Umpiring Baseball Canadian Style

[jicecone]

I am always interested in improving my rule knowledge and mechanics that can make me a better official however, I recently was informed that Canadian Umpires stand 5-7 feet behind the catcher when doing the plate.

Can anyone supply any insight into this and possible pro or cons? Are there many other differences. I know we think of baseball as being Americas' Sport, but that dosen't preclude the possibilty that there are some new twists out there for officiating. Any input would be appreciated.