Suggestions for p/s newcomer

Ive tried searching but still cant find the information and opinions that I was looking for so posting my own (certainly repeated) thread is where I am. Looking for Camera/housing and perhaps a strobe - all dependant on price.

Suggested budget for all is about $700 CDN
I am looking for a Point and Shoot which I can use above and below water
Im not picky on brand
Im not an advanced enough photographer to make use of the advanced feature so shots U/W will be in auto, while I will use some different feature above water while learning the camera Maybe then ill feel more confident to burn some air and time fiddling with features to change for a shot

I looked a G9+WP-DC21 (because an Ikelite is just too expensive) but dont know about the flash options with this camera - it has a hotshoe for above water photos, but I dont know about strobe for underwater shots. One thing I really like about this camera (I think) is the ability to keep it as a P/S but add filters and fisheye or wide angle lenses - but I may be wrong here

I was also looking at Sealife/Sea and Sea/Bonica underwater cameras, but I dont find these to be as appealing in any way except the price.

Can anybody give me some direction or suggestions? Am I missing something obvious?

If you want the hotshoe, by all means get the G-9. You'll need an adapter for the wet lenses, though. Otherwise, A570IS or any of the A6__ series will do just fine. Primary advantages of the G-9 are the hotshoe (if you go with the Canon housing, you can't use it underwater) and the ability to shoot RAW which allows color balance after the fact. A series cameras seem to have pretty good white balance, though, so RAW might be extraneous. It is really nice to have if the lighting isn't perfect. Have also heard good things about the Nikon coolpix 5 series and some of the Fujis. Canon is a very safe bet, and those models have both auto and manual settings, so you won't have to upgrade when your skills improve.