. I love the activity in this beautiful city. I need to participate.      

Crossroads - how should this blog continue?

Hi Readers,
I'm at a crossroads with your favourite immigration blog. Not quite sure how, or if I should continue to write on these big immigration matters, transition this to more of a "life in Canada" or "life in Toronto" blog, or simply call it a day after almost 10 years?

Any thoughts?

I'll let you know my conclusion soon.

- JH

RT online - No longer welcome: Canada blocks fast-track visa program

Annoyed potential immigrants are planning to sue the Canadian government after Ottawa canceled the so-called ‘millionaire visa’ program, which had allowed tens of thousands of well-off foreigners to gain fast-track visa entry.

The scheme was temporarily frozen in 2012 due to a backlog of paperwork; however, the Canadian government announced in February that it was going to scrap the program permanently.

"This was not a program that was generating jobs, growth, opportunity in Canada and it was certainly not a program that was getting the immigrant investors we wanted," said Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Chris Alexander to CBS.

CBS also reports that around 40 organizations in the Vancouver metropolitan area say they are considering taking legal action against the federal government after it scrapped the Immigrant Investor Program. Vancouver has long been a haven for wealthy immigrants from Hong Kong and mainland China, due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean and the excellent standard of living in the city.

Read the full article here

Three years in Canada!

As of August 12, 2014, I mark my third year and the start of my fourth in Canada.

Has it passed so quickly? Yes it has. I pinch myself often: Three years as a permanent resident. All and all, it's been pretty wonderful. This is my home. This is my country.

I am content. Am I still adjusting? Absolutely. Do I miss the U.S.? Sometimes. It's mainly family that I miss, and dear friends. But that's the emmigrant's lot in life, and the path I chose. I'm still glad I chose it.

They say time flies when you're having fun, and there's not a lot to say when life is good.

Time is flying. There's not a lot to say.