title: Black Rob

text: Black Rob was sentenced to over seven years in prison in 2006 after failing to appear in court for his sentencing (which was set to be two-to-six years initially) on a charge of grand larceny from 2004, in which he pleaded guilty to criminal possession of more than US$6,000 worth of jewelry stolen in a hotel. He was released from prison in May 2010, and was interviewed by BET two hours later.


title: Black Rob

text: During his life Black Rob struggled with homelessness and health issues. A GoFundMe page was created to help him "find a home" and "pay for medical help". Over his last five years of life, he suffered four strokes. On April 17, 2021, Black Rob died of cardiac arrest, at age 52.


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: Aaha Kalyanam () is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by debutant A. Gokul Krishna and produced by Aditya Chopra's Yash Raj Films. A remake of Maneesh Sharma's 2010 Hindi film, "Band Baaja Baaraat", the film stars Simran, Nani and Vaani Kapoor. Although it was planned for bilingual release, it was shot completely in Tamil, and a dubbed Telugu version was released simultaneously along with the Tamil version. The film was released worldwide on 21 February 2014.


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: Shakthi (Nani) is street-smart and fun-loving. Intelligent and quirky Shruti (Vaani Kapoor), who assists the wedding coordinator, sees Shakthi at the front of the food serving line and suspects he is gatecrashing to eat for free. She confronts Shakthi, who quickly summons his friend, the videographer at the wedding, and pretends he is part of the film crew and has a right to be there. After seeing Shruti dance at the wedding, Shakthi cannot resist the temptation to make a video of her doing her dance routine. The next day, Shakthi calls those involved in the wedding and manages to get Shruti's name and college. He chases her down on her bus ride home and tries to impress her with a DVD of her dance routine at the wedding. Shruti is not interested in Shakthi and reveals her aim in life is starting her own wedding planning business by the name 'Getti Melam'. Shakthi's enthusiasm for courtship is quickly dampened once Shruti launches a long pitch of her business ideas.


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: Shakthi is under pressure from his parents to come back to their village and work in sugarcane fields, and Shruti is being coaxed by her family to get married at the earliest. She makes a deal with her parents that after her exams, she will take five years to get her business running before she marries. When Shakthi's father comes to take him back to his village, Shakthi refuses and lies he is starting a wedding planning business. He goes back to Shruti, who refuses him as she is worried that romantic complications would arise. Shakthi promises it will never be a problem, but Shruti is not interested.


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: Shruti meets with Chandralekha (Simran), a famous wedding planner, with Shakthi tagging along. She hopes she will be hired and get the opportunity to learn about planning "high-class weddings". Chandra shows no interest but loses one of her male workers. She spots Shakthi next to Shruti and offers him the job. Shakthi accepts on the condition both he and Shruti are hired together. While checking the arrangements, Shruti learns that Chandra cheats her clients. Later, when an irate bride's father confronts Chandra, she blames Shruti, claiming it was her fault. Angry at Chandra for accusing Shruti, Shakthi says she has no right to treat her employees like this. They quit and Shruti, calling him her partner, leaves with him, warning Chandra that they will cross paths.


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: The two begin "Getti Melam" with the work equally split between the two. Their first project is very successful and the duo plans many more small weddings. Finally, they get their first big client. After a lot of work, the wedding is a huge success. That night after the event, they dance and both end up drunk. A simple hug turns into more, and the two make love that night. Afterwards, Shakthi lies awake all night, worried about what has happened. When Shruti starts calling him "dear" in the morning, he is uncomfortable with it. Not wanting to hurt her feelings, he behaves awkwardly around her, while Shruti realizes she has fallen in love with him. She tries to reassure him she is not like other women. Shakthi, misunderstanding, believes she is telling him the night didn't mean anything to her. Relieved, he tells her it meant nothing to him as well. Shruti pretends to agree but cries after he leaves. This creates a tense atmosphere between the two. They have a huge fight, resulting in Shruti breaking the partnership and forcing Shakthi to leave the company. Shakthi starts his own wedding planning business and the two go their separate ways. However, they don't do as well by themselves and end up plunging into debt.


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: They get a big contract, but it is contingent upon them working together as a team. The bride had been a guest at the first big wedding they had done and wanted the same level for her own wedding. They agree to partner up again for this one wedding for the sake of recovering their own losses. They divvy up the workload and each focuses on their own departments. Shakthi and Shruti perform together for the wedding. The performance is a success and the following day, Shakthi tells Shruti they should be partners again, saying "Getti Melam" was never as successful as when they were together. Shruti refuses his offer, telling him in two months she will marry her fiancé Siddharth and will move to Dubai with him after the wedding. Shakthi is stunned and argues with her that she can't get married, saying it is "totally wrong".


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: During the rest of the wedding preparations, Shakthi pesters Shruti about her engagement, claiming she would be moving too far from her parents or Dubai wouldn't suit her. When none of those reason dissuade her, Shakthi accuses her of marrying to make him jealous, claiming that she had fallen in love with him and this was a way to get revenge because he paid her no heed after their night together. Shruti answers she is not doing it for revenge, but for her own security and her parents' satisfaction to see her settled in life. She admits she did fall in love with him, but since he didn't feel the same, she had moved on. Shruti answers a call from Siddharth and walks away sadly, leaving Shakthi alone.


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: At the sudden thought of losing her forever, Shakthi realizes he has always been in love with Shruti but was too scared to acknowledge it in fear of jeopardizing the business. Desperate to win her back, Shakthi steals Siddharth's phone number and calls him, telling him to back off and that Shruti is his. Hearing what Shakthi had done to Siddharth, Shruti runs off to find Shakthi and confronts him where he is waiting for her on a rooftop. Shakthi tells Shruti he'd loved her all along and was a fool to have run away from her love. Shruti calls off her engagement and the two share a passionate hug.


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: UTV Motion Pictures were reported to have cast Ravi Teja and Trisha in the Telugu version of the film titled "Bamchikbam", but the studio later dismissed reports. Other reports suggested that Tamannaah would feature in a Tamil version of the film alongside a newcomer, but Yash Raj Films maintained that they had not sold the remake rights of the film and would produce South Indian versions of the film themselves. The Tamil and Telugu versions of the film were cast in doubt when Yash Raj Studios chose to pursue legal action against the makers of the Telugu film, "Jabardasth", citing the film's plot was inspired directly from "Band Baaja Baaraat". However, the producers maintained that a South Indian version would still go ahead.


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: Nani signed on to be the leading actor of the film in December 2012 and a photo shoot was held with actress Vaani Kapoor, who had appeared in Yash Raj Films' Hindi ventures, by March 2013. During the making of the film, Vaani Kapoor took training in Tamil and Telugu, while she also revealed that the original Hindi film's script would be adapted to suit the culture of the South Indian audience. Dharan Kumar was signed on to be music director for the project, composing new tunes rather than retaining the original film's music.


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: The project began shoot by the end of May 2013 and shot in Hyderabad with Padam Kumar, head of Yash Raj Film's operation in South India, being appointed the creative producer on the project. Scenes were shot predominantly in a swift schedule in Chennai, completing most portions of the shoot with little publicity. The team then shot a schedule in early September 2013 in Mysore in a set erected near Lalith Mahal Hotel, with rain partially disrupting progress. Although it was planned as a bilingual it was completely filmed in Tamil only and was later dubbed in Telugu while the songs and climax scenes were individually shot in both the languages.


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: The film initially scheduled to release on 7 February 2014 but postponed to 21 February 2014. The film released in 900 screens worldwide for both versions.


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: Baradwaj Rangan from "The Hindu" wrote "Gokul Krishna's remake follows the original almost beat for beat, but never does anything more. And despite some wonderfully conversational dialogue, we're left with the strange feeling of watching a Hindi movie dubbed in Tamil, along with the realisation that a story alone doesn't make a movie." IANS gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5 and stated ""Aaha Kalyanam" is like going to a colourful wedding and being served tasteless food." Gautaman Bhaskaran from Hindustan Times gave a review stating "Indeed, despite high production values (a contrast to most Tamil movies which suffer in this area) and an impressive degree of sophistry (which Bollywood cinema is known for), "Aaha Kalyanam" did not wow me" and rated the film 2/5.


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: M. Suganth of "The Times of India" rated the film 3 stars out of 5 and stated "like the concept of wedding planning, the film too feels a little alien, and we don't really fall in love with it entirely... And, yet, for all these flaws, "Aaha Kalyanam" manages to hold your interest and that is mainly because of Habib Faisal's winning script." Sify wrote, "This new-age romance works big time due to the spontaneity of the fresh lead pair, as they light up the screen with their terrific on-screen chemistry. Debutant director Gokul Krisha has packaged the film smartly." IndiaGlitz too gave a positive review stating "In all, the movie is a clean entertainer for all" and added that the film is a "Fun, frolic and colourful lighthearted enjoyment" and rated the film 3.5/5. Behindwoods gave 2.75 stars out of 5 and wrote, ""Aaha Kalyanam" is like a near perfect wedding, which has very less unpleasant moments that are completely overshadowed by the overflowing happiness."


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: The opened 80–90% occupancy on first day collected 7.62 crore at the box office while in Telugu version grossed 4 crore for adding up 11.62 crore at the box office, which is the biggest ever opening in Nani's career. According to the International Business Times, the film subsequently did average business in Tamil Nadu, while its performance in Andhra Pradesh was poor. The film was overall a commercial success.


title: Aaha Kalyanam

text: The soundtrack for "Aaha Kalyanam" was composed by Dharan Kumar. The lyrics were written by Thamarai and Madhan Karky.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepāja (; ; see other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice-free port. The population in 2020 was 68,535 people.


title: Liepāja

text: In the 19th and early 20th century, it was a favourite place for sea-bathers and travellers, with the town boasting a fine park, many pretty gardens and a theatre. Liepāja is however known throughout Latvia as "City where the wind is born", likely because of the constant sea breeze. A song of the same name () was composed by Imants Kalniņš and has become the anthem of the city. Its reputation as the windiest city in Latvia was strengthened with the construction of the largest wind farm in the nation (33 Enercon wind turbines) nearby.


title: Liepāja

text: The coat of arms of Liepāja was adopted four days after the jurisdiction gained city rights on 18 March 1625. These are described as: "on a silver background, the lion of Courland with a divided tail, who leans upon a linden () tree with its forelegs". The flag of Liepāja has the coat of arms in the center, with red in the top half and green in the bottom.


title: Liepāja

text: One of the very few surviving films documenting the mass murder of Jews during the first stages of the Holocaust is a short film by a German soldier who witnessed the massacre of Liepāja Jews in July 1941 near the city's lighthouse.


title: Liepāja

text: The name was derived from the Livonian word "Liiv" meaning "sand". The oldest written text mentioning Līva village ("Villa Liva") is the treaty of bishop of Courland and the Master of the Livonian Order dated 4 April 1253. In 1263, the Teutonic Order established a town which they called "Libau" in German and this was used until 1920. The Lettish name "Liepāja" was mentioned for the first time in 1649 by Paul Einhorn in his work "Historia Lettica". A Russian name in Cyrillic from the time of the Russian Empire was ("Libava") or ("Libau"), although ("Liepaya"), a transliteration of Liepāja, has been used since World War II.


title: Liepāja

text: Some other names for the city include "Liepoja" in Lithuanian, the nearest neighbour, and "Libow" in English.


title: Liepāja

text: It is said that the original settlement at the location of modern Liepāja was founded by Curonian fishermen from Piemare as "Līva", but Henry (Henricus Lettus) of Livonia, in his famous "Chronicle", makes no mention of the settlement. The Teutonic Order established a village which they called "Libau" here in 1263, followed by Mitau two years later. In 1418 the village was sacked and burned by the Lithuanians.


title: Liepāja

text: During the 15th century, a part of the trade route from Amsterdam to Moscow passed through Līva, where it was known as the "white road to "Lyva portus"". By 1520 the river Līva had become too shallow for easy navigation, and development of the city declined.


title: Liepāja

text: In 1560, Gotthard Kettler, first Duke of Courland and Semigallia, loaned all the Grobiņa district, including Libau, to Albert, Duke of Prussia for 50,000 guldens. Only in 1609 after the marriage of Sofie Hohenzollern, Princess of Prussia, to Wilhelm Kettler did the territory return to the Duchy. During the Livonian War, Libau was attacked and burnt by the Swedes.


title: Liepāja

text: In 1625, Duke Friedrich Kettler of Courland granted the town city rights, which were affirmed by King Sigismund III of Poland in 1626, although under what legal authority Sigismund had is debatable. Under Duke Jacob Kettler (1642–1681), Libau became one of the main ports of Courland as it reached the height of its prosperity. In 1637 Couronian colonization was started from the ports of Libau and Ventspils (Windau). Kettler was an eager proponent of mercantilist ideas. Metalworking and ship building became much more developed, and trading relations developed not only with nearby countries but also with Britain, France, the Netherlands and Portugal.


title: Liepāja

text: In 1697–1703 a canal was cut to the sea and a more modern port was built. In 1701, during the Great Northern War, Libau was captured by Charles XII of Sweden, but by the end of the war, the city had returned to titular Polish possession. In 1710 an epidemic of plague killed about a third of the population. In 1780 the first Freemasonry lodge, "Libanons," was established by Provincial Grand Master Ivan Yelagin on behalf of the Provincial Lodge of Russia; it was registered as number 524 in the Grand Lodge of England.


title: Liepāja

text: Courland passed to the control of the Russian Empire in 1795 during the third Partition of Poland and was organized as the Courland Governorate of Russia. Growth during the nineteenth century was rapid. During the Crimean War, when the British Royal Navy was blockading Russian Baltic ports, the busy yet still unfortified port of Libau was briefly captured on 17 May 1854 without a shot being fired, by a landing party of 110 men from HMS "Conflict" and HMS "Amphion".


title: Liepāja

text: In 1857 an Imperial Decree provided for a new railway to Libau. That year the engineer Jan Heidatel developed a project to reconstruct the port. In 1861–1868 the project was realized – including the building of a lighthouse and breakwaters. Between 1877 and 1882 the political and literary weekly newspaper "Liepājas Pastnieks" was published – the first Latvian language newspaper in Libau. In the 1870s the further rapid development of Russian railways, especially the 1871 opening of the Libava-Kaunas and the 1876 Liepāja–Romny Railways, ensured that a large proportion of central Russian trade passed through Libau. By 1900, 7% of Russian exports were passing through Libau. The city became a major port of the Russian Empire on the Baltic Sea, as well as a popular resort. During this time of economic expansion, the city architect Paul Max Bertschy provided the design for many of the city's both public and private buildings, making an imprint on the architecture which can still be seen today.


title: Liepāja

text: On the orders of Alexander III, Libau was fortified against possible German attacks. Fortifications were subsequently built around the city, and in the early 20th century, a major military base was established on the northern edge. It included formidable coastal fortifications and extensive quarters for military personnel. As part of the military development, a separate port was excavated exclusively for military use. This area became known as Kara Osta (War Port) and served military needs throughout the twentieth century.


title: Liepāja

text: Early in the twentieth century, the port of Libau became a central point of embarkation for immigrants travelling to the United States and Canada. By 1906 the direct ship service to the United States was used by 40,000 migrants per year. Simultaneously, the first Russian training school of submarine navigation was founded. In 1912 one of the first water aerodromes in Russia was opened in Libau. In 1913, 1,738 ships entered Libau, with 1,548,119 tonnes of cargo passing through the port. The population had increased from 10,000 to over 100,000 within about 60 years.


title: Liepāja

text: Following the outbreak of World War I, the German cruiser SMS "Magdeburg" shelled Libau (then part of Russia), and other vessels laid mines off the approaches to the port. Libau was soon occupied by the German Army, on 7 May 1915, and in memory of this event, a monument was constructed on Kūrmājas Prospect in 1916 (removed in 1919 by the new Latvian State). Libau's local government issued its own money for a while in this period – "Libaua rubles". An advanced German Zeppelin base was constructed at Vaiņode, near Libau, with five hangars, in August 1915. On 23 October 1915, the German cruiser SMS Prinz Adalbert was sunk by the British submarine , west of Libau.


title: Liepāja

text: With the collapse of Russia and the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the occupying German forces had a quiet time, but the subsequent defeat in the West of the German Empire and the Allied denunciation of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty changed everything. Independence of the Republic of Latvia was proclaimed on 18 November 1918, and the Latvian Provisional Government under Karlis Ulmanis was created. Bolshevik Russia now advanced into Latvian territory and met little resistance here. Soon the Provisional Government and remaining German units were forced to leave Riga and retreated all the way to Libau, but then the Red offensive stalled along the Venta river. The Bolsheviks announced a Latvian Soviet Republic. Latvia now became the main theatre of Baltic operations for the remaining German forces in 1919. In addition, a "Landeswehr" was formed to work in conjunction with the German forces.


title: Liepāja

text: In Libau, a coup organized by Germans took place on 16 April 1919 and Ulmanis government was forced to flee and was replaced by Andrievs Niedra. The Ulmanis government found shelter on the steamship "Saratov" in Libau port. In May a British cruiser squadron arrived at Libau to support Latvian independence and requested the Germans to leave.


title: Liepāja

text: The German "Freikorps", having recaptured Riga from the Bolsheviks, departed in late 1919 and the Bolsheviks were driven out of the Latvian hinterlands in early 1920.


title: Liepāja

text: In an attempt to put Libau 'on the map', on 31 January 1922, the Libau Bank was founded with significant new capital, transforming the old Libau Exchange Bank which had belonged to the Libau Exchange Association, and it eventually became the fourth-largest of Latvia's joint stock banks. However, when a Riga branch of the bank was opened, the business centre of gravity shifted from Liepāja so that by 1923 its Riga 'branch' was responsible for 90% of the turnover. The German consul in Liepāja reported at the time that "Riga, the economic heart of the country, draws all business to itself." The Latvian government ignored the pleas of the Libau Exchange Association to frustrate this. In 1935 KOD () started to manufacture the light aircraft KOD-1 and KOD-2 at Liepāja. However it became evident in this year that trade with the new Soviet Union had virtually collapsed.


title: Liepāja

text: The ports and human capital of Liepāja and Ventspils were targets of Joseph Stalin. He signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact in part to gain control of this territory. When the Soviet Union occupied and annexed Latvia in 1940, it nationalized private property. Many thousands of former owners were arrested and deported to the gulag camps in Siberia.


title: Liepāja

text: In 1941 Liepāja was among the first cities captured by the 291st Infantry Division of Army Group North after Nazi Germany began Operation Barbarossa, its war against the Soviet Union. German Nazis and Latvian collaborators virtually exterminated the local Jewish population, which had numbered about 7,000 before the war. Film footage of an Einsatzgruppen execution of local Jews was taken in Liepāja. Most of these mass murders took place in the dunes of Šķēde north of the city. Fewer than thirty Jews survived in Liepāja by the end of the war.


title: Liepāja

text: During the period 1944–1945, as the Soviet Union began its offensive to the Baltic Sea, Liepāja was within the "Courland Pocket". It was occupied by the Red Army on 9 May 1945. Thousands of Latvians fled as refugees to Germany. The city had been devastated during the war, and most of the buildings and industrial plant were destroyed.


title: Liepāja

text: On 25–29 March 1949, the Soviet Union organized a second mass deportation to Siberia from Liepāja. In 1950 a monument to Stalin was erected on Station square (). It was dismantled in 1958 after the Party Congress that discussed his abuses.


title: Liepāja

text: During 1953–1957 the city center was reconstructed under the direction of architects A. Kruglov and M. Žagare. In 1952–1955 the Liepāja Academy of Pedagogy building was constructed under the direction of A. Aivars. In 1960 the "Kurzeme" shopping centre was opened. During the Soviet administration, Liepāja was a closed city; even local farmers and villagers needed a special permit to enter it.


title: Liepāja

text: The Soviet military set up its Baltic naval base and nuclear weapon warehouses there; The Beberliņš sandpit was dug out to extract sand used for constructing underground warehouses. In 1967 the Soviets completely closed the port to commercial traffic. One-third of the city was taken up with a Soviet naval base; its military staff numbered 26,000. The 14th Submarine Squadron of the USSR's Baltic Fleet (", call sign "Комплекс") was stationed there with 16 submarines (Types: 613, 629a, 651); as was the 6th group of Rear Supply of the Baltic Fleet, and the 81st Design Bureau and Reserve Command Center of the same force.


title: Liepāja

text: In 1977 Liepāja was awarded the Order of the October Revolution for heroic defense against Nazi Germany in 1941. Five residents were awarded the honorary title Hero of Socialist Labor: Anatolijs Filatkins, Artūrs Fridrihsons, Voldemārs Lazdups, Valentins Šuvajevs and Otīlija Žagata. Because of the rapid growth of the city's population, a shortage of apartment houses resulted. To resolve this, the Soviet government organized development of most of the modern Liepāja districts: Dienvidrietumi, Ezerkrasts, Ziemeļu priekšpilsēta, Zaļā birze and Tosmare. The majority of these blocks were constructed of ferro-concrete panels in standard projects designed by the state Latgyprogorstroy Institute ("). In 1986 the new central city hospital in Zaļa birze was opened.


title: Liepāja

text: After Latvia regained independence after the fall of the Soviet Union, Liepāja has worked hard to change from a military city into a modern port city (again appearing on European maps after the secrecy of the Soviet period). The commercial port was re-opened in 1991, and in 1994 the last Russian troops left Liepāja. Since then, Liepāja has engaged in international co-operation, has been associated with 10 twin and partner cities, and is an active partner in several co-operation networks. Facilities are being improved. The city is the location of Latvia's largest naval flotilla, the largest warehouses of ammunition and weapons in the Baltic states, and the main supply centre of the Latvian army.


title: Liepāja

text: The former closed military town has been transformed into the northern neighbourhood of Karosta, occupying a third of the area of the city of Liepāja and attracting tourists to the remains of the military era.


title: Liepāja

text: At the beginning of the 21st century, many ambitious construction projects were planned for the city, including a NATO military base, and Baltic Sea Park, planned as the biggest amusement park in the Baltic states. Most of the projects have not yet been realised due to economic and political factors. Liepāja's heating network was renovated with the cooperation of French and Russian companies: Dalkia and Gazprom, respectively. In 2006, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, a direct descendant of Jacob Kettler visited Liepāja. In 2010 the coal cogeneration 400 MW power plant was built in Liepāja with the support of the government.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepāja is situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea in the south-western part of Latvia. The westernmost geographical point of Latvia is located approximately to the south thus making Liepāja Latvia's furthest west city. The city occupies a 1.5-6.5 km wide coastal dune embankment and a foothill plain in the Bartau Plain of the Seaside Lowland. Liepaja is surrounded by the Dienvidkurzeme Region, and is bordered to the north by Medze Parish, to the east by Grobiņa Parish, and to the south by Nīca Parish, with its western border following the Baltic Sea coast. The Trade Channel () connects the lake to the sea dividing the city into southern and northern parts, which are often referred to as Vecliepāja (Old Town) and Jaunliepāja (New Town) respectively. Along the coast, the city extends northwards until it reaches the Karosta Channel (). North of the Karosta Channel is an area called Karosta which is now fully integrated into Liepāja and is the northernmost district of the city. Liepāja's coastline consists of an unbroken sandy beach and dunes. Natural areas cover about one third of the territory of the city. These areas are mostly located on the outskirts of the city and are not connected to the small green areas in the central part of the city.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepaja's urban forest covers 1368.9 ha, of which 83% are forest stands, the rest is covered by swamps (4.7%), meadows and sandhills (9.5%), flood plains and infrastructure sites (less than 3% in total). Private landowners own 109.6 ha, while 92% of the forest land area, or 1259.3 ha, belongs to the municipality. The urban forest consists of five separate forest massifs: the largest one is in the northern part of the city - the Karosta Forest. Other forests include Reiņu Forest, the forests near the regional hospital, the south-western forest and the Zaļā birze Forest. The city is characterised by a wide variety of forest growth types, determined and influenced by the geological and hydrological conditions of the area. Dry forests cover 39% of the forest area, forests on wet mineral soils 13%, swamp forests 22% and drained forests 26%.


title: Liepāja

text: The water areas cover 1009 ha (17% of the total area of the city). The hydrological system of the City of Liepāja consists of various elements, including the Liepāja and Tosmare Lakes, which border the city to the east and are Natura 2000 sites (¼ of the lake is located in the city, the rest is located in the Otanķi and Nīca municipalities). There are also rivers - the Vērnieku River, Kalējupīte and Ālande, canals: Tirdzniecības, Karostas, Cietokšņa and Pērkones (former river), as well as the artificial reservoir Beberliņi. The city is located on the Baltic Sea coast. According to the Latvian classification of river basin districts, the territory of the city of Liepāja falls within the Venta river basin district.


title: Liepāja

text: The prevailing soil type and the prevailing geographical landscape of the area are determined by the low-fertility sandy loams and difficult natural drainage conditions characteristic of the Seaside Lowland. In terms of mechanical composition, sandy soils predominate, with typical podzols in the uplands and peaty podzolic gley vegetation in the depressions, as well as turf gley vegetation and turf podzolic gley vegetation. Due to the high humidity, the area is characterised by waterlogging.


title: Liepāja

text: The climate in Liepaja is strongly influenced by the close proximity to the sea and is therefore located in the temperate semi-continental climate zone noted as "Dfb" in the Köppen classification. The outflow of sea air creates relatively low summer and high winter temperatures for these latitudes. Liepaja has the highest average air temperature in Latvia at +7.0 °C. In terms of hours of sunshine, Liepāja has one of the highest averages of 1940 hours of sunshine per year. Winter is characterised by frequent thaws, so snow cover in the Seaside Lowlands is usually very patchy, rarely exceeding 5–10 cm in depth. During the winter the sea around Liepāja is virtually ice-free. Although occasionally some land-fast ice may develop, it seldom reaches a hundred meters from the shore and does not last long before melting. The sea warms up fully only at the beginning of August. Summers are more affected by the maritime climate than east-facing cities on similar latitudes in opposite Sweden, but winters are milder than inland areas to the east.


title: Liepāja

text: The number of windy days is high compared to inland areas of Latvia. The prevailing winds in the area tend to be all westerly and southerly. Their average speed is 6.1 m/s. Maximum wind speeds (greater than 20 m/s) are usually observed in autumn and winter, in most cases from the west. On 17–18 October 1967, the strongest storm in the history of the country occurred, and on 18 October the highest wind gust ever recorded in Latvia - 48 m/s - was recorded in Liepāja. The city has on average the most stormy days of the year - 7.9, when the average wind speed reaches 10.8 m/s. In 1971, this figure was as high as 36 days. The long-term trends indicate a very significant decrease in the number of stormy days.


title: Liepāja

text: The closest city to Liepāja is Grobiņa, located about away towards Riga. Other main cities in the region are Klaipėda (approx. to the south), Ventspils (approx. to the north) and Saldus (approx. to the east). The distance to Riga (the capital of Latvia) is about to the east. The nearest point to Liepāja across the Baltic sea is the Swedish island of Gotland approximately to the north-west. The distance to Stockholm is 216 nautical miles. The closest major airports to Liepāja are Palanga International Airport - and Riga International Airport - .


title: Liepāja

text: Liepāja's architecture features buildings from different centuries: classical wooden buildings from the 17th century, highly regarded brick architecture, Eclecticism and Art Nouveau buildings at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as some buildings of the interwar period, Soviet-era functionalism and contemporary architecture. Many buildings were destroyed during World War II, which resulted in the destruction of almost the entire city built-up area between the Trade Canal and the Rose Square - more than 100 buildings. The development of Liepāja was entirely determined by economic conditions - initially the establishment of the port, and later, from the late 19th century, the expansion of industry.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepāja reached its first period of construction and architectural prosperity in the 17th and 18th centuries. The development of the architecture and artistic styles of the buildings was reflected in the houses of the wealthier inhabitants, where Mannerism, Baroque, Classicism and other styles can be found. The common people built their homes using traditional building methods typical of the countryside. The oldest type of building in Liepāja is a wooden log house on a low stone plinth with a steep tiled roof. This type of building can be found on Kungu Street, which was the main street of the town in the 17th century. The building on 24 Kungu Street is notable for the visit of Tsar Peter I of Russia in 1697, while the neighbouring building on 26 Kungu Street was visited by King Charles XII of Sweden in 1700. Other notable buildings are those at 6 Lielā Street, 3 Kungu Street, 13 Stendera Street, and the warehouses at 1 and 2 Jāņa Street and 4/6 and 10/12 Zivju Street. After several unsuccessful attempts to build a harbour during the previous century, the Trade Canal was dug in 1703, which contributed to the growth of the city. At this time, the port warehouses were built out of wood, characterised by a high plinth created as a semi-basement. Most of the older warehouses were concentrated in Jūras Street, one of which was moved to the Open-Air Museum in the 1930s, while the others have not survived. Residential buildings in the harbour area were very small and densely distributed. In 1848 there were 664 buildings in the town, of which only 46 were stone-built. Although wooden buildings were constructed, the most luxurious were built with roof extensions and ornate doors, panelling and beautifully painted pot stoves. The most ornate building in 18th century Liepāja was the Holy Trinity Cathedral


title: Liepāja

text: With the construction of the Grobiņa highway in 1841 and the Liepāja-Romny railway in the 1870s, the city took on a different character. This was further marked by the appointment of Paul Max Bertchy as the city's first architect in 1871. The houses built by Bertchy form the most notable part of Liepāja's historic buildings. The wide range of Bertchy's diverse works includes the oil extraction plant and linoleum factory, mansions at 14 and 16 Krišjāņa Valdemāra Street, 15 Peldu Street, tenement houses on 44 Peldu Street, the Peldu Institution (bath house) in Jūrmala Park, the hospital complex on Dārtas Street, the gymnasium building at 4 Krišjāņa Valdemāra Street, the café at 2 Krišjāņa Valdemāra Street, the St. Anne's Church, the Rome Hotel and others. His red brick buildings are also well known. The architecture of this period uses high-quality woodwork, such as doors. The painted staircases are remarkable, not only in the luxurious houses, but also in the workers' tenements on 6 Palmu Street, 9 Avotu Street, 28 Republikas Street and 21 Kuršu Street.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepaja is home to examples of the Art Nouveau style of architecture on a European scale. There are dozens of Art Nouveau buildings in the city, which in absolute numbers is more than in other European cities. Graudu Street is almost entirely defined by Art Nouveau along its entire length. Most of the buildings are built in the restrained and laconic style of Northern National Romanticism. Paul Max Bertchy designed several Art Nouveau buildings, but also significant are those by Theodor Max Bertchy (Bertchy junior), Ludwig Melville, Charles Carr, Lars Sonke, Pauls Kampe, Adolf Kucner, Gustav Janicek, William Losow, Max Kuhn, Alexander Zehrensen and Vasily Kosyakov. The Art Nouveau in Liepāja reflects mostly Latvian – German and partly also Russian as well as other interchanges.


title: Liepāja

text: The most outstanding examples of Art Nouveau are the buildings on 2/6 Kūrmājas Prospect, 9 Ausekļa Street, 28, 34, 36/38, 44, 46, 27/29 and 45 Graudu Street, 3, 9, 16 and 23 Dzintaru Street, 8 Krišjāņa Barona Street, 23 Liepu Street, 33/35 Peldu Street, 1 and 11 Pasta Street, 4 and 5 Lielā Street, 2 Teātra Street, 18 Baznīcas Street, 21A Bāriņu Street, 22 Tirgoņu Street, 1, 5, 17 and 21 Kuršu Street, 8/10 and 16 Rožu Street , 6 Alejas Street (yard), 43 Toma Street, 11 Dīķa Street, 4 and 11 Avotu Street, 19 and 28 Republikas Street, 5, 13, 15/17, 19, 25 and 66 Uliha Street , 1 Raiņa Street, 10/12 Kroņu Street etc.


title: Liepāja

text: In the northern part of the city, under the guidance of the best Russian military architects and engineers, the Karosta complex was built, which was and is completely different from the rest of the city, both in function and in the character and traditions of its buildings. The Karosta is still an outstanding example of a militarised complex in Latvian architectural history. The district was built for the Russian army and is dominated by the Orthodox cathedral in the centre. The most important objects of the Karosta are the officers' meeting house and the residential complex, as well as the unique fortification system that encircled the entire city and connected the different parts of the city with underground passages. During World War I, the fortifications were partially blown up.


title: Liepāja

text: During the interwar period, architect Jānis Blaus designed the project for the Latvian Society House in Liepāja. The building was erected in 1934 on the Rose Square. The Army Economic Store building was built in 1934-1935 according to the design of architect Aleksandrs Rācenis, but was destroyed during the Second World War. The pawnshop and savings bank building at 3 Teātra Street was built in 1936-1937. During this period, the Friendly Vocation Primary School (now the 5th Secondary School; K. Bikše) and the Jaunliepāja Lutheran Church (K. E. Strandmann) were also built.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepaja's city centre was devastated by the Second World War, and new development master plans were needed. The architecture and urban planning of Latvia, which was part of the USSR, was regulated by the uniform urban planning and building regulations of the Soviet Union. New centres for cities destroyed during the war were planned according to standardised formal principles - International Modernism, where streets had to be wide and squares regular, symmetrical, with a Lenin monument in the centre. Public buildings were designed to be representative - in line with Soviet architectural principles - large, spacious, imposing. In 1957, the building that now houses the University of Liepāja was built in a heavy eclectic style, designed by the architect Andrejs Aivars. An almost identical building is located in Daugavpils. The "Kurzeme" department store was built with large windows on the exterior walls and shop windows on the ground floor. During the Soviet period, the historical buildings of Liepāja's Old Town were eliminated over a wide area by the construction of a tram line from "Kurzeme" to Peldu Street. Changes also affected Lielā Street. Due to the military port, Liepaja was a closed city, and thus construction in the city was rather slow until the 1970s, when the construction of new factories ("Lauma", agricultural machinery factory, "Hidrolats") and residential areas were built, the most important of which is the Ezerkrasts district.


title: Liepāja

text: After the restoration of independence, an artificial ice rink (architect U. Pīlēns), a Catholic monastery (A. Kokins) in Jaunliepāja, the "Māja" shop (reconstruction; A. Padēlis-Līns), new market pavilions in the city centre (U. Pīlēns) were built. The most remarkable building of the 21st century is the Great Amber Concert Hall. New-age construction is characterised by the use of new materials and technologies, as well as rationalism and functionalism.


title: Liepāja

text: Fourteen deputies and a mayor make up the Liepāja City Council. City's voters select a new government every four years, in June. The Council selects from its members the Chairman of City Council (also called City Mayor), the two Vice chairmen (Deputy Mayors)


title: Liepāja

text: which are full-time positions. City Council also appoints the members of four standing committees, which prepare issues to be discussed in the Council meetings: Finance Committee; City Economy and Development Committee; Social Affairs, Health Care, Education and Public Order Committee; Culture and Sports Committee. The City of Liepāja had an operating budget of 104 million euros in 2022. Traditionally, political leanings in Liepāja have been right-wing. In recent years the Liepāja Party has dominated the polls.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepaja’s population structure has been multicultural and this impacted city’s social life, economy and administration. Liepaja’s population structure started to change after the abolition of serfdom in 1817. The number of inhabitants in 1800 is 4500, but in 1840 there already were 11 000 citizens. The number of city inhabitants has doubled in 40 years. It continued to grow and in 1881 Liepāja already had 29 600 inhabitants. Liepāja's population grew fastest before World War I, almost tenfold in 50 years. It doubled during the 50 years of Soviet occupation, when population growth was hampered by the existence of the closed military port. Until World War I there was a high proportion of Baltic Germans, until World War II there was a high proportion of Jews, and during the Soviet occupation the number of Russians increased. The proportion of Latvians increased from 16% in 1863 to 85% in 1943 until World War II, but decreased again after the war.


title: Liepāja

text: With 68,945 inhabitants in 2019, Liepāja is the third-largest city in Latvia. Its population has declined since the withdrawal of Soviet military forces; the last of which left in 1994. In addition, many ethnic Russians emigrated to Russia in 1991–2000. More recent causes include economic migration to Western European countries after Latvia joined the EU in 2004, and lower birth rates. The demographic situation in Liepāja is unfavourable, as the natural population growth is negative. However, the trend of people leaving Liepāja is gradually decreasing, and in 2018 a positive migration balance was achieved for the first time in many years. Favourable migration trends are more and more significantly compensating for the negative natural increase, so the overall population decline trend has been significantly reversed in 2017 and 2018. The dependency load is 690 children, adolescents and pensioners per 1000 inhabitants, which is the highest value among the major cities. The population decreased by an average of 750 inhabitants per year between 2012 and 2018.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepāja has a number of churches. As elsewhere in central and western Latvia, Protestant churches, mostly Lutheran, are predominant. Holy Trinity Cathedral houses the seat of the Lutheran Bishop of Liepāja. Other Lutheran congregations are St. Anne, Church of the Cross and Church of Luther. There are four Baptist congregations in the city, among them are St. Paul church and Church of Zion.


title: Liepāja

text: Owing to the regional importance of Liepāja during the last decades of the Russian Empire, a number of Russian Orthodox churches were established in the city early in the twentieth century. Their congregations are chiefly drawn from the Russian-speaking population.


title: Liepāja

text: The Catholic faith is represented in Liepāja by a St. Joseph Cathedral – the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Liepāja, Catholic primary school and the Catholic centre. The structure of the Catholic centre was used to represent the Vatican in Expo 2000 in Hanover and was transferred to Liepāja after the event.


title: Liepāja

text: Other Christian sects include Old Ritualists, Adventist, Pentecostal, Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses, who have single congregations and churches.


title: Liepāja

text: After the collapse of USSR's centrally planned economy, Liepāja had to deal with issues of rundown infrastructure. To provide business incubation and development for the city, Liepaja Special Economic Zone (Liepaja SEZ) was established. According to the law, Liepāja SEZ was established on March 1, 1997 and it will exist until December 31, 2035. The purpose of the Liepāja SEZ is to develop a business environment, manufacturing, shipping and air traffic, as well as international trade through Latvia. The aim of the Liepāja SEZ is to attract investment for expanding of manufacturing and infrastructure, and to create new work places and to ensure the development of the region. In the beginning, investment growth remained slow due to a shortage of a skilled labour force, but the scheme proved to be successful as positive tendencies can be seen with formation of new businesses.


title: Liepāja

text: After joining the European Union in 2004, many companies were faced with strict European rules and tense competition. In 2007 "Liepājas cukurfabrika" and "Liepājas sērkociņi" closed down; "Līvu alus", "Liepājas maiznieks" and "Lauma" have been sold to European investors. in 2013, the steel production company Liepājas Metalurgs went bankrupt, which was one of the largest economic disasters in modern Latvian history, costing the state around 230 million LVL (327 million EUR). Today, the City’s economic development is mainly driven by Liepāja Special Economic Zone, Trade Port and the companies placed there. In 2021, the companies in Liepāja with the largest turnover are TOLMETS, AE Partner, and Jensen Metal


title: Liepāja

text: Liepaja's transport system consists of 31 bus lines (5 of which are connected to Grobiņa), as well as one Liepaja tram line, which is 7 kilometres long. The tram line was founded after the opening of the first Liepāja power plant in 1899, which makes it the oldest electric tram line in the Baltic states; it is now operated by the municipal company Liepājas tramvajs. In 2013, the tram line was extended by 1.7 km from the Dienvidrietumu residential area (Klaipėda Street) to the Ezerkrasts residential area with a turnaround at the end of Mirdzas Ķempes Street. Liepāja has direct bus connections to Riga, Riga International Airport, Ventspils, Jelgava, Klaipėda and other destinations.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepāja has a railway connection to Jelgava and Riga and through them to the rest of Latvia's railway network. There is just one passenger station in the New Town, but the railway extends further and links to the port. There is also a northward railway track leading to Ventspils, but in recent decades it has fallen into disuse for economic reasons. The railway provides the main means of delivering cargo to the port. Two main highways, the A9 and A11, connect the city and its port to the rest of the country. The A9 leads north-west towards Riga and central Latvia and the A11 leads south to the border with Lithuania and its only port Klaipėda and to Palanga International Airport. The city also hosts Liepāja International Airport, one of three international airports in Latvia; it is located outside the city limits, north of the Lake of Liepāja near Cimdenieki. The airport is serviced by charter flights and an Air Baltic connection to Riga International Airport. Liepaja airport serviced 6,043 commercial (scheduled and non-scheduled) passengers in 2017


title: Liepāja

text: The Port of Liepāja has a wide water area and consists of three main parts. The Winter harbour is located in the Trade channel and serves small local fishing vessels as well as medium cargo ships. Immediately north of the Trade channel is the main area of the port, separated from the open sea by a line of breakwaters. This part of the port can accommodate large ships and ferries. Further north is Karosta harbour, also called Karosta channel, which was formerly a military harbour but is now used for ship repairs and other commercial purposes. Liepāja also welcomes yachts and other leisure vessels which can enter the Trade channel and moor almost in the center of the city.


title: Liepāja

text: The idea to open a school was born in 1560 during a church survey, and schools existed in Liepāja before 1625. However, it was the granting of city rights that encouraged the further development of schools, as the maintenance of schools was considered one of the city's responsibilities. Both German and Curonian children were encouraged to attend the newly founded school. It was announced to the "non-Germans" that those children who were sent to the school would be freed from all servitude and even freed from serfdom; they would also be given help for further education. At the beginning the school was a one-class school; the second class was opened in 1638; from 1650 the school had 3 classes, and in 1750 the 4th class was opened. In 1788 a new school building was built, and in 1806 the town school was transformed into the county's highest school after 250 years of existence. This county school was attended by Krišjānis Valdemārs and Kronvaldu Atis. In 1866, the county school was converted into the Nikolai Gymnasium. In 1861, a maritime class was opened at the county school, which was added to the Liepāja Maritime School in 1876. The first girls' high school was opened in 1871, and by 1874 there were already 2 girls' high schools, one of which was turned into a gymnasium in 1886. In the following years, the Russification of schools, which started with the law of 1889, turned all schools into Russian schools, however, there were schools attended by Latvian children in their majority, where Latvian was taught as a subject and religious studies were taught in Latvian. Schools with Latvian as the only language only appeared after Latvia gained independence.


title: Liepāja

text: During the First Free State there were three secondary schools, 25 primary schools, two technical schools, a trade school, a secondary school of applied arts, a trade institute, a technical evening craft school, a Jewish craft school, a fishing and fish farming school. There was also a folk conservatory and various evening courses. In December 1919, a separate children's section was opened in the library - the first in Latvia.


title: Liepāja

text: After World War II, Liepāja was home to the Liepaja Pedagogical Institute (founded in 1954; in 1945 as the Pedagogical School, in 1950 as the Liepaja Teachers' Institute), the General Technical Faculty of the Riga Polytechnic Institute, a maritime school, a medical school, a polytechnic, the Liepaja Applied Arts High School (founded in 1926), a music school, ten comprehensive schools, two vocational-technical high schools and two technical schools.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepāja has wide educational resources. In March 2019, the Liepaja City Council decided to merge Secondary School No. 2 with Secondary School No. 12 to form a new secondary school, taking full advantage of the modernised learning environment of Secondary School No. 2, In 2022, the city has 21 kindergartens, twelve general education institutions and two private schools, 2 music schools and two boarding schools providing education in the city's largest residential districts. Interest education for children and youth is available in 8 municipal institutions: Children and Youth Centre, Youth Centre, Centre for Young Technicians, Art and Creation Centre "Vaduguns", Complex Sport School, Gymnastics School, Tennis Sports School, Sports School "Daugava" (football, track-and-field athletics) and Basketball Sports School. Liepāja Central Library has six branches and audio record library. Literature fund consists of about 460,000 copies and online catalogue. Average annual number of visitors – 25000.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepāja is known as a city rich in deep cultural and historical traditions, and has a very important place in the cultural landscape of Latvia and the region. Liepāja is home to both state and municipal institutions, as well as the University of Liepāja and privately funded artistic groups and departments. The city has a remarkable legacy in terms of its historical cultural environment, buildings, monuments, visual art collections, museums and libraries. Liepāja has a strong tradition of performing arts and intangible cultural heritage - crafts, folk art, traditional culture - in both Latvian and minority groups. Cultural tourism and creative industries are developing. There is a strong cultural education base (in its professional forms). Certain sectors are relatively underdeveloped in Liepāja (fine arts, literature, declining cinema, etc.).


title: Liepāja

text: Liepāja took part in the competition for the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) status in 2014, but on 15 September 2009 the European Commission jury recommended that Riga be awarded the status. Having taken part in the competition for the European Capital of Culture status in 2027, on 10 May 2022 the jury awarded the status to Liepāja.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepāja has three officially approved symbols: a coat of arms, a flag and an anthem. The coat of arms was adopted in 1625, while the flag was first officially proclaimed in 1938 with the "Law on the Flag of the City of Liepaja". The anthem "The City where the Wind is Born" ("Pilsētā, kurā piedzimst vējš") was approved in 1999 and premiered in the first hour of 2000. Imants Kalniņš wrote the song "In the City where the Wind is Born" in 1973, dedicating it to Liepāja and the people of Liepāja, with lyrics by Māris Čaklais. It was first performed by Austra Pumpure, and even then the song gained the status of an unofficial anthem of Liepāja residents. Liepāja also has its own special dish - 'Liepājas menciņi' (smoked, dried cod with potatoes, onions and dill in heavy cream, fried in a ceramic pot), which is based on an ancient recipe from South Courland Dried, smoked or lightly dried codfish was used in the diet of the coastal inhabitants of Courland - Livonians and Curonians - even before the arrival of German settlers in the 13th century.


title: Liepāja

text: The use of Liepāja's symbols is regulated by the Binding Regulations adopted by the City Council on 25 February 1999.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepāja is known as the music capital of Latvia[15]. The Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, the oldest orchestra in the Baltic States, performs in Liepāja. It remains the only professional orchestra in Latvia outside Riga. Liepāja is home to bands such as Līvi, Credo, 2xBBM and Tumsa, as well as composers such as Zigmars Liepiņš, Jānis Lūsēns and Uldis Marhilēvičs. Music festivals such as Summer Sound, International Star Festival, VIA Baltica Festival, International Organ Music Festival and others are organised. From 1964 to 2006, Liepājas Dzintars, the longest-running and most tradition-rich popular music festival in Latvia, was held in the "Pūt, vējiņi" concert garden.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepāja's art scene has a long and rich tradition. The oldest and most outstanding work of art in Liepāja is the altar of St Anne's Church, built in 1697. The most significant work of art of the 18th century is the organ of the Holy Trinity Cathedral The interior decoration of the Old Catholic Church is also noteworthy - ornamental formations in plaster (1762) and the altar retable - a typical late Baroque work, paintings of columns, walls and ceilings, stained glass windows. Works of applied art masters are in the Liepāja Museum. There are 18th-century door sashes from the house at 13 Stendera Street and works by tin foundrymen. The most outstanding sculpture of the 19th century is the sculpture by Fabiani for the chapel in the Old Cemetery, but the sculpture in the city is mainly memorial works. In the Northern Cemetery there is a monument to the memory of the soldiers who died in the Latvian War of Independence, there is also a memorial marker to Colonel Oskars Kalpaks at his first burial site, and in the Jewish burial section of the Līva Cemetery there is a monument to the memory of the Jewish soldiers who died in the Latvian War of Independence near Liepāja. In Jūrmala Park, there is a monument to the sailors and fishermen perished in the sea and to the 16 January 1905 rally. Nearby is a monument to the poet Mirdza Ķempe. Until the restoration of independence, the city had several monuments created during the Soviet occupation, of which the monument to the 1941 defenders of Liepāja remains in place, but it is being dismantled in 2022. Since 1996, the town has been decorated with memorial sculptures to the bed of the River Līva, created in a plenary workshop led by Ģirts Burvis. The Liepāja anthem "In the City where the Wind is Born" is reproduced in bronze sculptures along the entire length of Kūrmāja Prospect. There is a rich tradition of painting.


title: Liepāja

text: In 1907 the Liepāja Latvian Dramatic Society was founded. Together with other societies, in March 1907 it established and maintained the Liepāja Latvian Theatre (now Liepāja Theatre), which is the oldest Latvian professional theatre still in existence. In 1918 the theatre moved to its present premises - the City Theatre on the then Hagedorna (now Teātra) Street.


title: Liepāja

text: In 1998, the first ice hockey rink built in Latvia during the years of independence was opened in Liepāja which has since hosted regular ice hockey games including two youth World championship games. HK Liepājas Metalurgs became the home team of the Olympic Ice Arena. The team won eight Latvian championship gold medals, and also won the 2002 Eastern European Hockey League tournament. Due to problems at the metallurgical company, the hockey team ceased operations in the summer of 2013. In 2014, the HK Liepāja was founded and they became champions of the Latvian Hockey Higher League in 2015–16 season.


title: Liepāja

text: In January 2014, the FK Liepājas Metalurgs ceased operations and was replaced by the FK Liepāja, who became Latvian champions in 2015. Their home stadium is the Daugava Stadium. Liepāja is home to Latvian Basketball League club Betsafe/Liepāja.


title: Liepāja

text: On 2 August 2008, a new multipurpose sports arena – Liepāja Olympic Centre was officially opened. It has been established as one of the most modern multipurpose sports and cultural complexes in Latvia. Liepāja regularly hosts various sporting events, such as the World and European Basketball Championships, and the 2009 Women's European Basketball Championship Subgroup A and B matches were played at the Liepāja Olympic Centre. The European Rally Championship stage "Rally Liepāja", the International Windsurfing Competition and others are also held.


title: Liepāja

text: Liepāja has a regional newspaper "Kurzemes vārds" and a regional TV channel "TV Kurzeme." The city also has several regional Internet portals; there is an amateur radio community and a citywide wireless video monitoring system. , digital terrestrial television is fully operational; mobile television and broadband wireless networks are implemented. All four Latvian mobile operators have stable zones of coverage (GSM 900/1800, UMTS, 2100 CDMA450) and client service centers in Liepāja.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax credits. Legislation administered by the CRA includes the "Income Tax Act," parts of the "Excise Tax Act", and parts of laws relating to the Canada Pension Plan, employment insurance (EI), tariffs and duties. The agency also oversees the registration of charities in Canada, and enforces much of the country's tax laws.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: From 1867 to 1999, tax services and programs were administered by the Department of National Revenue, otherwise known as Revenue Canada. In 1999, Revenue Canada was reorganized into the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA). In 2003, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) was created out of the CCRA, leading to customs being dropped from the agency's mandate and the agency's current name.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The CRA is the largest organization in the Canadian federal public service by number of personnel, employing 43,908 people and has an operating budget of $5.1 billion as of the 2018-19 fiscal year. The agency's headquarters are based in Ottawa, itself divided into 5 program branches, which directly support the CRA's core responsibilities, and 7 corporate branches, which deliver internal services within the organization. The CRA also has operations throughout the rest of Canada, including 4 Tax Centres (TCs), 3 National Verifications and Collections Centres (NVCCs), and 25 Tax Services Offices (TSOs), organized into four regions: Atlantic, Ontario, Quebec, and Western.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: During the 2017 tax year, the CRA collected approximately $430 billion in revenue on behalf of federal and provincial governments, and administered nearly $34 billion in benefits to Canadians.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The CRA is responsible to Parliament through the minister of national revenue (Diane Lebouthillier since 2015). The day-to-day operations of the agency are overseen by the commissioner of revenue (Bob Hamilton since 2016).


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Prior to Confederation, the collection of taxes and customs duties was the responsibility of the Department of Customs in each of the British North American colonies. In 1867, Parliament enacted legislation which established two separate departments, Inland Revenue, and Customs. Until end of World War I, the majority of federal revenue came from customs and excise duties, but as the war effort placed increasing pressure on government finances, the Borden government introduced a personal income tax in 1917. While intended to be a temporary measure at first, the federal government has since continued to levy personal income taxes, and are now the largest source of revenue for the federal government. Both Inland Revenue and Customs were eventually merged into a single department, Customs and Excise, between 1918 and 1927.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: In 1927, the "Department of National Revenue Act" was enacted by Parliament, which changed the name of the department from Customs and Excise to National Revenue, while retaining its earlier mandate. The Department of National Revenue would gain increasing responsibility as new social programs, such as the Canada Pension Plan, and new streams of revenue, such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) were gradually introduced over the latter half of the 20th century. In 1993, EFILE was first made available to Canadian taxpayers wishing to submit their taxes electronically.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: In 1999, the Chrétien government introduced legislation that would transform Revenue Canada from a department to a new agency, the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. This change was intended to reduce duplication in tax administration, streamline services to Canadians, and provide the tax administration with more flexibility in corporate planning, and in forming relationships with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governments. The CCRA was given a broad mandate that covered taxation, customs, and border protection. This arrangement only lasted until December 2003, when the Canada Border Services Agency was spun off from the CCRA due to issues relating to interdepartmental collaboration between the CCRA, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on border protection and immigration enforcement.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Following the CBSA spin-off, the CCRA was rebranded as the Canada Revenue Agency, with its strategic direction pivoting towards enforcing compliance with Canada's tax laws and delivering benefits to Canadians. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CRA joined several other government departments in transitioning to temporary remote work arrangements. The CRA also extended deadlines for filing returns and payments for the 2019 tax year. The agency was also tasked with delivering emergency financial benefits to Canadians on behalf of the federal government, processing millions of applications through its IT systems.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The CRA is led by the minister of national revenue and the commissioner of revenue, who functions as the agency's chief executive officer (CEO).


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The minister is accountable to Parliament and Cabinet for the CRA's operations, and in matters pertaining to tax and benefit administration in Canada. The current minister is Diane Lebouthillier, who was appointed on November 4, 2015.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The commissioner is the CRA's CEO. The commissioner manages the day-to-day operations of the agency, and advises the minister on the duties and functions of the CRA as prescribed by legislation. The current commissioner is Bob Hamilton, who was appointed to the position on August 1, 2016.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The commissioner is supported by the deputy commissioner, who fulfils specific duties and assignments provided to them by the commissioner, and acts for the commissioner in the event of absence or incapacity. The current deputy commissioner is Brigitte Diogo, who was appointed to the position on April 11, 2022.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The minister and commissioner are supported by the Board of Management. The Board of Management consists of 15 members appointed by the Governor in Council, of which 11 are appointed by the provinces and territories, 2 by the federal government, with the remaining seat filled by the commissioner of revenue, who is an ex-officio member of the board. Board members are typically appointed for a term of three years. The board develops the CRA's Corporate Business Plan each year, which sets out objectives, performance expectations, and financial allocations within the agency.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The Board of Management is divided into four committees, Audit, Governance and Social Responsibility, Human Resources, and Resources, and one subcommittee, Service Transformation. These committees allow for a detailed review of items brought before the board, and establish work plans for their respective activities each year.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The Board of Management is not directly involved with the CRA's business operations. As such, it cannot enforce or interpret legislation on behalf of the agency, and does not have access to taxpayer information.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The CRA maintains four advisory committees to assist it in operational planning and decision-making as it relates to different sectors or issues. Advisory committees consist of tax professionals, lawyers, accountants, and community leaders that help the agency improve its service delivery within a specific area. The current advisory committees are as follows:


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The CRA's headquarters are located in Ottawa, and is responsible for several agency-wide functions, including ministerial reporting, corporate planning, human resources, information technology, communications, and interpreting tax legislation. Headquarters is divided into five program branches, which help deliver the agency's core mandate around tax and benefits administration, and seven corporate branches, which deliver services that support the day-to-day operations of the CRA.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Outside of its headquarters, the CRA's operations across Canada are divided into four regions, which help to carry out the agency's operations in different regions of the country. Each region is headed by an assistant commissioner, who oversees activities in their region, including that of tax centres (TCs) and tax services offices (TSOs) in their area of responsibility.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Tax centres are responsible for intaking and processing individual and business tax returns. There are four tax centres located across Canada, each assigned their own geographic areas of responsibility, which may vary depending on the type of return:


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Tax services offices are field offices which handle more complex audit and collection files for the agency, generally those which involve direct interaction with taxpayers. While TSOs are present in every province, the territories do not currently have active TSOs, and are instead under the jurisdiction of TSOs located in other parts of Canada. Tax services offices are sometimes divided into branch offices for organizational purposes.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: There are twenty-five TSOs situated across Canada, and are organized as follows, with any branch offices indicated in indented bullets under the corresponding TSO where applicable:


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: National Verifications and Collections Centres are responsible for non-complex files related to collection, verification, and validation that do not involve in-person interaction. These new facilities were introduced by the agency in 2016 as part of an effort to modernize the Agency's services. There are three NVCCs located across Canada:


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: In 2019, the CRA opened introduced Northern Service Centres to access to tax services and assistance for residents in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, co-located with existing Service Canada offices. There are three NSCs located across the North:


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: As of the 2018-19 fiscal year, the CRA employed about 43,908 people, making it the largest organization within the federal government by personnel. Despite being headquartered in Ottawa, only about 12,000 employees are based in the National Capital Region. Of these employees, 32,598 (74.2%) were indeterminate or permanent employees, 1,251 (2.8%) were students, and 10,057 (22.9%) were contract employees. The average age of a CRA employee is 45 years old.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Under the "Financial Administration Act," the CRA is designated under Schedule V as a separate agency outside of the core public administration, which allows the CRA to establish different job classifications, pay rates, and enter into labour negotiations differently form other government departments and agencies. Consequently, the job classifications used by CRA may not align with those typically used in other parts of the public service.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Executives, management, and students are generally not represented by a union. However, the majority of CRA employees are represented by Union of Taxation Employees, which is a component of Public Service Alliance of Canada. Auditors, investigators and computer systems employees are represented by Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The Canadian tax system is based on the principle of mandatory self-assessment. Taxpayers, comprising both businesses and individuals, must complete a tax return every year determine whether they owe taxes or will receive a refund. For individual tax returns, returns are generally due on April 30 for the preceding tax year. For other entities, such as charities, corporations, sole proprietorships, partnerships, or self-employed individuals, the tax deadline may vary widely.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Penalties may be imposed if returns are received after the deadline, or any outstanding amounts owed are also subject to penalties and daily compounded interest. Additionally, taxpayers that repeatedly fail to report income over several tax years, or make false statements or omissions may be subject to penalties, which may vary depending on the severity of a taxpayer's actions.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The CRA processes most tax returns with very limited review and promptly issues a notice of assessment. The notice of assessment provides a summary of each entity's income, credits and deductions. If a taxpayer disagrees with an assessment, they may file an appeal which may lead to challenging the assessment in tax court. Once a tax return is assessed, it may be subject to review. In some cases, a tax return could be reviewed before being assessed.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: After an objection is filed, the CRA is required to reassess a tax return "with all due dispatch" according to subsection 165(3) of the "Income Tax Act". This may have different meanings depending on how busy the CRA is, the time of year, and other factors. Subsection 165(3) says:"On receipt of a notice of objection under this section, the Minister shall, with all due dispatch, reconsider the assessment and vacate, confirm or vary the assessment or reassess, and shall thereupon notify the taxpayer in writing of the Minister's action."


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Residents of Canada are required to file an individual income tax return every year. Non-residents may have to file a tax return under certain circumstances where they directly earn income in Canada, which can be rental payments, stock dividends, or royalties that a non-resident earns in Canada during a given tax year.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Income is generally reported through the T-series forms, with the number corresponding with a specific type of income situation. Individual taxpayers will report their income using the T1 return. Corporations and trusts respectively use the T2 and T3 forms. Employers use the T4 form to issue a statement of remuneration paid for individual employees, which is then submitted to employees for T1 filing purposes Lastly, any investment income or capital gains earned by a taxpayer is reported in a T5 form. Depending on the complexity of a taxpayer's income situation, supplementary forms outside of the T-series may need to be completed.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: For income tax purposes, trusts are treated as a taxable entity by the "Income Tax Act". A legal representative of an estate of a deceased person may have to file a T3 return for the estate if it has properties that has not been distributed. Unlike the United States, families cannot file joint returns. A partnership is not a taxable entity for income tax purposes and its income is taxed in the hands of its partners.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Individual taxpayers can file by paper, telephone, or electronically. Taxpayers have two methods for filing electronically: NETFILE, which is for individuals who file their own tax returns, and EFILE, used for professional tax preparers that file on behalf of their clients. Taxpayers that prepare their own taxes through NETFILE generally need to obtain tax filing software from a third-party provider in order to use the system. As of the 2019 tax year, the vast majority of taxpayers file their taxes electronically (90.3%) while increasingly fewer taxpayers (9.7%) use the traditional paper method. Most taxpayers (56.5%) rely on EFILE to submit their return, meaning that most Canadians generally seek out tax professionals when preparing their annual returns.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Many benefits, such as Canada Child Benefit (CCB), are determined by the income reported on the T1 returns. If returns are not filed, taxpayers may not be able to obtain benefits they are entitled to. Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) contribution room also depends on the taxpayer's reported income.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Employees normally have income tax withheld on each paycheque by their employers, who remit the tax withheld together with payroll taxes to the CRA. Contractors (and most pensioners) are normally required to pay instalments for income tax to CRA during the year. Once a tax return is filed, a tax refund will be available if the tax withheld or the instalments are more than tax owing calculated on the tax return. If the tax return results in a balance due, it must be paid in full by the due date or interest will accrue daily.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) or Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), collectively referred to as GST/HST, are governed by the "Excise Tax Act", which requires many entities to register for a GST/HST account and remit GST/HST collected. These entities include sole-proprietors, partnerships, and corporations. Not-for profit organizations, are normally exempt for income tax purposes, but are required to register for GST/HST accounts under the current rules.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: GST/HST returns are due monthly, quarterly, or annually depending on the volume of sales. If sales are less than $30,000 per year, a business may qualify as smaller suppliers, who are not required to register for GST/HST.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: An employer is required to withhold income tax and payroll taxes, such as CPP and EI, and to remit the withheld amount to the CRA monthly, quarterly, or annually depending on the amount of withholding. By the end of every February, an employer is required to file a T4 return, that is, a T4 summary for total wages paid by the business, and T4 slips for wages paid to each employees, to the CRA.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The CRA is responsible for collecting several taxes on behalf of the federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments (except Quebec), including personal income taxes, corporate taxes, sales taxes, fuel charges, and certain excise taxes as defined under the "Excise Tax Act". As a separate agency, the CRA maintains partnerships and agreements with provincial, territorial, and other levels of government to administer non-harmonized sales tax programs on a cost-recovery basis.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The Canada Revenue Agency collects most individual income taxes in Canada. Canada uses tax brackets to determine an individual's tax obligations, the rates of which are set by the Department of Finance. Personal income taxes are levied by both the federal government and provincial governments, each with separate rates, but are collected together with the exception of Quebec.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Based on individual earnings, employers will typically deduct income tax, in addition to Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) and Employment Insurance (EI) deductions from an employee's paycheque. However, taxpayers that rely on rental or investment income, or are self-employed generally do not have taxes automatically deducted from their pay, must remit tax payments to the CRA either as a lump-sum or in quarterly instalments.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: While most taxpayers file only through the CRA, Quebec residents file separately with the CRA and Revenu Québec each year.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Taxes for provincial corporations in Canada are administered by the CRA, except for provinces of Alberta and Quebec. Ontario previously administered corporate taxes until 2008, after which the CRA took over responsibility collecting these taxes. The provinces maintain dual tax rates, with a lower rate applicable to income that qualifies for the federal small business deduction, and the higher rate to all other forms of income. While some provinces adhere to the business limit for the lower rate set by the federal governments, other provinces choose to maintain their own rate.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The Canada Revenue Agency collects the Goods and Services Tax (GST) (the Canadian federal value added tax) of 5 per cent in all provinces. In Quebec, under an agreement with the federal government, Revenu Québec administers the GST to businesses, and administers Quebec's own Quebec Sales Tax (QST). The Goods and Services Tax was introduced in 1991 at 7 per cent added to the value of most sales of goods and services. The GST was reduced to 6 per cent in 2006 and 5 per cent in 2008, the current rate.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: In Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Ontario the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been replaced by the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). The Harmonized Sales Tax combines the national GST and the provincial sales tax into a single tax. The HST is administered by the CRA. Each province that has Harmonized Sales Tax receives its portion of the HST from the CRA.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: In 2013, British Columbia removed HST after public protests against the newly taxed items under HST that were not taxed under the PST/GST system.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: CRA administers social benefits and tax credits on behalf of the federal government and most provinces and territories. Notable benefits and credits at the federal level include the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), which aims to assist families with children, the Climate Action Incentive (CAI), which pays dividends directly to Canadians as part of Canada's carbon pricing scheme and the Disability Tax Credit (DTC), which helps eligible recipients with disabilities reduce the amount of income tax they owe.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is a non-taxable benefit for Canadians with children under 17 to assist them with the cost of living. The amount that a taxpayer receives through the CCB is tied to household income, which could include the income for a taxpayer's spouse. As such, taxpayers are required to file their taxes, in order to be assessed for and receive the benefit. The CCB was implemented in July 2016, and builds upon existing benefit programs (UCCB and CCTB) in addition to other child-related credits.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the temporary and permanent closure of businesses throughout Canada, leading to the loss of several thousand jobs. This resulted in the creation of several economic measures targeting different sectors of Canadian society, which the CRA was tasked with administering.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was introduced as a temporary benefit available to Canadians who stopped working involuntarily due to the pandemic. It provides $2,000 per month successful applicants during the eligible period. However, income earned through CERB is taxable and those who applied without being eligible could face penalties during future tax assessments. Eligible recipients are required to have also earned $5,000 in income during the 2019 tax year, and could not earn more than $1,000 per month when claiming CERB. The benefit is administered jointly by the CRA and Service Canada, with nearly 8.5 million Canadians applying for the benefit. representing nearly 21.5 million unique applications.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Similarly, the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) was developed as a parallel benefit for high school graduates, post-secondary students, and recent post-secondary graduates who do not qualify for CERB, with a shorter eligibility period of four months. CESB received about 2.1 million applicants, with over 675,000 unique applicants as of August 2020.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The CRA performs audits with their 1700 auditors to ensure that taxpayers are meeting their tax obligations, are compliant with tax legislation, and receive the benefits they are entitled to. Auditors have the right to examine the books and records of a taxpayer, examine the property in an inventory of a taxpayer, enter the taxpayer's premises or place of business, require the owner or manager of a property to give all reasonable assistance and to answer questions, and require a taxpayer or other person to provide information or documents. Taxpayers must cooperate with auditors or may face obstruction charges under section 238 of the "Income Tax Act".


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Income tax audits are done at a Tax Service Office (TSO). Examiners that work in the office audit program restrict their examination to business expenses reviews. They conduct their examination by correspondence and do not visit a business in the field. Auditors working the SME (Small and Medium Enterprises), Basic File, and Large File programs conduct their audits in the field, typically at the taxpayer's place of business. The audit conducted by field auditors are not restricted and could cover many and any issues in a tax return.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: GST/HST audits are done by TSOs. The Refund Integrity program deals only with a credit return, that is, a GST/HST return that requests a refund. The prepayment examination is a restricted audit of input tax credits (ITCs). Post audit is a full audit of GST/HST returns and that covers not only ITC but also GST/HST collected.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: When an auditor feels as though they cannot rely upon the books and records of the taxpayer being audited, they can avail themselves of the net worth methodology. In this method, rather than auditing the actual books and records of the taxpayer, the auditor calculates the difference between the taxpayer's net worth (assets less liabilities) at the beginning of the audit period and at the end of the audit period. The auditor then adds to the change in net worth (an increase or decrease), the cost of living for the taxpayer for the period in question. The sum of these two figures will be used by the auditor to determine the taxable income for the taxpayer over the audit period. This figure is in turn compared to the figure reported by the taxpayer. While this methodology is widely used, the CRA Auditor's manual indicates that it is a method of last resort, which should only be used in limited circumstances.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: CRA operates four investigation programs: Voluntary Disclosures Program, Informant Leads Program, Special Enforcement Program and Criminal Investigations Program.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The CRA is responsible for making CPP/EI rulings, that is, to determine whether any wages or payments are insurable under Canadian Pension Program and/or Employment Insurance program. The substance of a ruling is to determine whether an individual is an employee or a self-employed contractor. An employee can get EI benefits and contractor cannot. Normally, CPP/EI rulings are requested by Service Canada when they try to determine whether EI benefits should be paid out.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: If a taxpayer does not file a tax return on time, the CRA may first send a request, like a reminder, to the taxpayer asking them to file the outstanding return. This first letter is called TX11. If the taxpayer still does not file the return, the CRA may send a second letter demanding that the return be filed. This second letter is called TX14. After that, a third letter, TX14D, could be issued, normally by registered mail, or could be delivered personally by a non-filer officer.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: If a return is not filed after the computer-generated letters, such as TX11 and TX14, a non-filer officer could arbitrarily prepare a tax return for the taxpayer, normally generating a larger tax bill than what the taxpayer would expect. A notice of assessment under subsection 152(7) of the "Income Tax Act" will be issued. This 152(7) assessment is commonly known as an arbitrary assessment. Collection actions may follow. The taxpayer could file an amended tax return to reduce the tax bill. Once amended returns are filed, an audit is normally triggered.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: If a non-filer officer determines that insufficient info is available for issuing an arbitrary assessment, they may refer the file to Investigations, who would then take the taxpayer to court. The taxpayer may be ordered by court to file the outstanding return, normally being imposed a court fine. If the taxpayer ignore the court order, they will be subject to contempt of court charges.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Taxpayers who believe the CRA has not assessed the correct amount of tax may dispute the assessment by filing an objection. There are strict timelines for filing an objection. The objection will be reviewed by the appeals program of CRA. An appeal officer will make a decision independent of audit. The appeal officer could confirm, vary, or vacate an audit. The appeal officer has the discretion to negotiate a settlement, normally under the condition that the taxpayer will not appeal further to the tax court.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: If after the objection has been assessed, the taxpayer is still dissatisfied, an appeal may be made to the Tax Court of Canada within the permitted time. The court examines the taxpayer's claim and evidence, then looks at the evidence and arguments made by the government before passing judgment. The CRA becomes a witness for the purpose of providing evidence in tax court. Like any other Canadian court, the Tax Court operates by treating each side of a dispute as equals while applying tax law, administrative law, constitutional law and the laws of evidence. In addition, the taxpayer is not responsible for costs in relation to their opponent, but only for their costs related to their own defense. In the event the appeal is successful, however, a repayment of costs from the CRA may be sought.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Tax court deals with income tax, excise tax, and CPP/EI issues. If a tax return has no tax payable, tax court could not deal with it. If it is about a provincial tax, tax court could not deal with it and it has to be resolved in a provincial court.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Tax court has two procedures, informal and general. The informal procedure is cheap and fast. A taxpayer could represent themselves or get a friend or accountant in the informal procedure. Informal procedures only deal with assessments to certain threshold and a taxpayer has to elect to take this route. Decisions from informal procedures are not precedent-setting and the judge has more discretion than in general procedures. informal procedures allow limited appeal rights to a higher court. General procedures deal with all assessments and require a taxpayer either to represent themselves or get a lawyer. General procedures could drag on for years and the decisions are precedent-setting.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: If a taxpayer is still not happy about the tax court decision, they could take it to the federal court of appeals, or even further to the Supreme Court of Canada.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Taxpayers aggrieved by the conduct of the CRA may file a service-related complaint. This complaint must deal strictly with the service provided, not the legal aspect of the service (for example, a service level complaint may be raised for unprofessional language, but not for a request for payment under the law).


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The complaint is first passed to the office that is the subject of the complaint. If the taxpayer is not satisfied with the way the first office handles it, they may escalate the complaint to the regional office, which investigates the complaint and contacts the taxpayer. If the taxpayer remains unsatisfied, a complaint may be made to the Taxpayer Ombudsman.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Remission orders are not commonly known and rarely granted. If a taxpayer agree to a tax assessment but are unable to pay, they could request a remission order to the CRA, which will then make a recommendation to the minister, who will advise the governor-in-council to grant a remission order if the collection of tax is unjust.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Taxpayer relief is governed by subsection 220(3.1) of the "Income Tax Act" and section 281.1 of the "Excise Tax Act". It gives the CRA the discretion to cancel some penalties and interest, to pay a personal income tax refund after 3 years of the tax return being assessed, and to accept late-filed elections.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The CRA will exercise their discretion when late filing is caused by extraordinary circumstances, such as flood or earthquake, by CRA delay or error, or by financial hardship. The CRA published an Income Tax Information Circular, IC07-1, on this subject.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: A taxpayer may request relief on a prescribed form or may elect use a letter instead provided the points raised on the form are all covered by the letter. If the request is denied, a taxpayer could request a second review, which will be done by a higher rank official. If the request is still denied, a taxpayer could request a judicial review of the decision in Federal Court (not the Tax Court). The federal court will determine whether CRA exercises its discretion reasonably. If not, the court will send the file back to the CRA for reconsideration. The court rarely will make a decision for CRA because the discretion is with CRA and not the court. If a taxpayer is not happy with the judicial decision, they can pursue an appeal at the Federal Court of Appeal.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: The Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson is an arm's-length office which reports directly to the Minister of National Revenue to improve accountability at the CRA. The Taxpayers' Ombudsperson is appointed by the Governor-in-Council with a mandate to assist, advise, and inform the Minister of National Revenue about any matter relating to services provided to a taxpayer by the CRA. The Taxpayer's Ombudsperson is currently vacant, with an ongoing process underway to appoint a successor.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: In fulfilling this mandate, the Ombudsperson reviews complaints from taxpayers that report breaches of their service-related rights by the CRA. The Ombudsperson upholds the eight taxpayer service rights in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights that are directly related to the services delivered by the CRA. To uphold these rights, the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson facilitates access to the available redress mechanisms for taxpayers and raises awareness of the role of the office and the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: In addition to individual examinations, the Ombudsperson may, on its own initiative, conduct an examination of systemic service-related issues. The Minister of National Revenue may also request the Ombudsperson conducts an examination.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: Examinations are reported to the Minister of National Revenue and made public Each year, the Ombudsperson releases an annual report that is presented to the Minister of National Revenue that is in turn tabled in Parliament.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: In 2007, the Harper government introduced the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and the Commitment to Small Business to help improve the CRA's service to Canadians. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights is meant to enshrine the CRA's corporate values of professionalism, integrity, respect, and collaboration by setting clear standards for how taxpayers should be treated when interacting with the CRA. These rights include the right to privacy and confidentiality, to expect clear service standards, and to lodge service complaints and request formal reviews without fear of reprisal.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: In 2015, the CBC reported that an internal survey determined that 1 in 4 calls asking for help from the CRA's business enquiries call centre received inaccurate information.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: In September 2019, the CRA was criticized for sending nearly 900,000 financial records of Canadian residents to the Internal Revenue Service in the United States. This represents significant growth from 700,000 in 2017 and 150,000 in 2014.


title: Canada Revenue Agency

text: In 2016, the "Financial Post" reported that the auditor general criticized the CRA for taking too long to respond to tax complaints. The delays cost Canadian taxpayers large sums of money in interest on the amounts in dispute.


title: Paradise (1982 film)

text: Paradise is a 1982 Canadian adventure romance film written and directed by Stuart Gillard (in his directorial debut). It stars Phoebe Cates, Willie Aames, and Tuvia Tavi. The original music score was composed by Paul Hoffert with the theme song written and produced by Joel Diamond and L. Russell Brown and sung by Phoebe Cates.


title: Paradise (1982 film)

text: It was critiqued at the time as a "knockoff" of the more-famous "The Blue Lagoon", as it shared a similar story to the 1980 film.


title: Paradise (1982 film)

text: In 1823, during the Georgian era, teenagers David and Sarah travel with a caravan from Baghdad to Damascus. At an oasis, a slaver known as 'the Jackal' raids the party and attempts to add the beautiful young Sarah to his harem. David and Sarah and her servant, Geoffrey, narrowly escape, but all the others are slain in a massacre, including David's American missionary parents. When Geoffrey seeks help at an encampment controlled by the Jackal, he is killed.


title: Paradise (1982 film)

text: David and Sarah rest at a nearby enclave as they head west toward civilization. Their flight leads them to a beautiful oasis — a Paradise—where they discover love and sex. However, the Jackal does not give up hope of capturing Sarah, so David must lure him to his death. At the conclusion, Sarah reveals to David that she is pregnant and the two young lovers finally reach civilization, the city of Damascus.