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>Insurance rates aren't set by law, they are set by private companies using actuaries to maximize their profits.

I'm not disagreeing, it's simply that Ontario is well known to have insanely screwed up insurance rates (this comes from Ontario being a "no-fault" insurance province).

Also ontario has a "No Dispute Clause" written into the auto insurance act. That simply means that if someone gets ahold of your insurance info, wether legally or illegally, they can enter claims against you, even for places you weren't at, or couldn't be at, and there's absolutely no way you can tell your side to the other insurance company. Your only recourse is to sue the offending party for libel. To really bring you to your knees, there's no law requiring their insurance company to send a copy of the claim against you to you, meaning you can be "submarine bombed" with an insurance claim after the 8 months within which you should sue the other party. (This is what happened with claim #1, we gave up, cost of a lawyer to fix it is just not worth the cost involved).

It's quite insane, really. And it's no wonder insurers are losing money with a swiss cheese act like that.

>Fair as in who to penalize, not fair as in being nice.

I didn't say I never expected my insurance rates not to go up. However, "fair" isn't $7,500 a year for five years (they did lower it to $4,000 when the competitors stated they'd do it for $3,500. Then they lied and said I had a police record as an exucse for the inexscusable $7,500 rate -- they retracted that quickly when I had the entire police collision reporting station bewlidered and asking the insurance company what the hell the record number supposedly was -- according to the police, I basically don't even exist, I'm not on a single record book there). Especially when the damages total under $350.

Of course, again, this is due to Ontario having such screwed up insurance. I will place some blame on companies that lie, though (AVIVA, suck it, I have your Manager *taped* explaining her lie on the telephone message recorder -- have a fun time suing me ;-P ).

(BTW: Even a single no-cost accident will cost that much. I checked on kanetix, it's crazy here. No, I'm over 25, and I drive a shitbox.)

Rant over. :-)

With all due respect, the U.S. has many, many more precincts than does Canada. Four hours is not a realistic time frame for hand counting ballots in the U.S. When you compare populations (US - 286 million, Canada - 31 million) [1] you see the difference in scale.

Good point about the error checking though, that is important.

[1] http://www.gov.on.ca/FIN/english/demographics/dtr0 303e.htm

First, the blurred boundary between public and private spaces in only in the perception of the public itself, not by law. A business owner can, for any reason that he sees fit, decide to not serve a particular person or even a particular demographic.

Although I admit that being followed around everywhere by people carrying video cameras watching my every move would in fact be uncomfortable, your hypothetical scenario of a world in which it happens everywhere would, if it were to ever happen, occur over a long time, not overnight, so by the time that actually was the norm, most people would probably be pretty used to it.

>No need to mention that many people are dead from speeding.

Incorrect. If you would refer to some data, for example, the Ontario Annual Safety Report, you'll see the following extremely helpful data:

Apparent Driver Action by Class of Collision 2001
Total Collisions: 419,937
Speeding: 3,353

As a percentage, speeding causes 0.8% of ALL collisions. In fact, the biggest culprit for collisions is driving properly (48% of all collisions).

845 people died in collisions during 2001 in Ontario. This means, from 845 people, 6 people have died due to speeding. In comparison, driving properly causes 405 deaths each year, and following to close (generally due to slow drivers followed by angry fast drivers) 72 deaths each year. Simply installing more controlled intersections could reduce the number of deaths significantly, whereas it would take a miracle to save the 6 people who died from speeding.

To get numbers that would fit the entire US, multiply those numbers by 30.

>I don't think that anything's wrong with tracking my speed.

I do. Photo radar kills.

>But, I repeat again, if the highway speed is unreasonable low then you should use your democracy, with which you are so proud you have it, and change the speed limit signs.

Better yet, take all tickets to court. The court system of Ontario is currently so backed up, my following too close ticket will likely fall outside of the 8 month maximum, and will be thrown out on Charter grounds. It wouldn't even take 0.01% more people to fight their tickets to guarantee nobody who fights their ticket will actually have to pay.

FYI, Police in Ontario will ticket you for NOT breaking the speed limit on the 401. True story, it's happened. Only on appeal was the ticket dismissed.

>shepd, I'm guessing you are not a native Canadian. If so, you are quite the iconoclast from what I can tell.

Actually, I am born and raised Canadian. I started despising the level of government services here when I discovered, as an atheist, I'd have to pay for religious indoctrination of others (the separate school system). It's quite disgusting that my money will pay for students to learn the the earth was created by a malevolent God in 6 days, and that everthing alive was inbred from two "original" progenetors of that species. No offense to the religious intended, though.

The whole teacher's strike thing, where my taxes didn't decrease despite a reduced level of service, pushed it over the edge. In the real world (tm) schools with striking teachers would either hire scabs or go out of business (prefe.

And then my union started abusing me. That pretty much cut it right there, and at that point I turned libertarian.

It's fun explaining your political views to virtually every person you meet in your town (only if they ask who I'm voting for, cause nobody here knows what libertarians are). I think a lot of Ontarians haven't considered just what Mike Harris was really working towards (to a certain degree -- there's a lot of personal freedom issues that he never dealt with). Perhaps if they did they'd just have voted libertarian and been done with it. ;-)

Now, to see if my podunk riding actually has a libertarian candidate to vote for...

or one hits me!!! if you know of a larger more stupid animal i'd like to hear it

Nothing like a good Canadian Moose. Or a Deer. So bad, we have official signs warning drivers of highly-travelled areas.

How about cars? Speed limits are actually slower now than in the 60's, while technology improves every year. Although when I was in England last summer the speeds didn't seem that slow (small winding roads), but here in Canada, when you have 8 wide, straight lanes going each direction with little traffic, 100 kph (about 60 mph) seems really slow. Highway 401, Toronto

near a big city ... your freeway probably has an express section, likely separated from the remainder of the road by concrete barriers. Typically the express lanes of the 401 travel at speeds in excess of 160KPH. Blowing out a tire in one of these lanes is a Very Bad Thing, especially if you happen to be in the middle lane. Getting off to a shoulder is a laudable goal and all, but even that can be one of the most harrowing and dangerous experiences of a motorist's day. When quarter tonne vehicles are travelling past you at that rate of speed ...

My city, Toronto, has a highway 401. My experience is that the typical speed in the express lanes is around 120 kph. I don't believe I have ever seen anyone ever drive at 160 kph, in the city. Early AM? Maybe. And I have seen people do 160 kph on the inter-city portions however.

The speed limit on expressways here is 100 kph. That is something like 62 mph for you Americans.

Only a madman would drive 160 kph, in the city. Here is a picture I just snapped from the traffic camera, at one of the wider spots. The ministry of Transport says it is a minimum of 12 lanes.

What does this have to do with the electric car? I'd rather have my tax dollars make sure we had an energy efficient mass transit system, than enhancing the highway infrastructure.

And, on another point, Longitudinal bench seats seem less safe for passengers, in a crash. Maybe that is why you need a professional limousine driver?

Here are Ontario's provisions:

Can I get severance pay?

You can get severance pay only if:

• you have worked five or more years for your employer; and
• your employer is in one of the following two groups:
• your employer has a payroll in Ontario of at least $2,500,000 a year; or
• your employer is no longer going to be carrying on all or part of the business, and 50 or more workers will lose their jobs for this reason inside a six-month period.

How much severance pay do I get?

If you qualify for severance pay, your employer will give you one week's regular pay for each year of employment.

There is a limit of 26 weeks' regular pay for severance pay.

So even if you have worked longer than 26 years, 26 weeks' pay is the most you can get.

You also get credit for full months of employment. For example, if you have worked for 10 ½ years, your employer would pay you 10 ½ weeks' pay as your severance pay.

Once a friend left my place, then cell phoned from a jam. I checked the page and told her that it would clear up in another mile or so...

I wish our wishy-washy Liberal government had the guts to extend the telemarketing rules to spam emails. I say "good show" to the EU for setting a precedent.

Ontario is drafting a proposal which would:
- require express positive consent before any personal information could be used for any other purpose than completing the initial transaction
- require express positive consent before any personal information was disclosed to a third party for marketing purposes
- means you will have to contact all of your existing customers and get their express positive consent before sending them any further marketing material.
- Extends the definition of personal information to include any information about an individual that can be manipulated and used to identify or contact an individual
- etc

Please note that not ALL corporations (in Canada, US or any other location) are interested in abusing the email system for quick-&-dirty profits. Many recognize the value of Doing The Right Thing(TM).

As of a few years ago, the Ontario government deregulated tuition in certain professional programs (law, medicine, optometry, etc.) and some ATOP (Access To Opportunities Program, an expansion of "high tech" programs) ones (computer science, computer engineering), etc.

If you actually read the page I gave you, you'll see that tuition varies by faculty and program. Arts is $4400/year, while Computer Engineering is $6700/year.

Please dont make assumptions about things you know nothing about, especially considering I was commenting on something to which I grew up within 20 minutes drive from. The UofW is without a doubt in the top 5 computer education schools in the world.

First of all, I don't believe you, because anyone from Waterloo calls it UW, not "UofW." Second of all, I have a BMath (Computer Science) from the University of Waterloo (2001), so I know a thing or two about their CS program. :-)

Paul

These differences do not strike me as statistically different.

The U.S. is the highest in these categories of all western countries. The difference is usually attributed to the availability in Canada and western Europe of free pre-natal care and free regular checkups that result in early detection of problems. It's an example of how the simple availability of care is more effective than sophisticated procedures to deal with illness well after it appears.

Not for six months anyway.

It varies by province. In Ontario, the residency requirement is 3 months. But the point is that health insurance is guaranteed regardless of medical condition. In the U.S. laid off employees who apply for personal insurance will be denied if they have a pre-existing health condition. This problem is a particular concern for older employees who would naturally have a higher incidence of health problems.

Monopolies are generally bad for the consumer.

The usual economic formulas don't apply to health care, nor should they. Health care is heavily regulated because consumers cannot be expected to know enough to make an informed choice everytime they choose a physician, a medical procedure or go to an emergency room. Hospitals and physicians in no sense compete for customers.

It's significant that the only reason laid-off workers have any medical coverage is because of federal regulation. Under the free market model, insurance companies simply raised premiums or denied coverage to people for the sole reason that they lost their job. The fact that this process makes some kind of economic sense in no way justifies it.

It is the same with health insurance. The objective is delivery of health care to sick people, not the efficient running of a business. A profitable insurance company at the expense of a high infant mortality rate is skewed set of values for sure. I believe you used the term "barbaric".

They seperated about 25 years ago from the crown. This is why their flag is a red maple leaf and not some other design with a british commonwealth logo on the upper left hand side.

*ahem* (Ontario)

Canada has a huge push towards online government. Take a look.. here

• a book on how to use the Ontario Small Claims Court system
• a link to some useful information, including a PDF document on the Small Claims system

Of course, if there are enough people that have been pissed off by Rogers, we could go for a huge class-action lawsuit, but I have a feeling that a grassroots small-claims onslaught will be much more effective, and put more cash back into your pocket if you've been affected.

This is insane. How is a restaraunt owner going to stop the jamming signal at the door and walls of his premises. The guy next door with a cell phone store may not be pleased. If I'm on my cell phone calling my stock broker and my cell phone cuts out before he hears my frantic order to SELL VA Linux can I sue the restaraunteur for my losses? If I'm running from a georgous blond woman that want's to rape me and my 911 call doesn't go through ...hmmm I might be able to live with that one. However, most women will be much more worried.

The only use for a jammer that I could justify is on stretches of the 400 series highways that are monitored by the COMPASS system. The RESCU cameras reduce the need for 911 calls and the reduction of idiots on the phone will save lives.

When Mars can touch the recent fruit production in Ontario (in Canada, not California), I'll move. (lichen and algae, indeed :p)

I even filed my income taxes online this year.

Other things like driver's license renewals and fine payments can be done all over the place at electronic kiosks the gov't puts at malls and downtown.

There's only one problem with having gov't services online - there's no one to yell at when you get hosed. And good luck talking to a real human being when you call into an IVR system. =) Welcome to the 21st century.

Someone should work on developing an IVR that listens to your gripes and placates you while waiting for a real person. THAT would sell big time. =)

--

Ontario Securities Commission: Enforcement: Statements of Allegations

My reading is that the crimes alleged here are very similar to U.S. law (trading on material non-public information).

Cowpland could argue that his company didn't actually trade -- that would be an idiotic defense. The OSC would just display the trading records from the exchange.

Cowpland could argue that the information he knew was not material -- that other investors would not care. Just about as idiotic. The OSC would argue that the market did react by slamming the price of Corel stock the day the news did come out. Just about any jury in the world would see the connection by the time a prosecutor got done laying it out.

Cowpland could argue that the information was already public. He would have to introduce evidence, such as a press release or a newspaper article or a government-mandated public filing, and he would have to establish that this evidence had been disseminated to the public before his holding company sold 2.4 million shares.

It's quite unlikely that any such evidence exists.

Finally, Cowpland could argue that even though he was in possession of material non-public information, and even though he traded Corel stock, he did not do so because of the information. For example, he could produce records that show that he regularly sold 2.4 million shares of Corel during the second week of *every* month for the past two years.

Or he could argue that he had large debt payments due to a contract he entered into long before he came to know this specific material fact, and he was motivated by a desire to pay those debts. In other words, as you say, he could argue that he really needed the money.

Case in point in United States law:

Stock Trading by Insider in Possession of Inside Information Not Per Se Illegal

And finally, here is a simple introduction:

Insider Trading