I also read somewhere that the Canadians were going to lease Russian Mi-8s.  The that they'll be flying Russian choppers doesn't bother me-----I'm just glad they're there.  I look forward to see a photo of an Mi-8 in Canadian markings (although I've always thought the maple leaf looked kind of like a star).  On a side note, the Mexicans are also flying the Mi-8, which means both of our neighbors are flying Russian helicopters.  Heck, I even read somewhere that the US Army has a couple of Mi-8s that they use for covert special ops missions.  Hey, if it does the job and is cheap, why not use them?