| Unprecedented police presence at UBC after series of sexual assaults Posted: 30 Oct 2013 10:18 PM PDT  RCMP say there have been six attacks on women at UBC's Vancouver campus since April, with the latest incident occurring on Sunday. UBC President Stephen Toope stressed on Wednesday that the current situation on campus is "extremely unusual," and that the school now has a higher police and security presence than ever.
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| Canadian tightrope walker Jay Cochrane dies of cancer at age 69 Posted: 30 Oct 2013 11:03 PM PDT TORONTO - Celebrated Canadian tightrope walker Jay Cochrane died Wednesday in Niagara Falls, Ont., at the age of 69. A tribute on Cochrane's website to the man dubbed ''The Prince of the Air'' says he died from pancreatic cancer. The tribute, written by friend Shane Peacock, says Cochrane became enamoured by tightrope walking at the age of eight and ran away from home at 14 to begin his long career. Two years later, Cochrane set a world record when he walked back and forth for four kilometres on a 91-metre long wire 36 metres above ground at the Canadian National Exhibition, also in Toronto.  |
| UBC 'Take Back the Night' march draws hundreds Posted: 30 Oct 2013 10:32 PM PDT  More than 200 people marched in a Take Back the Night rally at UBC Wednesday night in a show of solidarity following six recent sexual assaults on the Vancouver campus.
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| Senate scandal to haunt federal Tories as convention gets underway Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:42 PM PDT  OTTAWA - Supporters are expected to treat Stephen Harper to a Halloween boost at this weekend's party convention in Calgary, but angst is growing among caucus members and veteran Conservatives over the handling of the Senate scandal. Several senior Tory sources told The Canadian Press that they are upset with how the Prime Minister's Office is managing the controversy over the party's arrangements to pay Sen. Mike Duffy's contested expenses and legal bills. Go-to ministers such as John Baird, James Moore, Peter MacKay, Jason Kenney and Pierre Poilievre have pointedly stayed away from the Senate fray during question period, leaving Harper and parliamentary secretary Paul Calandra to fend off the opposition. "We're surprised there weren't more details provided — this was not what we were told," said one Conservative, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
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| Tories take new tack in bid to end toxic debate on Senate suspensions Posted: 30 Oct 2013 04:38 PM PDT  OTTAWA - The government is taking a new tack that could finally end the politically toxic debate over three disgraced Conservative senators — just in time for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's crucial speech to party faithful on Friday. The procedural manoeuvre may also have the added political benefit of papering over the rift that's erupted in Conservative ranks over the proposed suspensions of the trio, making it harder for Tory senators to vote against the government. It was unveiled Wednesday, moments after Senate Speaker Noel Kinsella ruled out of order the government's attempt to limit debate on three separate motions to suspend, without pay, senators Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau. The motions had been introduced two weeks ago by government Senate leader Claude Carignan as non-government business and have been preoccupying the upper house ever since.
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| Hesjedal says he 'chose wrong path' amid allegations of doping involvement Posted: 30 Oct 2013 06:54 PM PDT  TORONTO - Star Canadian cyclist Ryder Hesjedal responded to doping allegations Wednesday, saying he "chose the wrong path" and made "mistakes." Excerpts from a new book by former Danish rider Michael Rasmussen say Hesjedal was shown how to use performance-enhancing drugs at the start of his career. "And even though those mistakes happened more than 10 years ago, and they were short-lived, it does not change the fact that I made them and I have lived with that and been sorry for it ever since," Hesjedal said in the statement. The 32-year-old Victoria native and Giro d'Italia champion did not explicitly say he took performance-enhancing drugs, but he apologized to fans, sponsors and other cyclists.
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| Canadians rank Senate scandal more “serious” than Liberal sponsorship scandal: poll Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:45 PM PDT  A new survey about the Senate expense scandal should be ringing alarm bells within Conservative party circles. The Ekos Research poll — published in iPolitics — suggests that Canadians believe that the Senate expense scandal is "more serious" than the Liberal Party sponsorship scandal of the early 2000s.
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| Harper has created 'web of suspicion' : Liberal MP Posted: 30 Oct 2013 01:30 PM PDT  Liberal MP Ralph Goodale says Prime Minister Stephen Harper has not answered a single question about the Senate scandal substantively, since revelations about Senator Mike Duffy's housing expenses emerged.
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| Alessandro Lisi drug investigation documents could shed light on relationship with Rob Ford Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:03 PM PDT  Reporters in Toronto will be waiting intently on Thursday when a document detailing a drug investigation against Alessandro Lisi, the personal friend and occasional driver of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, could be released to the public. The Canadian Press reports … Continue reading →
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| Canadian 2014 Olympic uniforms unveiled Posted: 30 Oct 2013 11:08 AM PDT Canadians are getting their first look today at the uniforms the country's Olympians and Paralympians will wear at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.  |
| Calgary school ends honour roll program because of hurt feelings Posted: 30 Oct 2013 07:19 AM PDT  A Calgary school has ended its honour roll program so as not to hurt the feelings of those who don't make the cut and, it's official, success has become one of society's dirtiest words. According to an article in the … Continue reading →
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| Journalist at centre of John Furlong libel case fires back Posted: 30 Oct 2013 06:31 PM PDT VANCOUVER - The freelance journalist who first wrote about abuse allegations involving former Vancouver Olympic CEO John Furlong insists it is her, not Furlong, whose reputation has been unfairly damaged, and she says she's eager to defend herself in court. Laura Robinson wrote an article in the Georgia Straight newspaper last year that alleged Furlong verbally and physically abused students while he was a teacher in northern B.C. in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Since the story, three people who claim to be former students, including at least one who appeared in Robinson's original article, filed lawsuits containing explosive allegations of physical and sexual abuse.  |
| Video of attack on Winnipeg bus driver underlines public transit concerns Posted: 30 Oct 2013 09:19 AM PDT  Police in Winnipeg have released video of a bus driver being attacked by a passenger in what can only be described as a violent and infuriating unprovoked attack on an unsuspecting public employee. Police say the 50-year-old driver was attacked … Continue reading →
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| Harper points to Mulcair's legal fees paid by party Posted: 30 Oct 2013 01:58 PM PDT  After days of being on the defensive over an alleged coverup to repay Mike Duffy's ineligible expense claims, Prime Minister Stephen Harper found something to pin on the leader of the Opposition during question period on Wednesday.
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| Ontario to introduce 'green bonds' to help fund public transit expansion Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:43 PM PDT  TORONTO - Ontario will be the first in Canada to issue so-called green bonds next year to generate the billions of dollars that's needed to expand public transit, Premier Kathleen Wynne said Wednesday. "Green bonds are a great tool to raise capital for a project with specific environmental benefits," she said. "The worldwide market for green bonds in the last year has doubled, and it's now estimated to be more than $346 billion — those are U.S. dollars." It's the first measure Wynne has promised to help generate the billions of dollars needed to expand public transit in the heavily congested Toronto and Hamilton area.
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| Donnie Snook sex charges in N.L. being transferred to N.B. Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:14 PM PDT  Four sex-related charges against former Saint John councillor and youth ministry leader Donnie Snook in his native Newfoundland and Labrador will be transferred to a New Brunswick court.
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| Retired nurse, now patient, concerned about 'filthy' Saskatoon hospital Posted: 30 Oct 2013 06:59 PM PDT Suzanne Stewart was admitted to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon for major surgery last year and she says there was excrement on her bathroom wall that was never cleaned. She worked in hospitals and long-term care facilities in Regina, Saskatoon, Swift Current, Prince Albert, Meadow Lake and Yorkton. But she says what she saw in Saskatoon blew her mind. Health Minister Dustin Duncan says the province responded to her first letter and he wants to follow up further.  |
| Study suggests that warming climate is good for Alberta’s grizzly bears Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:45 PM PDT  In a 10-year study of grizzly bears living in and around the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, researchers have identified a 'silver spoon effect,' where bears born in more favourable conditions end up doing better, and the study's findings suggest warming temperatures due to climate change are part of this effect.
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| Tories on defensive over soldiers let go before qualifying for pensions Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:30 PM PDT  Defence Minister Rob Nicholson insisted wounded members are not being summarily given their walking papers and that a collaborative process is followed before anyone hits the civilian world. "Before being released, members of the Canadian Armed Forces work with the military on a transition plan," Nicholson told the House of Commons during tag-team attacks by the Liberals and New Democrats. Critics took up the cases of two soldiers reported by The Canadian Press, one of who was discharged last Friday. David Hawkins, a reservist from London, Ont., with post-traumatic stress, was mustered out despite pleas to remain another year until he was able to collect a fully indexed pension.
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| Scandal alarms Canada's ruling Conservatives ahead of convention Posted: 30 Oct 2013 12:22 PM PDT  By David Ljunggren and Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's ruling Conservatives go into what was supposed to be a triumphant convention this weekend trying to limit damage from a scandal over improper expenses that reaches the office of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and could undermine the party's chances of winning re-election in 2015. Harper has been on the defensive since news broke that his then chief of staff, Nigel Wright, gave a personal check for C$90,000 ($85,700) to Mike Duffy, a member of the upper Senate chamber, to help repay expenses that Duffy improperly claimed. "It's a bit too early to slam the panic button, but I think the hands should be over the panic button," said pollster Nik Nanos, who sees the opposition Liberals ahead of the Conservatives by 37 percent to 29 percent. If those numbers hold on election day two years from now, the Liberals, under new party leader Justin Trudeau, would almost certainly end nearly a decade of Conservative power.
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| Bank of Canada chief: policy shift had small C$ impact Posted: 29 Oct 2013 04:40 PM PDT  By Louise Egan OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar did not weaken significantly after the Bank of Canada abandoned 18 months of warning about higher interest rates last week in response to low inflation and a weak economy, central bank head Stephen Poloz said on Tuesday. Poloz told a parliamentary committee that in setting interest rates last week the bank heightened its focus on the fact that inflation has been persistently below its 2 percent target. "In that context we decided that we should no longer have an explicit bias toward higher interest rates," he said. ...
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