The craziest five Canadian laws
Looks like some of these oddities come to complete the set of weird things that Canada has tossed towards the world. Can someone please revise some law books yet? Yeah, it’s almost as embarrassing as Celine Dion…
5. In Nova Scotia
It is illegal for a person to water their lawn when it’s raining.
I was not able to research the punishment for breaking this one, but if the fine is any amount lower than $10.000 then it’s even stupider, since a citizen that waters his lawn on a rainy day is not only breaking the law, but all other laws of common sense and elementary intelligence.
Perhaps they’re just trying to stay out of trouble
4. In Toronto
You can’t drag a dead horse down Yonge St. on a Sunday.
I can understand this one very well. Yonge street was one of the world’s longest urban streets. Once again, this law is made to prevent plain stupidity evidently: why drag the horse all the way on Yonge street when nowadays it’s so easy to take the subway and two stops later dump the carcass in the Moore Park? So let’s not abolish this law, manual dead horse dragging needs to be stopped.
Drag me outta here Godfather!
3. All of Canada
At least one out of five songs played on the radio must be performed by a Canadian born artist.
Let us reflect here: Neil Young, Bryan Adams, Céline Dion, Shania Twain. Need I say more? The radio producers in Canada are sticking on the safe side and make sure they don’t even get close to breaking this law, because they seem to be playing that “Hey, Hey I don’t like your girlfriend” crap like 1000 times a day. I am not sure, but I can bet that’s a Canadian song.
Play my songs on the radio and make sure you don’t drag me around Toronto
2. In British Columbia
It is illegal to kill a Sasquatch or a BigFoot if encountered.
What about ManBearPig? or Succubus?
What’s the policy on zombies? We demand to be played on the radio with the other rotten guys
1. Anywhere in Canada
It is illegal to pay for a 26 cent item in all pennies. The limit is 25 cents (50 cents in some provinces). If you are paying for your item in nickels, then its illegal to pay for it in nickels if it’s over $5. It’s also illegal to pay for something over $10 dollars in all dimes.
I really need to get to the convenience store and tell my friend Mr. Don not to turn me in. I don’t think he likes me much anyways, because I only go to his store when I break the penny basket. Traitor.
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:02 pm
wow i didn’t know about the dime and shit, thats intense dude! I’m due for 50 yrs in the pen.
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:21 am
wow is right why the hec were the legislatures thinkin when they made these dumb laws?
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:35 am
clearly blogged by an intellectually superior country responsible for 100s of thousands of deaths in an illegal war
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:49 pm
LOL if those are true, that’s hilarious! If #3 is true, it could help any rising Canadian music star…after all, people would love to hear something NEW.
June 4th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
#3 is very true and the butt end of many of our Canadian jokes. It makes most popular Canadian singer/bands what they are, and they make a killing of the royalties of the same song being played over and over and over for yrs on end.
Our radio not matter what genre is quite pathetic.
June 15th, 2008 at 6:32 am
Man sometimes I really just feel like dragging my dead horse
around…so now what am I gonna do?
June 15th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
You really don’t know anything about Canadian music do you.
June 16th, 2008 at 9:04 am
“Hey, Hey I don’t like your girlfriend” that’s “your Canadian” gal Avril Lavigne. Very interesting list. Usually only hear about stupid laws from the US (of which there are many). ^_^ Glad our neighbor to North has a few as well.
June 16th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
At least Canada doesn’t have marijuana laws that put thousands of innocent people in prison. Actually, when it comes to throwing people in prison, the United States is by far and away one of the best. At least we’re “Free” though.
June 16th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
You’d think #3 would inspire more people to go into music…
June 16th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
It’s not illegal to pay for an item over 25 cents with pennies, it’s the law that the seller doesn’t have to accept that amount as legal tender. They can, however accept it if they want to. There are limits for all of the coins (5 dollars in nickels, 10 dollars in dimes, etc.) This is controlled by the Currency Act. You can find out more by looking up Canadian Dollar at Wikipedia
June 16th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Most of them seem rather reasonable:
5. Keeps people who’s sprinkler automatically turns on from wasting water.
4. This seems like it would be covered by another law, and why only Sunday is beyond me, but it should be illegal either way.
3. It would certainly promote Canadian musicians, but 1 in 5 seems a little heavy.
2. Sounds like someone just wanted to be safe and said, “If Bigfoot happens to exist and you happen to see him, don’t shoot him.”
1. My guess is that some asshole tried to pay his water bill (maybe the guy from law 1) in pennies and was technically allowed so they set a limit in order to make sure nobody could do it again.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
@sdf: Don’t blame American citizens for government stupidity, although you’re going the right direction - unless you feel these laws are logical in any sense.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Oh these are all true - I love my nation sometimes. The dead horse on Yonge street makes me laugh simply because it’s legal to drag the horse if it’s alive, or if it’s not a Sunday, or if it’s Church street (which I’m sure has happened once or twice during a Pride parade, knowing Church street).
The music one makes sense though, and actually there are a lot more Canadian stars than you seem to think… then again, a lot of Canadian fame goes unnoticed. Like the zipper, for example. Next time you take a whiz, remember how very Canadian the fly of your jeans is.
As far as watering the lawn goes, I actually think (in a strange, twisted way) that it makes sense. *ducks as rocks go flying at head* Why waste the water? Makes sense to make it illegal, really. Yay environmentalism!
And btw, some of my fellow Canadians on here should grow a sense of humour about themselves - our Sister to the South clearly has one.
June 16th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
And what neighber would you be Citizen Politician..Oh YOU MUST BE THE ONE HO HANGS OUT WITH STUPID,,))) I’m glad to know that your staying in your Country, where ever the Hell that is,,))
June 16th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I didn’t know about any of those except for the penny one. No wonder I hate listening to the radio! I live in BC, and there’s a place about 2 hours away named sasquatch.
June 16th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I’m pretty sure that part about the pennies and dimes isn’t actually illegal, it’s just that those coins aren’t legal tender for larger amounts. We have a very similar law here in the UK, and it’s not illegal to pay like that, it just means if someone wanted to pay for something large in pennies, you wouldn’t have to accept it.
This was probably brought in to prevent people from paying taxes etc in huge amounts of pennies as a protest.
June 16th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
[...] Strange Canadian Laws [...]
June 16th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
GOD BLESS AMERICA.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
stupid laws are all over the world. The solution? Just burn the books every 100 years and start over. Most of these laws are probably from the 1700’s.
June 17th, 2008 at 2:49 am
i’m with nate, go to cbcradio3, and then shut the heck up…interesting bit about the small change laws tho, what are your sources? oh wait, right, this is the internet, you don’t need any…
June 17th, 2008 at 3:09 am
It’s still illegal to drive a car in Charlottetown, PEI, on Tuesday and Thursday, because they used to be market days.
June 17th, 2008 at 6:47 am
The law against watering your lawn in the rain is fairly common, and is designed to target automatic sprinkler systems. In areas that might face water shortages they don’t want people just setting the automatic system and then leaving them on, even when they become unnecessary.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:21 am
Number 1 and 3 are not limited to Canada. In France at least 80% of what’s being transmitted on the radio has to be from french origin. And in the Netherlands a shopowner can legally refuse payment in more than 50 of the same coins or notes. It is not illegal to pay in more than fifty of the same, it just legal to refuse it.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:26 am
#3 wouldn’t be soooo bad if they stopped playing the tragically hip!!
June 17th, 2008 at 9:14 am
#3 was actually made right after WW1 when during “the Roaring Twenties” to protect the Canadian Identity from the better American radio programing. We were young…don’t blame us.
I live in BC and I’m damn glad to find out about that sasquatch rule. I’ll save my pitchfork and torch for the Quebecois.
June 19th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
haha are you sure all of these are for real … illegal to water the lawn while its raining
June 20th, 2008 at 10:36 am
typical screwed up canadians…and SDF you dont have a clue so keep your mouth SHUT A
June 20th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
i would like to see the sasquatch law from canada, take effect here in the usa
June 20th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Actually, one in 5 songs only has to be canadian content, this includes being written or produced by a canadian…this makes the selection alot broader…
June 21st, 2008 at 11:27 pm
“nd
June 17, 2008 | 7:26 am
#3 wouldn’t be soooo bad if they stopped playing the tragically hip!!”
yess i know! i live on the NY/CA border and i loooove the Hip!
June 23rd, 2008 at 5:43 am
Yyyyep, that Hey Hey Girlfriend crap is ours. And yes, it’s aroudn 1000 times a day if you listen to the pop station up here. Just one more reason to listen to American radio channels.
June 26th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Arguing over the internet is like competing in the special olympics. Even if you win your still retarded.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Now, this is a story all about how
My life got flipped-turned upside down
And I liked to take a minute
Just sit right there
I’ll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel Air
In west Philadelphia born and raised
On the playground was where I spent most of my days
Chillin’ out maxin’ relaxin’ all cool
And all shootin some b-ball outside of the school
When a couple of guys
Who were up to no good
Startin making trouble in my neighborhood
I got in one little fight and my mom got scared
She said ‘You’re movin’ with your auntie and uncle in Bel Air’
I begged and pleaded with her day after day
But she packed my suite case and send me on my way
She gave me a kiss and then she gave me my ticket.
I put my walkman on and said, ‘I might as well kick it’.
First class, yo this is bad
Drinking orange juice out of a champagne glass.
Is this what the people of Bel-Air Living like?
Hmmmmm this might be alright.
But wait I hear there’re prissy, wine all that
Is Bel-Air the type of place they send this cool cat?
I don’t think sow
I’ll see when I get there
I hope they’re prepared for the prince of Bel-Air
Well, the plane landed and when I came out
There was a dude who looked like a cop standing there with my name out
I ain’t trying to get arrested
I just got here
I sprang with the quickness like lightening, disappeared
I whistled for a cab and when it came near
The license plate said fresh and it had dice in the mirror
If anything I can say this cab is rare
But I thought ‘Now forget it’ - ‘Yo homes to Bel Air’
I pulled up to the house about 7 or 8
And I yelled to the cabbie ‘Yo homes smell ya later’
I looked at my kingdom
I was finally there
To sit on my throne as the Prince of Bel Air
December 4th, 2008 at 4:15 am
Rush is a Canadian band if you don’t remember and I wouldn’t mind 1 in 5 songs be by them!
February 1st, 2009 at 4:23 pm
haha. im going to go into a convinience store now and purposly pay in pennies.
March 6th, 2009 at 9:35 am
There are a hell of a lot of Canadian bands that aren’t Celine Dion. The law is in place so our media doesn’t become over saturated with American material.
Also, I’m fairly certain that the pennies law exists in the US as well. Mama Cass once tried to pay the IRS her extensive amounts of back-taxes she owed by sending them a dump truck full of pennies. They basically took 25 cents of it and said “Okay, you still owe us $xxxxxx.75″
April 24th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I have no idea about the paying in change thing.
And, speaking of CanCon, I read this a few days ago:
http://www.howtospotacanadian.ca/2009/01/their-goverment-mandates-they-listen-to.html
Pretty good stuff.
I like your site. Keep it up!