Good morning — Andrew from Narcity here as we cross the halfway mark on January. ☕
Off The Top: It's a classic case of Breaking Bird; a pigeon wearing a tiny "backpack" full of meth was recently caught trying to smuggle the drugs into a B.C. prison yard. Sure, you could say a life of crime is for the birds, but the real lesson here is that even Canadian wildlife are struggling to make ends meet in the current economy.
In Case You Missed It
What Are The Best Companies To Work For In Canada?
The Desjardins logo on a building in downtown Montreal. Right: The Hydro-Québec logo on its headquarters in downtown Montreal.
Marc Bruxelle | Dreamstime, Daniel Gauthier | Dreamstime
What makes a great employer? Is it generous time-off policies? Free granola bars in the break room? Nap pods? Employer review service Glassdoor released its ranking of the 25 best places to work in Canada for 2023, and you'll surely recognize more than a few of these corporate titans — starting with No. 1-ranked Google. MTL Blog's Thomas MacDonald takes us through the list. Did your company make an appearance?
- Caveats: To be eligible for the ranking, a company had to have at least 25 reviews in nine different workplace categories on the platform — and the overall workforce related to the firm had to have over 1,000 people. So basically, no mom-and-pop or niche businesses.
- The Top 5: Following Google at the very top of the list is pharmaceutical giant Roche (No. 2), real estate rental firm QuadReal (3), comm tech firm Ericsson-Worldwide (4) and the Quebec-based insurance company iA Groupe financier (5).
- READ THE FULL STORY HERE
How Do You Survive A Really Long Flight?
People sleeping on a flight.
International travel came back in a big way in 2022 as pent-up globetrotters took to the skies in search of far-flung locales. Of course, the farther your destination, the longer you'll end up sitting on a plane (presumably ruing the day the Concorde went out of style).
That's why you should have a good plan of action the next time you embark on a long-haul flight — say, 10-plus hours aboard an airplane. Sameen Chaudhry scoured the internet for the best advice from frequent travellers — like avoiding the incredibly dehydrating temptations of alcohol as a sleep aid and wearing the right clothes. The denizens of the web did not disappoint.
- Best Tip: Of all the practical advice, the notion of drafting an on-flight schedule seems like a great idea! Plan out your movies, reading, sleeping and eating ahead of time and you'll always have something new to look forward to (and if you get really molecular about it, it may prevent you from eating your entire snack supply within the first three hours).
- READ THE FULL STORY HERE
What Is Considered Bad Behaviour At A Restaurant?
Associate Editor Jenna Kelley eating a meal. Right: A restaurant in Orlando.
Jenna Kelley | Narcity, Joni Hanebutt | Dreamstime
Most restaurant workers are pretty savvy when it comes to hiding their abject disdain for their guests' behaviour. Why yes, madam, I will happily ask the obscenely busy chef if the mac-and-cheese can be made gluten- and dairy-free! That's a great use of everyone's time! In fairness, a lot of restaurant-goers don't even realize they're making things tougher on their server — thus causing it to take longer for them to receive their food and drink orders. As a former beachfront server herself, Jenna Kelley takes us through seven things to avoid if you want to get the best possible service.
- Counterpoint: One of Jenna's points of contention is when a group only asks to split the check after they've ordered — which in the experience of certain newsletter writers is an issue that only ever comes up in the U.S. Seems like more of an issue with how the point-of-sale systems are being set up.
- READ THE FULL STORY HERE
What Else You Need To Know Today
🕒 TIME CRIME
A B.C. woman has been ordered to repay her former employer $2,603 following a civil resolution tribunal. According to evidence submitted by the company — namely, data from a time-tracking app installed on her work computer — the ex-staffer had engaged in "time theft" by billing for more than 50 unaccounted hours, Charlie Hart writes.
📷 FAMOUS FELLOWS
Sure, other than being the home to our federal government, Ottawa can get a rap for being a wee bit sleepy at times. However, that hasn't stopped the city from producing some legitimate A-list stars over the years — with even major 2022 newsmakers like Tom Cruise and Matthew Perry calling the city home at various points in their lives. Check out Megan Johnson's full list here.
🏠 SURREAL ESTATE
A million bucks doesn't go very far in Vancouver's housing market. Head up into the northern corners of the province, however? For $750,000 you can get an off-grid retreat with multiple outbuildings, all sitting on 18 acres of private land on the shores of Cariboo Lake. Ashley Harris takes on a virtual tour of the tempting real estate possibility.
📌 JOB BOARD
If you're one of those people who never grew out of a childhood obsession with choo-choo trains, it's time to polish that resume. The Greater Toronto Area's regional transit operator Metrolinx is seeking staff for a number of roles from media relations to safety auditors — and as Patrick John Gilson notes, many of the jobs pay a pretty sweet salary.
🎂 BIRTHDAYS
Nashville Predators star Matt Duchene turns 32 years old today. Rocket-armed NFL veteran Joe Flacco is 38. Recently retired baseball slugger Albert Pujols and three-time Tony-winning musical mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda both turn 43. The late R&B star Aaliyah would have been 44 today. "Heroin chic" supermodel Kate Moss is 49. Boxing great Roy Jones Jr. is 54. The great Sade is 64. Horror master and electronic music maestro John Carpenter is 75. The late culture critic Susan Sontag was born on this day in 1933.
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Thanks for reading Narcity's Canada Morning Brief — the newsletter that was previously delivered by carrier pigeon until our subcontractors discovered more lucrative cargo.
Have a question or comment about today's edition? Let me know at andrew.potter@narcity.com, or hit me up on Twitter if you'd prefer at @andrewjoepotter.
Have a great day and I will see you back here tomorrow!
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