Announcement! Our Canadian, Luso-Canadian, Friends of Canada gathering is here! Posted by João on 6:53 pm

Alright, it's what everyone's been waiting for. After receiving some encouraging e-mails, we have decided that Saturday, Oct 23rd is the day we Canadians / Luso-Canadians / lovers of all things Canadian will gather.

We asked you and we asked ourselves: where would be a good place for such an encounter? For this first meeting we settled on Lisbon due to its centrality. But where in Lisbon could we have this? We don't have a Canadian eating or drinking establishment of any sorts in the capital. Our best solution: to meet halfway between continental Portugal and Canada by meeting at an Azorean establishment. We settled on Peter Café Sport at Praça das Nações.

So to sum it up:

WHEN: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23rd, 2010 @ 17:00
WHERE: PETER CAFÉ SPORT, PRAÇA DAS NAÇÕES (EXPO), LISBON

We figure an afternoon start will give people a chance to meet, talk, drink, etc. and then if people are interested in going for dinner, we will do just that. Please be aware that this is not a Canadian only event so do bring your non-Canadian loved ones and/or campanions.

For any further information or just to let us know that you'll be there, drop João (jmssardinha@gmail.com) or Gabe (gbsampaio@gmail.com) an e-mail.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Lastly, we also let our friends at Portugal Friends know that we'd publicise their Lisbon ex-pat gathering which will take place October 26th @ 18:00 at the Quadrante, Centro Cultural de Belem.
For more info., you can check out their website: www. portugalfriends.com.

Canadian music 1: Anne Murray Posted by João on 10:38 pm

I'm a big fan of Canadian music and as a result of that, I'm going to start expressing my love for the music that comes out of 'the Great Northlands' by blogging about it from time to time.

Today I'm going to talk about my brush with Canadian country music superstar Anne Murray right here in Portugal. Well, not Anne Murray herself, but with the song that made her a superstar south of the Canadian border in the 1970s: Snowbird (according to Wikipedia, Snowbird was the first single by a Canadian female solo artist to reach number 1 on the U.S. charts and to earn a gold record).

When I moved to Portugal in 1997, a couple of months after getting here, I went to a second hand cd and vinyl record trade show that was taking place in Cascais. While fingering through a basket of vinyl singles, I came across an old 45 of Anne Murray's Snowbird. I was very surprised by this discovery and, as I scoped it out of the basket, I became even more surprised as the record was a Portuguese pressing of Anne Murray's Snowbird, originally released in 1970 and put out in Portugal by the Portuguese record company Valentim de Carvalho. The single's packaging is all in Portuguese introducing Murray to the Portuguese public. The backside of the vinyl album reads that she's from Nova Scotia, a former student at the Univeristy of New Brunwick and a sign of Canadian's progress in the world of music. The reality is that not too many Canadian artists were making it over here at the time.

I ended up buying it for 200 escudos or, in todays money, 1 euro. The truth is I have never played it but I do fondly display it in my study room at home. I'm not much into country music but I couldn't pass up this little bit of classical Canadian culture in Portuguese, cheaply sold in Portugal. What a find.

Now I can't even imagine how shocked I will be if I ever come across a Stompin Tom Conner Portuguese printed 45.

The “Injunção” Posted by Gabriel on 11:31 pm

Time for a little free legal lesson, this time concerning a very popular instrument used for debt collection, namely by services providers, known as the “injunção” (created by Decree-law 269/98, of 1st September).

An injunção is defined as a formal order to pay. It is a very simple, cheap, and quick way of getting a credit recognized. All the applicant/creditor has to do is fill out a simple form online, normally done by a lawyer, with a summary description of the debt. The application will only be sent to the debtor after the judicial fees are paid, which can be either €25.50 or €52.00 depending on the value of the debt. No proof of any kind is required at this time.

 

The (in)famous "Citius", birthplace for many an injunção

Though ff you’re the applicant, don’t think that the injunção is a magic bullet. If the debtor does not intend to pay they will oppose it, take it to court, and prolong the process as long as possible. However, in the majority of cases debtors do not contest an injunção (which is what any applicant hopes for).

 

Call a lawyer if you get one of these in the mail

The debtor has 15 days (consecutive, not working) in order to present a defense in writing or to pay the amount claimed.

If a defense is offered, a trial will be scheduled and both applicant and debtor must offer any legally admissible form of proof (witnesses, documents, etc.). Any defense can be offered, such as the debtor stating that he has already paid off his debt, or that he owes nothing due to creditor breach of contract.

Failing the production of a defense or voluntary payment, the “injunção” gains executive force, meaning it has exactly the same value as an unappealable judicial sentence, and is full irrefutable proof of the existence of that credit/debt. An injunção, from start to executive force, can take under two months.

With this document, the applicant can move for the court to seize the debtors property to make good on his debt, either by seizing cash directly (garnishing wages, apprehending bank accounts) or by selling the debtors property in auction (cars, houses, etc.). Note that in Portugal it is illegal for a creditor to gain property over a debtor’s asset by way of defaulting on a loan and/or payment. The debt can be made good from the proceeds of the sale of the asset, but never by the asset itself.

 

Something to break up the monotony

Unfortunately this next step (the “acção executive”) is a relatively slow, costly, and many times, unprofitable experience.

What to take away from the injunção? Use it if a debtor has yet to pay despite constant promises to do so. It’s cheap, fast, and effective. And as a debtor, always offer a written defense if an injunção is received, otherwise your situation will become significantly more complicated.

For example: I have a friend that recently received an envelope from the court, and promptly decided to ignore it. He wasn’t new to the debt scene, and had faced threatening letters from lawyers and debt collection agencies before. A few weeks pass and he receives another, and then another, this second one being quite bulky, though it also goes in the cupboard unopened. Out of sight, out of mind.

 

Good or bad, depending on your situation

A few weeks pass and he decides to show me the envelopes. I open them immediately. The first was the injunção application; the second is letter stating that due to no defense being offered the injunção has gained executive force. The bulky envelope was a court notice stating that his house had been apprehended by court decision and was going to be put up for sale, and he had 20 days to offer a defense.

I opened the envelope on the 27th day.

Funny, despite being such a simple figure in Portuguese law, I haven’t even touched the surface. And this must be a thoroughly boring post for 99% of you.

I'm baaaack... Posted by Gabriel on 10:28 pm

for good this time. Seriously.

After a whirlwind tour of Paris and Brussels with the girlfriend, back to work. I heartily recommend a visit to Paris, it's a magnificent city.

My apologies for the lack of updates from my part. I've already promised João that I'd pay him a beer as compensation (and this is a legally binding contract!).

The days are starting to get shorter. The melancholy feeling that the end of summer brings is starting to creep up. Prepared for the cold, rainy days of Portuguese winter?

Feel free to email us your recommendations on what you'd like to see covered here. Help us help you!

Gabe

Yes ... you too could be on TV! Posted by João on 6:11 pm

We recently received an e-mail from the folks at Leopard Films, the people behind the worldly renown TV show House Hunters International www.hgtv.com/house-hunters-international/show/index.html (shown in over 40 country - but apparently not in Portugal), asking if we knew of any Canadian, American, British, etc. expats who had recently bought a home in Portugal and are living here on a full-time basis that they could profile on their show. Our answer was no ... we don't anyone who fits the bill, however we thought it would be nice to help out the folks at Leopard films and spread the word on their search.

So if the above description is you or someone you know, you can reach Soraya Spiers at Leopard Films (soraya.spiers@leopardfilms.com) and she'll provide you with all the information you need.

The show does provide a handsome payment for those who participate.

Who knows, maybe the bright lights of television await you.

Canadian beer - I could sure go for one or two or three ... Posted by João on 10:31 pm

I think we can all agree that it's been a good Summer weather-wise here in Portugal. Sunny afternoons, warm evenings - you couldn't ask for it to be better really. We all know Portugal is wine country, but lets face the facts, when it comes to the lazy days of summer, nothing goes down better then beer.

In Portugal beer is also known by two other names: Sagres or Superbock, the two beers that pretty much monopolise the Portuguese beer market. Now I admit to being a big fan of Sagres Bohemia, a great amber gourmet beer it is. But with Portugal not being a beer country, if you want greater selection you have to head towards the imported beer section at you local supermarket. Once there, you'll be lucky to find more than your Carlsbergs, Heinekens or Bubweisers.

Now where I grew up in Canada (Prince George, B.C.), the local brewery is the Pacific Western Brewing Co. Although it has expanded, as far as beers and beer varieties are concerned, back in the 80's Pacific Western Brewing was known as the brewery that produced Beer beer. That's right, a beer simply know as Beer (check the stubby bottle to the right). It's safe to say that Canada's better beer days were still to come.

In Canada we also have our versions of Sagres and Superbock, better known as Molsons and Labatts. But what's great about beer, or should I say beer culture, in Canada are the microbreweries and all their varieties. During the 1980's and, above all, the 90's, when the microbrewery boom happened in Canada, my favourites became the B.C. brews produced by such microbreweries as the Okanagan Spring Brewery, Granville Island Brewing, Shaftesbury Brewing, Whistler Brewing Co., Vancouver Island Brewing Co., among others. Everything from the pale ales, to porters, to stouts, to hefeweizens, to the more exotic flavours of fruit beers and even a flavour that could only be Canadian, my favourite, the maple cream ale.

Ofcourse, outside B.C. other breweries across Canada are equally worthy of mention for there great brews, ranging from Alley Kat Brewing (Edmonton), Wild Rose Brewery(Calgary), Great Lakes Brewery (Etobicoke, Ont.), Kawartha Lakes Brewing (Peterborough, Ont.), La Barberie (Quebec City), Propeller Brewing Co. (Halifax), Yukon Brewing Co. (Whitehorse) just to name a few.

Last year I spent five weeks in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal where I got to sample new beers (at least for me). Among them was the Steam Whistle Pilsner from the Steam Whistle Brewing Co. The Steam Whistle Brewery, located at the historic John St. Roundhouse, a former Canadian Pacific Rail steam locomotive repair facility, has become a major part of the Toronto skyline, sitting adjacent to the CN Tower and Rogers Centre. The brewery is today a top tourist attraction in Toronto.

On the day I visited the Steam Whistle, besides sampling a new brew, I also got around to sampling an old favourite. In a pub on College St., right in the heart of Toronto, I found a pub serving up Okanagan Pale Ale - as good as always.

And now, as I sit here in Lisbon writing this, I'm thinking maybe one of my favourite (new or old) breweries back in Canada will read this and send me a six- pack or two, just like that Tim Hortons commercial where those Canadian university students in Scotland get a gift pack of Tim Hortons coffee after writing them a letter. Wouldn't that be great.

Man it's hot right now. Even Beer beer would go down nicely at this moment.

Would you like an ice rink in Lisbon? Posted by João on 11:39 am

If so, you're not alone and now there's something you can do about it.

In Portugal, Montreal-born Mauricio Xavier is Mr. Hockey. He was on the Portuguese National Ice Hockey team that played two games against the First Portuguese club in Viseu in June of 2000, the only Portuguese national ice hockey team ever assembled, he does colour commentating for NHL games on Sportv, and he is also an active member of the Portuguese Ice Sports Federation (www.fp-dg.com/).






The jersey worn by Pedro Regado, the first Portuguese player to score a goal wearing the Portuguese colours, now hangs in the NHL Hall-of-Fame in Toronto

Now here in Portugal, during a 10 year stint (1996-2006), the only place one could hold an official ice hockey game or a figure skating event was at Palácio do Gelo in Viseu. With the closing of this facility in 06, however, any Winter sport requiring an ice surface has pretty much been left out in the cold.

Presently, Mauricio is trying to change that. Along with the folks at the Portuguese Ice Sport Federation, he is heading up a campaign to get an official ice surface built in Lisbon. They are not asking for Maple Leaf Gardens to be built in the heart of Lisbon. What is being asked for is the construction of an official ice rink where ice hockey, figure skating even curling can be played by people of all ages at different levels.


So if you'd like to get behind this cause or just simply show your support, you can start here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/QUEREMOS-UMA-PISTA-DE-GELO-EM-LISBOA/125711694110461?v

Once we get this rink up, if you're the holder of a zamboni drivers license, they'll be hiring ...

Another voice ... Posted by João on 1:58 pm

That would be mine.

Hello all, I'm João. Gabriel kindly invited me a couple weeks back to be a contributor to our Canadians in Portugal blog. How could I say no.

So yeah, now all those interested will get to read my rants and insights as well.

I grew up in the town of Prince George (PG), British Columbia, aka the Spruce Capital of the World (see picture), located 778 kms north of Vancouver, 737kms west of Edmonton and 400 kms from Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway to the north (in Dawson Creek, BC). If you're thinking 'wow, that's out in the middle of nowhere!', ... I'm not going to argue with you.

I can't say I miss PG all that much (I've been away for 13 years now), although there is one thing I miss: driving the highways of Western Canada for hours on end just to get somewhere, often doing so without seeing any sort of civilization along the way.

Easyjet wasn't providing cheap flights up to Prince George when I used to live there (and they still aren't). Driving to Vancouver was always cheaper then any Westjet or Air Canada flight. So the best option - drive.

Of course nothing compares to this here in Portugal. I mean, being in Lisbon, as is my situation, in 2-3 hours you can get anywhere - the Algarve, Porto, Serra da Estrela, and so on and so forth... Sure it's convenient, even handy, but where's the adventure?

Prince George is a city of 80,000 strong give or take. To get to another city of the same size, which would be Kamloops to the south, it's 530 kms. That's a good 6 hour drive for most. I say this to anybody here in Portugal and the majority can't fathom such distances - they can't comprehend such geographies.

But to me, driving those highways under those big skies that never seem to end ... that's one thing I miss.

Thinking of starting your own business in Portugal? Posted by Gabriel on 10:55 pm

 You might want to think again, or at least plan very well.

I was reading a thread on partner responsibility on www.expatforum.com the other day, and it occurred to me that ex-pats living in Portugal might have plans to start their own business here, or to move here from abroad for that effect. I know that many already have.

According to recent statistics, in Portugal, 16,258 companies were created in the first six months of 2010. However, 5,200 companies were dissolved during that same time period.

And the number of insolvencies in the first six months of 2010 reached 1,840, an increase of 2.5% compared to the same time last year. I'm sure you've seen the tell-tale signs, abandoned shop windows with declarations of insolvency taped to them, or decisions by the board of directors stating that they are planning to request insolvency, as below.

 

Insolvencies are, to say the least, a hassle. They invariably involve the Portuguese Revenue, Social Security, and all other creditors; banks and other financial institutions, former employees, suppliers, etc. And, of course, lawyers. They are a very timely process (though efforts are under way to speed up the process), and would really put a damper having moved to Portugal, what with consuming all of your investments.

I don't mean to be a nay-sayer, nor dissuade anyone from coming to Portugal to start up a business. I myself know of several ex-pats that managed to find success here. But like any big decision in life, remember to plan well, and inform yourself very well before stepping into the financial landmine that is the life of a start-up business owner in Portugal.

For more on the insolvency process in Portugal, I recommend visiting the "European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters" website at http://ec.europa.eu/civiljustice/bankruptcy/bankruptcy_por_en.htm

I hope that this is the first and last time you see anything this in-depth on insolvency in Portugal...

So this is Christmas... Posted by Gabriel on 10:15 pm

Oops, meant to write "Canada Day".

Well, tomorrow is Canada Day. This got me thinking of what I miss from Canada, and something that I miss is the lack of consideration given to pets here in Portugal. At least the impression that I get is that pets here are rarely considered part of the family. You see examples of this every year, families abandoning pets during the summer in order to go on vacation without any worries, hunters abandoning packs of dogs after the hunting season, etc.*

Since I’m still traveling a lot between Coimbra and Lisbon, I’ve been unable to adopt a pet. So in order to do my part I recently joined BIANCA, which is an association that helps abandoned animals. You can visit the site here (or the English version). A word of warning though, you’ll most likely cry after seeing the pictures (especially the “In memory of…” part).

The legal situation of pets in Portugal is actually quite interesting, in a sad sort of way. As you may or may not know, according to Portuguese law, pets are considered “res” - things, property, mere objects.

This leads to a very unfortunate lack of legal consequences for abuse and abandonment.
For example, if someone abandons his or her pet, there is no legal consequence. The property is theirs, they may do with it as they wish. It may constitute a violation of a municipal statute though, since it may be considered littering.

Killing or abusing your own pet also has no practical consequence, for the same reason. The same applies with killing or abusing abandoned animals. While they did have owners at one point, the act of abandonment constitutes the owners renunciation of the property right over the “res”, making it “res nullius”. Nobody’s property.

Killing another person’s pet is another matter, and is punishable both criminally and civilly. Criminally, the offender can be charged with “damages to a third party’s property”, which is punished by a fine or up to 3 years in jail.

Of course, the owner can sue for damages in civil court. With a lot of luck the indemnity awarded by the court just might cover legal costs. I haven’t had much luck finding case law on these situations, which isn’t very surprising considering they never go to appeals court. To be honest, I doubt they go to court at all.

Whoa.. quite the rant. Sorry.

Long story short, I suggest that you help out these associations, even if it’s just by offering a bag of dog food during their charity drives, usually held at the big shopping malls.

*Of course some Portuguese wise-guy will say “at least we don’t club baby seals to death!” 
To him I say, “touché”.

Encontro/Gathering Canadians, Luso-Canadians, former residents of Canada, etc Posted by Gabriel on 11:16 pm

Hello all, the following is from our beloved João Sardinha, he's currently in the process of contacting as many canucks as possible in order for us to organize some kind of shindig.

Dear Canadian and Luso-Canadian friends,

I'm João Sardinha and along with Gabriel Sampaio, we are trying to contact as many Canadians and Luso-Canadian people living in Portugal as we can. The reason for this is because we are interested in finding out to which extent people might be interested in doing a Canadian or Luso-Canadian get-together somewhere in this country.

We are also putting together a mailing list of as many Canadians,Luso-Canadians, former residents of Canada, etc., as we possibly can  so if you know others who fit the description, please pass this message on to them or send us their e-mail and we’ll do it for you.

So what we ask is would you be interested in joining us in a future get-together? If so, please let us know of your interest and we’ll keep you updated. Any recommendations, etc. are also welcome.

Lastly, Gabriel has set up a website "for Canucks in Tugaville" (his words) which you can find at http://www.canadiansinportugal.com/ It’s a great platform for all who may be interested in all things Canadian.

So with that, we thank you for your interest, remember to let other Canadians, Luso-Canadians, etc. know of this initiative, and hope to hear from you sometime soon.

Drop us an e-mail: João - jmssardinha@gmail.com / Gabriel - gbsampaio@gmail.com

Now in portuguese:

Caros amigos canadianos e luso-canadianos,

O meu nome é João Sardinha e junto com o Gabriel Sampaio estamos a tentar contactar o maior número de canadianos e luso-canadianos a viver em Portugal. A razão desta iniciativa deve-se ao nosso interesse em tentar discobrir quem teria interesse em realizar um encontro informal entre canadianos, luso-canadianos, simpatizantes do Canadá, etc. algures neste país.

Também estamos a tentar criar um lista de contactos de canadianos, luso-canadianos, antigos residentes no Canadá, etc. Por isso, se conhecerem outras pessoas que possam estar interessadas, pedimos o favor de lhes enviar este e-mail ou então envie-nos os e-mails deles e faremos nós o contacto.

Se tem interesse em juntar-se a nós para um encontro, de-nos a saber do seu interesse e no futuro teremos todo o gosto em mante-lo a par de futuras iniciativas. Quaisquer recomendações, sugestões, informações são também bem-vindas.

Por último, o Gabriel fundou um site 'para Canadianos em Tugaville'(palavras dele) que pode encontrar aqui: http://www.canadiansinportugal.com/ É uma exelente plataforma para todos interessados em tudo o que é canadiano.

Agradecemos o interesse. Não se esquçam de dar a conhecer esta iniciativa a outros canadianos, luso-canadianos, etc. Esperamos notícias vossas em breve.

Contacte-nos: João - jmssardinha@gmail.com / Gabriel - gbsampaio@gmail.com

Thanks a bunch João!

Food and disappointment Posted by Gabriel on 9:25 pm

Well, a few months after moving to the capital I have finally started to get things organized.

One important question that has been bothering me lately is where would a Canadian get-together be held? Any Canadian restaurants in Portugal? Some-place where we could drink Blue and eat wings? Or poutine? Of course, it does not have to be “traditional” Canadian cuisine.

I am open to suggestions.

On another note, I am a bit disappointed with the Canadian Embassy here in Portugal.

Two months ago, after being encouraged by João Sardinha, I sent them various emails asking to keep me informed on cultural events promoted by the Embassy so that I could promote them to the Canadian population in Portugal.

Months past and no one replied. Not even a "get lost".

I’ve sent a few more, hopefully they’ll end up saying something.