Ontario, Canada Travel

Touring visitors around Ottawa is one of those pleasures that just gets better and better as you uncover more intricate history, attractions and unique sights. The Capital City of Canada, Ottawa, could also be dubbed ‘The Museum Capital of Canada’. With over 13 major museums, a dozen government attractions, and an extensive Art Gallery, there is something to satisfy every curiosity, every history buff, every art connoisseur and every entertainment taste. You could literally spend months touring this Museum Gem of Canada.

Chatting with the local guides, Members of Parliament (MPs), security persons and even Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has uncovered a few ‘off the beaten path’ attraction anomalies that add to the intrigue and beauty of the Canada’s National Capital Region.

1)The Acoustic Anomaly of the Baldwin-LaFontaine Statue on Parliament Hill. Tucked to the right and behind the main Parliament building, up behind the statue of Queen Elizabeth II sitting on a horse. Robert Baldwin and Louis LaFontaine established responsible government in Canada with the 1841 reunion of Upper and Lower Canada. Stand front and center and face this monument that looks like a mini stage. Speak in a normal voice and listen.. The sound has the natural acoustic amplification qualities like those of a mini Red Rocks Colorado amphitheater. Don’t leave yet! Sit two people opposite each other; one at the extreme right and one at the extreme left edges of the ’stage’. Have the two whisper a conversation back and forth. WOW!

2)The Cat Sanctuary on Parliament Hill is to the left of the main Parliament building. For over 18 years and counting, volunteers have fed the 26 plus colony of stray cats. Formality and compassion in harmony. You can’t get any more Canadian than that, eh!

3)Drive along Sussex Drive from Rideau Street and continue through the round-about at 24 Sussex and Rideau Hall (across the street) on up to the RCMP Musical Ride Training Facility. You might even get to feed the horses through the fence! On the return drive enjoy the Ottawa River look-off, zip up into Rockcliffe Park to see Embassies, Ambassadors’ Homes and homes of the Ottawa elite. Park near Rideau Hall, walk its beautiful gardens and capture the Changing of the Guard.

4)No trip to Ottawa is complete with out a drive up into Gatineau Park, a short drive to an entrance just over one of the 5 bridges between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. This park is a mecca for mountain bikers. On one excursion we watched a black bear eating by the side of road just a short distance inside this park. Drive right up to the Champlain Look-off, which overlooks the Ottawa Valley and Ottawa River. Gatineau Park is on the edge of the Canadian Shield. An incredible site any time, but particularly a perfect place in the Autumn. You might be lucky enough to view the excitement of hang gliders or para-gliders against this pristine valley backdrop. Oh! You must exit the park through Chelsea so you can enjoy the homemade ice cream and waffle cones of La Cigale.

5)Bicycle along the miles and miles of pathways throughout the National Capital region. And if that is not enough, every summer Sunday morning, sections of the River Parkway are blocked to regular automobile traffic for your biking, walking and running pleasure. Ottawans are serious cyclists – even through the cold and snowy winters!

6)Early September (Labour Day Weekend) is the time to catch the fun and color of the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival. Since 1988, this annual festival has been attracting huge crowds and hundreds of balloons. To view these Aerial Art Flotilla drifting over the Ottawa River and the Peace Tower of the Parliament Buildings is a photographers delight. Just listen to that distinctive deep ‘whooshing’ sound as they ignite the burners.

Most of Ottawa can be enjoyed with a walking tour. But treat yourself to one of the river or canal boat tours, bus tours or hop aboard the old Wakefield stream train for a step back in time. Nature. History. Geology. Outdoor Activities. Politics. Animals. Take a little time to enjoy Ottawa’s other amenities.

And what does Ottawa offer during those cold Winter months? That’s another story for another day.

Carl Chesal’s years of experience in Business and Channel Development, Training, Internet Marketing and Photography is highlighted at the Bizfare Enterprise Inc website. Carl with wife, Janet, also operate a number of e-commerce web-sites:
MyLeatherExpressions.com,
CoolComfortWear.com,
PewterExpressions.com,
HomeAndBodyHowTo.com,
ExqusiteJewelryDesigns.com

This circle tour in British Columbia starts in Vancouver and begins by traveling east on Hwy 1 to the Fort Langley National Historic Site. Continue on through the rich farm country of the Fraser Valley to Hope, where you can walk through the Othello Quintette Tunnels, part of the Kettle Valley Railway built between 1910 and 1916.

Continue on Hwy 1 to Lytton for a guided rafting trip down the Fraser River if you are hungry for some unforgettable thrills, then take Hwy 12 to Lillooet (lil-lou-ETTE) where you can try your hand at panning for gold. Take Hwy 99 east to Hwy 97 and travel north to Clinton and on to 100 Mile House. This town got its name because it was 100 miles from Lillooet on the old Caribou Wagon Road. Here the only surviving stage coach of the Barnard Express and Stage Line is on display, complete with an authentic bullet hole from being held up for the gold dust it once carried. From here north to Williams Lake and Quesnel where you can take a short side trip east to Barkerville, an historic gold rush town built in 1862. It has over 125 restored heritage buildings.

Back on Hwy 97 and leaving Quesnel, travel north to Prince George, a bustling city in north central BC. Take Hwy 16 west to Hwy 27 then travel north on a side trip to Fort St. James, a restored Hudson’s Bay trading post from the mid 1800s. Back on Hwy 16, going west again to Smithers where you can see the 50 million year old fossils at nearby Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park. Farther west, in The Hazeltons, you can visit the world famous ‘Ksan Historical Village. ‘Ksan is the Gitxsan name for the Skeena River. This replicated ancient Gitxsan village features house fronts and totem poles facing the Skeena River. Continue on to view the totems at Kitwancool and the Nisga’s Memorial Lava Bed where a volcano erupted over two centuries ago, leaving a pocked lava moonscape.

With Terrace as a base, you can take a side trip on Hwy 37 to Kitimat; a stunning playground in the coastal rainforest, its scenery is reminiscent of Norway’s fjords. In Terrace you can hike a part of the Grand Trunk Pathway. Now go west again on Hwy 16 to Prince Rupert, a seaport and a terminus for handling shipments of coal and grain from the Prairies. Here you can board a ferry for the Queen Charlotte Islands called Haida Gwaii by the local aboriginals. The Haidas were once a proud nation of seafaring warriors that controlled most of the BC coastline at one time and you can learn about them at the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. There is a 10,000 year connection between the land, sea and Haida culture.

Back in Prince Rupert, you can take the BC Ferry down the Inside Passage through dramatic fjords and green forested channels to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island. You’ll probably get glimpses of whales, seals, porpoises and black bears on the full day’s passage along the rugged coastline. In Port Hardy you can visit the Copper Maker Gallery, where you can savor the redolent smell of red cedar as the native carvers create beautiful original Northwest Native art works.

Driving south to Port McNeill, where you can take a short ferry trip to Alert Bay on Cormorant Island. Here you can visit the U’Mista Cultural Center, which preserves the history and artefacts of the Kwakwaka’wakw Aboriginals and see the totems of a nearby burial ground. Back on Vancouver Island, from Port McNeill you travel south through Campbell River to Courtenay where you can look for fossils in the 80 million year old sea bed at Puntledge River.

Farther south you’ll come to Qualicum Beach which is renowned for its flower gardens and also its fantastic views of the Georgia Strait. Sunny Parksville further south has 7 kms of sandy beaches and may offer the warmest saltwater swimming on Vancouver Island. In Nanaimo you can visit the Petroglyph Park to see 10,000 year old stone engravings of mythological sea creatures. The Nanaimo District Museum also provides a unique glimpse into the lives of Nanaimo’s First Peoples dating back more than 2000 years.

The ancestral home of the Cowichan Tribe and the famous Cowichan Sweaters is in Duncan. In Victoria, plan to spend a few days visiting the many splendors of the city and its environs, including the famous Butchart Gardens. Then take the BC Ferry across to Tsawassen, south of Vancouver, where you started.

This Circle Tour by car is designed to take from seven to fourteen days, more if you wish of course. Reservations need to be booked well ahead for the ferries from Prince Rupert to the Queen Charlottes and down the Inland Passage to Vancouver Island. Google “BC Ferries” for the websites and online reservation forms.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Canada Vacation

The Province of Alberta is approximately 255,200 square miles in size and boasts incredible scenery and abundant natural resources. It is situated between the provinces of Saskatchewan to the East and British Columbia to the west, with Northwest Territories to the North and the state of Montana, USA bordering the south.

Alberta is in the Mountain Time Zone which is Greenwich Meantime -7 hours. Between the months of April and October Daylight Saving is in effect and the difference is GMT -6 hours.

There are two main cities, Edmonton (The Provincial Capital) in the north and Calgary in the south. Edmonton is located approximately 300 kilometers north of Calgary, with a healthy rivalry between the sports teams and the populations in general. There are several other Towns and Cities that have a lot to offer including Lethbridge, Red Deer, Brooks, Medicine Hat and Fort McMurray to the far north.

The Provinces landscape is extremely varied and provides a multitude of Recreational Possibilities. From flat open prairies, raging rivers, turquoise lakes and majestic glaciers to the awesome beauty of the magnificent Canadian Rockies.

Not surprisingly, the most prized assets of the province are the Banff and Jasper National Parks, coupled with the pristine Kananaskis Country. Banff is by far the more commercial with the Mount Norquay, Sunshine and Lake Louise ski hills close by. The town is a beautiful place but becomes fairly crowded during the summer and winter with tourist/skiers flocking to the town. Bears are a fairly common sight all around the area and there are often deer roaming around.

The world famous Ice field Parkway offers one of the most breathtaking drives in the world as it winds through mountain passes and past enormous Glaciers and emerald blue lakes. Be warned, photographs and video’s do not do justice to the scenery as to appreciate the enormity of the area you have to stand there and take it all in. Once you complete the drive, you will have passed the Columbia ice field where snow coaches will take you for tours on the Glacier. The Town site of Jasper awaits at the end of the parkway and offers a less commercialised mountain town experience. The stunning Maligne Lake and Maligne Canyon are a must see and there are sight seeing tours up the Jasper Tramway to the Whistlers summit (2470m high). Please note that you will need a valid park pass to stop in any national park or to drive on the Ice Field Parkway.

Alberta has the lowest overall taxes in Canada (Provincial tax rate is 10%) and is the only province that doesn’t have a provincial sales tax. It boasts one of the worlds most vibrant and competitive economies that thrives on the back of massive oil and gas resources with the massive Oil sands projects in the far north promising more Oil than Saudi Arabia! The recent mad cow crisis has damaged the famous Beef industry though this will hopefully be resolved soon. The Provincial Government actively encourages Business Development and investment; this in turn fosters the economic growth and performance that is leading Canada’s economic recovery. Alberta is now debt free as a Province after paying off over $20 Billion mainly due to the massive oil and gas revenues.

As with all the Provinces, Alberta regulates its own Education System. Currently, the education budget is receiving a great deal of attention from Albertans who are pushing hard for more investment. Also, the money previously used for debt servicing will now be made available for infrastructure investment – billions of dollars have been allocated to this.

The Provincial agency for assessment of foreign qualifications is The Edmonton based International Qualification Assessment Service (IQAS). This service is critical to enable Canadian employers assess your education and was also a requirement for the visa application when we applied.

Also on the self regulation list are Driver Licensing, Workers Compensation Board, Social Welfare Program and a Provincial Nominee Immigration Program. Professional regulation is also governed at a Provincial level – all the information can be found through our “Job search” pages.

The major political concern for the Alberta Government (headed by long serving Premier Ralph Klein and his conservative party) is the Provincial Healthcare system. All Canadians want extra funding to forestall what is perceived as a deteriorating service. I must admit that it is definitely better funded per capita than the UK for instance. The Federal Government is paying out several billion dollars to help out over the next few years and the Provincial Government is making it a priority as well.

Alberta has a rich history from the prehistoric days of the dinosaurs, the time of the first nations ruling the land, through western settlement and the journey towards independence. There are several world heritage sites in Alberta with the main two being the very impressive Royal Tyrell Paleontology museum near Drumheller and the Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump site near Lethbridge.

The Tyrell museum is a world leader on Dinosaurs with some fantastic displays that are a treat for any family. The Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump is an amazing interpretive centre that demonstrates how the native Indians joined together at certain times of the year for the big buffalo jump where they skillfully drove herds of buffalo over a cliff. When successful enough food was gathered for the participants to get them through the winter and all parts of the buffalo were used. Unfortunately, the arrival of the western settlers destroyed this way of life with the buffalo hunted to near extinction.

Alberta is a fantastic place to live or visit and the sheer number of Canadian’s moving to the Province is testimony to the lifestyles on offer. With the future promising increasing revenue’s from the Oil and Gas industry and massive investment Alberta is the place to be. The majestic rockie mountains provide fantastic recreational possibilities that are virtually unsurpassed anywhere else in the world.

More information on living and visiting Alberta can be found at http://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com/alberta.html

The author immigrated to Canada in 2003 and has constructed a free information website
http://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com about Canadian Immigration and life in Canada based on his family’s experiences.