When the Tragically Hip farewell tour tickets sold out last summer in record time and were almost instantaneously being resold well beyond their original asking price, the Ontario government took notice. More specifically, they took action after hearing the many complaints from their constituents who have been dealing with this ongoing problem of tickets for sporting and musical events being up-sold for often times more than 50 percent of the original value.

This will hopefully no longer be the case, at least in Ontario, where the government is proposing the Ticket Sales Act. The act is an attempt to curb some if not all of the foul practises involved in the secondary ticket business – an industry that is globally reported to be worth as much as $8 billion US.

The Act will strive to protect the customers from over priced resale tickets, prevent “bots” from buying out all of the tickets ahead of time, and providing more transparency between businesses and customers purchasing tickets on their sites.

In total, it will cover these four areas:

• capping the resale price of tickets at 50 percent above face value
• banning tickets bots and the sale of tickets purchased using a bot
• businesses become more transparent with relevant information (i.e. number of tickets available to the public)
• enforcing new measures to help ticket selling and reselling businesses meet these industry standards

Often when people go to a website to purchase tickets for say a Blue Jays game or a Bruno Mars concert, they are floundered by the fact that in just a matter of minutes the event will become completely sold out. This is in part the result of ticket buying bots, technology that can – with the click of a button – send a script of code that has the ability to purchase up to 15,000 tickets in just two minutes.

But another less talked about reason for these tickets being sold out so fast is that venues selling the tickets actually set aside a large portion on behalf of local businesses, colleagues or the venue’s own promoter. The tickets are then actually sold ahead of time in a much quieter – less advertised – exclusive pre-sale event.

This is another trend that will, hopefully, be quashed as part of the rules for transparency in the Ticket Sales Act will require venues to disclose exactly how many tickets are available at the time of their purchase and what the capacity of the event it also. Ticket resellers will also be required to display how much the ticket’s face value was, where the exact seat location is and the all-in price of the ticket (including taxes, fees, etc.)

Do you think these rules will make a difference in ticket resales in Ontario?

Click here to learn more about the Ticket Sales Act from the Ontario Government.

IKEA Canada has some great sales in each store every Wednesday, also known as Wacky Wednesday! The following list includes the IKEA Canada Wacky Wednesday deals and sales that will be valid on Wednesday June 28, 2017.

Check out the list below before you visit your local IKEA store to take advantage of the savings! If your location has yet to be announced, stay tuned for more details!  It’s a 1-day only sale and limited to the stock available.

IKEA Boucherville:

With this being Canada’s 150th anniversary, you can expect that Canada Day events are going to be stepping it up a level, no matter where you are living. There are usually a host of free activities and events going on in cities across the country on each July 1st, but this year the offerings are much better and are being offered in far more cities. Apart from fireworks, there are a number of free concerts, activity days, discounted tickets to local attractions and even free food in some cases. We’ve taken some of the hassle and work out of it on your end by rounding up some of the more popular free Canada Day events being offered in some of the bigger locations across the country.

PEI, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador

• Starting on the east coast, with PEI, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, there is of course the Tall Ships, which will be making pit stops across Canadian waters this summer, but a lot of these ships will be stopping in Maritime ports over the Canada Day weekend. Check out your local city here to see when and where the ships will be stopping in.
• PEI has an event offering in almost all of the major cities this weekend. Whether you’re heading to Cavendish Beach for some Canada Day yoga or Charlottetown, there’s something going on all over the island, better known as the birthplace of Confederation
• In Nova Scotia, if you’re in the capital city of Halifax you’ll be able to catch free concerts, grab a bite to eat with the free pancake breakfast, plus catch the Nova Scotia Tattoo Canada Day Parade. In other parts of the province, there are fireworks, parades, folk festivals, bbq’s and much more going on
• New Brunswick has a proud history as being one of the founding four provinces, and with that in mind they have put together a year-long list of activities and events to celebrate the 150 years of Canada. More specifically this weekend though, you can check out the Youth Orchestra, a 150 display in Fredericton and much more!
• Newfoundland and Labrador has free events being offered province wide, but if you happen to find yourself in St. John’s over Canada Day weekend, be sure to check out the Wake Up Event at Signal Hill followed by a free breakfast and concert series, that will be headlining The Sheepdogs

Ontario and Quebec

• Toronto and the GTA alone have enough free events and activities going on this weekend to fill up one entire post, but if there’s one thing you’ll want to check out this weekend if you’re within driving distance on the 401, it’s the free concerts by Canadian gems like the Barenaked Ladies, Ron Sexsmith, Shad and newcomer dvsn.
• Of course the nation’s capital, Ottawa, will have a full weekend lineup of free fun for the entire family, particularly on the look out will be the notable Canadian Citizen Ceremony and the special presentation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Governor General of Canada and the Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, who will be celebrating their first Canada Day in Ottawa as part of their Royal Tour of Canada this summer
• Other events to be on the lookout throughout Ontario include Muskoka’s Canada Day boat cruise, Sesquifest in London and much, much more!
• Quebec has great free events in both Montreal and Quebec City this weekend, but for those of you living in other parts of this historically rich province be sure to check out all the free events in your region here to help celebrate the country’s birthday

Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta

• Manitoba is offering residents of Winnipeg the chance to recreate a human Canadian flag at Main and Portage (don’t forget to wear a red t-shirt!), or if you’re more of a history nerd, then you can spend Canada Day at the Royal Canadian Mint
• If you find yourself in Regina over Canada Day weekend in Saskatchewan, then you could catch a free concert of Marianas Trench (plus fireworks, of course) Regina Beach, Denare Beach and Ituna will also be hosting free and fun beach activities all day long!
• Olympic Plaza in Calgary is going to be celebrating Canada Day in style, while those of you looking for a less traditional and more musically inclined way to ring in 150 might want to head over to the free Tegan and Sara concert happening at Riverfront Avenue. Fort McMurray will of course be hosting a big party over two days, while other parts of the province may begin kicking off the party on Saturday!

British Columbia

• Vancouver will be hosting a free concert by Sam Roberts, or, for those of you preferring to chill out than rock out, you can also partake in some free yoga at Mountaintop Plaza
• Victoria will have the Arkells to rival Vancouver’s Sam Roberts show, and will also be offering free square dancing at Gorge Park
• There are plenty more free events and concerts happening around B.C., including a headlining show by Tom Cochrane in Surrey, which you can learn more about here or here

Yukon, Nunavut and NWT

• Iqaluit is hosting a landmark Canada Day celebration, beginning with a Fun Run and ending with a concert featuring the Trade-Offs, while the Yukon will be bringing in their Canadian pride with a concert from July Talk in Whitehorse
• There’s going to be face painting, a bouncy castle and a water slide for the kids at this Canada Day party in Yellowknife, and for the adults there will be concerts and a CIBC Reaffirmation Ceremony

Happy Canada Day partying!

A miniature version of the 1990s Nintendo fan favourite – the Super NES Classic console – is going to be re-released this fall, said Nintendo, and will come with 21 pre-loaded retro games, including the never before released Star Fox 2.

The Super NES console is a follow-up to Nintendo’s relaunching of the NES classic last year, which became so popular that it caught the entertainment system retailer off guard and led to the revamped retro systems being resold on sites like eBay for nearly double the retail value.

This iteration of the Super NES Classic, which is more compact than the 1991 version, will cost customers $99 CAD and will come pre-loaded with 21 retro classics, such as Super Mario Cart, Star Fox, Super Mario World and much, much more.

Gamers young or old, casual or dedicated who have either grown up with this system or aren’t familiar with what continues to be ranked as one of the “greatest video game systems ever made” will be able to purchase the Super NES Classic starting on September 29 and can rest a little easier knowing that Nintendo has assured that they won’t make the same mistake as last year and will supply more units to be shipped out until the end of the 2017 calendar year.

Here is the full line-up of games that will come pre-loaded onto the Super NES Classic console:

• Contra III: The Alien Wars
• Donkey Kong Country
• EarthBound
• Final Fantasy III
• F-Zero
• Kirby Super Star
• Kirby’s Dream Course
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
• Mega Man X
• Secret of Mana
• Star Fox
• Star Fox 2
• Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
• Super Castlevania IV
• Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
• Super Mario Kart
• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
• Super Mario World
• Super Metroid
• Super Punch-Out!!
• Yoshi’s Island

Click here to learn more about the Nintendo Super NES Classic console.

If you were at an LCBO this weekend, you may’ve noticed that things were much busier and over picked for your regular weekend – especially since it wasn’t a long weekend. With lines stretching all the way to the back of the store and even circling back in some of the more crowded cases, patrons of Ontario’s liquor corporation are getting a taste of just how difficult life could become should their main supplier of wine, beer and spirits no longer be accessible, which may be the reality come Monday at 12:01am.

LCBO employees have threatened to begin their strike ahead of a weekend that a lot of Canadians would be sad to be enjoying without a cold beer in hand, which is probably why LCBO’s over this past weekend resembled what grocery store aisles look like ahead of a natural disaster.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union and the LCBO have said that they will be working around the clock to negotiate with LCBO employees, but details of the bargaining will not be released to the public until Monday as the OPSEU has declared a media blackout.

The 8,000 unionized LCBO employees are asking for job certainty, as 84 percent of the workforce remains employed on a part-time basis and is asking for more security when it comes to gaining full-time status and general scheduling. The union has been without a contract since March 31, 2017.

Some locations have extended their hours so customers can stock-up ahead of this weekend should the strike negotiations not work out in the employees – or Ontarians – favour.

Will you be stocking up for Canada Day weekend before the potential strike?

The Home Depot Canada has a new FREE workshops available today! The Home Depot Canada today FREE workshops includes: Do-It-Yourself Workshops – Build a Wood Fence: Install Fence posts, rails and boards. Participants will learn how to build a fence for you home, hot to install and trim posts, and then attach pickets to the rails.

The Home Depot Canada FREE workshops is valid today, Sunday, June 25, 2017 – 01:00 pm to 02:00 pm.

To book your slot at a workshop, contact your local Home Depot location.

Click here to get all Home Depot Canada online offers.

Click here to view The Home Depot flyers

After a period of no redemptions and a limit of $50 per day due to fraudulent activity on cards, Air Miles are making some more changes.  As of tomorrow, you will now be able to redeem $100 per day at all Air Miles Cash retailers with the exception of Shell which is capped at $60.

You will need a physical card to redeem your Air Miles but can continue to use your e-card for earning miles and checking transactions.

The added security on your Air Miles account is still in place, but you still do not need a PIN to redeem.

• Every AIR MILES Cash transaction prompts an email to inform you of the activity and also provides instructions on what to do if you were not the one who used Cash Miles in-store
• You must log in with your PIN to view your balance and not just transactions
• A new easy card lock page that allows you to earn but not redeem can be found at airmiles.ca/cashlock

There are now Load & Go offers available through the Air Miles app rather than requiring a separate app too, with more than just Rexall available.

Cineplex Canada has released their new schedule. The Cineplex Canada Family Favourites Movies include:

• Today, Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 11am the film The Muppet Movie, Comedy, Family, is the Family Favourites for $2.99 (1h 35m).

Here’s the upcoming movie every Saturday morning at 11am for Cineplex Family Favourites at $2.99 each:

July 2017:

• Saturday, July 1 2017: Back to the Future
• Saturday, July 8 2017: Ballerina
• Saturday, July 15 2017: The Wild Life
• Saturday, July 22 2017: A Monster Calls
• Saturday, July 29 2017: Monster Trucks

August 2017:

• Saturday, August 5, 2017: Pup Star
• Saturday, August 12, 2017: Lego Batman
• Saturday, August 19, 2017: Pup Star 2 Premiere
• Saturday, August 26, 2017: Pup Star 2 Encore

Sebtember 2017:

• Saturday September 2, 2017: Power Rangers
• Saturday September 9, 2017: Smurfs: The Lost Village
• Saturday September 16, 2017: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
• Saturday September 23, 2017: The Princess Bride
• Saturday September 30, 2017: Boss Baby

Click here to see a list of Cineplex participates in the Family Favourites event.

Click here to get tickets from Cineplex online

The Home Depot Canada has a new FREE workshops available today! The Home Depot Canada today FREE workshops includes: Kids Workshops – Build a Tool Box – Canada Day. Join our hands-on workshop and you and your child can build a tool box. Once the project is complete, your child can personalize their tool box with paint and Canada Day stickers. All kids get to keep their project. Children must be between the ages of 5-12 and must be present at the store to participate in the workshop and receive the kit. Limited quantity available.

The Home Depot Canada FREE workshops is valid today, Saturday, June 24, 2017 – 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.

To book your slot at a workshop, contact your local Home Depot location.

Click here to get all Home Depot Canada online offers.

Click here to view The Home Depot flyers

Sears has announced a restructuring plan as they attempt to stay in business while filing or creditor protection.  Sears will cut around 2900 jobs including 500 office positions.  They will be closing 59 stores and will have liquidation sales at those stores.  Store closings include regular Sears department stores as well as Sears Home and Sears Outlet stores.

Sears Stores Closing

• Medicine Hat, AB
• Grande Prairie, AB
• Lloydminster, AB
• Red Deer Relocation, AB
• Kamloops Aberdeen Mall, BC
• Bathurst, NB.
• Saint John, NB
• Corner Brook, NL
• Truro Mall, NS
• Dartmouth, NS
• Brockville, ON
• Sault Ste. Marie, ON
• Hull, QC
• Chicoutimi, QC
• St. Georges de Beauce, QC
• Alma, QC
• Drummondville, QC
• Regina, SK
• Moose Jaw, SK
• Prince Albert, SK

Sears Hometown Stores Closing

• Cold Lake, AB
• St. Albert, AB
• Okotoks, AB
• Spruce Grove, AB
• Ft. McMurray, AB
• Leduc, AB
• Sherwood Park, AB
• Creston, BC
• Sechelt, BC
• Grand Forks, BC
• Orangeville, ON
• Rimouski, QC
• Rouyn-Noranda, QC
• Melville, SK

Sears Outlet Stores Closing

• Abbotsford Retail, BC
• Winnipeg Garden City, MB
• Halifax Outlet, NS
• Cornwall, ON
• Chatham, ON
• Cambridge, ON
• Timmins, ON
• St. Eustache, QC
• Montreal Place Vertu, QC
• Sorel, QC

Sears Home Stores Closing

• Calgary, AB
• Edmonton Skyview, AB
• Ancaster, ON
• Woodbridge, ON
• London, ON
• Scarborough, ON
• Kingston, ON
• Ottawa East, ON
• Sudbury, ON
• Windsor, ON
• Orillia, ON
• St. Bruno, QC
• Laval, QC
• Quebec City, QC
• Ste. Foy, QC

It seems that Alberta will lose quite a few stores while Ontario loses the bulk of the Sears Home stores closing.  The timing of store closures will depend on the locations so best to check with them for updates.  Online sales from Sears.ca will continue and they will be honouring any returns/warranties in the mean time.  If you have an item you need to return, I would do it soon though!

When was the last time you actually shopped at Sears?

Cinnabon Canada is introducing NEW Cinnabon Chips! Crispy baked swirls of Cinnabon’s famous rolls served with frosting… it will be this summers’ “Chip and Dip” taste sensation!

Also, you can cool down all summer long with any size lemonade or vanilla iced coffee for only $1.50.

Click here to find a Cinnabon near you.

A new study released by the Canadian Cancer Society predicts that half of all Canadians will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime. More startling than this statistic, one in four will actually die from the disease.

The annual cancer statistics report for 2017 revealed the harrowing numbers that an estimated 206,200 Canadians will be diagnosed and 80,800 would die from the disease.

Part of the reason for this increase, said the lead epidemiologist for the charity, Leah Smith, is because of Canada’s aging population. They reported that over 90 percent of all cancers expected to be diagnosed will be in people who are of 50 years of age or older.

But despite the reports that cancer will become the leading cause of death in Canadians in the near future, the actual overall mortality rate of cancer has decreased over the past three decades. Since 1988, when the disease was taking the most lives, the rates among men has fallen by 30 percent while in women it has fallen by 17 percent.

The big four that continue to take the most lives – prostate, lung, colorectal and breast – are predicted to be among more than half of all diagnoses for 2017.

There are generally three main categories that risk factors for causing cancer can fall under; heredity (genetics), lifestyle choices and exposure to cancer-causing substances (carcinogens) in your surrounding environment.

While some of these risk factors cannot be helped, e.g. genes or age, there are some changes that the Canadian Cancer Society advises people make to reduce their risk factor of developing cancer later in life.

These include:

• don’t smoke and avoid second-hand smoking at all costs
• maintain a healthy body weight for your size and family history
• eat well, doctors recommend a diet rich in fruits and vegetables
• be active, whether it’s through sports or your own workout plan
• limit your alcohol intake
• wear sunscreen with the appropriate SPF for your skin and avoid tanning beds/lamps
• report any abnormal changes in your body to your doctor as soon as they present themselves
• if you have a family history of specific kinds of cancers, ensure that you are checked early for them
• get screened regularly as recommended for your age group/history

And here are some tips from the Canadian Cancer Society on how to be aware of other potential cancer risks:

• check your family’s cancer history
• read about how certain viruses and infections can change your risks
• ensure there are no harmful substances/carcinogens in your home or work

Click here to learn more about cancer in Canadians.

RBC announced that they would be cutting about 450 jobs from across the country, most of which would be positions held in the head office in Toronto.

In an emailed statement to the Toronto Star, the said that they are“making changes that focus on the capabilities that we need now and in the future to meet our clients’ evolving needs.”

The bank continued by saying that they are planning to use the funds cut from this consolidation to refocus energy and money into emerging areas, such as digital, data and new technology.

RBC is the second largest lender by asset in the country, with TD having recently taken over the number one spot.

Lenders in Canada, such as the big five, have been cutting costs over the past few years in order to adapt to a changing marketplace with clients expecting newer and different technologies from their banks. Another major factor contributing to the firms shrinking budgets is their need to deal with lower interest rates and global plummeting oil prices.

As mentioned, one of the bigger reinvestments that the banks are making, taking RBC as one of the major examples, is in newer technology to suit the preferences of a younger and more tech-friendly demographic.

Are you a diehard rom-com binger, and like to watch movies like the 2011 hit, Friends With Benefits, on a repeat loop? Or perhaps you’re more of a science fiction fan, who counts down the days (and even hours) to the release of each iteration of the Star Wars saga. No matter what your genre preference is, the new releases for July from Netflix Canada are going to satisfy almost everyone’s wants and needs for the summer.

*Note: All of the movies that have received an 80 percent or higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes (for the Tomatometer score) have been giving an asterisk!

July 1:

• Albion: The Enchanted Stallion
• Batman: Bad Blood
• Danny Dyer’s Deadliest Men – Season 1-2
• Dark Matter – Season 2
• Draft Day
• Given
• Hacksaw Ridge*
• Keep Quiet*
• Keeping Up with the Joneses
• Last Vegas
• Legends of the Fall
• Let’s Be Cops
• Oasis: Supersonic*
• Offspring – Season 6
• Out of Thin Air
• Raising Arizona
• Snatch
• Snowden
• Southside with You*
• The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble*
• The Riot Club
• The Wedding Pact
• Welcome to Me
• X-Men: Days of Future Past*

July 2-6:

• Miss Julie (July 2)
• Mike Tyson Mysteries – Season 3 ” Ring of Fire”
• Olympus – Season 1
• Eloise
• The Standups
• American Pie
• Ghost
• It’s Complicated
• Julieta*
• Chelsea – Season 2 (weekly episodes)
• Dawn of the Croods – Season 4
• Luna Petunia – Season 2

July 7-13:

• Castlevania – Season 1
• Pixels
• Shadowhunters: The Moral Instruments – Season 2 part b
• Friends With Benefits
• The Blues Brothers*

July 14-17:

• Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile
• Chasing Coral
• Friends from College – Season 1
• Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
• To The Bone
• West Coast Customs – Season 4
• Cowgirl’s Story

July 18-20:

• Aditi Mittal: Things They Would Let Me
• Ari Shaffir: Double Negative: Collection
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story*
• Killer Women with Piers Morgan – Series 1
• Bruce Almighty
• The Talented Mr. Ripley*

July 21-31:

• Last Chance U – Season 2
• Ozark – Season 1
• The Worst Witch – Season 1
• Detour
• Vincent N Roxxy
• Joe Mande’s Award Winning Comedy Special
• The Social Network*
• Toni Erdmann
• Braveheart
• Arrival*
• Daughters of Destiny
• The Adventures of Puss in Boots – Season 5
• The Incredible Jessica James*
• After the Reality

And here are the titles that will be leaving Netflix as of July 2017:

• Marvel’s Iron Man July 1
• Paper Towns July 1
• She’s Funny That Way July 1
• Step Up (1-3) July 1
• Disney’s Tomorrowland July 6
• Cocaine Cowboys Reloaded July 7
• Focus July 10
• Sleeping with Other People July 22
• Inside Out July 26

The Home Depot Canada has a new FREE workshops available today! The Home Depot Canada today FREE workshops includes: Do-It-Herself Workshops – Painting Your Home’s Exterior: Prep and paint or stain. Participants will learn how to prep and paint exteriors, including windows and trim. How to paint or stain home exteriors as well.

The Home Depot Canada FREE workshops is valid today, Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – 07:00 pm to 08:00 pm.

To book your slot at a workshop, contact your local Home Depot location.

Click here to get all Home Depot Canada online offers.

Click here to view The Home Depot flyers