u/WesternExpress

I would get those pardons done first before you apply. That's a lot of criminal activity

Depends on what you did to earn that criminal record. Relatively minor crimes like DUI or assault are generally ok, but more severe crimes, a pattern of criminal activity, or crimes involving theft/fraud are given a lot more scrunity.

Also stacked against a Stampeders game that kicked off pretty much right as the final whistle blew for the Cavs.

It's fantastic. Cheap produce, great deli, and all the central & eastern European groceries you can imagine!

Have you been to European Market? That is a very excellent slightly off the beaten path grocery store.

And the Calgary Golf & Country Club's lightning siren. Although if I saw/heard that loud of a lightning strike on any golf course, my clubs would be going in the car and I'd be going into the clubhouse for a pint or six to calm my nerves.

Per the Environment Canada lightning map, the strike was basically at Elbow and Glenmore. Holy shit it was SO loud here in Windsor Park. And out of nowhere too

It wasn't a 737. Those old piece of crap 737s fly over my house all the time, and their engines sound more like a roar. The F18 that flew over (at least 95% sure it was an F18) sounds more scream-y, if that makes sense.

All employers (and employees) pay the same EI rate, except for Quebec which has slightly different formulas for QPIP. The employer side contribution is 1.4x the employee's contribution.

There's no other adjustments for EI claims experience in Canada. There are in many US states, which is why US employers fight unemployment claims.

And you could definitely charge Canadian employers based on industry and/or claims experience, similar to how provincial worker's comp in Canada is calculated. Employees could be charged under a similar formula, but that's a lot messier than just charging the employer based on the factors of that business.

EI is even more of a tax than CPP. EI contributions go into general government revenues, and benefits are also paid out of general revenues. If it was actually insurance, then there would be some form of underwriting to charge higher rates for those most likely to use it, and/or for employers most likely to cause EI claims to happen.

Agreed. Don't forget that your employer (or you if you're self-employed) has to pay an equal amount in contributions as the employee contribution. This applies to both CPP and CPP2.

If you make $85,000, the current max, the annual total CPP+CPP2 contribution (employee & employer sides) is a hair under $9,300. EI adds another $2,700.

Personally, I'd rather just keep an extra $12,000 in my pocket every year instead of sending it off to the government in exchange for promises of future benefits.

Depends on whether the GIC is cashable or not. CASH.TO is instantly cashable, so you would lose some yield compared to non-redeemable GIC products. But a quick glance shows that there are some cashable GICs out there with better rates than what CASH.TO currently offers, so always good to research the options.

A few percent max, unless the financial system completely collapses. They only hold bonds with a very short duration, so they aren't nearly as affected by market fluctuations. ZST.TO is another similar product, and you can see it's been very steady except for the predictable monthly drops on dividend distributions. I prefer RUST.TO as the yield is currently 3.31% vs 2.12% (CASH.TO) or 2.53% (ZST.TO).

Take a look at the charts on Yahoo Finance and you'll see the historic results.

BANK.TO is an ETF of bank & insurance company stocks. I wouldn't call that a particularly safe investment for capital preservation, although it's certainly safer than YOLOing options.

My recommendation would be a HYSA style ETF like CASH.TO, or for a touch more risk with a higher yield, an ultra short term bond fund like RUST.TO.

Mugs Pub down on 14th St in the Beltline is one of the city's main trivia pubs. The trivia competition is well run. Decent cheap-ish food and drinks too. Their trivia night is Wednesdays.

Bottlescrew Bills also does alternating trivia or bingo on Wednesdays. You can check their Facebook page to see which one they're doing tonight.

Happened to me in the 10 Ave parkade during Stampede. Smashed my window to steal my Superstore loonie and a single empty plastic water bottle for the $0.10 deposit. Nothing else was taken, but the new window cost me nearly $400 plus all the hassle of cleaning up the glass & getting everything fixed.

Texas style chili doesn't have beans in it, and it is really meaty. It's delicious. But meat costs more than beans, so looks like this place decided to also have a cheaper bean option for those looking to save ten cents.

Just for clarity, the job of marine pilot very much still exists. If you ever take a cruise, you will see local pilots in a speedboat coming up to the cruise ship as it approaches the port, jumping onboard, and then the pilots handle the final navigation to get the cruise ship safely toward the pier. The whole process repeats on departure, but the pilots leave on their speedboat once the cruise ship is safely underway.

Ontario & Quebec could build a better resource extraction economy if they wanted, with massive tax revenues & hundreds of thousands of well paid jobs. Both provinces have effectively infinite amounts of nearly every metal & mineral on the planet, plus the availability & know-how to create as much electricity from nuclear & hydro as they care to.

We are in the middle of a global commodity price boom, but neither province wants to take the actions that would allow them (and Canada by extension) to be wealthier than any other country on earth. To use your analogy, the seas bubble over with fish, but yet the boats stay in the harbour.

The entire stadium's PUTO! on the goal kicks is hilarious

Not a new thing in Calgary at all. In fact, the record for worst flood in the Bow River at Calgary (2,265 m3/s) was actually set all the way back in 1879. That's about 500 m3/s worse than the 2013 flood. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_flooding_in_Canada

Pretty much ever since Calgary was a fort at the confluence of two rivers, we've worked on flood control. I think we're getting better at it, especially around building flood barriers and on smartly drawing down reservoir levels to give high water somewhere safe to go.

Try CBC?

You can invest USD into your RRSP with RBC Direct Investing, and buy USD denominated ETFs/stocks/bonds/GICs/etc. with it. No conversions. Same is also true for their TFSA, FHSA & non-reg accounts. Note that for the purposes of the contribution, they automatically calculate it as if it was CAD on the day of the transaction and add that to your total they report on your tax slips at year end (but the money itself stays as USD).

I'm sure there are other brokers that offer USD transactions, but I know from personal experience it works very smoothly on RBC DI.

Buy an AC unit. Ya they're a few hundred bucks, but being able to sleep in an ice box all summer long is about 10,000% worth it. You don't need one to cool your whole place, just your bedroom. Most exhaust out the window, but have an adapter so that the window is mostly closed and the noise stays outside where it belongs.

I, for one, am shocked that a hotel, that runs check-in from their bar and is located directly next to Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock & Roll Steakhouse and Jelly Roll's Goodnight Nashville, right on one of America's most famous/infamous party streets, is somehow loud on a Friday night.

(yes those are actually the names of the two bars closest to the hotel)