Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

Hi all,

Every day I read Toronto Star Newspaper online, Today I saw that GTA expects a big snow storm. So I wonder if Canadians work during such kind of weather ?? :confused:

any comments would be highly appreciated.

Yours

Re: Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

I live and work in Calgary, when it snows we go to work, we party, our kids go to school.... in fact nothing changes. The road constructon workers have a hard time, but then they get paid to snow plow the roads rather than build them. Our kids not only go to school, but (wait for it) will actually play out in the snow whilst it is snowing. They don't go out for recess when it is -20!! I heard that in England one cm of snow and everything closes down and kids don't go it......pleeeease what a bunch of mammby pammbys. They only time the schools close is if the roads are unsafe for the school buses to get through.

Re: Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

Hi there,

This was recently discussed, snow can have tragic consequences for the upscale urbanite, see link below:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=340982

>>> The infrastructure of Canada and the attitude and experience of Canadians means that they are well prepared for winter, it really takes something highly extraordinary to cause logistical, infrastructure, or work related problems. Folks take preventative measures such as road clearing, vehicles being prepared like having good winter tires and screen wash which works down to -40 degrees, wearing good outdoor clothing, houses having good insulation, etc, and of course, insulated mugs containing very hot coffee :D

Winter is just great when you see people snow-shovelling in sunglasses :cool:

Rich.

Re: Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

Interesting question. Depends who you call a Canadian. Those of us that only live in the colonies continue to work however those that consider themselves true Canadians (Toronto, Vancouver etc) are as bad as the city people in good old Blighty. Now me coming from the country I could travel 30 miles to the city ok but ground to a halt as I hit the city limits. The country people were too busy to notice the weather while the city people were too stuck in traffic to think about work.

Re: Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

:zzz: For a realtor you really know how to impress potential clients don'tcha ? OK here we go with a rationalization:

In the UK people don't drive on winter tires or use studs. The UK equivalent to regular all seasons is really just a summer tire.
There are less trucks and SUV's with All Wheel or Variable Four Wheel drive with LSD diffs and traction control systems, so vehicles are less suitable for winter.
People are generally less experienced with winter conditions and winter driving.
The budget and physical infrastructure for road clearing is far less rigorous than in Canada.
The highways carry far more traffic and per mile there is probably a far higher incidence of RTA's blocking up the roads and adding to the weather related problems.
Houses, schools etc are built differently and water pipes are easier to burst.
Scores of old people die of hypothermia, becasue they're too poor to afford to heat their homes. Erm, which is just like Canada really only the UK doesn't get people dying because they drunkenly walk home from an Edmonton bar at -30 in a vest while high on meth and end up dead in a block of ice like some display of a mammoth in a museum. However, remarkably, Geordies can survive -10 with wind chill wearing just a vest, shorts and flips flops, muttering under their breath about a wee nip in the air.

So, generally speaking, think of how Vancouverites cope with 5" of snow and you'll get the picture. Yes, it's a crap situation but for a reason. Like, these conditions actually happen about one day in every three years.

Rich.

Re: Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

Hello Riadh,

In looking at your previous posts, I see you are Iraqi and you're working in Abu Dhabi. I hope I've understood that correctly.

In it's any consolation to you, I grew up in a warm climate, and have adjusted to Canadian weather. I come from Swaziland, a small country wedged between South Africa and Mozambique.

What I found in South Africa, and also in Australia where I've lived for 2.5 years, is that, while they do get a winter, it's short and mild. The brevity and clemency of it means it's not worth it for them to invest in whatever it would take to be comfortable in cool weather (home insulation, double glazed windows, central heating, etc.). Consequently they can be jolly uncomfortable during their brief winters.

In Canada, in contrast, winter is long enough and cold enough that it's worth investing in the infrastructure that makes winter livable.

My South African relatives look at the worldwide weather statistics, hear that it's -25 deg C (or whatever) in Calgary, and ask me how I can stand it. But they're not comparing apples and apples. They're comparing apples and oranges. They're imagining what -25 deg C would be like in their houses. That temperature would indeed be a disaster in their houses. The water pipes would burst, and things would go downhill from there.

However, when you live in Canada, you invest in the clothing and equipment that Rich_007 described and that makes winter livable.

Here in Calgary there typically are a couple of days a year on which the weather is so harsh that schools close. Except for those rare occasions, everyone keeps going -- going to work, going to school, going grocery shopping, etc. (That said, commuting is considerably slower in Calgary when the roads are snowy or icy.)

Re: Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

We were in Calgary back in March when it was -18 degrees and we had snow every day :) We loved it, and it wasn't as cold as I thought it would be (tho' felt a bit fresh in the wind).

We were pleased to see that life continued as normal, unlike some areas here. I had a go at driving in the snow, much to the amusement of some construction workers on the new estate we were on. I went round the block a few times to get the hang of the car in the snow (having never driven a left hand drive auto). When we were on the main drag we saw some 'mini snow ploughs' driving along the kerb clearing the snow. People went around their business as normal. We stayed in a B&B opposite a elementary school and kids were playing outside in recess.

Although it irriates me how England is crap at coping with snow, in the UK's defense we rarely have big snowfalls in the south of the country, therefore the local authorities won't invest in more snow clearing equipment.

Also, people still drive like idiots when they should slow down and give each other more space on the roads to anticipate possible dumb behaviour by others **steps off soapbox**

Re: Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

back to the origional thread tho :rolleyes:
where I'm working at the mo, we've gone home twice early this week, mainly because we're on a hill in the middle of no-where, and if we don't get off early, we risk being stuck overnight up there. once we get onto the highway, we're usually ok, but I got a ride with some one last Friday and ended up in a ditch :scared:
our last snow fall, on Tuesday, the plows were out on the main roads, but had to laugh as I was coming home - the local roads were still covered, but the plow was really busy clearing Tim Hortons's drive thru, nice to see they've got their priorities straight :p

Re: Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

In twenty years of working in Toronto I've only once heard of an the offices of a commercial enterprise closing early due to weather, government offices close a few times a year when it snows.

That's not the limit of the disruption though. It's not unusual for school buses to be cancelled so people who depend on them to haul their children away often miss work. Streetcars (trams) are hopelessly unreliable in the winter as the power system clogs with ice, one broken street car brings the whole line to halt. The GO commuter trains are cancelled a couple of times a winter (the system, not individual trains) causing a rush to book hotel rooms, people sleeping all over offices, much drinking and, I suppose, a blip in the birth rate. Electric and cable (TV and internet) supply is a bit erratic in the winter, if you have a fish tank a ups is well advised, but generally city life goes on regardless of the weather.

My brother lives in a more rural setting, he usually gets cut off for a couple of days a couple of times each winter. The only time they were in real trouble was the year of the ice storm. They have a generator and all but weren't ready for six days of being stuck and weeks of no power.

On edit : The mayor did famously call in the army one year when it snowed. I was quite bemused by that. The roc thought it hilarious.

Re: Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

remarkably, Geordies can survive -10 with wind chill wearing just a vest, shorts and flips flops, muttering under their breath about a wee nip in the air.

It's true about wor Geordies like. I live in Newcastle. You see the locals (not all of them but mainly the young ones) going about in the winter in summer gear. The girls wear enough just to keep them warm in a pub then jump into a taxi later on. Never done that myself, i would rather be warm, but you just can't tell them tahat here. I think more Brits die of cold here than Russia or maybe Finland.

Re: Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

You admit to reading the Star! :eek:

Yes we work in that weather, but if you have a good employer and there is a BAD storm coming chances are they may send you home early to avoid it. If you have a REALLY good employer they may even pay you. Maybe a couple of times a year I will leave early to avoid driving in the worst conditions. CAnt remember the last time it was bad enough that I couldnt make the drive in, this country is pretty well organised when it comes to dealing with the winter.

I was expecting some folks out in Belleville from our Scarborough facility today, but they chose to postpone the trip cos of the storm coming in. Common sense applies. Work cancellations are thankfully a lot less frequent than school bus cancellations that seem to occur on the slimmest of pretexts.

Re: Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

This is my son's 5th year in a Calgary school - so far there has not been a single day when his school has been closed due to adverse weather ( :rolleyes: now its bound to happen next week)

Re: Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

Tomorrow is looking like it will be the first snow day this year. We're expecting 20-30cm, much of it overnight. Odds are that won't be cleared by morning.

Re: Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

Nothing closes down here in Regina. If we closed down when the weather was bad people would have most of the winter off.

Last year I drove my granddaughter's friends to school when it was about 40 below. The school bus wouldn't start. Apart from that things went on as normal. The worst thing about driving when its 35-40 below is that the exhausts from the vehicles is much warmer than the surrounding air and so you get ice fog caused by the vehicles and its pretty hard to see.

Re: Do Canadians work when snowfall
 

I know a girl who's still wearing flip-flops, and I've just seen a high school guy in shorts. :confused: