Just FYI...I know it's different everywhere but..
I have the Ractive header, (No pre-cat) stock mid pipe with second cat and then into a 2.5" cat back. I passed emmissions with flying colors..we have a visual inspection here in Ontario too, the guy testing said as long as there was 1 cat, a resonator and the o2 sensors that's all they were looking for.
Keeping the pre cat and cast downpipe with a shorty header is a waste of time...your looking a very minimal to no gains, you'll see why I say that if you remove them. Just my 2 cents.