I wanted to recommend an artist from Toronto named Peter Murray, who I think 
many people here would like.  You can find him at 
http://www.myspace.com/petermurray  I hear a strong Jason Falkner influence 
on several of the tunes, and though he lists plenty of influences on his 
myspace page (including Jon Brion), Jason isn't one of them.

Fans of Pugwash should like this guy, too.

David