Hi there,
With the 350 you should be able to hear just about anything except the tri-services trunk (that one you'll need a trunking/digital scanner for). In terms of emergency services, besides the ones previously mentioned, you should also check the other ones in the Alberta section of the database, specifically these:
Municipal District of Rocky View which is dispatched by Calgary Fire and Calgary EMS, and surrounds the city on 3 sides.
Foothills Regional Fire/EMS dispatches for a ton of departments to the south of Calgary all the way down into the Crowsnest Pass. Most of it can be heard fine in Calgary and area.
Mountain View County is the next county north of Rocky View and stretches all the way to Red Deer County. Their frequency can be heard in Calgary because their dispatch center is run by STARS.
Strathmore/Wheatland County is the next county east of Rocky View. They have fire and EMS based out of the town of Strathmore and a number of the native reservations and towns (Siksika, Gleichen).
As for your other questions, I don't know about taking the radio to Finland. I'm sure someone on the site has taken a scanner overseas before, though.
There are people who will tell you that you are required to obtain a "digital scanner license" before you can import, own, or use a digital scanner (such as the 296 or 396) in Canada. The fact of the matter is, there is no proof that such a license exists except in the text of a draft document once thought up by the government (and seemingly abandoned 9 years ago). No one has come forward with proof of an issued license, and I have not heard of anyone being charged or convicted of owning/using a digital scanner without a license.
Having said that, there are a number of companies, both in Canada and elsewhere, that will refuse to sell you a digital scanner without a license, or proof that you meet the 'exemption' requirements (which aren't really exemptions anyway unless authorized by the government, so the draft document says).
However, there is one that will sell and ship to Canada for sure, that I have used a number of times in the past. Their name is National Electronics, they are based out of Kansas, and their web URL is
http://www.national-electronics.com/ . The only downside to dealing with them is that they don't accept non-US credit card orders - every time I've purchased from them, I've had to use a postal money order. Then again, it's been a while since I made a purchase - perhaps their policies have changed. Best to inquire with them directly on that issue.
In any case, welcome to the site and to the local scanning community.
