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Air Canada Charges for Legroom

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:35:33 +0000

Air Canada will now be charging economy class passengers extra for seats in exit rows and bulkhead seats at the front of aircraft sections which provide some extra legroom. Up to now the seats have been complimentary. The option to make advanced reservations for the seats on any flight operated by Air Canada or Jazz is called "Preferred Seats" and can be purchased, subject to availability, when you book your flight or any time before you check in. The amount of the extra fee will depend on the length of the flight, the fare class and the customer's Aeroplan status. The fee ranges anywhere from $14 for a one-way trip of up to 350 miles on Tango Plus or Latitude up to $100 for some international flights.

The charge will apply to new mothers with infants who were routinely placed in bulkhead seats with a "sky cot" bassinet.

It's all part of Air Canada's efforts to find cost savings and boost profits, and it's part of a growing trend. WestJet already charges up to $15 to reserve seats with extra legroom. It wouldn't be quite so bad if Air Canada didn't pitch the fee as "responding to consumer demands."

Photo: John Li / Getty Images

More on Travel for Canadians
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Air Canada Charges for Legroom originally appeared on About.com Canada Online on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 23:35:33.

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Write to Santa

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:18:51 +0000

Every year more than 11,000 Canada Post volunteers, both employees and retirees, help make sure children get replies to their letters to Santa. Children from all over the world can take advantage of the program, and their letters are answered in the language in which they are written, even Braille. There's an email option too. Make a note of the address to write to Santa, for both regular mail and email, and a few tips for those letters.

Photo: Janis Christie / Getty Images

More on Christmas in Canada:
International Holiday Mail Deadlines 2009
Christmas Lesson Plans K-8
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Write to Santa originally appeared on About.com Canada Online on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 14:18:51.

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Royal Visit 2009 Highlights

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:25:00 +0000

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are half-way through their Royal tour of Canada. It's the fifteenth visit to Canada for Charles, but just the first for Camilla.

The Royal couple has visited an archaeological dig at Cupids, Newfoundland, believed to be the first English settlement in Canada. Who knew the prince studied archaeology at Cambridge? They dropped in to see Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, Ontario, which was the home of Camilla's great-great-great grandfather Sir Allan MacNab, a rail magnate and prime minister of the Province of Canada before Confederation from 1854 to 1856. In British Columbia, the pair toured the Olympic athletes village and posed for mug shots with the 2010 Vancouver Olympics mascots.

Bill To Let Self-Employed Opt Into Employment Insurance

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:29:12 +0000

The federal government has introduced legislation that would allow self-employed workers to opt into Employment Insurance to receive special benefits. The Bill to Extend Employment Insurance Benefits to the Self-Employed would allow self-employed individuals to pay the same premiums as salaried employees, and after a year be eligible for maternity benefits, parental/adoptive benefits, sickness benefits and compassionate care benefits. They could opt out of the program at the end of any tax year, unless they had claimed benefits, in which case they would be required to pay premiums as long as they were self-employed.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:38:33 +0000

As preparations begin to get under way for Remembrance Day on November 11, it's worth noting that almost 20,000 of the 80,000 Canadians who died in World War I have no identifiable grave. Those who could be identified as Canadian have gravestones inscribed "A Canadian Soldier of the Great War - known unto God." In 2000, Canada created the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to represent all Canadian service people who have no known grave.

The Canadian government asked the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to select a grave of an unidentified Canadian soldier in the Vimy Ridge area of France. The remains of the soldier were brought back to Canada and buried in the sarcophagus of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Nothing is known about the soldier who is buried in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, except that he was Canadian, he died in France during World War I, and he was young.

Photo Courtesy City of Ottawa

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Tomb of the Unknown Soldier originally appeared on About.com Canada Online on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 20:38:33.

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H1N1 Flu Shots Begin Across Canada

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:54:30 +0000

Clinics have opened across most of Canada to provide vaccinations for the H1N1 flu virus (human swine flu). Since it's the provinces and territories who administer the vaccination programs, the priorities for who will get the vaccine first vary depending where you are in the country. In general, health-care workers, people under the age of 65 with a chronic illness, pregnant women, children under five and people in remote communities will likely be vaccinated first.

To find out how the vaccination program is being handled in your province or territory, and to locate an H1N1 flu clinic near you, check H1N1 Flu Shot Clinics in Canada.

If you have questions or concerns about whether the H1N1 flu vaccine is appropriate for you, please ask your own doctor or a public health practitioner.

Photo: Pool / Getty Images

More on H1N1 Flu in Canada
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H1N1 Flu Shots Begin Across Canada originally appeared on About.com Canada Online on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 23:54:30.

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In Flanders Fields

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:29:53 +0000

As we approach the 91st anniversary of the end of World War I, the poem In Flanders Fields remains an evocative symbol of remembrance world wide. The poem was written by Canadian doctor and soldier John McCrae.

A surgeon in the dressing stations in the Ypres salient in 1915, John McCrae had spent weeks tending the injured and dying when a friend and former student, Lt. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, was blown up by a shell burst during the Second Battle of Ypres. With no chaplain available, McCrae performed a makeshift funeral service for Helmer under cover of darkness. Sitting on the back of an ambulance on a break the next day, McCrae looked over the scene in front of him and wrote these 15 lines that still strike a chord.

Alexis Helmer was just one of more than 60,000 Canadians who died during World War I. Another 170,000 were wounded.

Photo: Flanders Poppies
Tom Brakefield / Getty Images

In Flanders Fields originally appeared on About.com Canada Online on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 14:29:53.

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Jean Chr�tien Receives Order Of Merit

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:13:39 +0000

Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chr�tien was at Buckingham Palace in London yesterday to receive the Order of Merit from Queen Elizabeth II. The Order of Merit is a special honour awarded to individuals of great achievement in the fields of the arts, learning, literature and science, and is considered the most senior honour a Canadian can receive. A special gift from the sovereign, the award is limited to 24 living members, with a few additional foreign recipients.

Only three other Canadians have received the award: neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield, and former prime ministers Mackenzie King and Lester Pearson. Other recipients of the award, which was founded by Edward VII in 1902, have included Florence Nightingale, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill and Graham Greene.

Photo: Ian Nicholson / PA Pool / Getty Images

More About Canadian Prime Ministers
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Jean Chr�tien Receives Order Of Merit originally appeared on About.com Canada Online on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 23:13:39.

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Unique 2010 Olympic Medals

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:22:38 +0000

Each of the medals given to gold, silver and bronze medallists at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and Paralympics will be different, the organizers of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics have unveiled. In an Olympic first, the Vancouver Olympics and Paralympics medals will each feature a part of an image cropped from two large master artworks by Corrine Hunt, a Canadian Aboriginal designer and artist. The orca was chosen as the motif for the Olympic medals, and the raven as the motif for the Paralympic medals. Each Olympian and Paralympian medallist will be presented with a silk scarf printed with the master artwork so they can see how their medal connects with those awarded to other athletes at the Games.

Another unique feature of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic medals is that they are undulating, rather than flat. The wavy nature of the medals is intended to represent British Columbia's mountains, ocean and snow. They are also among the heaviest medals in Olympic and Paralympic history, weighing over 500 grams.

Photo: 2010 Vancouver Olympic Medals
� VANOC/COVAN

More About the 2010 Vancouver Olympics
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Unique 2010 Olympic Medals originally appeared on About.com Canada Online on Sunday, October 18th, 2009 at 22:22:38.

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New Premier for Manitoba

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:42:35 +0000

The Manitoba NDP have selected Greg Selinger as their new leader, replacing Gary Doer who is moving on to become the Canadian Ambassador to the United States. As the leader of the governing party, Greg Selinger becomes provincial premier. It is expected that he will be sworn in on Monday, October 19.

Greg Selinger is the Manitoba MLA for the St. Boniface riding in Winnipeg, and has been Finance Minister since 1999. With a Ph.D. in Economics from the London School of Economics, Selinger certainly had the credentials for that job. His background as a social worker in Winnipeg's north end has also made him a strong advocate for social justice. All indications are that he plans to follow Gary Doer's middle-of-the road approach.

More About Manitoba
Doer Named Canadian Ambassador to the U.S.
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New Premier for Manitoba originally appeared on About.com Canada Online on Sunday, October 18th, 2009 at 19:42:35.

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