# The CanaDoper Café, 2013 edition. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 1, 2013, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736 "2013-01-01T03:29:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 116
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2301 "2013-10-10T00:55:17Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Given that the First World War didn’t start until 1914 and wasn’t something a lot of people saw coming, you sure have to hand it to the anthem guy who was thinking that far ahead. Yeah that crossed my mind too. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2013, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2302 "2013-10-10T11:20:27Z")
[Alice Munro](http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/canadian-author-alice-munro-wins-nobel-prize-for-literature-1.1491581) has won the Nobel Prize for literature, the first time a Canadian writer has been honoured. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2013, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2303 "2013-10-10T13:08:51Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > [Alice Munro](http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/canadian-author-alice-munro-wins-nobel-prize-for-literature-1.1491581) has won the Nobel Prize for literature, the first time a Canadian writer has been honoured. A great day for Canadian writers. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2304 "2013-10-10T14:57:06Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > The Blue Angels are grounded by the US government shutdown, so the [Snowbirds take their place](http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2013/10/05/canadian-snowbirds-take-the-skies-at-annual-california-capital-airshow/). I think it’s quite cool that the US gets a taste of how well our Royal Canadian Air Force flies in an aerobatic show. Just a note that the Snowbirds were most likely already scheduled to fly that airshow (they book up at least many months in advance) and so I don’t think it is accurate to say that they “took their place”. They just didn’t have to cancel their already scheduled appearance. (as a bit of a brag, my Dad flew with the Snowbirds in the '70s) ---
**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:** [October 10, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2305 "2013-10-10T15:50:19Z")
From the article linked by **Le Ministre de l’au-delà** : > [@](#): > > novelist Jonathan Franzen noting her ability to provide the reader with “intensely pleasurable private experiences.” 😉 That’s what they’re calling it these days, eh? I kid, I kid - congratulations to Ms Munro! Well done! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2306 "2013-10-10T16:44:57Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > 😉 > > That’s what they’re calling it these days, eh? Art Chamberlain, is that you? ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2307 "2013-10-11T01:07:13Z")
So the Parti Quebecois government wants to introduce this Charter of Quebec Values. All 4 candidates for mayor of Montreal are against the proposed Charter. Now the [PQ government says](http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/pq-to-mayoral-candidates-you-don-t-understand-montreal-1.1492043) that they have the power to get rid of whoever’s elected the next mayor of Montreal. What the actual eff. Sometimes I just want to hightail it on out of here. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2308 "2013-10-11T03:50:51Z")
WTF?! :mad: ---
**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:** [October 11, 2013, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2309 "2013-10-11T07:25:03Z")
From **Emily** ’s linked CTV News item: > [@](#): > > Minister for Montreal Jean-Francois Lisée believes that his party’s controversial Charter of Quebec Values is an election issue for Montrealers… A “minister for Montreal”? Does British Columbia have a “minister for Vancouver,” or Alberta have a “minister for Calgary”? Why would Quebec need a “minister for Montreal”? What the heck is going on in Quebec? Or, to echo **Muffin** ’s remark: WTF? ---
**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:** [October 11, 2013, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2310 "2013-10-11T07:42:45Z")
It looks like [most members of the cabinet](http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.qc.ca/equipe/conseil-des-ministres-en.asp) have a portfolio for a region. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2013, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2311 "2013-10-11T12:14:18Z")
In Toronto, we found out the hard way that municipalities are creatures of the provincial government. The conservative government amalgamated York, North York, East York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, and Toronto into what is now the city of Toronto, despite the 1997 referendum that rejected amalgamation. [Wiki link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalgamation_of_Toronto#1998_amalgamation). That’s why a number of people talk about our current mayor as not being from Toronto - he isn’t; he’s from Etobicoke. Never mind that we’re all supposed to be one big, happy city now; there’s a big cultural difference between Toronto and its suburbs that has not magically gone away. What I don’t understand is what the PQ hopes to gain if they overturn the results of a municipal election. Do they think Montrealers can be coerced into supporting the charter? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2312 "2013-10-11T12:41:34Z")
Yes, municipalities are creatures of the provincial government, however, (for Ontario at least – don’t know one way or the other about Quebec), the provincial government has legislation in place governing municipal elections and what can be done to remove an elected mayor. I’m not aware of any (Ontario) law that permits the government of the province to remove a municipality’s mayor just for the hell of it. If Quebec has such a law that permits this, I’d like to read it. I expect that the Minister for Montreal’s threat will come back to haunt him in the next election. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2313 "2013-10-11T16:00:33Z")
Aaahh, Quebec… Such a strange fellow, and yet I love him with all my heart. Every family has one, don’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2314 "2013-10-11T16:05:11Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > In Toronto, we found out the hard way that municipalities are creatures of the provincial government. The conservative government amalgamated York, North York, East York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, and Toronto into what is now the city of Toronto, despite the 1997 referendum that rejected amalgamation. [Wiki link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalgamation_of_Toronto#1998_amalgamation). > > That’s why a number of people talk about our current mayor as not being from Toronto - he isn’t; he’s from Etobicoke. Never mind that we’re all supposed to be one big, happy city now; there’s a big cultural difference between Toronto and its suburbs that has not magically gone away. > > What I don’t understand is what the PQ hopes to gain if they overturn the results of a municipal election. Do they think Montrealers can be coerced into supporting the charter? I feel sorta bad for Ford. No matter what antics he pulls, no matter how hard he tries, he’s _still_ not the most absurd politician in Canada. There is always someone from the PQ ready to out-do him and steal the limelight. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2315 "2013-10-11T16:52:27Z")
Perhaps the nutter saw so many Montreal and Laval mayors going down in the last few years that he just assumed that he could remove one himself? ---
**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:** [October 11, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2316 "2013-10-11T18:41:25Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > \Do they think Montrealers can be coerced into supporting the charter? Yes? I’m curious too now, if the provincial governments do have the power to remove mayors that they don’t like. It seems to be treading on our rights to determine our own governments (assuming we have those rights, of course, but having democratic elections indicates that we do indeed have those rights). ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2317 "2013-10-11T22:21:30Z")
One of the trapline/camp Freemen has been arrested. [CBC.ca - watch, listen, and discover with Canada's Public Broadcaster](http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/edmonton/story/1.1958503q) ---
**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:** [October 12, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2318 "2013-10-12T04:41:38Z")
It’s always bothered me every Halloween that I didn’t know the price per unit because there are so many different sizes and prices at so many different stores, so I made a spreadsheet this year. I’ve crunched the numbers, and the Mars\* 100 count for $10.00 at Walmart is the best price per unit on chocolate Halloween candy. Walmart and Superstore are tied at $0.15 per unit average cost. Prices may vary in your region. 🙂 \*Includes M&Ms, peanut M&Ms, Snickers, Twix, Mars Bars. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2013, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2319 "2013-10-12T05:20:36Z")
And even though you didn’t ask for it, more pictures from Calgary! 🙂 [A street in my neighbourhood in fall colours.](http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s142/featherlou/Miscellaneous/SAM_2556_zps0503ce04.jpg) [Some interesting clouds over downtown Calgary.](http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s142/featherlou/Miscellaneous/SAM_2531_zps80d54372.jpg) [A bluejay who flew into a tree while I had my camera out.](http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s142/featherlou/Miscellaneous/a675af63-afe8-49f5-ab1e-048b5465804c_zps0524ffb1.jpg?t=1381554160) I didn’t realize bluejays were so shy - it seemed like once he noticed me, he went to the back of the trees and stayed there. [A woodpecker who showed up while I had my camera, too.](http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s142/featherlou/Miscellaneous/357cea75-488b-4ab0-8e2c-ae9cf9491c97_zps4e2eb828.jpg?t=1381554269) I was seeing all kinds of birds today - they must be getting ready to head south or something. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2013, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736/2320 "2013-10-12T08:37:42Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m curious too now, if the provincial governments do have the power to remove mayors that they don’t like. It seems to be treading on our rights to determine our own governments (assuming we have those rights, of course, but having democratic elections indicates that we do indeed have those rights). It would depend on the laws governing municipalities in each province. The municipalities are entirely governed by provincial law and don’t have separate constitutional status. So, it’s conceivable that a province might reserve the right to remove elected officials of municipalities, but you’d have to check the law in your own province. One possible reason for such a provision is municipal corruption or extreme financial mismanagement; I can see an argument that a removal power might make sense. But just because of a political disagreement between the province and the municipality? I have trouble seeing that as good policy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736.md?page=115) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadoper-cafe-2013-edition/645736.md?page=117)