Canada, as Canadian schoolchildren are proudly taught, is the second-biggest country on earth — only Russia occupies more territory. Yet when it comes to people, Canada trails behind many European countries such as Finland and Iceland, one-thirtieth its size. Over 80 percent of Canada’s land is uninhabited, and most Canadians live clustered in a handful of large cities close to the U.S. borde

Hey Mike,

I was thrilled to know you’ve chosen Canada for your first backpack experience, these summer holidays. I must tell you that Canada has diverse, rugged and vast landscapes that have made it a long time favourite among nature-junkies and road trippers from all over the world. I’d love to guide you about backpacking from my experience.

You’d be amazed to know that Canada offers mountains, beaches, and even urban adventure, and the best time to visit here varies by region. Your average spring day in Vancouver looks a lot different from that in St. Jon’s and nothing like what’s happening in Iqaluit, in the north. Although each season presents different activities and events that occur all across the country, summer is the most popular time for tourism in most regions except for the Rocky Mountains where winter dominates which is especially ideal for skiing and snowboarding.

If you’re travelling to the West Coast, summer is a great time to check out Vancouver and Victoria. During my last trip, I found the weather to be warmer and drier from April through October, and it rarely got too hot; thanks to the cool ocean breezes. Most of the time, the temperature was between 18 to 22°C from June through August. Recently my colleague, Damien, went to Prairies and let me tell you that you’ll be in for a treat if you wish to visit this place this summer. He brought back amazing pictures to show me of beautiful fields and wildlife – truly a heaven for photographers!

I can never forget the thrill I experienced during my visit to Niagara Falls while camping in Northern Ontario and spending time in the great lakes. The wonderful weather made it a perfect destination. You need to know that entire central Canada isn’t the same in summer. Toronto can get incredibly hot and humid, with average temperature reaching over 30°C. Montreal is only a little better, averaging around 26°C.

My brother James visits Atlantic Canada for camping every year during summer. He calls it one of the best places in Canada to get away from big crowds as well as extreme heat. This place usually averages in the low twenties with cool breeze. People usually avoid visiting the Northern territories due to the extreme cold. But, in the summers, you have the chance to hike the world’s northernmost mountains, check out the Arctic, and admire the stunning natural beauty including breathtaking meadows and majestic wildlife. Thankfully, in the summer, it’s really not that cold there!

Overall, summertime is the best time to get the most out of your trip to Canada. From beaches to mountains, exploring cities and jumping from festival to festival, summer is when Canada shines.

Keep me posted about your trip! I’ll be delighted to hear from you soon. If you need anything else, please call.

Love,

Daniel

A. Peregrine Falcon is one of Canada’s most well-known species at risk, owing to almost 50 years of public attention and conservation efforts. Peregrine Falcon is a crow-sized bird with a slate blue back and a cream-coloured chest covered in dark markings. Peregrine Falcons have pointed wings that span about one metre, a narrow tail and adults have a prominent black ’moustache’. The dark feathers on the falcon’s head make the bird look like it’s wearing a helmet. Another distinguishing feature of this falcon is its bright yellow feet and legs. Peregrine Falcons have sharp talons (claws) and pointed hooked bills that make them good hunters. Juvenile peregrines appear darker than the adults. As with most birds of prey, the female is much larger than the male.

B. Many populations of Peregrine Falcons were decimated by organochlorine chemicals such as DDT and PCBs, which cause various problems, such as reducing calcium in eggshells so that they break under the weight of an incubating parent. Organochlorines and other human-caused influences resulted in the peregrine falcon population plummeting throughout Canada. However, since the manufacturing and use of organochlorines was banned in the 1970s, populations of this species are now increasing. In 2002, the status of the Peregrine Falcon was changed from threatened to special concern. ’Special Concern’ means thespecies living in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered or threatened, but may become threatened or endangered due to a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.

C. This species is widely distributed, and is found on every continent, except Antarctica. The historic North American distribution of the eastern subspecies is east of the Rocky Mountains and south of the tree line. Although Peregrine Falcons now nest in and around Toronto and several other southern Ontario cities, the majority of Ontario’s breeding population is found around Lake Superior in northwestern Ontario.

D. In the 1950s, Peregrine numbers began to drop, and by the mid-1960s, the falcon had disappeared from Ontario. The very real possibility of the birds’ extinction caused worldwide concern and led to major recovery efforts across North America. Peregrine Falcon came to symbolize the plight of many species threatened by pollution. Today, Peregrine Falcon faces many of the same threats facing other species at risk: habitat loss and destruction, disturbance and persecution by people, and environmental contaminants.

E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs.

Recently, in most Canadian schools, emphasis is being laid upon the basic studies such as reading, writing and arithmetic. But the importance of teaching music at school is also becoming a popular topic of debate. Programs related to art and music are being removed from school curriculum at an alarming rate in an effort to save money. There is already a whole generation of teachers and parents who haven’t had the advantages that arts has to offer in their education. Many teachers don’t know how to include any kind of art in their teaching these days and parents don’t know how to ask for it.

Studies have shown that including musical studies such as learning to play an instrument or class sing-alongs and even drama have impacted the way children learn and process knowledge. Stated from an interview with Tom Home, Ontario’s state superintendent of public instruction, ’There’s lots of evidence that the kids immersed in the arts do better on their academic tests.’

’The connection of math and music is in the note reading for instance. Quarter, half and whole notes can be applied to fractions, and numbers,as well as symbols, can also apply to mathematics. The word reading in songs can apply to languages arts, just to mention a couple of ways music is useful in academics,’ says Dr. Diana Hollinger, Music Education Instructor, Alberta State University.

’After all we ask our kids to read Shakespeare, why don’t we still teach Mozart? It’s the classics we aspire to not the comic book level learning that we want for our students.’ Samuel Hope, executive director of the National Association of Schools and Music, says that the five ways we communicate and organize thought is first in letters and words, which is our language. The second is numbers and symbols which is mathematics. And the next three are still images like architecture and design, moving images like in dance and film and abstract sounds that are in music. The emphasis is only driven to the first two as it appears most obvious of the outcome. Children still have a thirst for performing and teaching each other music; they show it in their iPods and other electronic devices that they carry or possess. So keeping music classes in schools seems more important than ever.

Mousin Ahmed, president and CEO of Big Thought which is a non-profit with Ontario, explained the flawed rationale behind teaching musical instruments in schools. He said, ’I don’t think that learning an instrument should be compulsory because children should do it out of enjoyment and if they don’t want to play then you shouldn’t make them because they probably won’t continue when they get older, so what is the point in forcing them now? That is why I don’t see the point.’