canada

A Winter Storm Is Blowing Through Toronto

January 29, 2019 Happenings

Having landed strictly from a tropical lineage AND having successfully achieved the distinction of surviving the frosty winter of Canada so far, I can speak with a certain degree of authority that winter storms are a unique feature of this country’s culture. Needless to say then, any discussion surrounding the Canadian winter is incomplete without mentioning the word ‘storm’. Just like the monsoon season which brings the city of Mumbai to its bare knees and drives the life of the common man to a complete nightmare, we Canadians, have been blessed with heaps of wintery snow raining to bring our individual lives to a dead end. Likewise, the storm that is sweeping parts of Ontario and GTA as I write this piece has wreaked more havoc today than its usual share with no sign of stopping so far, and it is soon going to be followed by a ‘polar vortex’ — one that is going to be much brutal than what came in 2014.

The ice storm this winter (some reports called it the “Alberta Clipper”) is definitely massive with the snowfall predicted to be at 15-25 cms for a single day and bringing temperatures down to the -40s. However, those figures sound lame when you read what happened two decades ago, during another such massive ice storm of January 1999. It was so severe that the then mayor, Mel Lastman, had to summon the help of the military in Toronto (and got squarely ridiculed for his decision) after the city saw a whopping 118 centimetres of snowfall in the first half of that month! Gosh, I can’t even imagine how that much snow must have felt on the ground.

Though, as I began to look deeper for more facts they continued to unravel itself. I realized it was in fact, the snow storm back in the December 1944 which was the harshest in the city’s history — it took 16 lives in Toronto, and 21 in Ontario overall. It seems we might be staring at yet another record-breaking heavy snow storm this time around.

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CRA Fake Calls & Its Cognitive Implications

November 13, 2018 Happenings
CRA Scam

This is one of the sad truths of our society and a quite serious one too that CRA phone scams have turned away genuine CRA agents from connecting with their regular customers for the purpose of tax inquiries. Truth be told, I’ve been hounded by these low-lifers too but I have resisted the temptation to succumb to their lame tactics, although it did affect me mentally a lot. A few years ago, there were actual people posing as CRA agents and threatening you with dire legal consequences over the phone if you didn’t pay up, but now the game has shifted to using robotic voices which sound more artificial and funnier than the humans. The tactic to avoid being scammed could backfire as it happened in my case.

One sultry day, I received a voicemail from an individual named April claiming to be representing the “CRA” and asked for tax details. Besides this, she also left her agent ID, her contact details. I obviously ignored it assuming it might be a scam. Then some days later my phone rang and it was the same lady asking for my tax details, I rejected the idea and suggested I’d prefer to call the toll free number and provide any info they needed. Under the circumstances I thought that was the smartest thing to do. She acknowledged and gave her agent ID number along with her contact number which I reluctantly jotted down, I thought it was her futile bid to convince me about her ‘genuine’ intentions. She then asked me to call the toll-free and provide the details as soon as possible. When I called the CRA toll free number it was confirmed that the lady indeed was a genuine CRA agent. Heck! I then called April and couldn’t stop apologizing for my misdeeds but she took it in her stride and laughed about it. She said, a fake CRA caller would sound threatening, I tended to disagree on her viewpoint. But why did I not pick up any clues? Here’s what probably happened.

In the past, just like the real CRA agents the scammers had also provided an “agent ID” with a number to call, it doesn’t leave any clue in distinguishing between the two. But eventually, I believe, this whole phone scam thing has carried far too long and destroyed the credibility of the CRA and other entities who are at the frontline of public services. This damage is probably permanent, but here’s the question that we need answered – how could we make changes and bring that confidence back in the federal structures of our society?

Source: Canadians tuning out real Canada Revenue Agency agents because of phone scammers

Coke Ad Celebrating The Diwali Season

November 4, 2018 General
Coke - Diwali Diya

There are instances of TV commercials which have endured the test of time. Some have been influential through a combination of visual appeal and a haunting melody (jingles) & yet there are some ads that have forever changed our perception of products and are considered iconic today. But there’s one commercial made by Coke for Canada which has appealed to my creative tastes ever since I first saw it around 2015-16, and I’m certain it will also resonate with individuals who have chosen to settle elsewhere and miss their loved ones during the festive season.

It’s never futile to embark in decoding the diverse cultures of India, to discover its colourful and vibrant celebratory traditions which are out in full glory during the festivities. The most vivacious of them is Diwali, or famously called the ‘festival of lights’ which starts from today. It’s when neighbourhoods across the subcontinent will light ‘diyas‘ (an earthen lamp), dangle radiant lanterns outside their homes and honour the tradition by lighting crackers; often loud but never lacking in its radiance, and of course, partake homemade sweets and other delicious delicacies. It’s the occasion for bonding with loved ones, the likes of whom have been lost to time, and some to the unfortunate rift as they settle in far-away places for a better future.

This Coke Diwali ad featured on the Facebook page of Coca-Cola Canada with the caption “What Makes Diwali in Canada a #HappyDiwali?” capturing the emotional longing of countless people during Diwali and the role Coke plays in bringing lost souls together. The realism in the messaging imagined through a long-distance call in recounting the sentiments of love perfectly drive home the point. Its reproduction in Hindi and Punjabi languages further adds to its mass appeal and the music makes it particularly surrealistic, sincere, and subliminal. On that wonderful note, I want to wish you all a prosperous and a cheerful Happy Diwali. Have loads of fun!

Electric Vehicle National Policy For Canada

October 20, 2018 Happenings
Electric Vehicle Symbol

On September 22, 2017, the Ontario government entered into a formal agreement with the Province of Québec and the State of California to join their carbon market starting January 1, 2018.  More famously known as Ontario’s cap-and-trade program it meant that the province engages in putting a cap on the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) that businesses would emit. This was designed to fight the forces of climate change and reward businesses who reduce their greenhouse pollution. Furthermore, all the proceeds from the cap-and-trade Program were invested in projects, including incentivizing the purchase of an HFCV or an electric vehicle, that’d help to reduce greenhouse gas pollution province-wide. 

In particular, the cap-and-trade program was the primary tool to help Ontario achieve its ambitious GHG reduction targets of 15% below 1990 levels by 2020, 37% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. Under the regime, industrial sectors including manufacturing, electricity and fuel distribution are required to purchase emission allowances to cover each tonne of GHG emissions resulting from their activities and the combustion of fuel distributed.

McCarthy Tetrault

Electric Vehicle & HFCV Incentives

The cap-and-trade involved funding programs that would have helped reduce carbon emissions. One of the initiatives undertaken by the Ontario province was the ‘Electric and Hydrogen Vehicle and Charging Incentive Programs’ that offered rebates of up to CA$14000 on the purchase of electric vehicles and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles and rebates of up to CA$1000 for electric vehicle charging stations to offset the cost of a home or office station, apart from providing a distinct green licence plate, and overall, this was done to discourage the rampant use of internal combustion engines. The incentive program was so well-received, in fact, according to data compiled by Fleet Carma, 7,477 battery and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were sold in Ontario last year, an increase of 120 per cent from 2016 when increased rebates were implemented. Just as the efforts to fight climate change seemed to be on the right track, the newly elected government of Doug Ford repealed the cap-and-trade program on July 03, 2018, “to bring gas prices down and help lower costs for Ontario families and businesses”. I felt this was a disappointing move on the part of Ontario although whether it made economic sense is still being debated.

The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Strategy

An e-petition is being sponsored by Peter Schiefke, the Liberal Party MP from Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Quebec, for the Minister of Transportation for seeking a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) strategy by accelerating the deployment of electric vehicles. The list of countries below suggests Canada has a long way to go in setting targets for electric vehicles unlike some of its counterparts in the G7, and with provinces moving away from any commitment towards fighting climate change that should worry us all although the federal government has already released a draft proposal for introducing a federal carbon pollution pricing system.

In 2016, 14 countries already had electric car targets in place: Austria, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States (eight states).

Sign The E-Petition

If you’re a Canadian resident, here’s your chance to sign the parliamentary e-petition for pushing the federal government towards a zero-emission environment for our future generations and e-petitions with more than 500 signatures are guaranteed to be responded by the government. The last day for signing the petition is February 14, 2019, so act now!

Climate Catastrophe, Up Ahead

October 8, 2018 Happenings
Climate Catastrophe

In a news report that I read today, scientists at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have cautioned that we might be heading for a ‘climate catastrophe’. Titled ‘Global Warming at 1.5ºC’, the analysis which is authored by around 90 scientists at the IPCC, has suggested keeping global temperatures well under 1.5ºC, although we might be going completely off track & heading towards an increase of 3ºC instead! For a perspective, the Paris Agreement had a long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperatures to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels; and to limit the increase to 1.5°C, since this would substantially reduce the risks and effects of climate change. Back home in Canada, several provinces are now preparing to rally against the Trudeau government’s initiative to introduce a carbon tax plan, just as, to my surprise, the Ontario government under Premier Ford scrapped the provincial ‘cap-and-trade’ carbon tax plan, towards, what they described as, “fulfilling the government’s commitment to reducing gas prices by 10 cents per litre.”

The target of 2ºC which was previously thought as reasonably manageable the IPCC now suggests that even going past 1.5ºC is not an option anymore and it would significantly alter the planet’s livability. Hans-Otto Portner, a German scientist who co-chaired one of the panel’s working groups, says:

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Every extra bit of warming matters, especially since warming of 1.5 C or higher increases the risk associated with long-lasting or irreversible changes, such as the loss of some ecosystems”.[/perfectpullquote]

Simply put, policymakers across the board need to strategize in integrating more sustainable ways to reduce carbon emissions by transforming the biggest calamity facing mankind today into their biggest opportunity to save the species tomorrow. It’s a wake-up call, to say the least.

How We Can Prevent The Climate Catastrophe

As consumers of this vast but fragile ecosystem, we have a grave responsibility to preserve the environment by preventing the temperature of our Earth from going beyond 1.5ºC. The IPCC report states that the ‘climate catastrophe’ could be avoided provided we make some rapid but significant changes to four big global systems – energy, land-use, cities and industry. And without the participation of individuals & entrepreneurs, that target may not be achievable. Here’s a checklist of what we all can collectively do to reduce the carbon footprint:

  • Buy less meat, milk, cheese and butter and more locally sourced seasonal food – and throw less of it away
  • Drive electric cars but walk or cycle short distances
  • Take trains and buses instead of planes
  • Use video conferencing instead of business travel
  • Use a washing line instead of a tumble dryer
  • Insulate homes
  • Demand low carbon in every consumer product

It’s not easy at all, but a sustained interest, widespread promotion & a shared commitment over a period of time could make our planet become greener and cleaner again.