Past Articles:
These "Articles" are dated from May 1st, 2008 - May 31st, 2008.
 Many Canadians don't believe in a god: poll
31/05/08
 Craigslist ad was just a 'mistake,' mom says
30/05/08
 Peaceful protest to highlight native day of action
29/05/08
 Court rules against Ottawa in injection site case
28/05/08
 Skydiver's world record attempt in Sask. postponed
27/05/08
 Skydiver prepares to break record above Saskatchewan
26/05/08
 Audio ads beam message for your ears only
25/05/08
 Mission to Mars awaiting '7 minutes of terror'
24/05/08
 Mom sentenced to 20 years for keeping son in cage
23/05/08
 Oil climbs to record above US$135 a barrel
22/05/08
 Gasoline fuels inflation to first increase in 6 months
21/05/08
 China says nearly 40,000 dead in Sichuan province
20/05/08
 Murder charge laid in Quebec aide's death
19/05/08
 Body of missing Quebec political aide found
18/05/08
 Aide to Quebec politician believed to be kidnapped
17/05/08
 Vitamin D levels linked to breast-cancer prognosis
16/05/08
 Famed director Cronenberg hammers Bill C-10
15/05/08
 TSB officials probing deadly B.C. chopper crash
14/05/08
 China says earthquake death toll almost 12,000
13/05/08
 Taser International co-founder to testify at inquiry
12/05/08
 Burma's cyclone death toll estimated at 28,500
11/05/08
 Elite Montreal school rocked by another sex scandal
10/05/08
 Canada's oldest WWI vet a Canadian again
09/05/08
 First UN relief flight lands in Burma after delay
08/05/08
 Video shows Philly officers kicking, hitting three men
07/05/08
 Death toll expected to climb higher in Burma
06/05/08
 Canadians mark Battle of the North Atlantic
05/05/08
 More than 350 dead in Myanmar cyclone: report
04/05/08
 Mariah Carey reportedly weds Nick Cannon
03/05/08
 Martin's supporters celebrate her return
02/05/08
 Sexual age of consent raised to 16 today
01/05/08
=======================
 
Many Canadians don't believe in a god: poll
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. May 31  2008  12:58  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 31st, 2008
TORONTO -- Fewer than three-quarters of Canadians believe in a god, suggests a new Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey.

"Religion in Canada today is not a particularly divisive subject and tolerance levels for different beliefs are high,'' said Harris-Decima president Bruce Anderson. "This is evident in the fact that one in four people feel comfortable saying they do not believe in a god.''
Pope Benedict XVI gestures during Mass at Yankee Stadium in New York on Sunday, April 20, 2008. (AP / Frank Franklin II)
The poll found 72 per cent of respondents said they believed in a god, while 23 per cent said they did not believe in any god. Six per cent did not offer an opinion.

Results may not total 100 per cent because of rounding.

Polls have told a different story in the United States.

"Canada's secularism stands in clearer distinction, when compared to the cultural and political influences of religion in the United States,'' said Anderson. "In one Harris Interactive study in the United States, conducted in 2007, the number who said they were non-believers was only eight per cent.''

Keith Howard, a United church minister and executive director of the church's Emerging Spirit program, said the results of the new survey do not represent a dramatic change from previous polls about Canadians' beliefs.

"We are past the time of people trashing God,'' he said. "They are now trying to find a safe place where they can nurture that spirituality.''

He said a poll done for the church last year indicated Canada is a nation of believers, not belongers.

Howard said his sense is that people who believe in a god increasingly imagine a nebulous but powerful force for good, rather than the traditional concept of a deity.

Indeed, he likened the concept to that of the Force in the Star Wars movies.

A study quoted by Statistics Canada in 2006, found "adult Canadians attach a higher degree of importance to religion than religious attendance figures alone would indicate.''

The study noted only one-third of adult Canadians attend religious services at least once a month.

But the study, conducted in 2002, found more than one-half engage in religious activities on their own at least on a monthly basis.

Howard said a recent survey done for the United Church rating the importance of religion in the daily lives of people around the world placed Canadians fourth, behind the United States, Mexico and Italy.

The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey data were gathered by telephone from just over 1,000 people between May 22 and May 26.

A sample of the same size has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The Harris-Decima poll also indicated:
Women (76 per cent) were more likely than men (67 per cent) to say they believed in a god.
Canadians over the age of 50 (82 per cent) were far more likely than those under the age of 25 (60 per cent) to say they believed in a god. More than one in three (36 per cent) of those under the age of 25 said they did not believe in any god.
English Canadians (73 per cent) were more likely than French Canadians (67 per cent) to say they believed in a god.
Belief in a god is higher in rural Canada (76 per cent) than in urban Canada (69 per cent).

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
=======================
 
Craigslist ad was just a 'mistake,' mom says
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. May 30  2008  08:05  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 30th, 2008
The mother of a 7-day-old baby girl, who was recently advertised for sale on the Craigslist website, says she never intended to sell her daughter.

Bethany Granholm found herself in deep trouble last week when police swooped down on a Vancouver West End apartment. Along with the baby's father Jeremy Pete, she was arrested by police who had been alerted to a Craigslist ad which said the baby was looking for a good home and was for sale for $10,000.

But in an interview with CTV, Granholm said the ad was really a joke.

"It was just a mistake all the way around,'' she said.

Granholm is speaking out just days after police used a cellphone number attached to the ad to track the couple down. They were arrested and later released after police were unable to find sufficient evidence to charge Granholm and the baby's father with public mischief.

Court documents show that the couple have a criminal past and police say they both have had issues with drugs.
Bethany Granholm, in an interview with CTV British Columbia, says the ad was really a joke.
Mother Bethany Granholm is shown cradling the seven-week-old baby girl that was offered for sale on Craigslist, Vancouver, B.C., May 28, 2008. (Courtesy of Facebook.com)
But Granholm says she has turned her life around.

"Since being pregnant, I have been clean. I've heard some really horrible things about both me and my daughter with regards to drugs and that was never an issue. At all,'' she said.

Granholm says she understands why police and the public were concerned with the ad.

She wants to assure people that her baby was never unloved or unwanted.

"Having her changed my life and there has never been any doubt in my mind that I would be
The seven-week-old baby girl that was offered for sale on Craigslist, Vancouver, B.C., May 28, 2008. (Courtesy of Facebook.com)
able to care and love for my daughter,'' she said.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from ctvbc.ca & CTV British Columbia's Michele Brunoro
=======================
 
Peaceful protest to highlight native day of action
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. May 29  2008  06:15  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 29th, 2008
OTTAWA -- The Assembly of First Nations is urging participants to stay on the right side of the law during the national native day of action today.

An Assembly spokesman says no major road or rail blockades are expected, although police say they're ready for any disruption.

National Chief Phil Fontaine will be joined at a morning rally in Ottawa by First Nations children from northern Ontario who want a new elementary school to replace one closed in 2000 by a diesel fuel leak.
Participants in the national native day of action are seen camped outside Queen's Park in Toronto, Ont. on Thursday, May 29, 2008.
In Brantford, Ont., the scene of a land claim dispute with a local developer, Six Nations Chief Bill Montour has said he's totally opposed to the day of action, but says others may organize demonstrations.

Treaty One First Nations plan to assemble at the Manitoba border south of Winkler, where a proposed pipeline carrying oil will cross into the American Midwest.

Rallies are also planned at the B.C. legislature, in Prince Albert, Sask., where Prairie premiers are meeting, in the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Halifax.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
=======================
 
Court rules against Ottawa in injection site case
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. May 27  2008  23:07  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 28th, 2008
A B.C. judge has ruled that the federal government cannot constitutionally shut down Vancouver's safe-injection site.

Justice Ian Pitfield wrote in a 60-page ruling that "Society cannot condone addiction, but in the face of its presence it cannot fail to manage it, hopefully with ultimate success reflected in the cure of the addicted individual and abstinence."

Federal lawyers had argued addicts do not have protection under the Charter of Rights to inject illegal drugs. The judge disagreed, noting health and safety reasons.
Studies have shown that safe injection sites help prevent overdoses and many believe they reduce the rate of new HIV infections.
The ruling is a blow to the Tory government, which has suggested that it may shut down InSite, a health facility where addicts can go to inject drugs in a safe environment.

Justice Pitfield has exempted the site from national drug laws until June 30, 2009.

"We're really excited. We've been trying to say this all along," Mark Townsend, the spokesperson for the Portland Hotel Society, told CTV.ca.

PHS, which operates the site, launched the suit in 2007. Townsend said the main part of the ruling has basically said InSite has a constitutional exemption from the controlled drugs and substances act.

PHS had argued that Ottawa doesn't have authority over the site, which is a health facility and therefore under provincial jurisdiction.

"InSite staff have a right to continue saving lives, getting (addicts) into detox and getting them off the streets and out of alleys," Townsend said after the ruling Tuesday.

Federal Health Minister Tony Clement released a statement that said: "We are studying the decision." In the past he has said he wanted more information about the site before granting further funding.

More than 25 studies, published in some of the leading medical journals, have shown that the site keeps health-care and law-enforcement budgets down while minimizing harm to addicts.

"Since InSite opened there have been more than 1 million injections -- (which have taken) place under the supervision of nurses. There have been close to 1,000 overdose interventions prevented, and not one single fatality," Liz Evans, the executive director of PHS said in a press release.

A report commissioned by the Conservative government and released earlier this month found that the safe-injection site has not lowered or increased crime in the area. It noted, however, the site has slightly reduced public drug use and saved taxpayers' money in health costs.

"I cannot agree with Canada's submission that an addict must feed his addiction in an unsafe environment when a safe environment that may lead to rehabilitation is the alternative," Pitfield wrote.

Townsend says he was worried about how the case would unfold because he was told Pitfield was a conservative judge. But he said community leaders with a variety of political views have backed the site.

"Really the evidence is in and we have Stephen Harper thinking the world is flat when in fact it's round ... (the prime minister) is so out of touch on this that it's becoming embarrassing."

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
Skydiver's world record attempt in Sask. postponed
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. May 26  2008  11:38  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 27th, 2008
A French daredevil's planned attempt to break the world record by jumping from the stratosphere over Saskatchewan has been put on hold.

After several delays Monday morning, Michel Fournier's jump was cancelled, though the manager of his support team in North Battleford, Sask. wouldn't say why.

The 64-year-old former French paratrooper had planned to ascend 40 kilometres with the help of a massive helium balloon, before stepping off for a 15-minute free fall back to Earth.
Michel Fournier speaks about his record skydiving attempt at a press conference in North Battleford, Sask.
The capsule was taken back into a hangar late Monday morning after the attempt was called off, The Canadian Press reported.

The cancellation marks the third time in 15 years Fournier has had to call off a jump attempt.

Earlier, there were reports the launch crew was concerned about wind speeds at the site, and the balloon launch was moved from a scheduled 6 a.m. lift off, to 10 a.m. before being cancelled outright.

Fournier had travelled to Canada to make the 40-kilometre free fall jump from the Earth's stratosphere after officials in his home country said the jump was too risky.

He had planned to jump from 130,000 feet above Earth -- roughly four times the altitude at which a commercial airliner normally flies.

Fournier, who planned to wear a sealed space suit for the jump, was expected to break the sound barrier on the way down before releasing his chute about 1,500 metres above the ground.

The attempt would have resulted in four new world records: fastest free fall, longest free fall, highest jump, and highest altitude reached by a man in a balloon.

On two previous attempts, Fournier's balloon was torn apart by strong winds and the jump had to be called off. The massive balloon is stronger this time around, reinforced with three layers.
Crews hook up the pod of French sky diver Michel Fournier in North Battleford, Sask. on Monday, May 26, 2008. (David Stobbe / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Launch manager Dale Sommerfeldt talks about the launch of French sky diver Michel Fournier in North Battleford, Sask. on Monday, May 26, 2008. (David Stobbe / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Fournier hopes to collect data that will help astronauts and others survive at high altitudes. It could also someday lead to rescuing astronauts in-flight.

Fournier's two previous attempts were in 2002 and 2003.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
=======================
 
Skydiver prepares to break record above Saskatchewan
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. May 26  2008  08:12  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 25th, 2008
A French daredevil is making final preparations in North Battleford, Sask. to skydive from the edge of space -- a feat that would set a new record for the world's longest jump.

Michel Fournier, 64, travelled to Canada to make the 40-kilometre free fall jump from the Earth's stratosphere after officials in his home country said the jump was too risky.

It will be his third attempt in 15 years to make the 10-minute jump to Earth, said CTV's Murray Oliver, reporting from North Battleford.

"There have been some delays but now we're being told Michel Fournier, the 64-year-old former French paratrooper who is going to attempt to break the record, has begun breathing the compressed oxygen that he needs to acclimatize his body to the pressure as he rises," Oliver told Canada AM.

Fournier plans to take off from the North Battleford airport in a capsule attached to a hot air balloon. If all goes as planned, he will then jump from 130,000 feet above Earth - four times the altitude at which a commercial airliner normally flies.
Michel Fournier surveys the area he will be taking off from on Sunday, May, 25, 2008.
Launching from the airport in North Battleford, Sask., Fournier will make the 10-minute jump to Earth from the edge of outer space.
The trip up is expected to take about two-and-a-half hours, while the jump back to Earth should only take about 15 minutes. Fournier, who will be wearing a sealed space suit for the jump, is expected to break the sound barrier on the way down before releasing his chute about 1,500 metres above the ground.

On two previous attempts, Fournier's balloon was torn apart by strong winds and the jump had to be called off. The massive balloon is stronger this time around, reinforced with three layers.

Oliver said the weather was overcast but calm in North Battleford and Fournier's team expected him to begin his ascent sometime Monday morning.

"A few moments ago we saw a truck bringing out the massive helium canisters that will be used to inflate the balloon that will carry him to that height. So at the moment it looks like all systems go" Oliver said shortly before 6 a.m. ET.

Fournier's team said he was "calm, cool and collected" in advance of the attempt.

He hopes to collect data that will help astronauts and others survive at high altitudes.

Fournier's two previous attempts were in 2002 and 2003.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
=======================
 
Audio ads beam message for your ears only
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. May 25  2008  07:31  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 25th, 2008
Imagine you're walking along a busy downtown street, minding your own business. Suddenly, you hear a voice whispering in your ear: "Who's there? What's that? It's not your imagination."

The cryptic message is delivered in such an intimate fashion it could almost be coming from inside your own head.

You look around and no one else seems to notice. You take one more step and the words cease.

You've just been the target of a new form of audio marketing that can send a focused beam of sound directly into your brain. Well, almost.

The technology works by beaming waves of hypersonic sound at a pitch that can't be detected by the human ear.

However, when those sound waves strike an object, such as a human body, they suddenly become audible in the immediate area of the object -- allowing personalized marketing that can target one person in a crowd of hundreds.
In the not-so-distant future, billboards may soon be beaming waves of hypersonic sound at a pitch that can't be detected by the human ear. (Image courtesy of Carsten Knoch)
In December, the A&E Television Network used the technology to deliver the "Who's there? What's that?" message from a billboard on a busy New York street to advertise a new show about ghost hunters called "Paranormal State."

It's also being used in grocery stores in France and in some museums, and could soon be turning traditional advertising on its ear here in Canada too, said Ken Hardy, a marketing professor at the University of Western Ontario.

"You step into the spotlight of sound and if you step out, just a foot or so away, you won't hear anything," he told CTV's Canada AM in a recent interview.

"It's this ability to cast the sound in a tight little circle that is so novel and so effective."
Ken Hardy, a marketing professor at the University of Western Ontario, discusses the marketing technique on Canada AM on Wednesday, May 21, 2008.
'Spooky' sound

The New York experiment was a massive success. Once word got out about the sound-projecting billboard, people started showing up in droves just to check it out.

"It was spooky for people to suddenly hear sound. And of course the sound was a whisper that was related to the show so it all fit together so I think in that application it was effective," Hardy said.

Hardy said most companies are now putting 65 per cent of their advertising budget into point-of-purchase marketing that tries to attract buyers at the shelf, compared to just 25 per cent for traditional forms of advertising.

As a result, Hardy predicts the new form of audio advertising will soon join the advertising gauntlet most of us find ourselves in on a daily basis.

But the technology is so new, and so untested, that many questions remain about how, or if, it will boost sales. It is also uncertain how people will react to such an intimate form of target-marketing.

"I don't think it's an invasion of privacy but I do think people might react badly until they get used to it," Hardy said.

"I'm not sure everybody wants to hear it so I think as a direct marketing technique it's something that needs experimentation."

A talking pop machine that quietly urges passersby to drink Coke, might be a little creepy, Hardy admitted.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from Andy Johnson
=======================
 
Mission to Mars awaiting '7 minutes of terror'
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. May 24  2008  07:45  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 24th, 2008
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander will finally arrive at its destination on Sunday night,
ready to search for signs of habitability on the Red Planet.

In its mission to find out if there's an environment for life on Mars, Phoenix will use a 7.7-foot arm to scoop up samples of underground ice and soil on the surface.

On earth, wherever there's water there's life and so the search for life on Mars is based around a 'follow-the-water' philosophy.

"This is a mission about understanding water in all its phases," Dr. Alain Berenstain, director of Space Exploration for the Canadian Space Agency, told CTV.ca.

Phoenix, which is scheduled to land farther north on Mars than any previous rover or lander, will be the first device ever to touch water -- although it will be in its frozen form.

Once scientists understand Mars' different forms of water (solid, liquid or gas), the cycle of water, and what's in the water, they'll be better able to figure out if Mars could have been a habitable place, Berenstain said.

Complicated landing

The big task before any research can occur is making sure Phoenix lands safely after its nearly 200-million kilometre journey.

"There's a lot of trust in your little child that you've sent off to do the right thing," said Berenstain.

Phoenix is scheduled to enter the top of the Martian atmosphere at a speed of nearly 21,000 km/h.
This image was taken during NASA's 1997 Pathfinder mission to Mars. The terrain in this northern equatorial region is uneven and rocky. NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is scheduled to land in the northern arctic plains of Mars, where the landscape is much smoother. (NASA/JPL)
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander monitors the atmosphere overhead and reaches out to the soil below in this artist's depiction of the spacecraft fully deployed on the surface of Mars. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
"Mars: The Phoenix Lands," a Daily Planet Live Event Special airs on Discovery Channel Canada on Sunday May 25, 2008, starting at 7 p.m. ET.

In the ensuing seven minutes, described by NASA as "seven minutes of terror," the spacecraft will have to complete a challenging sequence of pre-programmed events to slow down before it lands.

The biggest risk comes from large rocks on the surface of Mars which could spoil the landing or prevent the solar panels from being able to open.

"Only half of the missions that have attempted to land on Mars have succeeded," said Berenstain. "This is a risky business and it's not something that's easy to do.

"The reality is that every time we land on Mars we still hold our breath."

If it lands successfully, telemetry data -- comparable to an 'I'm okay' beep -- will be heard about 15 minutes later.

Then, scientists will have to wait about an hour-and-a-half until an orbiter passes over the Phoenix and helps transmit the first set of pictures back to earth.

Canada's contribution

Canada spent $37 million to create Phoenix's weather station, which will help scientists gain insight about the environment around the landing site.

The device includes a pressure sensor, three temperature sensors and a "lidar" -- also written as LIDAR, an acronym for Light Detection and Ranging.

"It points up into the sky with pulses of laser light and looks at the reflected light coming off of the pulses that go up into the sky," said Berenstain.

"That reflected light has a lot of information in it. Basically, whatever that laser beam hits along the way will reflect back down."

The laser could hit dust particles or water crystals, including clouds, which could be in the atmosphere.

The data will be important to help understand both the atmosphere and water on Mars.

With that knowledge, scientists will then be able to better understand the whole question of life on Mars.

The 'life' scientists could eventually find on future missions to Mars would be microbial rather than green creatures with big heads, Berenstain said.

Search for life

If life were ever to be found on Mars, it could be the biggest scientific discovery in man's history, Berenstain said.

That's because so many earthly philosophies are based on the fact that man is unique in the universe, he said.

Such a discovery would then prompt another important question: Is the life on Mars related to life on earth or did it develop on its own?

And if scientists discover life was able to develop on its own on Mars, it would lead to "huge fundamental questions about our own existence," Berenstain said.

"It would mean that almost anywhere in the universe there could be lots of life that existed."

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from Philip Stavrou
=======================
 
Mom sentenced to 20 years for keeping son in cage
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. May 23  2008  06:42  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 23rd, 2008
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A mother was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday for keeping her 17-year-old adopted son caged in her home.
Brenda Sullivan pleaded guilty in January to three counts of aggravated child abuse. Prosecutors agreed to drop lesser child neglect charges.

The teen weighed 49 pounds when child welfare workers found him in 2005 in what appeared to be a cage. Sullivan told a judge at the time that Ohio authorities told her to keep the boy, who had severe medical and emotional problems, in a crib.

Two other children, 13-year-old twins the Sullivans adopted as infants, both testified they were kept in similar cages.

"There's only one conclusion when you look at the medical evidence in this case, and that is that she literally starved him,'' prosecutor Julie Schlax said.

Sullivan's husband was also arrested, but died in January 2007 while awaiting trial.

Sullivan's lawyer, Charles Fletcher, said he didn't think prison was the right option because she does not pose a threat to society. He said they would appeal the sentence.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
=======================
 
Oil climbs to record above US$135 a barrel
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. May 22  2008  07:48  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 22nd, 2008
The price of oil hit a new record for a second-straight day on Thursday, topping US$135 per barrel.

The rise has been driven by worries over supply, rising demand in the developing world and a falling U.S. dollar.
"World prices did top US$135 overnight, July futures contracts trading electronically in New York has this morning gone as high as 135.09 per barrel," Business News Network's Michael Kane told CTV's Canada AM.

"In London, Brent North Sea crude has also risen to a record high above $135 per barrel."

On Wednesday, crude prices passed US$130 per barrel, ending the day at $132.72. That pushed U.S. prices at the pump to US$3.80 per gallon on Wednesday.

In addition to supply and demand issues, Kane said the rise was also affected by a group of U.S. energy traders who gambled that the price of oil would go down based on a Wednesday inventory report.

The traders expected the report to say there was more oil available in storage in the U.S. than previously thought -- a factor that would have reduced prices.

But the report showed crude oil inventories had actually fallen by more than five million barrels.

"When they short sold the market, or bet the price would fall, and it didn't, they had to pay off those wrong way bets by buying more oil and that forces the price even higher," Kane told CTV's Canada AM.

Iraq announced on Thursday that exports from the seaport of Basra were down 12 per cent due to a damaged pipeline -- news that also affected the price of oil, Kane said.

While consumers are feeling pain at the pump, the high oil prices continue to pay off for oil and gas companies, Kane said.

Calgary-based Husky Energy Inc. announced it expects to make a record profit this year due to the rising prices.

The owner of that company, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, bought shares in 1987 when oil was selling for an average price of $19.12 per barrel.

So far in 2008, first-quarter net income rose 36 per cent to $887 million from a year earlier, the company announced.

In addition to rising prices at filling stations, air travellers are also beginning to feel the effects of the higher costs.

Air Canada and WestJet Airlines both added fuel surcharges to the per-ticket price earlier this month.

And American Airlines announced it will charge $15 for each piece of checked baggage, starting in mid-June.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
Gasoline fuels inflation to first increase in 6 months
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. May 21  2008  08:41  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 21st, 2008
The inflation rate increased for the first time in six months in April, Statistics Canada said Wednesday, and the agency said gas prices are to blame.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the average prices of goods and services bought by a household, increased to 1.7 per cent in April, compared to 1.4 per cent in March.
The agency says that gas prices are the key contributor to the jump, as prices at the pump rose 11.6 per cent in April.
If fuel prices were left out of the equation, the inflation rate would have been 1.3 per cent in April.

April also saw an increase in the core inflation rate - which excludes unstable items such as energy and fresh fruit and vegetables - to 1.5 per cent from 1.3 per cent in March.

StatsCan also said that there are fewer incentives at car dealerships in April, which helped raise the core inflation rate.

Price jumps

It wasn't just gasoline costs that rose significantly in April - fuel oil and other fuels rose 36.9 per cent - the fastest increase since September 2005.

The cost of maintaining a home increased 4.6 per cent and mortgage interest costs rose 8.7 per cent, although StatsCan said this was mainly due to higher prices for homes, not higher interest rates.

Bakery prices jumped sharply in April by 10.4 percent, the biggest jump in almost 30 years.

But there were a few notable price drops in April. Fresh vegetables were down 17.3 per cent, women's clothing, 6.7 per cent, and computer equipment and supplies, 14.4 per cent.

Also the cost of buying or leasing a car fell 6.6 per cent compared with April 2007, although this was not as significant a drop as in March, where prices fell 7.1 per cent over the previous year.

StatsCan noted that much of the price drop can be credited to the strength of the Canadian dollar compared to last year and the impact of a January's one percentage point cut to the GST.

Ontario's inflation rate was the lowest nationally at 1.3 per cent. Prices jumped the most in the Alberta and Saskatchewan, rising 3.2 per cent at the annualized rate in April.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press

Comment from reader Sean:
What a farce.
This is how the rich hold the poor down. Everyone in Canada by now knows that important items that we need every day have risen in price far too much over the past while, yet the "experts" claim that prices have risen by 1.7%.

Please stop insulting our intelligence as you're not fooling anyone. Start including essentials such as energy and food in these numbers so they are realistic. Only then will the working poor enjoy any wage gains that may eventually turn into a living wage.
=======================
 
China says nearly 40,000 dead in Sichuan province
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. May 20  2008  06:31  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 20th, 2008
CHENGDU, China -- China said it was struggling to find shelter for many of the 5 million people whose homes were destroyed in last week's earthquake, while the region remained jittery Tuesday over warnings of aftershocks.

Meanwhile, rescuers saved a 31-year-old man from the rubble of a power plant flattened by last week's earthquake, the second case of someone being found alive a week after the temblor struck Sichuan province.

Ma Yuanjiang was pulled from the Yingxiu Bay Hydropower Plant, where he worked as a
A man wearing a protective mask cycles past collapsed buildings ruined by last week's powerful earthquake in Hanwang, Sichuan province, China, Tuesday, May 20, 2008. (AP / Andy Wong)
director, after a 30-hour rescue effort, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Ma was able to speak after the rescue and began to eat small amounts of food, his colleague Wu Geng told Xinhua, but his exact condition was unknown.

A miner, Peng Guohua, was in stable condition Tuesday after being trapped for 170 hours before his rescue Monday, Xinhua said.

The confirmed death toll in Sichuan province alone rose to 39,577, Vice Governor Li Chengyun told a news conference.

The government had previously said the confirmed toll overall was 34,074, with most of those deaths in Sichuan, the area hit hardest by the quake.

Another 32,361 people remained missing across the quake zone, said the State Council, China's Cabinet.

In the rescue effort so far, 6,375 survivors were dug out from quake debris, among some 360,159 people relocated to safer areas, the council said.

The government was setting up temporary housing for quake victims unable to find shelter with relatives, but there was a "desperate need for tents" to accommodate them, said Jiang Li, vice minister of civil affairs.

She told reporters in Beijing that nearly 280,000 tents had been shipped to the area and 700,000 more ordered, with factories working triple shifts to meet demand.

Another 480,000 quilts and 1.7 million jackets were also sent to quake survivors, Jiang said.

Five million people lost their homes in the quake, she said.

"Despite generous donations, the disaster is so great that victims still face a challenge in finding living accommodations," Jiang said.
China has said it would accept foreign medical teams, as the relief efforts shifted from searching for survivors to caring for the homeless. A growing number of countries responded to the call, dispatching doctors to the quake area Tuesday.

A Russian medical team with a mobile hospital arrived Tuesday in the Sichuan provincial capital Chengdu, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. A 37-member medical team sent by the Taiwan Red Cross organization also arrived in the disaster zone.

Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said a 23-member medical team will leave Tuesday for China. Crews of doctors were also en route from Germany and Italy, Qin said.

"China is willing to work closely" with outside doctors, Qin told a news conference.

Other countries and groups have also offered to send medical teams, but China has not given permission to allow all of them to help.

"But given the situation, and difficulties in the area, including transportation and telecommunications, it is not possible for us to accept all of the rescue and medical teams to engage in relief work," Qin said.

Rescue workers resumed the search for bodies on the second day of a three-day national mourning period declared by the Chinese government, an unprecedented gesture to honor the dead whose numbers were expected to exceed 50,000.

Because of plans to bury bodies quickly, the government said DNA samples will be taken from corpses to help with later identification, Xinhua said. Identified bodies will be cremated, although burial will be allowed where no cremation is possible.

Thirty-two radioactive sources were also buried under rubble, Xinhua reported, citing Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian.

Only two have not been recovered, although authorities have located them and restricted access to nearby areas, Zhou was cited as saying. They were expected to be transported to safety soon. The rest have been disposed of.
An official with the Nuclear Safety Department of the Environmental Protection Ministry said there are no nuclear power plants in Sichuan. The official only gave his surname, Li, as is common among Chinese bureaucrats.

According to a French nuclear watchdog, Sichuan has several key nuclear sites, including a research reactor, two nuclear fuel production sites and two atomic weapons sites. All were 40 to 90 miles from the epicenter.

During the three-day mourning period, flags were flying at half-staff and entertainment events have been canceled. The Olympic torch relay has also been suspended.

Thousands of quake survivors awoke Tuesday after spending a night sleeping in cars and in the open, frightened by government warnings of a potential strong aftershock. The alarm compounded uneasiness in the region, which has been rumbled by dozens of aftershocks since the May 12 quake.

A panda from the Wolong Nature Preserve that disappeared during the quake returned safely, but two of the endangered animals were still missing, Xinhua reported. The others were "very likely to be alive," forestry official Xiong Beirong told the agency, because they were adults.

Oil and gas operations in the region devastated by last week's earthquake in central China are virtually back to normal, state-owned oil and gas giant CNPC said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, China's banking regulators ordered banks to ensure adequate loans and other support for companies and individuals in the area.

The State Council, China's cabinet, said donations for disaster relief had reached $1.5 billion.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
=======================
 
Murder charge laid in Quebec aide's death
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. May 19  2008  15:31  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 19th, 2008
A 29-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of a Quebec provincial cabinet minister's aide.

Provincial police say Francois Proulx was arraigned by a Quebec city judge via a video link.

The accused may face other charges, including kidnapping, confinement and robbery, police said.

On Friday, Nancy Michaud -- an employee of Claude Bechard, Quebec's natural resources minister -- was taken from her home early in the morning as her two young boys slept.

The 37-year-old lived in Riviere-Ouelle, about 140 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

Police say there was evidence of a violent struggle. Her husband came home from work at about 2 a.m. to find her missing.

On Saturday, police released video of a suspect allegedly using Michaud's bank card at an automated teller -- a move that generated leads.

After following up on one tip, police found Michaud's body in an abandoned house's basement a few kilometres from her home.

The arrest of a suspect came within hours. Quebec provincial police spokesman Sgt. Gregory Gomez Del Prado said investigators found something in a bush near the home that helped them identify a suspect.

He did not say what police found.

An autopsy is yet to be conducted on Michaude.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
Francis Proulx, 29, arrives at the Quebec City courthouse on Monday, May 19, 2008. (Jean-François Desgagnés/ THE CANADIAN PRESS)
A police car stands in front of an abandoned house where the body of Nancy Michaud was discovered on Sunday May 18, 2008 in Riviere-Ouelle, Quebec. (Francis Vachon / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Nancy Michaud, shown in this image, was reported missing by her husband on Friday, May 16, 2008.
=======================
 
Body of missing Quebec political aide found
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. May 18  2008  17:12  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 18th, 2008
Quebec police have found the body of Nancy Michaud, an aide to a provincial cabinet minister, two days after she disappeared. Investigators believe she was the victim of a violent kidnapping.

Michaud, 37, was an employee of Natural Resources Minister Claude Bechard. Police found her body Sunday afternoon in an abandoned home in Riviere-Ouelle, northeast of Quebec City.

Police said they went to the house after receiving a tip. The body was in the basement.

"The investigation has changed from a kidnapping to a homicide," Sgt. Gregory Gomez Delprado, of the Quebec provincial police, told CTV Newsnet.

He said officers foud something in a bush near the abandoned house that helped lead them to the body, but did not specify what they may have discovered.

Investigators had released surveillance video showing a man dressed in black withdrawing money from an automated banking machine, using Michaud's card, on Saturday.

She was reported missing early Friday morning when her husband came home late from work around 2 a.m. and couldn't find her.
The body of Nancy Michaud was found in the basement of an abandoned home northeast of Quebec City on Sunday, May 18, 2008.
A man withdraws money using Nancy Michaud's card in this image made available on Saturday, May 18, 2008, a day after she went missing. Michaud's body was found on May 18, 2008.
The couple have two children, aged six and 18 months, and they were sleeping without any adults in their home.

Investigators said there were signs of a violent struggle inside Michaud's house in Riviere-Ouelle, a town northeast of Quebec City. Her body was discovered just a few kilometres away.

Police believe Michaud was dragged into a car sometime overnight and then taken to the bank where the withdrawals were made.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
Aide to Quebec politician believed to be kidnapped
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. May 17  2008  18:39  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 17th, 2008
Quebec provincial police have released a disturbing video in hopes of finding a missing aide to a provincial cabinet minister. Investigators believe the woman may have been kidnapped from her home.

The video shows a man dressed in black making transactions at a bank. Financial records show that the transactions were made with the bank cards of the missing woman, Nancy Michaud, and her husband.

There is no sign of the woman, despite over 50 police officers assigned to the case.

Const. Claude Ross told The Canadian Press that police released the footage in hopes that someone will spot Michaud. The 37-year-old is an employee of Natural Resources Minister Claude Bechard.

The woman was reported missing Friday morning when her husband came home late from work around 2 a.m. and couldn't find her.

The couple have two children, aged six and 18 months, and they were sleeping without any adults in their home.
Nancy Michaud, shown in this image, was reported missing buy her husband on Friday, May 16, 2008.
This images, taken from a surveillance video, shows a man dressed in black entering a bank. The transactions were made with the bank cards of the missing woman, Nancy Michaud, and her husband.
Ross said there were signs of a violent struggle inside Michaud's home in Riviere-Ouelle, a town northeast of Quebec City.

Police believe Michaud was dragged into a car sometime overnight and then taken to the bank where the withdrawals were made.

Ross said police fear for the woman's life and that they have no evidence her disappearance is tied to her political work.

Anyone with information regarding the case is urged to call the police at 1-800-659-4264.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
Vitamin D levels linked to breast-cancer prognosis
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. May 15  2008  21:14  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 16th, 2008
Women who are vitamin D deficient when they are diagnosed with breast cancer are more likely to have their disease spread and are more likely to die than women who have adequate vitamin D levels, new Canadian research says.

The study found that women who were vitamin D deficient were 94 per cent more likely to have their cancer metastasize (spread) and 73 per cent more likely to die.

The research was led by Dr. Pamela Goodwin, a breast cancer researcher at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. The study analyzed blood samples and disease outcome from more than 500 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1989 and 1995. Women were followed up for an average of 11 years.

The study found that when they were diagnosed with breast cancer:
Dr. Reinhold Vieth, a longtime Vitamin D researcher.
only 24 per cent of subjects had sufficient levels of vitamin D (defined as more than 72 nanomoles per litre).
more then 37 per cent were considered to be vitamin D deficient (defined as less than 50 nanomoles per litre).

The research showed that women who were deficient in vitamin D were more likely to have aggressive forms of breast cancer.

The study also found that 69 per cent of women deficient in vitamin D had their disease metastasize, while 74 per cent were still alive 10 years later.

Yet among those with adequate vitamin D levels, 83 per cent of women did not have their cancer spread and 85 per cent were still alive after 10 years.

Another of the study's authors, Dr. Reinhold Veith of Mount Sinai Hospital, said that vitamin D is a crucial part of normal cell function.

"Vitamin D is a basic that cells need to function properly. If you take that away they don't behave properly and are at greater risk of becoming cancerous."

Previous studies have linked low levels of vitamin D with an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Because breast cancer tumours have vitamin D receptors, the vitamin can slow the growth rate of cancer cells and make them less aggressive, the researchers said.

Time to test your Vitamin D levels?

Goodwin said that it is too early to tell all women with breast cancer to increase their vitamin D intake. However, women may want to have their blood levels of vitamin D measured and, if they are low, supplement to bring them up to the acceptable level of 72 nanomoles per litre.

However, if her findings are confirmed in a second study, the next step will be to test how raising vitamin D levels in breast cancer patients might affect their prognosis.
"I think it would be very worthwhile to see if improving those vitamin D levels will lead to improved breast cancer outcomes," Goodwin said.

"Can we really reduce the risk of recurrence in half by increasing vitamin D levels into the clinically adequate range? That would be very interesting question and a very important question to answer."

People get most of their vitamin D from sunlight or from nutritional supplements. Daily recommendations for vitamin D intake vary, but the average recommendation is 1,000 international units (IU). Every 1,000 IU of vitamin D translates to a 25 nanomole per litre increase of vitamin D in the blood.

Carole Baggerly is one breast cancer patient who swears by vitamin D. She was diagnosed with breast cancer more than three years ago, and had a mastectomy followed by both radiation and chemotherapy.

The 65-year-old San Diego resident had her vitamin D level measured two years after her diagnosis, and found it to be very low. Her doctors told her she had osteoporosis, which is also linked to low vitamin D levels.

Baggerly started taking 5,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day for her bones and to improve her chances of staying cancer-free.
"To be able to reduce this with nothing more than vitamin D, as opposed to having to take some of these very toxic, other drugs, I think is extremely exciting and should be very exciting to every woman," Baggerly said.

She now runs a website, www.grassrouteshealth.org, where she extols the virtues of vitamin D.

"It's so easy, it's simple, it's cheap, it's almost risk free, and if people knew about it they would be healthy," Baggerly said.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with a report from CTV's medical correspondent Avis Favaro and senior producer Elizabeth St. Philip.
=======================
 
Famed director Cronenberg hammers Bill C-10
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. May 14  2008  22:56  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 15th, 2008
David Cronenberg, one of Canada's most famous and successful movie directors, told a Senate committee Wednesday that checking film tax credits against a public policy test could be disastrous for the industry.

He also said that the controversial tax measure buried in Bill C-10, which would restrict federal funding for productions deemed "contrary to public policy'' is a solution to a non-existent problem.
Film director David Cronenberg walks down from Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday May 14, 2008. (Tom Hanson / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
The Toronto-born director told CTV Newsnet Wednesday that "this seemingly innocuous clause is actually a most disastrous piece of legislation."

"The truth is that there is already a layer of filtering . . . for things that contravene the criminal code," Cronenberg said of the current laws for applying for film tax credits.

The 65-year-old Cronenberg said he has 40 years of experience of applying for Canadian tax credits and there has never been a case of a pornographic or hate-mongering film or television show receiving federal funding.

"(Funding agency) Telefilm is not allowed to propose something that is pornographic, or criminal or hate propaganda," he said.

Government granting agencies such as Telefilm Canada already check applications against the Criminal Code and do not extend funding to a production that breaks the law.

"You have to ask why after 40 years . . . that this is suddenly a problem?" Cronenberg asked.

"Why do you need this additional layer of the same thing?'' he asked the Senate committee. "Other than to satisfy the sense of control of that the ministry of Heritage has -- is that the only reason? Because there seems to be no other reason.''

Cronenberg is one of many artists, including director-actor Sarah Polley, actor Sandra Oh and director Ang Lee, who have panned the proposed tax change.

The Conservative government has argued that the change would protect Canadian taxpayers from funding objectionable productions.

Heritage Minister Josee Verner has said that, if this legislation passes, she spend a year consulting with the industry to come up with a formula for defining what's "contrary to public policy."

Cronenberg, has been the director of many controversial, but critically-acclaimed films that have overt violent or sexual themes, such as the Oscar-nominated "A History of Violence" or last year's "Eastern Promises."
After Verner was criticized on the matter in March, she said that the proposed tax change would address "only the most extreme and gratuitous material, not mainstream film such as 'Eastern Promises.'"

Cronenberg laughed at the comment in front of the committee, noting that he's rarely been called "mainstream."

He said that the comment only came after the movie was critically acclaimed, when it was "very safe to say this movie is OK."

He noted that the film began with a man's throat being graphically cut open, includes a extended scene of a naked man fighting two men to the death in a knife-fight and also a scene of a voyeur watching a man having sex with a prostitute.

"I'm not confident at all that the Telefilm money that was invested in 'Eastern Promises' -- and helped to make it happen -- would not have been withdrawn by the minister of heritage, or whatever committee (she delegated to screen the film),'' said Cronenberg.

The new power -- buried in the 569-page bill -- would give the heritage minister the final word on what is or isn't allowed to be funded. And regulations are written into the act could be changed at will by the government.

"To me, that's totalitarianism,'' said Cronenberg.

On Newsnet, Cronenberg said that if the bill passes, Canadians could flee towards Hollywood in even greater numbers than they do now.

"We'd be making American films that have nothing to do with Canada," he said.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
TSB officials probing deadly B.C. chopper crash
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. May 14  2008  08:34  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 14th, 2008
Investigators will be on the scene of a horrific B.C. helicopter crash at first light Wednesday to continue their investigation into what caused the deadly accident.

The helicopter went down Tuesday afternoon in Cranbrook, a town of 18,000 people about four hours west of Calgary in the Kootenay mountains.

The pilot, two passengers who were both BC Hydro employees, and a pedestrian were killed when the aircraft dropped from the air, landing on the pedestrian and bursting into flames.

All the victims were from the Cranbrook area, said CTV's Chris Epp.

He said several witnesses reported that it appeared the pilot tried desperately to steer the helicopter away from people's homes.

The chopper crashed on the street between an apartment building and a row of houses.
This image taken from video submitted through MyNews. CTV.ca by Richard Fairchild shows the aftermath of the helicopter crash in Cranbrook, B.C.
"So there are a lot of people living in this area, a lot of people home at the time of the crash. The pilot seemed to take the chopper down in the street, in the middle, to do the least damage possible," Epp told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday.

However, there are still many unanswered questions about the crash. Transportation Safety Board officials only had several hours to investigate before darkness fell Tuesday night.

"The chopper wreckage is still in the street but it is covered by a tent," Epps said. "That was done overnight to make sure nothing disturbed the evidence overnight and they'll take another crack at it at first light today," he said.
A helicopter crashed into a street in a residential area of Cranbrook, B.C., Tuesday, May 13th, 2008.
"At this point they're relying a lot on what witnesses tell them but they say it could be weeks or perhaps months before they know the actual cause."

Witnesses gave varying accounts of what happened in the few minutes prior to the crash.

Elmer Bautz, who lives on the street where the chopper crashed, said he watched the crash happen.

"I thought at first it hit a tree, like the propeller hit a tree. But it didn't appear that it did. Anyway I saw it come down from about 300 feet almost at a 45-degree angle and whomp, she hit the sidewalk right across the street from me," he told Canada AM.

Bautz said the helicopter was "sort of fluttering" before it began to descend, and he speculated that it may have had a fuel problem.

Bautz said the pedestrian was just walking on the sidewalk and had no chance to escape the danger.

Richard Fairchild, who also saw the crash, told CTV Newsnet on Tuesday that the chopper had barely cleared a large pine tree and "within a second-and-a-half it crashed right in front of us -- literally in front of our window."

"It didn't crash at a high speed. The pilot had been trying to control it, but the motor was out at that point and he fell the last 15 feet."

Bill Yearwood of the Transportation Safety Board says the craft that went down is a Bell helicopter Model 206. He told The Canadian Press Tuesday that three TSB investigators had been dispatched to scene.

"Of course they will be trying to see first if there was any catastrophic failure in the aircraft that we might need to look and see if there's other similar aircraft at risk," said Yearwood.

"That's their first goal. The wreckage will be examined on site and then transported somewhere where we can have a closer look at it."

The chopper was hired by BC Hydro and was owned by Big Horn Helicopters, a Cranbrook company. BC Hydro CEO Bob Elton said that his employees were in the chopper on routine line patrol when it crashed.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
China says earthquake death toll almost 12,000
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. May 13  2008  07:59  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 13th, 2008
Rescue workers in China continued to dig for bodies Tuesday following the worst earthquake to hit the country in three decades.

The official death toll jumped overnight to nearly 12,000, according to Chinese officials.

The powerful 7.9-magnitude quake struck central China Monday at 2:28 p.m. local time, when office buildings, factories and schools were full.

Wang Zhenyao, disaster relief division director at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said Tuesday that the death toll has reached 11,921.
A rescuer tries to help a stranded student out of the debris at Wudu Primary School at Hanwang town in Mianzhu city, southwest Sichuan Province, China, Tuesday, May 13, 2008. (AP / Xinhua, Chen Jianli)
Meanwhile, nearly 5,000 people are still buried in Mianzhu, about 100 kilometres from the epicentre, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

In Sichuan province alone, nearly 10,000 people have died, along with 300 others in other provinces and the mega-city of Chongqing, said Xinhua.

"Survivors can hold on for some time. Now it's not time to give up,'' said Wang, adding that rescue efforts could take a week.

So far, only 58 people have been extricated from demolished buildings across the quake area, China Seismological Bureau spokesman Zhang Hongwei told Xinhua.

Francis Markus, with the International Committee of the Red Cross in Beijing, said Tuesday his organization has been trying to get relief supplies to the areas worst hit by the earthquake.

"Clearly, the situation is going to get even more serious, the numbers are likely to rise even further," Markus told CTV's Canada AM from Beijing.

Meanwhile, heavy rain has made it difficult for some rescue workers to reach the epicentre of the disaster.

East of the epicentre, about 1,000 students and teachers were killed or missing in Beichuan county after a high school collapsed Monday.

Another 900 students are feared dead in Juyuan, which is in Dujiangyan city, after their school collapsed.

Aftershocks also rattled the region Tuesday, creating a panic in the city of Chengdu. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the shocks between magnitude four and six.

A spokesperson for Canada's Foreign Affairs said no Canadian casualties have been reported. The number of Canadians registered as living in China is 6,449.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
=======================
 
Taser International co-founder to testify at inquiry
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. May 12  2008  06:43  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 12th, 2008
VANCOUVER -- The co-founder and president of the company that makes Tasers is expected to tell a public inquiry today the weapon does not kill and contrary to previous criticism, it was not rushed to market with faulty research.

Taser International has gained a reputation for aggressively defending the Taser from any claims that the weapons have been responsible for deaths and Tom Smith will take that message to Justice Thomas Braidwood during today's hearing.

His testimony comes after an executive with a company that plans to market a competing device testified Friday that normally, a company would develop medical and safety data on a product, then test the it on animals and humans.

"In my humble opinion that's not how the current CEWs were developed and deployed. And that's why we're having problems today,'' Ageis Industries founder Ken Stethem told the inquiry.
Tom Smith, president of Taser International, speaks with Canada AM from Phoenix, Arizona on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2007.
A spokesman for Arizona-based Taser International says Stethem has completely mischaracterized the company's testing process.

"You're talking over a million people that have been exposed to a Taser application. We've been in this space for 14 years,'' says Steve Tuttle. "What he's coming up with is just patently false.''

In an interview, he accused Ageis and Stethem of sour grapes and in turn, questioned Stethem's credentials to be levelling such accusations.

Also expected to testify today is Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh, who was the attorney general in British Columbia when Tasers were introduced to police for the first time in Canada in Victoria.

Dosanjh now sits on a parliamentary committee looking into Taser use and has said he believes the electronic devices are dangerous weapons that police should have, but only with proper training.

"I was told this would be a weapon of last resort before the gun,'' he told reporters following a committee hearing in January. "The policing community at least gave me the assurance, if I remember correctly . . . that it would be used sparingly.''

Dosanjh said that appears not to be the case.

Smith was also testifying at that hearing and said Tasers have been tested on 600,000 police officers and more than 400,000 ordinary citizens like himself, and no serious health complications arose.

Like B.C.'s public inquiry, the Commons' all-party public safety committee is probing events around the death Oct. 14 of Robert Dziekanski.

The agitated Polish immigrant died soon after being shocked and subdued by RCMP officers at the Vancouver airport. His ordeal, caught on videotape by a civilian witness, unleashed international outrage.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
=======================
 
Burma's cyclone death toll estimated at 28,500
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. May 11  2008  14:16  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 11th, 2008
Burma's state television is now reporting that the death toll from Cyclone Nardis has reached 28,458, with another 33,416 missing.

Sunday's newscast did not elaborate, except to say that another 1,403 people had been injured in the May 2 storm.

Foreign aid, however, is starting to trickle in to help people in areas ravaged by the cyclone.
A large statue of Buddha sits in water at a temple that was heavily damaged by last week's destructive cyclone Nargis, on the outskirts of Rangoon, Burma, on Sunday, May 11, 2008. (AP Photo)
Joe Lowry, a Red Cross worker in Rangoon, Burma told CTV Newsnet on Sunday that his organization had four planeloads of supplies land in Burma, with six more coming in the next few days.

The current shipments are emergency shelter materials, which are much needed, he said.

"Today, unfortunately we had a bit of a tragedy ourselves," Lowry said.

A cargo boat carrying relief supplies into the Irrawaddy delta struck a submerged tree trunk and sank, he said.

No crew members died, but supplies for 1,000 people were lost, he said.

Right now, "time is our biggest enemy," he said, noting that more rain is reportedly on the way.

Red Cross volunteers within Burma are working from dawn until dusk, "but the needs are huge, and it's never enough," he said.

More could die

The United Nations has said about two million of Burma's nearly 49 million citizens have been severely affected by the cyclone.

The British aid group Oxfam warned Sunday that up to 1.5 million people would be at risk of dying if they don't get clean water and sanitation soon.

Sarah Ireland, the group's regional chief, told reporters in Bangkok, Thailand that the cyclone's toll could hit 100,000 -- a figure put forward by other aid groups and a top U.S. diplomat in Burma.

"There are all the factors for a public health catastrophe which could multiply that death toll by up to 15 times," she said.
Another Oxfam official said that worst-case scenario is preventable if people get help.

Burma's military government has refused to let in foreign disaster experts, insisting it is capable of distributing the aid itself.

One Burmese human rights campaigner said the Burmese generals are manipulating aid and delivering it selectively. Reports on Saturday indicated the names of generals were slapped on boxes and bags, with some handing it out personally.

"Even in Rangoon area, which is reachable by the regime, people are complaining they are not getting aid. What they are getting is rotting rice," Debbie Stothard, head of ALTSEAN-Burma, told Associated Press Television News in Bangkok.

The junta also came under criticism for pushing ahead with a constitutional referendum on Saturday, one that critics say would simply cement military power in a country where the military has ruled since 1962.

The UN said -- in an internal report seen by The Associated Press -- that despite everything, some progress is being made.
Roads are being cleared, and piped water has been partially restored in Rangoon, Burma's largest city.

"What is critical at the moment is water sources,'' said Oxfam's Ireland.

"We understand a lot of water sources are contaminated. Ponds are full of dead bodies. Something as basic as a bucket is in scarce supply. If people don't have water that is clean and safe, that is very difficult," she said.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
=======================
 
Elite Montreal school rocked by another sex scandal
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. May 10  2008  14:56  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 10th, 2008
An elite Montreal private school has been hit by another sex scandal after the school said one of its teachers has been arrested in the U.S. on child pornography charges and for the online solicitation of a 13-year-old boy.

Parents of students at Selwyn House were informed Friday afternoon in an email sent by headmaster William Mitchell.
Selwyn House, an elite Montreal private school, is seen in this undated photo.
Mitchell wrote that he was informed by police that Richard Doucet, an elementary teacher at the school since 1999, had been arrested in Virginia.

Mitchell told CTV News Friday that Doucet had been at a teachers' conference in Virginia when he came to the attention of police.

The email said that Doucet did not have a previous criminal record. Police said that the teacher indicated that he did not engage in any illicit activities with Selwyn House students, it said.

"All of us at Selwyn House are struggling with this challenging situation," Mitchell wrote. "We remain committed to providing students with a safe and secure environment."

The school has already been rocked by allegations in recent years that three of its former teachers repeatedly molested students during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

In February, Selwyn House agreed to a $5-million settlement in a class-action lawsuit launched by former students who alleged they were victims of sexual abuse.

Faculty and parents expressed surprise at the arrest.

"I got to know him very well as my son's teacher and he was a wonderful teacher and very nice to my son and the boys," a mother told CTV News. "I really liked him a lot."

"He was an extraordinarily good teacher and very effective. So it comes as a huge surprise," Mitchell told CTV News.

Detective John Chapman of the Northern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was the officer that informed the school of the arrest. He told the school that he acted as undercover agent, posing as a minor on the Internet.

In the email to parents, Mitchell urged parents to discuss the latest news with their children. Counsellors were made available Friday and Saturday for students, parents and faculty.

"We know this is difficult information to share, and we are here to help you and guide you," Mitchell wrote.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
Canada's oldest WWI vet a Canadian again
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. May 08  2008  22:42  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 9th, 2008
Canada's last link to the First World War is a citizen again.

Jack Babcock is now 107-years-old and living in Spokane, Washington. But he wasn't always an American. He grew up in a rural community, on a farm near Kingston, Ont. He's now Canada's only surviving veteran from the Great War.
Lance-Cpl. John Babcock is the last survivor of World War I.
Babcock tried to join the Canadian army in 1915 at the tender age of 15. He was young, but tenacious, and he didn't mind lying to fight for his cause. He finally made it to Britain and served, but didn't see combat.

"There were a lot of good guys that got to the front and a lot of them got killed," he told CTV News recently for an exclusive report.

After the war, he moved to the U.S. and became a citizen there, and that forced him to renounce his Canadian citizenship.

Babcock got back his citizenship officially on Thursday after writing a simple two line letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"Could I have my citizenship restored," it asked, noting, "I would appreciate it."

The idea to get his Canadian citizenship returned came from Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson, who visited Babcock a few weeks ago.

"I said Jack, would you be interested in getting your Canadian citizenship back ... He said right away, 'It would be wonderful, if you could,'" Thompson recalled, in an interview with CTV News.

Babcock's always been modest about his service during the war. He didn't make it to Europe's front lines.

"I ate up a lot of good government rations,'' a humble Babcock has joked in past interviews.

"I think if I had a chance, I would have gone to France, taken my chances like the rest of them did.''

Veterans groups say they're thrilled the old soldier is officially a Canadian again.

"He has his Canadian citizenship back. I say, good on you, Jack. Way to go," says Cliff Chadderton of War Amps.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
First UN relief flight lands in Burma after delay
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. May 08  2008  08:07  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 8th, 2008
The United Nations has confirmed a plane loaded with humanitarian aid has landed in Burma, one day after a U.S. official predicted the death toll from Cyclone Nargis could surpass 100,000.

The World Food Program plane landed Thursday -- the first major shipment of international aid to arrive in the xenophobic Southeast Asian country.

The cyclone struck on Saturday, and estimates of the number of the dead have risen steadily. There are also reports that up to one million people have been displaced.
Homeless children whose homes were destroyed in last weekend's devastating cyclone take shelter in a monastery in Kaw Hmu village, about 100 kilometers southwest of Yangon, Burma, Thursday, May 8, 2008. (AP Photo)
Shari Villarosa, head of the U.S. Embassy in Yangon, said a shortage of safe food and clean water, as well as unsanitary conditions and a lack of shelter, could drive the death toll above 100,000.

CTV's Steve Chao, reporting from Bangkok, said three more UN planes were expected to arrive in Burma on Thursday, but there was a growing sense of frustration among aid workers waiting to get into the country.

"The frustration grows. There are many planes on the tarmac loaded with millions of dollars of relief supplies and equipment as well as aid workers that are eager to get into the country," Chao told CTV's Canada AM.

Riots for food

Within Burma, chaos and frustration is abundant as survivors face the threat of starvation, disease and exposure, Chao said.

"There are more riots in a lot of the markets, especially in the south where much of the destruction has happened due to Cyclone Nargis," he said.

"We understand there are lineups for food, lineups for gasoline, electricity is still out in many parts and it's adding to the anger and the frustration from the people in Burma."

Chao said he had received word that Thailand had managed to broker a deal between the U.S. and Burma, but that it had not yet taken effect.

Burma's military government has kept the country isolated for decades over fears that too much Western influence would spark a revolt against the junta, Chao said.

That isolationist attitude appears to be hindering foreigners from entering the country, despite the fact Burma's generals issued a plea for international assistance in the wake of the storm.

Since then, officials have been slow in issuing visas and setting up an "air bridge" to allow aid to be flown in.
"There's a great deal of concern and suspicion on the leader's parts that the aid workers as well as journalists may be there not just to help the country or report on the country but to incite a revolution against them," Chao said.

Floating corpses

Officially, Burma's state media says Cyclone Nargis killed at least 22,980 people and left 42,119 missing, mostly in the hardest-hit Irrawaddy delta.

In the delta, there were reports of bloated corpses floating in floodplains and survivors trying to reach dry ground.

"I don't know what happened to my wife and young children," Phan Maung, 55, told The Associated Press. He held onto a coconut tree until the water level dropped. By then his family was gone.

There are reports of malaria outbreaks in some of the worst-hit areas, as well as fears that waterborne illnesses could be spread due to dirty floodwaters and poor sanitation.

In many areas, even close to Yangon, Burma's largest city, villagers complained they had received no government help at all, but were relying on Buddhist monasteries.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
Video shows Philly officers kicking, hitting three men
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. May 07  2008  08:16  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 7th, 2008
PHILADELPHIA -- A half-dozen police officers kicked and beat three men pulled from a car during a traffic stop as a TV helicopter taped the confrontation.

The video, shot by WTXF-TV, shows three police cars stopping a car Monday, two days after a city officer was shot to death responding to a bank robbery.

The tape shows about a dozen officers gathering around the vehicle. About a half-dozen officers hold two of the men on the ground. Both are kicked repeatedly, while one is seen being punched; one also appears to be struck with a baton.

The third man is also kicked and ends up on the ground.
This image made from television and released by WTXF-TV Fox Philadelphia shows police officers kicking and beating suspects pulled from a car during a traffic stop on Monday May 5, 2008 in Philadelphia. A TV helicopter taped the confrontation. (AP / WTXF-TV Fox Philadelphia)
"On the surface it certainly does not look good in terms of the amount of force that was used," Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said. "But we don't want to rush to judgment."

The officers were responding to a report of a shooting nearby, police said. It was not immediately clear what preceded the confrontation.

Ramsey said Philadelphia officers have been on edge since Saturday, when Officer Stephen Liczbinski was fatally shot with an assault rifle after a robbery.

Police fatally shot one of the robbery suspects; another was arrested Sunday and a third man is still being sought.

"There is also a lot of heightened emotions since Sgt. Liczbinski was murdered on the streets just Saturday," Ramsey said.
Liczbinski was the third officer slain on duty in the city in the last two years.

Attorney D. Scott Perrine, who represents the three men seen in the video, said that as terrible as the officer's death was, it does not excuse such actions by police.

"We don't take into consideration the emotions of police officers when it comes to the discharge of their duties. ... Your emotional state, being tired, doesn't justify what's on that video," Perrine said.

He said one of his clients suffered a welt on his head the size of a baseball and one of his legs was seriously injured; he didn't know the extent of any injuries on the other two men.

Perrine also said he did not know what preceded the traffic stop but called the actions seen on the tape unjustified.

"It clearly shows a lack of any reasonable investigation before these police yank these individuals out of the car and take turns delivering blows," he said. "This is a time for a thorough investigation to see what it is that happened here."

A court official said late Tuesday that the men had been charged with criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangering. Bail was set for two of the men, while the third was awaiting arraignment.

Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman, did not immediately return a call for comment from The Associated Press.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
=======================
 
Death toll expected to climb higher in Burma
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. May 06  2008  07:49  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 6th, 2008
The death-toll has reached 14,000 following a devastating cyclone in Burma, and local officials are warning it could climb even higher.

Cyclone Nargis stuck the Southeast Asian country on Saturday. On Monday, official estimates jumped from several hundred killed into the thousands, as numbers of the dead and missing began to pour in.

In Yangon and the low-lying Irawaddy delta region about 4,000 people were killed, Information Minister Maj.-Gen. Kyaw Hsan told a news conference.

A further 10,000 could be dead in the delta region, he said.
This image shows Cyclone Nargis in the Bay of Bengal on Friday, May 2, 2008. (AP / NASA)
Pam Sitko, of World Vision, said the group is working with the national government to distribute clothing, blankets, food, emergency shelter and clean water to those hardest hit by the disaster.

Speaking from Thailand, Sitko said the most pressing need is to provide clean drinking water and to clear the roads to ensure aid can be delivered to those who need it most.

"Right now we're looking at drinking water," she told CTV's Canada AM. "Children and their families need access to clean drinking water because all drinking water sources have been completely cut and the situation will simply worsen if there is not clean drinking water."

Sitko was in neighbouring Thailand preparing to head into Burma, where World Vision has 580 workers already on the ground, many of them local Burmese.

She said the organization has been working in the country for 30 years and has 42,000 sponsored children inside Burma.
There had been fears that the country's military government -- which has spurned the international community for decades -- would be unwilling to allow Western aid into the country. But as of Tuesday it appeared Burma was accepting help.

One day earlier on Monday, Foreign Minister Nyan Win met with diplomats and called for international assistance.

The United Nations' World Food Program was preparing to fly in emergency food supplies on Tuesday. The group provided a grim assessment of the damage from the cyclone, suggesting as many as one million people could be homeless, some villages had been virtually erased by the cyclone and resulting tidal waves and vast rice-growing areas had been wiped out.

Ottawa vowed to send $2 million in humanitarian assistance and called on officials to open the nation's doors to allow all aid to enter unfettered.
The U.S. has sent in $250,000 in immediate aid, but said more would only be provided if it was allowed to send its own disaster team into the country.
The European Commission was providing $3 million humanitarian aid.
China promised to send $1 million worth of money and emergency supplies.

World Vision Canada President and CEO Dave Toycen said many of the victims of the cyclone lived in regions that are difficult to reach.
"Unfortunately it looks like the numbers will continue to rise," Toycen told Canada AM.

World Vision Canada has set a goal of raising $1 million to help in the efforts. Toycen said the money will go straight to Burma and will have a direct impact on the ground.

On Tuesday, a military transport plane flew from Bangkok to Yangon with emergency aid from Thailand. Meanwhile, a number of other countries and organizations said they were also ready to send in aid.

Bangkok-based spokesman Richard Horsey, of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Aid, said Yangon's airport is the closest to the region hardest hit.

"For those places accessible by land, there will be cars and trucks from those areas to meet at the halfway point with vehicles from Yangon,'' he said. "For remote areas, assessment teams and assistance teams will need to go by helicopters and boats.''

A vote on the country's draft constitution had been set for Saturday, but state radio was reporting that the vote would be held over until May 24 in 40 townships around Yangon and seven in the Irawaddy delta.

But balloting would proceed as scheduled in less hard-hit areas.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
Canadians mark Battle of the North Atlantic
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. May  04  2008  17:35  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 5th, 2008
Ceremonies were held Sunday to mark the turning point in the Battle of the North Atlantic, a major confrontation between allied ships and German U-boats during the Second World War.

More than 2,000 Canadian Navy personnel died in the battle, along with 1,700 sailors with the Merchant Navy and 900 army and air force members.

The battle began in 1939 when a German submarine destroyed a passenger ship near Ireland. The vessel had been headed for Montreal.

Although the engagement lasted for six years, historians consider May 1943 as the turning point in the battle, when allied ships finally began to push back against the German U-boats, allowing supply vessels to reach allied forces.
Ret. Vice Admiral Ralph Hennessy, 89, left, Vice Admiral Drew Robertson, right, and Ret. Merchant Navy Sea Man Lee Smith, 84, salute the parade following the Commemoration of the Battle of the Atlantic at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Sunday, May 4, 2008. (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson attended a ceremony in Halifax, which marked the 65th anniversary of when allied forces gained the upper hand in the battle.

"It was very moving because the Battle of the Atlantic was the longest-running battle in the war," he told CTV Newsnet. "And, of course, for many of the veterans who were with us today, it will probably be the last time they will be at this event because they're aging."

At a ceremony in Ottawa, about 600 veterans gathered at the National War Memorial, along with politicians, civilians and serving members of the Canadian Forces.

In St. John's, N.L., a bell rang out as the names of the Canadian ships that sank during the battle were read aloud. The Canadian Navy lost two dozen ships, while the Merchant Navy lost more than 70.

"There were very dangerous missions (during the battle), very high risk," said Thompson. "But at the end of it all it had to be done, and they were willing to do it."

Defence Minister Peter MacKay released a statement commending the bravery of those who fought in the battle, saying they faced "conditions that many of us can't even imagine."

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
=======================
 
More than 350 dead in Myanmar cyclone: report
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. May  04  2008  12:05  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 4th, 2008
A powerful cyclone has left more than 350 people dead in the southeast Asian nation of Myanmar.

Five states within Myanmar, also known as Burma, have been declared disaster areas, reported Myaddy television, which is operated by the military. Those are Yangon, Irrawaddy, Bago, Karen and Mon states.

Chris Kaye, the UN's acting humanitarian co-ordinator, said Sunday that thousands of homes have been destroyed, with the low-lying Irrawaddy delta being hit the hardest.

"The Irrawaddy delta was hit extremely hard not only because of the wind and rain but because of the storm surge," he said from Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon. "The villages there have reportedly been completely flattened."

State television said that 75 per cent of the buildings in Irrawaddy's Labutta township had collapsed.

Witnesses are saying Tropical Cyclone Narnis, which struck Saturday and packed winds of about 190 kilometres per hour, blew the roofs off of hundreds of homes and left the commercial capital of Yangon without power.

The city's international airport is also shut down. Domestic flights are being directed to the airport in Mandalay.
People walk past fallen trees at a street in Myanmar's biggest city Yangon Saturday, May 3, 2008. (AP / Xinhua, Zhang Yunfei)
This image shows Cyclone Nargis in the Bay of Bengal on Friday, May 2, 2008. (AP / NASA)
Tropical Cyclone Narnis struck about 5 a.m. local time on Saturday. Casualties had been expected.

Yangon residents did venture outside on Sunday to look for building materials with which to repair their home. Many found that prices for materials, food and gasoline have skyrocketed. Some were angry the military-led government had done little so far to help them.

"Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians?" said one man, who refused to be identified for fear of retribution. "They should come out in full force and help clean up the areas and restore electricity."

Kaye said the UN will send in damage assessment teams on Monday. Initial efforts have been hampered by the debris clogging roads and the downed phone lines, he said.

The Forum for Democracy in Burma and other dissident groups have called for the military government to allow aid groups to operate freely.

"International expertise in dealing with natural disasters is urgently required. The military regime is ill-prepared to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone," said Naing Aung, the Thailand-based group's secretary general.

The Red Cross has started distributing shelter kits and related supplies in Yangon.

The cyclone struck days before a May 10 constitutional referendum, which critics say has been designed to entrench the military's hold on power despite a promise of a general election in 2010.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
=======================
 
Mariah Carey reportedly weds Nick Cannon
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. May  03  2008  07:49  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 3rd, 2008
NEW YORK -- Nick Cannon is cast as Mariah Carey's lover in her new video -- but has the superstar diva given the young actor a considerably bigger role in real life?

According to several published reports, Carey, 38, married Cannon, 27, on Wednesday. Neither Carey's publicist nor Cannon's manager returned requests from The Associated Press for comment.

If the pair did indeed wed, it would be a whirlwind romance. Word that the two were seeing each other first surfaced in the past few weeks. Last Saturday, Carey was seen sporting a huge diamond ring on her finger at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her movie, "Tennessee," in which she plays a waitress. Cannon was at her side at the party. Speculation swirled that the couple were engaged.
In this April 26, 2008 file photo, Mariah Carey attends the premiere of 'Tennessee' at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file)
Latina.com was first to report that the two got married, at Carey's home in the Bahamas. Friday's New York Post also had the pair wed. People magazine on its Web site Friday quoted a clergyman, Bishop Clifford Petty of the National Church of God in the Caribbean, as saying he presided over the wedding.

E Online quoted a relative of Cannon's as saying that he called his family and confirmed the news.

"He called us and told us all about it. We are happy for him. If that is what he wants, then we are happy for him," Linda Cannon, identified simply as a family member, was quoted telling E.

People reported Friday that Carey had obtained a marriage license on the island of Eleuthera, in the Bahamas, where she has an estate.

Cannon has put out a rap album but is best known for his role in the movie "Drumline" and a Nickelodeon TV series (yes, Nickelodeon -- Cannon is 11 years Carey's junior). He's featured in Carey's upcoming video for "Bye Bye."

While Carey and Cannon (or is it the Cannons?) were playing coy, the famed jeweler Jacob & Co. was quick to publicize its apparent role in the reputed union with a news release touting the ring Cannon reportedly gave her.

The release described it as "crafted from platinum and features a square emerald cut fancy light pink diamond as the center stone surrounded by 58 intense pink diamonds and two half moon diamonds on each side.

"The total carat weight of the ring -- center stone is 10 carats -- is a jaw-dropping 17 carats with a value of $2.5 million."

Cannon does have experience with engagement rings. The actor, who has previously romanced singer Christina Milian and voluptuous reality star Kim Kardashian, last year gave a 15-carat stone to Victoria's Secret model Selita Ebanks as he proposed in grand fashion -- on the Jumbotron in New York's Times Square. Cameras were flashing as she said yes. They split just a few months later.

The Carey-Cannon match is already getting considerably more ink, leaving some to wonder whether it's a publicity stunt: After all, she's just released a No. 1 album ("EMC2" is on the top of the charts), and he has at least four movies due out this year.

But then again, Carey is one of the most successful artists in music, and hardly needs a marriage to get attention: She's already scored a No. 1 hit off the album with "Touch My Body."

This would be Cannon's first marriage but Carey's second. She famously wed top music executive Tommy Mottola in an extravagant wedding in 1993. They had a bitter divorce in 1998.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
=======================
 
Martin's supporters celebrate her return
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. May  02  2008  07:50  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 2nd, 2008
Brenda Martin's mother spent Thursday night celebrating her daughter's return to Canadian soil, but says she won't truly believe the good news until she sees Martin with her own eyes.

"I probably won't (believe it) until I see her," Marjorie Bletcher told CTV's Canada AM on Friday morning. "I'm just so glad that she's home."

Martin received a prison transfer from Mexico on Thursday afternoon after spending more than two years in a Guadalajara prison. She was convicted of money laundering last month in relation to her former boss' Internet fraud scheme.

Bletcher, who lives in Trenton, Ont., said she didn't know her daughter was on her way back until she saw the news on CTV.

"It came across the screen that she was on a plane and was going to be coming in a couple of hours," said Bletcher. "I knew I'd have her back one day. If you lose hope there's nothing left."
Brenda Martin arrives in Waterloo, Ont. on Thursday, May 1, 2008.
Brenda Martin speaks with journalists at an office inside the Puente Grande prison in Guadalajara, Mexico on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. (AP / Guillermo Arias)
A Mexican judge sentenced the 51-year-old Trenton native to a minimum of five years in jail and fined her about $3,500. Ottawa loaned Martin the money to pay the fine.

Martin had spent two years in a Mexican prison before hearing her verdict.

Bletcher said she spoke to Martin after her 6 p.m. arrival in Waterloo, Ont., and said she sounded better than she has in a long time.

"She seemed a 100 per cent better than she's been in the past few days, although she said she's sort of overwhelmed," Bletcher said. "She's going to be able to get the help she needs."

Martin has said she developed addictions to "anti-depressants, sleeping pills, anti-stress pills, pain-killers by injection (and) anti-anxiety injections" during her time at the Puente Grande women's prison. The facility's staff placed her on suicide watch for the latter part of her stay there.

Martin is currently being held at the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ont.

Canadian parole rules will now apply, and her release will be up to the National Parole Board, according to Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.

In Canada, a federal prisoner is eligible to apply for day parole after serving one-sixth of her sentence and full parole after serving one-third.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
Sexual age of consent raised to 16 today
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. May  01  2008  08:26  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: May 1st, 2008
OTTAWA -- Canada's age of sexual consent will be bumped up two years to 16 beginning Thursday.
The change means adults who have sex with boys or girls aged 14 and 15 years old could face criminal charges.

Canada's age of consent has been 14 since 1892.

The legislation was brought in by the Conservative government in part to deal with older internet predators who troll the web looking for younger victims.

Canada's age of consent will now be in line with other countries, such as Britain and Australia, and most American states.

The intent of the new law is not to criminalize teenage sex, but to crackdown on adults who prey on youth, former justice minister Vic Toews said when the bill making the change was introduced.

The law includes a "close-in-age'' provision of five years, which means it would be legal for a 15-year-old to have relations with a 19-year-old provided the relationship is not exploitive and the older party is not in a position of authority or trust.

But while all political parties backed the legislation and law officials welcomed it with open arms, several gay rights groups are not satisfied and have said the law ignores gay men.

It is currently illegal for Canadians under 18 to have anal sex, meaning two gay or bisexual 17-year-olds who engage in the act could end up in jail something the new law does not address.

Other groups, such as Justice for Youth and Children, said the new law, if misunderstood, could end up driving teenage sexual activity underground.

''Because its highly technical and quite complicated I think that we need an awful lot of public education to make sure young people, fearing they are doing something illegal, don't hide and fail to seek the medical help they need and fail to get appropriate treatments and appropriate counselling,'' said Martha Mackinnon, the group's executive director.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press.