Colour Me Tasty

The margarine police have been spying on Wal-Mart stores in Quebec.

Wal-Mart's crime? Selling yellow margarine. Quebec is the only place in the world that still bans yellow margarine. Seems the authorities think people might confuse yellow margarine with butter.

A court case against Unilever (makers of yellow margarine) went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada which earlier this year ruled that Quebec had the right to maintain the ban on yellow margarine. [Montreal Gazette]

Just imagine those inspectors opening tub after tub labelled "margarine" to see whether the contents look like yellow butter!

To further complicate this close-to-the-heart issue, one butter-making company recently decided to market a "lite" butter -- which is white.

So, what's next? A law dictating that butter must be yellow?
Or that Quebeckers be taught to read?

Who Cares?

The Human Resources Department of the Canadian Federal Government (remember them -- $300 million disbursed and unaccounted for a few years ago?) is being criticised again.

This time it's for distributing $11 million to caregivers under its Compassionate Care program for people looking after the terminally ill elderly.

Hmm, that should read ONLY $11 million. Why?

Because administration and advertising for the same period , 2003-2005 cost a whopping $69.8 million. [Canwest News Service]

But the critics are being unfair. They should remember that our Government's priority for "Compassion" and "Caring" is themselves. Bloated bureaucracies, fat-cat politicians.

What a fine job they're doing -- with our money.

Priest Scandalises Church

Father Ed (Rev. Ed Cachia) dared to advocate discussion about the ordination of women.

The Roman Catholic Church in Coburg, Ontario, swiftly suspended the popular priest after he took part in the "ordination" of nine women on a cruise boat in the St Lawrence river. He also celebrated the Eucharist with female "priests" in the U.S.

When Father Ed refused to recant his opinion that the Church should debate ordination for women who feel called to the priesthood Bishop Nicola De Angelis suspended the 56 year old priest indefinitely. [Canwest News Service].

Clearly this is a serious issue. After all, we know the Church has in the past protected priests who sexually abused children. Such priests were transferred to continue their work in other dioceses. But to advocate the ordination of women! Father Ed deserved to be defrocked, so to speak.

Mailman loves mail so much he can't let go

75,000 pieces of mail were hoarded by a Montreal postie in his apartment and in his country cottage.

Seems that he just couldn't bear to part with the letters and parcels. For six years people on his mail route had complained to Canada Post about not receiving their mail. But no one investigated until recently. [Montreal Gazette]

Gives a whole new meaning to Canada Post's slogan "From Anywhere to Anyone".