The CAIPS Retriever

Joseph Shepard's turning point of history

Television channels are in the course of presenting what they name "turning points of history." We would like to share a different vision on which past events influence our present lives and which do not. We are not historians and, at least for that matter, neither can we back our vision with exhaustive research, nor can we suggest impartiality in our findings. But alternative approaches are always beneficial.

In truth, one might find it difficult to isolate specific events - developing at specific days, hours and places - that bear consequences for centuries to come. Obviously, 20/20 hindsight helps a lot. Even so, it is quite hard to ascertain which specific action generated a stream whose flow later generations cannot escape. Instead of isolating events, we prefer to isolate tendencies, ideas, fashions (yes, fashions) that bear fruit in communities and generations.

We also differ in allotting politicians and their perennial actions - wars, oppression, taxation, pointless spending - the upper hand in determining the future course of our lives. We think that facts bringing improvements are more consequential than those causing destruction and suffering. Thus, we allot the front stage to non-political figures: business people, academics, artists and so forth.

A note: two contrasting examples

To fully understand our vision, think of two examples: the Great Chinese Wall and John Nash's contribution to game theory.

• Historians and laypeople alike marvel at the Great Chinese Wall but they all fail to acknowledge that such a colossal effort imposed by Chinese kings depleted China's resources and led the way to centuries of Mongolian occupation. In the end, why was the Wall built?
• John Nash's contribution to game theory - which he described as his "most trivial work" - steadily developed into a multitude of economic applications that improved our lives in various fields. "A Beautiful Mind" indeed.

A humbling example of what a turning point of history is

In the the early to mid eighteen hundreds, local Torontonian business people turned a page in Canada’s history when they began providing to their neighbors, rather than just exporting raw goods over to Europe. In precarious circumstances, they were building what today has become a cherished place. It was a moment when Canada "stood on its own ground," because it started thinking of itself as of a "home." Joseph Shepard is totally suitable to personify this turning point of Canada's (or Toronto's) history because he started as a fur trader and ended up as a settled land owner on the banks of the Don River, where he owned and operated a number of mills that supplied lumber and flour locally and across Canada.

Today, the land the Shepards owned and the surrounding area are home to many and resting place to many others buried in the beautiful York cemetery. The Shepards left three houses to Toronto, two private dwellings and a place of business. The latter one, the place of business, is an appropriate shrine for Toronto's past and future. Torontonians preserved it and created the peaceful Dempsey park around it.* Finally, Joseph Shepard left his name to an important street in Toronto (North York); one street less to bear the name of a politician - governor or prime minister - in Ottawa.

Included is a picture of Shepard son's general store, later known as "The Dempsey Brothers Hardware Store". It was built in 1860 and it stood on the corner of Yonge and Sheppard streets until 1996 - a business landmark in the community.

The Shepards built on a scale commensurate to their earning power and got their money by way of serving others, not of taxation. They helped establish a community that today many wish it were theirs. This was the turning point: unassuming people created a new home out of wilderness with just the determination to find their way.

*Notes: A future post will be dedicated to Toronto's parks, a defining feature for the city.

Your CAIPS file is a seven‑page* printout, or a collection of not quite reader‑friendly printed screenshots. Your CAIPS notes are difficult to read also because of the codes used by the system. In addition, screen menus and information, such as case status or bring forward date, are repeated throughout the document. Visa officers' notes are however recorded in plain English.

It is important to understand how a careful scrutiny of your CAIPS file can help you. To show you the wealth of information included in your CAIPS notes, we have prepared six screenshots with no personal information included but with comments pointing out the most important matters. Our screenshots follow the logical order of the actual document.

Please follow the link to our Sample CAIPS File.

*Notes: Depending on the volume of notes and the number of dependants included in your application.

Enbridge Gas Distribution: the second worst in marketing

Why is that?

On economics grounds, the answer is simple and straightforward: because the company that distributes natural gas to residential, business and industrial customers in Ontario is a government-fostered monopoly.

How does this translate into a marketing nightmare?

To make my point, I will just mention two of their "marketing" techniques.
First, they overcharge on suspicion of underreported gas consumption. "The computer" does it without probable cause i.e., nobody bothers to check the meter prior to slapping the overcharge.
Second, they impose a monthly service fee named "customer charge" on the heating bill. The fee is due even in summer, despite no actual gas consumption. As a consequence, service fees amounted to three quarters of my 2004/2005 heating bill while service fees incurred during summer alone amounted to one quarter of my bill.

How does it compare to the worst in marketing?

There is worse than that. The worst experience in marketing is government. Consider government-owned television and/or radio stations: although most of them derive income from private advertisements they also get government subsidies, collected through taxation.
Yet there is more: even if you chose not to watch government broadcasts, you have no way to opt out, you still pay the tax. In order to increase the tax base, one particular government linked the tax to each electric service account and charged a recurring fee. Under the circumstances, electric service accounts opened for stables or family crypts bore the tax too. Even animals and dead people could not escape the "television" tax!

Why is it so absurd?

I need to reiterate - because I tend to forget - that free exchanges are the substance of my living better. On the one hand, I get what I think is the best value at the lowest price available for each "dollar" I choose to spend. On the other hand, the easiest way for me to get "dollars" is to serve others with whatever they decide I am the best at.
The principle of free exchange is recognized by the law - you have to pay me for my work. The reverse stands true too - you have to deliver for my payment. Thus, there is no exchange unless it is a "free" exchange, by way of parties' choice and consent.
In a situation where you are forced into paying for getting nothing in exchange, a question arises: why did your freedom go away?

Why does the worst of marketing perpetuate itself?

Should your first thought go to marketing mistakes or incompetence, dig underneath! It is the deeper strata of economics that hold the ore of truth. No marketing mistake can survive indefinitely in a world of free exchanges. The power to perpetuate abuse comes from government backing. Read the Ontario Ministry of Energy's explanation on why you have to pay Enbridge Gas Distribution "customer charges" even without actual gas consumption.

"In most cases, utilities have to perform regular activities such as meter reading and billing for each customer. In contrast, other retail businesses such as grocery stores and gasoline stations do not install any facilities dedicated to individual customers, nor do they perform regular activities for them."

Who would take such an explanation if it didn't come from the government?

Please check back for new posts about an immigrant's life in Toronto.

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