From: AlanBaggett@volcanomail.com   
      
   Canada Revenue Agency MUM on the Tax Filings of Santa Claus :CRA SOTW   
   Santa can call Canada ho-ho-home   
      
   By Luke Simcoe December 23, 2008 8:01 AM   
      
   It's unclear whether Santa has always been considered Canadian based   
   on his place of residence, or if the country has extended him   
   citizenship as a courtesy.   
   Photograph by: Getty Images, FileHands off, Russia. Not today, Norway.   
   There's a reason he dresses in red and white: Santa is one of ours.   
      
   Less than three weeks after the Canadian government proposed   
   legislation to expand the country's sovereignty over Arctic waters,   
   its citizenship minister is shoring up Canada's claim to the Far North   
   by declaring Santa Claus, a longtime resident of the North Pole, to be   
   a Canadian citizen.   
      
   "The Government of Canada wishes Santa the very best in his Christmas   
   Eve duties and wants to let him know that, as a Canadian citizen, he   
   has the automatic right to re-enter Canada once his trip around the   
   world is complete," said Jason Kenney, the minister of Citizenship,   
   Immigration and Multiculturalism, in an official statement.   
      
   It is unclear whether Santa has always been considered Canadian based   
   on his place of residence, or if the country has extended him   
   citizenship as a courtesy.   
      
   "I'll let Foreign Affairs field that particular question," said Andrew   
   House, a spokesman for Kenney.   
      
   Sadly, Foreign Affairs representatives were reluctant to let the toy   
   out of the bag, so to speak.   
      
   Alain Cacchione, a Foreign Affairs spokesman who handles Arctic   
   issues, declined to comment on the matter, saying only that St. Nick   
   is "an international symbol."   
      
   Although international law states no country has dominion over the   
   geographic North Pole, a number of nations - including Canada, the   
   United States, Russia, Norway and Denmark - have recently begun   
   pressing their claims to the area long said to be the location of   
   Santa Claus's base of operations.   
      
   Tensions have been particularly high between Canada and Russia. In   
   2007, former foreign affairs minister Peter MacKay lashed out at the   
   Russians after they planted a flag at the bottom of the Beaufort Sea,   
   a region rich in petroleum and natural gas deposits.   
      
   In Russia, the patron saint of Christmas is known as Ded Moroz, which   
   translates as 'Father Frost.' Moroz dresses in garb very similar to   
   Santa Claus and is said to reside in the Russian town of Veliky   
   Ustyug.   
      
   Officials from the Kremlin have yet to respond to Kenney's statement.   
      
   Should they choose to dispute Santa Claus's citizenship, they would   
   have to overcome a substantial amount of evidence that points to him   
   being Canadian.   
      
   For starters, it's worth pointing out the marked resemblance between   
   his patented red and white outfit and our nation's flag.   
      
   North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) has been tracking   
   Santa Claus's trip via satellite for more than 50 years and   
   consistently shows Santa's flight beginning somewhere in the Canadian   
   Arctic.   
      
   As well, Canada Post has long been charged with the task of forwarding   
   children's letters to Santa to the jolly fat man's famous H0H 0H0   
   postal code.   
      
   Malcolm French, a spokesman for Canada Post, said the company receives   
   letters to Santa from all over the world in languages ranging from   
   Albanian to Vietnamese.   
      
   "Postal code readers all over the world recognize the H0H 0H0 postal   
   code as belonging to Canada," French said.   
      
   The global perception that Santa Claus does in fact reside in Canada   
   seems to be growing. In 2007, Canada Post helped deliver more than 1.2   
   million letters to Santa - a 14 per cent increase over the year   
   before.   
      
   Technically, Santa's postal code would indicate that he lives   
   somewhere in urban Montreal, a region marked by the H prefix in its   
   postal codes.   
      
   However, given Santa's ability to squeeze down chimneys and   
   circumnavigate the Earth in a matter of hours, it's not surprising   
   that Canada Post made an exception for old St. Nick.   
      
   Calls made Friday to Revenue Canada to determine if Santa was indeed a   
   registered taxpayer in Canada were not returned.   
      
   (c) Copyright (c) Canwest News Service   
      
      
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