Inside Caledon, Ontario

This little guy, an American Red Squirrel visits my place every morning to steal seeds from the bird feeders. The American Red Squirrel are widely found across North America. Their range includes most of Canada, and extends into the United States in the Rocky Mountains, the North Central and North East, so they are no stranger to Caledon, Ontario. There are 25 recognized sub-species of red squirrels. Click here for more info on American Red Squirrels. The photo was taken on my backyard deck back in the fall by my fiance.

Yes that’s exactly what it looks like, Beer Can (in the Butt) Chicken. If you have never heard of it before you may be thinking why would you cook a chicken in this manner? The reason being is that makes scrumptiously delicious chicken that’s full of flavor and plenty of moisture. Most commonly made on BBQ, there is plenty of receipts on Google. You can also make in the oven, which is a better option during winter time. We tried the oven recipe with a can of Sleeman Ale, however you can use any beer you like. It turned out most excellent, the chicken was very juicy and tasty. Give it try if you are feeling adventurous.

Interesting article from the Caledon Enterprise:

The Town of Caledon has lent its voice to the opposition of the Harmonized Sales Tax.

On August 12, 2009 the Town of New Tecumseth stood up against the proposed harmonization of the Goods and Services Tax with the Provincial Sales Tax, a tax that is set to be implemented in July, 2010.

During Council on January 12, Caledon’s politicians supported a resolution to send their words of displeasure to the province as well.

According to that resolution, Council sees considerable concern amongst residents and business owners about the negative impacts of the harmonized tax.

And according to Caledon’s mayor, the tax could launch another slow down in an already stifled economy.

“I think what’s going to happen is people will quit buying things,” said Mayor Marolyn Morrison. “There’s a slow down now, and I don’t think it’s going to help that at all.”

Morrison believes that the tax is coming, no matter what opposition is shown, due to a deal struck between the federal and provincial government to see the last remaining province without an harmonized tax create one. But, she said, having the Town on the record with their opposition is a positive thing and resident and municipality complaint should hopefully open some eyes.

“I would like to think that when AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario) speaks and all these municipalities speak, the province will sit up and say you know what, they’ve got a point.

“But I’ve seen municipalities go through this before with other things. Sometimes you sink hundreds of thousands of dollars into preparing briefs to show just how negative something is going to be, and then, in the end, you should have just saved your money.”

Caledon’s MPP Sylvia Jones has long been a critic of the tax, and shared many of the sentiments expressed by Caledon’s Council.

“The HST is a tax grab, short and to the point,” said Jones. “There’s going to be literally hundreds of items that right now are not taxed with PST, but will be as of Canada Day.”

Jones explained that she believes the Liberals are entrenched in the move because of the massive revenue they will earn from the harmonization of the tax. She doesn’t know how effective the municipalities displeasure will be, but supported the local politicians who are acting on behalf of their constituents displeasure and told the residents to make their voices heard.

“The only time I see any change in government direction is when they hear from the residents,” said Jones. “The most recent example I can give you is when (Premier Dalton) McGuinty brought forward a law or proposal which was going to change how young people’s drivers licenses are handled in the first couple years. Facebook groups started, people came forward and they (government) backed down. I think you have to constantly tell your elected officials, whether you’re in opposition or not, what they’re doing right, or what they’re doing wrong.”

Jones said that Caledon residents will see increased costs in gas, home heating oil, television and phone bills, funeral expenses, the purchase of a home and legal fees. “Even anytime you enter your kids in any type of sport. Baseball, soccer, hockey, you name it. All those things are going to have HST and right now do not.”

Jones said that she is still hearing from constituents who are stopping her in the street and telling her how upset they are by the harmonized tax. She believes that the province has not heard enough resident complaint as she said because the provincial cabinet didn’t feature any changes of position for any finance ministers, “It doesn’t appear Dalton (McGuinty) is backing down from it (HST).”

Morrison mentioned that the Town of Caledon staff has been instructed to create a report to bring to council showing what the exact impact of the tax will be.

“It will be an interesting report to see,” she said. “Because there are supposed to be savings within the tax too, but our staff will show both sides.”

Caledon’s Mayor said that there are some situations where the tax is supposed to save residents money, such as in the purchase of cars, but she said even those savings can be masked, as it could be that the retailer gets a savings they are supposed to pass on to the consumer, but it could be their choice.

“My understanding is it will be a savings in some products, but that it is only a savings if the retailer doesn’t take up the room. So if the retailers lower their price the amount that is saved, that’s when you actually see savings. And with the economic hardships retailers have seen in the recession, I can’t see any lowering their price. Can you?”

Caledon will find out this July.

Just in case you were wondering if any of your tax dollars were ending up here back in our very own Caledon, here is a list projects in the Caledon area that received Federal Stimulus money this past year from the Federal Government also known as Canada’s Economic Action Plan. Thanks to David Tilson’s Office, M.P. for Dufferin-Caledon for the list.

Don’t let the photo fool you, I found this wandering coyote in a much more urban environment than it looks like. On my way home later afternoon yesterday by Hwy 7 & 427 I happened to notice in the corner of my eye something moving. When I stopped I was surprised to find a very healthy looking coyote staring back at me. Given that there has been so much development lately in the area with the new Vaughn Industrial park, new commercial building at Hwy 50 & 7 and new subdivisions going in on Hwy 50 just a little north I didn’t expect to see a coyote wandering around so freely in an area that is starting to become a lot busier. This was the first time I had gotten a good close up look of one in a long time, he appeared much more healthy looking than then ones I see near my house up further north in Caledon, I guess there is more urban garbage to feed on. Photo was taken with my 70-300mm zoom lens and the lighting was only slightly adjusted in Photoshop, click on the above photo for a larger image.

Quite often I see Hawk’s in Caledon, they are territorial and usually stay in certain areas so after a while you know where to find them. However getting good pictures of them even with a big zoom lens is often a challenge. You may see them on the sides of the roads, sitting on power lines or dormant trees looking down into the fields, they for the most part ignore the traffic of cars focusing only on finding their prey. Unfortunately they don’t stay still for long, if you happen to stop for a picture you literally have a second or two at most before they see you and take off. So quite often in order to get a good hawk photo you need to stalk them, sneak up on them when they are looking the other way or like my other close-up photo stop in the middle lane of highway 50 and shoot from inside the car. This particular red-tailed hawk I followed from tree to tree for a few minutes, seeing me as a threat he would keep flying away to another spot but generally would still stay in the same area. Click on the above and below photos for larger pictures.

The dawn of a new morning, new year in Caledon, Ontario. The picture was taken early January, I processed it through my program Photomatix to bring out the colours in the sky a little more and cropped it a little bit in Photoshop. More new pictures of the Caledon area will be coming soon, I was very busy in December and the holidays so I was somewhat slacking on the photo taking but starting to get back to it again now.

I apologize for the lack of Caledon blog updates but I have been away on vacation in Costa Rica and then came back to the December holiday rush. While in Costa Rica I happened to come across a White-tailed deer at Manual Antonio National Park. Many people assume that deer are only in North America but they are actually found in Mexico, Central America and in South America as far south as Peru and is actually the national animal of Honduras. This particular deer was very tame, we were able to walk up to him and even pet him in the wild, try doing that in Caledon… If you are interested in seeing some pictures from my trip to Costa Rica, click here to view the photo album. Otherwise now that it has snowed and looks pretty outside I will be back taking some Caledon area photos soon.

According to a Toronto Star report today a Caledon woman has been arrested for fraud in Mexico which the family believes the incident stems from a 2005 business deal involving the woman’s high-tech security firm.

Paulina Zelitsky, 64, of Caledon was detained Monday without a warrant in Mexico City, moments after stepping off an airplane, said her Mexican lawyer, Roberto Garcia. Reached in Mexico City by telephone Wednesday night, Garcia told the Star that five police officers were waiting for Zelitsky at Mexico City International Airport. They whisked her into custody and she was held at a district attorney’s office until Tuesday.

She is now being held at a Mexico City prison called Santa Martha Acatitla, which houses about 2,000 inmates, Garcia said. Zelitsky is facing fraud charges and awaiting trial. Garcia said the charges against his client are unwarranted and her arrest was executed outside of the law.

“Yes, this is irregular, it is not common,” Garcia said. “This is not how it works in Mexican regulation but this is what happened.”

Garcia explained that according to Mexican law, an arrest without a warrant can only be made under two scenarios: if someone is caught in the act of committing a crime, or if there has been proof of caso urgente, or “urgent case.”

According to her family members, Zelitsky was flying to Mexico City on a business trip on Monday. She is the managing director of a Mexican-based company called Integrated Control Systems, which provides high-tech security solutions to government and industries. Also according to her husband and business partner, Paul Weinzweig, his wife’s arrest was orchestrated by Mexican businessmen who believe ICS owes them money.

A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs said Wednesday night the ministry is “investigating reports of a Canadian who was arrested in Mexico City, Mexico.”

“The Canadian mission in Mexico City is in contact with local authorities to gather additional information, and is providing consular assistance as required,” said Alain Cacchione in an email.

Zelitsky’s husband is the son of renowned composer and Order of Canada officer John Weinzweig. Zelitsky has worked extensively as an oceanographer and in 2000, she led a team of deep-ocean explorers that discovered underwater stone formations near Cuba, believed by some to be a lost city.

Both Garcia and the family believe Zelitsky’s legal imbroglio stems from a business deal that occurred four years ago.

Under the deal, a politically connected businessman named Jorge Martinez and his three brothers were to invest $1 million U.S. in ICS in return for shares of the company.

But allegedly, the Martinez brothers only invested three-quarters of the promised amount and were never awarded the shares, said Zelitsky’s son Edward Tapanes, who worked with his mother at ICS at the time.

In 2007, the Martinez brothers filed a civil suit against Zelitsky but that was never resolved due to lack of evidence, Tapanes said.

Zelitsky wound up leaving Mexico in 2008 soon after an attempt was made on her life. According to Mexican news reports, Zelitsky was the victim of a failed kidnapping attempt in the municipality of Cunduacán, after an “armed commando” fired three shots at her chauffeured vehicle.

Her family said the incident left her shaken and she only decided to fly back this Monday because she felt enough time had passed.

Garcia explained that the Martinez brothers had actually filed a criminal complaint against Zelitsky in August, which was used to secure her arrest. They purport that Zelitsky evaded arrest by leaving Mexico in November 2008, an argument that holds no water considering she wasn’t charged until 10 months later, Garcia said.

Zelitsky’s family believes officials have been bribed to secure her arrest. The Martinez brothers come from a politically connected and wealthy family. Tapanes, who was able to reach his mother on Tuesday, said the Martinez brothers approached Zelitsky after her arrest and said they could arrange for her immediate release if she paid them a sum of money.

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• The Toronto Star Article
• Click here to comment about this story.

There isn’t a ton of high points in the Caledon area to see Toronto on the horizon and its often hazy or covered by pollution but every once in a while you will get a nice clear morning where its possible to get a good view. The above picture was taken on the top of the hill of Mount Pleasant Road just slightly north of Old Church Road, photo taken with my zoom lens but only extended about 2/3’s of the way out. Click on the image above for a large view.