Hi Dick, nice to meet you. Generally Canadians are very nice and helpful people, at least in real life.
Anyway, to answer the original questions:
- if you fly IFR entirely in uncontrolled airspace then you just need to file an IFR flight itinerary. See CAR 602.73:
Requirement to File a Flight Plan or a Flight Itinerary
602.73 (1) Subject to subsection (3), no pilot-in-command shall operate an aircraft in IFR flight unless an IFR flight plan has been filed.
(2) No pilot-in-command shall operate an aircraft in VFR flight unless a VFR flight plan or a VFR flight itinerary has been filed, except where the flight is conducted within 25 nautical miles of the departure aerodrome.
(3) A pilot-in-command may file an IFR flight itinerary instead of an IFR flight plan where
(a) the flight is conducted in part or in whole outside controlled airspace; or
(b) facilities are inadequate to permit the communication of flight plan information to an air traffic control unit, a flight service station or a community aerodrome radio station.
(4) Notwithstanding anything in this Division, no pilot-in-command shall, unless a flight plan has been filed, operate an aircraft between Canada and a foreign state.
- There are no enroute charges for aircraft less than 3 metric tons. Instead there is an annual fee of between $68 and $227.
http://www.navcanada.ca/EN/media/Pub...Charges-EN.pdf