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As regular readers know, I run a monthly contest on the site. I'm once again tardy with this month's contest but give me a break, I've been scouring the city for Canadian-made hair wax.

For this month's contest, all you have to do is ‘like' this photo of old money on Facebook. As I publish this post, it's the top item on One Year, One Canadian's Facebook page. I'll let that run until April 15, and then randomly select a winner.

And what does the winner receive? Three business books from the good folks at Douglas and McIntyre. Those books are:

• "Chocolate Wars" by Deborah Cadbury
• "Why Mexicans Don't Drink Molson" by Andrea Mandel-Campbell
• "The World Is Flat" by Thomas Friedman

 

One Canadian book out of three ain't bad, eh? So get your Like on.

I know these early contests have been pretty easy. Fear not, I'll come up with something more challenging for next month's category, movies and television. Maybe some kind of CanCon trivia question?

Read comments here.

Blog post re-printed with kind permission from  Darren Barefoot - 1Y1C.

I do not spend a lot of time in front of the TV. There are a few shows I will watch in their entirety, such as House (I know, bad Canadian blogger *waves to Hugh Laurie*), Flashpoint and, if it has already started, I will sit and watch Kenny vs. Spenny,  but it's just a guilty pleasure. There are also 2 channels that can be found playing on my television should I be at the remote control helm and that is Discovery Canada  and HGTV Canada. Both satisfy my curiosity and artsy-crafty inclinations.

 

HGTV Canada has been a staple on my tv since the late 90's when This Small Space was airing and inspired me to look at my wee house in a new way. Still, to this day, HGTV Canada is just as inspiring and informative. As an artist and crafter, I am always looking to find new DIY ways to jazz up my home. Having children and mountains of stuff and little time requires innovative storage ideas and especially how to maintain them. As a homeowner, there is often something that needs to be cared for, fixed or upgraded. Of course, after watching Holmes on Homes, you almost want to just learn to do it yourself. These days, I am preparing to sell the house and getting tips and hints is a walk in the park with programs such as Flipping Out, My First Sale  and The Unsellables, I am sure to get all the help I need.

I adore that many of the hosts of the various shows are Canucks! I am super excited to check out The Decorating Adventures of Ambrose Price, a Newfie with aspirations of being Canada's Martha Stewart. Each episode he is faced with a new design challenge, all in hopes of bringing him to the top of his game and helping him become the best of the best.

"For Ambrose, this is a journey of decorating and self-discovery and a step closer to becoming the Master Decorator he's always dreamed of being."

Of course, if you have a hard time getting to the television or just miss your favourite episodes, HGTV Canada has some available to watch online. Another nice feature is the live blogs  as well as the videos  so can watch some of your favourites!

 What are your favouite HGTV Canada shows, past or present?

 

:; images courtesy of HGTV.ca

There's a perfectly good reason for why I've been tardy in discussing investments, this month's category. Here it is:

I know almost nothing about the topic.

My wife and I have a trusted financial advisor and RRSPs and sundry other financial assets, but they're really not, shall we say, a strength of mine. We meet with our money guy a couple of times of year, and generally all I care about is that the lines go up. My wife is far more responsible in these matters.

There's another reason I've been slow writing about this month. In preparation for this month, I connected with my financial advisor to ask how Canadian our current investment mix was. The Blessed Beaver of Upper Canada shined his light on me because, huzzah!, all of our investments are already Canadian.

So, problem solved?

 

Yes, but that's not much fun, is it? I plan to give my money guy some money, and ask him to split it in two piles and invest it. For one investment, he'll invest it in strictly Canadian investments. For the other, he'll put the money in foreign investments. We'll check back in along the way, and see how we end up at the end of the year.

Photo by Adam Campbell.

Read comments here.

Blog post re-printed with kind permission from  Darren Barefoot - 1Y1C.
 

One of my favourite Canadian fashion mags is LouLou, Canada's shopping magazine. It's filled with the best clothes, shoes, accessories, beauty products, and gizmos and gadgets for your home, with complete buying information in Canada.

The layout is colourful and easy to navigate and crammed with information. I like how they comparison shop for me. The magazine always includes a page full of stickers that you can use to bookmark your favourite items! How cool is that!? It's colourful, hip, Canadian and interactive, too!

                                 LouLou Magazine

According to LouLou, there are eleven trends to watch for this Spring:

 

                           Diane Kennedy 

1. Boho/ 70's: Elephant pants are back! Grrrrrrrreat. 

 

 

                                Tristan

2.  Romantic/boudoir: Sleepy sexy.

 

                              Tristan

3. Minimalist: A little goes a long way.

 

                            Marallis

4. Tribal: Lots of prints and patterns!

 

                     Naturals Apparel

5. Sporty: Are you ready to reveal?

 

                                  Dace

6. Urban Safari: It's a jungle out there!

 

                                  Tristan

7. Tomboy: Manly, yes, but I like it too!

 

                            Bigger Bars

8. Whiter than white: White is the new black.

 

                         Turbine

9. Flashy and fluorescent: Colour is the new white.

 

                           Jayn Simpson

10. Eastern promises: Hints of exotic!

 

                  Jennifer Glasgow

11. Satin: The new cotton!

So, do you see anything that you like in the Spring fashion trends of 2011? Sometimes, it seems like there isn't much new, fashion-wise. Only the names have been changed! I can't say that I am thrilled to see '70's style fashion back for another go. I was there the first time, albeit very, very young, (*winks*) and I thought that the fashions were kind of not-so-hot then. I can remember lime green bell bottoms, orange elephant pants and paisley printed palazzo pants. It was like fashion on acid! 

Are you a trendsetter or a trendgetter?

:: images courtesy of Buy Canadian First members.

Earlier this week I was a guest on The Bill Good Show, a venerable local radio show here in Vancouver. There was the usual chat about the project, and then we took some calls from listeners.

Mr. Good was an excellent moderator of the phone lines. Earlier we had discussed my ongoing search for toilet paper that is sourced and manufactured in Canada. It's a topic which never fails to delight the media.

We took a call from somebody who said he used to work at a local paper manufacturer in New Westminster, which I heard as "Cougar Paper". He said they definitely made toilet paper from Canadian trees and wood pulp.

I noted down the name, and promptly went home to investigate. I googled, and did find a paper company, but they don't have a plant in New Westminster, nor do they make toilet paper. I was foiled again.

Later in the week, though, I received a long and informative email from the good people of Kruger Paper. They did, in fact, have manufacturing facilities and a tree farm in New Westminster, and produced several brands of toilet paper. It turns out that they've been around since 1904, when Mr. Joseph Kruger opened a paper business in Montreal.

 

Success! I can now bask in the warm, smug glow of Purex EnviroCare, toilet paper entirely sourced and manufactured in Canada. They also make a couple of brands of paper towel, so that problem is solved as well.

Why did this take so long? Web searches were consistently disappointing. No one seems to be optimizing their website for people like me looking for "toilet paper made in Canada". Even the aforementioned Purex product page doesn't mention Canada. I then turned to the aisles of my local grocery stores, where I made an incorrect assumption. I stalked the aisles of Whole Foods and Choices, certain that they would be my best bets for earth-friendly and locally-made TP, as they have been for other products.

I was wrong, and should have instead started with the kitteny-softness (actually, the Purex EnviroCare is recycled toilet paper, so it's more poodle than kitty) that is that familiar brand Purex.

Read comments here.

Blog post re-printed with kind permission from  Darren Barefoot - 1Y1C.

A few years ago, I decided that I wanted to learn more about the wildflowers, or 'weeds', as some call them, in my neighbourhood. With my trusty Petersons Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants in hand, I would walk to the nearby field that surrounds the train tracks, and find myself in wildflower heaven! With the help of the field guide, the landscape changed before my eyes, from anonymous green grass to an entire pharmacy of healing wildflowers! It was a wonderful experience that changed my perceptions and I recommend trying it to everyone!

Elsie founded Natural Plantation Inc., in order to produce a line of Canadian-made products containing this concentrated Purslane. All of the products at Natural Plantation Inc. are created with concentrated Purslane and they are all natural and contain no synthetic chemicals or preservatives.

An bhfuil ocras ort?
Well, are you? Hungry, that is.

The Irish cuisine can be divided up into two categories: pre potato and post potato (much to the critics' delight or dismay). The pre-potato cuisine usually started with a large three legged cauldron that hung and simmered over the fire all the day. Ingredients varied depending on location; inland vs. costal. Shellfish, seaweed, vegetables, herbs and game were all chosen ingredients for the endless variety of soups and stews such as sheep's head broth or clam and cockle soup.

Feathered fowls were covered in a few inches of clay or mud and baked, and once the clay was hard, it was broken open and all the feathers and skin would peel away. Meats such as beef, pork, wild deer and mutton, were all commonly eaten and used for milk and wool. Bread seems to have not been eaten in vast quantities but eight cereals were used in Ireland, especially oats and barley. Corn was earmarked for the making of ale and mead, a honey alcohol, was a delicacy served before and after a feast. Dairy, fish, eggs, vegetables such as wild leeks, onions, and wild cherries and apples, all of which were foraged or cultivated.

 

The Spanish brought the potato to Europe in 1570; by 1590 it reached the British Isles. 1663 proved that the potato was an important crop to the Irish people and by 1770 it was known as the "Irish Potato". The potato is a quick and efficient crop, ready to harvest in 60 days. They contain vitamin C, vitamin B6 and potassium to name a few. The beginning of the 18th century was the beginning of traditional Irish cooking where soups were thickened with potatoes and potatoes were the vegetable accompaniment to all meals.

Cattle were prized, not for the meat, but for the milk. It was uncommon to slaughter a cow unless it was unable to provide milk, unable to breed or was injured. To eat a perfectly healthy cow in its prime was usually reserved for those who ccould afford it, like a king or a chieftain. A 12th century poem called the Vision of MacConglinne, gives us a peek at Irish food as it was eaten at the time. In the Vision, corned beef is described as a delicacy given to a king, in an attempt to conjure "the demon of gluttony" out of his belly.

 
DIY CORNED BEEF
Ingredients:
• A "deckle" or the fatter cut of beef brisket 4-5lb
• Coarse kosher salt as needed
• 1 egg in its shell to test brine
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• Water as needed
• 8 bay leaves crushed
• 5 large garlic cloves coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds, bruised
• 2 tablespoon black peppercorn
• 1 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander

 Read more:

After you make your corned beef be sure to make this  with it.

So when you go to the grocery store to try all your awesome new Irish recipes  be sure to look for made or grown in Canada. Here in Manitoba, even at this time of year, potatoes and carrots are still available from local summer crops. Read the produce lables and ask if you don't know. There is lots to buy locally: beef, eggs, milk and cheese are usually from local producers.  

What are you doing for St. Patrick's day? 

 image credits Flickr: Celtic Irish Carvings.com, FotoosVanRobin, flaurella

"85% of the shoes sold in Canada are made in China." That's what I learned from the clerk at the third shoe store I visited today. She seemed to know a little more than the other stores' clerks, whose best answer to the question "do you sell any shoes that are manufactured in Canada?" was to "just google it". Right, because that never occurred to me.

I need shoes. I need a new pair of running shoes, and some hiking shoes. By the year's end, I'll need some new dress shoes, too. So, before we get started on the subject of investments (for that's March's category), I wanted to do some research into footwear.

 

Pounding the mall pavement got me nowhere. According to their staff, there wasn't a single shoe in Ronsons, Town Shoes or Aldo's that was made in Canada.

I did, however, make some progress wielding the aforementioned Google and collecting a few tips on the 1Y1C Facebook page. What did I learn?

• La Canadienne makes women's shoes in Montreal (they've got some nice shots of their manufacturing facility on that page). Unfortunately, I'm disinclined to cross-dress.
• Nor am I particularly butch. If I was, I could consider Viberg's vast array of boots for dock workers, loggers or just plain stomping around. Along similar lines, I've sent a note to Mark's Work Wearhouse to see if they have any footwear that qualifies.
• Now we're talking: Roots makes a few lines of men's shoes in their Toronto factory. In a pinch, I could see myself wearing these.

I also found a number of local manufacturers of Canadian cliches: winter boots and moccasins.

So, not a complete failure, but my feet still aren't ready for jogging or hiking. I'll soldier on with worn-out shoes.

UPDATE (March 11, 2011): I heard back from Mark's Work Wearhouse. They sent me a list of footwear that's made in Canada-for men it's all work boots and shoes, nothing in the running, dress or hiking category.

Photo by Emma Jane Hogbin.

Read comments here.

Blog post re-printed with kind permission from  Darren Barefoot - 1Y1C.

Today is International Women's Day and, around the world, and in your town, festivities are taking place. As a matter of fact, this day was first celebrated on March 19th, 1911, making today the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day and that much more to celebrate!

Initially, International Women's Day was created to publicize the plight of women around the world. With a hundred years of hard work behind us, today's IWD is much more about the achievements that women have made and the progress gained in ensuring that women everywhere have equal rights.

  

The theme for Canada's International Women's Day 2011 is Girls' Rights Matter / Les droits des filles comptent. Focusing on the importance of equality and access to opportunity for all girls and women throughout their lives, this theme encourages us to examine the situation of girls in Canada today. It also connects to the United Nations theme of Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women.

 

According to the Status of Women - Canada site, "A girl who enjoys equality has a greater likelihood of being self-confident and aware of her own potential, and of being empowered to access the education, training and career opportunities that will contribute to her success in life."

So, how are women doing in Canada? According to this Fact Sheet:

• The House of Commons currently has 67 women.
  
• Currently, women make up the majority of full-time students in most university faculties.
  
• In 2007, women made up 35 per cent of all self-employed individuals.
• In 2007, 35% of those employed in managerial positions were women.

On the other hand, the Equal Pay Coalition tells us that,  according to Statistics Canada, women, on average earn 29% less than men. They say that 42 percent of elderly women in Canada live in poverty, the median income of older women is almost half what it is for older men and a lifetime of lower wages means that women workers have less income that they can save for retirement. Although more women are full-time university students, women graduating from university earn 16% less than male graduates in their first jobs. 

 

Are you surprised to learn that women in Canada are still not paid an equal wage for work of equal value?  What better day than today to find out more about this very real women's issue and the ways that you can get involved to change it.

Do you have a daughter? Who are her heroines? Who are YOUR heroines?

March Break, for many Canadian students, is just around the corner and this leaves many parents making plans. Working parents have to arrange full time care during the day. Stay at home parents are looking for new ways to keep the kids busy and working parents have to balance the kids being at home with the need to get some work done.

If they don't use child care during the year, a work at home parent may find extended school holidays hard to figure out.  Will you arrange for day camps? Have extra help  from family? Take time off work (if that's possible)?

Here are a few tips and ideas for March Break:

1-Holidays for the other parent

If it's possible, now would be a great time for the work out of the home parent to take time off.  It means everyone can spend some family time together, and the work at home parent can still sneak away to get some work done.

2-Look for additional care

Maybe there is a day care that will take drop in children during the year on holidays etc.  This usually has to be arranged well in advance and isn't possible for all.  Some day care centres offer special March Break activities for kids who aren't usually in care. 

If you have extended family, or grandparents are available, now would be a great time to arrange some extra special play time with them. 

Do you know other work at home parents? Can you do a child-care swap? THis is where each of you take the kids for a few hours a day to give the other a chance to work and do errands.

3-Camps

Your city or local community centre may offer day camps for the week, full day and half days.  These camps usually have lots of activities and running around so your kids will have that extra energy burned off!

If the city isn't hosting something, some local gynmastic centres, like this one in Ottawa, may have day camps available.

4-Keep 'em busy at home  

Another good idea is to stock up the week before March Break on craft supplies (new items always keep their interest!) and/or board games (which really can be called anti-bored games!).  While they are crafting, you can get some work done or catch up on emails.

This Hunt and Seek game would be ideal for a single child or a couple of children!

 

 

Bloco: Build with the imagination!

 

 

Recycled cardboard playhouse: How much fun would this be to play with for hours?!!

 

 

5-Take a vacation

This is often easier said than done for a work at home parent, especially if the business is their own, but Spring Break would be a great time to take some extra time off to be with the kids. Plan trips to museums, pancake houses or other activities in your town, that you don't often get to do.  You may have some work to catch up on when they are in bed, but that special time together during the day will be worth it.

How will you be handling March Break with the kids?

 

:: images courtesy of Buy Canadian First Members

I spent last weekend in St-Thomas, Ontario. Why, you ask? Excellent question.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by my new friend Freddy from the CAW Local 2168 through Facebook (gotta love that!) He was asking me if I had information about what products are made in Canada, for a local trade show they were participating in. Their theme was Made in Canada Matters, which is a campaign really close to my heart! ‘'Better than that'', I answered. ‘'I will come down and spend the day at your booth and bring you some great products Made in Canada!''

 

I figured, ‘'How far can St-Thomas be from Montreal, right?'' FAR!  We drove for 8 hours down the 401 (yes, my hubby tagged along to keep me company...thanks sweetheart!) through Car Manufacturing Country. It was fascinating to see those gigantic assembly plants: Ford, Chrysler, Dodge, Chevrolet, GM and Toyota. Also sad to see some abandoned buildings, evidence of the decline of manufacturing in this great country of ours. As a matter of fact, I learned that the Ford plant in St-Thomas is due to close in September, sending about 1,200 people to the unemployment line. The nearby Lear plant is also slated for closure, as it was supplying the seats for the Ford plant. I also learned that every 1 job in the car manufacturing industry sustains 6 related jobs. So all of a sudden, those 1,200 plus jobs look more like 7,200 plus jobs. Yikes!

At the trade show, I was privileged to meet many people from St-Thomas. Families, elderly people, business owners, etc. This community knows only too well the importance of buying Canadian and it's repercussions on the local economy. And not just cars. Their eyes lit up when they saw what we had brought:

 

On the table:

- Screwdrivers made by Picquic Tools in Ontario
- Royale Paper products made by Irving Tissue in New Brunswick
- Life jackets (PFD) made by Salus Marine in Ontario
- Pet food made by Oven-Baked Tradition in Quebec
- Goat's milk skincare products made by Canus in Quebec
- Card games made by Outset Media in British Columbia
- Baby sling made by Blue Celery in Ontario
- Boots made by Rallye Footwear in Quebec
- Belts made by Truth in Ontario
- Wall décor made by Felt Fantasia in British Columbia
- Baseball bats made by Sam Bat in Ontario
- Mr. Freeze made by Kisko in Ontario
- RimRoller made by Novel Solutions in Ontario (just in time for the 25th anniversary of Roll up the Rim to Win!)

If you want to see more of these products, check our our current Gift Guide.

To this community, buying Canadian is self-evident. But they had NO IDEA such products were made in this country. Again, information & awareness is the name of the game. And we sure LOVE to play that game!

So again, thanks to everyone in St-Thomas who came out to meet us! I will definitely be back in that part of the country in the next few months, and hopefully will be able to visit one of those assembly plants! Can't wait!

Images courtesy of Isabelle Remy

As we move into month three of the project, I've had time to familiarize myself with an array of Canadian-made household goods that I started using back in January. Here, then, are some encapsulated reviews of stuff I've tried thus far:

Soap Works body soap - I've actually used this soap on and off for a few years. It's typically available at Choices and Whole Foods, and I like that it's usually sold without any packaging. There's novelty in just picking up a plain bar of sold and sticking it in your shopping basket. More than any of the other products I'm trying, their soap behaves and feels totally like ‘normal' soap. Their soaps are made in Canada-I've emailed them to check if any are entirely sourced north of the border.

Green Beaver Frosty Mint natural toothpaste - Setting aside the peculiar brand name, I don't love this toothpaste. Its minty smell somehow reminds me of the vinyl waiting room of a 1960s dentist's office. Like a number of these natural products, it's got an off-white colour which I've never associated with toothpaste. It'll take some getting used to.

Green Beaver Tea Tree natural deodorant - I've discussed the deodorant question elsewhere, but in general I've found that if I re-apply the pit stick at least once later in the day, it's sufficient. Mind you, we're still in winter. I may need to become still more vigilant. The tea tree variety smells nice, though I'm slightly disappointed by the mechanics of the stick-the lid is overly tight, and the little increase-the-stick-height wheel doesn't work as smoothly as I might like.

 

L'Olivier lavender foam bath - I had a guest tester for this bubble bath. She reports that it had a natural lavender odor and it produced a robust cloud of bubbles that lasted the entirety of her bath. I received this bath foam as part of a set of samples that L'Olivier sent me (they're pictured above).

Abeego food storage sheets - These are peculiar, reusable food wraps "created with hemp/cotton fabric infused with a blend of beeswax and plant extracts" in Victoria, BC. They smell like beeswax, as you might expect, and they're semi-moldable so a sheet fits fairly easily over a bowl or plate. There's also a little tie-able sandwich holder that's kind of nifty.

Natureclean dishwashing unscented liquid and automatic dishwasher gel - These two products get the rare gold-standard of being entirely sourced in Canada. They do an adequate job of washing dishes, but both are inferior to their more toxic and less local equivalents. Mostly I have to chip the occasional piece of dried food off a dish or two when I'm emptying the dishwasher, and scrub the pots and pans a little harder.

Cascades recycled bathroom tissue - There's no getting around this: it ain't Royale kitteny-soft.

Any grand conclusions thus far? These products are, on average, slightly inferior to the common brands I was using last year. It's an acceptable compromise, though, for locally-made, more eco-friendly products.

There are plenty more reviews where that came from. Have you tried any of these products? If so, what did you think of them?

Read comments here.

Blog post re-printed with kind permission from  Darren Barefoot - 1Y1C.

Manga launched his first game, All Canadian Trivia, while still at university! After playing another well-known trivia game and realizing he knew more about the United States than he did about his own country, he wanted to play a trivia game with a Canadian focus. When he couldn’t find one, he created All Canadian Trivia. That game went on to become a Canadian best-seller (more than 100,000 copies sold) and spawned Junior, French and Millennium editions, a Supplemental Question set, and the 10th Anniversary Edition.

 

In 2002, Manga created the first games in the Professor Noggin’s Made-in-Canada card game series. This popular series now numbers 34 games, which have won many major awards, receiving honors from the likes of the Parent’s Choice Foundation, the National Association for Gifted Children and Scholastic Instructor Magazine.