So start your paperwork. There's always room for one more.

Amor de Cosmos wrote:
It's a relatively recent ruling but Canadian immigration law does make it difficult to forbid residency to the spouse of a national, unless it's viewed as a marriage of convenience, which they get really sensitive about. It's possible the two of them will get "properly" married at some point in the future but, in law, there's no advantage to doing so. As it is their Common law status allows them to use the time they've already "banked" together as evidence of a pre-existing spousal relationship, provided there's a suitable paper trail. In short establishing the length of their relationship is more important than its definition, if that makes sense.
Ah fair enough. Quite sensible too.

Is emigrating to Canada that hard? I was under the impression it was relatively straightforward given you had the proper qualifications and it's to the right province.

Is emigrating to Canada that hard?

I suppose the short answer is not in comparison to most places but it isn't necessarily easy.

The provincial nominee program has given more power to individual provinces to target their specific immigration needs. What this means is that more general box ticking "points" criteria, age, education etc., are less important than specific in demand job/trade skills. Arguably it has also meant you can buy your way into the country more easily than you could a few years ago as, so-called, entrepreneurial skills tend to carry more weight with the provinces than the feds. The overall immigration numbers are still rising, but your tech qualified thirty-something is likely to do slightly better than your arts-grad these days. Especially in the three western provinces, where all the population growth is these days.

Where immigration gets difficult is if you're over fortyish and have any medical issues. These days, for example, there's little chance of bringing in parents or other aging dependents. This wasn't true twenty years ago.

Cheers for the kind words folks. I've spent all day trying to sort out the logistics of sending my passport to the Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles (where the case was sent) for visa stamping. I've been tearing my hair out in bunches. I thought yesterday was the end of all that.

On matters hockey, just when you big the Flames up a bit, they fall very flat. I'll put it down to a third road game in four nights. Irving put his Boston nightmare behind him and was back to his assured self. A shame they couldn't get the other point with the Kings and Wild losing. Building was half empty again.

Onwards to Saturday.

Indeed. It has to be a more entertaining game than last night's affair in St Paul. Only the Minnesota Dull would attempt to protect a one goal lead scored within the game's first twenty seconds.

It's almost as if Jacques Lemaire is still behind the bench.

The Wild are also one of the most striking examples of regression to the mean in recent times.

The trouble is, unless they do something spectacular by trade deadline, their mean is going to be good for no better than about 12th in the Conference this season.

They don't have much to trade, though.

I don't see anyone being willing to give up more than magic beans for Heatley, and they need Setoguchi and Backstrom. Zidlicky also isn't going to bring a major return.

The fans there deserve a better team (with a new name, if you ask me).

At the mo they appear to building around Clutterbuck(!) It was like a tomb last night. If you're going to ice a losing team in a decent hockey market you might as well do it entertainingly I reckon.

Meanwhile, out in the desert strange stories abound...

Minnesota hockey fans deserve a lot better. In a way, it's strange this isn't a bigger deal as Minnesota is the biggest hockey state in America and unlike traditional US hockey anchors like Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Detroit, they've actually got money and a growing population. Instead they've got an organization filled with lame from the players to the style of play to the name and logo.

I am undecided whether Hockey Day in Canada is the lamest thing I've ever seen or actually very cool. Half of it smacks of somewhat self-serving syrupy Canadian nostalgia to sell bank memberships and federally funded television channels. Half of it is earnest, good natured love of hockey, and it's notable that the CBC and Canada do this with arguably more emphasis on minor and juniors than the NHL itself. I'd struggle to see something like this happen with baseball or football in England.

"It's FOOTBALL DAY IN ENGLAND! We've got Man Utd-Liverpool, Arsenal-Spurs and Newcastle-Sunderland today, but we're here at X playing fields, where absolutely nobody is kicking a ball around!"

Instead they've got an organization filled with lame from the players to the style of play to the name and logo.

Nah, their logo's seriously good.

Hockey Day in Canada is corny as all get out but, on balance, a good thing, and though the CBC has myriad problems only they would attempt something like it. If HNiC was on TSN or Sportsnet there's no chance it would happen. The NHL's interest is also lukewarm as is most clubs'. Among other things the winning town is supposed to get an NHL pre-season game at their rink. When Terrace, here in BC won, the Canucks sent only that year's draft-picks for a scrimmage with Edmonton's. The First-team were still on the beach. Poor show.

You're dead right about a similar thing not happening at all in the UK though.

Amor de Cosmos wrote:
Instead they've got an organization filled with lame from the players to the style of play to the name and logo.

Nah, their logo's seriously good.

Hockey Day in Canada is corny as all get out but, on balance, a good thing, and though the CBC has myriad problems only they would attempt something like it. If HNiC was on TSN or Sportsnet there's no chance it would happen. The NHL's interest is also lukewarm as is most clubs'. Among other things the winning town is supposed to get an NHL pre-season game at their rink. When Terrace, here in BC won, the Canucks sent only that year's draft-picks for a scrimmage with Edmonton's. The First-team were still on the beach. Poor show.

You're dead right about a similar thing not happening at all in the UK though.
The logo is a nice piece of design but it's not terribly functional. It's a shoulder patch logo that's the main logo for the team.

They should just go back to the North Stars.

I imagine what the Nucks pulled did not go over terribly well in Terrace. I wonder how many of them were rooting for the Bruins last year.

Minnesota does their own hockey day too.

I like the Wild's uniforms, but the name is dumb. Best not to think about it.

The logo is a nice piece of design but it's not terribly functional. It's a shoulder patch logo that's the main logo for the team.

It's too subtle for a shoulder patch, it needs the crest's size to make it fully readable.

I imagine what the Nucks pulled did not go over terribly well in Terrace. I wonder how many of them were rooting for the Bruins last year.

I dunno, but it was a tacky move and unusual for an organization that, legitimately, prides itself on community outreach. I can't help but wonder whether it was connected with the club's sour relationship with HNiC.

Well, just complete theft on our part in the Saddledome. I can't recall in my almost four years of being here where they just hung on grimly by their fingernails for the whole 65 minutes.

The Alberts double minor was clearly the turning point; if they converted either on the PP, they'd have had a bit of breathing room. I know the Canucks PK is good, but the power plays were abominable tonight.

And we lose yet another player to injury. I don't think Backlund would try and get involved after the whistle had he not been in the coaches' doghouse for his OT penalty that lost them the game in Phoenix (and Blair Jones to a broken ankle in trying to kill the penalty). To then get injured in taking on a guy five inches taller and twenty pounds heavier was just plain daft.

Three stars: * Kipper, ** the goalpost, *** the guy who teaches them shot-blocking.

Elsewhere, Chicago lose an eighth on the trot, with trips to Nashville and the Rangers to come this week.

I thought your top line would run out of gas they played so much, but they didn't, not really. They hung in. The Nux took the entire first period to settle, largely because AV became obsessed with line matching. He does this occasionally, I can't see how twenty second shifts can be anything but disruptive early in the game. The entire Alberts incident was unfortunate. It was an unlucky hit, not a malicious one and I'm not certain Backlund intended to retaliate. Alberts almost never fights either, I can't remember his last one, but after feeling contact he responded. It did settle his team though. Funny game. Though they dominated the late going the Canucks never put their foot to the floor. Games have been like that for the past month. Different line formations, AHL players brought in for a look. There's the sense of rehearsal about them.

Yeah, what is up with the Hawks eh?

That's a real good question, and I haven't seen enough of them to attempt an answer. The goaltending appears to be part of it, but the guys up front aren't firing either.

It's emblematic of this bizarre road trip that the Canucks lost the game in which they played the best.

It was also an amazing gesture for the Leafs to create one of their home humiliations at the hands of the Habs just to make Mats feel as if he had never left.

I have to admit I don't think of the "loser's point" as losing. A tie on the road is always a valuable point gained I reckon.

Similarly, I don't think of a shootout victory as "winning".

This is a seriously sick goal.

I haven't seen hair like that on hockey player since Bill Flett.