# The CanaDoper Café (2012 edition of The great, ongoing Canadian current events and politics thread.) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 1, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014 "2012-01-01T03:31:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 29
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/561 "2012-03-02T22:11:38Z")
> [@Dr\_Doom](#): > > Simcoe County School Board (Ontario) is out of control with tax dollars. > > School buses, and therefore school (pretty much) were cancelled Wednesday morning because they \*expected \*freezing rain **in the afternoon**. It snowed. > > School buses, and therefore school (pretty much) were cancelled Thursday morning for reasons immediately inevident to me. Maybe because it had snowed (gasp!) Wednesday night? I’ve commented on this to a few friends recently; it seems that as the winters get milder, our reaction to any degree of inclement weather is becoming hysterical. It’s becoming routine now for school buses to be cancelled for weather that no reasonable person would define as dangerous. Indeed, I would suggest that school bus cancellations probably increase the danger to students. The children will probably end up being driven to school, or somewhere, and they are in vastly more danger in a car than in a bus; a school bus is just about the safest mode of transportation you can ride in. It’s not just buses. We’re now getting EXTREME COLD WEATHER ALERTS for anything that hits -10, which is, lets be honest, historically a pretty routine temperature to reach in winter. I actually heard an announcer breathlessly note that “skin will freeze in ten minutes” in -10 weather, which is utter idiocy; if that were true then every person who took a walk or a run when it was cold would have serious frostbite. I couldn’t believe an adult would say something like that. When I was walking about half a mile to a bus stop in the early 80s these sorts of temperatures were perfectly expected and a little snow was no big deal. The entire time I took a bus to school in elementary school, a span of four years, the bus schedule was changed once to account for weather. In case you think I’m just being an old coot, I actually looked up a random range of days in Winter 1982 for my hometown, Kingston: Day: Mean, Low Temperature February 2: -8, low -18 February 3: -1, low -2 February 4: -4, low -7 February 5: -13, low -20 February 6: -11, low -20 February 7: -9, low -15 February 8: -6, low -15 I mean, this was just normal stuff. Now people go positively apeshit. I’m not sure why this phenomenon is happening, but it does seem to be inversely proportional to how much bad weather we actually get. We had a formal storm warning the other day for an expected \*\*two centimetres \*\*of snow, an amount that I wouldn’t even bother to shovel off a driveway. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/562 "2012-03-02T22:23:15Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’ve commented on this to a few friends recently; it seems that as the winters get milder, our reaction to any degree of inclement weather is becoming hysterical. It’s becoming routine now for school buses to be cancelled for weather that no reasonable person would define as dangerous. Indeed, I would suggest that school bus cancellations probably increase the danger to students. The children will probably end up being driven to school, or somewhere, and they are in vastly more danger in a car than in a bus; a school bus is just about the safest mode of transportation you can ride in. > > It’s not just buses. We’re now getting EXTREME COLD WEATHER ALERTS for anything that hits -10, which is, lets be honest, historically a pretty routine temperature to reach in winter. I actually heard an announcer breathlessly note that “skin will freeze in ten minutes” in -10 weather, which is utter idiocy; if that were true then every person who took a walk or a run when it was cold would have serious frostbite. I couldn’t believe an adult would say something like that. > > I’m not sure why this phenomenon is happening, but it does seem to be inversely proportional to how much bad weather we actually get. We had a formal storm warning the other day for an expected \*\*two centimetres \*\*of snow, an amount that I wouldn’t even bother to shovel off a driveway. The obvious reason for this is that the seriousness of weather is subjective and relative, based on a comparison with the “normal” as experienced by a particular society at a particular time. For whatever reason, our winters appear to be milder than they used. Thus, the basis of comparison has shifted. If it was -10 every day for months, no-one would find -10 weather of much concern; if it only happens very infrequently, suddenly it appears extreme because people are not physically or psychologically used to it. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/563 "2012-03-03T02:28:42Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’ve commented on this to a few friends recently; it seems that as the winters get milder, our reaction to any degree of inclement weather is becoming hysterical. … I have to respond to this because buses only get cancelled in Ottawa if it’s going to be really bad, like thick freezing rain bad. I think there have been two cancellations this winter, and both for that reason. Otherwise, in Ottawa, we’d be cancelling buses every other week for snow. (The last 3 winters have been low for snow accumulation, but I’ve had school bus-taking kids since 2001.) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/564 "2012-03-03T06:23:34Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > When I was walking about half a mile to a bus stop in the early 80s these sorts of temperatures were perfectly expected and a little snow was no big deal. The entire time I took a bus to school in elementary school, a span of four years, the bus schedule was changed once to account for weather. I must say, I am surprised at the number of children who require a bus to school nowadays. Like **RickJay** , I walked over a half-mile to school in my elementary schooldays; and we did it in all weather–there were no schoolbuses in Toronto. Further, we did it four times a day: to school in the morning, home for lunch, back after lunch, and home after school. I only recall school being cancelled once, and that was due to an ice storm that dropped power lines throughout the city. They were worried that us kids would be in danger walking to school over fallen live power lines. I was about seven years old at the time; school was never cancelled subsequently. But there were never any schoolbuses, no parents drove their kids to school (we all walked or rode bikes to school), and we did it no matter how cold it was. We may have dressed like astronauts, but we made it to school and back, four times a day, every day; in all weather conditions–including temps from -10C to -20C, or lower on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/565 "2012-03-03T06:29:29Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It’s becoming routine now for school buses to be cancelled for weather that no reasonable person would define as dangerous. Indeed, I would suggest that school bus cancellations probably increase the danger to students. The children will probably end up being driven to school, or somewhere, and they are in vastly more danger in a car than in a bus; a school bus is just about the safest mode of transportation you can ride in. 😕 They cancel the buses but not school itself? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/566 "2012-03-03T07:22:38Z")
This is precious, from the Globe and Mail: [Fighting and ‘goonery’ not something to celebrate in Canada’s game: Governor-General.](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/fighting-and-goonery-not-something-to-celebrate-in-canadas-game-governor-general/article2357576/) But what makes this story really special is that the GG is out, on an outdoor rink, playing hockey. From the Globe link above: > [@](#): > > He is 70 years old, yet skates fluidly, smoothly, stick blade softly cradling the puck as he glides from one end of the rink to the other and fires a shot hard into the boards… > > “If you bodycheck me,” the Governor-General says, “that fellow over there will shoot you.” > > He points with his stick toward a large man wearing a snow-dusted overcoat over his weaponry: RCMP security. The man smiles and nods back, as if in agreement. I love the idea that our head of state is playing hockey! Does Queen Elizabeth play any sports? (I realize that she is our true head of state, but I doubt she ever did anything like this.) Does Mr. Obama do anything like this? Mr. Putin? Our head of state heads out to play what most people recognize as our national game. And knows how to play it, too! You gotta love Canadians! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/567 "2012-03-03T12:53:26Z")
> [@](#): > > skates fluidly, smoothly, stick blade softly cradling the puck as he glides from one end of the rink to the other and fires a shot hard into the boards… Hell, I can’t remember the last time someone described a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs in such glowing terms, let alone the Governor General. It seems that Mr. Obama [still plays basketball](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/08/obama-plays-basketball-nba-stars_n_674906.html) when he gets the chance. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/568 "2012-03-03T17:39:12Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Have I mentioned that I really admire Calgary’s mayor, [Naheed Nenshi](http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/politicians%2Breally/6238983/story.html)? I couldn’t agree more with him in this case. > > Better still, I’d love to find a way to get rid of the politicians who _are_ trying to con us. The good ones are definitely tarred with the same brush as the bad ones. > [@Sunspace](#): > > In other news, [Iceland is looking at adopting the Canadian dollar](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/iceland-eyes-loonie-canada-ready-to-talk/article2356634/). That’s pretty interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/569 "2012-03-03T19:39:42Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > In other news, [Iceland is looking at adopting the Canadian dollar](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/iceland-eyes-loonie-canada-ready-to-talk/article2356634/). And so, relatively unnoticed, Canadian imperialism marches on. Will no-one save the world from this creeping menace? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/570 "2012-03-03T19:55:40Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > And so, relatively unnoticed, Canadian imperialism marches on. > > Will no-one save the world from this creeping menace? > > 😉 "We are the Canadian Borg Resistance would be impolite. Please wait to be assimilated. “Pour l’assimilation en français, veulliez appuyer sur le ‘2’.” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/571 "2012-03-03T20:32:19Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > 😕 They cancel the buses but not school itself? It’s for kids who may manage to walk to the school or get dropped off by their patents - the school has to be open so they can come in from the cold. You wouldn’t want them to be locked out I’m a blizzard. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/572 "2012-03-03T20:32:50Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > “Pour l’assimilation en français, > veulliez appuyer sur le ‘2’.” I just snorted my afternoon café au lait all over the keyboard… ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/573 "2012-03-03T23:22:27Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > I just snorted my afternoon café au lait all over the keyboard… And there was a typo; it should have been ‘veuilliez’. I think. I’ve resumed learning French by going to a French meetup group in Newmarket and merely attempting to speak it. I was inspired by the language-learning philosophy of [Benny the Irish Polyglot](http://www.fluentin3months.com/), who says that you should just dive in and make all sorts of errors and learn that way. 🙂 Edit: I can understand most of what I hear, and am doing surprisingly well attempting to speak it. Though I need a lot more vocabulary, and don’t even think about some of the weirder verb tenses… ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/574 "2012-03-04T05:12:05Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I’ve resumed learning French by going to a French meetup group in Newmarket and merely attempting to speak it. I was inspired by the language-learning philosophy of [Benny the Irish Polyglot](http://www.fluentin3months.com/), who says that you should just dive in and make all sorts of errors and learn that way. 🙂 Having been put into French immersion for years, I can assure you… it doesn’t work for a lot of people. Actually learning some of the systemics might be a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/575 "2012-03-04T15:28:46Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > And there was a typo; it should have been ‘veuilliez’. I think. Veuillez. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/576 "2012-03-04T17:23:04Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Having been put into French immersion for years, I can assure you… it doesn’t work for a lot of people. Actually learning some of the systemics might be a good idea. It’s a fact that the best way to learn a language is to speak it with other people, preferably people who are fluent in it. Learning vocabulary and grammar helps, of course, but I don’t think you can ever become fluent in a language if you’re only using it in a classroom environment. I mean, all Canadian children learn the other official language for years on end in school, and how many actually get fluent? (Of course, it helps if you actually have a use for the language you’re learning.) This said, it’s true that most people are scared of just jumping into speaking a language they’re not fluent in. It’s human nature, you know you’re going to make mistakes and possibly look stupid. Now Benny’s probably a special case, but mostly because he’s a lot more committed to learning the language of the places he visits than most travellers. If you don’t have the drive he has, his method may not work. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/577 "2012-03-04T17:33:21Z")
It’s also a fact that children and adults learn languages differently. Immersion is one of the best methods, but it is not the only method, and for the adult learner what is most effective really can vary quite a lot. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/578 "2012-03-04T18:00:57Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > It’s a fact that the best way to learn a language is to speak it with other people, preferably people who are fluent in it. Of course speakinjg the language is necessary, but the quote to which I replied stated that the best way **is just to speak it**. I’m sorry but I just don’t believe that the best approach to learning _anything_ is ever that simple. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/579 "2012-03-04T20:31:51Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Of course speakinjg the language is necessary, but the quote to which I replied stated that the best way **is just to speak it**. I’m sorry but I just don’t believe that the best approach to learning _anything_ is ever that simple. Really? I guess maybe I should revise my strategy for learning to be a surgeon… ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014/580 "2012-03-04T23:46:44Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Really? I guess maybe I should revise my strategy for learning to be a surgeon… You can take out my appendix if you want to practice… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2012-edition-of-the-great-ongoing-canadian-current-events-and-politics-thread/608014.md?page=30)