Hey Steve;
Fellow Canadjian here- i'm based in Guelph, Ontario.
Anyways, I don't think i'm necessarily qualified to 'mentor' anyone, but I've been all over the map making my living from audio related work now for 4 years. I've taught at recording schools, been an audio department manager at a media company, produced/engineered/recorded 3 albums, 3 live albums and 2 demos, and for the last 3 years I've also done sound design, composition and voiceovers for cartoons and net.
I've had my own studio for 5 years, currently i'm racking my own bank of 16 high-end pre's to move closer to 'the big leagues' - These include Neve, Telefunken, Siemens, API, and Langevin...the full complement. A couple of the bands I'm working with are doing better and better, and some are playing large festivals in the states later this summer...
I've always been a fan of music, and have constantly sought out interesting artists and recordings with exceptional 'sonics'(lack of a better word...this could be an album that's recorded beautifully or one with crazy audio antics...or anywhere inbetween)
When I had my eyes opened at 'recording school' both about the business and about the very reality of recording schools I decided there was no pissing way I was gonna work for minimum wage or less scrubbing toilets for a year before I touched a knob. Hell I ended up teaching some of the MIDI courses as I knew more than the instructor at my school. Previous to recording school I had been buying/selling/fixing analog synths and producing electronic music, so I had some gear(mostly synths and drum machines...)I could use to continue to trade up my studio....
But what I did miss from a lot of this was the mentoring process. A big part of the biz. I learned most of what I know from textbooks, EQ mag(I've read every one to date), the net and experimentation. I interned at Morin Heights in PQ, was there for Tea Party and Our Mother Earth albums. So I did pick up a few things from watching real sessions, cleaning up and setting up, etiquette etc...but I was never mentored. I don't regret this, but it would have been nice to be shown and explained some things rather than stumble through or happen to discover how things were done. But then again what if you were mentored by someone who wasn't necessarily great? I have no preconceptions of 'the way things are supposed to be done' - I've flown by the seat of my pants in some sessions strictly on mental reasoning(well, and hope!) I think it's more important to have a firm mental grasp on how all the different facets interact-acoustics, wiring, electronics, sound, instrument placement, effects, monitoring, mood, vibe, emotions...the list goes on and on. The more you know the better, through understanding concepts and actual experimentation....whew. not necessarily a rant, just a viewpoint.