Welcome to the summer edition of Island Times Magazine! We have been looking forward to this season all year long. It is our absolute favourite time of year because there is just so much to do on the Island when the weather is this nice. The staff here at Island TImes hope that all of you get out to experience the many things to do and see here on the Island and surrounding areas. We've highlighted just a few of them here in one of the biggest issues of the magazines to date. We've included features on Quadra Island and Oceanside, and covered such activities as mountain biking, horseback riding, and whale watching.

You will recognize some new names within this issue, including new writers and new advertisers. We are very fortunate to have support from all of you out there. It is because of you that we are able to produce such a varied magazine that appeals to both locals and visitors. Thank you for the support, and thank you all for reading.

This year marked Canada’s 144th birthday. Many of us celebrated the big day either by attending an outdoor concert at Transfer Beach in Ladysmith, catching the parade in Port Alberni, or by watching the fireworks in downtown Victoria.  Being Canadian has meant a lot to us all, particularly this year as we anxiously watched the polling stations at the beginning of May and followed the Canucks games up until the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Below are a few select things you may not have known about this amazing country:

Throughout our history, Canadian inventors have patented over one million inventions. It's popular knowledge that notable Canadians have played key roles in inventing the telephone and the light bulb, as well as the technology to broadcast voices and music over radio waves, but we’ve also created 5-Pin Bowling, Basketball, Lawn Sprinklers, Pacemakers, Imax Movies, Instant Mashed Potatoes, Paint Rollers, Zippers, and yes –  Snowblowers. A few other noteworthy items created by Canadians are: Electron Microscopes, Electric Car Heaters, and Goalie Masks.

During a brief period, Canada had its own brand of national comic book heroes, dating back to World War II. A foreign exchange crisis led to a ban being placed on the importation of US comics, including popular titles like Superman and Batman. But the demand for graphic stories didn't just disappear, and that’s when Nelvana, Johnny Canuck, and Canada Jack emerged. Story lines had these superheroes battling against the Axis Powers, both abroad and on the home front.

The year Canada was born was the same year our postal service as we know it was born, yet its roots go back farther than Confederation. In fact, mail was being delivered in Canada as early as 1693 when the Portuguese-born Pedro da Silva was paid to deliver mail between Quebec City and Montreal. Official postal services began in 1775, under the control of the British Government up to 1851. The first postage stamp entered the scene that same year. Then, in 1867 the newly formed Dominion of Canada created the Post Office Department as a federal government department to provide uniform service.

Canada is known for many things, one of which happens to be our large fresh water supply that comes from our extremely large quantity of lakes. The Atlas of Canada says that the number of lakes larger than three square kilometres is estimated at close to 31,752. It would seem there are too many to count. There are also 561 lakes with a surface area larger than 100 km2. For the mathematicians, this means that almost nine percent (891,163 square kilometres) of Canada's total area is covered by fresh water.

To visitors, Canadian spelling may seem a bit “off.”  This isn't because we are making up our own conventions, it is because we have adopted Canadian English from waves of immigration that spanned two centuries. Just think: Our language has been influenced by First Nations, French Canadians, British Loyalists, and the Irish. We came to favour British spelling in most cases largely because of Canada's first prime minister, John A. MacDonald, who once ordered that government papers be written in the British style.