Canadian Tulip Festival

Did you know Canada.. The Canadian Tulip Festival is coming up! May 6-23.

Held in Ottawa and Gatineau The Canadian Tulip Festival is the world's largest tulip festival, displaying over one million tulips, with attendance of over 500,000 visitors annually.

The festival started in 1945 when Princess Juliana of the Netherlands presented Ottawa with 100,000 tulip bulbs in appreciation for the safe haven offered to exiled Dutch royalty and the role Canadian troops played in the liberation of the Netherlands.

This is a free festival with many venues of tulip displays, entertainment, children's activities and more. Major’s Hill Park, the Canadian Tulip Festival’s main activity site, will officially be open May 6-8 and May 13-23. Commissioners Park, located at Dow’s Lake, will be open May 6-23. In spring, over one million tulips in more than 50 varieties bring the National Capital Commission’s (NCC) flower beds to life.

Royal Wedding

Did you know Canada.. of course you all know William and Kate (now known as Duke & Duchess of Cambridge, Earl & Countess of Strathearn and Baron & Countess Carrickfergus) were wed in the most beautiful Royal Wedding this morning.

In a statement today, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the government of Canada is offering the gift of $50,000 donation to the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary on behalf of all Canadians as our wedding gift to the happy couple. The donation will help the group provide a permanent search-and-rescue program, and to help prevent injuries or loss of life at sea.

As we mentioned before Will & Kate will be visiting our beautiful country June 30 to July 8 where their visit will include trips to Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and the Ottawa area.

Blackflies

Did you know Canada.. depending on where you live just hearing the word "black fly" can send shivers down your spine. And I've heard many times nowhere else on the planet are the black flies as big as in Northern Ontario.

Like the Mosquito, it is the female black fly that bites, but the males that swarm around the females increase the nuisance factor. The female bites a hole in the skin to suck the out blood. In response to chemicals injected by the female during this bite (including toxins and anticoagulants) the area around bites swell, becoming painful and itchy. Intense feeding can cause "Black Fly Fever", with headache, nausea, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and aching joints; these symptoms are probably a reaction to a compound in the flies' salivary glands. Less commonly, severe allergic reactions may require hospitalization.

A blackfly's average lifespan is around three weeks - they start coming out in Mid-May and last until Mid to Late June.

One solution to combat the blackflies is to take 3 times the recommended daily dosage of Vitamin B Complex for 2 weeks before heading out into the wilderness - this is suppose to cut down bites by up to 75%!

Have you ever struggled with the madness of the blackflies?

Source: CTV, Wikipedia

Increase at the Advanced Polls

Did you know Canada.. Elections Canada is seeing a huge increase in voters at the advanced polls.

Elections Canada officials say there was a 30% increase in the number of Islanders voting in the advance polls compared to the 2008 federal election.

PEI is not the only place where numbers are soaring. There's a 45% increase in Alberta and a 67% increase in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Over 676,000 Canadians voted on Friday and over 823,000 on Monday, representing the two busiest days of advance voting EVER.

Across the country more than two million people cast ballots in advance polls. That's an increase of almost 35 per cent over the last federal election.

Have you voted yet?

Source: Elections Canada

Are we facing an Obesity Epidemic?

Did you know Canada.. According to an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal they feel with the increase in numbers of overweight children and young adults we are facing an Obesity Epidemic that require legislative approaches to control.

If our current trend continues next 25 years, half of Canadians over age 40 will be obese. Obesity is expected to surpass smoking as the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality.

Suggested government-level interventions include taxing junk food, improving serving size and nutritional labeling, banning certain foods and ingredients, and regulating sodium consumption. Corporate and school level solutions such as limiting access to junk food in schools are other approaches.  I know many schools already have a no candy rule and many pop machines have been removed from schools.

Do you think it's the government's place to step in though?

Source: Canadian Medical Association Journal, ScienceDaily

CC-130 Hercules-H

Did you know Canada.. The CC-130 Hercules-H is making its last journey home from Afghanistan, where it has offered almost 10 years of service, now being retired.

The first CC-130E Hercules entered service in Canada in 1960, and the current CC-130H Hercules was purchased in 1996. The first of 17 new J-model CC-130s arrived in 2010 to replace the oldest aircraft in the Hercules fleet.

The CC-130 Hercules is a four-engine fixed-wing turboprop aircraft that can carry up to 78 combat troops. It is used for a wide range of missions, including troop transport, tactical airlift (both palletized and vehicular cargo), search and rescue (SAR), air-to-air refuelling (AAR), and aircrew training.

As reported by the Canadian Press colleagues, including the acting commander of Canada's troops in Afghanistan, turned out on the tarmac at Kandahar Airfield to say goodbye as Prescott and crew got ready to leave.

Source: The Canadian Press, Canada's Air Force

The Internet and Adolescents

Did you know Canada.. Researchers in Canada have found a strong association between computer and Internet use in adolescents and engagement in multiple-risk behaviours, including illicit drug use, drunkenness and unprotected sex.

They say that since adolescents are exposed to considerable screen time - over 4.5 hours on average each day - they're constantly seeing images of behaviours they can then potentially adopt.

Do you agree with these findings? I think adolescents where "engaged in multiple-risk behaviours" long before the Internet.

Source: Science Daily, Preventive Medicine, Queen's University

Women's Hockey goes for Gold

Update: USA Women defeat Team Canada 3 to 2 in overtime to win Gold.

Did you know Canada.. in just a few minutes Canada will take on the United States in the Gold Medal game for the 13th straight time at 2pm EST at the World Women's Hockey Championship in Zurich.

Canada and the U.S. have met for the gold medal at the worlds all 13 times the tournament has been contested. Canada has won gold nine times, with the Americans having captured the last two world titles and three of the last four overall.

The women's worlds were not played last year of course when Canada won the Olympic tournament over the U.S. in our Vancouver. As I'm sure you know, Canada has won three straight Olympic gold medals.

Are you watching today's game?

Royal Wedding

Did you know Canada.. well, as I'm sure most of you DO know, the Royal Wedding between William and Kate takes place this Friday. Depending on where you live it's likely you'll be getting up around 3 in the morning if you want to watch it.

I've seen a lot of comments on twitter with people saying they don't care about the Royal Wedding and it has nothing to do with us, etc, etc..

I don't agree with that at all. We're Canadian and part of being Canadian is knowing at least a bit about the Monarch, after all Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is Canada's Head of State. Although the monarch’s powers have been dissolving since the nineteenth century - about the only ones that remain are the right to appoint a prime minister and dissolve parliament.

I think there are many people that will be getting up at 3am to watch the Royal Wedding - after all, William is likely going to be King, and likely in our lifetime. Many of us, like my Mother for one, woke up at 1am to watch Charles and Dianna wed and will be doing the same this Friday and look forward to it.

Will you be attending the wedding of William and Kate?

We are Canadian Blog Hop - Week 6!

Did you know Canada.. we are joining the We are Canadian Blog Hop today to meet other Canadians - welcome all and look forward to following some new folks.