I have monitored 145.850 all week here in the Chicago suburbs, and not heard

a thing.

I took Bruce's recording of the QRM and boosted the audio in Audacity, then slowed it down, and I'm pretty sure I can hear a snippet of a VE call in there, and a hint of a north-of-the-border accent on one of the stations.

APPARENTLY...there is/are a repeater(s) in the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario that provides a link-up to AO-51 when it is overhead.

http://www.dogparksoftware.com/mdpxgateway.html

http://www.va3sf.com/amateurrptr.htm

As far as hearing VE calls, I have heard this is well.

John KB2HSH