cannabisnews.com: Make Tourism a Joint Effort





Make Tourism a Joint Effort
Posted by CN Staff on June 07, 2003 at 09:01:06 PT
By Standard Staff 
Source: St. Catharines Standard
Two recent developments are creating problems in Toronto-area communities — Toronto particularly. But we could feel the repercussions here in Niagara unless something is done about them. The biggest problem is the large drop in tourism this season, especially in Toronto. The lack of tourists from such usually reliable markets as the U.S. has caused major theatre productions to announce they’re closing and threatens to hurt such large events as Caribana, the Molson Indy and the Gay Pride parade. 
On Friday, the federal government announced it would spend $17.5 million to promote Toronto and Canada as safe tourist havens in the wake of the SARS outbreak — $10 million to support events and festivals in the greater Toronto area, from Niagara to cottage country, and another $7.5 million to other regions of the country hurt by the drop in tourism. A federal ad campaign in American newspapers promotes travel to Canada in general; Toronto gets only passing mention, which doesn’t do the desperate city any good. The second problem is the confusion that continues over possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana. Police chiefs in Ontario are increasingly telling their officers to show discretion when dealing with possession of small amounts of pot. For the time being, officers in Toronto, Niagara and elsewhere will process the cases and do the paperwork, but they will not press charges. Whether or not those caught will be charged depends upon the outcome of a Department of Justice appeal of last month’s Supreme Court ruling that the current possession law is no longer valid. But there’s a way to turn both these lemons into lemonade: Desperate times call for desperate measures. The government could spend the money to promote Toronto as the Amsterdam of the North, a multicultural tourist haven where you can smoke pot legally. That will be huge with the doobie brothers and sisters who will come up here in droves — and vans — to spend their American dollars. If we can get them to stay a couple of days, the hotel business will get a boost. And of course, when they get the munchies, the tourists will be able to dine in style in the city’s many fine restaurants — although they will be smoke-free, of course. Toronto would gain publicity they couldn’t buy even with a Rolling Stones concert; the Grateful Dead fans alone could save the city’s economy. Of course, this would all hinge upon trusting the federal government to come up with an ad campaign that would get the message across. They didn’t do a very good job of promoting Toronto this time, and they couldn’t successfully run a marijuana grow operation in that abandoned mine in Flin Flon. They also said they’d rescind the GST. On second thought, perhaps this is a job for private enterprise. And maybe instead of bringing in the Stones we could reunite Cheech and Chong. That would not only save us the $10-million concert cost, it would help sell the message that Toronto is once again open for business, and visitors don’t have to keep off the grass. Complete Title: How To Bring People To T.O. — Make Tourism a Joint EffortSource: Standard, The (St. Catharines, CN ON)Published: Saturday, June 7, 2003Copyright: 2003 Osprey Media Group Inc.Contact: pbailey scs.southam.caWebsite: http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmHigh, Neighbour! - Globe and Mailhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16468.shtmlTimid Half-Measure Will Failhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16460.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by SoberStoner on June 07, 2003 at 20:21:44 PT
Count me in on relocation
I've been doing some investigating the last few months as well. From what I found, the easiest way would seem to be to get a job in canada and have your new employer start the immigration process. I am lucky, in that my current career path has a rather large amount of employers in the Vancouver area. Of course, none of them seem to be hiring for a position which I would be qualified for, but sooner or later, this will change and hopefully give me and my family our gateway to freedom.Of course, my long term goal would be to start a cannabis based cafe/lounge in Vancouver, but somehow I dont think immigration would be too pleased to learn this:)You can check the web for Canadian Immigration laws and find most of what you need to know. They even have the fee schedule listed somewhere in the canadian government immigration pages. It is not a cheap process, it's been a few months since I calculated the processing costs, but I belive it was somewhere in the neighboorhood of three thousand dollars (presumably canadian, so around 2000 US) however, that is a small price to pay to be able to live my life as free as we supposedly are in the states.SS
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Comment #9 posted by kaptinemo on June 07, 2003 at 16:23:08 PT:
The link Sr. Lehder mentioned
http://www.undergroundrailway.ca/
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Comment #8 posted by afterburner on June 07, 2003 at 14:32:01 PT:
This Reminds Me of a Toronto Centre Island Sign:
"KEEP ON THE GRASS"LOL, my friends and I had a good one over that.
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Comment #7 posted by Lehder on June 07, 2003 at 13:09:04 PT
by the way
there's a place called Europe too. if you have a parent born in europe, you're home free with dual citizenship. but less well known is that many people can qualify with only one grandparent born in europe. for example, i know someone who had both parents born in the US, but because her grandfather had not become a US citizen at the time of her father's birth, her father was considered to be of dual citizenship by both countries, and on that basis she obtained citizenship in a european country and is able to live there as long as she pleases. the rules are very complicated, becoming more restrictive, and are radically different for each country.if anyone can get a response from that mapleleafcard link i posted i'd like to know.finally, i once encountered a site that told about an underground railroad to canada for people who had been busted for weed. i wish i had bookmarked it because my attempts to find it again all failed. it told how you must email them your legal paper work explaining the charges you face, which can be for mj only. the author told that he enjoyed the work, that he had started out years ago by helping draft resisters and he delighted in seeing the relieved looks on inductees faces when he told them you can stay here in canada, no problem. the site claims to offer exactly the same service today for mj war victims. it says that it works things out for you, they'll meet you then on some rainy night at an arbys parking lot near the border and whoosh, you're in. don't know if this is legit or not, but getting busted may be the last resort! it's a badge of honor these days, as someone was saying here to rosenthal the other day.i've read all the biographies of the famous european scientists of the 20th century and their many travails in leaving their native countries because of hitler. it was really tough for them to find jobs from afar during the depression, and they were all terrified for themselves and their families. there are certainly many parallels here, especially if you have a big mouth. 
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Comment #6 posted by Lehder on June 07, 2003 at 12:41:52 PT
exiting
null - it's not a stipulation that one must be 40 or under, it's a point system wherin you are scored on employment record, Canadian relatives, education, language skills, on and on. just enter "landed immigrant" in your browser and download the form.but i'm replying specifically because i suspect you have a very strong card with your business. if you already have business in Canada and you can employ one or more Canadians, or if you can argue that your business would be better run from within Canada then your chances are even better. 
"landed immigrant" status is not the only way to enter Canada permanently, as freedom fighter has also learned, and if you're really interested you should pursue this. get the basics from the Internet, then, again with Internet Yellow Pages, locate a Canadian immigration lawyer to help you.in reading up on this problem i encountered the following websitehttp://www.mapleleafcard.info/contact.htmwhich claims that one can also crassly buy his way into Canada with a large loan to the government! But I guess I'm not wealthy enough for them to answer my e-mail and I have not pursued it.good luck, and let us know what you learn in your quest for freedom.
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Comment #5 posted by freedom fighter on June 07, 2003 at 11:38:06 PT
null
People who are 40 will be 50 and so forth, they get old and sick and not too many country can afford sick people. The easiest way to gain entrance in Canada is to invest alot of money I think 250k and up. Must hire certain numbers of Canadians. Still diffcult if you have records in United States. Even if you were not charged with a crime, that incident will be recorded in computers. However, since the border is tooo porous, no "Berlin" wall can stop Americans from fleein this country to Canada if that should come to happen. pazff
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Comment #4 posted by null on June 07, 2003 at 10:57:03 PT
nice post
hey lehder,just wanted to say i liked your post. really informative. i have considered the canadian relocation as well though haven't pursued it as seriously as you. we are rowing similar boats though. i am self-employed as well but a great deal of my industry seems to be moving to canada. where i used to view that as a bad thing perhaps it can be leveraged to my advantage. and i am still young enough. why do you suppose they have the 40+ stipulation? i find that rather curious.thanks,
null
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on June 07, 2003 at 10:35:26 PT
Lehder
You said Canadians are nicer then Americans. I agree with you. I watch Canadian News and barely turn on our News Channels. Maybe I'm more Canadian in my thinking then American. I've thought that Canadians are what we should be down here. 
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Comment #2 posted by Lehder on June 07, 2003 at 10:30:51 PT
end of the war
From my brief experience in Canada, I can say, as many others do, that generally Canadians are just plain nicer than Americans. There's a lot more service with a smile, greetings on the street, friendly offers of help, happy people. I think Canadians are well aware of this and want to keep themselves that way. I think they may just let prohibition quietly die; that is, no marijuana law will be reestablished in Ontario, but no fuss will be made over it either. Canadians know that a renewed marijuana war would adversely affect not just their society and economy but their personalities as well. They do not wish to be like Americans. They're not going to announce the end of the war because that would only encourage more visits and more shouting arguments with pigs like John Walters. They're just moving on. I'm hoping they'll simply ignore anyone who wants to reinstate marijuana laws, turn their backs. When their government reconvenes to pass the "decriminalization" laws, maybe they'll lack a quorum. "What if they gave a war and no one came?"
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Comment #1 posted by Lehder on June 07, 2003 at 09:54:18 PT
Canada
I have already visited Niagra Falls, and, determined to become a Canadian, even took a day to visit the city of St. Catherines, the origin of this semi-silly article. I engaged a local realtor and looked at three lovely houses in St. Catherines and any one of them, which at the time cost US $65,000-90,000 (add about 15-20 % today), would have made a marvelous home. The neighbors were even nicer and more welcoming than the houses, and I'm sure I would have been happy in this very ordinary Canadian town. But I'm beyond 40 years old, do not speak French, have no close relatives in Canada, and do not have a job waiting in Canada. These circumstances preclude my acceptance by Canada as a landed immigrant, and I verified this to be so with various application forms and an immigration attorney in Ontario. The facts that I'm educated to the max, contribute to the general culture with published works and am self-supporting are of no help. Also, Canada once had a "retire in Canada" program under which one could reside there permanently as a noncitizen, but it's no longer in force. I think I'd make a fine Canadian, but, believe me, it's not so easy. Best to be young and broke, have a job lined up, and a close relative in Canada. Also, learn French. And then, my advice is go. GO! I'm not interested in flying to Canada to smoke a joint, as this srticle would have it, and then come back here to the bigotry warfare nation. If the St. Catherines Standard Staff wants my dollar, then it can work toward changing the restrictive immigration rules. Meanwhile, I'm stuck right here, and if the US government wants me to shut up then it can end its numerous wars. Better yet, step down and let Canadians take over.I'll add that the Canadian marijuana legalization movement owes its origins in part to American draft resisters who fled to Canada in 60's and 70's. Quite a few of them liked marijuana as much as they detested war. And the beat goes on.
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