Past Articles:
These "Articles" are dated from June1st, 2008 - June 30th, 2008.
 Calgary team to launch miniature asteroid tracker
30/06/08
 Northern premiers give thumbs down to carbon tax
29/06/08
 Five tornadoes strike southern Manitoba
28/06/08
 Oil prices climb to record above US$141 a barrel
27/06/08
 Khadr's treatment violated international laws: judge
26/06/08
 Ont. man exonerated of crime after Bernardo confession
25/06/08
 Man dies in OPP custody after Taser used
24/06/08
 Comedy legend George Carlin dead at 71
23/06/08
 Drug use damaging Winehouse's lungs: father
22/06/08
 Hybrid trucks to be built in Oshawa, CAW says
21/06/08
 Dad has 'no authority' after grounding ruling: lawyer
20/06/08
 Man's own immune cells put melanoma in remission
19/06/08
 Rising Mississippi River threatens Midwestern towns
18/06/08
 Afghan villagers flee as battle looms in Arghandab
17/06/08
 More protests planned despite end of CAW blockade
16/06/08
 Ottawa balcony collapse sends six to hospital
15/06/08
 Canadians search for Taliban prison escapees
14/06/08
 Widespread gas price fixing unlikely: Liberal MP
13/06/08
 Marine expelled, another punished over puppy video
12/06/08
 Baltovich's lawyer pans police interview of Bernado
11/06/08
 Hockey theme song saved from 'oblivion': composer
10/06/08
 Officials to examine if tornado hit southern Ontario
09/06/08
 Keeping Bernardo video offline impossible: experts
08/06/08
 Experts warn Canadians to prepare for tornadoes
07/06/08
 Woman fired after shaving head for cancer charity
06/06/08
 Grand Prix brings women into Montreal's sex trade
05/06/08
 GM workers to protest for 'as long as it takes'
04/06/08
 Gov't actions make Bernier probe necessary: MP
03/06/08
 Tatum O'Neal arrested in New York City drug bust
02/06/08
 Smoothies and juice may do more harm than good
01/06/08
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Calgary team to launch miniature asteroid tracker
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. June 30  2008  06:49  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 30th, 2008
Scientists in Alberta have unveiled plans to launch mini-satellite that will be able to track the skies day and night, and send back early warning of dangerous asteroids approaching Earth.

Currently, all asteroid tracking is done here on earth. The sun blocks astronomers' view and they can study asteroids only at night.
A rendering of NEOSSat(Near-Earth Object Surveillance Satellite)
But the Canadian-designed NEOSat (Near Earth Object Surveillance Satellite) is expected to launch in 2010 and its 15 cm-diameter telescope will do 24-hour tracking from space.

NEOSat is small -- described as the size of a large suitcase and weighing only 60 kilograms. It is designed to provide an early warning of any dangerous asteroids approaching earth.

Canada already has a similar minisatellite up in the air: MOST (Microvariability and Oscillation of STars), a 60-kilogram satellite designed to measure the age of stars in our galaxy.

Advantages of the NEOSat observation system:
A darker sky and continuous availability.
Can observe near the Sun and survey a little-known population of asteroids.
Can determine distances to near-Earth asteroids using parallax.

"If we can have a telescope that is in orbit that can monitor the skies in all directions, we are able to see areas beyond the sun," Dr. Alan Hildebrand told Canada AM. "Which is something that we haven't been able to do in the past."

Hildebrand holds a Canada Research Chair in Planetary Science in the University of Calgary's Department of Geoscience and is leading the NEOSat team.

The UofC has been working with a contractor since 1999 on planning the project, and chose this week to announce the launch -- to remind Canadians that threat of a giant asteroid crashing into earth isn't just a Hollywood special effects trick.

Today, June 30, is the 100th anniversary of Tunguska Event, when a 50-metre meteorite crashed into a remote region of Siberia.

Tunguska's asteroid devastated more than 7,800 square kilometers and wiped out 60 million trees, with an unleashed energy equivalent to a 15-megaton nuclear bomb.

Hildebrand says there are thousands of asteroids winging through space at least three times bigger than the Tunguska object, and one of them could possibly destroy a major Canadian city.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Northern premiers give thumbs down to carbon tax
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. June 29  2008  08:42  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 29th, 2008
Canada's northern premiers emerged from two days of meetings in Yellowknife giving the thumbs down to Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's carbon tax proposal.

Northwest Territories Premier Floyd Roland, Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie and Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik said the plan would not be fair to their residents.

"We'd rather focus on alternatives to get away from fossil fuels. But to add on a cost to very high fuel costs already is just not an option for homeowners in our territory," Okalik said.

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion unveiled the 'green shift' plan during a large rally in Ottawa on Thursday, June 19, 2008.
"(In the North), there really are no alternatives for us in Nunavut to turn to, to get away from diesel generation for power and for heat,'' he said.

Dion unveiled his "Green Shift" plan earlier this month. It would put a $15.4 billion tax on carbon emissions. The Liberals say the increase in taxes would be offset by cuts in income and corporate taxes. They claim the tax will be revenue neutral and punish big polluters.

Critics have called it a tax grab and say it won't help the fight against climate change. They say also it will raise the prices of goods related to energy.

Roland said the carbon tax may pass "on to the end user an additional cost of doing business.''

Fentie was also not convinced the carbon tax would reduce emissions.

"We think there are better ways to deal with this issue than another tax being applied, especially in the North where the cost of goods and services is already predominantly higher than anywhere else in the country,'' he said.

The premiers were meeting to discuss common issues.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
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Five tornadoes strike southern Manitoba
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. June 28  2008  10:05  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 28th, 2008
Five tornadoes touched down in Manitoba Friday, dumping heavy rain and causing havoc in the southern part of the province.

Residents spotted the first of the twisters in the afternoon. By evening much of the region was under tornado watches, but most of the twisters swept through open fields, away from residential areas.
This funnel cloud touched down at about 1:20 PM, just South-West of Neepawa, MB. (Submitted to CTV MyNews by Brynn Taylor)
The twisters didn't cause any major damage or injuries but many Winnipeg residents had a tough time driving in the aftermath of the storms.

The city was hit by a major downpour -- as much as 45 millimetres of rain in the span of two hours on Friday evening. The knee-deep water flooded streets and some underpasses, and it also knocked out traffic lights in some areas.

Meanwhile, in the U.S. Midwest, deadly tornadoes claimed two lives.

Police said that two 18-year-old men died when a tree fell on their vehicle in Iowa. Police had to use a backhoe to help free a 15-year-old girl who was trapped in the car's back seat.

The storms also dumped rain in Iowa, a state already facing major flooding. Power outages, lightening strikes, and water-blocked roads were reported in states throughout the Midwest.

Twisters have been touching down at a record pace in the United States. Meteorologists have recorded at least 1,300 tornadoes this year with the peak season for twisters still to come.

Part of the problem may have to do with what's happening in Canada.

Experts say unusual cold fronts from north of the U.S. border are flowing southwards. There they disrupt masses of moist, warm air -- and that sends clouds swirling and tornadoes on their furious paths.

According to Environment Canada's website:
On average, about 80 twisters hit Canada each year.
Twisters cause on average two deaths and 20 injuries in any given year.
Canada's "tornado alleys" are: southern Ontario, Alberta, southeastern Quebec, and a stretch from southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba through to Thunder Bay.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Oil prices climb to record above US$141 a barrel
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. June 27  2008  07:36  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 27th, 2008
Oil prices continued to soar Friday, passing US$141 a barrel in Asian trading.

The price rose to as high as US$141.71 a barrel before pulling back to US$141.10.

On Thursday, oil jumped more than five dollars -- passing the US$140 a barrel mark before closing at US$139.64.
Gas station attendant Jorge Reyez pumps gas in Salem, Oregon on May 6, 2008. (AP / Don Ryan)
"The current reason is that the stock markets sold off very sharply yesterday," BNN's Michael Kane said Friday.

"The worries about inflation are making stock investments unattractive."

As a result, investors are putting their money into commodities like oil and gold as a hedge against inflation, said Kane.

Crude futures received another boost after OPEC's president said oil prices could go as high as US$170 a barrel this summer.

Libya also said it may cut oil production, adding to the price increase.

On Thursday, CIBC World Markets economist Jeff Rubin predicted in a report that gas prices in the U.S. will hit about US$7 a gallon -- the equivalent of C$1.86 a litre -- two years from now.

As a result, there will be about 10 million fewer vehicles on U.S. roads by 2012 and average kilometres driven will drop 15 per cent, said the report.

Another report Thursday, issued by Scotia Economics, said high gas prices are altering purchasing habits of consumers in a big way.

The change has resulted in Americans opting for smaller, more fuel-efficient cars instead of gas-guzzling SUV's and trucks.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
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Khadr's treatment violated international laws: judge
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. June 26  2008  07:43  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 26th, 2008
The U.S. military's treatment of Omar Khadr, a Canadian held at Guantanamo Bay, violated international laws against torture, a Federal Court of Canada judge has ruled.

In a ruling released Wednesday, Judge Richard Mosley said the way the military prepared Khadr for interrogation sessions with visiting Canadian officials broke human rights laws, including the Geneva Conventions.
Omar Khadr is shown in a courtroom sketch in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on Thursday, May 8, 2008.
Khadr's treatment is described in a March 2004 U.S. military document outlining "steps taken by the Guantanamo authorities to prepare the applicant for the Canadian visit."

Mosley, who did not reveal the technique used on Khadr, said the document should be made public because it is relevant to Khadr's allegations that he was mistreated while in U.S. custody.

"While it may cause some harm to Canada-U.S. relations, that effect will be minimized by the fact that the use of such interrogation techniques by the U.S. military at Guantanamo is now a matter of public record and debate,'' the judge wrote.

Last month, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Khadr has a constitutional right to material related to interviews conducted by Canadian officials in 2003 at Guantanamo Bay.

But the ruling allows the government to object to releasing some documents for national security reasons.

It was up to Mosely to determine what materials Ottawa must release.

Khadr was captured in 2002 following a firefight with U.S. Special Forces. He was taken to Afghanistan by his father, who had ties to al Qaeda and was killed in Pakistan in 2003. The Pentagon maintains Khadr threw a grenade during the fight, killing a U.S. soldier.

Foreign Affairs and CSIS officials questioned Khadr at Guantanamo in 2003, and shared their findings with the United States.

Canada not innocent

Mosley said Wednesday that Canada was not an innocent player in Khadr's mistreatment.

The federal judge said Canada "became implicated" when the Canadian interrogator met Khadr despite having knowledge of the efforts to prime the prisoner.

Dennis Edney, one of Khadr's lawyers, said the court's decision was a "resounding stain" on the federal government.

"This is a credible decision, it's the first court to have seen evidence to suggest that a detainee such as Omar Khadr was tortured by the Americans and it also for the first time directly implicates Canada in torture as well,'' he said in an interview from Vancouver.

"I'm happy when I see that governments are being made to be accountable for their abuses.''

Edney said once he receives the documents he will then decide if they'll be released to the media.

"This decision clearly indicates that Canada was well aware of the treatment Omar Khadr received and denied that by saying that they had always been told by the Americans that he would be treated well. They knew the exact opposite,'' Edney said.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
=======================
 
Ont. man exonerated of crime after Bernardo confession
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. June 25  2008  13:16  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 25th, 2008
A London, Ont. man has been exonerated by the Ontario Court of Appeal for a 1987 sex crime that Paul Bernardo has recently confessed to committing.

Twenty-years ago, Anthony Hanemaayer pleaded guilty part way through his trial to breaking and entering and assault with a weapon in relation to an attack on a 15-year-old girl.

The mother of the girl witnessed the attack and she picked Hanemaayer out of 12 photos shown to her.

Hanemaayer, who had been working at a construction site near the victim's house, said he was already on bail for "petty crimes" and did not want to go to jail for a long time, so he pled guilty to lesser charges.

He was sentenced to two years in jail.

But, in a 2006 police interview, which was videotaped, Bernardo admitted to breaking into the girl's home.

At the time, Bernardo lived two blocks away from where the attack took place.
Anthony Hanemaayer speaks with reporters after being exonerated outside the Ontario Court of Appeal in Toronto on Wednesday, June 28, 2008.
Mr. Hanemaayer's lawyer, James Lockyer, speaks to the media about his client’s exoneration outside of the Ontario Court of Appeal on Wednesday, June 25, 2008,
On Wednesday, the Ontario Court of Appeal withdrew Hanemaayer's guilty pleas, set aside his convictions and entered acquittals.

"I'm just glad everybody realizes, and in everybody's eyes, that it wasn't me,'' Hanemaayer said following the proceeding.
"That's pretty much the happiest thing right now."

Hanemaayer has said that police contacted him a few years ago about his conviction, telling him that new evidence had come to light.

But it wasn't until earlier this year that lawyers from the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted contacted him, saying that Bernardo had admitted to the attack in a 2006 police interview.

Hanemaayer's lawyers say their client's case should have been reopened immediately after Bernardo's confession.
In a legal argument filed yesterday to the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Crown conceded that the "fresh evidence" indicates Bernardo committed the attack.
Bernardo's confession
In the video, Bernardo says he sexually assaulted and killed women because he suffered from "performance anxiety."

"The way he (Bernardo) confessed and the details he talked about in terms of how he committed this crime has convinced the Crown and police that Bernardo was the perpetrator and that Hanemaayer was wrongfully sent to jail," CTV's John Vennavally-Rao reported Wednesday from outside the court.

Bernardo is serving a life sentence for two first-degree murders and two aggravated sexual assaults. He has been declared a dangerous offender and is unlikely to ever be released.

He is also known as the "Scarborough Rapist" and is believed to be behind numerous sexual assaults in southern Ontario in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Hanemaayer's lawyer James Lockyer called on the province's attorney general to revisit Bernardo's known crimes and others that he may have been involved in.

"The Bernardo story is not over and Bernardo needs more investigation,'' Lockyer said.

"An investigation like that may reveal more Anthony Hanemaayers.''

Lockyer also said Hanemaayer deserves compensation for what he has had to endure.

"What a piece of luck ... that Bernardo should decide -- for God knows what reason -- that he would finally confess,'' Lockyer said.

"Our system shouldn't have to depend on someone like him.''

Despite the new evidence, the court heard Wednesday that the victim's mother still believes Hanemaayer is guilty of the crime.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
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Man dies in OPP custody after Taser used
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. June 24  2008  07:44  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 24th, 2008
A 36-year-old Ontario man is dead after a confrontation with Ontario Provincial Police on Monday during which he was Tasered by officers.

The death comes just days after the RCMP said it would restrict the user of the controversial Taser device.
(AP / Toby Talbot)
Sgt. Pierre Chamberland said police were responding to a report of a man causing a disturbance in Norfolk County, about 130 kilometres southwest of Toronto, at about 10:30 a.m. ET Monday.

"Upon arrival police located a male who was combative and during the encounter police had to deploy a conducted energy weapon," Chamberland told CTV's Canada AM on Tuesday.

An ambulance was then deployed to assess the male's condition, after which he was taken to the Norfolk County OPP detachment in Simcoe, Ont.

However, while at the detachment, the man collapsed and the ambulance was recalled while police officers performed first aid on the man.

"He was transported to Norfolk General Hospital and eventually he succumbed to his condition," Chamberland said.
The province's Special Investigations Unit is looking into the death.

Chamberland would not say whether the man was known to police or whether the Taser was used more than once.

The incident follows the RCMP's announcement last week that it will provide officers with clearer direction on when and how Tasers can be deployed.

The devices have come under intense scrutiny following the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who died last October after an RCMP Taser was used on him multiple times in Vancouver International Airport.

A recent report that looked into the RCMP's record with Tasers found close to a third of those zapped required medical treatment afterwards.

Prior to Monday's incident, at least 20 people were known to have died in Canada since 2003 after being Tasered.

But Chamberland said it's important to note that Tasers are only issued to those OPP officers who have been properly trained in their use.

Officers who are qualified to use Tasers must renew their certification each year, he said.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Comedy legend George Carlin dead at 71
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. June 23  2008  08:59  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 23rd, 2008
U.S. comedian George Carlin, the influential godfather of counterculture comedy and originator of the classic "seven words you can't say on television," has died.

He passed away of heart failure on Sunday in Santa Monica, Calif.

Jeff Graham, Carlin's publicist, said the 71-year-old went to hospital Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died that evening.

He had performed a week ago in Las Vegas but has had a history of heart trouble.

On June 17, it was announced that Carlin had been awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humour.

He first performed his "seven words" bit in Milwaukee in 1972. It got him arrested for disturbing the peace. A judge dismissed the case, saying it was indecent but not obscene and didn't disturb the peace.

When a New York radio station broadcast the routine, it led to a 1978 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the government's authority to sanction stations that broadcast offensive language.

"So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I'm perversely kind of proud of," Carlin said earlier this year.

Over his career Carlin released 23 comedy albums, 14 HBO specials, had a few TV shows and appeared in several films.

"He was the consummate nightclub stand-up comedian," film critic Richard Crouse told Canada AM on Monday. But Crouse said Carlin was too idiosyncratic to make it big in film the way that contemporaries like Richard Pryor did.
George Carlin finishes his act with a flourish after receiving a Free Speech award at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo., March 2, 2002. (AP / E. Pablo Kosmicki)
Milwaukee Police officers lead comedian George Carlin off the Summerfest grounds in Milwaukee, Wis., July 22, 1972. He was arrested after allegedly using profane language during his act. (AP Photo)
Carlin guest-hosted the first broadcast of "Saturday Night Live," admitting on his website that he had been "loaded on cocaine" the entire week before the broadcast. He did at least one stint in drug rehab over the course of his life.

Born May 12, 1937, Carlin was a native of Manhattan's Morning Heights neighbourhood. His single mother raised him.

A high-school dropout, Carlin joined the U.S. Air Force. According to his official website, Carlin received three courts-martial and numerous disciplinary punishments.

It may or may not be telling that in touting his brother Patrick's novel "Highway 23," Carlin said people should read it if they:
"Were In The Armed Forces."
"Couldn't Wait To Get Out Of The Armed Forces."
"Counted Yourself As A F--- Up Or Malcontent."
"Had Trouble With Authority Figures."

The website seems to take pride in recording Carlin's anti-authority streak.

It notes, for example, that after starting a disc jockey job in Boston, he was "fired after three months for driving a mobile news van to New York to buy pot."

He had also worked as a carnival organist and as a market director for a peanut brittle company.

Career beginnings

In 1960, he went to Hollywood with a buddy where they formed a comedy team.

An early comedy hero for Carlin was comedian Danny Kaye, whose heyday was in the 1950s.

"He was a typical nightclub comic (of the time)," Crouse said of the early Carlin. "He wore a suit. His hair was slicked back."
But Carlin said that mainstream style didn't work for him.
"I was doing superficial comedy entertaining people who didn't really care: businessmen, people in nightclubs, conservative people. And I had been doing that for the better part of 10 years when it finally dawned on me that I was in the wrong place doing the wrong things for the wrong people," he said in a recent interview.

By 1970, Carlin had moved decisively to the edge, although Crouse noted the first true shock comic was Lenny Bruce, who was routinely getting arrested in the early 1960s. Carlin dropped the suits, dressed in either jeans or all-black and grew a beard and ponytail. He started doing routines about drugs and other counterculture material emblematic of the times.

Here's a Canadian reference from his "hippy dippy weatherman" character: "The weather was dominated by a large Canadian low, which is not to be confused with a Mexican high. Tonight's forecast ... dark, continued mostly dark tonight turning to widely scattered light in the morning."

Crouse noted that despite the raunchiness of his nightclub act, Carlin still appeared on decidedly mainstream shows like Ed Sullivan.

"The thing that made George Carlin great was he really treated the English language as a living, breathing thing," he said. "He was a comic that other comics looked up to."

In his later years, Carlin also did voice work for children's TV shows and movies.

Carlin's first wife Brenda died in 1997. He is survived by wife Sally Wade; daughter Kelly Carlin McCall; son-in-law Bob McCall; brother Patrick Carlin; and sister-in-law Marlene Carlin.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
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Drug use damaging Winehouse's lungs: father
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. June 22  2008  10:17  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 22nd, 2008
LONDON -- Soul diva Amy Winehouse has damaged her lungs by smoking crack cocaine, her father said in an interview published Sunday.

The Sunday Mirror quoted Mitch Winehouse as saying that Amy has an early stage emphysema and an irregular heartbeat, and has been warned that she will have to wear an oxygen mask unless she stops smoking drugs.

"The doctors have told her if she goes back to smoking drugs, it won't just ruin her voice, it will kill her,'' Mitch Winehouse was quoted as saying. "There are nodules around the chest and dark marks. She has 70 per cent lung capacity.''
Amy Winehouse leaves Snaresbrook Crown Court in London after the hearing of her husband Blake Fielder-Civil, Friday, Jan. 18, 2008. (AP / Sang Tan)
Winehouse collapsed at her north London home Monday after signing autographs for a group of fans and was taken to a London hospital for tests. She remained there all week.

She is still scheduled to sing at a concert in London on Friday celebrating 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela, the South African Nobel Prize-winner, and plans to take part in the Glastonbury music festival the following day.

Mitch Winehouse said it would be good for his daughter to perform.

"When she's been inactive work-wise then that's when the problems really start. The doctors have said that medically there isn't any reason why she can't do Glastonbury,'' the paper quoted him as saying.

He also pleaded with her drug taking friends to stay away from her.

"What hope does she have if people are taking drugs around her,'' he said.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
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Hybrid trucks to be built in Oshawa, CAW says
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. June 21  2008  13:57  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 21st, 2008
The Canadian Auto Workers union says General Motors has reversed its decision not to build any hybrid pickups in Oshawa, Ont., and will start assembling a hybrid truck this fall.

The company made the decision despite plans to close the truck plant there next year, CAW local 222 president Chris Buckley told CTV Newsnet on Saturday.

"It's a small win," Buckley said. "We need to take some larger steps to secure the jobs of our 2,600 members that will be affected (by the closure)."

The decision came out of a meeting between CAW officials and GM management on Friday, but the company has not commented on the reversal and the reasons for it.

Buckley said adding the hybrid at the truck plant shows "a glimmer of hope" that the plant can remain open, especially if hybrid truck sales take off.

Earlier this month, GM announced it was closing the Oshawa truck plant because of slumping demand for large vehicles. The plant employs 2,600 workers.
Union member Alex Perry stands watch at the blockade at General Motors Canadian headquaters in Oshawa, Ont., Saturday, June 7, 2008. (Aaron Harris / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
CAW Local 222 President Chris Buckley speaks during a press conference in Toronto on Tuesday, April 29, 2008.
The decision was announced just two weeks after GM reached a tentative agreement with the union, promising to continue production at the plant through 2011.

The CAW is considering taking its dispute with GM to the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

Angry GM workers have demonstrated against the closure since it was announced. Earlier this week, an injunction forced them to end a 12-day blockade at GM's head office in Oshawa.

Buckley said union officials will be meeting with GM officials next week to look at what new product can be brought to Oshawa.

"We're going to continue to press General Motors to keep the best truck plant in the industry open and we're going to continue our fight," he said.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from ctvtoronto.ca
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Dad has 'no authority' after grounding ruling: lawyer
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. June 20  2008  08:37  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 20th, 2008
The lawyer for a Quebec man whose daughter took him to court to challenge her father's grounding punishment says that he will appeal a ruling that he had no right to ban his child from a school trip.

Kim Beaudoin, lawyer for the man, told CTV's Canada AM that the father wants to reclaim the parental authority he lost when his daughter took him to court.
Kim Beaudoin, lawyer for the man, speaks with Canada AM from CTV studios in Ottawa on Friday, June 20, 2008.
"You can imagine that he has no authority towards this child anymore," Beaudoin said.

"If she comes back home, the reaction will be every time he gives a punishment, well, you know, I can always bring you to court. That's not the situation you want in your family."

Beaudoin said that the father also wants to spare other parents from having to go through a similar situation.

The man had told his 12-year-old daughter that she could not go on a three-day trip with her classmates after she got into an argument with her stepmother. The father had also banned the girl from using the Internet after he found out she posted pictures of herself on a dating website.

The father has custody of the girl, but she went to live with her mother after the family fight.

The girl took her case to Quebec Superior Court, where Justice Suzanne Tessier ruled that the man had no right to ban his daughter from the trip.

After the court ruling, the girl did go on the trip, a short class jaunt through Quebec to celebrate graduation from the sixth grade.

The judge said that the father's punishment could not stand because the girl is now living with her mother. Tessier also said that banning the girl from the trip was excessive punishment.

However, Beaudoin said that the father had told the girl at the beginning of the school year that she could go on the trip if her behaviour was good throughout the year.

The man was "stunned" when his daughter brought the case to court.

"He was so firm on the fact that he had given a punishment and he wanted that punishment to be maintained," Beaudoin said.

"He never thought that she'd bring this to court."

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
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Man's own immune cells put melanoma in remission
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. June 18  2008  17:18  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 19th, 2008
For the first time, doctors have put a man's melanoma into remission after they injected him with his own tumour-killing immune cells.

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, led by Dr. Cassian Yee, said that the man remained cancer-free at his last check-up, 26 months after being treated.

The report detailing this breakthrough is published in the June 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle put a man's melanoma into recession by injecting him with his own tumour-killing immune cells.
The 52-year-old man had not responded to conventional treatments and his stage four melanoma, a type of skin cancer, had spread to a lymph node in the groin and to one of his lungs. Doctors drew blood from him and then isolated known tumour-killing cells. These cells were cloned to increase their numbers and then re-injected into the man.

The patient was not given any subsequent treatment.

"We were surprised by the anti-tumour effect of these cells and its duration of response," Yee, an associate member of Fred Hutchinson's clinical research division, said in a statement.

"For this patient we were successful, but we would need to confirm the effectiveness of therapy in a larger study."

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that starts in the melanocytes. Melanocytes make melanin, which give colour to the skin.

The Canadian Cancer Society's Canadian Cancer Statistics 2008 report estimates that about 4,600 new cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in Canada this year.

Yee cautioned that if the findings are duplicated in other late-stage melanoma patients, they would only apply to those patients with the same type of immune system and who produce the same tumour-killing cells.

However, the findings add to the growing research into immunotherapy, which involves using a patient's own immune system to treat cancer. Immunotherapy breakthroughs will result in cancer treatments that are less toxic to the human body than chemotherapy and radiation.

Summary:
Treatment of Metastatic Melanoma with AutologousCD4+ T Cells against NY ESO-1.

Naomi H. Hunder, M.D., Herschel Wallen, M.D., Jianhong Cao, Ph.D., Deborah W. Hendricks, B.Sc., John Z. Reilly, B.Sc., Rebecca Rodmyre, B.Sc., Achim Jungbluth, M.D., Sacha Gnjatic, Ph.D., John A. Thompson, M.D., and Cassian Yee, M.D.

We developed an in vitro method for isolating and expanding autologous CD4+ T-cell clones with specificity for the melanoma-associated antigen NY-ESO-1. We infused these cells into a patient with refractory metastatic melanoma who had not undergone any previous conditioning or cytokine treatment. We show that the transferred CD4+ T cells mediated a durable clinical remission and led to endogenous responses against melanoma antigens other than NY-ESO-1.

CD8+ cytotoxic T cells can be harvested from a patient with cancer, expanded in vitro, selected for specificity against a tumor-associated antigen, and infused back into the patient. Such autologous T cells have been shown in clinical trials to have a beneficial effect in some patients with cancer. The cytotoxic antitumor effect of CD8+ T cells depends on CD4+ T cells, which provide CD8+ T cells with growth factors such as interleukin-2 and can mediate the destruction of tumor cells either directly or indirectly.6-9 Growth factors like interleukin-2 can act in an autocrine manner, which in principle would allow an infusion of CD4+ T cells to proliferate in the patient and stimulate endogenous antitumor CD8+ T cells. Until recently, however, a means of isolating and expanding antitumor CD4+ T cells in numbers sufficient for cellular therapy has not been feasible. The identification of HLA class II-restricted epitopes in tumor associated antigens such as NY-ESO-1 and tyrosinase and the development of methods for the isolation and expansion of CD4+ T cells in vitro gave us the opportunity to implement a clinical trial to evaluate the safety, in vivo persistence, and antitumor efficacy of autologous CD4+ T-cell clones for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. We describe a patient with refractory metastatic melanoma who entered long-term complete remission after receiving autologous NY-ESO-1-specific CD4+ T-cell clones.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
Rising Mississippi River threatens Midwestern towns
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. June 18  2008  08:15  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 18th, 2008
A small Illinois town was evacuated this morning after a levee breach along the Mississippi River. About 50 people in Meyer, Ill., have had to leave their homes.

The evacuation order is likely not the last in Illinois or in neighbouring states. Towns along the Mississippi River were bracing for more floods Wednesday.

The Mississippi broke through a levee near Gulfport, Ill., Tuesday, covering about 5,000 acres in the region. The floodwaters got so dangerous for boats in the area, that officials used a helicopter to rescue at least three people.
Downtown businesses are reflected in murky floodwater in LaGrange, Mo. Tuesday, June 17, 2008 where the Mississippi River crested. (AP Photo/Quincy Herald Whig, Jennifer Coombes)
The surging water in the town was just the latest in a spate of floods to hit the region over the past several days.

About 25,000 people left their homes in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after floodwaters there rushed through large parts of the city, damaging buildings and water treatment plants throughout the region.

The rising Mississippi will likely threaten communities in several states for the rest of the week, leaving many residents on edge. Lois Russell, 83, a Gulfport resident, says he was forced out of his farmhouse after 57 years.

"What else am I going to do? Where else am I going to go," he asked.

Other communities are preparing to follow Gulfport's lead. Officials in towns along the Mississippi are considering evacuation plans and have bolstered defences against rising floodwaters. In Clarksville, Mo., the U.S. National Guard, students, inmates, and residents have been sandbagging around historic buildings and businesses to minimize damage.

However, the potential damage may not be as bad in this round of floods than in the past. Over the past few years, the federal government has bought out homes in some of the most vulnerable flood areas. But not everyone has sold their properties to move to higher ground.

The Mayor of Chelsea, Iowa, says residents in the area have learned to cope.

"For the most part, it's another flood," Roger Ochs said. "For Chelsea, it's more of an inconvenience.

The National Weather Service fears the worst may yet be ahead for some communities along the Mississippi. Officials say the river near Canton, Mo., may reach 8.5 metres Thursday. That's four metres above the flood stage. Crests near the towns of Quincy, Ill., and Hannibal, Mo., are expected to be about 4.5 metres above the flood stage.

The flooding in eastern Iowa and surrounding areas has already caused US$1.5 billion in damages.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
=======================
 
Afghan villagers flee as battle looms in Arghandab
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. June 17  2008  08:08  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 17th, 2008
Residents of Arghandab district in Afghanistan's Kandahar province are fleeing as they fear a major clash between Taliban rebels and coalition forces.

They are pulling out in the middle of grape harvest season, thus putting themselves at risk of financial ruin.

"They told us to leave the area within 24 hours because they want to fight foreign and Afghan troops,'' said Hajib Ibrahim Khan, who fled Arghandab on Tuesday.

"But within a week, we should be harvesting and we were expecting a good one. Now with this fighting we are deeply worried -- the grapes are the only source of income we have."

Arghandab sits about 15 kilometres north of Kandahar City, the second-largest in Afghanistan.

About 500 Taliban insurgents moved into the area on Monday, taking over up to 10 villages and taunting coalition troops.

They have reportedly planted mines and destroyed culverts and small bridges.
Canadian troops confer with their Afghan counterparts at a checkpoint in Arghandab district, Afghanistan on Tuesday, June 17, 2008.
An Afghan soldier searches a man on the way to leaving the Arghandab district, which is partly controlled by the Taliban militants, Tuesday, June 17, 2008. (AP / Allauddin Khan)
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi told The Canadian Press in a telephone interview that more than 500 Taliban are in the Arghandab.

"We are going to start an operation by the name IBRAT, which stands for (Learn a lesson from past deeds and doings)," he said.

Sardar Mohammad, a police officer manning a checkpoint, told The Canadian Press that four planeloads of Afghan National Army soldiers have been flown in from Kabul.

Canadian soldiers have also moved in and are awaiting the order to attack, he said.
Afghan families sit in the back of a car as they leave the Argandab district, where Taliban militants have moved in, for the city of Kandahar on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. (AP / Allauddin Khan)
Show of force

Military analyst Scott Taylor, publisher of Esprit de Corps magazine, told Canada AM that while the Taliban incursion into Arghandab is a surprise, he doesn't think it will go very far.

"When they meet NATO forces out in the open, it's shown time and time again our superiority in terms of weaponry," he said. "We're able to destroy them out in the open."

"It's more about showing the local population what they're still capable of and that when they send their night letters or threats, it's got a fair amount of meaning," he said.

Ahmadi said the Taliban have burned several schools in Arghandab and are threatening anyone who works with coalition or government forces.

"As everybody knows, we have (already) killed so many people who were working with coalition forces or working with international organizations," he said.

Peter Powers, a former British counter-terrorism official, told Canada AM that this flare-up shows that a foreign military presence will be required in Afghanistan for some time to come.

Unfortunately, if one builds up foreign forces, more casualties will inevitably result, he said.

The looming conflict comes after a spectacular attack last Friday on Sarposa Prison in Kandahar.

About 400 Taliban fighters were among those who escaped.

Omar Samad, Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada, told Canada AM that institutions like Sarposa need to be better protected.

"This wasn't a professional jail. This was a building that became a jail over time," he said.

Building up such infrastructure is "still a work in progress," Samad said.

Critics have noted the jail -- whose entrance was blown apart by a Taliban truck bomb -- had mud walls and a creek running through it, with an occasional landmine floating through.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
=======================
 
More protests planned despite end of CAW blockade
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. June 16  2008  07:20  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 16th, 2008
OSHAWA, Ont. -- A CAW official says an almost two-week long blockade at the GM Canada plant in Oshawa, Ont., would be dismantled by 7 a.m. Monday.

Keith Osborne, the chairman of the CAW Local 222, said picketers would leave at "five to seven'' under terms of a court injunction issued late last week.

He said CAW members would drive around the GM site once then gather in a parking lot for a brief meeting before dispersing.
CAW union members continue the blockade at General Motors' Canadian headquarters in Oshawa, Ont. after a large rally ladt week. (Aaron Harris / THE CANADIAN ORESS)
"We cleaned up last night ... we had people picking up cigarette butts, the place will look like we've never been there.''

Osborne warned, however, there could be other actions in coming days and weeks to protest plans to shut down the GM truck plant in 2009.

"Anything from rotating information pickets (at) not just the GM facilities across Ontario but also the feeder plants, possibly even going to Ottawa or Detroit.'' he said.

"We have a lot of things that we could do.''

Osborne said he would meet with the union lawyers in Toronto today to discuss bringing the dispute to the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

The blockade erupted June 4 after the company announced plans to shut down its Oshawa truck plant and eliminate some 2,600 jobs.

GM has said the decision to close the Oshawa plant and three others in North America came after a sudden collapse in the U.S. market for pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
=======================
 
Ottawa balcony collapse sends six to hospital
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. June 15  2008  08:43  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 15th, 2008
A balcony collapse in downtown Ottawa sent six people to hospital Saturday night, including two with life-threatening injuries.

Paramedics, fire crews, and police were called to three-story apartment complex shortly before 11 p.m. after a third-floor balcony tore off the side of the building.

By the time ambulance crews got to the scene, they found "four (people) with serious injuries and two with critical injuries," Darrell Drew, a team leader with the Ottawa Paramedic Service, told CTV.ca on Sunday.

"(The balcony) had sheared off completely from the apartment and fell to the ground," he said.

There are reports it also destroyed parts of the two lower balconies.

Drew said ambulance crews had to treat a variety of injuries, including head injuries sustained by the two patients now listed in critical condition. Their injuries were considered life threatening.

The facade of a balcony which fell to the ground injuring six peopleis seen in Ottawa, early Sunday, June 15, 2008.
Chairs can be seen on a fallen balcony, in Ottawa on Sunday, June 15, 2008.
He said four others are in serious condition with "lacerations and abrasions. There were some fractures."

Drew said in addition to police and fire crews, six ambulance teams were called to the scene, including the emergency support unit, which deals with mass casualties.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
Canadians search for Taliban prison escapees
Web Posted | Last Updated Sat. June 14  2008  10:35  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 14th, 2008
Canadian troops are scrambling today in the wake of a dramatic attack on a Kandahar prison by the Taliban.

The insurgents attacked with rockets, suicide bombers and an explosives-laden truck on Friday, leading to the escape of about 1,000 prisoners -- including about 400 captured Taliban. Afghan authorities use a figure of 870 escapees from Sarposa prison, while NATO has a higher estimate.

Nine police officers died in the well-co-ordinated attack. The truck bomb attacked the front gates, a suicide bomber the back wall, while rockets were fired inside the institution's courtyard.

"It is indeed a wild scene," Katherine O'Neill, a Globe and Mail reporter in Kandahar, told CTV Newsnet on Saturday.

"Soldiers are desperately searching for prisoners that are still remaining in the city, but as of today, a lot of them have already fled Kandahar City."

They have headed to the Taliban hotbeds southwest of the city, she said.
A vehicle lays overturned at the entrance gate of a prison, right, after Taliban militants launched an attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan on Saturday, June 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)
File photo of the gate of the prison in Kandahar province, south of Kabul, Afghanistan, May 11, 2008. (Allauddin Khan, The Associated Press)
In Kandahar, residents are quite fearful. The escaped criminals ranged from thieves to murderers, O'Neill said.

People in the city have "hunkered down," she said, adding many could actually feel the blast at Sarposa on Friday.

The attack is being seen as a huge setback for Canadian troops in Kandahar province. NATO officials concede the Taliban's attack was a success.

"We admit it,'' said International Security Assistance Force spokesperson Brig. Gen. Carlos Branco. "Their guys did the job properly in that sense, but it does not have a strategic impact. We should not draw any conclusion about the deterioration of the military operations in the area.''

"This has already been a busy fighting season and they thought they made some gains in some recent operations," O'Neill said.

But now, 400 fighters are back in play.

"OK, they got some more fighters, more shooters,'' Branco said. "(But) These guys who escaped from the prison are not going to change the operational tempo and they do not provide the Taliban with operational initiative.''

Some prisoners stayed behind, either because they were injured in the blast or too old to flee. The number who stayed behind is estimated to be 80 to 200, O'Neill said.

Along with the search for escaped prisoners, Canadian and Afghan officials are searching for answers as to how this happened.

Some prison officials who survived the blast are being questioned on a precautionary basis, she said.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
===========================
Comment from readers:
CDN Soldier
As a Canadian Soldier myself I find this to be just another example of the poor leadership which we have, as well as a wake-up call as to how little the Afghan Government and Police really help. The news report earlier on this week about talking with the Taliban was correct, unless we start some type of negotiations very little is going to change. Yes the PRT is making progress in some areas but if we were to leave that would all disappear overnight.
===========================
eddytoronto
'Major breach'
"It is indeed a wild scene,"
I can see more of my Canadian Brothers and sisters being killed now.
This is an Illegal War we must withdraw NOW.
Prisoners already fled Kandahar City."
They have headed to the Taliban hotbeds southwest of the city!
These bankers are using my Canadian brothers and sisters to do evil...
===========================
Greg in the Hammer
While a tactical success for the Taliban this is indicative that they are becoming increasingly desperate and running low on "volunteers" for their cause. NATO should be encouraged by this fact and pick up the tempo of operations against them.
The Vietnamese showed the world how to beat and insurgency against Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
It takes patience perseverance, focus and a continued attack against their means of supply and personnel. Keep them living in squalor in caves and tents and hungry. Eventually rational thought takes over front ideological zeal and capitulation follows.
Hopefully NATO will stay the course and we will one day be able to no longer refer to Afghanistan as a failed state.

Giant Dwarf's opinion on Num-Nut's (Greg in the Hammer) comments here above . . . !
I quote, "Keep them living in squalor in caves and tents and hungry."
When one gets cold & hungry enough...one has nothing to loose...because our imperial forces are invading illegally.
I'll tell you what Num-Nuts.  If these forces were in our country; including American & Canadian force - I'd shoot those cocksuckers down myself as well. Yes, even you Num-Nuts . . . !
===========================
=======================
 
Widespread gas price fixing unlikely: Liberal MP
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. June 13  2008  07:49  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 13th, 2008
Although gasoline retailers in four Quebec regions have been accused of price fixing, Liberal MP Dan McTeague says it's unlikely the problem is more widespread.

The alleged scheme involved 13 people and 11 companies in the Quebec regions of Sherbrooke, Magog, Victoriaville and Thetford Mines, Commissioner of Competition Sheridan Scott has confirmed.

Three companies -- Les Pétroles Therrien (operating under the name Petro-T), Distributions Pétrolières Therrien and Ultramar -- pleaded guilty Thursday in Quebec Superior Court in Victoriaville. The court handed out fines totalling more than $2 million to the three companies.

Former Ultramar employee Jacques Ouellet also pleaded guilty and was fined $50,000.

An investigation into potential price-fixing in the retail gasoline market continues in other markets in Canada.

But McTeague, a vigilant observer of gas prices, said Friday that smaller cities are more likely to see this sort of conspiracy because it's easier to coordinate a small group of retailers.

"The fact is that many of the small gas stations that are owned by independent operators in Quebec -- because of a unique law there that actually protects independence -- means that there's the possibility (of price fixing) among very small players," McTeague told CTV's Canada AM on Friday.

Liberal MP Dan McTeague for Pickering-Scarborough East appears on Canada AM from CTV studios in Toronto on Friday, June 13, 2008.
Patrons fill up at an Ultramar in Montreal on Thursday, June 12, 2008. The federal Competition Bureau says criminal charges have been laid for allegedly fixing gasoline prices in four Quebec markets with Ultramar being fined. (Paul Chiasson / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
He said the Competition Bureau needs new laws to give it stronger teeth.

Scott, speaking to CTV's Canada AM Friday, said there's "always the possibility of modifying our legislation to make it a little bit easier to make up these cases."

In larger cities throughout Canada, McTeague said identical pricing at gas stations is more a result of a lack of competition.

"The pricing there is very transparent and it's one of the reasons I'm able to... (predict) the price for gasoline the following day," he said.
Sheridan Scott with the Competition Bureau speaks to the media in regards to gas price fixing in Quebec on Thursday, June 12, 2008.
McTeague said prices aren't rising because of supply and demand fundamentals since demand for oil is falling and supply is adequate throughout North America.

McTeague is part of a Commons committee that is planning to investigate the role of speculators in pushing up the price of oil and gasoline.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
Marine expelled, another punished over puppy video
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. June 12  2008  06:57  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 12th, 2008
HONOLULU -- The Marine Corps is expelling one Marine and disciplining another for their roles in a video showing a Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff while on patrol in Iraq.

The 17-second video posted on YouTube drew sharp condemnation from animal rights groups when it came to light in March.
An image taken from YouTube video of a U.S. Marine holding a puppy.
The clip shows two Marines joking before one hurls the puppy into a rocky gully. A yelping sound is heard as it flips through the air.

Marine Corps Base Hawaii said in a news release Wednesday that Lance Cpl. David Motari received unspecified "non-judicial punishment'' and "is being processed for separation'' from the Marine Corps.

The second Marine, Sgt. Crismarvin Banez Encarnacion also received unspecified "non-judicial'' punishment.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
=======================
 
Baltovich's lawyer pans police interview of Bernado
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. June 11  2008  08:18  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 11th, 2008
The lawyer for a Toronto man cleared in a 1990 murder thinks a newly-released video shows the police did a "dreadful" job of interviewing sex killer Paul Bernardo.

"There was any number of questions they should have asked and didn't," James Lockyer, lawyer for Robert Baltovich, told Canada AM on Wednesday.

"Put him across the table from me, and I have a lot of pretty significant questions for him that the police never bothered to ask."

An Ontario judge ordered the release of the 31-minute tape.

Police were interviewing Bernardo in connection with the 1990 death of Elizabeth Bain, Baltovich's girlfriend of the time.

Baltovich had once been convicted in her death and served eight years in prison, but an appeal court ordered a new trial. The Crown said earlier this year it would not proceed with that trial.

Bernardo lived in Scarborough, Ont. at that time. Someone police had dubbed the "Scarborough rapist" was preying on women in the area, but police didn't tie Bernardo to those crimes until 1993. Bain lived in Scarborough.
Paul Bernardo is interviewed at by members of the Toronto police Sex Crimes Unit at Kingston Penitentiary in Kingston, Ont. on June 7, 2007.
Tim Danson, lawyer for French and Mahaffy families, appears on Canada AM in Toronto, Wednesday, June 11, 2008.
Police went to Kingston Penitentiary in June 2007 -- where Bernardo is serving a life sentence for the murders of schoolgirls Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy -- to interview him about Bain's murder and disappearance.

Bernardo who is also designated a dangerous offender, denied any role in Bain's death. But he also said this in response to a question about whether he knew her.

"I'm going to answer that one with an 'I don't remember' because if I did, I don't remember," he said speaking in a low voice, looking up. "I know an ex-girlfriend, which I can think -- but I don't know."
James Lockyer, lawyer for Robert Baltovich, speaks on Canada AM from CTV National News studios, Wednesday, June 11, 2008.
Tim Danson, lawyer for the French and Mahaffy families, told Canada AM that he thought Bernardo controlled the interview.
Lockyer concurred with that view.

If an inquiry is ever held into the Baltovich case, Lockyer said Bernardo should be subjected to a proper interview.

"When you ask him, 'did you kill Elizabeth Bain?' he has trouble responding," he said.

Baltovich wanted the tape released "because it could bring back into the public mind the likelihood that Bernardo is Elizabeth Bain's killer," Lockyer said.

Danson said his clients initially reacted "with alarm" to the prospect of the tape's release, but relented when it was clear the "dignity" of their dead daughters wouldn't be compromised.

However, they would personally prefer Bernardo not get any of the publicity he loves, he said.

As to Bernardo himself, "once a psychopath, always a psychopath," Danson said.

"I was also taken aback by the fact he was referring to the rapes of the 'Scarborough Rapist' as if you and I might be talking about the weather or candy. The disconnect is quite remarkable."

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
Hockey theme song saved from 'oblivion': composer
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. June 10  2008  08:16  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 10th, 2008
The composer of the song that has become synonymous with NHL hockey in Canada says she is "overjoyed" the tune has found a new home on CTV.

Dolores Claman's iconic song, known as "The Hockey Theme" has been associated with CBC's Hockey Night in Canada for 40 years, but the network announced last week it could not reach a deal with the song's copyright holders.

Following a deal that was struck Monday by CTV, the song will now be heard in NHL broadcasts on TSN and RDS. CTV will also air the song as part of its hockey coverage during the 2010 Olympic winter games.

"I'm absolutely overjoyed," Claman, 80, told CTV's Canada AM from London, England on Tuesday morning.

"It's very hard to explain how good I feel about the whole thing. Bloody but unbowed, here we are. It's got a new home, it's going to be in safe hands and I couldn't be more delighted."

Claman wrote the song in 1968 in Vancouver. Since then, it has become affectionately known as Canada's second national anthem.

She said negotiations with the CBC to extend the network's use of the song were "tough" and she was worried the song would disappear into "oblivion" if an agreement wasn't reached.
Dolores Claman, composer of the 'Hockey Theme Song' speaks to Canada AM from London, England.
Beginning this fall, the song will be used in NHL broadcasts on TSN and RDS, along with CTV's 2010 Olympic hockey coverage.
However, Claman said CTV displayed respect for her family and for the song during negotiations, and she became confident "The Hockey Theme" was going to good hands.

As the story emerged about CBC's failure to extend its agreement, Claman said she realized it had become an intrinsic part of the Canadian hockey experience.

"I think sometimes things get out of hand and they take on a life of their own that nobody ever planned and I think that's what happened," she said.

"I read all these blogs and websites and all the commentaries and all the people that were really trying to support the music and I think it's really their song, really and it's part of their life and that's why I'm glad it's going to be continued and I'm glad about the home it's got."

Rick Brace, President, Revenue, Business Planning and Sports, CTV Inc. said the network jumped at the opportunity to be associated with the tune.

"The song has a long and storied history in Canadian sports and has become ingrained in the hearts and minds of hockey fans across the country," said Brace.

"It is an iconic tune, embraced by Canadians everywhere, and we felt it was imperative to save it," he said in a news release. "It's an honour and a privilege to own such a cherished piece of Canadiana."

The announcement comes on the heels of another TSN deal that ensures the network packs a hockey punch for seasons to come.

TSN recently inked a six-year multi-platform NHL deal that will see more coverage of Canadian teams than ever before, with at least one Canadian team in every game.

Song will be re-engineered
Brace said the network's hockey shows will have a new opening that will incorporate a new version of the theme song.
Though there will be a new version of the song, the tune will be instantly recognizeable to fans.

"We will have to re-orchestrate it," he told CTV's Newsnet. "It will still be the same music but it will be a different arrangement. It will be exactly the same tune."

Brace said that although the song is closely associated with the CBC, hockey fans associate the tune more with their favourite sport. He said TSN and RDS both have strong brands when it comes to hockey and will have no problem making the song their own.

The executive refused to say how much the network paid for the song but he called the deal a "fair" one that is of great value to CTV.

"We're in hockey for the long haul," he said. "The value will span across our lifetime and the lifetime of generations to come."

CTV first inquired about the deal last week when news reports suggested CBC and the copyright holders were at odds over a new contract.

Brace said the network made their move when CBC released a press release on Friday announcing it had not secured the deal and was instead launching a contest to search for a new theme song.

"It's wonderful to have been able to save it," Brace said. "It was headed to obscurity. It was going to fade away and we're glad we were able to make a deal, buy the rights in perpetuity for all platforms. You're going to hear a lot of it."

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
Officials to examine if tornado hit southern Ontario
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. June 09  2008  07:58  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 9th, 2008
Residents in southern Ontario are in for more stormy weather today after heavy rain and high winds -- along with reports of tornadoes -- battered the region Sunday.

Environment Canada said Monday morning that a cold front will approach southern Ontario tonight.

Ahead of the front, one or two bands of thunderstorms are forecast to develop and there is a "slight risk" that they could become severe.

The weather agency defines a severe thunderstorm as having one or more of the following:
Tornadoes.
Wind gusts of 90 km/h or greater.
Hail of 2 centimetres diameter or greater.
Rainfall rate greater than 50 millimetres in 1 hour or less or 75 millimetres in 3 hours or less.

On Sunday evening, Environment Canada issued tornado warnings for parts of southern Ontario and western New Brunswick.

There were reports of tornadoes -- or just funnel clouds -- near Lucan, north of London and in (Sombra) in Lambton County, and (near Burgessville) Oxford County.

Funnel clouds are seen during a severe storm in North York, near Toronto, Ont. on Sunday, June 8, 2008. (Nicole Wilson / MyNews.CTV.ca)
Damage caused by high winds and a possible tornado is visible in Lucan, near London, Ont. on Sunday, June 8, 2008.
Investigators for Environment Canada are heading out to the region Monday to inspect damages to determine if a tornado actually touched down.

Environment Canada's Geoff Coulson told The Canadian Press that satellite images showed a "classic tornado-shape'' in the area north of London.

Meanwhile, some residents in the Dresden area will be cleaning up Monday after reports emerged of roofs being torn off buildings and trees being uprooted.

Across the region, people had to also deal with flying debris and downed power lines.
A funnel cloud is seen northwest of Toronto, Ont. on Sunday, June 8, 2008.
Also Sunday, lighting temporarily cut power to hundreds of homes in the Waterloo region.

Elsewhere in the country, Woodstock and Carleton County, N.B. residents were told to stay on alert and take safety precautions as heavy rains and strong winds hit the region.

There are no reports of any damage in the wake of Sunday's tornado warning.

A heat wave in Central Canada is blamed for the severe weather in parts of Ontario.

Environment Canada expects this summer to be unusually warm and warn with the heat come storms.

Torrential rains, baseball-sized hail, high winds and tornadoes have also slammed the American Midwest, killing three people.

Violent weather has plagued parts of Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Michigan since early Friday, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
=======================
 
Keeping Bernardo video offline impossible: experts
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. June 08  2008  11:54  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 8th, 2008
TORONTO -- Crown lawyers who are not opposed to televising segments of a recorded jailhouse interview with Paul Bernardo are in need of a reality check if they think an Ontario judge's order would keep the video off the Internet, experts say.

Lawyers for several media outlets are asking the court to make the video available for use on television and online, but the Crown wants to prevent the entire 31-minute video from being posted on the Internet for fear it would be misused by the public.
Paul Bernardo arrives at the provincial courthouse in Toronto, on Nov.3, 1995. (Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
The Crown is not opposed to allowing media outlets to post those segments of the video that are used in news reports.

Superior Court Justice David McCombs told lawyers last week that he intends to grant media outlets some form of access to the video, but reserved until Tuesday his decision on whether there would be any limitations placed on its use.

However, experts say it would be futile to try and ban from the Internet a video that's broadcast on television.

"It will be online within seconds (of being broadcast),'' said Internet and technology expert Rick Broadhead. "Trust me -- it will be everywhere.''

The technology to record from TV to computer is simple, cheap and easy to find, Broadhead said. All it takes is a cable connection and a TV tuner card, which allows a computer to function as a television. From there, recording, saving and posting to a video-sharing site like YouTube is simply a matter of a few clicks of the mouse, Broadhead said.

An even simpler method, although of a lower quality, would be to use a digital camera or cellphone to record the broadcast off the television screen, he added.

The reality is that once a video is available in one format, it can quickly be converted into almost any other format, Broadhead said.

"As soon as you make it available in any form, it will be all over the place,'' he said. "(The judge) can do what he can in the confines of his chambers, but the technology is going to outpace his ability to control where that video shows up.''

Even if the video didn't make it online through the work of citizens, it's "paternalistic'' to restrict its release to one medium, said Andrea Slane, executive director of the Centre for Innovation Law and Policy at the University of Toronto.

"That means evaluating who counts as a legitimate news purveyor who can therefore be trusted with this type of information, and I think that distinction is getting harder and harder to make given that you have all these online sources,'' Slane said.
If Crown lawyers are concerned the video could influence the outcome of a future trial, they should reconsider allowing its release at all, said Daniel Burnett, a professor of media law at the University of British Columbia.

"Generally speaking, the courts are far too quick to jump to the conclusion that jurors will be influenced on things,'' Burnett said.

"I think jurors are far smarter than they are often given credit for in terms of judging things on the evidence before them.''

The June 7, 2007, video interview shows police questioning Bernardo about the unsolved killing of student Elizabeth Bain, who vanished in 1990.

It was an exhibit at the trial of Robert Baltovich, which ended abruptly on April 22 after the prosecution said it had no reasonable prospect of conviction. Minutes later, a jury found Baltovich not guilty in the disappearance and death of Bain, his former girlfriend.

McCombs has described the video as more "boring'' than "chilling.''

Bernardo remains in prison on a life sentence for the murders of teenagers Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
=======================
 
Experts warn Canadians to prepare for tornadoes
Web Posted | Last Updated Fri. June 06  2008  23:08  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 7th, 2008
For much of this year, Canadians have looked on as tornado after tornado has hit the U.S. But now, weather experts say residents here may need to prepare for twisters as well.

South of the border, the U.S. already appears to be on track to set an unwanted record. If current trends hold, an unprecedented number of tornados will have touched down in the country.

The latest twister hit Friday in Minnesota, making its way through the Midwest. No deaths or injuries were reported. But the twister cut a nearly-kilometre-wide path of destruction in the northwestern part of the state, destroying homes, toppling trees, and cutting power to thousands of residents.

While American residents appear to be getting the worst of this season's twister season, weather experts say Canadians may not necessarily escape unscathed. Tornadoes have already hit Manitoba five times this year. One barely swept past a small community near Winnipeg.
Storm clouds loom over homes the north side in Racine, Wisconsin on Friday, June 6, 2008. (AP / The Journal Times, Scott Anderson)
This image taken from footage captured by KWTV/News 9 via CNN, shows a tornado moving through Oklahoma on Saturday May 24, 2008.
Weather experts say Ontario residents should also get ready for a stormy summer.

Jay Anderson, a meteorologist at the University of Manitoba, says that's "because (the region is) tapping into the high humidity that fuels these storms, and the particular jet stream and wind pattern that causes the tornadoes."

Despite this summer's prospects, Canada has so far not come close to the number of bad storms that have struck the U.S. Residents there have endured 1,300 tornadoes this year alone -- and that's before the U.S. has even reached its peak season for twisters.

"It's just a huge explosion in the number of Tornadoes that they've seen already," said Anderson.

Part of the problem may have to do with what's happening here in Canada. Experts say unusual cold fronts from north of the U.S. border are flowing southwards. There they disrupt masses of moist, warm air -- and that sends clouds swirling and tornadoes on their furious paths.

Environment Canada tornado facts:
Downed power lines and debris from a tornado west of Ceresco, Neb., Wednesday evening, continue to cause several county roads to be closed in Lancaster and Saunders counties Thursday, June 5, 2008. (AP / Bill Wolf)
On average, about 80 twisters hit Canada each year.
Twisters cause on average two deaths and 20 injuries in any given year.
Odds of dying from a tornado: 12 million to one.
Canada's worst recorded tornado occurred in 1912 in Regina. Hundreds of people were injured and 28 died.
If a tornado doesn't appear to be moving, it's either moving directly away from you or straight into your path.
Canada's "tornado alleys" are: southern Ontario, Alberta, southeastern Quebec, and a stretch from southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba through to Thunder Bay.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with a report by CTV's Murray Oliver
=======================
 
Woman fired after shaving head for cancer charity
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. June 05  2008  17:52  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 6th, 2008
OWEN SOUND, Ont. -- When she took part in a local fundraiser for cancer research, all Stacey Fearnall thought she had to lose was a full head of hair.

Instead, the 36-year-old waitress at Nathaniels restaurant in Owen Sound, Ont., who raised more than $2,700 for the charity Cops for Cancer in exchange for her locks, was laid off when she showed up for work earlier this week with a shorn head.

"She had been a little nervous all day long, but I think she was still hoping in her heart that she'd walk in there and they'd be like, 'Oh, wow -- you look great,''' Fearnall's husband John said in an interview Thursday.

"But that's not the reaction she got.''

The mother of two, who was told by her boss to go home after she refused to wear a wig, was in tears when she returned home Tuesday just a half hour into her shift.
Stacey Fearnall, of Owen Sound, Ont., says she can’t believe she was laid off after she had her head shaved for a cancer fundraising event. Fearnall raised more than $2,700 for charity, but when she showed up for work and refused to sport a wig for her shift, her boss told her to take the summer off. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / The Sun Times-James Masters)
"When she went in she felt like there was something wrong with her,'' her husband said.

"Nobody would really look at her, make eye contact. They didn't really say anything and it made her feel kind of less than human.''

It was a slow night so she came home early, but when she called to say she'd be in the next day, she was told not to bother, he added.

Nathaniels owner and chef Dan Hilliard defended his decision, saying the restaurant has certain standards. He prohibits male staff from wearing earrings and requires employees keep their hair at a reasonable length.

Fearnall is still on the payroll and she can return to work once she grows her hair back, he said, adding she was offered the summer off to spend time with her kids.

Fearnall, who also works in a plant nursery and as a caterer, told The Owen Sound Sun Times she was shocked by what happened.

"I honestly can't believe this is happening,'' she said. "It's ridiculous that I would be punished for doing a good thing.''

The restaurant owners said they told Fearnall well in advance they wouldn't be pleased if she participated in the fundraiser and suggested she could have found other ways to support the cause.

But Fearnall said she never got a clear answer when she asked if she'd still have a job if she went through with her plan.

Fearnall decided to take part in the popular fundraiser because cancer has struck close to home in recent years. Her father died of the disease five years ago and a cousin and close friend are currently battling the disease.

John Fearnall said it would be nice if his wife got an apology and noted she's not likely to return to the job, even when her hair grows back.

"She was surprised by the treatment. (The owners are) nice people. They're good people. It's just surprising the way that they treated her and I think that was what hurt her so much.''

He said he called the Ontario Labour Relations Board and was told the family has little recourse but to consider filing a human rights complaint.
"I think the court of public opinion is going to be enough, perhaps at this point,'' he said.

Hilliard admitted the story isn't great PR for the restaurant, but as far as he's concerned, it's an internal staff problem.

Besides, he said he's already heard from some customers who agree with him and say they would have been "appalled'' to have been served at Fearnall's table.

Still, not everybody agrees. The incident has left some fellow restaurateurs shaking their heads.

"I'm totally shocked. I'm actually totally shocked as well as all of my customers,'' said Wanda Doubt, who owns the nearby restaurant Wanda's and Mike's.

"That's absolutely ridiculous. Cops for Cancer, there couldn't be a better charity.''

Jen Wright of the Bluewater Cancer Society said she's never heard of anything like this.

"It apparently has not happened anywhere across Canada, according to the Canadian Cancer Society,'' she said.

"We support her and thank her and all the participants for all the money that they have raised over the years.''

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
=======================
 
Grand Prix brings women into Montreal's sex trade
Web Posted | Last Updated Thu. June 05  2008  07:20  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 5th, 2008
The Canadian Grand Prix weekend means big business for Montreal's sex trade as partying race fans roar into the city on their annual pilgrimage.

Experts say major international sporting events, such as the World Cup and the Olympics, up the demands for young, female prostitutes.

Montreal's annual high-octane extravaganza is no exception, but many of the sex workers who are used to fill the commercial void are unwilling participants, human rights activists say.

Sharon DiFruscia, who's part of a Montreal coalition against human trafficking, said most of the women are exploited as sex slaves.

"Not only in Montreal, but for large sporting events, it's a well-known fact that many women are brought in to the city," said DiFruscia, adding it's difficult to estimate just how many.
.
Benjamin Perrin, of the University of British Columbia, speaks on Canada AM from CTV's studios in Quebec City, Thursday, June 5, 2008.
"Some of these women are from other countries, but some of them are from our own country."

A Canadian expert on human trafficking says a U.S. report on the global issue released Wednesday shows Canada looks good on paper, but still has a long way to go to stamp it out.

"The bad news is we've not been able to turn our tough talk on human trafficking into action," UBC law professor Benjamin Perrin told The Canadian Press.

"We know that human trafficking is continuing to flourish in Canada and that it's one of the most serious crimes in our country and a fundamental abuse of human rights."

The annual U.S. State Department report said Canada complies with the "minimum standards," but it also criticizes the country for lacking punch.

"Over the last year, Canada increased victim protection and prevention efforts, but demonstrated limited progress on law-enforcement efforts against trafficking offenders," the document says.

Perrin, who was consulted on the report, said Canada has the basic framework in place to combat human trafficking and protect its victims, but more effort is needed.

He also said Canada has lagged when it comes to rounding up sex tourists, who travel abroad abusing children. Perrin said sex tourism drives human trafficking around the world.

Canada, meanwhile, has convicted only one person in the last decade on sex-tourism charges, he said.

"We've really fallen behind globally in preventing our child-sex offenders from exploiting children in impoverished countries overseas," said Perrin, the founder of The Future Group, a non-governmental organization dedicated to ending human trafficking.
The report says most of the women and children exploited in Canada are trafficked primarily from Asia and eastern Europe.

Perrin said many of these foreigners enter Canada on student and working visas or by posing as a relative of someone already in the country.

"It really runs the gamut, there's been no limit to the creativity that traffickers have used to secure the entry of their victims into our country," he said.

He said most trafficked individuals in Canada face psychological and physical threats from their captors. Many don't speak English or French and have been told they will be charged if they go to the authorities.

"It makes human trafficking one of the most under-reported and hard to investigate criminal offences in our entire Criminal Code," Perrin said.

He said a 2004 RCMP estimate states about 600 people are trafficked to Canada for sexual exploitation each year, while another 1,500 to 2,200 are brought through the country on their way to the United States.

Perrin also said major international sporting events, particularly those that draw large amounts of men, have also been a catalyst for human trafficking.

With the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 on the horizon, Perrin is hoping more will be done to minimize the scope of the sex-slave industry.

A 2007 report by The Future Group reported the 2006 World Cup in Germany experienced a short-term increase in the demand for prostitutes, but information campaigns, immigration controls and law-enforcement action likely stopped traffickers from meeting it.

Meanwhile, DiFruscia said demonstrators dressed in black will hand out hundreds of postcards Saturday on Montreal's Crescent Street, the official downtown partying point of the Canadian Grand Prix.

The messages will be addressed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, demanding he take more action on human trade.

"We're not bashing the Grand Prix, it's just to make sure people are aware when there are big sporting events in a city that this happens," said DiFruscia, the co-ordinator of the social action office of the Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Canadian Press
=======================
 
GM workers to protest for 'as long as it takes'
Web Posted | Last Updated Wed. June 04  2008  08:33  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 4th, 2008
Several hundred General Motors employees have formed a roadblock in front of the company's Canadian head office in Oshawa, Ont. to protest the closure of a truck assembly plant.

Chris Buckley, president of the Canadian Auto Workers union Local 222, said Wednesday that the blockade will be in place for "as long as it takes."

The workers are protesting after GM announced Tuesday that it will be closing its truck plant in Oshawa by the end of next year.

Production at the Oshawa plant and three other North American factories will be shut down next year in response to "a clear shift from trucks and SUVs toward cars and crossovers" among North American buyers, said the company.

All of the plants slated for closure assemble pick-up trucks or sport utility vehicles.

GM said Tuesday that the closure will eliminate 1,000 jobs but union leaders said there are 2,600 people who will be out of work at the plant.
Workers block the main entrance to GM Canada's head office in Oshawa, Ont. on Wednesday, June 4, 2008.
Hundreds of cars are lined up as people try to get to work at GM Canada's head office in Oshawa, Ont. on Wednesday, June 4, 2008.
"We are demanding that General Motors reverse their decision to close their best truck plant in the corporation," Buckley told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday.

"At the very least, we're demanding that the General Motors executives sit down with us so that we can attempt to work through this."

David Paterson, vice-president of corporate and environmental affairs for GM Canada, said Wednesday that the "door is wide open" for talks.

Paterson said company officials are already on the ground talking to union leaders. He said the company shares in the frustration being felt by workers.
CAW members check the IDs of people coming into the GM complex in Oshawa, Ont. on Wednesday, June 4, 2008.
"We're clearly facing a really fundamental shift from trucks to cars in the marketplace and we're going to have to adjust to that," Paterson told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday.

Buckley said the union is upset because they just finished bargaining a new three-year collective agreement, which was ratified two weeks ago.

"General Motors committed to us in writing that we would get the next generation of light-duty pick up trucks," said Buckley.
"As of yesterday, General Motors has betrayed us and that is bad-faith bargaining."

To help ease the transition, Paterson said GM is going to try and maximize the number of people who can move directly onto a GM pension.

"It's a much better way than moving people to layoff," he said.

He said the final solution to the problem is to "produce the right kind of cars that people want to buy."

Buckley said workers have been instructed to stay on the job Wednesday.

"I am telling my members in the workplace to remain on their jobs. I want my members to continue to build the best trucks in the industry and the best cars in the industry," he said.

"Let the local union leadership handle the situation."

GM's shift in direction will see the company add more small, fuel-efficient vehicles to its roster. It also has plans to have the Chevrolet Volt -- a plug-in electric car -- in dealers' showrooms by the end of 2010.

The cuts announced on Tuesday should save GM US$1 billion a year, in addition to earlier cuts worth roughly US$15 billion.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from ctvtoronto.ca
=======================
 
Gov't actions make Bernier probe necessary: MP
Web Posted | Last Updated Tue. June 03  2008  09:35  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 3rd, 2008
The Conservative government's reluctance to seriously investigate the security breach of former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier makes a parliamentary probe necessary, says an opposition MP.

"The prime minister would not hand it over to the RCMP. He would not call an independent public inquiry," Ujjal Dosanjh, the Liberals' public safety critic, told Canada AM on Tuesday.

"Therefore, the next best thing was for us to bring forward a motion and pass that motion in the committee."
Maxime Bernier arrives to be sworn in as the minister of foreign affairs with Julie Couillard in Ottawa on Aug 14, 2007. (Paul Chiasson / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Opposition MPs on the Commons public safety committee voted Monday to hold hearings into the Bernier affair. Conservative MPs opposed the move.

The minister resigned May 26, hours before ex-girlfriend Julie Couillard revealed he had left classified briefing materials in her apartment in mid-April. She didn't return them to the government until May 25.

The hearings are set for June 10 and June 16-18. Parliament is likely to recess for the summer next week, but the hearings are supposed to proceed.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is reportedly opposed to co-operating with the committee.

The government has said the Foreign Affairs department will conduct a review of the case, the results of which will be made public.

"This is no longer about Ms. Couillard and Mr. Bernier. They are just part of the facts in this case. The case is in fact against Mr. Harper," Dosanjh said.

The committee might consider issuing a subpoena against Harper, he said.

Dosanjh said the department itself had some questions to answer with respects to the scandal.

"We need an independent look. You can't be the prosecutor, the judge, jury and executioner," he said.

Some questions that need answering include:
What other breaches took place?
Who was involved?
What was the timeline?
How did the documents go missing?
When did the prime minister learn about this?

"I think all of that needs to be looked at independently," Dosanjh said.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff
=======================
 
Tatum O'Neal arrested in New York City drug bust
Web Posted | Last Updated Mon. June 02  2008  07:56  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 2nd, 2008
NEW YORK -- Police say Academy Award-winning actress Tatum O'Neal has been arrested after buying crack cocaine near her home in Manhattan.

Police say the 44-year-old actress was seen making the illicit purchase at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

She is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.
In a March 20, 2008 file photo actress Tatum O'Neal attends a screening at the IFC Center in New York. (AP / Evan Agostini)
O'Neal, daughter of actor Ryan O'Neal, appears regularly on the cable television series `Rescue Me' and was the youngest person to win an Oscar for her role in 1973's `Paper Moon.'

She chronicled her struggles with addiction in her memoir, `A Paper Life.'

Police could not say whether she had a lawyer. Messages left for a publicist were not returned early Monday.

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from The Associated Press
=======================
 
Smoothies and juice may do more harm than good
Web Posted | Last Updated Sun. June 01  2008  09:17  ET
Giant Dwarf Posted: June 1st, 2008
The extra fruit we get from smoothies may be good for us, but it isn't so good for our teeth, dental care experts warn.

A recent survey conducted by the British Dental Health Association revealed that 30 per cent of people think that fruit smoothies are good for their teeth.

However, dentists warn that if the drinks are consumed slowly, the sugar and acid in smoothies and fruit juices can cause acid erosion of the tooth enamel.

"It's the smoothie or the other acidic beverages and the more prolonged exposure -- the half-hour sugar bath or acid bath that you're exposing your teeth to -- that causes the damage," Canadian Dental Association president Dr. Deborah Stymiest told CTV.ca.

Smoothies can be a source of fruit and people do not have to avoid drinking them, Stymiest said.

However, they should be consumed relatively quickly, or while eating food, which can help neutralize the acid in the mouth.

"They shouldn't be sitting at their desk with a beverage like that over long periods of time," Stymiest said.

Saliva helps rinse the mouth and keep it at a neutral pH level. But once someone starts eating or drinking, the mouth becomes a more acidic environment, which is made worse by consuming highly acidic foods and drinks.
A Jamba Juice employee pours a smoothie into a cup for a customer, July 16, 2007, in Seattle. (AP Photo / Elaine Thompson)
Eating foods and drinks high in acidity could put your teeth at risk and increase your chances of developing acid wear.
The mouth can stay acidic for up to an hour, and the tooth enamel can start to slowly break down.

Studies have shown that oral health can have an impact on a variety of health conditions, such heart disease, respiratory illnesses and diabetes.

A study released this week indicated that people with gum disease have an increased risk of getting many common types of cancer.

But Stymiest said that if people are going to the dentist regularly for check-ups, any tooth or gum damage would be noticed early enough to intervene.

The Canadian Dental Health Association offers tips to avoid tooth decay and gum disease:
choose sugar-free snacks
avoid sugar-sweetened soft drinks
look for fruit juices and drinks that don't contain added sugar
look for other names for sugar on ingredient labels, such as molasses, liquid invert sugar, glucose and fructose
avoid eating sticky sweets that cling to teeth
eat sweets as part of a meal so the increased saliva flow can clean teeth and dilute sugar
brush your teeth after eating sweets and after each meal, or at least rinse your mouth with water, eat raw vegetables or chew sugarless gum

Written by CTV.ca News Staff with files from Andrea Janus