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FIRST PLANELOAD OF SYRIAN REFUGESS HEADED TO CANADA

Friday, December 11, 2015

After months of promises and weeks of preparation, the first planeload of Syrian refugees was headed to Canada on Thursday, aboard a military plane to be met at Toronto's airport by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Trudeau's newly elected Liberal government scaled back the number of Syrian migrants it will accept by year end after the attacks in Paris sparked concern that bringing in 25,000 by Dec. 31 - an election promise - would not allow enough time for security checks.
Some 300 Syrian refugees were expected to arrive on two military flights, the first arriving in Toronto on Thursday and the second in Montreal on Saturday. 
  • Trudeau has said 10,000 will be resettled by the end of the year and a further 15,000 by the end of February.
  • Toronto's mayor tweeted a welcome, while the Toronto Star, the nation's largest newspaper, covered its front page with a "Welcome to Canada" banner headline in English and Arabic, along with an article explaining Canadian weather, ice hockey and quirky local slang.
The Syrians' reception in Canada contrasted sharply with that of the neighboring United States, where fear of Syrian refugees following the deadly Nov. 13 Paris attacks spurred opposition to allowing them in. Some U.S. governors said their states would not accept Syrian refugees.
Canadian refugee groups and private sponsors said they were excited and scrambling to prepare for the arrival of the families.
They have been chosen from camps in Lebanon and Jordan after fleeing Syria's four-year-old civil war.

Source: CBC...More...
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LIBERTY UNIVERSITY IN USA TO PERMIT GUNS IN STUDENT DORMS?

Thursday, December 10, 2015

The president of Christian-based Liberty University in Virginia, told students on Wednesday that he will reverse a longstanding policy and permit guns in student dorms, according to a local media.
In a speech following the shooting attacks in San Bernardino, California, Jerry Falwell Jr made national headlines last week when he urged students at the college to obtain permits so they could carry concealed weapons.
Fourteen people were killed and 21 others wounded in the Dec. 2 assault by the American son of Pakistani immigrants and his Pakistani-born wife who opened fire at a holiday party.
Falwell's remarks last week stirred controversy because of the way he talked about Muslims.
"I've always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in," Falwell said in that speech.
The son of the late televangelist Jerry Falwell Sr later said he was referring to Islamic militants
,not all Muslims.

Source: CBC...More...
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TOPLESS RALLY IN SUPPORT OF WOMEN RIGHT TAKES PLACE IN CANADIAN WATERLOO

Monday, August 03, 2015

WATERLOO, Ont, Canada — Close to 300 people came out to a topless rally in uptown Waterloo on Saturday to celebrate the right to bare breasts in public.
Topless men and women have taken part in a protest in Canada following an incident where three sisters were allegedly stopped by police for cycling shirtless.
The ‘Bare With Us’ rally, which took place yesterday in Waterloo's Town Square in Ontario, aimed to educate people about women’s right to go topless in public, a practice which has been legal since 1996.
The rally was organised by Alysha Brilla, a musician, and her two sisters. It is claimed that on 24 July in Kitchener, the trio were stopped by a male police officer who told them to cover up because it was the law, AP reported.
Brilla told the officer he was wrong and started filming the interaction on her phone. The officer said he had only stopped the women for safety reasons. 
  • A similar incident in June garnered headlines after eight-year-old Marlee McLean was told by city staff in Guelph, Ont., to cover up while she was in a wading pool wearing only a swim bottom.
  • Messages from protesters at the rally included: “Bare With Us! They’re just boobs!”
  • Brilla told CBC news: “I had no idea how [polarising] the issue would be. I thought people wouldn’t be so disturbed by the female breast.”
  • “We just want to advocate and let people know that they do have the right,” she said.
In a tweet, Waterloo Regional Police said the event had been a “respectful, peaceful, safe demonstration”.
In 1996,  the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the conviction of a student who went topless on a university campus in 1991.

Source: The Independent

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RECORD-BREAKING SNOWFALL SNOW AS HIGH AS ROOFS IN CANADIAN B.C.

Sunday, February 08, 2015

The small B.C. towns of Kitimat and Terrace are burrowing out from a record snowfall after receiving nearly two metres of snow from a Pineapple Express weather system that continues to bring heavy moisture to the B.C. coast.
The former record for a 24-hour snowfall, set on Feb. 5, 1961, was 112 cm.
Heavy snowfall and power outages resulted in the cancellation of all flights into the Kitimat-Terrace airport Friday. 
Crews worked on restoring power overnight, but hundreds of customers were still without power by noon Saturday.  
The District of Kitimat opened its Emergency Operations Centre to coordinate a major snow clearing effort involving municipal crews and private contractors.
By midday Saturday, the district announced it had cleared many of the main roads, but side streets were still plugged.
However, fallen trees and downed power lines prevented snow removal on Kitamat Village Road which by midday Saturday still remained closed.

Source: CBC
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WISHING WELL REMOVED FROM, CANADIAN CALGARY RECREATION CENTRE FOR SAFETY CONCERNS

Friday, October 10, 2014
CALGARY, Alberta, Canada - A sculpture has been removed from in front of a northeast Calgary recreation centre because it has been deemed dangerous. 
A sculpture with stainless steel, sound device components, lighting device components has been removed from in front of a northeast Calgary recreation centre because it has been deemed dangerous.
The $559,000 sculpture called Wishing Well was set up in front of the Genesis Centre of Community Wellness two years ago.
The wishing well  is consisted of  a mirror polished seed split open, where visitors can text phone message to sculpture, in the form of wishes. All wishes gets converted into a light and sound symphony shining out of the sculpture.
However, last spring the sun reflected off the mirror of the sculpture and burned a hole through a visitor's jacket.
Since that time, a fence has been placed around it so people could not walk up to the installation.
City officials moved the piece into storage this week as the artist tries to find a way to fix the problem.

Source: CBC
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HUMAN TRAFFICKING: A $26 MILLION INDUSTRY IN CANADIAN CAPITAL

Thursday, July 31, 2014
 
OTTAWA, Canada - Canadian researchers say they have found 140 victims of human trafficking in Ottawa in the last year, mostly from Canada or the local Ottawa area. 
They said they know of a few transgender victims. It's not common to find men being trafficked. More often than not, the women were also victims of some other societal pressure such as poverty, racism or homophobia.  
The victims they found, identified through interviews with support workers, were almost exclusively women and most were young, between the ages of 12 to 25, said lead author Elise Wohlbold. 
She says the result is many of the victims find themselves vulnerable to traffickers. 
"They're running away. They're looking for a better life. And the trafficker's giving them that opportunity. 
"The traffickers provide some kind of social inclusion: home, safety, love, affection. They groom them over many months and once they're in it, they're too scared to escape, or they're scared for their families to escape," she said. 
The findings go against the stereotype of the foreign-born woman who is physically restrained and forced into trafficking. It's psychological grooming,  said Wohlbold. 
Ottawa police Supt. Uday Jaswal said he's not surprised by the findings and that police have been busy since they began investigating human trafficking. 
It's an important step forward for our community to understand the scope of human trafficking in Ottawa.
It'll really help us plan for the future in terms of how we need to respond, not only as a police 
service, but as a community, Uday Jaswal said.


Source: CBC
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CANADIAN TEAM AIMS TO BUILD WORLD'S FASTEST BIKE

Thursday, July 10, 2014
The Canadian team that made an aviation breakthrough last year is trying for a new milestone — the land speed record for a human-powered vehicle. 
The Toronto-based team, AeroVelo, is best known for making the first practical human-powered helicopter last year, taking home a $250,000 prize that went unclaimed for 33 years. 
Headed by two University of Toronto alumni, the team is currently working on a bicycle that can go faster than the current world record of 133.8 km/h. 
"The helicopter was huge in forming our approach here," said Cameron Robertson, one of the team leaders. 
"We had a lot of setbacks and we had a lot of unknowns, and that's really informed a lot of the design choices we have made." Robertson said while the aerodynamics of the vehicle — a recumbent bicycle encased in a slick bullet-shaped shell — are different from the helicopter, the choices of materials and manufacturing processes are similar.
A vehicle by a Dutch team set the record at the World Human-Powered Speed Challenge last fall. Before that, Sam Whittingham of Quadra Island, B.C., held it for nearly 14 years.
Toronto team is hoping to take it back for Canada at this year's challenge in September.
Source: CBC
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CHESTER THE CAT FOUND AFTER BEING LOST BY AIR CANADA

Thursday, June 19, 2014
MONTREAL, Canada - Chester, a seven-month-old Scottish Fold kitten who was lost by Air Canada at the Montreal airport last month, has been found safe and sound — if a little skinny.
Owner Amanda Stewart, who lives in Surrey, B.C., posted a picture of Chester to Facebook on Wednesday along with the comments: "Omg omg omg" and "Hi everyone ITS BEEN CONFIRMED CHESTER HAS BEEN FOUND ALIVE. He is on his way to the vets right now."
Stewart confirmed to CBC News that Chester had been found by a woman, also named Amanda, who works at the Montreal-Trudeau airport where Chester was lost.
"I'm happy. I'm just hoping that he's OK right now. That he's healthy," Stewart told CBC News. "He seems to be skinny."
Isabelle Arthur(pic), a spokeswoman for Air Canada, said the airline was advised by the Montreal Airport Authority team this morning that Chester had been located.
"They subsequently delivered him to our cargo team. As soon as we confirmed it was Chester, we advised his owner. Chester is now at a local veterinarian for a full checkup," Arthur said.
She said Air Canada was making arrangements to reunite Stewart and Chester as soon as possible.

Source: CBC...More...
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CANADIAN MAYOR IN REHAB FOR ALCOHOL PROBLEM

Sunday, May 25, 2014
TORONTO, Ont, Canada -  A rehab facility in a small Ontario town confirmed on Friday that Toronto Mayor Rob Ford(pic) is undergoing treatment at its clinic.
GreenStone Clinic Muskoka in Bala, Ontario, said in a press release that Ford consented to having the facility confirm his stay.
Ford announced late last month that he was seeking treatment for an alcohol problem after a new video surfaced that appeared to show Ford smoking a crack pipe late last month. 
It was only the latest twist in the ongoing saga of Ford, whose notorious and frequently filmed behaviour led the city council to strip him of most of his powers after he admitted last year that he had smoked crack in a “drunken stupor” and was depicted on video threatening to “murder” someone.

There was speculation about whether the embattled mayor of Canada’s largest city was in rehab after he was spotted taking photos with residents of a small town neighbouring Bala last week. A few days later, the mayor’s car was impounded after a Muskoka resident was arrested behind the wheel and charged with impaired driving.

  • “We ask that the public and the media respect the privacy of all the patients at GreenStone, to ensure they receive the most comprehensive and effective treatment,” the statement read. “We take our patient care and confidentiality very seriously and as a result will not be commenting further on this matter.”
  • Last week marked a year since the Toronto Star and the US website Gawker first reported seeing a video that appeared to show the mayor smoking crack cocaine.
  • Months later, Ford admitted to trying the drug while drunk and to using drugs while in office.
  • The mayor has previously publicly sworn off alcohol, saying he had cleaned up his act and was working out.
  • However, he was forced to admit to drinking after another videotaped incident in which he used obscene Jamaican slang words and criticised Toronto’s chief of police.
  • The Globe and Mail said last month a drug dealer had shown two of its reporters video of Ford allegedly smoking what was said to be crack in the basement of his sister’s home. The paper said it paid $10,000 for frame grabs showing Ford holding a copper pipe.

The Toronto Star also published details of “two nights of utter debauchery” involving Ford at a Toronto nightclub.

Police began investigating Ford after a guns and gangs probe turned up wiretaps that allegedly captured conversations about the first “crack” video.

A friend of Ford’s has been charged with extortion related to attempts to retrieve the video.

Despite Ford’s ongoing erratic behaviour, he says he’s running for re-election in October.

Source: Agencies
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THOUSANDS OF CANADIANS NOVA SCOTIA WITHOUT POWER

Monday, January 13, 2014
 
It is reported, more than 9,000 Canadian customers in Nova Scotia Power are without electricity Sunday morning after a night of high wind and heavy rain. 
Several roads are closed in New Brunswick due to flooding.    
A total of 9,082 customers are out as of 8:39 a.m. Estimated restoration times range from 11:30 a.m. in the Halifax area to 4 p.m. in the New Glasgow area.
High winds and heavy rain are being blamed for all of the outages. A utility pole caught fire in the Burnside Industrial Park, resulting in Isley Avenue being closed.   
Fewer than 100 people are without power in New Brunswick. Saint John has seen flooding and the city has closed Rothsay Avenue, Paradise Row, Simpson Drive and Fairville Boulevard. 
Four men were rescued in the city's Partridge Island. The men had walked over the breakwater to the island, but got stuck when the weather worsened. 
Fire crews got them off the island and they were treated for hypothermia. 
The community of Riverside Albert, just south of Moncton, is under a boil water order Sunday morning because heavy rains overwhelmed the water-treatment systems. 
The order affects about 350 people and could last until mid-week. 
Source: CBC
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ASIAN CARPS LIVE AND SHINE IN GREAT LAKES WATERSHED?

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Analysis of 4 grass carp captured last year in Ohio's Sandusky River called 'bad news'. 
Scientists said Monday they have documented for the first time that an Asian carp species has successfully reproduced within the Great Lakes watershed, an ominous development in the struggle to slam the door on the hungry invaders that could threaten native fish.
An analysis of four grass carp captured last year in Ohio's Sandusky River, a tributary of Lake Erie, found they had spent their entire lives there and were not introduced through means such as stocking, according to researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey and Bowling Green State University.
Grass carp are among four species imported from Asia decades ago to control algae and unwanted plants in controlled settings such as sewage treatment lagoons. They escaped into the wild and have spread into the Mississippi and other rivers and lakes.
Of greatest concern in the Great Lakes region are bighead and silver carp, prolific breeders that gobble huge amounts of plankton -- tiny plants and animals that are vital to aquatic food chains. Scientists say if they gain a foothold in the lakes, they could spread widely and destabilize a fishing industry valued at $7 billion.
Grass carp are less worrisome because they eat larger plants instead of plankton and don't compete with native species, although they could harm valuable wetland vegetation where some fish spawn.
But because all Asian carp species require similar conditions to reproduce successfully, the Sandusky River discovery suggests it's likely that any of them could spawn there and in many other Great Lakes tributaries, said Duane Chapman, a USGS fisheries biologist and member of the research team.
"It's bad news," Chapman said. "It would have been a lot easier to control these fish if they'd been limited in the number of places where they could spawn. 
  • This makes our job harder. It doesn't make it impossible, but it makes it harder."
  • The Obama administration has spent nearly $200 million to shield the lakes, focusing primarily on an electrified barrier and other measures in Chicago-area waterways that offer a pathway from the carp-infested Mississippi 
  • River watershed to Lake Michigan. Critics say more is needed and are pressing to physically separate the two systems.
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is scheduled to release a report in coming months on a long-term solution. 
John Goss, who heads the White House Council on Environmental Quality's Asian carp program, said sterile grass carp have been found in the Great Lakes for years. But the discovery that they can reproduce within the watershed "reinforces why we must continue to execute the aggressive strategy to keep silver and bighead carp out of the Great Lakes that we have been pursuing for the past three and a half years," he said.
A commercial fisherman captured four small grass carp from the Sandusky River in 2012. Chapman and his colleagues determined they were at least a year old and could become spawning adults.
The scientists also examined bones in the fishes' heads called "otoliths" that indicate the chemistry of the waters they've inhabited, and they compared them with otoliths of farmed fish. The analysis confirmed the grass carp were hatched through natural reproduction in the river.
To spawn successfully, Asian carp need rivers of a certain length with currents that keep their eggs drifting long enough to hatch. Researchers are fine-tuning computer models that can determine the likelihood that a particular river is suitable.
A few years ago, scientists believed that perhaps two dozen rivers in the Great Lakes watershed offered good spawning habitat. But the grass carp analysis and other recent findings suggest the number may be considerably higher, Chapman said. 
He and others are developing a list.
"It also means that many more reservoirs in the United States are at risk of Asian carp establishment," he said.
The Sandusky River has about 15 miles of flowing waters accessible to the grass carp -- a shorter stretch than experts previously believed necessary for spawning.
"This is further evidence that we can't underestimate the flexibility that Asian carps have to become acclimated to and even adapt to environments outside their native range," said Reuben Goforth, a Purdue University scientist who has studied the carp but wasn't involved with the USGS project.

Source: CBC

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18 DOGS BOARDED FOR HOLIDAY KILLED IN QUEBEC KENNEL FIRE?

Wednesday, January 01, 2014


Families who boarded their pets at a St-Lazare, Que., kennel are now facing the grim task of retrieving their dog's remains after a fire at the facility killed 18 animals on the weekend. 

"I can tell you there's been at least two days of crying," said Michel Cohen, who was on vacation with his family in the Dominican Republic when they got word that their four-year-old Goldendoodle, Dexter, was among the dogs who perished in the fire. 

St-Lazare Fire Chief Daniel Boyer said no one was in the kennel when the fire broke out.

The cause of the fire hasn't been determined, but it is not considered suspicious. 

Cohen said he has been told the owner of the kennel had left the facility unattended while he went to a Christmas party. It was neighbours who actually called the fire department, he said. 

By the time firefighters arrived, the dogs had already died. Cohen didn't learn about the fire until the next afternoon when he received an email asking him to call the kennel's owner. 
Cohen said he paid $100 a day to board the family's beloved pet at the kennel and expected that someone would be watching at all times. The family had left the dog in the care of the kennel for the past three years.



Source: CBC


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